Peyton Sawyer

Character development

Casting

Burton was one of the more prominent VJs on MTV for two years, with her looks and other onscreen activities acting as assets. She was the host of her own show, MTV's Hits, helped launch the network's Beach House from the New Jersey shore in May 2002 and was a regular on TRL. Her MTV VJ job allowed her to pursue other media career opportunities, and eventually led to her being cast as Peyton. Burton, who favored acting as a career, auditioned for the part of Ed Harris's daughter in the film Radio. She was encouraged by subsequent callbacks, but did not land the role. The casting department, however, remembered her and asked her to send an audition tape for One Tree Hill, and producers promised her a character that she "could sink her teeth into" – Peyton. "[Burton] is an old soul," said Mark Schwahn, the series' creator. "She's great. She's always just thrilled to do the job, even though she's kind of new to acting. She's just a joy to be around."

Burton said, "I've never studied acting or anything because I've been so lucky with MTV. I'm convinced I got the chance to be on One Tree Hill because I did a guest thing on Dawson's Creek as myself, when the cast appeared at the MTV Beach House." She added, "And my only scene was with Chad Michael Murray (Lucas Scott). So, now The Chad and I are reunited. How bizarre is that?" With regard to what her life is like as an actress, Burton said, "Actors like to think their lives are very difficult, but they're not. Yeah, you're running around a lot. But I used to work in a supermarket and in a bar. That was hard. This is fun."

Personality and wardrobe

Peyton has been described as beautiful, smart, fiercely independent, and as someone who is often a victim on the series. "My character is a good girl, but she is also kind of [sexually] suggestive. This is definitely not your mom's drama," said Burton. "She's very contradictory. Yes, she is a cheerleader, but she also goes home and listens to punk music. She's into really dark art and probably rips the heads off of Barbie dolls. Basically, she's a train wreck." Burton said the character may be "a train wreck" but that she was "so glad [that someone was] putting a girl like her on TV. You don't have to be one thing. Peyton has made that OK".

Burton said she herself was torn between cheerleading and hobbies which would not necessarily be considered hobbies of a cheerleader while in high school. "That's part of the reason I took the show, because I was like, holy cow, this was me in high school." Burton said there are always stereotypes in high school. "People get put into groups. "You're a jock, you're a cheerleader, you're a freak, you're in the drama department. I had a lot of trouble fitting into those groups when I was in high school because I wanted to be a part of all of them," she said. "I think that's how a lot of people are. Some people have the nerve to go ahead and branch out and be a part of everything and some people don't." She said One Tree Hill represents people who are multidimensional and who like more than one thing. "People do like more than one thing. It's nice that [One Tree Hill] shows that," she stated.

Burton said that portraying a younger age (16 at 21) was not a problem, except for one aspect: "My only concern was when I had to put on my cheerleading uniform again. You forget how nerve-racking that is – the vulnerability of wearing bloomers." She said she reread some of her journals from high school to get "into that place" as a high school student again, and that Peyton being similar to how she was in high school helped. "It also helped that the town where we film, Wilmington, isn't too different from the hometown where I grew up in Virginia. Both [are] small towns where high school sports played a big part," she stated.

Initially, the character was mixed-received: she came off as too angry and bitchy to some viewers. "At first, the audience rejected her character because, well, she was mean to our hero (Lucas)," said Schwann. "And she's pretty and popular." Burton stated, "She was catching a lot of flack. [People were saying], 'Oh, she's this cheerleader. She's like, you know, this cute little girl. She wants to be all hard and angry.'" Schwann decided to soften the character a little, which included having her bond with character Haley James, Lucas's best friend, and she eventually caught on with the audience. "[That was] our challenge, because she [was designed as, and became] the moral center of the show," said Schwahn.

Storylines

Overview

Peyton Elizabeth is the only child of Larry and Anna Sawyer, she was adopted at birth; the true parentage and other family ties are not discovered until seasons 2, 3, 4, and 6. Peyton's second name in fact, was given to her by her adoptive parents in honor of her biological mother: Elizabeth "Ellie" Harp.

Her biological father's name is Mick Wolf, and Peyton also has a biological half-brother by him, named: Derek Sommers. When Peyton is 8, her adoptive mother (at the time known to her as her birth mother), Anna Sawyer, dies by running a red light on her way to pick her up from school. She soon forges a powerful friendship with Brooke Davis, who comforts her over Anna's death, and they become best friends.

As the show begins, Peyton's boyfriend is Nathan Scott. She soon breaks up with him and falls in love with Nathan's rival and half-brother, Lucas Scott. Peyton drives a 1963 Mercury Comet convertible, which becomes a major plot point as it is because of it that she first speaks to Lucas: from that moment, her car will become a central theme in their love story.

