image credit: brattynemz
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(7) Jake had never loved anyone greater before her.
Jake had a steamy relationship with his daughter's mom Nikki, a certified troublemaker. I'm sure he loved her but Nikki didn't seem to treat him in a way he deserves. And that's why he has pretty good reasons to stay away from her. For a long time Jake focused on working jobs to support his kid and at the same time still go to high school and play basketball. Having another relationship is in the far corner of his priorities. When he met Peyton, he was caught off-guard, though, and he admits that he has done something he had never done before: FALL IN LOVE. It must be because his 'relationship' with Nikki was more physical than anything and Jake never really got a chance to date and get to know someone, much as he did with Peyton. All throughout seasons 1, 2 and 3, he never seemed to have any other girl he is interested in. Just Peyton. And he welcomed her when she came to him in season 3 and it's obvious that he spent quite some time just waiting for her and thinking of her since he composed a song about their bittersweet promise of Someday.
Lucas, I believe, loved Brooke and Lindsay..more so than he did Peyton, whatever their fans say. He made it work with them even before his 'grand epiphany' that it's Peyton all along. His love for Lindsay came easy to him because, before Peyton came back to ruin it, Lindsay was relaxing and accommodating. And more so with Brooke. Lucas said that he could never erase Peyton in his life (s4) but it's nothing compared to Lucas not being able to imagine life without Brooke (s2). Not to mention, Lucas was the boy she would have lost everything for, as Brooke admits to herself, who already has success, power and fame (when Peyton couldn't even abandon her job that's not going anywhere anyway. Sure, it shows she's assertive but also shows she's not that sure if Lucas is the one for her. Enter Julian. Then because Mark wants LP NO MATTER WHAT, Julian is just another 'distraction').
If Peyton has always been the one and that he'd 'always known', then how come the realizations only happen when Brooke and Lindsay themselves have to dump him first? It feels like Peyton is the next best thing, the herald substitute. Or maybe Mark just likes Leyton TLA so much that he didn't bother to at least examine Lucas' journey to get back to Peyton with real facts. Truth for the matter, with Jake, Peyton was his future. He wanted her to be with him and Jenny. When Peyton proposed to him, he said that she shouldn't say those things because he might just say YES. When Lucas proposed to Peyton, she made up excuses and said someday. Does Mark even notice this clumsy foreshadowing of his that didn't even go anywhere?
(6) Whenever Jake locks eyes with her, it's always to say that he'll be around.
Season 1 and 2 were filled with Jake always being there for Peyton when she's having a tough time communicating that she even needs help. Jake and Jenny are a safe place she can stop by and just get away from all the drama in her life. Jake always looks at her with gentle concern; his sincere actions to make it all feel better has no comparison with Lucas in s4.
Does Peyton need to get shot in the leg and have a stalker for Lucas to take care of her? Just because she had a mortal brush with death on both occasions and Lucas is there to gallantly "save the day" does not mean Jake's simple gestures are less real. In fact, Lucas being 'the guy for her' in moments of danger is a contrived delusion, and not necessarily mean a profession of love. It's much more realistic when it comes to Jake. He didn't have to be this knight-in-shining-armor to prove his love for Peyton. He stayed and made everything seem better for her in season 2 with the little things. Peyton went to him when her father said to follow her heart and where did that lead? NOT Lucas.
Even when Jake keeps leaving, he still left her with something irreplacable: HOPE.
(5) Jake makes her laugh. He also listens to her heart breaking and does something about it.
Jake and Peyton have a natural sense of belonging about them whenever they have conversations. Whenever they have scenes together, it makes people believe that two people are made for each other by just being themselves. They had great chats, mouth-watering love scenes, heart-pounding hugs and the sweetest of kisses.
And sure, Peyton may look like she's having a great time twirling around with Lucas in the hallway, having cookie-dough fights and making out with him in class...but all those scenes come off cheesy because you can see those events in a GENERAL COUPLE and not a distinct couple such as Jeyton was. They had fun in their own special ways that are unique to them as individuals inside a relationship. They're teenagers who could have gone out and did the same things LP did in s4 but they stayed around with Jenny to take care of her which shows family and social responsibility. And Peyton was never happier taking care of a kid than playing "hit-my-bestfriend's-ex-boyfriend-with-cookie-dough-because-the-writer-of-our-love-story-thinks-it's-cute-and-not-at-all-forced." Their happy scenes are unique and not overplayed like LP's in season 4.
Everything Jake and Peyton do just spells LOVE. Meanwhile, whatever Lucas and Peyton say and pretend to do for each other just spells DESPERATION or NOT WHAT IT REALLY SEEMS. They secretly loathe each other in season 5 for the way they left wounds unattended. What their fans call passion was just plain hatred to me when Lucas starts going off at her, claiming she was selfish and Peyton calls him insecure for putting pressure on her when she's busy with her career. Their "love" was consuming in a sense of self-destruction to both sides. Peyton kissed him, knowing fully well about the cheating history, and therefore going back to Square 1 as two-faced bitch. Lucas immediately jumped the boat of marriage with Lindsay to further spite Peyton. Is that a healthy kind of love? So ill-conceived, immature and sadistic?
Brooke's right. Season 5 was not high school anymore so why is LP stuck playing the broken record of doom? Passion is not about fights that get dragged for years because both parties feel like they're in an after-school special of "My ex is an asshole". Jeyton showed passion runs deep within the surface, more intense in a subtle way than downright explosive.
(4) Jake says the right things, hugs her with care and kisses her tenderly.
