Tree Hill at night. Peyton sits in her car at a green light. She doesn't drive through; she just waits for it to turn red. It feels ominous. Like somewhere some kids are about to tell ghost stories and remind each other not to go wandering in the woods by themselves. Peyton sits alone in her car with very loud, very angry music blaring. She revs the engine once, twice, three times. She grips the steering wheel. She waits calmly, like she's in a daze. The light stays green.
In Karen's Café, Lucas has the latest edition of Thud. The copies for the café must have just been delivered. He clips the string and pulls one out, flips through the pages, and lands on Peyton's comic strip. It's four panels, and each one is a picture of a traffic light. The first one's green; the second's yellow; the third red; and all three lights are red in the final one. The caption reads, "People Always Leave." No offence to Peyton's art or anything, but who cares? I used to write really bad fiction in university; none of the characters had names, there was no discernible plot, and all my metaphors were saturated with angst. I realize that art is her medium for expression for the most part, but what's up when no one understands your message -- what's the point if no one even remotely understands what you're trying to say. And what editor would print a comic strip that makes absolutely no sense to anyone except the artist? Anyway. Luke examines the strip as if it'll provide some clue to the locked part of Peyton's psyche. Right now, I couldn't care less if it ever opened up; someone please throw away the bloody key and save us from her hysterics during this episode.
Vroom. Vroom. A car drives up behind Peyton's Angstmobile. The driver honks and then yells, "Move it, lady." The light stays green. It's the longest light in the history of time.
Luke is still looking at the comic when the door to the café opens and in walks Haley. Only she doesn't stay. She sees he's there and runs right back out again. I guess they're still fighting. Luke runs out after her. He yells, "Haley!" She turns around. He continues, "How long are we going to do this?" She replies innocently, "Do what?" He answers, "Avoid each other?" She looks away and then says, "You tell me. You're the one who's upset." He barks, "And you're the one who lied to me." She doesn't know what to say. Luke takes a step forward as he asks her to explain why she was with Nathan. You know, considering all the crap he's put Luke through, it's a fair question. Haley bites her lip. Then she tells Luke that she can't tell him. He snits, "You know how I feel about him." He starts to walk away. Let's remember for a second that Peyton's supposedly sitting at a green light -- this entire time. I'm telling you, it's in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest traffic light ever to have been created by human hands. Haley shouts, "Lucas, fine!" He turns around. "Yes, I know how you feel about him, but there is something that you don't know. I promised him I'd tutor him if he left you alone." She whines, "I'm doing it for you, Luke." Then she turns around and walks away. See, Luke snits work both ways; you've got to learn to take in as much as you dish out.
Wow, I'm so shocked the light remains green. But wait! It's just turned to yellow. Peyton pushes her foot down on the gas. The tires squeal, and she races through the red light right past Luke. In fact, she races through an entire street of red lights. Cars honk, but nothing really happens. She's playing some sort of really messed-up game of chicken with herself. She's so tortured. Blah tempting death, blah playing with fate, blah blah yawn.
Credits. Blah be yourself, blah me tweedle dee blah, all I want to be blah.
Tim is at Nathan's house. They're shooting hoops on his front driveway. Swoosh. Sweat. Swoosh. Tim asks, "So you and Peyton are history?" Nathan answers, "Nah. I wouldn't count on that." Tim tosses the ball to Nathan. His shoulders are very sweaty. He seems almost like a man, except he's a boy who really wants to be a puppet. Nathan continues, "This is what she does. She freaks out. We break up. A few days later we make up." Tim asks him why he puts up with it. Dude, the "making up," of course; he is a teenage boy whose girlfriend has no parents. Nathan wiggles his eyebrows and smirks. Shut up, Nathan's smirk. A huge, hulking mass of unhappy man comes jogging up behind the boys. He screams, "Hey! Ball!" Nathan throws it to Dan, who then gets the ball into the basket. He gloats, "Expect plenty more of that at the father/son game, 'cause we're going to crush you guys." Dan points one finger at Tim and the other at Nathan. Sniff. Sniff. Is that smell desperation, because it's left a nasty stain all down the front of Dan's t-shirt. Nathan nods at Tim, who bounces the ball hard on the driveway. Nathan bounds up and slams it through the basket. He smirks, "And you can expect more of that!" Dan smiles, "Bring it on!" And there goes Torrance, rolling in her celluloid grave. Someone that old should never say, "Bring it on." Ever. Shut up, Dan's jive-talking false bravado.
I think TPTB have been reading the recaps, because there are actually all kinds of people in Karen's café today. Haley serves them their lunch while Lucas broods at the counter. He turns around and says, "I'm an idiot." Haley smiles and says, "I know." Then he apologizes. Luke looks sexy when he sort of half leans back in his chair and sends the smoldering look Haley's way. Luke says, "I miss hanging out with you Hails." Aw, she misses him too; blah they miss each other blah. Luke says, "I appreciated everything you did for me, I do. But, Haley, how 'bout you let me handle the team from now on, okay?" She nods her head and says okay. "So you can stop tutoring Nathan now." She turns back around and tells him that she can't stop because she made a promise to him. Do you think they serve good food at Karen's? I'd like some soup. Oh, sorry. This scene feels so boring that I got to thinking about the food. Maybe Luke gets to eat for free. Blah if she breaks the promise, blah she's as bad as he is, blah blah blah good values. She gets back to work, and he turns back around to the counter. Some random customer says, "Hey, Lucas, I'm looking forward to seeing you play the father/son game this year. Good article about you and your pop." He hands Luke a newspaper.
