"Good News for People Who Love Bad News" is the third episode of Season 4 of One Tree Hill and originally aired October 11th, 2006. The episode was written by David Strauss and Mike Herro, and directed by John Asher.
Lucas and Brooke clash following their break-up, with Haley being caught in the middle. Rachel starts trying to seduce Nathan. Meanwhile, Peyton connects with her half-brother Derek; Skills tries to find his place in the Ravens.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Birds of a Feather: Lucas comments that Peyton and Derek share the same taste in music, she’s an artist and he’s a photographer, and they even ordered the same breakfast.
- Black Comedy: When Peyton is showing Derek around Tree Hill, she makes a throwaway comment joking about showing him where she buried her prom date, and Derek similarly responds that it’d be weird if they had that in common.
- Blatant Lies: Brooke tells Haley that Lucas and Peyton were sneaking around behind her back again, leaving out all of the context relating to it being a one time occurrence during the shooting.
- Combat Commentator: Lucas joins Mouth and Gigi in providing commentary for the Ravens game, as he tries to find a way to keep basketball in his life.
- Failed a Spot Check: Skills sends Bevin to find out the gossip regarding Brooke to try and help Lucas; Bevin returns with the "big" news that Brooke dumped Lucas.
- Genre Savvy: Almost immediately after he sits down with Peyton in the cafe, Derek asks Peyton who she brought with her in case he turned out to be a psycho, prompting Lucas to reveal that he’s sitting at the table next to them.
- Humble Hero: Nathan is clearly uncomfortable with all the praise being heaped upon him for his actions in the limo crash.
- Hypocrite: Haley confronts Lucas, asking what he was thinking sneaking and kissing Peyton behind Brooke’s back again; Lucas responds by pointing out he was trying to comfort his friend who thought she was going to die, and then asks which leg Haley was shot in when she kissed Chris Keller.
- Insult Backfire: Brooke tries to insult Peyton, only for Peyton to fire it back at her.Brooke: What are you laughing about, your ‘I love yous’ send people to the grave.
Peyton: Well, if that’s the case, then I love you Brooke. - Ironic Echo: Lucas telling Brooke that he’s not going to fight for her is shot to mirror Lucas telling Brooke that he was the guy for her in "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea".
- Kick the Dog: Brooke makes a joke about Peyton's tragic homelife, but Peyton laughs it off and turns the insult around on her.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Brooke kisses Derek out of spite, thinking that he’s Peyton’s new boyfriend.
- Locked Out of the Loop: When Brooke tells Haley about Lucas and Peyton’s kiss during the shooting, she deliberately leaves out the context of the kiss to make it look like they were having an affair behind her back again.
- Never Trust a Trailer: The promo spot for the episode teases a potential hook-up between Nathan and Rachel with a shot of them at the party. The scene in question actually features Nathan reaffirming his commitment to Haley and their marriage.
- The Reveal: The episode ends on a shot of Derek in his motel room, which is covered in pictures of Peyton - he’s not her brother, but a stalker.
- Right Behind Me: At half time, Skills complains to Nathan that someone to speak to Whitey about keeping him on the bench, only realising Whitey was standing behind him when Nathan slightly cocks his head and repeats everything he’d just said.
- Ship Sinking: Lucas makes it clear to Brooke that he’s not going to fight for her this time and that he’s not the guy for her as he thought for a while.
- Stalker Shrine: Derek’s motel room is covered in photos of Peyton.
- Take Up My Sword: Lucas hands Skills the number 3 jersey that he had previously worn during his time playing with the Ravens.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" by Modest Mouse.
- Trash Talk: Skills quickly becomes the most vocal member of the Ravens once Whitey puts him in, thanks to this trope.
- Trauma Button: As Nathan goes to take a free throw, he sees Rachel standing underneath the hoop and has a flashback to the limo crash.
- Wham Shot: Derek’s wall covered in photos of Peyton, revealing that he’s not her brother but is actually a stalker.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Haley confronts Lucas about kissing Peyton behind Brooke’s back, completely unaware of the context.
