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On this episode of Drama Queens, Sophia Bush, Hilarie Burton, and Joy Lenz dive into another episode of One Tree Hill, laughing about the insane number of lamps throughout, Sophia’s “literal devil in a red dress” get-up, and their memories of the weird house James Lafferty and Chad Michael Murray rented in Wilmington. But as usual on their rewatch podcast, the three of them linger on character development and story structure, providing wonderful actors’ insights into how what’s on the page makes it to the screen. Why was Sophia’s character, Brooke, suddenly such a terrible friend in this episode? Why was “the sexy turned up to 10 all of a sudden”? Why is Hilarie’s character Peyton constantly looking for someone to connect with? Plus, why actors can trust the “power of the edit,” and how great it was that a show from 2003 managed to model a truly platonic boy/girl friendship – something that is still hard to find on TV today.
Sophia hated Brooke in this episode, but agrees with Joy that the writers probably needed a “s**t-stirrer” and Brooke made the most sense. It also tracks with her character somewhat; Sophia points out that Brooke’s parents are never around, so she’s always seeking validation from a boy to prove to everyone – especially herself – that she’s lovable. Similarly, Peyton’s father is absent as well, and Hilarie thinks that’s why she latches onto people so quickly. “It’s like that book Are You My Mother?” she says. “It’s like, ‘are you my best friend? Are you my best friend?’” Whereas Joy’s character, Haley, comes from a big family; she probably became a tutor because she was “so used to helping out and lending a hand that it just became second nature to her.”
Hilarie remembers being very uncomfortable and nervous about kissing Chad; the writers wanted her kissing all down his bare chest and undoing his belt buckle when they barely knew each other, and it seemed way too sexual; she had to retreat to the hair and makeup trailer to get herself together, and fortunately, all the women there had her back; they told her, “You might think you’re doing this alone, but we’re all here with you,” and they all took a shot of grapefruit vodka together. After that, she was able to do the job, “even though Chad’s like, ‘Have you been drinking?’” Hilarie laughs. Hear more about their experiences making this iconic show, how Sophia was almost the next Britney Spears, how Joy bonded with Chad on a rooftop, and much more on this episode of Drama Queens.
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