"Crash Course in Polite Conversations" is the twelfth episode of One Tree Hill and aired February 3rd, 2004. The episode was written by Jessia Queller and directed by Sandy Smloan.
After receiving news that her father's boat is missing, Peyton and Lucas have to drive out of state to identify a dead body. Meanwhile, Dan and Keith's parents, Royal and May Scott, make an unexpected visit to Tree Hill for Dan's birthday - leaving Dan struggling to keep his separation from Deb, and Nathan's quitting the team under wraps.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation:
- Royal Scott heading to Karen’s Cafe to see Karen and asking after Lucas. It’s unclear if he’s always checked in with Karen to see how his eldest grandson is doing, or if he’s only doing so because Lucas is now on the Ravens; however, Royal never makes any future appearances for the show to elaborate on the situation any further, whilst his visit is never mentioned to Karen when she returns from Italy.
- After the truth comes out about Dan faking the extent of his knee injury, he tells Nathan and Deb that he tried to rehab his knee after realising how much he loved the game; however, neither believe Dan due to the number of lies he’s told about the matter over the years and it’s left unclear if he’s actually telling the truth or not.
- Big Damn Kiss: Peyton and Lucas kiss after they find her bracelet, and things quickly wind up escalating from there.
- Dare to Be Badass: Nathan returns to the Ravens, intent on beating Dan's scoring record so that he can never hold basketball against him again.
- Dramatic Irony: Brooke is the one to suggest that Lucas go with Peyton to identify the body.
- Generation Xerox: It's clear that Dan inherited his overbearing attitude from his father.
- Hypocrite: Dan's refusal to accept Nathan quitting the Ravens, as it emerges that Dan played up the severity of his knee injury so he had an excuse to quit basketball without disappointing his own father.
- Identifying the Body: The reason Lucas and Peyton drive out to Hilton Head is because Peyton needs to identify a dead body that has been found as her father - it isn’t, and shortly after leaving the morgue Peyton gets the news from Brooke that Larry is safe.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Lucas and Peyton are interrupted by his necklace getting caught on Peyton’s hair - because it was a gift from Brooke, it’s enough to get the two blondes to cool things down.
- Internal Reveal: All of the drama at Dan's birthday dinner ultimately rises from the various secrets and lies Dan has told over the years to protect his image - the only thing that doesn’t come out is Dan and Deb’s separation.
- It Doesn't Mean Anything/It Meant Something to Me: Played with in Lucas and Peyton's conversation about nearly hooking up in the motel as they drive home, as Peyton initially tries to claim the former before immediately caving and admitting to the later.Peyton: We got carried away, it didn't mean anything.
Lucas: It didn't?
Peyton: Of course it did. - Locked Out of the Loop:
- Royal and May Scott turn up at Dan and Deb's home to celebrate Dan's birthday, unaware that he isn’t living there due to a separation.
- Dan hasn’t informed his parents about Nathan quitting the Ravens, or his collapsing after taking performance enhancing drugs.
- Dan and May exaggerated the extent of Dan’s knee injury so he could quit basketball without disappointing Royal, and kept it a secret from the rest of the family.
- Never My Fault: After the truth comes out about Dan faking the extent of his knee injury, Dan tells Nathan and Deb that he ultimately tried to rehab his knee but it didn’t take. It's unclear, however, if Dan is being truthful or just trying to save face.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Lucas and Brooke the moment they see Peyton’s face after she’s been told she needs to identify a body.
- Peyton realising that she left her bracelet in the motel room.
- The Reveal: Dan's knee injury wasn't actually career ending - he played up the severity because he didn't enjoy basketball as much in college and didn't want to disappoint his father by quitting.
- There Is Only One Bed: When Lucas and Peyton check into their motel room, they find that there’s only one bed. Lucas initially offers to sleep on the floor, but Peyton dismisses the idea.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "Crash Course in Polite Conversations" by Gameface.
- Troll: Keith invites Whitey to Dan's birthday dinner because he knows it’ll make Dan uncomfortable.
- Wham Episode: Lucas and Peyton make out in a motel room, despite his dating Peyton’s best friend Brooke.
- The Unfavorite: Royal clearly favors Dan over Keith, to the point he only compliments Keith so he could make a backhanded insult to Dan in the process.
