90210: “There’s No Place Like Homecoming”

Season 1, Episode 8

Ethan and Annie are tired of keeping their relationship-thing a secret. Ethan invites Annie to homecoming (or would like to) but feels it is too soon to go to homecoming with a date after his final break up with Naomi, so the two concoct a “secret surprise” meetup at the dance and a promise to dance together. Annie instead drives everyone crazy about it because she only obsessed with him asking her.

Adrianna’s fate is shown, she did not die from the overdose. Naomi finds out about this, and Adrianna is sent to court-ordered rehab (the new black in Los Angeles it seems). Naomi gets a punishment of after school detention for the rest of the semester for her part of taking the drugs and flushing them. When in detention she meets a mysterious guy who “annoys” her but ends up talking to him and showing him that she too, can speak fluent Spanish. The guy ends up popping up a few times throughout the school. She is not speaking to Adrianna, who gets a visit from Navid, who wants a story about her from inside rehab. Adrianna cannot be bothered but uses his phone to text Naomi which she deletes. Adrianna wants Navid to come again to visit, when he does she begs him to bring Naomi so she can apologize. She also finds out Navid’s father is paying for her stay in rehab, because he likes her.

On the lookout for a new friend, Naomi finally gets together with Annie. Naomi invites her over to get ready before homecoming at her house, not knowing about her plan with Ethan. Meanwhile, Annie is getting close to having her 16th birthday,  her mom takes her driving in the minivan to get her permit. Up next week: her apparent birthday party. Naomi’s mom and Annie’s still have some issues, because Tracy kissed Harry. Tabitha, Annie and Dixon’s grandma, tells their mom she should approach her and talk to her about it, because she kissed another woman’s man. She gives the mom true compliments, even though they have not gotten along in the past.

Unlike the rest of the girls, Silver could care less about homecoming.  Dixon asks her to homecoming but she “hates” it and doesn’t want to go, so Dixon says he doesn’t either. Later on, Annie admits to her Dixon’s love of school dances at home in Kansas and Silver realizes he would have liked to go. At the same time,  Silver gets her wisdom teeth out and she is all hopped up on painkillers following the extraction, meaning Dixon stays with her to try to help her until she ends up falling asleep.

The undercover cop, Kim, is still hitting on Ryan, the teacher almost non-stop. It is making him feel awkward but he has no idea what to do with her. At the dance she tries to buy drugs from the lacrosse player who has shown up a few times and been nothing but an ass, where Ryan sees and thinks she is on drugs. She (and Harry) then admit she is a cop and not a student and her and Ryan kiss.

One Tree Hill “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)” 6.11

This week’s episdoe of One Tree Hill was not only a few steps away from the season’s plot, but a few steps away from present day. The episode, which was written by Lucas’s real life counterpart Chad Michael Murrary, brought us back to the 1940s, when swing music was in.

How does OTH go off on this kind of tangent without being absolutely ridiculous? The episode opens with Lucas sitting at home while a storm is going on. He and Peyton are on the phone and she informs him that she has to stay late at Tric. So while she’s gone, Lucas falls asleep and dreams of he and his friends 1940s style.

Now what setting would Lucas put his 1940s dream in? A “Casablanca like” place, instead of it being named “Rick’s Cafe”, it’s Karen’s Cafe. The corniness begins. Lucas is the Bogart character who started up the cafe to bring in people and money. Skills, who hasn’t been in an episode in a long time, finally appears as Lucas’ “Sam” playing on the piano. Who would he play for but the talented Haley James who takes to the Tric stage every night. She pulls out a swing number, actually about the cafe, and looks the part while she’s doing it. Brooke has never looked better as a classic ’40s bombshell who seems to be wooing Lucas without any luck. However Lucas doesn’t seem to dislike her nor ignore her which is an absolute step for the people who are pissed Mark has basically ignored that the two were ever in love. Nathan plays a bartender, who only has eyes for Haley (of course) but is too shy to make his move. Peyton, Dan, and Julian make up an entourage that becomes the foil of the episode’s storyline.

The basic plot of the episode has Lucas meeting Peyton at the club. Assuming she’s Dan’s girl, he doesn’t really make a move, although it doesn’t stop both of them from making eyes at each other as she walks out the door. Peyton plays more of a victim than ever as a girl who is being watched carefully by Dan. She wants to know what its like to be free, to fall in love, to live for herself. She reveals this all to Lucas when she comes to the bar later that same night and the two go for a walk. “Do you think I’m pretty?” she asks Lucas during their walk. Honestly, what do you expect him to say, that you’re ugly? Her lines are the worst of the episode since she’s barely given her own legs to stand on. Lucas however does think she’s pretty and the two continue to see each other.

Meanwhile, we learn that Dan is a mobster of sorts who has lent money to Brooke so she can start her own garments line. She has problems getting the money, but once she sees Lucas and Peyton together, she wastes no time in ratting them out to Dan. Nathan finally gets up the courage to talk to Haley and he asks her in the respectable way (that all men should!) if she’ll “step out with him”. She seems to like the idea and Nathan is even more insistant when he recieves a letter calling him into the army the following day. The two spend the night at Karen’s Cafe dancing and talking and of course falling in love. It’s usual Naley no matter what the decade .They get serious very quickly and decide to get married. While laying in bed, the two even bounce around the idea of naming their child James! Of course! In a classic airport scene, Haley swears to wait for him no matter what the cost. Theirs is probably the most touching part of the episode.

Dan decides to confront Peyton and Lucas . He corners them with his car and calls them out on their relationship. Brooke steps out of the car and in order to erase her debt, she must shoot Lucas. She doesn’t though and turns her gun to Dan. Come to find out the gun isn’t loaded and Dan pulls out his own gun and fires. He is intercepted by Skills but as he falls to the ground, a shot is fired. He doesn’t get Lucas…he gets Peyton. Lucas is heartbroken and there’s looks of shock on both Brooke and Dan’s face. Peyton is dead and of course the rain begins to fall.

The episode does include other familar faces such as Julian, Owen, and Mouth. Mouth’s character is particularly amusing as he plays a washed up journalist turned alcoholic. He sees all of Dan’s scheming and unfortunately does not live to warn anyone as he is thrown off a bridge by Dan. Owen gets beaten up by Dan pretty badly and Julian gets shot by Lucas. Chad Michael Murry pretty much makes sure no one gets a happy ending in this one.

Lucas eventually wakes up from his dream to another call from Peyton who informs him she’s on her way home. However, when she hangs up the phone, she falls to the ground in pain. What does this mean? Maybe if we hadn’t spent the whole episode inside Lucas’ mind (because frankly…who cares) we’d know.

Chad’s episode is mediocure at best – at least most of the characters made do with the lackluster script. Here’s hoping next week will bring some more (interesting) plot developments!

One Tree Hill – “Even fairytale characters would be jealous” 6.10

As a One Tree Hill fan, I’ve always enjoyed their concert episodes. On this week’s episode, guest star Angel and Airwaves did not disappoint!

The episode opens at a USO concert sponsored by Peyton’s label (honestly though who knew she had enough money to put something on like this!) and Haley is about to get up on stage. She can’t seem to get the words out to her song…come to find out she’s only having a dream. She’s terrified she won’t remember the words to her song and she’ll be terrible.