Cut to Nathan reading the same paper, only he's in Puppet's Paradise. Dan's wearing another sweaty shirt; this man must work out all the time. He needs a non-sports related hobby. Like model planes or reading. Nathan recites, "Who would have known that Dan Scott's basketball pedigree would be inherited by his two sons, Nathan Scott and Lucas." Hey, at least Nathan can read; maybe Haley really doesn't have to tutor him. The headline says, "Great Scott -- A Basketball Tradition Lives On." Dan picks up the paper and snots, "You've got to be kidding me?" He's mixing a powershake. Sniff. Sniff. Wait? Is that delusion I smell? Deb's in the kitchen. She's a halo of light on a dark day, that one. Nathan snits, "That's great, Dad. We're all one big happy family." Dan chastises his son. Then he snarks, "I wonder what they're paying this reporter to support his crack habit." Deb grabs the paper out of his hands and then gives him his breakfast. Only that one article talking about Lucas and his b-ball talent has made him lose his appetite. What a freaking baby. Deb says, "Dan, the boy exists. He's on the team. It's not exactly headline news." Dan whines, "No, apparently it is." He shakes the paper around. "Well, how do you think Lucas and Karen feel about it?" See, see, she's reasonable. Dan bitches, "Oh, gosh. I don't know. Maybe we should invite them over for breakfast and find out." Nathan starts to back out of the kitchen as his parents start bickering. Deb tries to hand him some breakfast, but Nathan acts like a smart-ass: "Oh, that's okay. I'm just going to grab something at school with my brother." Deb sighs. Dan seems proud. She says, "You know, there is a chance that Lucas and Nathan could get along if their father encouraged it." He nods his head, and then says, "True. But there's also a chance that hell could freeze over." He tweaks her nose. Man, what crawled up his butt? Oh, right, a basketball. And it's been jammed up there for the past fifteen years.
Peyton's putting stuff into her locker as Nathan walks up and asks, "You're not still mad at me, are you?" She says, "I'm not mad. We're just over." Nathan stares at her as she walks away.
Brooke slides in front of Luke as he takes something from his locker. She's smooth. "Hey, cutie." Her voice sounds like she's been smoking for about a hundred years, but it seems to work. "I saw your picture in the paper. Personally, I didn't think it did you justice." He says, "No?" She grabs his shirt right around his pectoral muscle and says, "No. Far too much clothing." Then she walks away. He puts his head right where she used to be standing and leans into his locker, watching her as she walks away. But all Luke sees is Nathan leading Haley into the Tutoring Centre. As Haley laughs, Luke seethes in anger.
The boys are in their warm-up suits. Various balls head toward the basket. Some go in, some don't. Woda comes up to Luke and says, "The father/son game's coming up. Have you considered who you want to play with?" Luke tosses the ball that he was holding in his hand toward the basket before he answers, "I figured I'd skip it." Woda says, "Aw, son. I know it's hard, but it would be worse if you didn't play. Besides, I thought you said you were through hiding from Dan." Luke says defensively, "I have!" Woda insists, "Well, wouldn't it be fun to dunk on him?" Whitey chuckles to himself as he leaves the court.
At the other end of the gym, the cheerleaders are practicing. Blah Ravens, blah pom-poms, blah cheer. Apparently, Brooke's head Ravenette. She notices something Peyton does and tells her that she's got the arms wrong. Peyton deadpans, "It's not brain surgery, Brooke." What's with the attitude? Peyton snarks, "What's with your life?" Brooke just looks at her. "Seriously, aren't you embarrassed that the most important thing in your world is some stupid cheer?" Hear! Hear! Brooke says, "Look, I'm really sorry things didn't work out between you and Nathan. But don't go all Mariah on me, okay?" Rah! Rah! Sis-boom-bah! Heh, poor Mariah, they've turned her into a verb -- perhaps the OED will add that definition to "bling-bling." Peyton shouts, "You think this is about Nathan? You're not even close. You're not even in the neighbourhood of close." What then? "What's wrong is how pointless all of this is!" Brooke tries to get her to stop saying stuff. "NO! Because it's true!" The boys have stopped practicing and have turned to watch her freak out. "What difference does it make if you sleep with the popular guy or go to the right parties? Or you know the moves to some moronic cheer to do at some lame-ass game I could care less about!" She shoves her pom-poms at Brooke and stomps away. Whitey watches the meltdown. He senses a Woda-moment coming on. He begins to prepare his speech. The balls falling on the floor echo Peyton's footsteps as she marches her angsty-ass right out of the gym. Luke, and then Nathan, watch her as she leaves. Um, if Brooke's Peyton's best friend, wouldn't she know what's upsetting her -- just by nature of all the kids having been at school together forever? Wouldn't someone clue in that the girl misses her mom?
