“One Tree Hill”: The Slippery Slope NEVER ENDS 21

by haro1d

Last night was probably as close as we’ve had to a filler episode for a while, but enough happened that I’d hesitate to designate it as such. All the same, it’s been a while since we’ve seen the miserable specimen of humanity that is Dan Scott, and I’m starting to get concerned … but not really. He’ll surface in the cauldron to make things all bitter again soon enough.

Here’s how it all went down last night:

Fade in on Peyton, by herself, making a video for her and Lucas’ baby, in the event that she shouldn’t survive the birth. Among the important life lessons she tries to condense into this crucial few minutes of parenting, she includes having the right playlist, leaving baby an iPod with 100 songs to live by — because everybody needs music to get through tough things like breakups and school and stuff. She gives words of advice on choosing a best friend, citing Brooke Davis as a role model, because she always puts her friends first. Nathan and Haley get the nod for being potential ersatz mom and dad, and then Peyton entreats baby to take care of Lucas, because he’s going to need him/her. Then Lucas walks in. And he’s mad — he doesn’t want to do anything like this just because things MIGHT go bad. Peyton counters that she wants to get married. Now. Again, Lucas executes the smackdown, saying that he doesn’t want to do anything “just in case.”

Next, we get a Dunkin’ Donuts product placement as Victoria and Brooke are out and about in a department store, looking at shoes and other clothes under the pretext of doing research for Brooke’s new fashion line. As Victoria holds up a red dress to Brooke and tells her it would look good on her, Brooke realizes that her mom is trying to SHOP with her, and she calls her out on it.

In the garage, where Lucas continues to work on the Comet for Peyton, he and Nathan talk about Lucas’ fears, about losing her, and Nathan tells him that maybe this is the time for him to hold his breath while she does what she needs to do, as Haley did when Nathan started working toward his comeback.

Brooke talks to Sam about Sam’s relationship with her biological mom. Sam tells Brooke that her mom’s parents forced her to give her up when she had her, as she was still in her teens. Looking at a picture of her mom’s house, Sam muses that she’d always wanted to live in a house with a white picket fence. Brooke says that they could have a white picket fence, or any kind of fence. Brooke tries to nudge her out to go to Peyton’s baby shower, but Sam stays put. As Brooke walks out the door, she looks back at Sam, knowing that it could be one of the last times she sees Sam, as Sam is obviously contemplating going to be with her mom.

Mouth reports on Nathan Scott, who’s late for the game. When he gets in the locker room, Nathan gets a barrage of insults from Nino, who’s just giving him a bad time in jest. As they good-naturedly trade insults, Coach Irons comes in to tells Nathan that he’ll waive the fine for being late if they win, and if they impress the NBA scout who’s in the crowd that night.

Out shopping for a dress for Sam to wear to Peyton’s baby shower, Sam says she wants to know her real mom, although Victoria initially tries to push Sam into not wanting to live with her birth mom. (But is she just playing a mindgame, as usual?)

As Brooke fits Peyton into a dress for her baby shower, Peyton starts to get all blubbery about what a great friend, etc., Brooke is, and everyone else, and they have to stop themselves from crying. They pull themselves together and head out into the living room, where the baby shower is beginning. As Peyton opens gifts, she opens one from Mia, and finds it’s nothing but pictures of Mia in various poses … but the gift is giving Peyton carte blanche to pick out which one will be used for her album cover.

Brooke thinking of adopting Sam — the papers arrived in the mail. Peyton supports Brooke and they get all mushy.

Jamie, with Lucas in the garage, is going through Peyton’s deathbox for baby, marveling at the drawings, the iPod and everything else, saying that he wishes HE had a cool deathbox like this. (Or something to that effect, anyway.)

Over at the Charleston Chiefs court, as Nathan warms up, Mouth gets a picture of Millie on his phone, and he asks Nathan, “How are you doing on that long-distance thing?” Nathan tells him that if Mouth ever figures it out, to let him know, because he could use the help.

