They filmed two endings for the episode, because The CW wouldn't let them know if the show would come back. Mark Schwahn had to decide a week before the air date whether to use the cliffhanger or not. The alternative ending was basically the same, except they switched in and out of the sledding scene and the normal scenes. It would've been Chase and Alex coming down the hill and then the scene shifted to them in the hotel room and becoming a couple (and Mia's text would've been cut out), Nathan and Haley and Jamie coming down the hill and then the "I'm pregnant" scene, Brooke and Julian down the hill and then their scene and then Quinn and Clay, ending with Quinn going to the bedroom. And then Haley would say to Jamie "Nah, it's just a hill, we'll climb it together." And that would've been the series finale. But Mark Schwahn made the decision to go with the shooting ending, even though he didn't know, at the time, whether the show would be back or not. I'm pretty certain Season 8 is the last one though, since the cast's contracts are up after this year. It's nice to have some closure.
Now about the episode itself. That last scene scared the daylights out of me. Although...this may be a bit cold of me...I wasn't really sad that it was Quinn and Clay who got shot. I just never got into their relationship and their storylines. I'm just really sad for Haley, Nathan and Jamie, considering what they had to go through with Lydia's death and now dealing with Quinn and Clay getting shot IN THEIR BEDROOM. Tree Hill is NOT a place one would want to live.
Yeah, Quinn's scenes annoyed me. I agree with Bala's statement. It was such a pointless storyline. She could've perfectly sat in the hot tub without a beer until the guys came back.
Haley's pregnancy and Brooke's engagement, though not surprising, still make me grin like a child. There's all sorts of talk going around about CMM and Hilarie Burton returning for the Brooke's wedding. That'd be pretty cool! The writers never addressed where they went besides "They're travelling"....
Overall, I thought it was a solid season finale. I would've been a bit disappointed if it were a series finale, although the scene Schwahn described sounds like a nice ending. But still. I'm glad it'll be back next year, and with knowledge of going into season 8 knowing that it'll most likely be the last season is nice. Don't forget that'll it'll be on Tuesdays in the fall.
