Drama Queens - The Beginning of the End • EP 901

Episode Date: July 21, 2025

Your favorite Drama Queens kick off Season 9 with fresh eyes and different vibes. Sophia takes us back to teenage Brooke, Joy raises questions about the wedding scene, and Rob recalls the lengths production went to for that merry-go-round moment.Plus, the scene that hits differently when you're a parent, and an interesting theory about why the cast has aged so well!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. It may look different, but native culture is alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. Somewhere along the way, it turned into this full-fledged award-winning comic shop. That's Dr. Lee Francis IV, who opened the first Native comic bookshop. Explore his story along with many other native stories on the show, Burn Sage, Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

First of all, you don't know me. We're all about that high school, drama girl, drama girl, all about them high school queens. We'll take you for a ride and our comic girl. Drama girl. Cheering for the right team. Drama queens, drama queens. Smart girl, rough girl, fashion but you'll tough girl. You could sit with us, girl.

Drama queen, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens. Hey, Yang! How's it going, everybody out there? Oh, boy, do we have some fun stuff coming up for you? I can't believe we're starting season nine. I also cannot believe, I mean, I can because we have the best fans in the world, but we announced a live show for Wilmington and sold out in, like, under an hour? Unreal. Unreal. You guys are the best. Thank you so much for showing up for us. The Ares Tour didn't even sell out as fast as our show. I don't know about that. We may not fill arenas, but we sell out faster than T. Swift. That's going on my bio from now on, Rob.

I have sense. And we are so lucky that the wonderful folks organizing the convention were able to add 100 extra seats because we sold out so fast. And then those sold out so fast that we kind of have come up with a good plan, I think. Robert, tell him what they've won. We're flying all of you who didn't get tickets down to meet us. No, I'm kidding. What we are going to do for those of you that weren't able to get a ticket or you are just too far away to make the trip, which we totally get.

We are going to live stream the event. So what that means is the tickets will go on sale. You buy a ticket. And then you can watch it all while it happens. For sure. You don't want to miss out on this. So, okay, it's available on November 5th at 5 p.m. P-S-T, you can watch it for a week, and the tickets are going on sale at veep.com.

So, V-E-E-P-I-P-I-N-P-E-N-P-Ter.com. And they're 20 bucks, guys, 1999. Come hang with us, no matter where in the world you are. I actually have no idea what's going to be in store for you, and that's kind of the fun thing. It's a live show. It's going to be pure shenanigans. And you know what's great about it is that you don't have to figure an outfit out. you don't have to worry about maybe being stuck next to someone who's chewing gum loudly

or you don't, if you're like me, you don't have to worry about only bringing snacks that don't make a lot of noise when you open them. You can be as loud as you want because we can't hear you from your living room. So go ahead, snack your best life, wear your comfiest clothes, and enjoy the show. Or you could plan like a watch party with your friends and then actually, yes, you want to make sure you know what you're wearing because you're putting together an outfit. you guys going to dress up like characters from the show? It's near Halloween. How, how into it are you going to get? Watch party at your house, you know? I like all the options. And if you want to have a

hybrid option of Joyce plan and Rob's plan, you could go for my plan, which is watch party with friends all in pajamas and bonus points for face masks. No matter how you watch, we want to see it, send us your photos, tag us in your videos. We are so excited to celebrate with all of you. So if you want to join us on the live stream, hit Veep, V as in Victor, EEP as in Peter, did you say? I did say, I wanted to make sure I got the right one. Veep.com, and we will see you there. In the meantime, are you ready? Are you ready for it? Bound, boom, bam.

Hey man, this episode started off red hot and did not let. This is how you kick a season off, man. Yeah. Hell yeah. What an episode. I mean, this is, okay, well, let's read the thing, right? Season 9, episode one, know this, we've noticed, which aired January 11th, 2012. As Brooke and Julian began to adjust to life with their new children, Haley and Nathan find

themselves dealing with similar issues. Are they dealing with similar issues? I'm not convinced. Although they don't know it yet, faces from the past threatened to interrupt plans for all their futures. And meanwhile, a mysterious problem arises for Clay and Quinn. I find this synopsis to be wholly inadequate. I do, too.

It's very underwhelming for a fantastic episode. I want all of our producers behind the scenes to just feel terrible right now about what you've done to the drama queen's podcast. No. I'm just kidding, Hannah. You all do great. No, you do. You guys doing a great job. But it's actually, because I'm with you.

I hadn't read it until this moment. And is it, are they trying to say that Haley and. Nathan are dealing with a familiar issue? Well, first of all, I thought they get these synopsies off the internet somewhere. I think so. I think. So I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to insult producers. That wasn't my intention. But I do think that Nathan and Haley are going through, I don't know if it's life with the new kids. That's not quite the same thing. It's more like he's gone and she's, I guess she's holding down the homestead. And they have a relatively new baby.

Yeah, so there's some domestic, you know, issues that are figuring out. So, yeah, okay, okay. Yeah, new adjustment could be worded better. Our producers are clarifying that, no, they do not write these. They do get them off the internet. And they agree that they're terrible. Thank you, Lord. So here we are.

Okay. Okay. Well, look, what an opening. I mean, okay, here's what we have. We have. Dan is cocking a gun and Chris Keller is with him in the car. bizarre. Then we've got Chase spattered with blood in the back of a police car. Then we have Clay yelling at Quinn like, get out of here. I don't want you here. Then we have Brooke trashing a diner,

the diner, right? Like the one in town. Haley is IDing a body at the morgue. And Julian is getting the ch kicked out of him in some and some massive houses on fire. Maybe it's the diner now we know. But my goodness. Yeah. I mean, walled wall. Like in the opening voiceover of Nathan is so good and ominous. And again, like, what is on fire in front of this man? Oh, my God, that man is Dan Scott.

