"Life in a Glass House" is the seventh episode of One Tree Hill and originally aired October 28th, 2003. The episode was written by Mike Kelley and directed by Robert Duncan Mc Neil.
Every year, Dan and Deb host a basketball appreciation party - this is the first time both of his sons will attend. Karen makes an unlikely connection, Keith confronts Dan again, and Lucas finally makes his romantic intentions clear to Peyton. Meanwhile, Haley and Nathan grow closer, and Brooke doesn’t respond well to rejection.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Ambiguously Gay: Brooke successfully flirts with a female bartender to get a Screaming Orgasm, but when Tim tries the same thing, the bartender immediately rebukes him - it’s unclear if it’s because of an attraction to Brooke, however.
- Big Damn Kiss: When dared to show her feelings by Brooke, Peyton passionately kisses Lucas in front of the rest of the Ravens players and cheerleaders.
- Downer Ending: Peyton freaks out when Lucas tells her that he wants more than just sex, and leaves him alone in the bedroom; meanwhile, Brooke humiliates Haley out of spite and makes her think Nathan was involved, ruining their burgeoning relationship.
- First Kiss: Lucas and Peyton share their first kiss, goaded into doing so by Brooke.
- Green-Eyed Monster: When Brooke dares Peyton to show everyone how she feels and kiss Lucas, it’s fairly obvious that it’s out of jealousy that Lucas won’t go along with Brooke’s flirting because he's much more interested in Peyton. When Peyton responds to Brooke's dare by passionately kissing Lucas, there's prominent shot of Brooke sulking in response.
- It's All About Me: When Lucas and Peyton spot each other across the back garden at the Scott house and share a smile, Brooke instead assumes Lucas was looking at her.
- Lady in Red: Brooke invokes the trope by wearing a red dress at the party, and being her usual flirty self.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Karen and Keith both assume Lucas won’t want to attend the party at Dan’s house; when Lucas later tells Karen he needs a new suit to attend the party, Karen and Keith both realise that it’s because of a girl.
- Parlor Games: Brooke initiates a game of Truth or Dare in an attempt to publicly humiliate Lucas and Peyton out of jealousy.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When Haley arrives at the Scott house to drop off the extra cakes, Karen asks if she locked up the cafe and when Haley confirms that, she’s encouraged by both Karen and Deb to just enjoy the party instead of going back to work.
- Relationship Sabotage: Brooke engages in several instances of this.
- Brooke tries to publicly humiliate Lucas and Peyton in a game of Truth or Dare when she realises that she doesn’t really have a shot at Lucas, and dares Peyton to show everyone how she really feels and kiss Lucas. This ultimately culminates with Lucas and Peyton nearly hooking up in one of the bedrooms, only for Peyton to panic when Lucas tells that it’s about more sex to him.
- Bitter about Nathan scolding her for trying to manipulate Peyton and Nathan back together, Brooke cruelly recites a note that Haley had written to Nathan within earshot of Haley, and proceeds to lie and claim that had been passing the note around for a laugh.
- The Reveal: The reason Jake occasionally misses practice and skips out on parties with the rest of the team is that he’s got a baby at home waiting for him.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "Life in a Glass House" by Radiohead.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Once it becomes clear to Brooke that Lucas only has eyes for Peyton, and both Peyton and Nathan call her out for trying to manipulate them back together, she goes out of her way to try to humiliate Lucas and Peyton and sabotage Nathan’s burgeoning relationship with Haley.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Peyton and Nathan give one to Brooke upon realising that she's trying to manipulate them into getting back together.
- With Friends Like These...: Brooke tries to manipulate Peyton and Nathan into getting back together, claiming they were good together despite it being apparent that it was a toxic relationship that was emotionally draining for both parties. Peyton calls Brooke out on it when she realises what she’s doing, and Nathan isn’t too happy either.
- Woman Scorned: Brooke tries to humiliate Lucas and Peyton when it becomes clear to her that he’s much more interested in Peyton.
