One Tree Hill Goes Noir -- And It's Amazing!
Lucas falls asleep after a quick check-in conversation with Peyton, and since he's watching Casablanca, he drifts off to a '40's-style version of Karen's Cafe, complete with Nathan the bartender, Haley the singer, Mouth the gossip columnist, Skills the piano player, Peyton the tragic heroine, and Brooke the damsel in distress. And then there's Dan, who's the embodiment of evil, complete with a mustache!
We find out that Haley used to work for Dan's bar down the street, but she's much happier working at Karen's (which Lucas now owns). In the dressing room, Dan threatens Haley and tells her to come back and work for him... and then he kisses her while she's yelling at him! She slaps him. Of course, he enjoys it.
Haley's on stage! Dan, his sidekick thug Julian (!), and Peyton grab a table at the bar, and Dan threatens Brooke -- he's on a roll. She needs to pay him back. Brooke asks for more time. Lucas swings by to kick Dan out. Before the situation gets too heated, Cop Owen shows up and makes the trio leave. Once again, Peyton gives Lucas flirty eyes.
Meanwhile, Nathan's lusting after Haley, but he thinks a big deal singer like her wouldn't want anything to do with him. After she performs the fun ditty "Karen's Cafe," she and Nathan flirt at the bar and he works up the nerve to ask her to "step out" with him tonight. Just as things are heating up between them, Lucas interrupts with a letter -- Nathan's being called to serve in the war, and he only has 24 hours left in Tree Hill City! Determined to make the most of his final hours in town, Nathan takes Haley onto the dance floor.
Outside the bar, Brooke runs into Dan and his posse again, and this time Dan's not budging. He gives her until the next evening to get him his money -- or else.
Mouth the gossip columnist is a total drunk, and a hilarious one at that! He stumbles out of the bar, bragging to Lucas about how he's going to be big one day... and collapses onto a garbage heap.
Dan takes Peyton home, and we find out that he used to date her mom, and after her mom passed away, he promised he'd always watch over Peyton. He calls her out on the flirting with Lucas, and she denies it, which means (you guessed it) he threatens her and grabs her arm. She'd better not go near Lucas Scott! Peyton agrees and goes home...
...but later, she sneaks out and visits Lucas at Karen's Cafe, asking him to walk her home. Lucas is skeptical; he's attracted to her, but she associates with Dan Scott! She explains their relationship, and Lucas opens up a bit. Still, Peyton just wants to be free, to be loved. When they arrive at Peyton's place, they kiss. Brooke observes the whole thing from nearby.
The next morning, Nathan and Haley have been up all night talking on a park bench over a box of Cracker Jack. Haley has a crazy idea. They get married! The couple gets all smoochy, talking about their future and a possible kid (he'd be named Jamie, of course).
Brooke goes to Dan, who's evilly slurping spaghetti, and tells him she has some information for him. She'll tell him if he forgives her debt. Dan's not so into it, but finally he relents and Brooke spills that she saw Peyton kissing Lucas Scott. Dan's furious and calls her a liar, but we can tell he knows it's true. Finally, he tells Brooke that her debt's not quite repaid yet. She has to do one more thing for him...
While Peyton visits Lucas again at the bar and Nathan and Haley spend more quality time together, Dan goes around town threatening others. He sends Julian to smash Skills's hand so he can't play piano at Karen's anymore. He beats up poor Cop Owen for breaking up the fight at Karen's. Finally, he captures Mouth, the gossip columnist who knows too much. Mouth knows that Dan killed Keith, and Dan won't have that... so Mouth gets the cement shoe treatment! As he dangles the guy from over a bridge, Dan urges him to beg for his life, but Mouth refuses and gets bold -- he spits in Dan's face! That's the last straw. Dan drops Mouth in the lake, and that's the last we see of Mouth this week, except for his hat floating on the surface.
Nathan is heading off to war, but he promises Haley he'll be back. They have a future together... always and forever. The newlyweds share a passionate kiss before Nathan boards the plane.
