"It Gets the Worst at Night" is the seventeenth episode of Season 4 of One Tree Hill and originally aired May 9th, 2007. The episode was written by Mark Schwahn and Jim Lee, and directed by Greg Prange.
A week removed from prom, Skills receives a text from Mouth asking for help after his road trip with Rachel, and the gang sets off on a road trip of their own to a small town in Texas named Honey Grove to rescue him. When their car breaks down, the gang get a second chance at enjoying prom.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Book Ends: "Stay Away" by The Honorary Title plays behind the opening and closing scenes of the episode; doubled down by the first instance ending as the gang set-off for Honey Grove, and the second beginning as they leave for Tree Hill.
- Breather Episode: After the drama of prom, comes an episode with the gang going on a road trip to rescue Mouth in Texas.
- Call-Back:
- Brooke and Peyton sharing a bed with Lucas is similar to earlier in the season where Peyton would spend nights with Lucas after she was first assualted by Psycho Derek.
- The message written on the back of Mouth's photo from Rachel says "I could have loved the boy in this photo" which is a reversal of what he said after seeing pictures of her before her plastic surgery in "Everyday is a Sunday Evening".
- Chris Keller recalls kissing Haley, sleeping with Brooke, and getting slapped by Peyton.
- After getting Mouth out of prison, the gang recount their crappy prom nights as they discuss crashing the Honey Grove prom.
- Skills tells Lucas who Abby Brown is, and how she was in the Tutor Center during the school shooting before Jimmy let her go because of her diabetes.
- Commuting on a Bus: Chris Keller returns, his tour bus happening to come across the gang after Rachel’s car breaks down on the way to Honey Grove.
- Contrived Coincidence: After their car breaks down on a road trip to a small town in Texas, the Tree Hill gang are saved by a tour bus carrying the singer who most of the group has a grudge against.
- Distressed Dude: The plot kicks off with Mouth sending Skills a text message saying that he’s in Honey Grove, Texas and he needs help. When the gang finally arrives, he’s been arrested for sleeping on a park bench.
- Easily Forgiven: Brooke comes clean to Haley about her part in stealing the exams; whilst Haley is justifiably pissed off upon learning this, she ultimately forgives Brooke the following morning after talking to Nathan about the matter.
- Foreshadowing: Nathan is clearly bothered by something throughout the episode, and has a confrontational phone call once the group arrives in Honey Grove; after returning to Tree Hill, he tells Lucas that the Ravens are being investigated for point shaving, with Lucas specifically being implicated.
- Get a Room!: Said verbatim by Haley to Lucas and Peyton as they kiss at the prom.
- High-School Dance: The gang wind up crashing the Honey Grove prom, hoping to have a better experience than at their own prom. The punch still winds up being spiked.
- Internal Reveal:
- Brooke comes clean to Haley about stealing the calculus exams.
- Lucas and Dan both learn that Abby Brown witnessed what really happened during the school shooting - Lucas recognises her from his memories of the event, whilst Dan has the burner phone tracked and learns who paid for it.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Mouth, Skills and Brooke walk in on Lucas & Peyton in bed after having sex.
- Lampshade Hanging:
- Whilst at the Honey Grove prom, there’s a sequence that cuts between one of the Tree Hill gang talking about their lives with some of the Honey Grove teens, with the Honey Grove kids looking at them like they’re aliens as they talk about the events of the series.
- After walking in on Lucas & Peyton post-sex in their motel room, Skills comments that he really needs to stop walking in on people after sex, having done the same thing to Mouth and Shelley three episodes earlier.
- Not So Above It All: When the car breaks down, Lucas complains that they should’ve stuck to the main roads instead of taking a diversion so Haley could see a sandwich shaped like Elvis, before admitting he wanted to see it too after Peyton lightly needles him about it.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Haley repeatedly insults Rachel for stealing calculus exams, unaware that Brooke was the true culprit.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Played for Laughs as Lucas brings some old high school year books with him on the road trip so the gang can laugh at their younger selves - such as Peyton not knowing Lucas whilst he harbored a crush on her earlier in high school.Lucas: You think that's bad? Check this out. Peyton wrote to me in my sophomore yearbook... "Peyton Sawyer."
Peyton: Come on! I didn't even know you then.
Lucas: You know how hard I worked to get my yearbook in front of her? And then she signs her damn name. I was crushed. - Only Known By His Nickname: When Skills and Chris ask a passing police officer about Mouth’s whereabouts, he immediately knows who they’re talking about and refers to Mouth by his full name. Chris immediately laments that they’re looking for someone named Mouth, not realising it’s just a nickname.
- Put on a Bus: Rachel is nowhere to be found when the gang arrive in Honey Grove, and Mouth explains what happened: After over hearing Rachel flirting with a random guy at a bar and feeding him the exact same lines that she’s been using on him, Mouth decided to return home and phoned Rachel to tell her. By the time he returned to their hotel room, Rachel had taken off.
- Road Trip Plot: Lucas, Nathan, Peyton, Haley, Brooke and Skills drive to Honey Grove, Texas to rescue Mouth after he sends Skills a text message asking for help.
- Rummage Sale Reject: The Tree Hill gang and Chris Keller raid the local thrift store to get makeshift prom outfits before they crash the Honey Grove prom.
- Self-Parody: Whilst at Honey Grove prom, there’s a sequence where the Tree Hill kids are shown telling some of the local teens about their lives, with the Honey Grove kids reacting in utter bewilderment at the Scott family drama and being enthralled with Brooke's life.
- Shout-Out:
- Haley comments that Brooke signed one of Lucas’ old year books by comparing his looks to Lance Bass.
- The gang are stated to have taken a detour to see a sandwich that looked like Elvis Presley.
- When Chris Keller’s tour bus pulls up, Peyton expresses her hope that it’s the Foo Fighters whilst Skills is hoping for Kanye West.
- Sleep Cute: Lucas and Peyton can be seen cuddled up on the backseat during the scenes in which the gang are driving at night.
- Stating the Simple Solution: When the group arrives in Honey Grove with no idea on how to find Mouth, Chris Keller points out that it’s a small town so they should just ask a cop if they’ve seen him.
- Technology Marches On: Invoked when Rachel’s Denali breaks down - Lucas finds himself unable to fix the car because of how much of the car is computerised.
- Tempting Fate: Haley questions how much trouble Mouth could really be in; cue a Jump Cut to Mouth stuck in jail.
- Their First Time: Lucas and Peyton finally make love for the first time whilst in Honey Grove.
- Throwing the Fight: Discussed; Nathan tells Lucas that the Ravens are being investigated for point shaving, with Lucas specifically being implicated.
- Title Drop: Lucas telling Nathan how Peyton and Brooke are doing after Psycho Derek’s attack in the previous episode.
- Titled After the Song: The title of the episode is taken from the song "It Gets The Worst At Night" by Lucero.
- Unusual Euphemism: Mouth’s text to Skills reads "Need ass." rather than using more commonly used terminology like "S.O.S" or "Need help." This is lampshaded by Lucas and Skills.Lucas: "Honey Grove, Texas. Please come. Need ass"?
Skills: I was thinking he would've typed "assistance" but his battery died.
Lucas: Why didn't he just write "help"? "Need help"?
Skills: Maybe he need ass.