Brooke wakes up to find breakfast made by Sam. It looks like she’s finally coming around to living with Brooke and doing the domestic things, although a call from an adoption agency telling Brooke know they have an infant for her to take care of seems to get Sam a little worried.

Millie makes a surprise visit to Mouth’s apartment only to find Gigi lying on their bed in Mouth’s shirt. She finds Mouth sleeping on the couch but of course assumes the worst. A few minutes later, Mouth wakes up to a phone call from Millie, sweetly asking him if it’s ok if she stops by. Mouth of course is ok with this but is nervous due to Gigi’s presence. Millie, knowing this, ends the conversation though simply by saying “get that slut out of my bed!”

Peyton is upset that Lucas has no real reaction to her relationship with Julian, other than to say “ok”.  Little does she know, Lucas does have a reaction when he proceeds to go to Julian’s apartment and punches him in the face. He’s decided that he does not want to be involved with the making of the movie.

Nathan plays a prank on Haley by coming into the room in a wheel chair. He tells her he’s fine and wants to watch her perform but she won’t allow it. When she leaves, he ends up getting a visit from Q’s ghost. The visit isn’t all smiles though – Q is upset that Nathan seems to be giving up his dream of basketball. Nathan is annoyed by the visit because he doesn’t see it that way. He doesn’t want to end up the wheel chair again and Q only sees that as an excuse.

Millie comes to Brooke freaking out about Mouth’s possible infidelity. She admits to Brooke she’s still a virgin (to Brooke’s surprise and amazement) and hopes Mouth isn’t trying to find sex with anyone else. Brooke assures her that Mouth wouldn’t do something like that. We find out that Gigi got drunk at work and Mouth didn’t think she could make it home so he allowed her to stay over while he slept on the couch.

The USO concert begins and Haley is the first performer. She’s still nervous, but when she goes on stage, her nervousness floats away and she sings her heart out. The guys seem to enjoy it and she comes off the stage with a smile on her face. While she’s singing, Lucas approaches Brooke and askes her what she knows about Peyton and Julian’s relationship. Brooke tells him that he needs to get over it because rebounds don’t count.  Julian also bothers Brooke but she simply tells him he has no chance in a Lucas/Peyton triangle and if he doesn’t anything to compromise their relationship, she’ll hurt him.  Julian approaches Lucas and asks him to reconsider participating in the movie.

Sam and Kate Vogel connect and Sam asks her questions about life on the road, probably trying to see if it works for her since she’s afraid she’ll be leaving Brooke’s house soon.  Brooke gets wind of this and tells Sam there’s no way she’s going to have to leave and she can stay as long as she wants. Sam seems genuinely happy about this.

After a lackluster performance by Kate Vogel, (”I’m single!” who cares!) Angels and Airwaves comes on and sings “secret crowds”! It is during this song that Nathan watches the end of the Slamball game and tells Q his family is enough of a prize. Q tells Nathan to never let anything come between his dreams, but he seems to understand Nathan’s point of view. Mille tells Gigi to back off, and all she really gets out of Gigi is a smirky smile. Julian approaches Peyton and asks her to try to get Lucas to get onboard with the movie and she agrees to help.

As the episode winds down, Peyton and Derek share a family moment and Derek promises to keep in touch with her. Millie watches Gigi and Mouth hug outside her car. Gigi was only saying she didn’t want to mess with Mouth and Mille’s relationship, but the scene looks suspecious to Millie. Brooke calls back the adoption agency about the baby and learns that since she’s participating in foster care, she’s cannot watch an infant. There’s nothing but sadness in Sam’s face. Nathan prepares a romantic night for Haley after the success of her show. Lucas and Peyton talk and she convinces him to take part in the movie. She also admits she’s happy about Lucas getting jealous, since Julian informed her of the punch he recieved. But will the movie create more drama for these two? Until next week!

One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 9 “Sympathy for the Devil”

This week’s One Tree Hill had us in the present, but gave us flashbacks into the past. Lucas is excited for his movie and begins working on his screenplay. He asks Peyton what she thought of Julian and we’re given the first of a few flashbacks that explain Julian’s role in Peyton’s former LA life. It seems that Julian was the first person to make Peyton smile when her relationship with Lucas fell apart.

 

As for other relationships on the show, Owen decides to bring a gift to Brooke every day as a way of making her see he’s a nice guy and in hopes she’ll take him back. Brooke grows to love the presents, but notices that there’s a fine line between taking the presents as a girl interested or just a girl who’s leading a guy on.

 

Nathan is still a Slamball player and manages to come out of the games without serious injury. However while watching TV with Jamie, Mouth interviews a player who says he’s out to get Nathan back into a wheelchair. Jamie wants know if his dad will win a trophy, which Nathan says isn’t possible. Jamie is disappointed by this and after Sam shows him how “economics” works, namely by selling candy out of a vending machine for more than he originally paid for it, he decides to go into this venue himself to raise money for his dad’s trophy.

 

Brooke still hasn’t decided what she’s going to put in the former Clothes over Bros location and while debating Peyton surprises her with a visit. Brooke wants to know when Peyton is going to tell Lucas who Julian is and another flashback begins where Peyton runs into Julian after seeing Lucas and Lindsey kiss at a book signing. Julian invites her to be his date to a party and we see where the relationship began.

 

Meanwhile, Lucas finishes the screenplay in three weeks and Julian is excited for him. He does however tell Lucas that he wants Keith’s death to be shown in the movie, telling him that he’ll have someone else write it if Lucas can’t. Lucas can’t seem to decide if its something he can write or not. Peyton tells him that he doesn’t have to protect Keith and that Keith would want Lucas to be the one to write the scene. Haley also gives Lucas some advice in a Tree Hill high hallway, telling him to make more of the scene. Lucas is still conflicted, not wanting to make Dan more than just what he sees him as: a bad guy.

 

Probably one of the most important flashbacks into the Peyton/Julian romance shows the two having a special moment in their apartment where they BOTH utter those three little words: I love you. However a later flashback has the two finishing up packing for the Sundance Film Festival and Julian comes upon Lucas’s book. He decides that the relationship is over because he can no longer compete with a book by Peyton’s ex.

 

Brooke goes to her car and finds Owen naked in the back seat, reminiscent of her naked backseat scene with him back in season 5. She however does not find it attractive and kicks him out of the car without any clothes. He comes by to her house later, with clothing on, and tells her that he won’t be coming around anymore because he cannot be led on. Brooke finally realizes she needs to make a choice.

 

Peyton spies Julian at an outside lunch table and approaches him to ask if working on Lucas’s book is a way for him to get closer to her, telling him that there’s no way she’ll get back with him. Julian informs her that he has no intention of getting her back, reminding her he was the one who dumped her, and is merely interested in making Lucas’s book into a movie. He does however ask Peyton the question we are all thinking: why haven’t you informed Lucas of our past relationship?

