Lucas is down at the river court, where pickup games are played, and where he is a basketball star himself. The gang that plays at the river court are full of character, joking around. Mouth and Jimmy are announcing the pickup game.
Back at the gym, Nathan mouths off to Whitey, not for the first time. Whitey pulls him from the game, so Nathan goes ahead and continues to mouth off. He gives no shits. Nevertheless, they need Nathan in the game, so Whitey has to give up his tough stance. Peyton, a cheerleader, tells Nathan not to bother showering after the game, which obviously makes us raise our eyebrows.
We alternate seeing the two Scott brothers, Lucas and Nathan, playing and scoring on their separate courts, and hearing the respective announcers. Since we of course read the plot synopsis of what this show is about before we started, we know that they were fathered by the same man, Dan, but he only claimed Nathan as his son. We can predict the tension there.
And then, suddenly the game is over and Nathan has gone ahead and stolen a school bus. This is no doubt intended to show us that he is a Bad Boy. A girl asks him where his girlfriend, Peyton, is and he makes out with this random chick, clarifying our assumption that he is indeed a Bad Boy. The answer to the question of Peyton's whereabouts is that she's speeding around town listening to her Angsty music and almost running over Lucas and then giving him a dirty look because she is Popular and he's not. We don't miss that weird sexual tension there.
So, the entire basketball team gets busted for stealing a school bus, but Nathan and three other valuable players get off scott-free (no pun intended) because the town cares more about how the basketball team does than they care about law enforcement. Whitey and Dan get in a typical argument over how well Whitey is taking care of Nathan and his talent.
But the Lucas's crew is free from all of these worries on the river court, and through an efficiently written scene we find out a few things. Lucas is not only extremely good at basketball, but also reads all the time and is therefore Broody. Lucas is obsessed with Peyton. And Peyton keeps a webcam on in her room at all times allowing anyone on the Internet to see what she is doing (oh, the Angst, but also a cause for more raised eyebrows).
Lucas goes home to the cafe that his mother, Karen, owns and is extremely nice to his mom, because he is of course a Good Guy, and we also meet his very best friend, Haley, who is equally Unpopular. You get the feeling she hangs around a lot. She's that quirky best friend that's designed to be loved by audiences. She makes really weird and decidedly awkward comments to clarify that she's not in love with Lucas, so you make a face to yourself while you're watching, and then they move on, because Lucas's mom is giving him a book. She must know her son is Broody.
Keith goes to visit Whitey in his office. Keith is Dan's older brother. With some background, we can figure out that Keith raised Lucas with Karen after his brother Dan abandoned them both in favor of Nathan and his mother. This shows what a Good Guy he is, but we also know he is an alcoholic not only because he carries a flask, but also because he's wearing a denim shirt with denim jeans and has scruffy facial hair. He tells Whitey what a good player Lucas is, and now that Nathan got half of Whitey's team suspended when he tried his hand at being a bus driver, Keith thinks that Whitey should recruit Lucas to play for him. When they go on a stealthy recon mission to the river court during which they park about four feet from the court, Whitey is impressed with Lucas's play.
Peyton's in her room doing all sorts of Angsty shit on her computer, and Nathan comes in, promptly insulting her Angsty music. We see what a terrible boyfriend he is, which somehow made me like Peyton more, though she's proved to be a bitch so far. He says about ten offensive things. He's like a caricature of a jerk boyfriend, and then manages to charm her into being happy that he wants her to basically come watch him hang out with his friends. I made a lot of exasperated faces and noises during this scene.
We see that weird tension with Lucas and Peyton again, as Whitey comes into study hall to get Lucas. Lucas tells Whitey he's not interested in playing for the real basketball team. The river court kids think this is a waste of talent, but when Karen sees him trying on a team uniform she tells him to take it off. During a heartfelt scene on their porch, Karen comes around and tells him not to miss out on anything because of her past, referring to him avoiding the real team because of Nathan and Dan, and how awkward I assume it would be to be around a dad that doesn't acknowledge your existence, and the son that he does acknowledge.
