A Complete Rewatch : One Tree Hill

In episode ten of One Tree Hill, You Gotta Go There To Come Back, things pick up where they've left off in the preceding chapter. Lucas and Brooke seem to be fully-fledged boyfriend and girlfriend, and Peyton tries her hardest to come to terms with it. Lucas pursues his discovery of fun and misses his mother calling from Italy, though he promised he would be there. Dan and Nathan go away on a weekend, a plea from Deb to fix their relationship, but, as always with Dan, things don't go according to plan. Finally, at the café, Haley comes up with the idea of live entertainment to bring some customers in during a dry spell.

BEHIND THE TITLE

The episode is named You Gotta Go There To Come Back after an album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. I have always interpreted the title as meaning something along the lines of you have to mess up, you have to make mistakes, you have to take big steps out of your comfort zone to find your way back to what makes you happy as a person, and it fits in well with the themes in this episode.

GENERAL OPINION.

I love this episode and, if we follow the notes I have taken throughout, it made me cry- towards the end, when Deb and Lucas finally start getting along and finding things in common. Ten episodes into the first season, it is dawning on me that, so far, this show might be flawless. There are always things I discussed and things I might wish had been done differently, but the feeling and emotion in this show are unmatched to me. There will, once again, be plenty of occasions to talk about my deep love for this show's music and the impact it had on my life, but I also adored it is the first instance of live music being incorporated in an episode, which is one of my favourite turning points.

SOUNDTRACK

- Re-Offender by Travis (which was the closing track for the previous episode, With Arms Outstretched)

- Everything by Fefe Dobson

- Be Different by Lori Denae

- Downed by Cheap Trick

- Girlfriend by The Band

- Starting All Over by Jon Elliot

- Bullet With Your Name On It by Lockgroove

- Mindleak by Bryan Greenberg

- Blue And White by Beth Waters

- Lonely World by Bryan Greenberg

- I Don't Want To Be by Gavin DeGraw

THE BEST BITS: THE OPEN MIC NIGHT.

During the episode, Deb grows concerned by the lack of customers in the café, and Haley informs her that it is because Tree Hill is a college town, and students are currently not in attendance. Haley, thinking of one of Karen's old plans, brings up the idea of running an open mic night to bring live entertainment and customers in, and, after getting Lucas' approval and Peyton's help to design the flyers, the night happens.

In the future, it is likely that live music moments will be up high on the list of my favourites, but I think this one will always remain special as one of the first. We have Jake Jagielski playing for an audience that is not solely his six-month-old daughter, Jenny, and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw comes in to perform his hit single and the show's opening song I Don't Want To Be, having accepted Peyton's invitation.

On top of the pure shot of serotonin that DeGraw's iconic track gives me, my favourite part of this scene is, shocker, the parallel it draws with the ending of the pilot. We saw the show start with a basketball game presenting high stakes at the Rivercourt between Lucas and Nathan, and the catalyst of everything that has happened since. If we were to compare this show to an almost-Shakesperean play as we did some weeks ago, Lucas and Nathan's show off in the pilot is to One Tree Hill what the ball is to Romeo and Juliet.

Since the last episode was the mid-season finale, logistically, we can describe You Gotta Go There To Come Back as a second premiere of sorts, the premiere of the second half of the season, which puts it on a parallel level with the show premiere. The basketball game at the end only reinforces the idea, the only difference being that the game has no stakes anymore. It is everyone in Tree Hill High, basketball players, cheerleaders, and outcasts alike, having fun at the Rivercourt, and the lyrics of Gavin DeGraw's song, an anthem for self-expression and freedom, only reinforce the idea. There were barriers between people at the start of the show, there was a difference between two parts of town, two brothers who loved the same sport, two cliques in the same school. In this episode, the barriers are starting to fall down and crash.

And it's joyous to watch.

THE LITTLE THINGS.

- At the start of the episode, we see Brooke walk back into Lucas' house with a tray of coffee cups for her, Lucas, and Keith, but it is very obvious that the cups are empty.

- There seems to be a continuity error in the schedule of the past two episodes. Since there is a basketball game at the end of 1x09 and Haley mentions that her parents are "gone for the weekend," it is safe to assume it was taking place on a Friday night. However, 1x10 picks exactly back up where 1x09 left off, talking about "last night." Logistically, this would make the day we see depicted in 1x10 a Saturday. But if it is a Saturday...Why is everyone going to school? Was the game on a Thursday night, then?

THE MOST AMERICAN MOMENT.

This is more of a detail than a moment, but I have to mention the American flag planted in Coach Durham's front yard. The concept of having a flag of the country where you live on show in front of your house is unbelievably wild to me, unless the World Cup is on and you want to show you support your favourite team. Where I live, it definitely indicates some sort of extreme patriotism and maybe borderline racist behaviour. However, in the United States, it seems rather normal- and Whitey doesn't strike me as either a Conservative, an extremely patriotic man, or anyone racist.