Early seasons

During the first season, 16-year-old Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer is girlfriend to popular jock/star basketball player Nathan, but they soon break up when Peyton reasons that their relationship is more about sexual benefits than love, and that she is tired of his cruelty. In addition, she realizes that she no longer wants to be the star basketball player's girlfriend. She immediately becomes interested in her ex's brooding half brother, Lucas, thanks to his goodness and being very kindred: in fact, through various interactions with Lucas, she finds that he is kind and thoughtful towards her. However, when he confesses the depths of his feelings for her, she becomes scared and runs from him, leaving him heartbroken and desperate. Peyton later goes to visit Lucas and professes that she wants to be with him too, but it is too late: Brooke, her best friend, has now become romantically involved with him. Lucas and Peyton eventually cannot resist each other, and become secret lovers (though no sex is involved). On the night that they decide to tell Brooke, Lucas gets into a car accident and subsequently goes into a coma, which brings back painful memories for Peyton because her mother died in a car crash. When Lucas finally comes home from the hospital, he breaks up with Brooke in order to be with Peyton, who soon ends things with him, however, despite loving him out of guilt for betraying her best friend, who, in the meantime, finds out about them and is enraged. Peyton continues to avoid Lucas while Brooke continues to avoid Peyton as Brooke declares her friendship with Peyton to be over. Then, Peyton begins spending more time with Lucas' best friend, Haley James, and with Jake Jagielski, along with Jake's daughter, Jenny. Eventually, her friendship with Lucas is slowly reformed, and the two attend a party together at Nathan's apartment. However, at the party, Peyton and Nicki, Jake's ex and Jenny's mother, fight and Peyton realizes Nicki is the girl Lucas hooked up with at a bar, shortly after she dumped him to spare Brooke's pain. Peyton is furious and feels betrayed, along with Brooke. This drives a wedge between Lucas and Peyton, but reconciles the friendship between Peyton and Brooke. The season ends with Peyton spending more time with Jake, and helping him escape from Nicki, who tries to take their daughter from Jake's grasp. Peyton's relationship with Lucas remains broken.

In season 2, although she has initial success with getting the all-ages club TRIC opened, and with encouraging Haley to perform at the club, which eventually fuels Haley's desire to be a singer, Peyton begins to get involved with cocaine. She feels alone, as her father is away again, and she does not know where Jake is. She feels down that everyone is dealing with their issues and not helping her or realizing that she is upset and going through a difficult time in her life. She is accused of being a lesbian by Felix Taggaro and faces public humiliation when he writes DYKE on her locker, just so his sister, Anna Taggaro, will not be presumed a lesbian (it is later revealed that Anna is bisexual, but also uses the word gay to assert her sexuality). Hope comes for Peyton, who is in deep despair and about to buy some cocaine, when Jake comes back into her life. In fact, it turns out that an argument between Lucas and Peyton made him realize that he had not been there for Peyton, and felt she needed someone else because, after the events of the previous season, the two weren’t able to reconcile, leaving both of them suffering for the situation, and, as a result, he was the one who called Jake, knowing that he would have a positive effect on her. This does, and sparks a turnaround for Peyton, and she and Jake begin a relationship. This happiness is although short-lived, as Nicki comes back wanting custody of Jenny. Nicki eventually takes Jenny away from Jake and runs off, causing Jake to follow her, leaving Peyton alone and heartbroken again. Soon, someone named Ellie Harp gets in contact with Peyton saying that she is from Alternative Press magazine and wants to do an interview. When Peyton starts receiving strange e-mails from someone named WATCHMEWATCHU, she begins to suspect that it is Ellie. Ellie, however, denies sending the e-mails and shockingly informs Peyton that she is her biological mother. The finale ends with a crying, bewildered Peyton on a beach and Lucas coming to comfort her. "Looks like it's just me and you this summer," he says. The two share a meaningful hug and finally make amends once and for all.

Missing years

One year after season 4, Peyton is surprised by Lucas when he comes to LA to propose to her. Feeling it is too soon, she says "someday", unknowingly setting their breakup in motion. One year later, Lucas's novel becomes a bestseller and he is scheduled to have a book signing in L.A. Having missed her, he calls her and invites her to come to the signing. Peyton comes, but witnesses Lindsey Strauss giving Lucas a congratulatory kiss, assumes that Lindsey and Lucas are in a relationship, and leaves thinking there is no hope for her and Lucas to be together. Lucas thinks Peyton did not bother to come to the book signing, and consequently goes on his first date with Lindsey the same night and some time later begins dating her, despite his surviving feelings for Peyton. Peyton then runs into Julian Baker, whom she had met for the first time the day after her breakup with Lucas. They talk and he invites her to a work party he has to attend that night. She and Julian date for a while afterwards, to the point where she moves in with him and they profess their love for each other, but he ends it after realizing that she will never get over Lucas.