When Lucas finds out that Skills has been hurt and Mouth's swimming with the fishes, he wastes no time loading his gun and heading out to face Dan. He and Peyton are surrounded instantly. Lucas shoots Julian, but then Dan emerges from another car... with Brooke! Dan shocks them all by handing the gun to Brooke and telling her to finish Lucas off. So THAT'S how she's supposed to repay her debt! But Brooke turns on Dan instead -- only to find that the gun's empty. Dan produces another gun -- he came prepared! -- and he's about to do the deed when Skills shows up and lunges at him. Peyton is shot in the crossfire, and she dies in Lucas's arms. "You're free now, Peyton," he tells her....
...and then his cell phone rings. Confused, Lucas reaches for it, and now he's awake in the present. It's Peyton. They banter for a moment and he tells her never to leave him. She agrees, hangs up -- and collapses on the floor in a sudden burst of pain!
Comments
with the thing with peyton at the very end, i am pretty sure its one of two things: shes pregnant (its a possibility), or, she has cancer. B/c ellie had cancer so it could happen
Posted by: rebecca | November 19, 2008 6:04 PM
I have to agree with another poster that Bethany, Lee and Paul absolutely stole the show. The episode was amazing because of their phenomenal acting. Congratulations to Chad on penning this 40's-style episode.
As far as the others, yes, the acting may have been cheesy or overdone, but you have to remember that the episode was set in a different time period. Many films and storylines from that era were over-acted (or under-acted for that matter).
Finally, isn't it just possible to watch a television show based on overall dynamics? Like many other long-time fans, there are moments that I enjoy as well as others that make me wonder why certain things were said or done.
To those who keep claiming they are forever done with the show because of a past romantic relationship continue to prove that they truly do care for OTH. After all, their comments continue to surface each week. ;-)
Posted by: A Twenty-Something Fan | November 19, 2008 4:42 PM
I am BOTH a Brucas and Leyton fan - yes, it's possible. But what I can't understand is why so many Brucas fans are so rabid and whinny, barring on annoying.
I love Brucas, they had some great, beautiful moments together as they also had some faults, just like Leyton's relationship.
What is hard for me to comprehend is why some fans just can't let go: they keep bringing stuff up that happened AGES ago. If Mark says Brucas isn't going to happen, then accept it and deal with it - it's what I've done.
And as long as Brooke, Peyton and Lucas are happy, so am I. Because I adore those characters, together and separately, and only wish for their dreams to come true and for them to stay friends on top of everything else.
And it's so tiresome the way some Brucas fans act: always whinnying and picking on few things. So what Lucas called Peyton "pretty girl"? He has also written a letter to Brooke with the same signature he wrote to Peyton: "You're mine forever". Does anyone remember that? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I'm not saying one ship is better then the other: I love them both equally. Which is why it annoys me when Leyton fans justify that they should be together because they were "meant to be". Or that Brucas should be together because Lucas gave better speeches reassuring Brooke of his love. For me, as long as the characters are happy together, this is the ship I'm rooting for, and I don't care even if it is Brooke/Dan (which now that I think about it has an ick factor as high as Deb/Skills). Can me idealistic, whatever.
I just watch and enjoy the show because I care about the stories of those characters. And if it bugs you so much, just stop watching, for god's sake!
I LOVED the episode - thought it was romantic, different and enjoyable.
Great job, Chad Michael Murray, and especially Bethany Joy Lenz - you were awesome as always.
;)
Posted by: L0u | November 19, 2008 3:32 PM
The visuals were amazing. They put a lot of effort into the scenes and the costumes which was nice to watch. Brooke looked amazing. Joy and Dan rocked!
...and that's all for the good stuff... I was blinded by the glitz at first, then I started paying attention... the story was pretty bad, it had bits and pieces of what's happened so far but also lots of errors. Naley was cute and actually worked. They happened quickly but had a back story and chemistry and so they were believable. LP, were they already in love or something cuz I didn't see it happening here, or maybe that's just how it worked in the 40s- they're both blonde and pretty, go for a walk and bam, they're in love...? Pretty girl line was kinda bizarre since that's Brooke... but man, Dan being evil was amazing!!! Him and Haley saved the show.
The dialogue was horrible. I mean, watch it again, they randomly slip into modern colloquial lingo from time to time, especially Lucas. And what was up with the accents? Didn't someone edit this episode? What was Mark doing?