Terrific. We've been thirsty for Dan Scott. And then all of a sudden, we got Dan Scott and Chris Keller in an episode of True Detective. We have Chase in an episode of Cops. We have Julian in the feature of Fight Club. And we have Clay who clearly needs a snack. And I guess apparently Brooke does too. Like everyone was angry.

I love your recap. Wait, you should have been doing this the whole time. It's so good. He's like, I know what's wrong with those two. They need some carbs. They're hungry. That also might have just been me projecting because I know that Sophia and I are our lives are so food-centric. That probably wasn't that.

But that was where my brain first went. I think what I love about it is. It was such a big jump when we skipped ahead to season five. And everyone was coming home after four years, and you had to figure out where they'd all been. And you were learning in these tidbits of flashback, and the start of season nine all plays in flash forward. And it's so smart. It's a device we know, but a new version of it. And you're seeing things that make absolutely no sense.

once you get out of the teaser, but you just can't wait. And especially, especially the Dan Scott bit, because when his diner's burning and he's standing there and you think, oh, God, something's happened, but does he look upset? And then the way he approaches Haley,

it made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It made me feel so uneasy. He was so sincere. He was very Dan Scott doing Dan Scott things. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. But in a way we've never seen before. I have never seen that level of fragility displayed from Dan Scott in the entire nine seasons of the show. So I think that's why Haley gave in because it was so seemingly out of character for him.

So either he's really had a life change and something is different or he's just super duper upgraded his manipulative tactics. It was also a smart device to open the season with because we ended season eight because we didn't know the future of the show on a very overwhelmingly positive note so that if it was the end of the show, I think it would have left the viewers satisfied and happy that the people they like had a good ending. Totally. It was a great intro to be like, okay, remember how things were great? Not for long.

Yeah. Buckle up. Yeah. Yeah, the promise of what is coming this season is. Delicious. Delicioso. So this is the insomnia episode, basically. Like, nobody can sleep, which I love that as a device as well, the tie-in for where everybody's at. And it feels the sense of nostalgia that they tapped into for that also is really great because I feel like everybody can relate to that. I'm sure everyone can relate to that on some level. One of the things that I loved, too, that the device works so well for each of these people, you know, for what you're, dealing with his Haley, with Nathan on the road, and, you know, what it feels like when your partner has to leave all the time. Rob, with what Clay is going through and how scary it is

for Quinn and leaving us as an audience not quite understanding why Clay's not taking it so seriously, but maybe it's to try to, you know, lessen her stress, who knows, and then the classic device of, oh, I have a kid that doesn't sleep, too, in fact, and I'm driving them around in the car, I remember reading it and going, God, I love this. And then catching the scene where I was going to stop at a stoplight, look over at all the kids outside the bar, the kids we used to be, and then be one of the kids. And I remember how smart it was. Carol, our wardrobe supervisor, said, oh, let's go into the archives in the warehouse. Oh, I recognize that outfit. Yeah. So they actually pulled an outfit I'd worn

like eight years prior in high school. And it was so smart. That was one of my favorite moments of the episode. I loved that so much. It was immediately drew me right into every time I've driven past a place that I visited or hung out when I was in high school or when I lived in New York in my late teens, early 20s. And I would walk by the same spot over and over again, you know, corners that I had a kiss on with someone. And it's like, oh, my gosh, I love that. I love that we're here.

And it wasn't just Brooks nostalgia. It was all of our nostalgia because we grew up in Tree Hill. We all have been with her since the beginning. And, man, what a rich amount of the story was told just in that quick moment. I loved that. Also, kudos to you, so if that, what is it now, eight years later, you were still able to play high school Brooke so well. But I actually had to, like, rewind to see if we were watching. watching season one footage or it was just they did the thing of putting you in high school.

Yeah, I did. Oh my God, I love it. Both of you guys had huge wins in that department. So first of all, so I thought for sure, I was like, oh, wait, is that old footage? I had to go back. So I was like, well, kudos because you're doing great. You're not aging. Joy, for a moment, I thought you caught Benjamin Button's disease because I'm watching the episode going,

how is she looking younger? Like what on the television magic? what woman has a baby in real life and fake life and looks younger. And then I realized you also cut your hair. So that might have been part of it. But I was genuinely watching it going like, these two don't age. You got the Dick Clark deal. You're just like, I'm not going to age for 40 years.

It's going to be great. The Dick Clark deal. Here's the thing. And this is something I actually have to give kudos, accidental, but still, to our producers. we spent the entire decade of our 20s locked in soundstages for 17 hours a day. So when all of our friends were like traveling and working odd summer jobs

and going out and like getting sunburned, we were living like vampires. Oh my God, Sophia. I never once in my life thought that. Oh, Joy, I think about it all the time. You're absolutely right. We have none of the sun damage all of our friends have.

That's crazy. You're so right. I've honestly kind of had to say when people are like really what's the deal like are you I don't know are you doing like cryo facials and I'm like no it was it was a true accident and like back then when we would be so sad that we couldn't go

on the family reunion or like the fun birthday trip or even had time to go to the beach we didn't even have time never unless we were shooting there and I'm like you know what honestly thank you thank you long days thank you soundstages thank you casino time I will be grateful forever. That's awesome.

