Drama Queens - The Superheroes of Tree Hill • EP 814

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

The Drama Queens assemble to revisit this comic book–inspired episode. They discuss Brooke's "superpower" you may have missed, the many layers of Chuck's story, and whether it's weird that Clay is the one who stood up to Kellerman. Plus, they pick sides in the Alex and Mia drama and reveal how a "clapper" could have changed everything!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, 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, drama queens. I'm holding up for a hero. Welcome back to season 8th, episode 14, air date February 8th, 2011. Oh, this was a fun one.

Hi, guys. Hi, guys. Hello, hello. This was a fun one. I feel like we went through a stretch of just a lot of heavy high-stakes drama. And we've been getting this lovely reprieve of wild bachelorette, bachelorette parties, is dogs on skateboards, this episode of Superheroes and Spandex. I mean, it's been a nice ride.

We're just having fun now. It really does feel like coasting into the second half of season eight, everyone in the writer's room was like, let's just have a nice time. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Do you remember how tired we would be when we would come back from Christmas? Because we had already been shooting for so many months. And it's like that second half of a 22 episode season is just tough.

I'm sure it was very welcome when we saw scripts that were light and fun. Yeah. Because to come back to heaviness, it's just, it's challenging. It's hard. It was just too much. There was so much of us lamenting. We really needed this. Yes. Lamenting. There's only so many times you can nearly die in a season, right? That's it. I was going to say lamenting, suffering, almost dying. It's like at some point people needed a breather. And even the fact that Peter Kowel

our wonderful DP directed this episode. Pete, Pete is the jolliest man alive. So to have someone who's just jolly and sweet do some really kind of silly, lighthearted material with us, you can see how much fun everyone's having in the episode. I totally agree. All right, here's the synopsis. Brooke, Quinn, and Haley decide to use their talents for greater good to help a young girl being bullied. Meanwhile, Julian takes on a directing job and helps out a friend, aka A.K. A. Mouth. Chase mentors Chuck and Nathan and his fellow classmate stand up to a bully of their own. Written by Heroin Strauss. Yeah, no, they did. Not really. I just couldn't wait to say, no, they didn't. I mean, it wasn't nothing. It was, it was like, you know, it was something.

No, they did absolutely. Wait, am I incorrect? They did nothing. It was, it was, it was Clay who weirdly shows up in the back of the classroom. Oh, oh, yes, yes. No, you're right. And his friends, they just sort of like talk trash at a poker table while studying. That's right. You did something. But Nathan and we got Quentin who played Michael in the blind side.

Quentin, who was a lovely person, he came and played Nathan's classmate in this episode. But, yeah, no, they really didn't do anything but complain. Tommy was his character's name. But yeah, they didn't. And also, I mean, we're going to get to it. But I have thoughts about that scene of Clay showing up. Being an adult and now having also been in college, I just, that was a very TV moment as opposed to how it probably would happen in real life. Yeah.

Yeah. So one of my favorite things about this episode was the showcase, once again, of Brooks' unbelievable ability to sew at rapid. Rapid speeds. So fast. Golly, you're talented. Thanks. You know, it's really just, it is her superhero skill, really. Yeah.

Three outfits in three minutes. Let's go. Yeah, it's so funny because everyone's talking about their superpowers in the episode. And no one at any point goes, by the way, you sewed three complete different sized costumes in 12 minutes. By the way, with buckles and zippers and corsets. and pleather and gloves and tights. Masks. Yeah.

Laser cut masks. Yeah. Also, you got it all right on the first try. There wasn't a fitting. Perfectly tailored. Thank you. Thank you. I would say your, Brooke's vision and her instincts and her hand eye coordination to sew

that fast would definitely be the superpowers of the episode. A true skill. That actually would be really funny in a superhero movie. Just superheroes that have totally useless skills. I mean, it's not totally. useless. But in the realm of life-saving, you know, as superheroes do, someone who just can sew at an unbelievable rate, it would be really funny to watch. I don't know if this is still a thing, but do you remember when you used to go to like fairs and carnivals and there was that person

where you'd pay like five bucks and if they would guess your weight within five pounds and if they were wrong, you got like a giant teddy prize? And these people were like scary right. This sounds like vaudeville. How old are you? Fifty-nine. But it's, It's like, I don't see it anymore, but it was, it was this thing where it was like people who, unless there was some sort of secret trick I'm unaware of, like, they could just eyeball a person and be like 132, 214. And whenever I watched it, they were always really accurate. But I'm wondering if because of the times we live in now, we kind of pulled that one back. Maybe. Maybe we did. Are you feeling like this is that Brooke's superpower that she just knows she can just guess everything, that measurements?

Obviously, she just looked at her friends and was like, I know. your exact sizes for spandex from your head, your glove. I mean, that's crazy. It was a head-to-toe costume. Boots, all of it. You had a pregnant belly. She's never made something for you pregnant before. What?

I've never designed anything for a pregnant person, and here we are. Oh, wait, that's not true. I made Peyton's wedding dress. Sorry. Oh, yeah. Still, though. Still. That wasn't spandex.