Final seasons

In season 5, it has been almost five years later since high school graduation. Peyton, now 22, works as the assistant to the assistant in a recording company in LA, as her boss likes to remind her. Unable to make it in the music business and fearing to lose her integrity, she decides to quit and goes back to Tree Hill with her old best friend, Brooke Davis, and soon moves in with her. Her reunion with Lucas turns out to not be what she wished for, as he has a new girlfriend, Lindsey. She still loves Lucas, but temporarily puts those feelings aside to force Nathan to come to terms with what he has become after his injury. Finally feeling at home, and with the moral help from Lucas and the financial wealth of Brooke, she starts her own label at TRIC. She recruits her first band, led by a man named Jason. Things get rocky, and Haley convinces her to fire him and keep Mia, the keyboard player, as Mia is the true heart of the group. Peyton also struggles with her feelings towards Lucas, especially since his girlfriend tries to be nice to her. However, Peyton soon antagonizes her. After visiting her old house and remembering how she thought she would always be with Lucas, she becomes bitter. This then escalates into a fight with him as he confronts her about not being the same Peyton he used to know; she retorts that he gave up on the two of them not waiting for her. She later reveals to Lucas that she came back to Tree Hill for him and that she still loves him. She kisses him, and he kisses back but when she goes to his house, she finds out he has just proposed to Lindsey because of his fear of being rejected again by her. After the initial shock, she tells him that if it is what he really wants, she will bury her feelings for him because she wants him to be happy. However, she later winds up lashing out at Lindsey. She regrets her hostile remarks toward Lindsey when she discovers Lindsey's dad died from cancer, which prompts the two to start from a clean slate regarding their interaction. Peyton tricks her former boss into helping her launch Mia under her label.

On Lucas and Lindsey's wedding day, Peyton puts on a brave face while watching Lucas saying "I do" to Lindsey. Although the wedding ends up falling apart because it has become crystal clear to Lindsey either that he hasn’t moved on from Peyton due to his second book, which is obviously again dedicated to Peyton and about his everlasting for her, she is still hurt because Lucas went through with his wedding vows. She then focuses on making Haley's new album and helping Brooke with baby Angie. Feeling guilty, she tries to have Lindsey reconcile with Lucas, but Lindsey tells her to read his new book, which she says is about her. One night, Peyton finds Lucas drunk at TRIC. She gets him home, where he utters that he hates her. Distraught, she starts to spend her time throwing water balloons on people as a form of therapy and later paints "Love song" from The Cure on the Rivercourt to tell Lucas that she will always be in love with him. Having seen this and being hardly confronted by Haley about his late behavior, he goes to Peyton to apologize for saying that he hates her because it’s obviously not true, but it was just the drink talking, and he says that it was really hard losing her, letting her go and seeing her again and it’s still really hard for him, making again apparent his everlasting love for her. During this time, Peyton gets word from Mia about a man who claims to have known Peyton's biological mother, Ellie. From the information given, this man could possibly be her biological father. At the end of the season finale, Lucas calls a woman asking her if she wants to get married at Las Vegas - the woman could be Lindsey, Peyton or Brooke.

Reception

Peyton has been described as "a very talented artist" who expresses her emotions through her work and guards her heart after losing so many important people in her life. The character was initially mixed-received, as the audience felt that she was too mean, especially to love interest Lucas. Tracy McLoone of PopMatters stated, "Perpetually cranky Peyton tears around town in a vintage car, listening to loud rock, and wearing a Ramones T-shirt, none of which fits with a typical cheerleader image." McLoone added, "At one point, Lucas asks her why she's a cheerleader, noting that she's 'the least cheery person I know. She responds, 'You don't know me.' [And in fact], she's right. The girl is a walking contradiction. Peyton embodies aspects of the good girl (cheerleader) and bad girl (rocker)."

The character's crankiness was eventually toned down, as she was revealed to have a deeper side and her interaction with Lucas and Haley started to win over viewers. The Wilmington Star credits the character with "[blowing] away every stereotype" the media has placed on cheerleaders: "She's—gasp—smart! And interesting! And so not the pop-tart cheerleader TV often delivers," stated Allison Ballard of the newspaper.

Her love story with Lucas also became very popular. MTV described the two as the generation's Joey and Pacey, "the overly dramatic couple you could not help but root for", and the pairing emerged as one of the show's supercouples. Their departure received significant media attention and was even picked as one of the "12 most essential episodes" of One Tree Hill in 2009 by fans at starnewsonline.com.