As graduation day at Tree Hill finally arrives, Brooke's guilty conscience prompts her to make an important decision, while Haley prepares her valedictorian speech. Peyton accepts an internship in California. Karen experiences problems with her pregnancy. Unable to get a scholarship at any college due to his recent scandal, Nathan tries to define his future. And Lucas tells Deb the truth about the school shooting.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Broken Pedestal: After Dan confirms that he killed Keith, Nathan breaks down and ultimately tells Dan that he will never know Nathan’s son.
- Call-Back: Nathan asks Skills about the job he had waiting for him if he didn’t get into college, as mentioned in "Pictures of You".
- Convenient Coma: Karen spends the episode in a coma, after collapsing at home during the previous episode.
- Graduation for Everyone: Principal Turner allows Brooke to graduate with her friends after learning that she was the one who stole the calculus exams and not Rachel, reasoning that Brooke won’t need calculus in the fashion world; additionally, Rachel is awarded a diploma in absentia.
- He's Back!: Whitey decides to put off his retirement and instead take a coaching job at a local college, in order to give Nathan another chance to play college basketball.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Karen. The doctors ultimately perform a caesarean as her condition worsens due to the pregnancy preventing a more aggressive treatment of antibiotics.
- Internal Reveal:
- Lucas tells Deb that Dan was the one murdered Keith, not Jimmy.
- Deb tells Nathan to stay away from Dan, before explaining that he killed Keith. Nathan doesn’t believe her, and ultimately asks Dan if it’s true, which he confirms.
- Principal Turner learns that it was Brooke who stole the calculus exams.
- Haley finds out that Lucas has been writing a novel.
- Played for Laughs, as Bevin and Skills haven’t told their respective parents about their partner’s skin color despite dating for several months.
- Karma Houdini: Brooke finally comes clean to Principal Turner about stealing the calculus exams, but he just asks if she’s going into a field where she would need to use it and continues to let her graduate when Brooke confirms that she isn’t, rather than expel her or force her to resit the class at summer school.
- Maternity Crisis: Haley goes into labour during her valedictorian speech.
- No Name Given: With Karen in a coma, her newborn daughter goes unnamed as she never discussed names with Lucas.
- Panicky Expectant Father: Played for Laughs as Nathan admits that he’s suddenly terrified of becoming a father after seeing Karen’s newborn daughter.
- Parental Abandonment: Whilst it’s not explicitly stated, none of the main characters have their parents attending their high school graduation - Brooke’s parents are in Los Angeles, Haley’s parents are travelling back for the birth of her child, Larry’s at sea, Karen’s in the hospital and Deb is staying with her, whilst Dan is faced with the knowledge that his family all know he killed Keith.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Principal Turner allows Brooke to graduate with her friends despite learning that Brooke was actually the one who stole exams from the Tutor Centre, as she won’t need calculus as a fashion designer.
- After learning that Rachel wasn’t the one cheating on exams, Principal Turner awards her a diploma in absentia.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Karen is revealed to have known the entire time that Lucas was writing a novel, and had the book printed and bound as a graduation present for him.
- Titled After the Song: The title of the episode is taken from the song "The Birth and Death of the Day" by The Veils.
- True Companions: Lucas is ultimately convinced to attend graduation by all of his friends saying they won’t go if he doesn’t, and Deb assuring him that she’ll call if anything happens to Karen.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Deb smacks Lucas and angrily asks him about the bullet hole in his house, having realised that her gun was missing from where she keeps it. She immediately eases off when he tells her that Dan was the one who killed Keith.