I would also say another superpower of Brooks is sleep fighting, which is always funny to me to see on TV, but you really sold it very, very well. That was a great way to open was with sleep fighting. Thank you. I really appreciate that. That was so fun. The, like, cartoon, opening, all of the different drawings.

So original. Yeah, it was fun to see her boredom be sort of highlighted in a way that worked for the story and was also just adorable. I loved the comic book strips. I love that even Alex gets made into one, you in front of the red bedroom sign.

Like, it was, the whole thing was really just enjoyable. And I remember going into the office, like the art department office, when we were getting this episode ready and seeing how they were doing all that stuff and just feeling really jazzed about what this was going to be like to play with. And I, you know, I love the scene where you come in and you basically catch me playing with, like, G.I. J.J. Figures. It's just so fun.

It was a really perfect setup for being out of work, not knowing what to do. She's home. She's so not a typical housewife, that old-fashioned version of a housewife. You know, she just is like antsy and needing to do something with her hands and her time. And I really, I thought it was really well done the way Heroin Strauss wrote this episode and the way that they would tie in all little pieces, Chantel's excitement, Quinn's excitement to just get to get out and do something in the two of you in that scene. She's desperate for a secret or a scandal or some adrenaline. Activity. Clay's just like, what? Do we have to? Can we know? We just got shot. Can we relax a little while?

Yeah, let's chat. She's like, no, I'm on. Let's do it. Find me somebody else to fight. But all the little pieces tied together. Yeah. And it was fun using the crisis hotline as the as the, as the, as the, way in. It all just, it all just worked. Everything came together well. And I like that we get to see you getting kind of pulled into Brooke and Quinn's desire for an activity on your own at the Crisis Center. When you start humming the Batman theme song and going, Haley, to yourself, it's like, ooh, we got her. And it's fun as an audience member to see Brooke and Quinn get Haley before Brooke and Quinn know they've gotten Haley. Oh, yeah.

We had a ball. This was so fun to just do comedy, a whole episode of comedy. You know, before I got One Tree Hill, when I moved to L.A. from New York in my early 20s, I was the sitcom girl. Like, I was never got dramas. I was always doing sitcoms. All the pilots that I had done since I was 14, I was like the go-to sitcom girl. And I got One Tree Hill, and then I had to live. cry on command, which I kind of learned when I was on a soap opera for a couple years.

But, but yeah, it was like, I just, I've been crying on this show for so long. We all were. I was so, so happy. Yes. Oh, God. I was so happy to have some comedy in my life. God, it felt great to do this episode. Did Kickass, like, the,

we actually name check kickass a lot. Several times. I mean, so was it like a cross-promotion or was it just the right timing because it was the popular movie and we just asked if we could use their name? But you know what I mean? It was like weirdly specific and we talked about it like at least three times. I think it had just come out and everybody was talking about it and excited about it, right? And we had an Halloween episode and so it just made, I don't know. Sof, do you know behind the scenes on that?

I don't remember. Honestly, I don't know where the obsession came from, but it felt really right, you know, certainly for me in this wanting to take the power back, being able to do it, you know, with that movie. I remember tracked, but I don't know why it was such a focal point. I think superheroes were just having a moment. Like this was when everything, right? Like all the Marvel movies were starting to become a thing. Everybody was making a superhero show or a movie. And we did that a lot.

Yeah. So we started commenting a lot on our show on pop culture things that were happening. I wouldn't be surprised. It makes a good deal of sense because kick ass is about two regular people who are just tired of it. And they, so they're not, they don't have any superpowers or even like super weapons or anything. So it makes sense. It was just odd because typically in our show, like in our universe, we're not actually, like, we're not actually experiencing. Oh, you know, that's not true, though, because Julian's poster was a real movie.

So, yeah, I guess this isn't the first time we've done this. Because, you know, typically on a TV show that they're not actually talking about real life things. Like, everything is just sort of another piece of fiction from that universe. Skills had his whole notebook thing. Yeah, the notebook. But also, like, when Gossip Girl was getting popular or they would do things that were, we would. sort of do, you know, joke-y things, like vampire diaries. I feel like we were always commenting on things that, not overtly, but there were all these sort of undercut commentaries on things

that were going on. Right? Am I crazy? I feel like that happened a lot. Yeah. I think it probably did. And just to completely hijack this, I have to go back and point out, thanks to one of our good buddy Easton reminded me that these barkers, they weren't barkers, these vaudeville acts that would guess your weight. They would also guess your age, too. Yeah. What a dangerous game. Could you imagine that your job is to guess people's age and weight? Oh my gosh. I would lose all of the prizes on the first day because I would be wildly under guessing both for everybody. Yeah, yeah. They'd be like, you somehow lost us $10,000 worth of stuffed animals. You're fired. You're like, yeah, because I was trying not to get punched in the face. Yeah, I was raised right, guy.

Come on. Back to the show. Yeah, but the kick-ass thing, it worked, and it was just, it was so fun. I also really liked seeing Clay and Quinn just have a light scene. Yeah. He's kind of giving her grief about the one picture he took of Millie diving for the bouquet, which was so fantastic. And I was like, it was very easy. You just point and click, you know, but it was, it's been so long because even though they've,

We've had a couple episodes since all of the Katie stuff. Like the last episode, if you remember, it was her telling him, like, I actually was stalking her. Like, even then, it still wasn't lights. This is the first time we got to see the two of them, like, just being silly, just having fun. And I've missed that. Yeah. Especially because their love story was born out of their friendship, their humor with each other, that kind of ease. it's nice to see them back in some ease.