The set and costume designers did an amazing job, and nothing against Chad, but the writing was pretty bad so he should be thankful to the designers that provided a distraction for the audience.
Posted by: KM | November 19, 2008 3:31 PM
I am really amused/confused by the many comments by the "Brucas" fans. Last time I checked, One Tree Hill was a TV SHOW...it is a heightened reality, generously, and fiction, less generously. No one cares if you, heaven forbid, stop watching the show. It is still going to be on every Monday and it is still going to have fans. The fact that people have taken such ridiculous stances against everything and everyone in the show, because the characters they wanted together, are not together, is unbelievable. It is supposed to be enjoyable, a break from the daily grind, if you will, not a source of uncontrollable anger and side-taking. If you don't want to watch the show, then don't watch it, but if it is because of Brooke and Lucas, you probably could have stopped watching a long time ago. It seems like a very immature and ridiculous reaction to the amazingly creative work of people you don't know, who are writing for their own story and where it is taking them, not for you, some bitter, disappointed fans exploiting every action as anti-"Brucas" and wanting to have complete control over other peoples' creative license.
Posted by: TJ Eckelburg | November 19, 2008 1:02 PM
joy was absolutely stunning! she stole the spotlight from sophia and hil in terms of acting!i think she did her research and nailed the 40's! i really hope joy will make it big on the silver screen, she is just so beautiful and muti-talented!its about time mark gave haley a solid storyline instaed of using her as a prop in everyone else's, and she desreves more screen time than some of the other actresses
Posted by: natalie | November 19, 2008 10:38 AM
joy was absolutely awesome, she was the highlight of the episode...the others not so much. i also thought that sophia didnt really fit into the era, there was something odd about her performance and hils acting was really cheesy.
Posted by: chris | November 19, 2008 10:29 AM
Found this article on a forum, and I just needed to post it here
Written by Dawn (livelovelaugh):
ok first of all haters shut up this is my opinion so i cant be doing with people debating with me or whatever if you dont agree with what i say thats fine =) jus keep it to yourself
ok so it starts and i hear the line " Hey pretty girl so me natrually being a brucas fan thought awwww hes talking to brooke but wtf he was talking to peyton. That first line alone showed so much disrespect to the brooke and lucas fans and i think after that line the show will loose a hell of a lot of viewers. The LP/BL fanbase is pretty much 50/50 he is gonna loose viewers no matter what but to disrespect the fans like that is just plain rude.
The first Brucas scene. I admitt it was cute it showed the old brooke her fashion her expensive taste and classic brucas chemistry/flirting and brucas fan or not you could see it.
Haley and Dan ........... well what is there to say the only two people who actually remembered to act. i really enjoyed haleys singing and how they portrayed her sexiness. haley i always think has been overlooked as a character people dont really care about her and again in this episode haley and naley were both overlooked by leyton. what else is new?
Leyton started off well good chemistry with the eye glances etc but then went downhill whats with them making peyton dumb all of a sudden. " do you think im pretty? " not only was that a joke to peytons character but to the leyton relationship peyton is not dumb even in that episode she new fine well she was gourgous.
Brooke well just why? why turn her into the bitch of tellin on LP when she has always supported them. even after all the pain they caused her she is still hbappy with them. AU or not why change the characters interpritations?
This was just an episode of leyton i think they are trying to convince the audience that leyton are epic. Yes leyton was epic in that episode there storey was great if that was a film and nothing to do with oth of course i would ship them they were sweet and adorable. but that was let down with the bad quality of the acting. it was a joke and yes ive said that a lot about this episode. but chad looked aso he was falling asleep everytime he spoke. and hilarie was it jus me or did she totally change her accent in that episode? and when she died oh please i hope peyton never dies just so i dont have to see hilarie doing a death scene. Hilarie isnt that great of an actress at the best of times but she can act but that was just a let down. and then to top it all off naley had a foot pop kiss what the hell was that? i jus dont get what was running through there heads when they made this episode for chads first attempt it was good but god i never want to see this episode again. but i did like how peyton fell to the floor at the end i think it is a good way to bring the pregnancy in to the show (sorry if you didnt know about that)
i am one of the only brucas fans who still enjoys oth even with leyton together but i HATED this episode with a passion.
so anyway that was my rant on that episode i have so much more to say but i might get offensive lol
Posted by: Janni | November 19, 2008 6:10 AM
Joy stole the show! She took the stage and OWN it. No one came close. If it wasn't for her, this whole episode wouldn't survive.