THE MOST 2000s MOMENT

There are a few in You Gotta Go There To Come Back, and they all revolve around Brooke Davis. Have I already argued the idea that Brooke Penelope Davis may be the quintessential 2000s girl? Because this episode is the perfect proof of it.

I could have mentioned this several episodes ago, but it is time to talk about a wardrobe staple of the start of the century: the Juicy Couture tracksuit. Every celebrity had one of those, from Paris Hilton to Lindsay Lohan. As the comfortable yet cool outfit of every girl of the 2000s, it is obvious Brooke Davis would sport one at any given occasion, like when she visits Peyton to clear the air after what happened at Lucas' house, or when she hangs out at the grocery store with Lucas.

The second one could be seen as more of a nineties accessory, but some of its variations were still popular in the early 2000s: the Polaroid camera. Brooke finds one in Peyton's bedroom, takes a picture of her ass, and then, they take what could be the 2000s version of a selfie together. Remember when you had to take photographs with your friends without front-facing cameras, and, if it wasn't a point-and-shoot camera, it all was a bit of a gamble? We didn't even have the word "selfie!"

Finally, during the open mic night, Peyton and Brooke are speaking outside of Karen's Café, and the collar of Brooke's jacket is worth mentioning. That little button closing up around your neck...SO 2000's. It's one of the trends I'm glad I never followed. I never liked those, but they were everywhere.

NOT THE BAD GUY?

During the first half of the season, I would have happily argued that, maybe, Lucas was not the bad guy, just a kid who got in too deep and speaks without thinking, sometimes. He's only sixteen or seventeen, after all, and, just like kids his age, he's prone to making mistakes. However, after watching You Gotta Go There To Come Back, I want to happily argue that he might be the bad guy after all.

First, there is the way he talks about Peyton to Haley, when the latter seems confused by him dating Brooke as he used to be pretty crazy about Peyton only five seconds ago. His answer is questionable at best, and if my best friend talked about a girl like that, any girl, for that matter, I would not let that slide. He calls Peyton "too hard," and he compares her to Brooke in the way that "she's not covered head to toe in issues, what's so bad about that?" While I understand he might not want to constantly justify his decision to date Brooke, he doesn't have to be rude and mean about it either. He could have just said he felt something for Brooke and be done with it instead of throwing Peyton under the bus, as if it was her fault he was dating someone else.

Later on that day, Keith interrupts Brooke and Lucas making out at home. He politely asks Brooke to leave, to which Lucas reacts with annoyance and entitlement, as if no one should have the right to stop him from making out with his hot girlfriend. While, again, I understand the frustration and the annoyance that comes from getting so close to getting laid, maybe for the first time, this doesn't justify the way he spoke to Keith afterwards. "You're not my mother, you're not even her boyfriend." Look, kid, he might not be dating Karen, but he's related to you, and she chose him to take care of you, so go take a cold shower and learn respect again. There's something of a rebellious teenager phase being experienced by Lucas there. Maybe it doesn't tell us if he's taking it too far or not, but...Still the bad guy on that one.

I understand the last one comes from, seemingly, a good place. However, the scene always makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Lucas runs to the Rivercourt and sees Jake playing the guitar in front of his house, and he invites him to tag along, which Jake has to decline. What was so hard about saying "Alright, raincheck, then? See you later!" From my perspective, it almost feels like Lucas' reaction, his, again, annoyance, and the way he assumes someone not being able to do something with him means they don't want to hang out with him specifically, almost force Jake to introduce him to Jenny. And, if I can see that Lucas means well when he tells Jake to not hide her daughter from the world, lest she grows up to feel her father is ashamed of her, I cannot help but feel uncomfortable- what right does he have to give an opinion on how someone else is raising their child? If we have to understand that Lucas is a teenager who makes mistakes, we also have to see that Jake is a teenage boy trying his hardest to juggle normal high school life and a six-month-old daughter whose mother disappeared, and the last thing he needs is someone else's opinion.

JAKE AND JENNY.

After briefly seeing Jake play the guitar for Jenny at the end of Life In A Glass House, we are formally introduced to her and the situation. Jenny is Jake's baby daughter, and her mother is not in the picture. He raises her as best as he can with his parents, who are both said to work nights to help him out. When it is discovered that basketball practice is suspended, for the time being, Jake is one of the only two players who seem relieved, and it is safe to assume that it is because he will have more time to take care of his daughter, or maybe relieve his parents of the pressure.