Yeah, and Clay's line about I have a strict rule in my life where I don't do anything that people wouldn't feel sorry for me if I died doing it. Yes, I wrote that down. I loved it. I loved it. That was so good. Poor guy, you just wanted to jump off a bridge with a rope tight around his ankles.

Come on. Oh, so sad. That's great. Yeah, there was some really good lines. And there were great lines. I mean, Chuck, Chuck had so many great throwaway lines. Like, you want to come over for dinner?

It's meat night. Oh, my God. Chuck had two moments that were, they were such good lines because they were really funny and then equally tragic. Yes. One of them was that. You want to come over.

It's meat night, which I thought was so funny. And again, very sad. And then later in the episode, the Chase is saying something like, oh, is your dad around? And he says, He goes, I was supposed to see my dad last summer, but he bailed. And Chase is like, what?

What happened? And he said, his favorite kid rock cover band was playing, can't pass stuff like that up. And I was like, it's such a funny choice to make it a cover band of Kid Rock. Of Kid Rock. And also, like, again, but simultaneously, wildly tragic. This is what makes these guys such a great team as writers. They were really capable of doing that. And Chuck is a perfect character for it, too.

Because that's, man, I mean, that's at the heart of so much comedy. Everything on top of it, you know, it's hilarious on the top. But when you go to the notes a little bit below it, you're like, ooh, what's going on that caused that? Yeah, they're great. I'm so smart. 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 hundred 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.

Another gem they had was when Alex goes to Red Bedroom and Mia's there and she's like, hey, I want to, I want to record. And Mia's basically just like, nah, you can get lost. And she goes, cool, I'll go talk to Haley. Why talk to the greasy rag when you can talk to the mechanic? It's like, wow. It's so good. It's like, oof.

Okay, but this is why I'm not here for Alex. I'm so over her. Just, it's just, it's so. manipulative. She shows up and she's super bitchy and creates this. This is like narcissism 101. Like she creates all of this drama. Mia's just minding her own business. She comes in, creates all this drama. Mia's upset with her like because she's been insulting her. And then when she comes back, she's like, I really just wish we could be professionals. Well, I think you're an amazing artist. Like, fuck off. I'm sorry. No. No. I'm going to push back on this one because

I feel like when she shows up, she is sincere. Also, we finally got some acknowledgement of her kissing Chase during the truce. Which, by the way, I was like, wait, how does Mia know about that? But whatever. At least it was acknowledged. Yes. I mean, her and Chase had sex at the wedding, so maybe they've been talking. Yeah.

I don't know. They had that weird exchange at the bar, so I don't know what's going on. Wait, are you talking about Chase and Mia? Chase and Mia had sex at the wedding. Right. Yes. And Alex kissed Chase during. Alex and Mia's truce at the fundraiser night at the ball.

Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah, okay, I missed that moment in the scene. Okay. So I felt like she showed up and, I mean, listen, she brought the edge quick, but I felt like she started off not trying to be a jerk. But then I do hear what you're saying. I think she got the littlest bit of pushback from Mia. And then she said something, the effect of like, yeah,

I know you guys were back together when I like saw him kissing that five foot brown. A mole in the limo. A hairy mole. I was like, what? Yeah. And she just kept attacking her. It's like when you're minding your own business and someone comes in and starts attacking you and you get upset and then they're just like, oh, look, you're so upset.

You're so volatile. You're like, am I? You're hysterical. Or am I a normal person and you're a jackass? Well, I also think that, I mean, to your point, Joy, it's like, when we obviously talk about this stuff a lot, the. the narcissistic tendency of baiting and baiting and baiting and baiting and picking on and picking on and picking on and picking out and when someone finally retorts being like whoa you're really intense or

like oof what a what a bully and you're like I'm sorry you've been bullying me for how long and I finally told you to go fuck yourself and now I'm rude yeah yeah yeah that's it but what I like about this this is the fun part right this is when you know the writing is is good because you can have a whole room full of people, be like, I actually identify with Mia. And then you've got people being like, no, I actually identify with Alex. Well, I see the dynamic here and that, that's when I know something is working. Because depending on how you see it, saw it, maybe your own personal history, whatever. Like, everybody's got a different opinion. And I'm like, that's good writing. So hats off. Hats off to heroin Strauss, because they're

making us like actually feel things yeah well and because Alex wants something so there's the added layer too of like is this just an act to get what she wants now that she always does oh hum hat and hand hey friend yeah I'm going to be the bigger person here yes I just want to let you know that I'm the bigger person just want you to know that is that what's happening I'm also a little surprised that we waited this long to showcase Jana's singing. I feel like typically when we bring people in who have a musical talent, I mean, maybe just because she got brought in primarily as an actor, maybe they wanted an

actress who could sing, you know? But I just, I found myself going, she's really good. This song is great. I'm just surprised it took us a season and a half to see this. Nobody knew. When she came in, she was just, came in as an actor. And as she got her series regular. part in the show and continued to, you know, build her own career and PR and all that, then she went