As I've cited above, Jake and Peyton's shows of affections are outstanding! They hold onto each other as if it's the end of the world. They kiss each other like it's always the first time they kiss. And the first time they made love! It was unexpected and yet it felt natural; and therefore a very powerful scene. Meanwhile, Leyton had to plan everything to 'perfection'. Their attempts to mate are beyond ridiculous, not to mention it seems like they have to have sex in order to prove that they love each other which is not the point of a real relationship (which they don't have anyway). Lots of Brucas bashers say that BL is about sex. Well, LP in s4 was that, on the contrary, and as expected, they just had cheap motel sex after Prom because it was supposed to be symbolic of the time when they cheated on Brooke and kissed (Thumbs-up, Mark). AND if that's not sordid enough, Brooke has to see them finishing up the nasty (with guest star appearances of Mouth and Skills) So yeah. TLA.
And let's not get started in s6! All they did in Vegas was SEX. They keep saying that what they have is a DREAM and that is why they feel it was surreal, in every endorphin-induced sense of the word. I understand they're eager to jump on bed but at least talk about their issues first! Then they wanna get married in Vegas? Classy. You're not supposed to rush things that you want to last forever. But hell, let's go jumping on the bed instead (which is corny beyond comprehension, by the way). In addition to that, text messages are life-changing, apparently. So yeah. TLA.
Then BOOM! Peyton's preggers! How convenient, Mark.
The truth is Jake never makes Peyton feel like she has to be somebody else when he's around him in order to be appreciated. He gave her emotional strength: You're so strong, Peyton, and you don't even know it. / You're meant for better. I need you to get past this. You're too amazing to carry this around you. You're too full of greatness...and he didn't even need to write a stupid book about her "dignity". Jake did not patronize her the way Lucas did.
(3) Jake gave her something to believe in like family and the gift of a never-ending song.
Lucas says in season 1 that her art matters because it got him somewhere. That was nice. Jake let Peyton take care of Jenny and this made her feel independent and that is why during JP moments, she just glows. I swear, there's even a ray of halo around her blonde hair. And when she smiles...it reaches her eyes. What Jake made Peyton realize is that she doesn't need to be anything inspiring, she just needs to be positive about her life and make good choices. Jake made her aspire into something she could be proud of and he showed that through actions and not just simply words.
Peyton already had a family with Jake and Jenny before s6. LP with Sawyer is just an extension of a dream Peyton always had with Jake. Another cheap attempt by Mark that does not amount to anything. But Peyton was happy, that's fine with me, but I still believe she's with the wrong guy.
(2) Jake comes back not to rescue her but to make her feel that she's strong on her own
And here is the deal breaker: Jake comes back to remind Peyton she can fight the battles on her own. Lucas, on the other hand, is a pole she can grab onto and feel false security.
Jake allowed her to see how much she oozes with grace and confidence. Lucas makes her feel all warm and fuzzy because he's the 'big man' who will protect her and therefore she becomes content being just a girl to be taken care of.
AND FINALLY:
(1) Jake let her go, promised to still be here, with an echoing of "someday"
The reason why I never buy Peyton's "anguish" in season 5 for Lucas is because I've seen a more convincing rendition in seasons 1, 2 and 3 for Jake. Peyton said it with her own words: "Yes, losing your heart's desire is tragic. But gaining your heart's desire? That's all you can hope for. This year I wished for love... to immerse myself in someone else and to wake a heart long afraid to feel. My wish was granted. And if having that is tragic, then give me tragedy. Because I wouldn't give it back for the world." It shows silent courage, a steady faith for the unknown. Jake's "someday" is definitely a song that calls out to her from the depths of hopelessness, solidifying her dreams into reality for whatever the future awaits. It broke her when he left but it also made her into the best version of herself with Jake's love guiding her.
Lucas wrote a semi-autobiographical fictional novel about the TLA couple they never get to be a hundred percent anyway. He filled her head with false, empty promises and takes for granted the time she needs to cope and heal. She's having a tough time at work and Lucas didn't even ask what's wrong. If they're soul mates then how come he couldn't even feel her pain then? He's going to marry this chick without even being concern about her over-all welfare at that time?
He was always selfish with his choices with Peyton, that's a fact. He was never like that with Brooke AT ALL (for listed reasons, go have a talk with any fan in the BL spot).
In season 5, Lucas forced Peyton to be with him and Peyton couldn't meet him halfway because she doesn't respond well to urgency like that (the very reason why they never became an offical couple in season 1 in the first place because their timing is off and their desires for each other are more self-centered). Lucas disparages her for being so fickle when the truth is she just wants to feel like she's better off without her work in LA that's going to fail anyway. Lucas never reassured her that it's safe to be with him, or diminish her fears; he just became an addition to her worries because all he cared about was getting what he wants from her. Meanwhile Peyton also didn't care much about him getting published as a novelist because she can tell that her own problems are not a big deal to Lucas anyway so why should she care?
So yeah. TL-fucking-A.
And that is why Jake and Peyton's love complement each other. They're able to sustain open communication and foster commitment within the relationship because they put twice the effort into it than they normally do by themselves.
Whatever transpired between LP in season 6 that eventually leads to endgame is a delusion I don't accept. It was sugar-coated and unrealistic and melodramatic. I still laugh whenever I watch their epic wedding. It was depressing that P had to go through that life-and-death surgery but it's just another parlor trick to give the comet oil to massacre common sense. I swear I cannot bend backwards to kiss my ass that way, Mark.
So what have we learned from this guide? Only two things: TLA is just a word you just throw around without meaning it like TAXES because it sounds like it's serious business even if it's not.
And, also, just because LP got their 'happy ending' does not make Jeyton less qualified for a reunion.
Who's to say?