After a questionable speech about "not hiding your daughter" from Lucas, Jake decides to bring Jenny to the open mic night and introduce her to his world, letting the vast majority of his classmates and teammates know that if he runs away at the end of practice, is late, leaves early, and never goes out, it's because he has other responsibilities. I'm not going to lie to you- Jake and Jenny always sweep me right off my feet. When conversations about who was everyone's favourite Tree Hill guy were around, I was always on team Jake.

SPRING AWAKENING

One of the most important scenes of the episode is Deb catching Lucas and Brooke buying whipped cream and condoms at the grocery store, and subsequently talking to Keith about it. It's worth mentioning that most of the adults in the show are in their mid-to-late thirties, as they had children at the end of high school or in college, and they were teenagers in the eighties, which never struck me as a particularly conservative time in history. However, these adults all have a very old school view on teenage sex- seemingly because they all had their lives turned upside down because of it. Deb and Keith almost sound horrified because Brooke and Lucas are having sex or thinking about doing it.

From a 2021 perspective...What's so wrong with it? They are buying condoms, which means they seem to be at least a little educated on contraception and protection from STDs. On top of that, they are buying condoms together and not being embarrassed by the purchase- at least, not until an adult they know turns up. Maybe it's something in the southern part of the United States, where everyone seems to love Jesus and getting married the second something goes awry in the bed department, but...Maybe these kids need education instead of policing?

THE POINT OF NO RETURN.

There is no shortage of words to discuss Dan's attitude in this episode, and they mostly revolve around entitlement, him being tone-deaf, and humiliation.

There is something about Dan walking into Whitey's office unannounced, without even knocking on the door, and questioning every single one of his decisions regarding the team. He isn't even the coach! Yes, he is a former player, a gifted one, granted, but technically, he is only the father of two of the players. He doesn't have any sort of right to barge into the coach's office to question their decisions. There is a constant entitlement in Dan's general attitude, and it shows even more when he makes plans for Nathan without even asking for his approval. He even makes a bag for him- he's seventeen! Does he not get to choose what clothes he is going to wear? Did his father pick out underwear for him? You have to admit it's a bit weird.

As was planning a weekend and assuming everyone was going to be free to spend time with him.

When, in the car, Dan tries to discuss Nathan having a great life, he says: "You have a basketball pedigree any kid would die for." I cannot even begin to explain how tone-deaf Dan is with this one. His son literally almost died for the same basketball pedigree forty-eight hours ago. And since when did athletic performance equate to happiness? Dan has them, and he's far from being happy.

Finally...God, the humiliation. Let's just start with Deb, shall we? She is working at the café, and Dan turns up with a visible and over-the-top bunch of flowers to invite her to a romantic getaway for the two of them. The flowers are big and obnoxious, and it almost feels like a grand gesture from him, as if everyone in Tree Hill simply HAD to know how much he loves his wife. But it's embarrassing for Deb too. She's at work. She's helping a friend and taking care of her business. She doesn't want to be talking about her marriage, accepting flowers, and discussing weekends away.

I think it is also worth talking about the check-in scene at the hotel. First of all, Dan has never amended the booking to accommodate Nathan, who finds out at the reception desk that he is just a stand-in for his mother, on what was supposed to be a romantic weekend. Then, Dan fixes the bed situation by asking the concierge for a cot while he will be sleeping in a king-size bed. Is this supposed to mean that Dan is always supposed to have it better, even when it comes to furniture? Then, Nathan picks up the phone when Haley calls, and Dan's reply is a supposedly playful "she has you on a short leash." I'm sorry? Every time he talks to his son about girls, Dan always seems to forget he had a girlfriend at his age, too. Surely, they would have spent time on the phone too, and he would have never thought "that girl's got me on a short leash." This is gross. Just gross.

While Dan is away with Nathan, they get up early to play golf, a sport at which Nathan doesn't seem to be gifted at. It would be absolutely fine if his father wasn't trying his hardest to make a competition out of it and didn't keep on belittling him every time he misses. Nathan is evidently trying his best, and it should be enough for any good parent. Even the fact that he is present after what his father regularly puts him through should be enough. But, as always, Dan had to go and ruin it all.

The main difference between before this episode and during this episode is that people are not scared to stand up to Dan anymore. Nathan loses his composure and calls his father out on everything he feels, finally lets out all the thoughts he has had bottled up for months, maybe years. Deb refuses the flowers and the silly gestures and suggests a real move for the family: therapy. She knows how to stand up for herself, and she knows how to stand up for her family. She is aware of her own mistakes, and she is trying to fix them. They are not going to let Dan walk all over them anymore.

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

There are a few shots of Peyton's surprised and charmed face when Jake is playing the guitar at Karen's Café, which may indicate she is seeing him in a new light now she knows more about him. He's not just the nice guy on the basketball team, he plays the guitar, and he takes care of his daughter. Where is this going to go?