Series Finale Ends 'One Tree Hill' On An Upbeat Note

The CW's One Tree Hill saluted its nine-year run by pairing Wednesday night's series finale with an hour-long special retrospective, One Tree Hill: Always and Forever, featuring cast interviews with Sophia Bush (pictured), Austin Nichols, James Lafferty, and other cast members, as well as show's creator Mark Schwahn.

"For this to have been our job, to grow up here and evolve as people and as characters, it's huge," said Bush, who plays Brooke on the show. Bethany Joy Galeotti, who portrays Haley, echoed her costar's sentiments. "The time that we've spent together over the years has meant so much and without you we would not be here tonight," Galeotti said.

So how did the show end up? Brooke bought the store across the street from Karen's Cafe to be close to Haley, while Clay (Robert Buckley) and Quinn (Shantel Van Santen) decided to legally adopt Logan (Pierce Gagnon) and get married all in the same episode. In a future flash-forward, the characters attend a basketball game in which an adult Jamie is running onto the court, having passed dear ol' dad Nathan's (Lafferty's) NBA record. Then Gavin DeGraw played "I Don't Wanna Be," the show's theme song, as the series said its farewell.

"I feel like these characters sort of exist on their own now," said Schwahn during the retrospective. "Even though I'm not sitting down and writing 'Fade In' every week, it feels like they're still there. I think it's always going to feel that way," he said.