For an entire week I hoped that it was a fake out. Lucas had only dreamed that Q died. The paramedics were wrong and he was alive. It was really the future and Lucas had picked Brooke and none of it had happened.

Of course, One Tree Hill isn’t that show and if it was who would watch it? Quentin Fields was laid to rest. Everyone cried (except Lucas – really Chad Michael Murray, can you learn another facial expression besides the squint?). Even through my tears, there was a lot of eye rolling. Sure, there may have been a sniffle or two when Haley and Nathan gave their son the bad news. Yes, it was incredibly sad when Jamie gave Q’s jersey to his grieving little brother. And there were multiple tissues when Jaime threw the cape over Q’s coffin, in time with the soulful voiceover about flying.

Then there was all the talk about God that rang false. This is a show where the stable dad character has slept with every girl around, including his sister-in-law. There is nothing wrong with taking comfort in faith but it seemed completely out of place in Tree Hill – this isn’t Seventh Heaven!

And what’s with giving Crazy Nanny Carrie a soul? She was much more fun when her background was a mystery. Having a dead son is sooooo cliché.

At least Brooke finally cried. Maybe now we can delve into what’s going on with her. They gave her such a great set up at the beginning of this season that it’s unclear why this murder business had to happen. In fact, we were already on story overload. We’ve got the Peyton/Lucas engagement, Brooke’s legal woes with her mom, her beating, Deb and Skills’ relationship, Haley’s new album, Nathan’s comeback and Dan’s kidnapping – what more could we ask for?

The other character that’s got me intrigued is Samantha. She’s the new badass student at Tree Hill High who stole a top from Brooke and turned around to write the beautiful elegy to Quentin that served as the episode’s voiceover. She’s got me thinking maybe it wasn’t Victoria who ordered the beating on Brooke.

As much as Quentin Fields will be missed, there is too much going on in Tree Hill to pause any longer for mourning. So stop teasing us with these sidebars and get to the juicy stuff. How will Nathan cope with Deb and Skills? Will Nathan’s back hold out or are his dreams over? Can Haley have it all? What will go wrong with Lucas and Peyton? Is Dan a goner? When is Mouth coming back?

Show creator Mark Schwahn and his writers need to keep the show on the tracks and moving forward. Maybe then I’ll forgive you for killing Q!