That's so true. So listen, I'll take it. Lock me inside. Yeah, that is so interesting. I loved that. I thought that all of the brulian exhaustion, the sleep deprivation storyline, it's so funny, you know,

how you revisit a show after time has passed and you have changed and you have a new experience with it because I was laughing. during the opening scene of you guys because now that I have little ones and I've been in that spot, I felt that so deep in my bones

and Julian's jokes about like, listen, option B, orphanage. Yeah. They're beautiful. Someone will take them. Someone will want them. They're cute. I have had that exact same banter at 4 in the morning

to Jenny where I'm just like, hear me out. What if? What if? Yeah, I did like that. You guys did it really well. It's fun to watch. watch the two of you in that position. And it's a good setup for the things that are coming as well.

Yeah. It was all so good. It felt so fun to play it then. But it's just, I'm basically just going to repeat what you're saying, Rob. It's like everyone in my world since has kids. We've all been through this in our own homes and each other's homes so many times now that it does. It just cuts a little different and I was laughing at myself realizing like I was just riffing in that fish eye camera being like oh yeah you don't like it when you don't sleep join the club you know whatever and I'm like that is literally how all of us talk to kids because they're nuts and sometimes you have to talk to them like they're grumpy little old men it's the only way to get through I loved that fish eye lens with you with Daphne's so good and it's like I didn't even

know then how real the instinct was and now it just I don't know it feels so funny to me to see it. Yeah, it was very believable. The only thing that I laughed at was it was the, it was the perfect CW portrayal of exhausted parents. Oh, of course. Because you two both looked equally beautiful and handsome. I was like, this is the only part of it that I'm going to raise an eyebrow at. The rest of it is completely accurate. Everybody still has a blowout and all they do is paint a little purple under your eyes and they go, look, they're exhausted and haggard. Yeah.

You know what I appreciated, though, about your storyline, which I think is kind of hard to pull off because nothing really happened. Like, you guys, they were just showing you living your life and then you were trying to go to the, you went to the christening and dad doesn't show and that's, you're trying to get the babies to go sleep. Like, it's essentially, there's no big thing happening. But they made it really, I would say, the writing, directing and you guys also just made it so enjoyable to watch that I was really involved.

invested in every part of your scenes, even though it wasn't like high stakes or anything. And I was so happy when your dad showed up. And I didn't know who to expect because I forgot who he had hired to play your dad. Yeah. And I don't remember his name. Was he on Dawson's or like... Richard Bergey, I think? Yeah.

Yeah, Richard. Yeah, he was great. What a great choice. He just has that perfect mix of charm and shmarm. Yeah. He's perfect. And the two of them and the way they ruffle each other's feathers, but you can kind of see where their chemistry used to happen.

Yeah. He and Daphne were so excellent together. Even him just calling her Vicky was such a great insight into their history and their dynamic. So good. Also, Daphne's hair, I don't know what she's doing to her hair, but that volume, I'm dying. It's so good. But when he called her the old gray mayor, I went, Oh, yeah, like out loud, I gasped.

It may look different, but Native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for a kind of two years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence. That's Sierra Teller Ornellis, who with Rutherford Falls became the first native showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of

reservation basketball. Every day, native people are striving to keep traditions alive. while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I couldn't remember this. Did James choose to shave his head during our break? And he just kind of showed up and was like,

so I've buzzed my head. I felt like that. was what happened. I think so. I think he thought the show was over like we all did. And then they happened to negotiate us back. But it was like, you know, probably 11th hour. And so he was like, well, this is what you got to work with.

Here I am. I think so. All right, I have a question about Clay. How is Clay, okay, I love that Clay's asleep on the playground. So random. Also, who's pushing the merry-go-round? This is what I'm saying. Who's pushing the merry-go-round?

There's no one at the park. It's not like you're small enough for the wind to do it. No. And anyone who's ever been on one of those knows, the inconvenience of them is that you have to have a second party. Otherwise, you're pushing and writing. Yet Clay found the magic merry-go-round that just spun him to sleep. Also, a fun fact about those, those were, I think, outlawed in North Carolina. And this is what I remember being told.

Wait, I remember hearing something about this. They're removed from all the playgrounds because kids were getting hurt on them, I think. Yes. They were getting their feet stuck underneath. Yes. And so we had to find like a decommissioned one essentially and have it put like stabilized and put back in the park for that singular shot. Yeah.

And then taken out again. Yeah. But also how strange. Like why not just put, can they not just weld some netting, some like metal netting onto the side of those things? Why'd they have to remove all the fun from the playgrounds? It feels like a solvable problem to me. But I interrupted you.

Was that going to be your question about Clay? That's it. Oh, okay. Or biggest issue with the upcoming storyline is, who was pushing the merry-go-round? Who was with him? I did love you guys. Oh, sorry, so go ahead. I was just going to say, it is one of those things where it adds a poetry to the shot,

but it pulls me out of the scene because I have so many technical questions. And then I think, could we not have just panned over all the playground paraphernalia? and found you and been just as surprised about where you were? Okay. To that end, how about Julian walking into his empty soundstage that's pitch black? Okay? He opens the door. He's backlit for a moment.

And then we cut to him standing in the singular spot of light, which is a spotlight, and he's standing in the middle of it thinking. Amazing. Guys, I know what we're going for, but like just for a second, imagine if we hadn't cut and you had watched Julian walk over to the wall, turn on a switch, not the right one, turns on the spotlight, and then walks over to the spotlight, and then stops to think in it. To stand in it. This is my thinking light, guys. That's the kind of stuff that drives me crazy.