Kudos to Joy. She really knows her craft, so talented, so gorgeous, absolutely phenomenal. She needs to move on to bigger and better things!!!!!!
Posted by: Jessica | November 19, 2008 1:05 AM
I am a BRUCAS fan and I am hopeful from this episode because it was Chad who had written this story and it seems that he wants that Brooke would flirt with Lucas again, and he killed Peyton in the end, which means that there would be no other woman left for him but Brooke.
So, as I say it that the episode for me means, the Beginning of an end of Leyton, and a new beginning for BRUCAS.
Posted by: Babsy | November 19, 2008 12:09 AM
Joy was the episode for me.
Her singing, her acting and her beautiful smile and tears--just the range there is so great. No one else embodies that versatility. Joy definitely needs to move to the big screen with her talent. There's so much untapped potential.
Chad owes any success his show may have to Paul and Joy.
Posted by: amsfan | November 18, 2008 10:27 PM
Joy made the episode for me!
She was amazing! and her songs..beautiful!
Finally an episode she was able to shine!
Posted by: Li | November 18, 2008 8:02 PM
As soon as I heard Lucas call Peyton by Brooke's nickname "Pretty Girl," I was sick to my stomach! BAM! Another desecration of Brucas, now handed to us by Lucas instead of Brooke. Thank you Mark and Chad. So much for our loyalty.
If it hadn't have been for all the "Brooke we were great back then, but now we're over" and Brooke throwing herself at Lucas many times with him constantly rejecting her (and of course, the first 30 seconds), I would have enjoyed the episode.
Funny. In Lucas' mind, Brooke broke his heart when she left him. Little does he know she left him because she loved him too much to keep his heart torn, so she let herself out for good.
Bethany Joy rocked it last night! So did Lee and Paul. Everyone else was eh.
Posted by: Soccer7SG | November 18, 2008 7:51 PM
Am I pretty? I want freedom Luke! I want LOOOVVEEEE...BARF... Too freakin' cheesy and WTF with the accent and the twirling???
Thank you Chad, thanks for helping me stop watching this show. So long su<ker!!!
Posted by: Amy | November 18, 2008 6:51 PM
Pretty girl?!?!?!
From Lucas to Peyton?!?!?!
I'm beyond dissapointed Chad would write that, and Mark would let them keep it in. Fine, the Brucas storyline is obviously over, Mark has made that clear, but Lucas calling Peyton pretty girl???
Total disrespect and I'm done watching. I could handle Leyton fluff. I can't handle this. Soon Lucas will be saying "I'm the boy for you, Peyton Sawyer" and Peyon will have written Lucas 82 letters.
Grrr.
And the randomly thrown in, "we were good" line? puh-lease. That was so annoying, like saying that could erase the pretty girl line.
I'm totally done watching, and I think all true BL fans are to.
Posted by: Cristina | November 18, 2008 6:28 PM
i cant stop thinking about this ep! it was AMAZING!! holy crap it was perfect it was soooooo good!! ahhh!!!
Posted by: shailee | November 18, 2008 4:43 PM
It was a very good episode!
they should have given julian a cigar instead of a tooth pick, it just made him look silly because he is suppose to be this tough guy but the whole time he had a smirk on his face.
Posted by: tanje | November 18, 2008 4:15 PM
It was a very good episode!
they should have given julian a cigar instead of a tooth pick, it just made him look silly because he is suppose to be this tough guy but the whole time he had a smirk on his face.
Posted by: tanje | November 18, 2008 4:13 PM
Joy/Haley owned the episode. She was fantastic.
Great effort Chad!
Memo to Mark: Please give Haley a storyline!
Posted by: Sara | November 18, 2008 4:08 PM
This episode was cheesy and didn't flow at all.
Biggest let down of the year: Chad writing the line "pretty girl" for Peyton. It's a HUGE BL line and I'm sure both Mark and Chad knows that. Yes, another slap to the loyal Brucas fans who continue to watch this show but gets nothing in return. Sad, sad!
