"Nothing Left to Say But Goodbye" is the eighth episode of Season 4 of One Tree Hill and originally aired November 22nd, 2006. The episode was written by John A Norris and directed by Janice Cook.
As the State Championship game approaches, Nathan feels the pressure - but not to win. Derek encourages Peyton to let Lucas know how she feels, but Brooke seems to be reconsidering how she left things with Lucas. Meanwhile, Tree Hill High honours Whitey before his final game.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Better as Friends: Brooke and Lucas come to this realisation after the awards banquet, and hearing Whitey talk about Camilla, understanding between them it’s never been real love.
- Blatant Lies: When Peyton nearly arrives at school after the bell and Lucas notes how close she was cutting it, she claims she overslept. Lucas immediately calls her on it, since they’ve been sharing the same bed.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Dan borrows Nathan’s "Just say [x], Tim" when Sherri gives an overly long explanation as to Tim’s disappearance from Tree Hill High.
- But Now I Must Go: Derek has to leave as his unit are deploying in the morning. He delays his departure to attend the banquet with Peyton, and breaks the news to her then.
- Cliffhanger: Peyton admits to Lucas that she’s in love with him; the episode ends before we see his response. Additionally, Dan tells Nathan that his only option is to throw the State Championship game.
- Dramatic Irony:
- As Derek’s encouraging Peyton to ask Lucas to the awards banquet, Brooke’s asking Lucas to go with her.
- Nathan being awarded the team’s Most Valuable Player award by Lucas. Lucas deliberately layers his speech with subtext that he doesn’t believe Nathan deserves the award, but only Nathan picks up on it as everyone else is Locked Out of the Loop.
- When Brooke confronts Peyton about not telling Lucas how she feels, Peyton admits that she would have if Brooke had moved on but she hasn’t dated since Lucas - completely unaware that Brooke had a secret relationship with the now-suspended Mr Chavez for over a month.
- Everyone Can See It: When Peyton mentions that she’s dealing with "high school boy drama", Derek immediately notes that she means Lucas. When Peyton questions if it’s that obvious, Derek acknowledges this trope.
- Eviler than Thou: Dan approaches Daunte and Bear in an attempt to get them to call off Nathan’s debt. They respond to his attempt to buy them off by pointing out Dan doesn’t have the money to cover their winnings if the Ravens lose, and respond to his attempt at intimidating them by threatening the lives of his loved ones.
- From Bad to Worse: Daunte escalates things with Nathan, telling him to lose the State Championship game "or else" - Daunte makes it clear that his threat could mean harm to Haley, Nathan, Lucas, Karen and her baby, or just telling Duke about the point shaving.
- Godzilla Threshold: Nathan tells Dan about the point shaving after Daunte threatens him to lose the State Championship game.
- Green-Eyed Monster:
- When Brooke initially tries to reconcile with Lucas, she clearly becomes jealous when a partially dressed Peyton walks in.
- Rachel doesn’t take it well when Mouth refuses to be her date for the banquet, and tries to seat his actual date (Gigi) on a separate table.
- Idiot Ball: After receiving a phone call telling her that Psycho Derek has been arrested, neither Lucas or Peyton actually head to the police department to verify this information.
- History Repeats: Sherri Smith draws the comparison to their senior prom when Dan and Karen arrive at the banquet together.
- Hollywood Military Uniform: Derek attends the awards banquet in his dress uniform.
- Internal Reveal:
- Dan finds out Nathan has gotten involved with a loan shark.
- Peyton tells Lucas that she’s in love with him after the banquet.
- The Lost Lenore: Whitey gives a speech about Camilla at the banquet.
- Love Confession: In the final moments of the episode, Peyton finally tells Lucas that she's in love with him after he tells that he and Brooke both realise that their relationship is over for good.Lucas: Listen, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that we didn't get to spend more time together tonight.
Peyton: How'd it go with Brooke?
Lucas: I realized tonight that it's over between me and Brooke. And... she realized it, too.
[Beat]
Peyton: I love you, Lucas.
Lucas: [Thinking she means platonically] I love you, too, Peyton.
Peyton: You don't understand, I've been holding this in for a really long time. And I just need you to know... I love you. I'm in love with you. - Meaningful Look:
- During Whitey’s speech, as he talks about Camilla and basketball being the great loves of his life, Peyton’s eyes are fixed on Lucas.
- When Peyton tells Brooke that she hasn’t told Lucas how she feels because Brooke hasn’t moved on since she hasn’t dated anyone since Lucas, Brooke has an uneasy look as she just spent a month dating Nick Chavez in secret.
- On the Rebound: Brooke denies it, but Rachel accuses her of this with her renewed interest in Lucas. After a conversation with Peyton and hearing Whitey talk about Camilla, Brooke seems to reconsider Rachel’s words.
- Poster-Gallery Bedroom: Derek paints Peyton’s room back to red, leaving only the flaming heart above Peyton’s bed.
- Put on a Bus: Sherri Smith reveals that Tim transferred out of Tree Hill High to a school better suited to his needs as a slower student, accounting for his absence since the third season.
- Shipper on Deck: Derek convinces Peyton to confess her feelings to Lucas as he thinks he may reciprocate them since he’s seen himself how much he cares about her.
- Ship Sinking: Brooke and Lucas attend the banquet together, but both realise they’re Better as Friends by the end of the night, closing their their romantic chapter for good.
- Ship Tease: When Peyton asks Lucas about attending the banquet together, he has a look of regret over agreeing to go with Brooke instead of her.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "Nothing Left to Say But Goodbye" by Audioslave.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Whilst he isn’t aware of the specifics, Lucas quickly expresses his disappointment with Nathan upon realising he’s still involved with Daunte.
- Would Hurt a Child: When Daunte pressures Nathan to throw the State Championship, one of his threats is directed towards Nathan and Haley's unborn baby; Daunte later reiterates this threat to Dan, and also threatens Karen's baby too.