Skills picks up Lauren for their date, and it turns out that Chuck’s mom had been drinking, so Chuck has to come with them. Skills is a little taken aback, but he handles it pretty well, at least at first — but Chuck ends up being the height of obnoxiousness from the word go. As they bring him mini-golfing, go-cart racing and for ice cream, Chuck ends up being a pain in the you-know-what the whole night. Puking ice cream on Skills’ shoe is bad enough, but interrupting their would-be goodnight kiss with a creepy ventriloquist dummy, making him shout, “Naughty!” takes the cake. Skills drops Lauren off at the end of the evening without a goodnight kiss … until she comes over to his apartment to deliver one.

Back at Peyton’s shower, Peyton is overwhelmed by the love of her pals, and starts to tell them that she loves them all, and starts getting weepy again, so Mia gets up to take a picture so that no one can start tearing over or they’ll ruin their makeup.

As the Chiefs game approaches halftime, Nathan and Nino work together to dominate the field, under the watchful eye of the scout from the Clippers. Time after time, Nathan passes the ball to Nino, who puts it in the basket. At halftime, Coach Irons comes in to tell them that they’re looking great, but takes Nathan aside and tells him that although he’s making Nino look really good, that he shouldn’t short-change himself — if Nathan has the shot, he should feel free to take it. Nathan agrees, but says that the scout is watching everyone, the coach included, and he’s just doing everything he can to try for the win.

Still rooting through the deathbox, Lucas and Jamie talk in the garage, and Jamie says that Lucas is kind of Jamie’s Uncle Keith, which Lucas obviously takes as a supreme compliment. Then Jamie asks if Peyton’s going to be OK. Lucas says he doesn’t know. But Jamie declares that he thinks she will.

At Brooke’s house, Victoria tells her daughter that Sam should perhaps spend more time with her birth mother. Brooke confronts her for trying to put a wedge between her and Sam, just like all of her friends growing up, and accuses Victoria of trying to be the mom to Sam that she wasn’t to Brooke. Then Sam walks in, asking, “What’s going on?” Victoria storms out, saying, “Ask your mother.” Then Brooke tells Sam that she wants to adopt her. Sam agrees, but she looks tentatively at Brooke and asks, “Can I still see my REAL mother?”

Brooke tells Sam to spend some time with her real mother, telling her that, as always, she just wants to do what’s best for her. Sam asks, “Why are you so good to me?” And Brooke tells her that she loves her no matter what. Then Sam asks if she can keep the dress … because Victoria said it made her look like a Davis.

After the game, Mouth talks up Nathan’s play with the scout, asking him if he noticed, and the scout says that Nathan has a bright future ahead of him. “With the Clippers?” Mouth asks, and the scout chuckles and turns away, denying Mouth the scoop.

We see Sam hugging Brooke and Victoria goodbye, as she goes out the door. After the door closes and Sam is gone, Brooke asks Victoria, “What do we do now?” Victoria says that they have their work to focus on, much to Brooke’s dismay. They get started working, and Brooke puts an “anarchy” symbol on one of the bags in her drawings, and shelves it, as a reminder of Sam.

In the locker room, Coach Irons tells Nino and Nathan that they left all they could on the court, and that now they just have to wait for the phone to ring … and later that night, Nathan lies awake, eyes glued to his cellphone on the night stand.

We see Sam approach her biological mom’s house, go through the picket fence and run to the door. (Of course, mom is going to be a psycho in some way or other, or not be willing to take her in, but we’ll see. Expect more anxiety and drama and lots of mention of the name “Brooke Davis.”)

At episode’s end, Lucas tells Peyton that they can get married if the doctor says it’s OK — not because of the baby, but because he wants her to be his wife.

But wait! Next week:

Brooke’s date to the wedding ends up being Nick Lachey. But Julian apparently shows up and taunts Nick, who punches Julian in the face. Would be a little neater to see Nick Lachey take a sock in the eye, but either of those two — we’ll take it.