Last night’s "Life Unexpected" / "One Tree Hill" crossover episode was … unexpected. I kinda wish the show were like this all the time, although maybe without so many musical interludes.
Portland’s favorite radio station was hosting the Sugar Magnolia music festival. A stellar lineup featuring the Radioactive Armadillos (a nod to show creator Liz Tigelaar’s defunct band), Mia Catalona (all the way from Tree Hill, North Carolina), Ben Lee (anyone remember when he dated Claire Danes for years and years?) and Rain Perry (who performs the show's theme song). So many tie-ins already, maybe not Claire Danes, but you know what I mean. When the Armadillos bail on their performance because one of the bandmates' girlfriends "goes lesbian at Lilith Fair," Cate scrambles to find a replacement band. Hey everybody, this technique is called foreshadowing, because despite Cate's apparent relationship with the Decemberists’ manager, it is Lilith queen Sarah McLachlan who closes out the show.
Cate and Haley bond over their producer gigs, teen pregnancies with jocks named Nate/ Nathan and high school valedictorian statuses. Cate maintains her lie that, like Haley, she also wants a second child, until Ryan finds her birth control. Cate spends the day soul-searching reasons why she is reluctant to have another baby. Her traumatizing teen pregnancy, worries about being a good mom and wife, dreams to maintain a strong professional career and strained relationship with her alcoholic mother, who was also a teen mom and openly admitted to never really wanting Cate, were apparently not good enough reasons to pause over getting knocked up. In the end, she lands on Lux as her real reason why: She doesn’t want Lux to feel hurt or left out if Cate and Ryan have a new baby of their own. I guess that works too.
Baze, of course, was also at the show. He escorts his boss Emma there to introduce her to Haley and then plans to meet up for a date with the office copy girl (the only girl smart enough to call Baze out on the fact that he works there because his father owns the firm). Emma hopes to sign Haley as a client because she and her retired NBA star husband Nathan must have gobs of money to invest with a boutique financial firm 3,000 miles from Tree Hill. But, oh no, Baze isn't on the list, and his attempts to climb a fence or something land the two in "concert jail." No client signing, no date for Baze, but sparks begin to fly anyway. Unfortunately, whatever Emma did with her flat iron this episode distracted me from much of her dialogue. Except, of course, her so-obvious-it-worked "Roswell" reference.
Lux sports a new "look" courtesy of Paige, and how she got out of the house in a belly shirt and black eye shadow is beyond me. The girl has abs, but she looked like a hooker. She managed to catch Eric's eye long enough for him to tell her he is trying to move on to girls his own age, like age-appropriate Lux-look-a-like Paige. Tasha invites Jones to the concert with them, and Ben Lee’s warbling and Lux’s blatant lack of interest in either of them is the perfect recipe for a make-out session. Lux freaks and Tasha finally calls her out for having everything she ever wanted. Tasha's mom doesn't want her, Lux ruined her last foster care home and now she has to live alone in an apartment and manage money and bills and go to school…can’t she at least kiss the high school quarterback when he tells her she’s pretty? In the end, Lux washes off her Paige-over and forgives Tasha and understands that it’s okay if Cate has a baby.
But did anyone else wonder about the weather last night? I thought it was winter, maybe early spring, but Baze was sporting some major winter boots while Paige drunkenly shimmied in a tube dress. Just sayin'.
What did you think about last night's "Life Unexpected"?
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