Posted by: KJ | November 18, 2008 3:57 PM
They just decided to forget s1-3 and start writing an episode. And I hvae never felt so disrespected before! Like being stomped on!! They just dropped BL, nothing!! And we BL fans have waited for a long periode for something , just a good friendship scene but so far anything. And this episode just made everything worse. This was the finaly cut, Mark say bye bye to all the BL fans who watch the show!
And what the hell is Chad doing writing Lcuas to say "Pretty Girl" to Peyton!? Everyone one know that that is what Lucas called Brooke, not once not twice but many times.
And it pisses me off that episode story is based on the first three season, while we don't get anything on BL, besides Lucas saying to Brooke that they were good! Serioulsy they were freaking awesome! And the Leyton storyline BUGGED me!!!! Og my god!! They take a walk home and suddenly they are all in lvoe and are going to elope!? WTF!! Naley this episode iget. They had moments they had their eyes on each other for a long time. But Leyton, WTF!! Suddenly Peyton is all needdy (Thanks Chad for pointing that out) and all over Lucas, and he is like a morron,,, hum hum hum; You are pretty Peyton!!! Grrr!
the only thing i liked was Naley, they were awesome ans ao adorable but the rest was CRAP!!!
CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!!:@ :@ F***
Posted by: Janni/BrucasLover | November 18, 2008 3:28 PM
All I can say is what a HUGE let down.
What the hell was going through CMM's head when he was writing this episode. The first 3 second ruined the whole show for me.
Pretty girl and Peyton??
excuse me what??
Did Chad forget that HE said that to BROOKE?!!???
didnt Mark check it over or something. Did they not think about BLers??
How insulting!
I'm done with this show...there has been too much disrespect for BL and BLers.
Mark tries soo hard to make LP look epic, but I dont know why he has to bring down BL to do that. Why does he have to belittle BL like that? We havent gotten BL for soo long and we only have a few things we hold onto and now they ruined that too...as if it wasnt enought that they have completely disregarded BL since s4.
I'm so dissapointed in OTH and I truly can not believe it used to be my favorite at one point. Well I guess Mark finally achieved what he wanted all along...half of his fanbase to stop watching.
and oh LOL at the ratings!
Great job Chad! and watch them drop even lower!
Posted by: BLisLOVEkids! | November 18, 2008 2:29 PM
I loved the episode. It was awesome! It's my fav episode of the season so far.
Posted by: Maddie | November 18, 2008 2:21 PM
I hated this episode. Everyone had fake accents to try and sound "vintage" and the storyline was silly. Dan kissing his daughter-in-law? Mouth "dying" must have made Sarah happy, though!
Posted by: celeste | November 18, 2008 1:12 PM
CMM did a really good job writing this .. and the visuals were really popping.
Posted by: Charstin | November 18, 2008 1:02 PM
This was by far my favorite episode of the season. There is not one bad thing I can say about it. Chad did an AMAZING job in his writing, and the cast was fantastic.
LOVED IT!
Posted by: Stephanie R | November 18, 2008 12:54 PM
I loves this epi mainly because I am a HUGE fan of the 1940's lifestyle, music, clothes, everything! I would have liked to see more chemistry between Lucas and the girls (Brooke and Peyton). His acting just didn't do it for me, and the girls definitely upstaged the boys in this one. You could tell that they ladies really got into it. Haley was the best and my favorite, her voice, amazing! She sounded a little like Karen Carpenter in some parts of the beginning...really interesting. Bethany, GREAT JOB IN ALL, wonderful voice, great acting, you looked beautiful, and falling in love in one night with a handsome bartender like Nathan...10 out of 10!
I was a little disappointed in Brooke's role, I wanted her to be smart and sophisticated and strong, not the damsel in distress role, they have done that with her "real" character on OTH enough, would have been nice to see something new.
Mouth, he was great! Can't believe he was murdered...I loved Skills as the piano man...evil Dan is always good and Julian made a good edition to the group, even though I am not entirely convinced that Julian is evil...
