A Complete Rewatch: One Tree Hill

The First Cut Is The Deepest, episode sixteen of the first series of One Tree Hill, takes place straight after Brooke has discovered Peyton and Lucas' betrayal. Brooke is resolved to ignore her ex-boyfriend and former best friend, but things don't go according to plan when Lucas storms out of dinner, leaving Karen worried. Angry and upset at the world, he runs to a bar and the arms of a mysterious woman. In the meantime, Keith is struggling with his business and accepts a proposal from Dan.

BEHIND THE TITLE.

This episode is entitled The First Cut Is The Deepest after a song written by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. It is the second episode in the show to be named after a Sheryl Crow song, and it makes sense in this one, as she makes a cameo towards the end. Originally, the song was written by Cat Stevens, who is now known as Yusuf / Cat Stevens, in 1967. The song has been widely covered and been a hit for many artists, such as Rod Stewart, and Sheryl Crow, in 2003. A tale of heartbreak preventing someone from moving on ("I would have given you all of my heart / But there's someone who's torn it apart"), The First Cut Is The Deepest is an appropriate title for an episode that focuses largely on heartbreak and its consequences on a person.

GENERAL OPINION.

This is a messy episode in the best way, without having a clear trajectory of where it's going. In some parts, we are still in "calm before the storm" territory, especially when it comes to Nathan's family problems. For the Scotts, these times are like water slowly reaching its boiling point, its point of no return. In others, we are dealing with the consequences of the storm, as we see in Peyton, Lucas, and Brooke, all in turmoil after the betrayal and the break-up. There are moments of quiet, still, such as Haley's frantic, almost comical search for Sheryl Crow tickets, almost incongruous in such a heavy episode.

THE BEST BITS: MUSIC IN TREE HILL.

In One Tree Hill, music is a fully-fledged character. I have rarely ever watched a TV programme or film where music was such an integral part of the narrative unless it was a musical, or music was a part of the plot. One Tree Hill is primarily a show about people who are allowed to feel deeply, and the soundtrack is instrumental in conveying those feelings.

Sheryl Crow is the second artist who performs as herself in the show, the first one being Gavin DeGraw in the open mic night episode. Crow shows up at Karen's Café looking for a cup of coffee, and Haley, after babbling incomprehensibly, flustered at the sight of her idol, offers the beverage in exchange for a song. There Sheryl plays The First Cut Is The Deepest, and everything in town becomes quiet again. The big storms are gone, the big, boisterous adventures are over, and we are dealing with our feelings, now, quietly, in the privacy of our own homes. We are all facing the fact that, as the song says, the first cut is the deepest. The first person you let in and who broke your heart cut the deepest. The same goes for the girl who left you with a baby. The same goes for the son who decided he didn't want anything to do with you.

SOUNDTRACK

- Big Ballin' (Above The Rain) - Bigg Blue

- Never Like This - Buva

- There Goes The Neighbourhood - Sheryl Crow

- Parking - The Fuzz

- Home - Sheryl Crow

- Tiny Little Fractures - Snow Patrol

- Bleed - Stone Dogs

- Lucky Kid - Sheryl Crow

- Tell Your Story Walking - Deb Talan

- He'll Be Around - Boss Martinas

- Don't Forget - Kid Gloves

- Breaking Away - Bosshouse

- Nothing - Smashtrax

- It's Only Love - Sheryl Crow

- The First Cut Is The Deepest - Sheryl Crow

If I'm not mistaken, it's the largest amount of songs played in an episode so far, and the most we have seen a single artist be featured, as there are five Sheryl Crow songs in 1x16. Bosshouse's Breaking Away was also already featured in 1x08, The Search For Something More.

THE LITTLE THINGS.

-After Dan gifts Nathan the Mustang, he drives to school with it straight away. In the next shot, we see the license plate, which simply states: "I got mine at DSM!" So there is no license plate, and it's perfectly fine to drive like this, apparently.

- It's the first time we get a glimpse of Brooke's bedroom, which is largely pink, adding to her girly-girl image. In one of the shots, we can spot Tree Hill pennants hung on the wall. I believe one's interior decor tells a lot about the person they are, but not much is revealed about Brooke apart from the fact that she likes pink and red tones (her outfit), she's a cheerleader, and she seems to enjoy horror movies and Chinese takeaway when her heart is broken. Oh, and no one ever knocks on the door in this town.

- What's with people ordering "a beer" in bars? I understand it was so they did not have to pay certain fees which, I imagine, come with citing a popular brand, but, come ON. At least, make it more believable. Just do it like English people do in venues and clubs and show which one you want on the tap, just to give the pretense of more choice than "a beer."

- When Nicki leaves Karen's Café, there is no sound from the door or the stool she was sitting on.

THE MOST AMERICAN MOMENT.

So, we're going to have to talk about fake IDs. They are a staple of American filmed fiction, and are usually the gateway to underaged drinking, or, in this case, of being served in a bar. In France, where I live, if you get caught with a fake ID or passport, you risk five years in prison and a 75000 euro fine. In the UK, where I have lived, you risk ten years imprisonment and a maximum fine of 10000 pounds. In the United States, though I guess things are different from state to state, you risk up to a year in jail, but it is much more common to not serve more than ninety days. You are more likely to get fined somewhere between 500 and 1000 dollars. It now makes a lot more sense as to why these are so common in TV shows and films. Chances are, if you're a kid who just wanted to buy some beers, you won't risk too much. The websites for obtaining them seem to be easily accessible as well. I guess that as a French person who still gets ID'd, even when I'm trying to buy cutlery or medication, sometimes, it is surprising to see that it is not the same in every country, and laws regarding serving alcohol to minors seem to be a lot more lenient across the Atlantic. I understand why all the teenagers drink in TV shows.