That would always drive me crazy. You know what? If we're going to say ours, I'm going to complete the trifecta. You know what drove me absolutely crazy and gave me the, was having to call Richard Bergey daddy. to run down the aisle of the church and leap into his arms and go, Daddy! I was like, I... Oh, it's cute. That's so Brooke. You don't know any...

Okay, I'm hanging out with teenage girls right now, and they're totally, like, if they love their dad, they're like, Daddy, like, come here, Daddy, what's going on? I mean, it's a dad most of the time, but on occasion, like, it's not... Are you referring to, did you cringe when you had to do it, or you're cringing watching now as an adult? a little bit of both like i i i obviously had to sell it to myself for brook but i'm like this girl who has all this like trauma she's been unpacking from her parents and this neglectful existence she grew up in where she was parented by an amex and not a human like is it feels that lovey-dovey about her dad i don't know i i actually think i'm going to fight for this because

I actually think it goes to making Brooke's character so much more real because a lot of girls who have so many issues with their dads being absent, it's too complicated to express yourself emotionally and to actually share how you really feel. So you just keep the mood light and happy all the time because the depth of pain is way too deep and too hard. I absolutely think Brooke, just from watching what I've watched the last nine or eight seasons, I totally think that would have been Brooke's reaction. Not maybe today as like who we are at our age now, but she was 28 or something at the time, right? Yeah. I guess the shift was interesting for me because she's sitting there holding one of her kids talking to Victoria, who's so pissed he's

been invited in the first place and says, you know, oh, you think your dad's just going to change all of a sudden? And she looks at her mom and goes, you did, you know, essentially arguing like, let's give him a shot. Maybe now. There's grandkids in that. the picture or whatever and then it's like all gone but what i what i remember is thinking okay if the if the shift is going to be that big i'm not just going to run and call him this i'm literally going to leap into his arms like a child like if i'm going to do it i want it to be so big that it kind of whiplashes victoria a little bit it's good yeah you committed to it i don't know it made me a little uncomfortable wait did you okay let me ask your question though did you have to

pass off one of your children to someone before you ran down the aisle or were you were your arms empty? Ooh. Was Victoria holding one and you were holding one, Joy? I don't, I can't remember because that does, that would shift it a little bit for me in terms of realism. Yes, I did pass off the baby because we stood up. It was like we can't wait anymore.

It's time. And I gave, I gave a baby to you, I think, or maybe to her. Either way, I remember I passed off a baby. Sorry, guys, at home. We watched this episode a few days ago because we got our recording times rearranged a bit. So it's not so fresh in my mind right now, but I did pass off said baby. I didn't just drop it on the way to daddy. So that's a little funky to take the effort to pass off the baby to run down the aisle.

But I did it before he came in, is what I'm saying. Yes. Oh, oh, okay. Yeah. Yes. I will say I hear what you're saying so because I think, pop culture has really, has really given the word daddy extra ick in the last handful of years. But as a viewer, I completely bought it.

And to me, I was just watching a girl who, like, is reverting back to the age when she had a relationship with her dad. Yeah. I didn't at any point go like, ooh. I was like, oh, yeah. I see the little girl who's been, that's her, you know. I'm glad. I'm glad it worked. Sometimes I think that's the solve when there's something.

on a page where you go like, oh, personally, this gives me a little bit of the ick to go like, well, I'm just going to double commit. And then the comedy will come from it. Yeah. You never look worse than when you do the half commit. Nothing ever looks worse than when you can tell someone wasn't sure of the choice and they only commit halfway. Yeah.

You will never look worse than you do then. You got to go full or go nothing. The only things that haunt me are the half commits. I love this about doing this. podcast that we have these little things in the back of our mind on a shelf somewhere that we've always cringed a little at. And then we get to actually unpack them here. And maybe it turns out it's not so bad. And your friends get to be like, no, I thought that was a really good choice. And you go, oh, thanks. How nice. I have a question because I remember parts of

season nine, but I do not remember all of it by any means. So I don't know if you all remember this but are we where are you at with the fact that what used to be karen's cafe i forget what we're calling it now the door was left open which was very suspicious and then at haley and nathan's house the door was open my my because i know a story i mean everyone's seen this show because i know what's going to happen with nathan eventually my brain first went there but are we thinking were both of those dan like what what are your and if you know the storyline then that's different But, like, I don't think I'm genuinely wondering what was happening with those. Or are they a red herring?

We do know that Dan was in the house when there was someone jiggling the doorknob at Nathan and Haley's place. Wait, he was? Am I wrong? I thought Dan was already staying there. We established, like, he's there. Nathan comes home. Everything's fine. And then one of the last shots at Nathan and Haley's house is that door with the shadow of some large person or tall person, like, jiggling the doorknob.

I don't think that's right. Am I out of order? If any of you producers, no, you feel free to chime in here because I feel like Dan doesn't get to the house till the very end of the episode. Yeah, because then Nathan comes home and finds him. Yes. In the nursery with Lydia.

But why would he be like jiggling the doorknob like he's trying to get in if he was already invited to come? I don't know. That doesn't line up to me. Because I thought the jiggle happened before he sees Haley at the church. No, no, no.

It was definitely at the end of the episode. It was definitely, like, within the last, like, 10 minutes of the episode. I will be shocked if I'm wrong. But I just watched it. I'm pretty sure I'm right. We have our experts looking into it now. So we will have a answer moment to that. Back checkers, please.

I think it is part of this whole, like, Serbian mafia thing that's coming. Okay. Like I said, that's because I know he gets kidnapped. I was like, is that, is this the foreshadowing? We're going to have to. I guess I'll just have to keep watching. Yeah. You will.

