"4:30 AM (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroard)" is the first episode of Season 7 of One Tree Hill and originally aired September 14th, 2009. The episode was written by Mark Schwahn and directed by Chuck Mathis.
As Jamie turns 7 years old, Haley receives a surprise visit by her sister Quinn, and Nathan learns of an accusation that could threaten the life he’s built, much to the chagrin of his sports agent, Clay. Meanwhile, Brooke prepares to launch a new fashion line, and Julian decides on the next step in his career.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: The first time Nathan is seen, he’s practicing in a gym. He’s next seen in a locker room, before a sexy blonde approaches him and… the viewer realises he’s shooting a commercial for body spray and not cheating on Haley. The final moments of the episode subvert this by having Nathan be accused of cheating on Haley in the press, but by a different woman.
- Big Fancy House: It’s not specifically mentioned, but Nathan and Haley have moved into a bigger house since the end of Season 6.
- Brick Joke:
- When Nathan notes that Jamie seems to be happy getting going down Clay’s client list one by one and getting signed jerseys, Clay asks who he’s up to and Nathan notes Jerry Rice; Clay’s present for Jamie is to have Jerry Rice turn up at his party and sign the jersey Nathan bought him.
- Kylie, the woman shooting the commercial with Nathan, turns up at Clay’s house following Jamie’s party.
- Skills complains that not even goodwill will accept his old CD collection; he later gifts a number to Jamie as a birthday present.
- The Cameo: NFL legend Jerry Rice appears as himself, attending Jamie’s birthday party as a favor to Clay.
- Call-Back:
- Millicent’s first scene recreates her introductory scene from Season 5, with Millicent taking Brooke’s place.
- Quinn teases Nathan about losing his virginity to Taylor.
- Nathan explains to Jamie how Lucas had to stop playing basketball because of his HCM, which happened in Seasons 3 and 4.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The woman who approaches Nathan at Jamie’s party and asks for a photo cryptically asks Nathan if he doesn’t remember her, before leaving when Jamie distracts his father. At the end of the episode, she’s accusing Nathan of sleeping with her whilst on the road.
- Continuity Snarl: Jamie’s birthday is back to being at the start of summer, after Season 5 depicted it as being in the middle of the school year.
- Honor Before Reason: Despite it potentially making his career, Julian turns down the movie in New Zealand when the time he would need to spend away from Tree Hill jumps up to 10 months.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Haley and Quinn walk in on Brooke and Julian making out after he surprises her at Jamie’s party.
- Meaningful Echo: In order to demonstrate how much she has changed from her introduction, Millicent’s first scene recreates her introductory scene from "4 Years, 6 Months, 2 Days" but places her in Brooke’s role.
- Meaningful Gift: Lucas gives Jamie his old basketball, with a note explaining that his Uncle Keith gave it to him when he was 7 and that he wants Jamie to have it.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: Austin Nichols is bumped up to main cast after being a guest star in the previous season.
- Put on a Bus: Lucas, Peyton and Sawyer have left Tree Hill in the 14 months since the end of the previous season.
- Remember the New Guy?:
- Quinn James, another of Haley’s siblings who has previously only been mentioned in passing.
- Clay Evans, Nathan’s agent and best friend. Partially justified in that Nathan was only called up to the NBA in the previous episode so he would have needed to hire an agent, but the idea that he’s become Nathan’s best friend in the intervening time period enforces this trope.
- Shout-Out: Quinn calls Clay "Jerry Maguire" when she first meets him.
- Show Within a Show: Somehow, Dan has been able to parlay his heart condition into one.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Julian points out that since she already works remotely, Brooke could easily go with him when he travels for a movie production instead of waiting for him in Tree Hill.
- Time Skip: Of fourteen months since the previous season finale, spelled for the viewer with the first line of the season.Dan: On the eve of my son's first game in the NBA, I sat alone on a playground basketball court and waited for death. I'd been given only days to live. That was 14 months ago.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "4:30 A.M (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad)" by Roger Waters.
- Wham Line:
- Miranda telling Clay that she’s not in Tree Hill to help Haley run Red Bedroom Records, she’s there to shut the label down.
- Clay telling Nathan that he’s being accused of cheating on Haley by the woman who approached him at Jamie’s party, and she’s taking the story to the press.