to a record label. I think I'm correct about this. So Jana, if you're out there and I'm miss telling your story, I'm sorry, but this is what I remember, um, that she went to a record label and was working on getting a deal. And so, and I don't know how it went down with talking with show writers or creators or whatever and saying like, hey, can I sing? But eventually that was done in tandem with her record deal. Yeah. Because we were still living together. Oh, you were. So you know the story better than I do. Okay, you tell it. And Jana was going back and forth to Nashville a lot. Like she was really starting to pursue this because she does, to your point, Rob, I mean, she's got such a great voice. And, you know, there was a lot of how do you figure out somebody's schedule and how is she going to go and do this and how is she going to stay on the show? And so, you know, it becomes easier. to work out doing two jobs at once, which no movie studio or record label really wants to let you do, unless it's mutually beneficial. Yeah.

And so I think there was a, you know, if my memory serves me correctly, I mean, my God, this is over a decade ago. But I don't remember if it was the label that got in talks with Warner Brothers or the Warner Brothers that got in talks with her label. Obviously, we'll have to have her come and talk to us about it again on an episode. But they worked it out. And yeah, I mean, she was just like flying back. back and forth all the time. It did feel like it kind of came out of nowhere. Yeah. Well, it's a, it's a surprise on the show. That's what I mean. Yeah. For the character, you're like, wait, what? And I do think they were smart at least to have, I liked that they had the, um,

her saying the thing. Everyone knew she'd never said on camera to Quinn at the hotel. And Quinn being like, yes, you told me one million times during Brooks Bachelorette because everyone blacked out. So it was like, oh, okay. Like, they nodded to, their own surprise for the audience, I thought, in a very clever way. Yeah. So great. But I do think when people are like, well, that seems random. It's like, well, yeah, they had to get a deal done with the studio and the record label. And they weren't going to risk talking about it until everything was settled. But yeah, then Jana was, you know, going back and forth out of our little apartment in downtown and going to Nashville and just, I mean, she threw

herself into it, like so full-steam-ad. And it was so cool to watch it. Yeah. Super talented. But I do wish they had teased it out a little bit more. I wish there had been just more of a rather than overnight. Like, oh, by the way, I've always wanted to be a singer. I'm like, well, okay. I mean, they're going to let me sing on my next movie. You're like, what next movie? What's singing? Yeah. There's so many ways to have done it and introduced it that this felt a little weak to me, but I'm glad we got it in there. Rob, sorry, you keep on to say something. You know, I'm just, it's like, I wish I had that good of a talent that I could just like sandbag and randomly pull out a year and a half later.

Like, I show up and my bag of tricks has been exposed in like 30 minutes. You've like, I've already peaked. You've seen all of my things. And it's like casually a year and a half into the job. She's like, oh, by the way, I can sing like a beautiful song. Like an angel. And I write amazing songs too. Oh, can you dance too?

Like, oh, are you a triple threat and just have been hiding it? She bust out her tap shoes. Seriously. So funny. But it was great. The song was great. It worked awesome in the episode. And Chase, speaking.

of, you know, Alex and Chase, I've loved that we got to watch him in a new role besides just being a bartender and being the guy that's like, oh, I can't decide between two girls, like, to actually have a depth of character to work with this kid and try and discover a new part of his character, his personality. Big Brother was a great choice also for Chase. And fun for Stephen, really fun to watch him in that role. Because I never, I don't know that I would have put, I would have put skills there. I would have put mouth there. But Chase, who's always just been interacting with the adults, he does have so much to offer.

And to see like his kind heart and see so much more of him than just the guy that's being torn between two women is a really nice break. I agree. Also, I mean, I'm going to say that, and this is a big statement given our show in these characters' histories. but Chuck may have one of the most tragic backstories and lives of all the characters. I mean, his dad is obviously like a no-show deadbeat. And when he does show, his advice clearly is awful. So he's just wasted space. And his mom, we come to find out, is the woman who is day-drinking in an empty trick?

Yeah. It's like, this kid, man. Thank goodness he gets Chase, who's actually. earnest and excited to be there and trying to, you know, be a good role model for him. And because I remember this storyline and where it's headed, it's great. But it kind of gives me, I've always thought, like, that Chuck's a dick. And now I'm like, yeah, but you know, you know, he gets an excuse. That's the brilliance of Harrow and Strauss.

Again, that they saw, they knew this storyline for Chuck. They've seen all the stuff that we've done. And he's always been a caricature. of himself, his family, you know, we joke about why his mom's an alcoholic, you know, and it's like always a punchline. And instead of actually treating it with the tenderness that it deserves, which even in the comedy,

as you're saying, it's so tragic underneath it all, that's the brilliance of it, is that you can treat something with tenderness by being honest about how humans behave around tragedy, which often is making light of it. But trusting the audience, to be smart enough to feel all those layers and really giving Chuck

and his mom too these little moments where instead of them being caricatures, we actually really care about them and see their humanity. It added so much to our show. Even that little moment of, in the very short amount of time

that she was on camera, it was very efficient in that, they humanized her a bit because you're right, Joy, all she has ever been as a punchline. I don't even know if we've ever seen this actress before. I don't, we haven't, right? Yeah, I feel like we have, but maybe she just looks familiar because Okay. At least from season seven on it. I like, did we slap her? Did she like, what happened?