 

Lucas is still having problems figuring out how to write Keith’s death scene and so he goes to Keith’s grave. While sitting there, he decides to go to Dan’s grave and smashes a shovel against it. Still not satisfied, he goes to the basketball courts. Dan comes out of nowhere and inquires about the damage to his grave. Lucas asks Dan what happened the day he killed Keith and Dan merely says that Keith was shot in cold blood and that Dan will always be the villain in Lucas’s story. This finally gives Lucas the push to finish the screenplay and give the scene what it deserves.

 

Nathan plays another Slamball game and gets the final winning basket in the last seconds of the game. He’s managed to stay away from his aggressor on the other team, but as he’s walking along the edge of the court, the opposing player pushes him into the glass wall and Nathan falls off the court. Jamie and Haley run to him and Jamie asks his father not to play Slamball anymore. Nathan agrees, telling the two “if these are the two last trophies I ever get (Haley and Jamie) then I’ll be happy”. For the moment, it looks like Nathan’s basketball career is again on hold.

 

After the game, Owen finds Brooke in the backseat of his car, clothed, and the two talk about their relationship. Brooke say she cannot get involved because she has an obligation to Sam. However, she does say that she’d like to keep in contact and hopefully down the road get him back. Owen seems to understand and so the relationship is at a stalemate.

 

Lucas personally drops off the finished script at Julian’s house. Prior to Lucas walking in, Julian was looking at a picture of Peyton and him. When he opens the door, he gets a phone call which he takes in the next room. While waiting for Julian, Lucas looks at the picture and finally discovers what Peyton has not been able to tell him. He comes back to the house and confronts Peyton. Lucas says “so you two were together” and Peyton clarifies, “we were in love”. Is the Leyton romance in trouble? Until next week!

One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 8 – “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe”

Choices and consequences seem to be the theme of this week’s One Tree Hill.

Nathan has decided to join the Slamball team and the opening scene shows him excelling in practice, but having more trouble at the first game. Most of the cast comes to the first game and Haley’s cringing face as Nathan hits the ground over and over shows the struggle she’s having with him playing the game. Nathan is able to get a basket, but the triumph is overshadowed as Sam says what is running through the rest of our minds – “wasn’t he just in a wheelchair or something?”

While at the game, Lucas gets a call from his agent telling him that a man by the name of Julian Baker is interested in turning his first book into a movie. Lucas is apprehensive about this kind of a step – he’s worried that a movie won’t reflect what he was trying to convey in the book. He does however get positive feedback from his friends, especially Peyton who says she’ll stand by with whatever decision he decides to make.

Brooke has her hands full working on Peyton’s wedding dress and taking care of the rebellious Sam. Fortunately Millie is there for moral support which helps since Brooke is still questioning whether or not giving up her company was the right step. Of course she also must deal with Owen’s reappearance, which she seems to want to ignore as her friends comment on how hot he looked at the Slamball game. During this exchange involving Haley and Millie, Sam and Jamie are horsing around the store having fun together. Jamie asks if he can sleep over Brooke’s that night. Jamie has latched himself onto Sam and Haley gives the sleepover the ok.

Meanwhile, Peyton travels to see her brother, Derek, at a special ceremony for the Marines. He is surprised and happy to see her there and the two are able to spend some time together. Derek is Peyton’s half brother; they share the same father, so the subject of Mick comes up in their conversations. Mick has not been there for Derek either, and without using words, we can see how this has hurt Derek. Peyton commiserates and makes the offer to host a USO concert, something Derek wanted Mick to help him with years ago. He agrees, so it looks like Derek will be seen in Tree Hill again soon.

Mouth and Gigi, who was a high school girlfriend and is now his new intern, are working on a story about Nathan from the accident after high school up to his current comeback. Although Mouth tries to make clear that he has a girlfriend, Gigi continues to address him inappropriately during work saying “Hey Sexy” or “have fun with your ball and chain”. Millie does express some jealous, especially at the Slamball game, but Mouth does not seem to be interested in Gigi – for the moment anyway.

Jamie does stay over at Brooke’s house and initially he and Sam are just playing around the house while Brooke yells at them when necessary. With a knock on the door, Nathan appears, trying to coax Brooke into talking to Owen again. Brooke tells him that if Owen wants to talk he should just come find her and immediately Owen appears at the door. Brooke does invite him in, although she does seem uncertain. During this distraction, Sam tells Jamie about a party that’s happening and invites him to go with her. Jamie doesn’t seem too thrilled about the idea, especially not understanding why they must go out the window to get to the party, but he eventually agrees and the two leave without being noticed. While Owen is trying to tell Brooke he made a mistake by leaving her, another knock on the door brings Millie who says that Brooke’s store has been broken into. The three head to the store immediately to find that the store is the location of the party Sam and Jamie snuck off to. Brooke grabs Jamie and Owen helps her to stop the party. Unfortunately Peyton’s wedding dress is ruined and Brooke is more than a little angry at Sam.

Since Jamie is sleeping at Brooke’s, Haley and Nathan get to spend some quality time together. Haley tries out some of her new music and finally is able to tell Nathan that she’s afraid he’ll get hurt playing Slamball. Nathan assures her that he knows what he’s doing this time and he’ll be careful. Their relationship continues to remain open and honest keeping them in the top spot as One Tree Hill’s best couple.

When Brooke returns home, she finds Sam trying to wash out the stains on Peyton’s wedding dress. Sam is crying and tells Brooke she’ll leave, but to her surprise Brooke only grounds her, telling her to stop thinking that people are always going to give up on her.

After some thought, Lucas decides to meet with Julian Baker to discuss his book. The two meet at Tric where Julian raves about the book, wanting to make the movie happen as soon as possible. Lucas eventually commits and Julian makes the offer to allow Lucas to write the screenplay. The two celebrate with more drinks and a round of pool and Lucas gets the idea to invite Peyton to the bar to celebrate. She does come and when she meets Julian, a look of panic crosses her face – the two know each other. Although it isn’t fully explained in the episode, the viewer can gather the two probably had some sort of relationship in LA. Julian seems happy to see her and the episode ends with some uncertainty – will Julian bring the “Leyton” relationship into troubled waters? Until next week!

Pret-a-Poor-J

Even a Jenny-centric episode can’t overshadow the Blair and Chuck “relationship.” As Jenny’s internship at Eleanor’s crumbled, Blair and Chuck came to an understanding about what those “three words, eight letters” would mean for their relationship.

The show began with another Blair fantasy dream (beginning a trend?). This time she was in the back of the limo making out with a mystery man (most likely Chuck Bass). She’s woken up by her live-in housekeeper, Dorata, who warns Blair about her fantasies. “Don’t forget God always watching Ms. Blair.”

In Brooklyn, Jenny’s running around the house while on the phone trying to make sure Eleanor will be prepared for her meeting with Bloomingdale’s later that morning. Jenny’s doesn’t have time to chat but manages to catch to house-guest Nate coming out the bathroom in his towel. Jenny looked extremely embarrassed but Nate played it very cool.

At work, Jenny’s fitting a young model for Eleanor’s line. The model, Agnes (such an old woman’s name), recognizes Jenny by the top of her head and Jenny replies to recognizes Agnes by her feet. Awkward but the girls form a little bond. Jenny’s excited to see the execs from Bloomingdale’s walk in because Eleanor promised her she could sit in on the meeting. Eleanor puts the brakes on that plan for the moment but Jenny takes the news professionally and goes back to work. Leaving her sketch book at home that morning Nate just happens to find and brings it to her at work. A friendly gesture or does someone really want to see our little J?