You'll have to solve this mystery as a viewer. Chase and Alex are super duper cute. I will say I'm very surprised because I, for some reason, my brain had told me that it was always Chase and Mia the entire time throughout the whole show. And I clearly did not remember that correctly because they're still going strong. And also, I think yet again, Jana gets the Medal of Valor. or courage or just being a team player for really having to just get wall-to-wall objectified like the entire episode.

You mean shoot a whole episode in her underwear? And rolling around in a bed, not just like walking around a house in her underwear, which would have been bad enough, but like she's actually constantly being put in these positions. It's just lacked such imagination. I mean, fine, if they're making out all day

and I get the storyline, Chase, it's like, I had a great sex life before you showed up, blah, blah, blah. But, like, there's a lot of other ways to be making out with somebody. How about up against a wall or something? Like, do you have to be laying in bed, writhing around for the entire episode? It just was so, it was objectifying. It really bothered me. Yeah.

That said, the two of them have such great chemistry that they managed to keep it interesting. But, yeah, I did find myself after, like, the third or fourth pop of her and those tiny booty shorts and, like, a shot directly up her bum. Yeah. I was like, oh, and then I remembered, you know. who was behind the helm. And I was like, yeah, that tracks. There's the signature. That tracks.

But I will say I do echo your sentiment, Rob. It's like, it tracks. And to your point, joy, it's like so unimaginative. But they're so fun to watch together that they make it sparkle anyway. Like they, there's a, they're both obvious. such good-looking humans. But Jana and Stephen together bring out each other's goofy side.

And so there's this like goofy innocence in Chase and Alex that is, it's so unexpected. And in an interesting way, I almost think more unexpected because the writing is so typical. And so I've realized it's like, no matter what they're doing,

A, they're both great sports, and she is such a team player. But I have so much fun watching them that I can almost tune out the rest of the noise. Yeah, we also have an update on the door jiggle gate. Dan was not in the house yet when the door jiggle happens. It happens in the middle of the episode. In the middle. In the middle. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh. Okay, my brain put that out of order. Well, actually, so that's really interesting because he says he went looking for you and got and was told he saw jamie and jamie told him you were at the church with me so then i wonder if the idea is something's up something happened at the cafe something's happening at the house and then rob exactly to your theory the audience is being led to believe oh it's dan looking for her okay so maybe yeah weird i do want to go back to chase and Alex, though, because it was really nice to hear Jana's music on the show.

And such a great device for bringing Chris Keller back into the fray. This was just genius. I got to say, you know when someone introduces you to like a new food you haven't tried and it's so good and you're like, how, how, what was my life before this? Like, how did I not even know this existed? because I only know season 7, 8, 9, I've never experienced Chris Keller. Wait, is this your first time seeing him on screen? All I knew about Chris is that Tyler played him and he talked in the third person.

So I said Tyler a video of me watching this last night and I was like, buddy, you are incredible in this role. Oh, he's so funny. He is such a likable Lothario. He's the worst and the best at the exact same time. Yes. It's so good. It's so fun to watch Chris Keller. It is hard to pull that off, too, to be so smarmy and so loved. And it's so great because him just coming back with such a bang being the absolute worst and so unimaginative, Harry Johnson, case in point, but how well it plays.

And then having him be the one who solves a problem for Alex. Yeah. Yeah, yep. It's like, Haley's hated him for so long. Alex is meeting him and hating him in this moment. He's the worst, but he does add something. He sure does. And it is good.

He sure does. Now Chase hates him as well. By the way, that was my favorite line of the episode is after Chase is yelling at Chris Keller, because now he is, his girlfriend is, like, not paying attention to him. They're not having sex. And he ends it by saying, you peacock-looking. dork. And man, if that isn't

one of my new favorite insults, that is so obscure and hilarious. It's so great. Wait, also, does Chase live at Red Bedroom? Because his bedroom looked exactly like the Red Bedroom set. And there were no

rugs. It was just like this linoleum waxed a linoleum floor. Did we double the red bedroom set for his bedroom? Yeah, I think he might live in the loft at the back of Trick, which is also at the back of the recording studio. Never knew that was there. Interesting.

But it's so great. And Janice's song is so good. Yeah. Yeah. And there is something that is kind of fun about getting to see how a mix works. As a viewer, you know, we never really got to see a lot of music get produced. We've seen so much music be performed. And we know there's this recording studio, but to see the layers go into a song that is so great and then to be so irritated that it's Chris who did it.

And he's like, yeah, well, I just recorded this part and recorded this part and recorded this part. Pace it in your vocals. Like, he's the worst and he's the best. It's so great. I love that too. And you have to tolerate him because he's good. He's shown his value. So it's like, oh, farts.

We need him. He is the worst thing to need. And clearly we really need him because at some point he's about to buddy up with Dan Scott to get involved in whatever shenanigans is happening. Did anyone else think or see the fact that he is an absolute dead ringer for Hayden Christensen? Oh, yeah. Oh, wow. I didn't spot that.

Now that's good. Oh, buddy, go back and look at this episode and they look like complete doppelgangers. Yeah, I could see that. Oh, that's wild. It may look different, but native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for hundreds of years.

You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence. That's Sierra Teller Ornellis. who with Rutherford Falls became the first native showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I loved the Quinn and Clay stuff because it was really fun to, I mean, who hasn't had that night where you're just up all night and your partner's next to you and you're like, I can't sleep, what else am I going to do?