Speaking of them, Dan talks to Nathan about his "mistake" - Karen and Lucas - and tells Nathan to convince Lucas not to play, because Dan is afraid he will mess up what Nathan has been building. Nathan tries to do this, and it's a classic: the villain goes and tells the hero that he has no chance of doing something to try to discourage him, but that only makes the hero more determined. It's great. They arrange a one-on-one at the river court to decide who gets to play on the school team. Lucas discusses this with Haley, and makes some literature references so we don't forget he's Broody.
Ah, Peyton's vintage car (angst, uniqueness) breaks down. Lucas works for Good Friend Uncle Keith in his car shop. It's convenient when you work in an auto shop and the girl you're in love with drives a car that was made decades ago. When he goes to pick up the car, she doesn't talk to him until he makes a reference to one of the bands she has on her notebook. So his Broodiness overlaps with her Angstiness in music choice. Nathan won't come pick her up because he's a Bad Boy who doesn't care about his girlfriend whatsoever. Peyton's a bitch to Lucas. You start to hate the Popular kids. But Lucas is a Good Guy, so he insists on giving Peyton a ride. She responds with the fantastic line, "First of all, you don't know me. Second of all, you don't know me," which you can actually use in real life when someone tries to tell you that you don't really want that third slice of pizza. They talk briefly about how he has the same dad as her boyfriend, and Lucas tells her that that's why he quit playing organized basketball, so that Karen didn't have to see Dan (being a Good Guy and all).
Dan's at the auto shop, mad at Keith for telling Whitey to recruit Lucas. He also mentions how he wishes Lucas didn't exist, which Lucas overhears. And we're back to the part where the villain makes the hero more determined. We get a great sequence of Lucas practicing and Peyton being Angsty in her room. Lucas goes to set a time with Nathan for this intense one-on-one, and implies that if he wins, he'll also win Peyton. And then Karen goes and yells at her ass of an ex-boyfriend, Dan, and demands that he let Lucas play if he wants to.
Nathan's getting out of the shower and he has a nipple ring. Cringe. Dan tries to discourage Nathan from the one-on-one, but Nathan says he's doing it for himself. Then Peyton gets out of the shower and casually greets Dan to remind us that Nathan is a stud and a Bad Boy, that they do it, and that Dan doesn't really care what Nathan does as long as he's good at basketball.
Good Friend Keith and Karen talk about Lucas playing, to remind us that he is, in fact, a good friend. Lucas admits to Haley that he's worried, and she tells him he's a Good Guy (yes, she actually says those words). Nathan tells Peyton that he's playing the one-on-one with Lucas just to prove he's the best, and that if Lucas wins, he gets Peyton. Peyton's expression makes it hard to tell if she's just plain surprised or if she's extremely indignant that her boyfriend considers her property that can be bartered. I know how I would feel, but the verdict is still out on Peyton and her personal dignity level.
A huge crowd shows up to the game, because Nathan's lap dog of a best friend, Tim, "told a few people." All the Popular kids are there, as well as the river court gang and Quirky Haley. Nathan's a show-off for a couple minutes. The background music makes sure that we know this is an intense scene. It's the first one to eleven points, make it, take it. There's a super long basketball sequence, which is a little boring, but it's necessary, since the entire episode has been leading up to this game. Nathan plays dirty, but Lucas gives him the basket anyway because he wants to prove a point or something. He blocks Nathan's next shot, turning the game so that he is only down by one. He scores again, tying. Mouth and Jimmy Edwards are announcing the game, presumably to no one listening, but they seem like nice kids so it's endearing. Lucas tells Nathan that the next play is for his mom, so of course he scores again, winning the game so that he can play on the team.
Nathan's humiliated, obviously. Lucas and Peyton talk for a minute, and it's revealed that Lucas bet if he won, Nathan would have to stay on the team, because he knew he would hate to play on the same team as Lucas. We give Lucas clever points for that one. The episode ends with a voice over (as most do), of Lucas quoting from his Broody novels, and with Lucas walking into his first practice with all the Popular kids staring at him.
Times I Cried: 0
Feelings Levels: 5
Plotline Believability: 7. The whole idea of a man having two sons in the same small town, but never claiming one, and the family he did claim never even talking about the other one until it affected basketball is a little strange, but since this is the premise of the whole show, we sort of have to go with it.
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