Keith turns a wrench on a bolt in someone's engine. Craig Sheffer's quite built. He looks like a stretch of road in downtown Buffalo, but his arms are nice. Anyway. Luke comes into the shop. Keith says, "You're not working today." Luke replies, "I know, but I have a favour to ask. There's this father/son charity basketball game. Whitey says I have to play. Are you interested?" Keith smiles and says warmly, "Yeah." Luke's reply, "Yeah." There's male bonding at its peak, ladies and gentlemen. That's the Mount Everest of communications right there. They smile. He says, "I might be a little out of shape, not to mention that I wasn't worth a crap in high school." Luke jokes, "That's all the better for us, right? Why don't you start coming down to the court with us?" Keith holds up the paper: "And hang with a member of the Scott basketball dynasty." Luke's face falls completely. He says, "What are you going to do?" Damn. And he was in a good mood for once. "Sucks for my mom." Keith asks if he's okay. "Honestly, I can't stand being connected to Nathan or Dan."
Speak of the devil, Beelzebub himself drives up on a bike: "Hey! Big brother!" Luke turns around so he doesn't have to look at him. "Just getting some cardio in and I ran out of water. Wanna help me out?" Again, it smells like the desperate need for long-gone-teen-spirit whenever Dan's around. He just can't get the odor of things past out of his clothes. He'll just sweat it right back in anyway. Keith says, "Why not." I'm guessing that Dan doesn't even notice that Luke's there, because he keeps blabbing on about Keith buying tickets to the father/son game. Keith tosses him a bottle of water and replies, "Well, I could if I wasn't playing in it. Luke invited me." Dan nods. "Oh, great. Well, try not to soil the Scott family name while you're at it." Keith retorts, "That's everyday advice for you, huh?" Then Dan addresses his son: "Hey kid." God, I hate that. It makes my stomach drop every time I hear it. "Seems as though you've got an obligation to the family name too. Don't blow it." Luke replies, "That article's a lie. You're not my father and you never were." Dan says, "You're right. It is a lie. You should have never had the name in the first place." Then he rides off to do more cardio. Too bad he can't work his personality into such good shape. Where does anger like that come from? I'll bet Dan's insides are filled with evil, black tar. What an incredible jackass. Like it's Luke's fault, like Luke has any control over his name. Keith yells, "Hey!" as Dan rides away. Luke throws something. Keith asks if he's okay. "I have no responsibility to him or his name." Keith replies, "Don't let him get inside your head." He holds his pointer finger up to his temple. I couldn't help it, I giggled -- it's the method actor's version of being very serious, pointing to the body part the line references. Heh. Luke tells Keith it's about time he got out from under his name completely. What does that mean? He's not going to be a Scott anymore. He's going to change his last name.
Dan shows up at Whitey's office; at least he knocks before going in this time. Woda says, "You're late. I expected you this morning after that article in the paper." Dan replies, "I understand Lucas has asked Keith to play in the basketball game. Do you think that's wise?" Woda asks him why not. Dan replies, "Keith's not exactly a father." Thank goodness Whitey's there to say exactly what I'm thinking: "You're not the best father either, Danny, and you're playing." Heh. Then Dan tries a different approach: "What about Lucas, you have to know this is embarrassing for him." Again, Woda speaks from a position of pure truth: "Embarrassing for him, what about embarrassing for you?" Dan tries to leave, but Whitey holds him back: "This isn't about Keith or Lucas. This is about you, Danny. This is about the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you see the son that you never claimed." Cue the melodramatic music. "You were a great player, maybe the best I ever had. But you could score a hundred points in this game and that feeling's not going to go away. It'll be there until you acknowledge that Lucas is your son and that you made a mistake." And no truer words have ever been spoken. Alas, is it enough to bring non-Moses down from his manmade mountain of shame? Oh, wait -- no, because that would mean Dan had feelings and we all know that's not true.
The mini-golf on top of Karen's café makes for very good pregnancy-hiding shots. Heh. Karen's also wearing a really big wool sweater, but it doesn't matter, because she's started waddling. You might be able to hide the belly, but you can never hide the waddle. She says, "So, your Uncle Keith's been working hard getting ready for the game." Luke laughs. Then he putts. Oh, mini-golf with your mom. Good times. She continues, "And then he mentioned you were thinking of changing your last name." He misses his shot. Damn, don't you hate it when your mom corners you with serious talks when all you want to do is get the ball into the cow's mouth? He replies, "I just don't want people reading these stupid articles and think I played ball just because Dan did." He leans against an old tire. "I don't want you to have read that stuff." Karen makes her shot and says, "Well, you're in the spotlight now and articles come with the territory." But she doesn't want him to run away from that, oh no. The ball goes up the tire and out the other side. Man, they're trying everything so they don't actually have to have the camera on poor, pregnant Karen. She wants Luke to confront his problems head-on. He says, "I just think it would make you happy if I took your name." Karen takes a deep breath: "When I found out I was pregnant, Dan already had a basketball scholarship, and nothing was going to get in the way of that." She scratches her face. "Then something strange happened. Right before classes started he changed his mind. He said he'd finish the semester and we'd get married." She shakes her head. "So when I went into labour and you appeared, the nurse asked for your name and I said it was Scott. Keith was there, and when the nurse brought you in, she let him hold you." Karen laughs. "I've known Keith my whole life, but that's the only time I've seen him cry." I'm tired of looking at Karen's face. "Your father never showed up." Luke's response: "So, hell with him! I don't want his name." So not the point, dude. "Keith's a Scott too, you know?" Exactly. There's the point. "I've never been ashamed of you, Lucas, not ever, or your name. But I've never had to carry that name in this town like you have, so if you want to change it, you have my blessing." Twang. Twang. The guitar empathizes. "But it's just a name, Luke. What you do with it is up to you." Luke shakes his head. It's like every week they get a bit more honest with one another. They did a good job and that was a nice scene, right down to Luke's emotional shudder at the end of it all -- he looks like a kid struggling with so much right now; it's good.