I mean, we're spilling popcorn on you. So good. It was really funny. And I, you know, it was, but I also, it was nice to see that you, like all the things that are leading up to what's coming down the pike for Clay and his storyline.

Yeah, it's just, it was an interesting place to start knowing or to flash backward to knowing where we were going that there was going to be some massive blowup to start from a place where it's just pure coziness and sweetness. Yeah.

Yeah. To watch your characters just really care about each other. You know, and to your point, Joy, It's not dissimilar to what's happening with Brooke and Julian. There's not really a lot going on. There's a device. We have the babies. You have the sleepwalking.

But you're seeing these people just be together and navigate something. And what would probably feel like a breath of fresh air doesn't, you kind of can't settle into it because you know from the teaser that all these crazy things are coming. Yeah. And so it gives you like. a sense of unease in a scenario that should make you feel comforted. The irony that we've talked so often about our show not taking time with storylines that they rush through everything.

And now when they don't have 22 episodes, there's only 13. Now they're figuring out how to take their time. Totally slowing down. What the heck? Wow, that is true. Rob, what were you going to say about Quinn and Clay? Oh, yes. I thought it was, I mean, listen, if this is me in real life and I'm like genuinely

wandering away from my home, the first thing I'm doing is going to the doctor. But I appreciated, I think Clay's doing two things. He is one trying to not alarm his partner. So he's trying to downplay because he sees Quinn is worried. I also feel like, and it's a stereotype for a reason, he is doing the total guy thing of just not going to the doctor when you should obviously go to the doctor. Yeah, yeah.

That is such a trope because it's so true. Like, everyone has, like, the dad or the uncle, and they're like, ah, it'll work itself out. And you're like, it's a broken arm dummy. Go to the doctor. You're bleeding all over. And then the other part of that, when it gets resolved, like, after it happens again or whatever,

and he can see that Quinn's, like, really bothered. And he goes, all right, we're going to go to the doctor. And she goes, today, And he goes, today. And I laughed going like, yeah, right. Maybe 15 years ago you could get a same-day doctor appointment. Who is your GP that you can call and be like, can I pop in in two hours? And they're like, come on in.

Totally. Nope. You know what it makes me think of? Rob, have you? Because I say this just because I'm such a fan of his. And maybe you've seen it joy. But Mike Barbaglia is infamously a sleepwalker. Like severely.

He walked through a plate glass window once, if I'm remembering the story from his. He's like one of my favorite comedians ever. He's a genius. And he talks a lot about this. And in his new special, he's sort of getting into the next stage of discoveries about his sleepwalking. And it's like, to your point, it's so serious. Like the idea that you would sleepwalk, not just in your home, but actually leave your home. It's like, it is like a level 10.

Yeah, alarm bells going off. Crisis problem. And I love that Clay's like, it's not a big deal. I'll be fine. Just must be having a funky dream, honey. Yeah. Dude, if you're, if you have the capacity to get dressed and navigate streets, that means you also have the capacity to walk into traffic to throw your wallet in a random trash can. Like, break into someone's house. Who knows? You literally just had the best case scenario of your nightmare situation. And you're like, knock, going to take it seriously. Like, that to me is crazy. Yeah. Yeah, it is.

Well, that's one of those things, though. You had to commit to the bit. You had no choice. It's not like you could go to the writers and be like, guys, this is ridiculous. They're like, yeah, we know, but it's your storyline for the season. So good luck. And truthfully, I didn't think, like, I actually don't think it is super outlandish because I also think there's a world in which Clay is also concerned.

but sometimes people are more concerned about finding out what the real issue is than they are about just dealing with the symptoms. Yeah. And I think you can make an easy argument that that could be what Clay is up to right there. Yeah, like he's too scared to go to the doctor. 100%. Because what is happening to him is abnormal and he can't explain it and it's out of control. Like I think it's very easy to go.

That's a guy who's just terrified. he's like he's he's ducking it in the sense that he's presenting very calm but under the water he's just like what the hell is happening I think that makes a lot of sense considering everything Clay's been through recently just to finally be in a place of like low drama everything's cool and like oh no my psyche is playing tricks on me I've got lots of under the current things happening that's terrifying and I think we had like so far what we've seen of Clay he's not really a guy who has shown much interest in really like taking a peek under the hood at like what's really going on inside clay you know like he wasn't really dealing with the sarah stuff he was

running from it we haven't really seen a lot of processing around nearly dying yeah you know there's anything wrong with that but it would it would track if this same person then was like and now i have a new thing no i'm going to just bury my head in the sand and hope it just passes yeah it's like you're disassociating a little bit. Yeah, I think you're right. Not that we've seen it, but I think the intensity of what will this be when you consider the context of, you know, 2011, 2012, like if you'd plugged these symptoms into WebMD, it would 100% have said brain tumor. So, like, of course you don't want to go to the doctor. And on that, I love when she stays up all night and then, of course, she's exhausted and, you know, she's asleep in the

doctor's office, and Clay says, like, oh, I have what she's having. And then the next, they do such a fun job of Julian getting the bad news about the stages, him walking out of the church on the phone call. And then quickly in the foreground, Clay's car pulls up, a stop sign with Quinn's head hanging outside of sleep and then just keeps going. So good. It was just like a fun little wink for the audience, you know, like, by the way, this is for you guys. Enjoy. I love it when they show, show don't tell. It's so nice when they stop explaining. and just show things. One of my favorite things I've ever seen on a show was I want to see maybe in the second

season of Easy, which was on Netflix, and it's so good. And there's an episode, because it's an anthology series, but it all happens in Chicago. And there's an episode where the group of people you're following in that episode are standing in line for coffee, and the people in line behind them are the couple you'd seen in the episode before. And it was such a simple little nod, and they were probably finishing one episode in the coffee shop and then starting the next

or whatever, you know, location-based shooting. And they threw them in there. And it's like, you just understand, oh, they all live in the same neighborhood. Yeah. It's tiny things like that that put together a geography and a life. And you guys driving by,

because we're all downtown, makes perfect sense. Yeah, it's that connective tissue. That sort of builds your world, you know? Yeah, I love it. And it was funny. Last exciting thing about the episode is the possibility of Brooke's new line with Victoria starting over, starting this whole company all over again. That's like, we could start all over, mom.