Something happened with her at school. Yeah, you guys had a little kerfuffle of some sort. You know, fight. Yeah. But I just liked that rather than, because they could have just had her drunk at the bar and didn't really even say anything. But I like that she, rather than throwing herself at she's even though she's kind of doing it she says if i weren't off men right now so it's kind of like oh so she's aware her husband is a dud she's struggling you know like it was just it was just enough to go like okay there's a human being there as opposed to just like a punchline yeah and a cautionary tale yeah i also think it would have been it would have really been a hat on a hat after mia and alex fighting over him to have like another random woman just throwing herself at it's like

guys, this is not how people interact in the real world. So it's, to your point, it's nice because it gives us a backstory for her to know that she's been in a struggle with this, you know, with Chuck's dad, her ex, however she identifies him in her life. It sounds like they're split if, you know, the guy hasn't seen his kid in a year. But, yeah, it just gives her a little bit of extra depth. And then it gives us information as an audience when we're hearing all these terrible things that Chuck's dad says to him, these sort of terrible life lessons that he's giving, this young boy, you know, and you go, oh, I'm beginning to get the picture here of why that kid acts the way he acts, of why he might be competitive with his best friend, of why he might be acting out in a way. And it is really nice to see just like a grown-up who cares, try to be a mentor.

Yeah. Yeah. There are very few instances in which being raised by a pack of wolves would have been preferable to your actual parents. And I think Chuck may qualify. He may qualify. Because what is the – my dad says guys can bail on each other all the time. It's like, your dad's terrible. He's the worst.

Yeah. And when Chuck, oh, I forgot about this moment, you know, he's doing this punch thing where he punches Chase and he's like, you just got chucked. You know, it's like funny at first. But when he invites Chase to dinner and Chase starts saying, oh, I can't really do that or like it wouldn't be appropriate or whatever, Chuck immediately regresses and punches him as like, oh, it's the joke again. You know, just trying to cover up the immense pain of feeling rejected by somebody he's just starting to trust again. There were so many layers in this storyline, and it was so quick in the episode. But the more we talk about it, the more impressed I am. 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, traditional it feels like Bob Dylan going electric that this is something we've been doing for a hundred years you carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence that's sierra teller ornelis 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. Also, it was great because I love Stephen, and I think he hasn't been given a lot to do on the show. has sort of been the, like, guy between two gals. So this was really nice to give him the opportunity to play a different speed. And I loved because we see how earnest he is, like the fact that he shows up wearing a pilot's hat and that he got a second pilot hat for Chuck.

It's like, and he's waiting out in front of the car. I thought, like, oh, he's actually putting effort in. Like, he cares, right? And then Chuck walks out and goes, nice hat, do they make him for guys and slaps it out of his hand? was so funny, and it made me feel so bad for Chase that he's like, he's putting himself out there and this nine-year-old just absolutely bodies him.

It's so funny. I love, too, the way every storyline really has to do with different ways to deal with your bullies. I mean, Chuck's always been a bully, except when he kind of became friends with Jamie, but through being a bully. He was a bully first. And then the way that I guess Alex and Mia feel like they're kind of bullying each other all the time.

I mean, whatever that storyline is. But yeah, everything kind of all ties together. What did you guys think about the Clay showing up in the classroom scene? I thought in real life the teacher would probably not have let him talk so much. Yeah. Yeah. It's a big hero moment. And you go, this is cute, but what?

Yeah. What did you think of it, Rob? To me, I laughed, you know, because Joy's exactly right. It's like if someone's in your class who's not a student, you don't entertain that, especially when they're trying to prove you inadequate or wrong. So the fact that he humors me and like lets me and then asks me a question back, I was just like, and it's just odd because. he's not it's not really like owning the guy he's not really rubbing his nose anything he's just

like that's not the real world it just i wish clay had brought the actual basketball player that he was talking about or is a football i can't remember it's the football yeah troy the guy he just signed yeah i wish he had actually brought the guy yes that would have been something that stopped the class well and that probably would have made kellerman pause but the thing that i sort of couldn't get over was that he was essentially showing you deference and respect in his own classroom where he's made it clear that he doesn't respect anyone. Anyone's experiences, anyone's opinions, anyone's BMI. Like, he's literally fat shaming a male athlete. Like, the whole thing is, he doesn't care about other people's feelings or experiences. And then he just is wrapped with attention

while Clay's talking. And I'm like, I don't get it. Well, and it was also odd because there was a perfect opportunity for Clay to go, yeah, a top 10 NFL draft just got signed by one of your students because of this relationship. Like he had an opportunity to really big up Nathan. And instead, he kept it all about the agency and therefore himself because he never establishes a connection. And it was just like, this isn't your fight. And why wouldn't you take that opportunity to be like, one of the. of your students did exactly that.

Yeah, the only, I totally thought that too, but also I think I, giving Clay the benefit of the doubt that he wouldn't have wanted to cause more trouble for Nathan because at this point there was, you're just a total stranger, but if he was tied to Nathan, then it would have Yes. I don't know. Maybe put a bigger target on his back or something. Yeah. And I think also Nathan doesn't have his degree yet, so he shouldn't be practicing as an agent.