Nathan calls out to Brooke. He asks if she's seen Peyton. Brooke replies, "Not since the two of you broke up and she went psycho on me in practice." Nathan's worried because she's not in school and won't answer any of her phones. Brooke: "Well, maybe she's out kicking the homeless." Again, what exactly does that mean? That Peyton's so mean she would be out kicking homeless people? That she's heartless, or that she's troubled like a street kid? Do they even have homeless in Tree Hill?
Anyway, Peyton's not out kicking the homeless at all. In fact, she's sitting in a cemetery trying to light a smoke, only her lighter doesn't work. Whitey comes up to her and says, "A lot of smokers in this place." Peyton replies, "I don't really smoke. I just figured since Nathan and I broke up I've got room for a new bad habit." Whitey laughs, asks if he can sit down, and then does. He doesn't look at Peyton directly, but out into the cemetery instead: "She was quite a gal, your mom. She used to lead cheers for my team too." Peyton looks like she's about to burst into tears. Now, not to defend Peyton or anything, because I know you guys all love to hate her, and don't get me wrong, so do I, but now that I know she's lost her mom, I can kind of understand her behaviour. I went through the same thing when I was her age and it's not something you ever get over; it's something you keep living through. I can see why she's so mixed up, and if her father is anything like mine was, he's probably not coping a heck of a lot better either. Anyway. Whitey continues, "You have her looks." Her voice cracks a little as she says, "I don't really remember her." Whitey says, "Oh, I do. She was a wily one. Your old man didn't stand a chance." Peyton asks, "So what are you doing here? Making a reservation?" He laughs. "You'd better watch it! No. My wife Camilla's buried out here, right over beyond those trees. I couldn't get a word in edgewise when she was alive so I come out here to tell her about things." Peyton asks him if he thinks she's listening. And Whitey does think so, wholeheartedly. Peyton smiles. He says, "I lost my wife just about the time your mother passed away." He takes a deep breath: "That always makes this week one a tough one." She cries, "They're all tough." And wipes a tear away from her cheek. I know your pain, Peyton, and I'm not even joking this time.
Haley congratulates Nathan on his practice exam. They're sitting in his kitchen. She says, "The good news is that you did better, but the bad news is that better is a D." Nathan tells her that he didn't give this one his best shot. She asks what's going on with him. Because Haley is perceptive. She's a smart, smart girl. He says, "Well, you know me and Peyton broke up." Haley: "Peyton and I." Nathan quips, "What, she broke up with you too?" Haley rolls her eyes. Nathan: "I didn't know she was going to take it this hard. She went off on Brooke in practice." Okay, does he really think this is what happened? Or is he playing Haley? Option one means he's totally self-involved and has no idea what his ex-girlfriend is going through. Option two means he's a manipulative bastard who'll use any situation to hurt his half-brother. I can't really tell which one it is. ["I'm going with 'c) both.' Shut up, L'il Zilla." -- Sars] Any. Way. He continues, "I'm kind of worried about her." Haley deadpans, "Well, maybe you should have worried about her more when you were together?" Aw, Nathan looks wounded. "I'm sorry, but come on, it's true." Nathan snits, "No. You don't know the first thing about Peyton and I." Haley rolls her eyes: "Me and Peyton." He whines, "Whatever." Haley takes a sip of her tea and doesn't say anything. Because she's a smart girl who knows when to shut up, and TPTB are trying to make us believe she loves him. It's not a love triangle on this damn show; it's a big old emotional square dance. Nathan loves Peyton, or at least he thinks he does. Peyton's all mixed up about everything. Luke also likes Peyton, but he loves Haley. Haley is starting to have feelings for Nathan. Sheesh. Grab your partner and step to the bloody left.
Peyton and her Angstmobile are parked at a green light again. Luke sees her from his mom's café and comes running outside. She stares right ahead as he stands beside the car and asks, "Why do you do this?" Vroom. Vroom. He hops in the car. She says, "If I were you I'd hop back out now." He refuses, not until she tells him what's going on. The light turns to yellow, and then red, so she takes off. Luke grabs the dashboard for leverage. He shouts, "Come on, Peyton, slow down, come on!" The car races through another red light. Peyton says, "She was driving to school to pick me up. She was late, so she ran a red light. It was one light at the wrong split second and it ended for her." Horns blaze behind them. She nails the gas again and drives through another intersection, barely avoiding oncoming traffic. The car screeches to a halt. She says, "My mom ran one red light. I run them all the time and nothing happens. It's not fair." Luke closes his eyes: "No, it's not." She tells him to get out. He says he can stay if she wants. But she doesn't want him to stay. So he does as he's told, like the good mama's boy he is, and Peyton races off to tempt death in some other way.
