"The Wind That Blew My Heart Away" is the thirteenth episode of Season 3 of One Tree Hill and originally aired February 1st, 2006. The episode was written by Stacy Rukeyser and directed by David Jackson.
A violent rainstorm knocks out the power in Tree Hill. Brooke confronts Lucas about his feelings for Peyton, whilst Nathan and Haley contemplate their future together. Meanwhile, Peyton and Ellie finally bond as mother and daughter, Karen and Keith try to stop the cafe flooding, and Dan takes advantage of everyone being stranded to tie up some loose ends.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Big Damn Kiss:
- Brooke and Lucas share one in the middle of the downpour.
- Same for Nathan and Haley.
- But Now I Must Go: Ellie tries to leave now that the album is complete, per her agreement with Peyton, but agrees to stay an extra night because of the storm.
- Character Death: Ellie dies from her cancer.
- Downer Ending: For the second time in her life, Peyton has to deal with the death of her mother.
- Dramatic Irony: Ellie reminds Peyton that she only agreed to stay with Peyton until the "Friends With Benefit" album was completed, with the characters meaning literally stay with Peyton at the Sawyer home. Ellie ultimately passes away from her cancer before Peyton can show her the printed CD, meaning she wasn’t able to stay a part of Peyton's life beyond the album being completed.
- Everyone Has Standards: When Brooke comforts a grieving Peyton after Ellie’s death, Lucas stands off to one side until Brooke calls him over because Peyton needs him too.
- Insecure Love Interest: Brooke's insecurities over Lucas and Peyton's history resurface, leading to her running out into the downpour.
- Kick the Dog: Peyton finds Ellie’s dead body when she drives up to River City to show her the first batch of the "Friends With Benefit" album.
- Lampshade Hanging: After Karen tells Lucas to stay where he is during the storm, Keith points out that she just told him to stay with Brooke, alone in her apartment.
- Recycled Script: Invoked by Lucas' letter to Brooke - he unwittingly reuses some of the things he'd previously said to Peyton in a letter to her, and Brooke angrily calls him out on it.
- The Reveal: In spite of his broken heart, Nathan kept every news clipping about Haley’s tour with Chris Keller.
- Ship Tease:
- After the power goes out, Lucas is more concerned with checking on Peyton than actually being with his girlfriend, Brooke.
- He has also written in a letter for her the exact same words he has written in one for Peyton which was in the box with the momentous stuff about her found by Brooke in his bedroom at the end of season 2.
- Peyton and Ellie’s conversation about a guy she regrets letting go, much like their conversation in the previous episode, is deliberately ambiguous and doesn’t refer to the boy she’s talking about by name.Peyton: You know, um,… I was thinking about… the stuff you said about living life and… jumping at opportunity; not being afraid.
Ellie: Yeah?
Peyton: And… there was this guy – there… there is this guy. A guy that… I loved. And… I let him go and now I’m starting to think that was a big mistake. But it’s too late.
- Shout-Out: Brooke makes reference to a The Powerpuff Girls (1998) torch light.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "The Wind That Blew My Heart Away”by Fruit Bats.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Played for Laughs after Nathan tells Haley that she can’t go to Duke. Haley proceeds to go on a rant about Nathan’s treatment of her since she got back, before Nathan cuts her off and says she can’t go to Duke to be with him because he’s going to Stanford to be with her.
- Brooke isn’t happy when she realises that Lucas recycled some of the things he said in his latest letter to her from a letter he had previously written to Peyton.
