Baby Mamma Drama!

Now THAT is the kind of "One Tree Hill" episode I know and love. Let's just pretend that this was the first episode back from the strike, shall we?

Everything I love about the show, from its use of rich character mythology to its sense of humor to its intrusive product placements. And did I mention Crazy Deb is back!?

And to think I was actually worried when the first ten seconds of the episode unfolded on my screen, with Lucas waking up and thinking "Lindsey" followed immediately by Peyton awakening with the thought of "Lucas." But I should not have been nervous, because immediately following those ten tense, nauseating seconds were moment after moment of top-notch character signatures as they woke up. My fave? Brooke waking up thinking "Brooke! God, I have to pee!"

That paved the way to a near-perfect hour of Tree Hill brilliance, easily the best of the season. The most obvious hallmark is that it honestly looks like the cast is having fun with their respective characters for the first time in a loooong time.

Let's start with Sophia Bush. In any other episode I would say her pitch-perfect performance stole the show, but this episode just had too much packed in for me to fib like that. But she was brilliant, especially in the moments following her learning that she was about to become a short-term mommy, fumbling and trying to remain calm, all the while screaming "I can't get this folder in my bag!" even though the folder didn't need to be there. Though I had major reservations for the creators to go this storytelling route for the character, this was the first time I actually felt like I was watching Brooke be Brooke since the fourth season finale. She bought out the toy store but forgot food and diapers! She forgot to ask what was wrong with her sickly short-term daughter! She had a heart-to-heart with Lucas and actually made him smile a little! That's the Brooke I know and love, not the washed-up whining-about-my-mommy broken Brooke. And that look on Bush's face when she held that oh-so-adorable baby in the final seconds of the episode had me grinning from ear to ear despite myself.

Also brilliant this episode was (unsurprisingly) Bethany Joe Galeotti, never moreso than interviewing perspective nannies with questions like "Have you ever kissed the husbands of the women you work for?" and mocking her husband after he made a joke about Skank Nanny with "Ha ha. Too soon." And how happy am I that Haley has decided to get back into recording music, you ask? Well, dear reader, I dusted off my "One Tree Hill" soundtracks (which I am a proud owner of) and am currently listening to "When the Stars Go Blue" and "Halo" on a continuous loop. Mock me if you will, but you KNOW you are secretly doing it right now too.

Another plus of Haley deciding to record again is that it is giving Peyton something other to do than brood about Lucas. And seeing Hilarie Burton dive into her light-comedy scene with Galeotti early in the episode was nothing short of a breath of fresh air. The one faltering point of the episode was the brief (and by that I mean loooooong) scene of Peyton talking to Lucas. I didn't even notice what they said, I zoned out and started focusing on the pretty North Carolina river behind them. But, let me guess, something about Peyton feeling sorry about Lucas breaking up with Lindsey? Yes? No? Who gives a flying #&%! ?

Also back in fighting form was Deb! And she was glowing! I'm so excited I'm ending every sentence in this paragraph with an exclamation point! Okay, I'll stop now!

Oddly enough, even B-plots featuring Skills and Mouth were well done. The actress who played Millicent shined in her scenes with Mouth (lackadaisical as he always is), and I'm ecstatic to see she is sticking around the show for the foreseeable future, and that some nudity is probably in her character's future as well (come on now, whenever a show plays the virgin card, you KNOW that virginity will be gone in six episodes or less).

And as for Skills and LeBron-lite? Schwann did the subplot a solid by weaving it so closely with Nathan and Lucas' plotlines, making it more digestible and reflective of the overall arc of the episode. Bravo.

What do you guys think? Is "One Tree Hill" back in fighting form or am I just high on Sunkist and Chili's? Will Brooke accidentally smother that baby by shoving all those presents in the crib with her? And do you prefer "When the Stars Go Blue" or "Halo" as Haley's greatest hit?