The most important storyline of the past two weeks has been Julian’s arrival in Tree Hill.  First he convinced Lucas to sign over the movie rights to his novel, then he hinted at a romantic past with Peyton.  Last night’s episode showed us that the relationship between the two wasn’t some random fling, but a full-blown romance with at least one declaration of love.  Julian claims that his interest in Lucas’ book is genuine, but does he still harbor feelings for the one who got away?  Even if he doesn’t, it’s obvious his presence is going to cause trouble for the engaged couple.

Some fans have been rolling their eyes over Julian’s connection to Peyton, but I think the storyline works.  It seems realistic that Peyton would have a few exes from the four years between seasons 4 and 5, and I liked that last night’s episode allowed us to see some of that back story.  The flashbacks worked well, as did Peyton’s scene with Julian in the present day.  I hope the producer is telling the truth and actually has no plans to sabotage Lucas and Peyton’s relationship.  Seeing the couple struggle with Julian’s presence would be interesting, but seeing him go all Nanny Carrie would just be boring.

While Julian’s introduction fits naturally into the story, the return of Gigi feels completely contrived and out of nowhere.  I’m all for Mouth and Millicent having more to do, but bringing back Gigi and making her ridiculously horny for Mouth just doesn’t sit right with me.  Unlike Julian, who actually has something to do aside from lust after Peyton, Gigi has returned simply to cause trouble for One Tree Hill‘s cutest couple.  Last night’s episode left us thinking that Mouth might actually fall for her seductive tactics, which only annoys me more.  If the couple has to have drama, I would have liked to see Mouth stay in Omaha, which would have forced him and Milly to struggle with a long-distance relationship.  That may not have been overly exciting, but it would have been a more believable issue.

Aside from the few minutes of Mouth and Gigi drama, last night’s episode of One Tree Hill was another solid hour of television.  The clips for next week’s installment show Julian getting a punch in the face, but I’d rather see Milly laying the smackdown on Gigi.  She’s the real troublemaker in town.

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