Blair strolls to school in the rain under her umbrella. A limo pulls up alongside her and the window rolls down to reveal Chuck. He offers her a ride and after first refusing she decides to accept (with a little nudging by Chuck’s puppy face that I didn’t know existed). It’s still Chuck’s little game though as he won’t let Blair in the car unless she says those three magic words. Blair says no and Chuck drives off.

Fed up with his antics, Blair goes to best friend and step-sister to her nemesis for help to ruin Chuck’s life. Blair interrupts Serena and Dan’s friendly conversation but wanting to make hers and Dan’s new friendship work Serena asks Dan for a man’s point of view on the situation. They first ask Blair if she loves Chuck which she adamantly denies. Dan than gives Blair what she deems good advice: She needs to wear Chuck down by being at his side at all times. Chuck can only take so much admiration.

After her meeting with Bloomingdale’s, Eleanor apologizes to Jenny about keeping her out of the meeting. She informs her that the executives loved Jenny’s dress and Eleanor asks her to create another one just like it to show to Bendel’s and Barney’s tomorrow. Jenny hesitates at creating a new dress in one night but with the promise of being included in the next day’s meetings she’s gung-ho.

New girl, Agnes, has other nightly plans for Jenny and takes her out to a club. Agnes loves the dress Jenny’s wearing (the one Eleanor wants duplicated) and asks if they can trade clothes. They slip into the bathroom and switch dresses. Outside they meet Agnes’ photographer friend Max who, every time was in a scene, couldn’t keep his finger off the shutter button.

Max takes millions of fun photos of the girls dancing in the club but soon Jenny needs to get back to work. Agnes tries to get her to stay out longer but Jenny knows she has to pull an all-nighter to finish the dress for Eleanor by morning. Agnes leaves with Max but the girls forget to switch-back dresses and Jenny’s left on the curb watching Agnes’ cab speed off down the dark city street. As Gossip Girl said, in the real world you can’t bring a note to the principal saying the drunk girl ran off with your homework.

Taking Dan’s advice (for the first time ever!), Blair waits for Chuck by his limo and asks him to go out for a drink, a normal Upper East Side teenager tradition. Chuck calls her bluff but Blair counters by saying he’s scared to have a simple drink. The two drive off to the nearest club and Blair tries to seduce then humiliate the young Bass. After Blair “accidentally” spills her drink in his lap and gets up to leave saying, “I’m bored and you ruined my pants.”

Blair calls Dan at the gallery, a surprise to Vanessa, to tell her his plan failed but Dan says she needs to keep forcing his hand. Later, while Dan and Serena try to have a conversation about Nate, Blair obsessively texts Serena about her plans for Chuck later that night.

In the next scene we see Blair’s plan in action. She’s taken over Serena’s room for the night to lure Chuck in from the hallway. She places candles all over the room and dresses in a small teddy to seduce her man. Her temptations work and Chuck tells her that he doesn’t need to hear those three little words. He takes her into his arms but before they can go any further the phone interrupts them and their plans are put on hold.

The next morning back at Eleanor’s, Agnes finds Jenny frantically working away at her station trying to complete the dress for the meeting in a few hours. Agnes tries to convince Jenny to create her own line and stop Eleanor from using anymore of her designs. Agnes leaves but Jenny looks convinced.

It definitely appears so once Eleanor shows up. Jenny finishes the dress but Eleanor finds the work insufficient for her meeting with the Bendel’s and Barney’s. Eleanor also calls out Jenny on her photo shoot from the night before and lectures her on the responsibilities of a real world job. Jenny’s heard enough. She takes her dresses and walks out. She better be confident in creating her own line because Eleanor did not look pleased as Jenny turned her back and departed the premises.

At the gallery, Serena brings Blair to talk to Dan again as she prances off to flirt with the new artist boy (more on him later). Dan asks Blair if she really loves Chuck. Blair implies a yes answer and Dan urges her to take the risk of actually telling him. He recounts how he told Serena he loved her and it was obvious he still does. Blair again takes Dan’s advice and texts Chuck to meet her that night.

Everyone who’s anyone attends the big art showing at Rufus’ gallery, a surprise to both him and Dan. Serena brings Blair and Blair invites Chuck to meet her later. Vanessa’s not thrilled to see her nemesis, Blair, at the party after the events that took place. It seems Vanessa forgot to tell best friend Dan about that little story and Dan’s not too surprised even after seeing a new side of Blair the past few days.

Blair receives a text from Chuck to meet her on the roof but before making her way upstairs Dan stops her. He tells her to not be so trustful of Chuck. Once on the roof, she keeps Dan’s words in the back of her mind and can’t go through with telling Chuck that she really does love him.

With no job and no school, Jenny finds the time to stop by the gallery. She’s not their long as new friends Agnes and Max intercept her. Agnes tells her about a magazine editor that wants to do a piece on the up-and-coming designer and asks Jenny come with them to meet him. Before walking out the door Nate grabs Jenny to ask her to hang out. Jenny says she has other plans and gets irritated when she thinks Nate becomes too overprotected for not being her father or brother. That’s right Jenny he wants to be your protector.

Nate finds the artist of the night, Aaron, who is friends with Jenny’s friend Max. Aaron warns him about Max and Nate sets out to rescue Jenny. He’s almost too late as he find Jenny and Agnes in only their bras as Max continues to flash photos of the girls. Either there was no editor or they ditched the meeting but Nate drags Jenny out of the apartment building. Jenny wants to know why he cares so much and he answers with a kiss, a long kiss with no fight from Jenny. The living situation just became either extremely interesting or extremely awkward.

Blair and Chuck’s night isn’t over as Chuck shows up at Blair’s house later. He tells her that they may love each other but admitting so would ruin their relationship. He says he may be able to tell her one day but he doesn’t want to mess up what they have (or don’t have at the moment).

As for Serena, she may have found herself a new man and although Dan’s putting on a happy face he doesn’t seem too thrilled. Serena chatted up the young new artist, Aaron, from Rufus’ gallery throughout the episode but when she figured out his riddle for her (it seems Aaron and Serena were “married” at an European summer camp), she was too late. She caught Aaron just in time to see him riding off with another girl on the back of his motorcycle.

Will Aaron and/or Agnes be back? Check the tabloids for those scandalous pictures of Jenny and Agnes and be back next week to find out how long Blair and Chuck’s new journey apart will last.

Chuck in Real Life

Welcome home Papa Bass! Bart finally made his long-awaited arrival back to his new family. Although he and Lilly did spend time together on his last layover (he revealed the “Lilly File” that had one little secret she doesn’t want anyone to know about), he announced at the breakfast table that his return would be for the long haul. With his homecoming, Bart comes bearing gifts for all his children (a suit for Serena, a watch for Eric and money for one of Chuck’s offshore accounts) and new set of guidelines for his family. A 1 a.m. curfew and family dinner every Friday night (reminds me of Friday night dinners at the Gilmore’s) are only a few of the rules in place for the Bart and Lilly’s children. We’ll have to see how long the children apply to their parents’ wishes.