Oh, right. It's not legal. Well, this Gellarman guy is a jerk. You don't want to give him that information to literally blow up the operation. But even more of the reason why than the actual football player walking in and being like, hey, one of, you know, somebody, one of your students or maybe not just like, oh, never mind. I take it back. I just, I think it would have made more, been better. But you're right, Joy, how cool would that moment have been if it had been Clay talking and going, wait, hold on a second.

Hey, Troy, how much did we, how much signing bonus? And then Troy's on the other side of the class going, oh, it was 68 million. Yes. Yeah. And hugs. And a hug. And a hug. Exactly.

And a hug. It's not too late to reshoot that scene, right? Let's do it. Totally. Absolutely. Absolutely. We'll figure out how to pay for it. I loved also because there were parts of the episode where, like, just going back to the bowling,

I loved that there was the moment of, like, there was a great blend of, blurring reality and then also sticking to it. Like there's this great moment when Quinn walks into the room when Haley and Brooke are talking. And I think maybe she turns to leave and suddenly Brooke is behind her. Yes. I can't let you do that.

And true Batman style. And of course Quinn is like, what the hell? So that was one of those ones where it's like, we sort of bent the rules and I loved it. And when the girls enter, with the bushes? Is that what you were going to say? Yes. Because with the flipping, I was like, oh, what?

And then, of course, we see you all awkwardly stepping over the hedge. I'm like, perfect. Yeah. Yeah, it's actually just, it's how cool we think we look. And then you see that we're just, we're just a couple of awkward gals. Yeah. And there's another great line. I think maybe it was a Haley.

It was either Haley or Brooke when it's in a discussion about standing up to these bullies and someone's like apprehensive. And the line is, um, relax their kids, not Crips. Brooke says it. Yes. It's like, well done. Yeah. There, there were a few things I had in the episode that gave me a giggle.

Like being, when I say to Haley, no one's going to hit a pregnant lady. Yeah. And she goes, you want me to use my unborn baby as a human shield? It's like just the humor that they gave to us in this. I really had a nice time. with it was just so much comic timing i love that they just wrote the jokes and trusted us to handle them because it was so fun the three of us being able to play off of each other and it wasn't set up set up laugh it was pure just like they just wrote it real and we we were able to you know insert the just

in our relationships insert that comedy but i loved this scene with the three of us being so ridiculous in front of these girls can you imagine especially now as a mom that I go into high, I mean, I go into the middle school and the high school and I see these kids all the time. If I showed up with two of my friends in spandex and masks, trying to protect, I mean, thank God Haley did have a trick up her sleep because I think it worked, but I mean, and she's like, Mrs. Scott, so mortified. It's so embarrassing. Quinn getting overly excited was such a. wonderful Quinn moment.

Yes. And you guys happened to, even in the height of all of the three of you being amped, you had to be like, hey, hey, hey, hey. Yeah, chill out. I'm Shatterbug. This is after she's taking the photos with the camera backwards. Did either of you notice that? I didn't.

Yes, completely backwards. She's just taking photos of herself over and over again, but it looks like it's of the girls. Oh, my gosh. The whole thing is so absurd. It's, it's absurd. And it's great. And it was fun. also funny and absurd, let's talk about Julian's commercial.

Yes! The THC! The THC! Has that ever been done on the show before, that reference? No, no. Wow. Well, that was great. Because it was just a thing.

It was just becoming a thing. I mean, marijuana wasn't legal almost anywhere except maybe Colorado or Oregon or something, but, like, THC was not, I don't think it was legal. that point i don't know that dates the show that like a pot reference was uh was a big deal um so here's what i thought was so funny about it was okay it's at the end of it right if you go back and watch closely lee finished or mouth finishes his take julian calls cut and for some reason he's and mouth is sitting on a little mini sofa for some reason there was an a d on his hands and behind the couch watch when he calls cut that little guy who has a line or two sorry the smaller

guy yeah yeah he just stands up from behind like that's something you would only ever do if like you need to have off-camera dialogue red or someone has like the fishing wire that's pulling the door open because it looks like the house is haunted the camera is five feet away from late like there's no reason on earth that they needed to have this poor guy on his hands and knees behind the couch. Yet as soon as cut is called, he pops up, which I was like, this is incredible. Why is it happening? And then the fact that like 50 crew members appear for this local commercial, the clapout Lee gets is the kind of clapout as an actor you get when you are rapping a show after like nine seasons. Yes. It's incredible. The budget for this local commercial was that of like a Super Bowl

commercial. Yeah, it was pretty amazing. But why was, here's the thing, too, there's no way that was scripted. You don't ever get that specific in the action text, which makes me wonder, was Pete just being funny? Why? Maybe. Why was that young man crouched behind the couch? I can see it happening, you know, depending on what time of day they had, they shot it. I mean, everybody was just having a good time on this episode. It seems like, and Pete being the jolliest guy ever, I'm sure, it was just like, yeah, okay, we just need to fill it in a little bit more. You, I don't know, crouched down behind the couch. You go stand over there and hold the boom. Like, let's just fill it in and get it done. You go, like you're hiding and go seeking behind the couch

of the only actor in the shot. Okay, there was one other moment that made me laugh out loud for absolutely the silliest of reasons. It's the very end of the episode. You've all come home and it's now Quinn's turn to come home and she's being cute and flirty with Clay and she pushes him down on the bed and she's like shutterbug's going to get you and then she holds her hand up in the air she snaps and the lights go off

which means they have to have some type of clapper situation and if they had a clapper situation then that would have meant every time Katie shot the gun the light would have gone off and on. And I just thought it would be so funny if when she shot Quinn, the light went off.