Is that what she said? Like, oh, and you shot of you holding the baby while you said that to her. Went, oh, man, look how far we've come. Little baker man. I think that's a terrific name for a clothing label. That's one of my notes. I do too. Yeah.

It's, I don't know if it's just because Ted Baker is already out there, so I've seen Baker a lot. No, but Baker Man's also, it's a bit of a, it's a reference to the patty cake song. But I was like, oh, that's. This is why Brooke is successful because that's a genius name for a men's and especially little kids. Because let's be honest, there's nothing in the world cuter than little kid clothes. Come on, baby, clothes are the best. Best.

They really are. And I remember thinking when I read this script, I still, I was like, fuck, that's a good idea. And I was so mad it wasn't mine. And I still feel that way. Because I was like, well, I could never do it because it's, you know, from our show. Wha, wah, wamp, wamp. Going back to the church, I thought the scene with Dan and Haley was great because you're right, Joy, I thought the same as you were. Granted, I've only seen a couple seasons of this show, but I have never seen Dan.

present that vulnerable and sincere. So it made sense that she was willing to entertain it. Yes. Because the sincerity was surprising, but there was also something that just the shape of the building gave to the scene, that long aisle and you having to walk down toward him. It almost gave the hallway shot from the shining, you know. Like, you just didn't know what she was going to walk into.

And then the ceiling height in the two shot where you're facing each other, it made it feel so tense. Yeah, very Hitchcock, vertigo. Yeah. It was a neat thing. One of the benefits of having a good actor like Paul that, and who's played this character for so long, he knows the history. He knows that just a regular cell is not going to work on Haley. And so that was all Paul, like knowing that he can't just come back, he's not going to insult the intelligence of the character, of Haley's character, by coming in and just giving her the same old spiel. Like, he knew it was going to have to be absolutely heartbreaking and plausible that he's changed in a real way.

I'm so grateful he did that and that he understood that because it really made it work, I think, for me. It was also smart to have there be foot leather between the two of you because that was all time for the audience to go, oh, crap, what is this about to be? You know, because of the shared history of you too and because of who Dan Scott is, I liked that there was a moment for me to kind of spin out about, oh, crap, what's about to happen? Because I caught myself, catch my breath. Like, in that walk, I inhaled, and I realized as I was watching you two, I was holding my breath. And I thought, oh, okay, like this, this is a good buildup to a scene. And to your point, him being so fragile and so willing to bring so much emotion and be still and look scared, we've just not seen that in Dan. And it's the only way after everything we know about him for you to give him one more shot.

Yeah. Yeah, it's the only way. There's nothing else. I just want to time check us because I know you have to go to the. I do. I'm sorry, guys, I've got to bounce out. But I loved this episode. This was a really exciting way to kick everything off. And I can't wait to see what is what's coming around the corner. Here we go. Bye, Joy. You have a good doctor's appointment, honey. Thanks. See you guys later.

It may look different, but native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly, like, very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric, that this is something we've been doing for a hundreds of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose. confidence. That's Sierra Teller Ornellis, who with Rutherford Falls became the first native

showrunner in television history. On the podcast, Burn Sage Burn Bridges, we explore her story, along with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic-Con, or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage, Burn, Burn, Bridges on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I loved the reveal for Nathan of Dan Scott. Was Dan Scott in his home, more specifically, Dan Scott in the nursery holding his baby?

Like, yeah. that is such a trespass that is so in your face aggressive like it's such a great way to end the episode and as a starting point for for the two of them because oh that's such a no no and and the repeat of the quote from the intro hell is empty and all the doubles are here and it's him and the, I mean, it's, it's like a worse nightmare scenario. And similarly to seeing Dan differently in the church, there's a look on Nathan's face, unlike anything we've ever seen before. And it, it just really, the whole episode has been leading to this, you guys have no idea

what you're in store for. And it's, ooh! Yeah. It's unnerving and I like it. So ominous. And the fact that both times the line, the devils are here, it is Dan Scott on screen. So it's hard as a viewer to not feel like we are being told that he is still in fact dark Dan Scott. Yeah.

I mean, because how many times have we also seen him do is like redemption and I've changed? So yeah, super effective. Great episode. Great episode. I loved it. Let's do a listener question. Okay. Hi.

My name is Lucia. I'm 15, and I'm a huge fan of One Tree Hill. Which set or sets from the show did you like the most? And which set or sets did you dislike the most? And why? Were there any sets that were more challenging to work on than others? I will say, does it stay Karen's Cafe in season 9, or have you all renamed it? It's still Karen's Cafe, right?

