"Messin’ With the Kid" is the seventh episode of Season 6 of One Tree Hill and originally aired October 20th, 2008. The episode was written by Mike Herro and David Strauss, and directed by Greg Prange.
Lucas and Peyton adjust to living together as a soon-to-be married couple, and Jamie turns to his parents for help dealing with a bully. Brooke finds herself looking at the life of a rebellious teenager from a new perspective, and Mouth’s job hunt has an unexpected outcome - and a surprising reunion.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Lucas not being able to perform in his mother’s bed winds up leaving Peyton in hysterics.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Mouth returns to the TV station, intending to beg for his old job back; when Mouth enters the station manager’s office, Mouth finds himself being begged to return to the station; he swiftly parlays thus into getting an intern and his own office.
- All Men Are Perverts: In Peyton’s dream, Lucas suggests that she and Brooke could share the cage that he’s moving her into.
- Birds of a Feather: Deconstructed with Lucas and Peyton - whilst the two share several pronounced similarities, they are ultimately different people with their own tastes and preferences.
- Bottle Episode: Lucas and Peyton spend the episode inside their house and don’t interact with any of the other characters until the end of the episode.
- Brick Joke: Peyton finds Lucas’ cellphone on her side of the house after he divides the property in two, and sends an embarrassing text to Fergie. At the end of the episode, Fergie turns up at Lucas and Peyton’s door because of the text.Peyton: Fergie. I love you very much and miss you every time we’re apart. I need to see you, soon.
- The Bus Came Back: Gigi returns for the first time since "Ashes of Dreams You Let Die" in Season 4, working as Mouth’s new intern.
- Children Are Cruel: Jamie winds up being bullied at school because of his cape.
- Character Tic: When Lucas complains that The Cure’s lyrics are whiny and depressing, Peyton retorts that "if they could squint, they’d be you!"
- Creator Cameo: Grace Potter, who composed and performed the original score for this episode, plays the busker who interacts with Haley.
- Failed a Spot Check:
- Despite living together and being engaged for some time, Peyton is still finding pictures of Lucas and Lindsey. When told this, Lucas winces and apologises, having thought he’d got them all.
- Happens repeatedly once Lucas splits the house in two.
- Peyton finds Lucas’ cellphone on her side of the house, and proceeds to send an embarrassing text to Fergie.
- Lucas has the television and his Xbox on his side of the house, but Peyton has the TV remote.
- Peyton tries to irritate Lucas into coming onto her side of the house by blasting "Fascination Street" by The Cure, only for Lucas just turn off the electricity to the master bedroom because the breakers are on his side of the house.
- Fanservice: Peyton trying to seduce Lucas to her side of the house involves wearing just a t-shirt and straddling the door frame, prominently showing off her legs.
- I Lied: When Peyton assumes that Lucas already owns doubles of all of her music, he sheepishly admits that he lied to her about liking The Cure.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: After moving into the master bedroom with Peyton, Lucas finds himself unable to perform because he can’t get past it being his mom’s bedroom, much to Peyton’s amusement.
- Mama Bear: Haley winds up getting into an argument and shoving Chuck Skolnick’s mother when she refuses to discipline her son for bullying Jamie.
- Shout-Out: When Peyton finds the house split in two, she alludes to it being something that belongs in The Brady Bunch.
- Take a Third Option: Nathan turns up at Jamie’s school wearing a cape, dunks a basketball in front of Jamie’s class and upon being asked how he did so, credits the cape and points to a box of capes for the rest of Jamie’s class, who all eagerly run over to the box.
- This Is My Side: Lucas divides the house down the middle in an attempt to prove to Peyton how stupid the article in B. Davis magazine really is.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "Messin' With The Kid" by Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band.
- Working with the Ex: Mouth finds himself in this situation when he discovers his new intern is Gigi, his ex-girlfriend from high school.