Dan shows up at Keith's shop again. He's oilier then what's left on the floor. Keith: "Twice in a week, that's got to be some kind of record." Dan replies, "Well, it's this father/son thing." Keith asks if he wants a beer. No, he doesn't. Do you know why? Because he's in training. Bwah! Keith has one anyway and says, "It's just a game, Dan." Dan replies, "No. It's a public event. I mean, what are people going to think, especially after that article." Keith: "Oh, yeah, about that -- what in the hell's wrong with you telling Lucas he never deserved the name Scott." Dan says coolly, "Well, he doesn't." Keith replies angrily, "The hell he doesn't. You fathered him, Dan." Dan says, "That's right. Which brings me to my original point. What do you think you're doing playing in the basketball game?" No, really -- what the hell is Dan's problem? Why does he care? Does the mere existence of Lucas bother him that much? He continues, "Whatever you think you are to Karen and her son, you're not a husband or a father." Keith steps forward and touches Dan's lapel. He's calm, cool, and collected. "How much does a suit like that cost?" Pause. "'Cause it's going to look like hell when I lay you out on that greasy floor." Hell, it'd be going home for Greaser McGreasy. Dan: "Come on, big brother." Keith: "That's right, 'big brother.' No matter what you did on a basketball court a lifetime ago, no matter what you're doing now, I'll always be your big brother." Dan smirks. Keith continues, "So, guess what, Danny-boy, it was my name first, it's Lucas's name now, there's nothing you can do about it." For heaven's sake. He's just a kid. A kid who wants to play basketball in a charity game with his uncle. All this because Dan doesn't want to be embarrassed in front of the town that obviously worships him? ["And can I ask why the town worships him? It can't have escaped everyone's notice that he's a jackhole." -- Sars] Dan retorts, "Okay, Keith." Now, there's a comeback -- sarcasm, wow, I'll bet Keith's never heard of that before. Dan suffers from The Big Man On Campus Syndrome; he's lost his game, and will do anything to get it back, including ruining the lives of both his kids. Keith: "You can be ashamed of me. You can be ashamed of Lucas." He shakes his shoulders and squints. "But what makes you think we're not just as ashamed of you. Now, get out of my shop." Exactly. I'll marry you, Keith, if Karen won't. I don't care how greasy the floor of your shop is -- you're a hundred times the man Dan will ever be.
Locker room. Full of sweaty boys. Full of half-naked, wet, sort of sweaty boys. And Peyton walks right through them all. She sort of notices Nathan and tosses him a half-hearted "hey." And she does look Lucas up and down, but who wouldn't. However, she's got one man on her mind, and that's Whitey. He's chewing on a cigar when she enters his office. There are good things about this show -- Whitey's one of them. He laughs and jokes, "You never know who you're going to see in the boys' locker room." Peyton says, "Or what you'll see." He laughs again. She asks if they can talk. Whitey's not one to turn down a poignant conversation with a teenager in need. That's against the Woda Code, so of course they can talk.
Nathan and Haley hit the books back at his house. Nathan stares off into space. Haley asks him if he's still in denial. She's wearing a tea cozy my grandmother would have put over her kettle. It's this strange-looking afghan shawl, something she would have found at a thrift store. Kudos to Haley for being one of those girls who shops at thrift stores, but wow, knitted daisies aren't really the cutting edge of fashion, especially when you wear a blue t-shirt underneath. Anyway. Nathan replies, "About what?" Actually, it also kind of looks like the skirts of those dolls my grandmother would knit to put over her extra rolls of toilet paper. You know, those things that hospital craft sales are always selling. She says, "About missing her. It's okay if you do." Oh, and didn't we just see Nathan in the gym? How'd he get here so fast? He asks, "What are you, my tutor or my shrink?" Haley says, "Whatever you need." The after-school confessional begins. This whole episode has been about emotional development -- Peyton's mom, Haley's honour, and Luke's relationship with his name. The same cannot be said for Dan; he's about as open to growing emotionally as he is to accepting Luke as his son. So, Nathan tells Haley how poorly he's treated Peyton. He says that it's all his fault, but that he wishes he had another chance. Again, I can't tell if he's genuine or if it's all a ploy to get Haley's sympathy. She says, "Nice work!" He whines, "That was the truth." Haley laughs, "No. On your practice exam, 81." She gets up to leave. Nathan says, "You know, it's funny. I think we've talked more than Peyton and I ever did." The afghan flows around her like a pool of water. Haley quips, "Peyton and I, good job." Then she pats Nathan on the shoulder and leaves the room, only he watches her from behind sort of like how Luke watches Peyton. He asks her if she's coming to the game. Haley says that it depends on how well he does on his exam. If he gets anything less than an A, she's staying home and watching The Office. See, that's another shout-out, because I work for BBC Canada too. I'm telling you, the WB and me have some sort of work-related symbiosis. Nathan says, "Haley. I know this hasn't been easy for you. I just wanted to say thanks." Haley wishes him good luck and then flies out of the room on the magic afghan that swirls around her neck.
