"Hate is Safer Than Love" is the seventeenth episode of Season 5 of One Tree Hill and originally aired May 12th, 2008. The episode was written by Mark Schwahn and directed by Stuart Gillard.
The Ravens employ a risky game plan as they attempt to salvage their season. Brooke finds herself upended as baby Angie undergoes emergency surgery, whilst Haley wrestles with the prospect of letting Jamie spend time with Dan. Mouth is presented with an opportunity at work, whilst an unexpected phone call has unforeseen consequences for Lucas - and his relationship with Peyton.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Call-Back: When Mia returns to Red Bedroom Records, she makes fun of Peyton saying she didn’t like Lindsey whilst the talk back was on, as seen in "Don’t Dream It’s Over" earlier in the season.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Lucas heads to TRIC after the game and gets so drunk that he ends up needing Peyton to help him home.
- Honor Before Reason: Mouth lies about having any footage of Lucas’ altercation with the opposing player, destroying his reputation at the station in the process.
- How We Got Here: The episode opens with a montage of different scenes taken out of context; the episode then reveals that the events take place over an 18 hour period.
- Kick the Dog:
- Lindsey phones Lucas for the sole purpose of telling him that she’s seeing someone new.
- After she helps him home from TRIC and puts him to bed, Lucas briefly wakes up and tells Peyton that he hates her and that she ruined his life.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": When Lucas lunges at the Bear Creek player who targeted Q.
- Never Trust a Trailer: The promo spot
for the episode is focused entirely on Lucas & Peyton, and shows them falling into bed before Peyton starts unbuttoning Lucas' shirt, with the implication they would be getting back together in the episode. Not only is this scene not present in the episode, but the point in the episode where the scene would have taken place is when Lucas tells Peyton that he hates her & wishes she had never come back to Tree Hill. - Not So Above It All: Peyton muses that Haley’s too mature to be throwing water balloons from the roof of Clothes Over Bro’s, before declaring that she isn’t and quickly snatching the water balloon in Haley’s hands and launching it to the ground… and nearly hitting Dan in the process.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Nathan is appropriately horrified when he walks in on Deb taking her top off in front of a webcam.
- Rage Breaking Point: Lindsey telling Lucas that she’s seeing someone new when they speak at half time completely changes his demeanour, which continues to get worse over the course of the second half until Bear Creek start resorting to attacking Q’s injured hand. Lucas argues with the referee, and lunges at the Bear Creek player who went after Q, getting himself ejected.
- Shout-Out:
- Peyton asks Mia about recording a PSA for the “Rock Your Vote” campaign, a real life campaign designed to promote voter registration in new voters.
- Peyton speaks to Mia about the Starburst Six Flags tour, which was a real tour that occurred over the summer of 2008.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "Hate Is Safer Than Love" by Ben Goodwin.
- Wham Line: After Peyton puts a drunken Lucas to bed and goes to leave, he briefly wakes up.Lucas: [Groggily] …Peyton? I hate you.
Peyton: What?
Lucas: I wish you never came back. You ruined my life.