THE MOST 00s MOMENT.

Haley spending the whole night bidding for Sheryl Crow tickets on eBay. Has anyone ever done that? I have never, not a time in my life, not even when I was desperate for standing Muse tickets, bought them on eBay. I just knew there was too much of a risk of them being fake. Do people still sell tickets on eBay nowadays, when social media and awesome platforms such as Twickets exist?

After Haley complains about spending the night looking for tickets, Nathan convinces her to come over to his mother's place because he has "DSL." The good days when you could flex on your Internet connection. (I couldn't ever do that. I live in the middle of nowhere and I have to hotspot myself from the top floor if I want to use the Internet on my laptop.)

Before he leaves for the wedding, Jake gives Peyton a list of numbers she can call, were she in need of anything, and he has included his pager number. Has anyone ever had a pager? It must have been a rich people thing because, despite knowing what they were when I was a teenager, I don't remember anyone I know owning a pager. How do you even use them?

When Deb comes into Nathan's bedroom to speak with him, he is playing SSX, undoubtedly on a PlayStation 2, and I had to jot it down so I could talk about it. I used to LOVE SSX- though I wasn't notoriously good at it. Last year, we dug up a box of old PlayStation games, and one of the first ones I played was SSX. I'm rusty, but it's still fun, after all these years.

- While Haley and Nathan are watching Sheryl Crow, she says how no one at school is going to believe them. While I wasn't aware sixteen-year-olds could, at any point in history, brag because they have seen Sheryl Crow for real, Nathan got down on his knees and took a picture of them both on his flip phones. In the great words of Summer Roberts in The O.C, "Thank God I had my camera phone! They are the autographs of the 21st century."

Jake & Peyton's friendship. In the middle of all the turmoil faced by our love triangle this episode, one of them gets a happier trajectory, and for once, it is Peyton. At the start of the episode, Jake asks her to babysit Jenny while he is at his cousin's wedding, and it is the first time we see them being friends, for real, and not just people who occasionally say hi to each other and chat. Before he leaves, he tells her he has never left Jenny with anybody else than his parents, and it's beautiful to see how he trusts her. At the end of the episode, while Jake is clearing things and throwing things in the bin, he finds the portrait of his daughter Peyton has drawn while she was here. Let's take a minute to focus on the art: it's stunning and so vivid. It's also important to point out how different it is from Peyton's other art, specifically from the other piece we see her compose in the episode (three figures shooting at a heart with the number 3, surrounded by flames). This drawing of Jenny is a lot softer, there are no bold colours, and it focuses on something soft and happy: a baby. For once, it is a relief to see Peyton catch a break instead of accumulating hardships, and it's lovely to see her draw something that is not dark and angsty.

The Dan case. One of the conversations in the episode revolves on whether Dan should be absolved of crimes just because he has saved Lucas' life and pulled him out of the wreckage of Keith's car. Later on, we see Dan offering Keith a hand for the first time, explaining he is making changes, and the deal he offers Keith seems quite fair. But, as always with Dan Scott, it was too good to be true. Just like he always has to say something mean to someone ("Besides, I don't see anyone breaking the door with other offers" - was that really necessary?), he always has to do something villainous, even when he is nice to someone. Yes, he bought Keith's business back and saved him from going bankrupt, but at what cost? So he could put his name on yet another business, prove to himself he could be better than his older brother?

The rebound. Lucas is understandably on edge this whole episode. First of all, physical therapy is not quick enough for him, and he is afraid of losing his hard-earned spot in the Ravens. Then, he is nursing a doubly broken heart, and though he brought it on himself, for the most part, recovering from losing two people you care about is tough on one's mind. After storming out of dinner, he heads to the bar where he and Brooke went on their first date and hooks up with a girl he doesn't know much about, apart from the fact that her name is Nicki and she used to work at the mall. Oh, and she can do a magic trick with alcohol and matches. (Has anyone else tried it? Does it work?) They end up having sex in the carousel, which is still, somewhere in my mind, a super cool scene. However, I have to point out other things I couldn't help but notice. First, when they end up on the carousel, Nicki asks Lucas how he injured himself and asks about death and whether she can touch the injury, kiss it. The morbid fantasies are just...a little icky to watch. Was there any need for her to ask him if it was true that one is never more alive than the moment before they die? Second, when they are back at the café, she tells him she knows he is in high school and informs him that "It's okay. I like them young." No, it is not. It's pretty obvious she is older than them and not a high school student (she wouldn't point it out if she was one), and, now we know she is also Jake's baby mama, she makes a habit of hooking up with younger, vulnerable guys. This is just fucked up.

The broken family. After Karen offers Deb a partnership, she refuses as she doesn't want to keep making the same mistakes she used to. Karen then encourages her to explain her side of the story to Nathan, let him know what Dan is talking about, reveal her secrets. She confesses she had once met someone else and briefly left Dan for this secret man, then, she changed her mind and came back home. Nathan walks out because he feels betrayed- the summer this happened, he would call her every day to complain about his father's treatment, but not once did she come back for him. He feels abandoned. And while the audience is meant to feel for Nathan, which I do, it's hard not to feel for Deb too. She WANTS to do the right thing. She refuses a great job offer because she wants to put her relationship with her son first. She comes clean about her past and her secrets. She is honest and vulnerable. And all she gets is a son who petitions for emancipation from his parents. If this were real life, would he have a case? Narcissist father, mother who once almost left. Is this enough?

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

- What's going to happen now Nicki is back in Jake's life?

- What about Nathan? Will his emancipation petition go through?

- How is Keith going to deal with all these changes at work?