I really liked working with you guys on. I liked any scenes I had in Karen's Cafe because that generally meant that I was also going to be interacting with people I don't normally get to interact with. So like, I got to see you. I got to see joy. And it did start to feel like that place has a very cheers vibe to it. I was just going to say that. And so for me personally, like, I loved that set because it usually meant there's going to be a lot of people in the room. It's going to be some people I don't get to work with. So that was one of my favorites. Yeah, I always loved that set. It was always one of my favorites to work on all through the seasons, whether it was the cafe or the store or becoming

the cafe again. And I think what set it up for me so well, and this is a perfect question to have in this episode, is the, hi everyone, by everyone that Haley and Brooke get in this episode, it communicates without anyone having to say. This is our cheers. This is the place where everybody knows your name. This is the place where everybody gets to come. On the wall, it says, this is the place. And there's something really special about it. And I have so many great memories there of some of the scenes that were the most fun to shoot that I thought were the funniest on the show, some of the things that were the most emotional. I mean, you know, Brooke and Julian's whole journey and Brooke and Victoria together and the stuff that's coming in this season, like it's just the place where I think all the best things have happened. I know I feel that way. And I think to your point, so many of the characters do. Like, when you see yourself in a Karen's cafe scene and you know you're going to have a good time or that, you know, someone's going to have this huge emotional breakthrough. And I love that.

And as far as least favorite, I don't have a least favorite set offhand, but I can say a least favorite location, anything I had to do in the rain because the water they pump in for rain is like iceberg melt. It's never, it's the coldest thing. It takes your breath away. So it's always. not fun to do. And the river that we shot, where I tackle Kellerman into the water in Austin and James get in there, because not only was it cold, but as I mentioned before, it had a dangerously high fecal contaminant level. So no one wants to be in that. Nope. Nobody wants to be on a poop cruise. Nope. You know? I'm good on a poop cruise. Yeah. I'm going to echo your sentiment rain towers, the worst. especially because for whatever reason when we would have to shoot those

it was usually February and it was like 34 degrees out so just warm enough that it wouldn't freeze but you felt like you were being frozen in a block of ice and then I would say the things that I always found the hardest were when we had to go out

like to our beach houses when we'd have to go down to Topsoll or out to Carolina Beach And instead of, you know, 20 to 40 minutes to get to work, you were looking at an hour and change each way. When you're on set for 16 hours and then your day's like 18 and a half because of travel, it would just make me want to cry. So not really about the set, just about like, when will we ever get home and lay down? Yeah. Was hard for me.

Agreed. Shall we spin a wheel? I think we should spin a wheel. I wonder what it's going to be. I think this is us. Most likely to cry during a rom-com. I mean, you're a lay-up for that, right? Yeah.

Yeah. I feel like you would, too, though. I feel like you might be a secret rom-com cryer, no? No, I got it to, like, up? You know, the Pixar movie up? Oh, no. Like, cried at that opening. Yeah, devastation.

but rom-coms not as much i do i think you know it is because it's i don't cry very often i think i have to be a bit emotionally ambushed oh and i up i was like oh i'm seeing a cartoon and then it was the most heartbreaking love story in the opening and i was like i wasn't prepared for this um another one everything everywhere all at once sobbed yes at the ending when i realized it was actually just about a mother and a daughter trying to connect wept yeah so and i think a rom-com i know know what the emotional manipulation ahead is when I'm prepared for it, I think when I get blindsided is where I'm open. Interesting.

I like that. So rom-coms get you, though. Oh, yeah. I'm just, yeah, I'm a crier. I also cry a lot of watching documentaries. Full sob. Often. I like that, though.

I think that's a super. As someone who's the opposite end of the extreme, I would rather be closer to where you're at. I think it would be healthier if I cried more. But, you know, that's something for me to take to therapy. Don't worry about it. I was going to say, you know, just many years of therapy, my dear. I had maybe, I have to actually send you photos of this, the coolest experience this week.

We took the family down to Florida so the kids could see the grandparents for Ocean's birthday. And the sea turtles were laying eggs. And we went out. The beaches are all marked, you know, where you're. can and can't go. And there was like a spot where we could walk and watch. And when I tell you, one of these massive turtles came up out of the water eight feet from me. And I stood there for 40 minutes and just watched her walk up to her spot. I fell to the ground and wept. I just wept on my knees. I was like, I can't explain how unbelievable it is.

to see this like we live on a planet where this happens and i sobbed and ash literally looked at me she goes this is like your space movie i was like it is but that's a special thing i will say we used to vacation in florida so i've seen uh i've seen that as well and it's because like they're also they're endangered so it's rare they're so vulnerable i i i get it is what i'm saying like i get the emotional pull and the like science peeps were out on their little like scooter things with the red lights checking on everything and making sure everything was cool. And I was just like, this is so, look at there's people out here at one in the morning on like no light ATVs to save the turtles. I just, I couldn't stop

crying. It was, I'm unhinged, but here we are. Well, speaking of unhinged, join us next week, season nine, episode two, The Room Where You Sleep. That sounds very creepy. See you next week, gang. Bye. Hey, thanks for listening. Don't forget to leave us a review. You can also follow us on Instagram at Drama Queens, O-T-Harendh. Or email us at Drama Queens at iHeartRadio.com. See you next time.

We're all about that high school, drama girl, drama girl, all about them high school queens. We'll take you for a ride and our comic girl. Charing for the right team. Drama queens, drama queens. Smart girl, rough girl, fashion, but you'll tough girl. It with us, girl. Drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens, drama queens. It may look different, but native culture is alive.

My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we aim to explore that culture. Somewhere along the way, it turned into this full-fledged award-winning comic shop. That's Dr. Lee Francis IV, who opened the first Native comic bookshop. Explore his story along with many other native stories on the show, Burn Sage, Burnport, Bridges. Listen to Burn Sage Burn Bridges on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.