Warning: This post may contain spoilers.  

I do not intentionally post spoilers, mostly because I do my best not to read them myself. That being said, I do like to make predictions based on what I have learned by watching this show all these years so anything you read here is just my best guess.  

This is my first blog.  Although it reads somewhat like a recap, it really isnt.  It is simply my opinion and interpretation of episode 513. 

Although I understand why some may not have liked this episode, I actually loved it.   There was not much in the way of excitement but I think the dialog  did a lot to set up progression of the main stories they are trying to tell this season.   I also picked up on a couple of clues that we might see some of  the characters could possibly regress to who they used to be, good or bad.

Peyton:

Yes, the fact that "max" was such a big part in this episode was a little self-indulgence by the writer/creator Mark Schwan who plays him, but he was the perfect person let Peyton vent to.  As stated before, she has already been over it and over it with everyone else she needed a new victim.  You cannot tell me that listening her to drone on about Lucas is not completely realistic.  I am sure everyone has had that one friend that could not talk about anything else other than their boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/current crush/guy they are stalking, etc.  They brood and cry and become obsessed, that's a girl for ya.  Max gave her some good advice and helped her admit some things she did not want to admit about herself and her intentions when she returned to Tree Hill.   It was clear at the end that she made the decision to fight for him....thus providing solid ground for the next phase of this story.

Nathan and Haley:

Things have been very angsty for them this season.  Nathans injury and loss of the other love of his life (basketball), Haley feeling disconnected and abandon by her husband because of his depression and paralysis, **** nanny, abducted child, both being smart enough to graduate from college, yet too dumb to buy a fence for their pool, etc.    I would say that  putting these two in counseling and having them reflect on why they fell in love in the first place is almost like hitting the reset button on their relationship.  It is going to launch the next part of their story, Nathan pursuing basketball again, perhaps Haley getting back into music again, but more importantly, their relationship returning to something that more closely resembles the way it used to be.  Them working at facing problems together instead of letting them tear them apart.

Lucas:

It was a bummer that we did not get to see more of Moira but I did like the angle of Andy being a sounding board for Lucas.  Andy was once on the opposite end of a similar situation and was a good choice to offer insight and advise.  Although I wish he would have pressed him more about the possibility that Lindsey and Haley both were right about his inability to admit his feeling for Peyton.  He continues to say he wants Lindsey and he even flew to NY to tell her so.  He was all sweet and trying to be convincing but then the speech he gave her starting to sound more like "I'm the guy for you, Brooke Davis, Part II"  We all remember how that turned out.....shortly after he said that, he had a "moment of clarity" and realized that he , in fact, is NOT the guy for Brooke Davis.  It is actually Peyton Sawyer that he wanted standing next to him when all of his dreams come true.  I am only guessing but I am curious if Peyton imagining Lucas standing in front of her car, holding his basketball while wearing  that awesome grey hoodie, near the end of the episode is perhaps more significant that it seems.   Could it be foreshadowing a rebirth of  Lucas and Peyton's friendship/relationship/love? 

Brooke:

This is the easy one.  The adoption lady brought up several of the reasons Brooke is not ready to be a parent, then Brooke makes this moving speech about being a parent.  It does not take a rocket scientist to see where this is going.  This whole thing was just a set-up to Brooke ending up adopting a child.  I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly that mommy Brooke does not sound like as much fun as drunk, sassy, flirty Brooke.

One last thought....how mad do you think Tree Hill High School is that their brand new basketball coach disappeared for a month in the middle of basketball season?  I am sure the reason we did not see Skilz in this episode is because he was too busy doing Lucas's job.