Whitey and Peyton walk across a bridge. They're just talking, quietly and nicely. He starts off by saying something about how his wife wouldn't let him smoke cigars in the house. It's a sweet anecdote. Peyton asks him how long he's been coaching basketball. Woda replies, "Too long." She asks, "Do you ever wonder about it?" What? "Knowing you spent your whole life watching boys play a game." Woda chuckles. "I'd prefer to think that I was teaching them to play." They stand and look out across the water. How do they get rid of the bugs? How come no one's ever swatting any bugs on television unless it's for some running gag? Anyway. Peyton's got my sympathy, but man, could her delivery be any more forced? It's like every word has to be ripped from her lips because they've sewn her mouth shut or something. Whitey: "Sometimes I think about the conversations I missed with my wife. The holidays I missed because I was off coaching somewhere. That's the closest I get to thinking it was a mistake." At least Peyton can get up and put on her orange lipstick while she's in mourning. Man, that's an awful colour. She asks, "Do you miss her?" Whitey says, "Every day." Pause. "Peyton, it's hard to lose somebody. I spend a lot of time searching for reasons or answers. But you can't find what's not there." We should start keeping track of these Woda-isms, put them all in a book, and call it Life According to Woda: Lessons in Everyday Living. We'll market it to tortured teens and troubled parents. Then we'll donate all the proceeds to charity. She asks if he's going to light the cigar he's been carrying around all day. He says no, he hasn't smoked one since he lost Camilla. He changes the subject back again: "I don't suppose I've been much help to you, but I do know one thing. Your mother's proud of you." Her eyes well up with tears as Whitey walks away. Aw, shucks, so do mine -- damn you, Whitey. Damn you!
Haley's on the roof, putting her troubles away. Seems the afghan is good golfing gear. Luke comes up on the roof. She tells him that she really doesn't want it to be like "this" between them. She continues, "You know, when you wanted to join the team, I didn't really understand it, but I supported you." He nods and says that he knows. "So, support me. When I'm tutoring someone and they get it and that light [insert snapping fingers here] goes on, I feel good. I feel worthy. The same way you feel when you play basketball." Luke stays silent and lets her ramble on. "Besides, haven't things gotten better for you? Hasn't the team stopped? So, well, it's worth the risk for me. What's not worth the risk is us, we're friends and that's important to me." Blah just tutoring blah. "I am just tutoring him." Okay. He holds out his fist and she bonks it with her own. Well, that conversation solved all their troubles -- or not. Why is it okay for Luke to like Peyton, but not for Nathan to like Haley?
Luke and Keith play ball down at the Riverside Courts. You know, I'm glad that they got rid of Tweedledum and Stinky, but what really happened to them? Where did all his friends go? Are we ever going to see them again? Don't they all go to the same high school? How come people disappear into vapour on this show and no one notices? Anyway. Luke sinks a basket, and Keith looks like he's in pain. Well, he is wearing work boots and jeans. Oh my, and a totally '80s Rick Springfield headband. Oh, I can't look at it; it's even purple, and it makes his hair stick up -- he looks like a white man's Prince. It's not pretty. Talk about white men who can't jump, this is white men who can't jump or dress. Ouch. Who's dressing these characters this week? Keith hobbles over to the picnic table. He can't be that out of shape. Have you seen his arms? Keith asks, "So you, ah, decide on the name thing yet?" Luke's still standing: "I've downloaded all the forms." Then he sits. "Mom's still got to sign off on them." Keith says, "Mind if I tell you what I think?" Luke: "I think you just did." Keith: "I know I'm not your father, and I never try to tell you what to do, but I just wish you'd think about it." Luke nods and says he will. Then he tells Keith he doesn't have to play because he knows he put him in a strange position. Blah Nathan, blah Dan, blah his family too. Keith says, "As far as I'm concerned, you and your mom are my family as long as you'll have me." Luke laughs. "Dan and I, we've never seen eye-to-eye, even when we were kids, and Nathan's practically a stranger. Besides, I was honoured that you asked me to play." Blah bonding blah. Blah hugs blah. Luke says thanks. Keith smiles. Aw, normal relationships, see how they work? Yawn.
Deb brings a glass of lemonade to Nathan, who is working out in the backyard. She asks, "How's my boy?" Nathan snits, "Why? Dad ask you to spy on me?" She hands him the glass. He continues, "Poison my drink." He laughs. She laughs. Then he says, "You'd think he organized this entire game himself to get back on the court." Deb knows Dan's been tough on him. She calls her son "Nate." But she wants him to know that things are going to change. Nathan says, "I just wish he'd lay off, I want to do good for him, but he just gets so worked up about this stuff." Deb tells her boy not to play if he doesn't want to -- she believes Dan would get over it. Nathan hands the juice back and says, "You know that's a lie, Mom." Whoa. The ground feels like it's cracking under the weight of the gigantic parental pressure holding Nathan on earth -- it's not gravity, it's Dan's dreams that are keeping both of his feet firmly attached to the pavement. Yeah, and what's Deb truly going to do about it? Dan's not going to convert in a couple of episodes. That kind of psychotic behaviour takes years to undo. I guess TPTB are really thinking ahead; they expect the show to last for seasons and seasons and seasons.
Luke bounces his ball past Peyton, who's still sitting down by the bridge. He sees her, takes one of his earphones out, and says, "Hey. I've been thinking about you." She snits, "Try a cold shower." He sighs. She quips, "Teed yourself up for that one." They start to walk together. He asks how she's doing. Peyton says, "I broke up with my boyfriend. My mom's dead. And my dad's away on a job." Holy cow, it's like my life has come alive before my eyes. Throw in a sibling and that's pretty much how I grew up too. Minus the whiny artistic crap and the sawdust she needs for air, of course. Luke asks what her father does for a living. He's the captain of a drudging boat -- I don't know what that is exactly, but it has email, because he sent Peyton a note about the death of her mother. She says, "I read your article. Makes it seem like you guys are just one big happy family." He tells her that it's "moronic," then he offers to erase Dan to bring back her mom. He wishes he could change it for her. And considering how he feels about Dan, that's not really a heck of a sacrifice. Tossing someone you hate into the fire, making your life a heck of a lot better because the bane of your existence isn't around, and bringing the mom of the girl you like back to life? Seems it's all working in your favour, Luke. Regardless, Peyton's touched; she doesn't want him to talk any more and "ruin" the moment, so she walks away. Blah love triangle blah.