It went dark. Walk back over. Turn it back on. Go back to her spot. Shoot play. Walk back over. Turn it back on. Or flip it up and like try and clap while she's holding the gun.

Or just shoot the ceiling. Like boom, she shoots Quinn. Then she shoots the ceiling. Absurd. That would have been such a tremendous moment to see Katie caught off guard by the clapper. Absolutely absurd. But Clapper saves lives.

It's such a dumb thing to point out, but it really, really cracked me up. It's great. Okay, you know who absolutely walk off home run, Antoine? He has this amazing moment. First of all, so good to have Lisa back. It's so good to have Mouth and Milly back because they're adorable together. I love the moment, by the way, when Mouth is sort of confiding in Julian about how he's like, I don't know. and Julian shows him the picture of Millie diving for the bouquet

and he's like, does this look like a woman who wants to take things slow? But it's the scene at the table in Skills and Mouth's apartment when he asks, when Mouth asks Millie to move in. And all of a sudden they cut from this close two shot sort of back to like a kind of like a bigger, wider shot, almost like a master. And you see skills get up from behind the couch doesn't say a word

just reaches between them grabs a fry and then pat's mouth on the shoulder and walks out but like do yourself a favor and go back and watch that moment because the expression

on Antoine's face is perfect is it just totally like stoic just like he's like I'm not here no no it's like he's it's sort of like he's proud of mouth

and it's also about freaking time And so it's like this knowing like, add a boy. Oh, that's good. So the fact that they gave him no words is perfect because his face says it all. And the choice to steal a French fry is great. Yeah. I watch it on my phone.

So I think I was just, he was probably a little too small for me to notice his facial expression there. So I'll have to go back and watch that. That's great. He always made such interesting choices, Antoine. So fun. And last but not least. So if you broke the fourth wall at the end, have we. ever done that intentionally?

Ooh. I don't think we had, but it was exactly, um, it was something Peter really wanted. And so we talked a lot about the way that it worked in Ferris Bueller, and we just went for it. Did they do it in Kickass as well? Was that kind of the, the nod?

I don't remember, to be honest. Um, but I, I do know. that we shot that both ways just in case the studio didn't like it. Oh, interesting. So it making it in the episode was cool for all of us. We were like, all right, the vision worked. Did you get to keep any of the art

of you as bedazzle? Yeah, they gave me, when we wrapped that season, they gave me like a framed storyboard of a couple of those shots that were really sweet. I'm super into

you being a superhero. Like, where do we start that campaign? I need you as my next Marvel superhero tomorrow. You'd be great. I'm so into it. All I want to do is stunts and run around and... I'm sure Hollywood's listening. Great.

Hollywood, if you're listening. Hello. Superhero is here. You know, this is the mistake that they make in a lot of these. I mean, Marvel's getting it, but there's just such a lack of comedy in my opinion in some of these superhero movies that I... That's what I...

It's what you love about Indiana. Jones or what down you did in Iron Man, you know, it's just so brilliant because that's the real life that you need to relate. If you're going to watch something that is super reality, to be able to watch something that has, has its roots down dropped into real human feelings. Like, this is terrifying, making jokes, you know, what we would do if we were in the middle of a really scary situation, especially the female superheroes. There's always this sense of like, the Laura Croft of it all like I'm so sexy look at me instead of like where is the superhero woman who can fall like be sexy but also fall on her face and be like that definitely was not my

plan I want to see that I want the humor I know I think that's part of the reason guardians of the galaxy was so successful was that because like Iron Man worked but that was that was a lot of just downy doing that's him yes that's just him bringing his own thing whereas guardians was uh intention funny. There was scripted dialogue that was very funny and then they brought in people who could do funny. And I think that's why it worked so well, because it was sort of a new tone we hadn't seen yet

in big tent pole superhero movies. Yeah, I'm dying to watch a woman be a superhero like that. I really have not seen it, but I would love to. 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 the kind of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence. That's Sierra Taylor Ornelis, 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. Do we want to do an honorable mention?

I think so. I'll give mine to Michael Mays. I thought Michael was great. Sorry to interrupt. Yeah, I just, I thought he nailed it, every piece of it. He actually seemed to understand a level of the depth that they had written for him. He wasn't, he wasn't just saying lines. He really, like, there was some stuff underneath his performance that I appreciated for a kid that age.