Julian seemed like he loved Peyton, it was her fault she couldn't get over Lucas. Let’s face it a girl can not expect a guy to stay with her when her heart is clearly with someone else. He made a great business decision in wanting to turn Luke's book into a movie, you can't blame him, I mean it is his job...and it's not like Peyton has not danced this dance before...do we remember Jake...I loved Jake, they were perfect for one another, but Peyton did to him the same thing she did to Julian, promised them her heart, when she never really had it to give it away in the first place, leaving them, the broken hearted ones...
I know, sorry to Leyton Fans, I just don't like Peyton all that much with Luke. And even in this episode Peyton/Lucas, I just didn't really feel the love...that part of the story did not WOW me…but all in all, I thought that Chad did a good thing…even if in some parts I thought the writing could have been a little better…
Thanks OTH for giving us a taste of something fresh…although I want to know…WHAT HAPPENED TO NALEY IN THE 1940’s…
Posted by: Anonymous | November 18, 2008 12:52 PM
I just have to say one thing.... There is only ONE "pretty girl" in Lucas' life and it is definitely NOT Peyton!!!!
Posted by: BLer | November 18, 2008 11:54 AM
WOW I'm actually quite surprised that you girls really liked this episode. I was afraid to come on here and see you rip it to shreds worse than I did. With that said I HATED the episode. Ok no I didn't hate it, I just thought it sucked. It was a waste of an episode, totally pointless, cheesy (which with OTH I can take the cheese but this was just WAY too much of it), just all around the episode sucked. I sat there thinking "when the heck is this going to end?" I almost found myself turning it off to watch John and Kate Plus 8, but I've never missed an epi of OTH.
I'm probably being really harsh and you are all probably thinking I'm a big CMM hater, actually its quite the opposite, I LOVE Chad. I've met him a few times and I really love him and think he is a great guy and I was really really excited for this episode and it was so disappointing, maybe I was expecting too much? I was expecting an AU episode, but what I got was the same exact storylines, just set in a different time period. Dan was evil, NH were head over heels in love, LP was "TLA" (I say that sarcastically), Mouth was a reporter, Brooke was a struggling fashion designer... blah blah blah, same old story. I was looking for something totally different, I was looking for AU. We could have gotten all the story lines with a regular episode. I think it was a waste of an episode, I actually feel cheated and wanted another one to come on after it because I don't feel like I got an episode this week.
Ok I have to say that I think Joy was absolutely amazing that was the only one who was able to pull off the "old time movie accent." And her voice, as always, was amazing. The only part I found myself enjoying was NH, but even sometimes they were over the top, and not in an enjoyable way. When it ended I found myself staring at the TV screen in utter confusion and wondering if I had just sat there for an hour watching it, and then wondering if there was any way possible to un-watch something and get the hour of my life back. I'm probably being a little too harsh, but I just can't help it, I thought the episode was boring and a waste. (I guess it also doesn't help that Casablanca is one of my all time most hated movies, and I'm an old time movie kind of gal, but I can't stand Casablanca, so maybe that has something to do with it...)
Also I just want to say that I love this show, with all my heart and soul. I'm not one of those annoying people who watch the show just to criticize it, or say they can't stand it but still watch for God only knows what reasons. This show is one of my all time favorites, its means the world to me, so for me to say I hated an episode is a big thing. The only other time that has ever happened was 410. So this is a big thing for me. I actually love this season as a whole, I think it is one set to be the second best season for the series, next to season 3, so I'm just going to put this episode behind me and look forward to next week.
But I do have to applaud Chad for trying, and I hope his directorial debut is a hell of a lot better. I also hope that maybe sometime in the future he is able to write a regular episode for the show. But I will give him an A for effort.
Can't wait for James Van Der Beek next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Brittney | November 18, 2008 11:48 AM
Ok wow, i thought this episode was great, Dan was back at his best, but i have to say the biggest shocker was the last few moments with Peyton, what's going on? What do you think? I'm really intrigued and can't wait till next week
Posted by: Charlie | November 18, 2008 11:42 AM
I really enjoyed the episode. A lot. But I do agree that the end was the biggest part. Pregnant? Cancer of some sort? I had heard we hadn't seen the last of Lindsay. Will she come back pregnant like I think she will at the same time Peyton is pregnant. He is, after all, Dan Scott's son.
Posted by: Blake | November 18, 2008 9:27 AM