Dan's sitting in the room where he usually watches the game tapes. Deb comes in and asks him if he's excited about the game tomorrow. Apparently, it's like Christmas Eve to him. She steps into the room: "And have you been naughty or nice?" Dan grabs her and says the word "naughty." I avert my eyes. Ew. He grabs her and pulls her to his lap. Ew. They kiss. Ew. She says, "Honey, I know this is important to you." Blah Nathan's talented, blah he pushes him too far, blah reasonable conversation blah. She's worried that Nathan might not be enjoying playing basketball anymore. Dan insists he does enjoy it -- his rationale? If he doesn't, he'll "regret" it when it's gone. Does Dan? Yes, every day. Apparently, there's nothing like it: "Walking into the arena, hearing the cheers of the sellout crowds, knowing it's your night." Blah sports blah. He wishes she could have seen him in high school. Blah he regrets his life, blah better days blah. The game the game the game. He smiles: "And I was good." She touches his face. Her hand doesn't burn. That shocks me. He continues, "It was the best it ever was for me." Deb's one heck of an understanding woman: "Better than your life now? Better than knowing your son or me?" He doesn't say anything for a moment. Then he replies, "It was different."
Peyton's painting when Nathan comes into her room. He asks, "What do you call that?" She snaps, "Love." Here's the kicker -- it's a canvas completely covered in black paint. Oh. So. Symbolic. You know, it's one thing to make Peyton an artist, but to make her a completely predictable and mediocre one is another thing entirely. Anyway. Nathan steps into the room after she asks him what he wants. He replies, "It's what I don't want. I don't want this for us." She says, "Maybe you should have thought about that sooner." He knows. He too has been thinking about the past. He reminisces. He wants to get back to the good old days. He begs. Peyton tells him that she's had a lot going on lately. So she hasn't really been thinking about him too much. Nathan doesn't ask; instead he says, "Me too. My dad's been going crazy about this father/son game, and my mom, ever since she got back she's been wanting to hang out." Peyton gets all pissy: "I really can't hear this right now." He nods and then asks her to come to the game so they can hang out afterwards. Peyton turns back to her completely black canvas. Pours more of her angst into her "art." Nathan steps forward and tells her that he misses her. Then he leaves. She concentrates on filling every inch of the canvas with the black, black essence of her tortured soul. Yawn.
The boys all arrive for the game. Tim walks with Nathan until he sees Luke, and then Haley. Nathan tells Tim that he'll "catch up with him later." Then he turns to Haley and asks if she's got a second. He shows her his exam. He got an 84. She's very excited for him. She gives him a big hug. Nathan stares at Luke the whole time he's holding Haley. See, it's this stuff that confuses me -- is he a nice guy, or does he just want to hurt his brother?
The fathers are in the change room. Someone named Bruce asks if "Dan-the-Man" will carry the team tonight. Of course, he's been training. Ooh, training. Keith walks into the room. Dan jokes, "I'll carry the team and Keith can carry my jock." And that's funny how? Doesn't matter, all the men laugh. They're wearing jerseys that say "Fathers." Bruce says, "Hey, Keith, good to see you. I didn't know you had a boy who played." Keith says cuttingly, "Actually, I'm just a stand-in, one of the boys doesn't have a father." Have truer words ever been spoken?
Out in the gym, the boys warm up. Haley tries to get Luke's attention from the bleachers. He tries to ignore her until she yells, "Hey! Scott!" Of course, both he and Nathan turn around. Luke gives her the evil eye. Haley doesn't know what she's done. Okay. The game is about to begin. There's an announcer announcing the charity game. Wouldn't paying him cut into the profits? Perhaps he's donated his time. When the announcer tells the crowd to put their hands together for the all-time scoring champ and member of the state championship team, Dadzilla, the crowd explodes. Whitey looks disgusted. Exactly. Nathan and Dan do the tip-off. Dan starts trash-talking Nathan: "Looks like your old man got a lot more applause than you did." Nathan gives as good as he gets: "Are you sure your hearing aid's not turned up too loud?" They laugh. That moment almost approached normal. Team Father wins the ball. Dan scores. They're off.
And so is Peyton. She's roaring through the streets of Tree Hill to a rocking version of the theme song. Blah red lights. Blah bleating horns. Blah.
Back at the game. The boys do their best impression of the Harlem Globetrotters as the dads can barely keep up. The sons are up by thirty points. Dan's starting to get pissed off. Whitey laughs.
