Dan Scott is largely considered to be the biggest villain inOne Tree Hill, but that might not exactly be the case. Premiering in 2003,One Tree Hillis considered one of thebest teen romance shows of all time, focusing on the lives of various characters in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. The show was one of the biggest hits on TV during its prime, and with aOne Tree Hillsequel seriesin the works, it’s worth looking back on one of the show’s greatest characters, despite the terrible reputation he earned during the series.
Positioned as the show’s main villain for a decent portion ofOne Tree Hill,Dan Scott made his presence known in every scene that he was in, largely making the lives of everyone around him worse. While there are genuine moments of pure villainy from Dan, it could be argued that there were even bigger villains throughoutOne Tree Hill’snine-season run, and Dan might have been a bit more misunderstood than people might realize.
How Dan Scott Earned The Reputation As One Tree Hill’s Biggest Villain
Murdering Keith In Season 3 Cemented Keith’s Villain Status
For the first few seasons ofOne Tree Hill,Dan Scott was largely an abrasive jerk who had abandoned Karen after he found out she was pregnant when they were still teenagers. As an adult now, Dan Scott puts all his effort into molding Nathan into a basketball player, choosing to ignore the existence of his first child, Lucas Scott. While Dan makes it easy to hate him for the first few seasons with the way he treats Karen, Lucas, and most other characters, it isn’t until season 3 that he truly earns his reputation as the show’s biggest villain.
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In season 3, episode 16, “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept”,which is considered one ofOne Tree Hill’s best episodes,Dan Scott cements himself as a true villain after shooting and killing his own brother, Keith Scott. After Keith goes into the school during a shooting to try and help, Dan uses that moment to murder Keith, whose death was blamed on Jimmy once it was all over.
It wasn’t until the finale of season 4 that Dan finally admits to killing his brother, though a few other characters had already figured it out by that point. Keith’s death was one of the most tragic moments in the entire show, changing the trajectory ofOne Tree Hillforever.
Dan Scott’s Biggest Motivation Was Nathan
Dan Wanted To Give His Son A Better Life Than He Had
Dan Scott was a hard character to get along with, and even enjoy watching at times. He was truly awful to both Lucas and Karen, despite being Lucas' father. Dan was also awful to his big brother, Keith, most of the time, and he didn’t treat his wife Deb all that well, either. In fact, he wasn’t even all that kind to his precious Nathan for a lot of the earlier seasons. He pushed Nathan to great lengths for his talent at basketball and eventually ruined that relationship for a long period of time.
Still, the biggest motivation for Dan as a character throughout almost all ofOne Tree Hillwas Nathan.For most of the series, Dan’s motivation relied solely on trying to give Nathan a better life than he thought he had. He lived with regret and shame all his life for abandoning not only basketball, but Karen and Lucas as well, and he didn’t want Nathan to feel those same things. When Dan gets out of prison, all he wants is to repair his relationship with Nathan and begin to form one with his grandson.
Dan Scott’s Redemption Arc
He Improves In One Tree Hill’s Later Seasons, Eventually Sacrificing Himself To Save Nate
Dan Scott didn’t remain irredeemable throughout the entirety ofOne Tree Hill. Yes, killing Keith was pure evil, and he deserved every consequence that came from that decision, butDan attempted to find redemption in later seasons, largely earning it before he ultimately died in the show’s final season — in a moment of selflessness.
In fact, Dan’s first step towards redemption could be in the way he took the fall for Nathan after he possibly killed Daunte Jones for running over a pregnant Hailey. Dan used that moment as a way to help relieve some of the guilt he felt for killing Keith, but it was one of the first moments that he showed he was willing to put others first, no matter the consequences, especially if it helped Nathan in any way.
Daunte Jones was a gambler who forced Nathan to point shave during their basketball playoffs and championship game.
Eventually, Dan is released from prison and tries his best to be a grandfather to Nathan and Hailey’s child, Jamie. Of course, both Nathan and Hailey are against that, and it isn’t until their Nanny kidnaps Jamie and Dan eventually helps to get him back that he is able to begin to build a relationship with his grandson. Dan grows over the course ofOne Tree Hill’s later seasons, andwhen Nathan is held hostage by Russian gangsters, Dan eventually gives his life after saving his son.
Other One Tree Hill Characters Who Were Bigger Villains
Derek & Xavier Were Much Worse
One Tree Hillhas had a plethora of villains throughout its nine-season run, but Dan Scott is typically seen as arguably the biggest because of his prominence as a character through most of the series. While Dan has done truly despicable things, with killing Keith being the worst, there have been even worse villains inOne Tree Hillthat have nothing redeemable about them.Characters like “Derek”, who pretended to be Peyton’s brother, Nanny Carrie, Xavier Daniels, and even Daunte Jones all feel infinitely worse than Dan Scott, committing some of the worst acts in the entire series.
While Dan has done truly despicable things, with killing Keith being the worst, there have been even worse villains inOne Tree Hillthat have nothing redeemable about them.
For the earlier seasons ofOne Tree Hill, it feels like Derek was the biggest villain, working his way into Peyton’s life while getting her to trust him. His culmination as a villain ends with him physically assaulting Peyton and capturing her and Brooke on their prom night. It was a terrifying storyline for Peyton that haunted her for a long time.
Xavier Daniels takes the cake as worst villain in later seasons of the show, killing Quentin Fields in one of the show’s most heartbreaking moments, kidnapping Sam, and beating Brooke Davis to within an inch of her life several times.One Tree Hillhas always had worse villains than Dan Scott, no matter how prominent he might have been.
One Tree Hill
Cast
Set in the fictional town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, One Tree Hill chronicles the complicated and intertwined lives of its residents. Following half-brothers and rivals Lucas and Nathan Scott as they compete both for positions on their school basketball team and for the affection of their fellow students, Tree Hill’s community is built around community spirit and the complex workings of the ever-growing Scott family.