To welcome home Bart, he and Lilly are throwing a dinner party for their friends. The kids can also invite their friends to the event. Keep this in mind.

Over in Brooklyn, Vanessa’s trying to enlist Dan to help her save a historic bar and apply it for landmark status. Dan’s busy with the soccer to team to help out at the moment. That’s right, lonely boy Dan Humphrey has been recruited by new friend Nate to sub in for an injured player. It looks like this friendship is progressing.

After their morning announcements, Serena and Eric ditched the limo ride to walk to school on the beautiful fall day in New York. Serena’s not sure about her mother’s new husband and the control she thinks Bart has over Lilly. Eric’s not convinced and is willing to give their mother a chance. Surprising for Eric since it was Lilly that locked him up in the nut house just two years ago.

Walking through the hallways, Dan and Nate run into Chuck. A quick exchange of unpleasantries before Nate blows off Chuck with Dan in tow. Blair swoops in to kick Chuck when he’s down. He tries to rebound by telling her that she’ll be crawling back to him one of these days. Blair informs him she’ll never sleep with him again. Don’t speak too soon Blair; you never know when you’ll need your partner in crime.

Speaking of crime, Vanessa’s looking for Blair’s services to help her save the historical bar and she has the ammunition to make Blair submit to her wishes. Vanessa still has those pictures of Blair’s ex, Lord Marcus, and his step-mother Duchess to blackmail Blair with. Blair’s posse may know that she broke up with the Lord but no one knows why except for Vanessa. It looks like Vanessa’s taking a page out of Blair’s book.

First night under the Bart Bass establishment and Serena’s choosing to live by the rules by staying in for the night. No surprise, Chuck takes this opportunity to outright defy his father and make a house visit to a female caller. He says the rules don’t apply to him and the family values set forth by Bart and Lilly are only a front for a Mid-West client Bart is shopping right now. Coming from a Mid-West town, I can honestly say we can be just as devious and sinful as the big city folk.

Serena takes Chuck’s advice and puts on a skimpy red dress to hit the town with. Heading to the elevator, she passes Bart who’s shocked to see her apparel and Serena tells him she’s looking to put on a show for the paparazzi. Bart can do nothing but stand there and let his step-daughter walk out the door.

The female caller for Chuck wasn’t looking for a good time but for her partner in crime. Blair invites Chuck over to acquire his services in helping her get rid of her Vanessa problem. She wants Chuck to seduce Vanessa in order for Blair to gain control back from her. The incentive for Chuck is to get back at Vanessa best friend, Dan, for stealing his best friend, Nate. Chuck accepts the offer and takes the flyer for the bar Vanessa’s trying to save. B and C are back in action and on the case.

The next morning, S and B get together for breakfast. Serena tells Blair about how she snuck out after Chuck told her he was leaving the house for the night. At the mention of Chuck’s name, a slight smile comes across the face of Blair and Serena picks up on it. Blair denies it and nothing more is said when Eric shows up with new boyfriend Jonathan. Excited for her little brother, Serena invites the two to join them and to tell her and Blair how they met. I really like the relationship between Serena and Eric. Serena looks after him as much as possible and really cares about him. Both Serena and Dan really look out for their younger siblings.

Speaking of Dan and Jenny, she tries to convince Dan that he’s never really had guy friends (and father Rufus doesn’t count) and his best friends have always been girls (Vanessa and Serena). Dan brushes her off and calls up Nate to play soccer in the park. After a stereotypical male conversation (what’s up bro?), Dan heads to Nate’s.

Finally, we see the historical site that Vanessa is trying to safe. Chuck pulls up in his limo acting like a knight on his high horse coming to save the day. Chuck sees buying the bar as a good business opportunity for Bass Industries. He promises to keep the bar vintage but before he and Vanessa can go over the details, another member trying to save the bar throws coffee in his face. Chuck departs but Vanessa realizes he may be her only hope to save the establishment.

Hearing about her daughter’s rendezvous last night, Lilly sits Serena down to talk about her relationship with Bart. Lilly wants to give her daughter structure and by her behavior, she should have put in place more structure before. Serena replies, “You mean the three husbands before?” Ouch.

When Dan arrives at Nate’s front door he sees a flyer for the seizure of the house. He looks to see locks on the doors but walks down to the stairs to another door to see that lock’s been broken. He enters the door and walks into the house. He flips the light switch to see the power’s off. He finds a mattress lying in the middle of the living room floor and Nate’s clothes scattered around. Young Mr. Archibald looks to be a squatter in his own home.

After facing rejection from Vanessa, Chuck returns to Blair to tell her the deals off. The revenge against Dan Humphrey is not enough for him to continue with Blair’s little scheme. She ups his incentive by offering to sleep with him if completes the deal and puts Vanessa to shame. Chuck, still longing for Blair after their split in the Hamptons, agrees to her terms. He obviously wants Blair back (seeing as he has no real friends right now) but are we seeing a Blair that also misses Chuck Bass?

Chuck goes back to Vanessa to say he’s spoken with his lawyer. All that’s needed is the Bass signature (not sure if that’s Chuck or Bart) and the bar manager’s signature. It may be hard for Vanessa to decline since she really wants to save this building.

A good thing these two made up last week because Serena needs Blair to lean on right now. She’s still not content with her family situation and doesn’t trust Bart’s family friendly system he’s put in place. Blair’s not exactly listening to every word as she’s trying on a new dress, a dress Chuck bought her before their planned trip to Europe. An outfit to tease Chuck perhaps?

Dan meets up with Nate in the park after his stop at the deserted house. Dan doesn’t mention he’s already been to Nate’s home but does question him on his living situation. Nate says his mom’s living in their Hamptons home and he decided to stay in the city. Nate avoids anymore of the question as he runs off to get the two boys a drink.

In the meantime, Chuck goes to the store to meet the manager. Apparently they both know a famous womanizer Joe Kennedy, a man Chuck admires (speaking of womanizer, I loved the music video of Britney Spears’ new song set to scenes of the infamous Chuck Bass). The manager gives Chuck a tour of the place and it appears that Chuck’s actually taking an interest in the place.

Back in the park, Dan calls Jenny and tells her about Nate’s situation. She tells him that Rufus is making his famous chili tonight and that Dan should invite Nate over. Is Humphrey making Nate charity case of the month?

Serena arrives home to see Eric’s boyfriend leaving. She asks if he’ll be attending and he says Eric did not invite him. Serena immediately assumes that Bart had a hand in this and told Eric he didn’t want Jonathan to be invited.

Chuck’s beginning to take a real interest in his new business opportunity. He also looks to be taking an interest in Vanessa and not in the deceiving way he was instructed by Blair to do. Chuck invites her to the Bass dinner part that evening and this could be a genuine invitation or the next step in his revengeful plan.

The dinner party doesn’t appear to be a small gathering of friends and family as a large group of press has gathered inside. Maybe Chuck was right and this is just a front for one of Bart’s business deals. Bart sees Serena enter in the suit he bought her and goes over to complement her. She thanks him but half-heartedly and grills him about not allowing Eric to bring Jonathan. He says she was misinformed and Eric chose not to invite Jonathan on his own.