In the half-time locker room, Dan does up his shoe and says, "You guys suck out there, it's embarrassing." Keith fiddles with his knee support and replies, "For you maybe." Exactly. Seems like they're all having a good time -- all the men are laughing and joking except for Dan. Because. He. Takes. Himself. Seriously. Dan says snidely, "Come on. You play house with a girl I got pregnant in high school and I'm supposed to be embarrassed." Um, and playing house with the girl you got pregnant months later is any less embarrassing? Keith says, "It's embarrassing because we're old men playing horribly, and that's the way it's supposed to be." Keith's gone to Woda's School of Logic, thank goodness. Dan says, "Not for me." Then he gets up and heads into the boys' locker room. Someone jokes about the "enemy" approaching. He confronts Nathan and says, "You going to bring your best game or what?" Talk about embarrassing. Nathan replies, "You're down by thirty points, Dad." Dan: "I'm talking about you. You bring your best game. I'll bring mine. And we'll see." Nathan: "We'll see what?" Dan: "We'll see who's the best, or maybe you'd rather not know." Nathan's face falls. What's wrong with Dan? He's pathologically competitive with his own son? Keith comes in and says, "Hey! Come on, relax, little brother." Dan snits, "This isn't your place, Keith." But Keith's not backing down: "It isn't your place either." He looks around the room and continues, "It's their game now, you should be proud they're so good." Dan scoffs, "Like you had anything to do with it." Keith tells him to go away. Dan says, "Let's see what you've got," to Nathan as he slinks away on sweat and broken dreams. Keith jokes, "If any of you bring your best game, I'm going to hurt you." The boys laugh. He pats Nathan on the shoulder and tells him that he's doing fine. Luke smiles. He definitely isn't missing out on anything with by not having Dan as a father. Poor Nathan. No wonder he's so mixed up about everything.
Blah green light. Blah waiting. Blah waiting. Blah waiting. Red light means go. Of course Peyton just narrowly misses killing herself. She breaks down and starts to bawl. In the middle of the intersection, in the middle of traffic, in the middle of the night. Poor girl, I can understand how the sadness just hits you so hard that you don't even know if you can breathe. But it might be safer to test the limits of your own life from the safety of your bedroom with the same song on repeat and a pillow to hang onto -- at least, that worked for me.
Haley catches up to Luke just as half-time finishes and he's about to head back onto the court. She wants to know what she did wrong. He doesn't want to talk about it right now. She begs, "Can you just tell me what I did, please." Luke says, "I saw you with him." She tells him that Nathan got a good grade on a math quiz, that it meant nothing. Luke doesn't believe her. She tries to assure him that nothing is going on between her and Nathan. Luke half-smiles; then he looks knowingly down at her wrist, and smirks. He says condescendingly, "Nice bracelet." Then he runs off to join the game. Now it's Haley's turn to feel defeated and dejected.
The scores are stripped off the board. Apparently, the basket wins.
Nathan tells the Ravens he wants the ball. "Ravens on three!" The whistle blows. Nathan tells Dan the game's over. Tim's got the ball and passes it to Nathan. As he heads for the basket, Dan slams into him harder than the car would have slammed into Peyton if it had actually hit her Angstmobile. Nathan crashes to the floor. Deb stands up. She's wearing a Booster button. Whitey looks really mad. Nathan languishes on the floor. Dan asks, "Are you okay? I couldn't give you the winning bucket, Nathan." Dan looks over at Deb. Um, and he's worried about Luke and Keith embarrassing him. Surprise, surprise, Dan's a sore loser. In a shocking twist of brotherly concern, Luke helps Nathan up. He says, "Do you want to get him?" Nathan replies, "Yeah, but I want to do it myself." Luke has the ball. Keith guards him. Luke hands the ball to Nathan, who promptly dribbles it off the end of his foot, by accident. The ball is out of bounds, so when it comes back into play, it's Team Father's. Bruce passes to Dan. Nathan guards him now. Dan snits, "Sloppy turnover, Nathan, that's not like you." Nathan insists, "That's because it's on purpose. Because you don't deserve my best game. You want to win so bad, go on, I'll give it to you." And just like that, Nathan walks away. And Dan, being the mature man he is, can't resist dunking the basket. Nathan grabs the ball as it passes through the net. Karen looks disgusted. Keith looks disgusted. Nathan says, "You didn't beat me, Dad, you never will." He holds the ball out to Dan's chest and lets it fall to the ground. Looks like Nathan's the one who finally took the high road. Dan just looks after his son.
Luke catches up with Keith in the locker room. They joke about the game. Luke gives him all kinds of props. He's proud to have Keith as his "dad" for the night. And you know what, he's going to keep the Scott name. Then he says, "I just hope I can wear it as well as you." Aw, they hug.
Nathan sees Peyton outside. He calls out to her, "I'm glad you came. I knew you would." She turns around. He continues, "I want you to know that things are going to be different for us." Her eyes aren't puffy at all. I wish I could cry and then take a couple days to calm down before shooting the scene that's supposed to come directly afterwards. Oh, and her makeup is perfect too. Whatever. She says, "Did you know that my mom died tonight? Seven years ago." He doesn't say anything. "You didn't know because you never ask." Then she tells him that she didn't come there for him tonight, just as Luke walks outside and looks mournfully at her. Peyton looks at him, then looks back at Nathan before walking toward Luke. Oh, Nathan looks so sad, so very sad.
Inside the locker room, Dan contemplates his failure on the court, his failure as a father, his failure as a man.
Peyton walks right past Luke too. She's choosing herself.
Luke recites from John Steinbeck. Blah dying, blah choosing to live blah. Peyton sits by a red light. Waits for it to turn green, and drives through.
week, Deb tells Dan she doesn't even know him anymore. Brooke's knee gets hurt, so she asks the doctor for meds. Nathan and Luke are caught in some strange half-naked boxing match. And Peyton, Brooke, and Haley have a girls' night out.