"Spirit in the Night" is the seventeenth episode of One Tree Hill and originally aired April 6th, 2004. The episode was written by Terrence Coli and directed by Duane Clark.
The Ravens hit the road and go to Charlotte for basketball and an annual cheerleading competition that Brooke is determined to win - but when one of the cheerleaders falls ill, Brooke has to turn to Peyton and Haley for help. Meanwhile, Lucas and Nathan are forced to share a room as they clash on the court over Whitey’s instruction that Lucas help Nathan with his shooting. Back in Tree Hill, Keith and Dan clash over changes made to the garage.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: After Whitey finds the kids partying in the hotel pool, he is shown verbally berating someone off-screen for their behaviour - chaperones Karen and Larry.
- Cain and Abel: Dan continues to go back on his word to Keith and keeps changing things in the garage. Keith ultimately quits after getting sick of it.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Brooke, to the point the rest of the squad have started calling her "Cheer Nazi" and Theresa is happy to be sent home with chickenpox since it means she doesn’t have to deal with Brooke anymore.
- Enemy Mine: Brooke agrees to put her issues with Peyton aside for the competition; once they’re back in Tree Hill, Brooke reiterates that it was just for the competition and she hasn’t forgiven Peyton.
- The Gadfly: Lucas and Nathan speculate that the reason Whitey assigned the boys rooms based on alphabetical order is to force the two of them into the same room.
- He's Back!: Subverted - Lucas makes his first free throw since the car accident, but it’s clear that he has some way to go before he’s truly back.
- Hidden Depths: Mouth is revealed to be an incredibly skilled dancer, perfectly recreating Bear Creek’s routine from memory.
- Jerkass: Lucas telling Haley that she looks ridiculous in the cheerleader outfit.
- Pet the Dog: Brooke extending her truce with Peyton with an invitation to join the rest of the cheerleaders partying in the pool.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Bear Creek’s cheerleaders once again win the competition as a whole, but Brooke wins the award for Best Choreography and gets to rub it in Clare Young’s face.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Karen gives the cheerleaders permission to break curfew so they can rework their routine without Theresa and bring Haley up to speed.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Keith quits his job at the garage, quickly tiring of Dan’s management and the constant changes he’s made to the business.
- Ship Tease:
- Jake once again tries flirting with Peyton, after finding out they have adjoining hotel rooms.
- Karen and Larry are seen seemingly flirting by Lucas and Peyton after the group returns to Tree Hill, and Keith has a similar impression when he sees the two getting along in the cafe.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When Brooke is arguing with Whitey about the school bus not having enough storage space for all the cheerleaders stuff, Nathan points out that they can just put the gear in his car and he’ll follow along separately.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "Spirit in the Night" by Bruce Springsteen.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Brooke, as noted under Drill Sergeant Nasty.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Nathan speaks to Lucas and tells him to get over whatever issue he has with Haley.