Totally. I was going to say, you know, art department and wardrobe because they really, without their comic strip and those costumes, this, this might not have been so funny. It might have just been really embarrassing. And I thought they really helped us, they helped us get over what we were all a little anxious about when we read this script and we were like, who ate an edible and wrote this? Like, what is going on? And they helped us pull it off. So really, you know, hats off to those teams. I'll give my honorable mention to the gentleman who ate an edible and wrote this script,

Mike Harrow and David Strauss. They did a fantastic job. Yes. So good. All right. Listener question. Oh, good nickname, Clow Motion. If someone asked you to describe your character by recommending one episode for them to watch,

what episode would you recommend? Ooh. It might be this one, to be honest. I mean, you see all sides of Haley. Yeah, I mean, sorry if that's crazy, but like, you get to see all sides of her. She's a goof. She's a teacher. She handles, she takes control, handles situation.

She's always kind of bouncing around handling and solving things for people all the time. She's a trusted friend. She's a mom. She's a wife. She's a goofball. She's also like serious. really cares about people, which you see in the crisis center, I think you get to see the whole range. So, sure, 8-14. Except they're going to watch the second episode and be like, where's all the

spandex? But no, that's good. Just for Haley, I would say this one, yeah. How about Brooke? God, I really don't know. We're so far in. You know, part of me thinks, to your point about this episode for Haley. I'm like, wait, would the Bachelorette episode be so funny for Brooke? And then part of me goes to you know, the one at the end of season six

where she finally admits to Julian that she loves him, you know, on the movie set because she really had to process some things and, oh, I don't know, then there's some high school stuff. It's like, in what stage and place, you know, that feels

tough but i guess you know to the point of the person asking yeah if you really wanted to get to know one of us um in one episode i guess when we're more adult it makes sense yeah what about the one where victoria you find out victoria's the one that um sabotage the company and she comes in and what were you guys fighting it was she had that great line yeah it's prison mother or something Yeah, when we fought in the store. I feel, unless I'm blending episodes together in my mind, I feel like that episode was pretty well-rounded for Brooke because you got to see her relationship with her mom, her company, the things falling apart, how she's handling it, her integrity, the struggle that she's

wrestling with between being, you know, being a good boss and a good person and trying to save herself and her work and maintain her relationships. And there was a lot to Brooke in that episode. I also don't think you could go wrong with the Bachelorette episode. I agree with you, because you see a pretty full spectrum of who Brooke is, starting with the silliness, ending with the grace towards Sylvia and the church. Yeah, that's true. So I think you get to see a really good, thorough picture of Brooke in that episode.

Yes. Oh, and her willingness to have to admit about Julie. She admits the truth. Yeah, that's good. I think, I don't know high school, Brooke, but I agree with you. I would sort of go, I would skew adult because that's like who everyone's growing into. But yeah, I mean, I think that one would do it. What do you think for Clay?

You know, I think the episode where he proposes to Quinn with Logan there with the Green Lantern Ring. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Because I think you really get a glimpse of Clay's world and what's important to him. I think he's also figured himself out a lot by that point. And his personality you can really see there too. Yeah. Yeah.

He's really settled in himself. So, yeah, I would say that episode is a really good snapshot of who I think he is. Great question, Clow Motion. I love that. Good one. Well, let's spin a wheel, folks. Let's do it. Most likely to guess age and wait at a fair. Oh, no way.

Not it. Oh, most likely to organize a flash mob. I mean, I would totally do that. Are we talking character or a person? Person. I don't think Haley would. No. It's funny.

My initial person reaction was Lisa Goldstein. Oh, really? Really? Yeah. Well, because she's such a good dancer and, you know, she was a Disney princess for so long. Oh, yeah. So she's used to the parades. And isn't a flash world kind of a choreographed parade?

It is. That's where my head went immediately. I feel like you would probably not volunteer for that job, but you also would be really good at it, though, self because you are, I think you're, you'd be a good coordinator. So if somebody gave you that job at like for their wedding, like one of your friends was like, I need you to organize a flash mob for my wedding. I think you'd be all over it. I would be so stressed, but I would not let them down. Be like, God, I hate that it's me. I have to find a choreographer now. If I ever get married again, I'm putting you on the project. Okay, great. Just for fun. She was out of her comfort zone

doing that though and let's be honest we saw the way she danced i don't think she would be in charge showing anyone how to dance so no i don't think it would be good that's fair that's fair after seeing how seriously he took his ushering job at brook and julian's wedding i would say skills you wouldn't expect it but i think he would crush it skills and jamie if you sent them out to go like make that happen yeah where's that episode i could also see mouth organizing something like that for milly he just seems he just because he's just so sweet i could just see if that was something she liked because like we obviously know ballerinas or a thing for her i could see him going out of his comfort zone for that yeah well we've we've solved it folks we've done it everyone

next episode is season eight episode 15 valentine's day is over see that makes it sound like everyone's fun is also coming to an end oh no oh no oh no is it Do we know what happens? I don't know what happens in the next episode. Tune in to find out. I guess I'm going to have to. Thanks for joining us next week. Hey, thanks for listening.

Don't forget to leave us a review. You can also follow us on Instagram at Drama Queens O-TH 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 in our comic girl. Drama, girl.

Chearing for the right team. Drama queens, dream a smart girl, rough girl, fashion but you'll tough girl. You could sit with us, girl. 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 Burn 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.