Chuck’s going to buy the establishment and his courteousness towards Vanessa shows a change of heart from our bad boy. He escorts Vanessa around the party as Blair looks own wondering what her partner’s doing.

Dinner at the Humphrey household is a smaller gathering of Rufus, Jenny, Dan and guest Nate. Rufus asks Nate how he’s holding up after the tough year with his family. Nate tells him his mother’s still living in their Hamptons home (I wondering if that’s really where she is) and he didn’t want to miss any school by leaving the city. Dan tries to change the subject by talking about the soccer tricks Nate’s been teaching Dan. Nate returns to the original conversation so as to not show any signs of weakness for his real situation.

At the Bass dinner party, Bart confronts Chuck about his new business adventure. Bart’s not too fond of his son’s choices and doesn’t want to put his money into the bar. Vanessa spies the confrontation from behind a pillar and sees her and Chuck’s dreams fading quickly.

Cleaning up after their meal, Dan tells Nate he knows about his living situation. Nate immediately goes on the defensive and says he doesn’t want to be the next charity case. He excuses himself leaving Dan wondering if he did the right thing.

Vanessa finds Chuck to discuss what happened with his father. She starts to take pity on him. Chuck senses that but doesn’t exploit it. He does ask for her company. She looks hesitant at first but decides to stay with him.

Serena talks to Eric about Jonathan not being in attendance. Eric confirms Bart’s words that he did tell Eric he could invite Jonathan. Eric chose not to because he didn’t want to come out in front of all the press at the party. Before they can continue their conversation, a reporter interrupts the two and asks them about their favorite family memories. Serena lets loose and her emotions flow over. She tells the reporter about her mother’s many suitors and Lilly rushes over to try and stop her daughter. It’s too late as Serena goes on to talk about German Klaus with a “K” and Danish Claus with a “C”. She gives her Christmas story about a white Christmas with her mother’s coke head boyfriend. Lilly looks devastated but the damage has already been done and Serena walks out of the party.

Blair suddenly has a change of heart and tells Chuck she won’t go through with their deal. She may see Chuck’s relationship with Vanessa (if one exists) as a threat and will try to take down both of them.

Off in a corner away from the press, Lilly sits down with Eric to talk about Serena’s explosion. Although rude, Eric did agree with what Serena had to say and tells Lilly that Serena raised him more than she did. He informs his mother that Bart and she can’t just say they’re a family. They have to take the necessary steps to actually become a family. Eric has become a voice of reason for his mother and sister in this episode. Hopefully, we’ll get to see the story with his boyfriend play out over this season just to see more of Eric.

Dan comes to Rufus about how Nate blew him off. Dan wants to be Nate’s friend and in so doing help his friend out when he’s in trouble. Rufus tells him to not give up on Nate and get him the help he needs. I’m sure it’s hard to go from the billionaire kid to being a teenage squatter.

Vanessa picks up her jacket and purse from coat check but Blair’s already picked up the purse. She got a hold of Vanessa’s cell phone and deleted the blackmail photos. Blair tells her Chuck never really liked her and Vanessa replies that he never hit on her in the first place. Vanessa walks out but Chuck sees the conversation and comes over to confront Blair. He questions Blair’s intentions and she says that she held up her end of the deal meaning he can sleep with her. We know it’s what Chuck’s been after the whole season but now he doesn’t seem to be as eager.

Dan takes his father’s advice and heads to Nate’s. Waiting on the stoop isn’t Nate but Serena, the first time these two have come into contact since she alienated him from the entire student body.

Chuck blows off Blair for the moment and heads back to the bar. He pleads with manager that he wants to save the place but the manager doesn’t accept his offer. When Chuck walks out the door, Vanessa comes out of the shadows.

The Dan and Serena meeting came as a surprise but it was bound to happen sooner or later. The conversation doesn’t take place between the two exactly. Serena came to talk to Nate about her night but Dan tells her to talk to him like he was Nate, only fair after he used Dan’s name last week at Yale. She tells him about her speech to the reporters and confesses she’s not mad at Bart but at her mom. Serena then apologizes to Dan for all the terrible things she’s done to him over the past few weeks and Dan returns with his own apology. Bart pulls up in a limo to fetch Serena back home. It’s nice to see D and S speaking again and to make it more of a causal meeting then a planned event.

When Serena returns home, she sits down with Lilly. Lilly admits she did put the men in her life before her children. Bart and Eric join the two and Serena apologizes to both Lilly and Bart for her actions. The scene ends with a picture perfect family but no Chuck in attendance.

Dan also returns home but with Nate straggling in behind him. He’ll be taking a spot on the couch for the time being. I can only imagine how this we’ll lead to the kiss between him and Jenny that’s suppose to be happening soon.

Where was Chuck while his family was coming together? He went to Blair’s to claim what was his. The two began to kiss (with some strange film freezes) but Chuck suddenly stops. He wants Blair to say the three words, eight letters that he couldn’t say to her earlier in the year. She refuses and says their even but that’s not enough for Chuck. He turns the tables and says he’s done chasing her. Now it’s Blair’s turn.

New Haven Can Wait

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. Yale degree, please?

This week, the young New York socialites traded their stuffy Upper East Side for the collegiate atmosphere of Yale University. Blair woke up excited to visit the Ivy League school she’s dreamed about forever, Yale. Ex-best friend, Serena, woke up excited to visit the Ivy League school she’s dreamed about forever, Brown University. But, how fun is it if they went on two separate college visits? Definitely none, so the girls, along with the three boys, were off to New Haven.

Speaking of the boys, Dan started his day nervous about his interview with the Yale English Department. With a few encouraging words by his father, he took off for the hour train ride north. Chuck and Nate discussed their trip to Yale and the secret societies associated with the school. Chuck’s evaluating his choice of schools based only on the societies while Nate’s really set on going to the University of Southern California. My guess is because he wants to get away from his family’s problems anyway possible.

Before taking off in their separate limos, Serena breaks the week long silence with Blair. Blair wants no part of it. She insults Brown University as not being as worthy of the Ivy League title as the Holy Trinity made up by Harvard, Yale and Princeton. When Blair walks away, Serena decides to accept her Yale invitation she received a few days before and informs her driver of the shorter ride to Connecticut.

While the older kids frolic among the higher educated for the weekend, little Jenny continues her plans of staying with Eleanor’s company and not returning to school. Of course, Rufus is still not accepting his daughter’s choices even after Jenny and Vanessa inform him about the home-schooling option. They make a deal, however, that Rufus will consider her keeping the internship and doing home-schooling after spending the day with her at Eleanor’s. In return, if Rufus doesn’t agree then Jenny must give up the internship and return to school. I see this going either way.

On campus, Dan finds out he needs another reference for his application. The author he interned with over the summer didn’t send a recommendation of the young writer’s talents. Who can blame him after Dan spent most of the summer getting to know the girls coming into the bookstore then perfecting his writing skills? Dan’s mission, to find a Yale English professor to read his work and give him the good word he needs.

Elsewhere, Chuck and Nate scope out the Yale ladies. Nate’s doing most of the looking as Chuck’s waiting to be captured by Yale’s Skull and Bones. Each gets what they’re looking for. Nate picks a young woman to give him a tour around the campus. The Skulls find Chuck, pull a bag over his head and haul him off to their secret hideout.

We find Blair in the Dean of Admissions office waiting for her interview. She’s quite surprised when she sees Serena walking out with the Dean, both laughing. Serena said everyone likes a surprise but I don’t see Blair enjoying this one.

Nate and his female tour guide are talking on a park bench when they overhear the conversation next to them about Nate being on campus. Turns out, Nate’s father ruined many of Yale’s students’ inheritance. When his guide asks for his name, before continuing their day together, he passes himself off as Dan Humphrey. Why pick a name of real person? Joe Smith, always go with the average Joe name.

Chuck finds himself in a dark room where he’s questioned by top members of the Skulls society. He needs to prove his worthiness to be accepted. He offers them a party that lives up to his reputation of sleeping with more Maxim women than John Mayer.

On paper, Blair’s the perfect student to attend the fine institution of Yale. The Dean wants more insight into Blair though. Serena told the Dean of her quick jump into the modeling world. Blair has nothing and she becomes nervous, going on a tangent that appears to be targeted toward Serena. The Dean sees her out, obviously not impressed, but Blair doesn’t notice giving him a small peck on the cheek as she leaves. Awkward. Blair finds Serena outside and confronts her about moving in on her territory. Serena says she’s really likes Yale and the Dean invited her to his dinner party that evening, a dinner Blair was set on attending. Blair ends the conversation with the threat of taking Serena down by the end of the weekend.

Back in New York, Rufus tags along with Jenny to work. As he watches Jenny perform under the pressure, he sneaks back to Eleanor’s office. I still don’t understand their relationship except for her knowing about him and Lilly. Rufus wants Eleanor to fire Jenny but Eleanor won’t consider it. It looks like he’ll have to tell her “No” himself.

After his release from the Skulls dungeon, Chuck runs into step-sister Serena. Attempting to ruin Blair’s life even more, he gives Serena her answer to the Dean’s famous dinner question: What person real or imaginary, living or dead would you most like to have dinner with? The answer: George Sand, a literary woman who wore men’s clothing and apparently the key answer to finding one self’s on the Dean’s short list.

Nate’s tour ends in his tour guide’s room with an afternoon make-out session. Before continuing, his Yale lady wants Nate’s (Dan’s) impression of her favorite author. Knowing nothing about him, he plays it off as if his work was too boring to read. He’s almost saved by a knock on the door until the person behind the door is the real Dan Humphrey, looking for a recommendation. When the young woman realizes what Nate’s pulling she kicks both of the boys to the curb. Nate mad at getting kicked out and Dan mad about not getting a reference have it out on the stairs of the dormitory and part ways.

Blair needs an invitation to the Dean’s dinner party that night. In order to do so, she bribes the Dean’s secretary for an invitation in exchange for antiques the secretary collects. Oh Blair, so sneaky. Now that Blair has invitation, she gives Serena a surprise of her own showing up at the dinner unexpectedly. Serena’s not threatened, though, and tells Blair she’ll still use her answer to the Dean’s infamous question.

Nate finds himself at Mike’s Bar, alone. He calls up Chuck and leaves him a message that he wants to go home. Chuck’s throwing the Skulls a party with three young foreign girls who don’t speak a word of English. The party’s just the first step for Chuck’s initiation. The Skulls are looking for blood, more specifically Nate Archibald’s. Chuck’s instructed to bring Nate to them as soon as possible. The Skulls seem to make a mistake, though, when Dan’s kidnapped instead.

The Dean’s questioning has begun at the dinner party. First up, Serena with the answer of Pete Fairman. Serena stands frozen. Waiting for the Dean to announce George Sand as her answer, she’s shocked to hear the name of the guy she accidentally killed with a drug overdose that night in the hotel with Georgina. This can only be the handy work of Blair Waldorf. Serena pulls herself together and politely explains to the Dean the situation behind Pete. Serena then grabs Blair by the arm and pulls her out to the front porch. Serena’s words for Blair are not enough. As Serena goes to walk back inside, Blair throws her purse at Serena hitting her smack upside the head. Serena swings around, tells her she should not have done that and the two girls get into the first major catfight of Gossip Girl history.

It looks like Jenny’s dream of being a young designer is coming to end. Rufus still wants his little girl to finish school and Jenny, unwillingly, agrees to her part of the deal. They have one last stop to make before heading home for the day, a trip to the Bass household. Rufus has no interest in seeing Mrs. Lilly Bass but Jenny informs him she’s not home. We see Lilly is home trying on Serena’s dress and comes out to find Jenny and Rufus standing in the foyer. Jenny needs to pick up a pair of shoes for the dress and runs upstairs to fetch them, leaving Rufus and Lilly alone. Lilly tells Rufus how talented she thinks Jenny is and how lucky she is to know what she wants to do at such a young age. It looks like her words resonate with Rufus and he might be having second thoughts.

The Skulls come into Mike’s Bar bragging about conquering their nemesis Nate Archibald. Nate overhears the conversation and throws a punch at the bandleader of the group. Nate walks out of the bar and finds Dan on campus tied to a statue in only his boxers. Nate and Dan forget their earlier standoff and Nate attempts to help Dan out of his jam. He can’t untie the tight knot but not to fear, Nate’s tour guide arrives on the scene with the Navy intelligence to release Dan.

Sitting on opposite ends of the porch exhausted from their physical feud, Serena lets Blair know she can’t keep up with their ongoing war. She wants to break off their friendship for good. She calls a cease-fire and the two girls part ways for the night.

The next morning, Jenny wakes up to Rufus and Vanessa having breakfast. Rufus changed his mind (surprise, surprise) and called Vanessa over to tell Jenny about home-schooling. Jenny can also keep her internship at Eleanor’s. Rufus says he and his parents had a rocky relationship after they wouldn’t let him pursue his music career and he didn’t want that relationship with his daughter. Hopefully this won’t cut down on Jenny’s already limited screen time.

As the sun rises over Yale University, Serena’s making her way to the Dean’s office to tell him that Blair really deserves to attend the elite school. Serena runs into Blair on the way and Blair says she already did the same for Serena. The two realize they don’t want to lose their friendship and agree for their feud to be over.

A new friendship is blooming between Dan and Nate. We see the boys spending their last day with their new Yale gal pal. With a recommendation from her, Dan’s dream of Yale has not ended.

Chuck informs the Skulls and Bones that he won’t be attending Yale and any harm they want to bring to him wouldn’t be in their best interest. Chuck’s girls at the party were really spies and have photos of the future CEO’s of America.

Nate meets up with Chuck at the limo. He knows Chuck had the Skulls kidnap Dan instead of him the night before. He declines the ride back to the city and heads to the train station.

Serena’s phone rings with the Dean on the other end. Serena made early admission but Blair will have to wait. Serena won’t accept the offer and is willing to give up her dreams to keep her friendship with Blair. The question is would Blair have done the same?

I have a few questions at the end of this episode. What’s Chuck’s storyline this season except to ruin the lives of everyone around him? The only real moment we’ve had is him trying to tell Blair he loves her and the intimate conversation with Dan in jail about his mother. It looks like he’s featured in next week’s episode but he’s helping Blair ruin Vanessa’s life.

Another question, how long will Dan and Nate’s friendship last? Once the two return to school, will Nate follow suit with the rest of the student body and abandon Dan?

Last question, can Serena and Blair rule the school together? Blair’s been queen since Serena took a year hiatus and now the two are friends again. Who will the posse follow, the overthrow queen or the young, hot socialite or both?

One Tree Hill Season 6 Episode 6 – Choosing my own way of life

Two weeks ago, we were left with the thrilling chase through the cornfield with Nanny Carrie and the climax of Dan shooting her to put a stop to the madness. This week gives much calmer story lines for the characters.

Lucas is off to do a tour for his book which begins in Omaha. Although no one seems to care about his book, including the new promoter which replaced Lindsey, he is able to see his old friend Mouth. If Lucas thought he was going to be popular in Omaha, he is surprised his friend is so well known as a sport’s caster. A fan comes up to Lucas to ask him to take a picture of him and Mouth. A young girl also comes up to Lucas’ table and asks him to sign her book – a gossip girl book. Glad to see that the show supports its fellow CW friends.

Sam, Haley’s student who was caught sleeping in the back of a car last episode, is having a tough time at her foster home and Haley is sympathetic. She approaches Brooke and asks her if she’d be interested in taking Sam in, but Brooke says no because she has so much to do now that she’s decided to start her life over.

Milly, who is back in OTH helping Brooke, comes up with a list of things Brooke can do. Confusion comes across Brooke’s faith as the suggestions range from sky diving to becoming a mom. When Brooke says these things are not good suggestions for starting a new company, Milly simply says they are good suggestions for Brooke to start to heal herself. Brooke embraces Milly and expresses her thanks for such a wonderful friend.

Brooke makes incredible strides this episode by finally admitting to Peyton that she was attacked instead of the fall back excuse she initially used which was falling down the stairs. Peyton and Brooke have a nice heart to heart, pledging to be best friends forever ,and sealing the deal by baking a batch of cookies.

Peyton however has her own troubles with her paternal father, Mick. She finds him sprawled on the pool table drunk, with a one year sober chip lying next to him. His only explanation to her is that he would have made a terrible father. Peyton is upset and tells him she wishes he never came to find her.

Dan has a moment with Nathan in Tree Hill High. Nathan tells his dad “you saved my family, but you killed my uncle, I’m not sure where we stand”. However Nathan does know Jamie loves his grandpa and Dan is allowed in Jamie’s life. Dan picks Jamie up from school. The two get ice cream and spot Deb and Skills sharing an intimate moment. A look of jealousy comes across Dan’s face for a moment, but he conceals it during their conversation. Skills later asks Nathan if there’s a chance Deb and Dan will get back together but Nathan doesn’t want to hear about it, nor does he want to hear about Skills’ relationship with his mom. Dan does still seem interested because Deb receives flowers from him, but Deb throws those out and takes Skills’ flowers instead.

Nathan, still undecided about taking the coaching position, gets another offer from a team to play. The trick is the team is called Slam Ball, which involves the players shooting hoops while jumping on trampolines. Jamie thinks it looks awesome, but Nathan has some fears about his back. Owen, Brooke’s ex boyfriend from last season, plays on a team and suggests to Nathan to give it a try. In the scene, Owen asks Jamie how he likes the game and Jamie says “Sorry Owen, I’m on team Brooke”. Nathan decides to play, but only after he gets Haley’s permission.

After Lucas’ book tour gets a terrible turnout in Omaha, the publisher decides to cancel the rest of his tour. Lucas is angry at first and wishes to speak with Lindsey, but he is rebuffed and decides to go home. Mouth surprises him by showing up at the airport and offering to go with Lucas on a road trip back to Tree Hill since Mouth decides to leave Omaha; being away from Milly is too hard.

Brooke decides to become a foster parent for Sam and brings her home. Although Sam is initially opposed to the idea, when she’s given her own room for the very first time, a smile spreads across her face. On the other side of the door, Brooke has a smile as well.

Peyton’s last scene with her father is an emotional highlight in the episode. He comes to see her and lets her know he’s going to bum off a friend of his while he’s on the last leg of his tour. Despite all the problems, she has tears streaming down her face as he walks away. Right before he walks out the door, she calls him and tells him she’s glad he gave her up so she could have a better life with more responsible parents. Later Peyton calls her adopted father and tells him she loves and misses him.

The only real mention of the Nanny Carrie fiasco comes at the end when Haley is talking to Jamie before bed. He admits to having nightmares and Haley does as well. She suggests she stay with him that night, and Nathan, who is looking on, jumps on the bed with his family and decides to stay too, giving the episode a much happier ending than last week. Till next time!

90210: “Hollywood Forever”

Season 1: Episode 7

October 7, 2008

Doesn’t it seem like in every high school show with awkward sexual tension between a male and female lead that the “baby project” comes out? You know the one, where the boys and girls have to pretend to be married and raise a fake baby (anything from an egg to an actual doll that responds?) That’s what this week is all about, Annie and Ethan get partnered up and their only other friend in the class, Navid, gets stuck in a same-sex partnership with the class ass. Meanwhile, “Sil Vicious” is all alone and getting Kelly to probably kill her while painting one living room wall from pale green to black, and having a half birthday party in a cemetery to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It seems they all have these big events that everyone goes to, including this one. Even Annie and Dixon’s parents show up. So does Ryan, with a girl he met online who is dumb as a post but needed to save face with the new student in the shared English class with Ryan, who basically makes his life miserable and hits on him in the process.

Grandma Tabitha finally comes back this episode! She has the hands down best lines, including ones in this episode about how she swims nude in the pool, starting a fight with her daughter-in-law.

Annie’s dad and Naomi’s mom dated in high school, eventually making a baby they put up for adoption. Naomi’s mom approaches him about finding the child, mentioning a P.I. When the dad talks to his wife he only wants to put a letter with the adoption agency in case the son ever comes looking for them. Naomi’s mom doesn’t listen (like mother, like daughter) and goes ahead to hire the P.I.

Annie and Adrianna both go for the role from the previous episode. Annie does well all on her own. Adrianna struggles then in a Cruel Intentions moment sniffs some powder and does all better. She eventually gets the role. Meanwhile, she tells Naomi about her problems and even says she will tell her mother that she needs help and to go to rehab. She is met with her mother making her a huge cake for getting the role and “saving” them, saying that they were on the fast track to lose the house.

That new student, she is an undercover cop hired by Principal Harry to sniff out drugs in the school. This happens after a raid, that Adrianna has a lipstick tube full of powder (I assume cocaine). Instead of her getting in trouble when she is freaking out about being expelled, Naomi takes the tube and the heat for the drugs. Adrianna promises to come to her rescue and tell the truth at the lawyer’s office but never does. Annie tells her dad she saw Naomi take the tube, and Naomi calls Adrianna repeatedly, but she never answers. The episode ends with Adrianna passed out and unresponsive on a floor at a party, paramedics over her and trying to revive any of her vital signs. Meanwhile, Naomi is leaving her a message how she is “dead to her.” Will she survive?