I am in no way condoning two gimmick episodes within a span of three weeks, but One Tree Hill kind of pulled off a cape and mask-based theme here with "Holding Out For a Hero."

It helped that the comic book stylings, spandex costumes and super hero names were relegated to only one storyline.  While I was worried early on that this whole super hero business came out of nowhere, and it wasn't going to be able to ever come together in the end, things changed when Haley got the phone call from the girl at the crisis center.  That “nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Haley” really made it work.

Once Haley got on board as Baby Mama, the whole thing felt more sincere and I joined the crazy train with her and her partners in crime-fighting.  At the end of the day, Mrs. Scott was just trying to help out a kid that was getting made fun of, and if doing it in a caped green outfit was going to make Quinn and Brooke happy, then darn it that's what she wasn't what she was gonna do!

It seemed like everyone in Tree Hill was pretty restless following the big wedding.  Brooke and Quinn were in dire need of some excitement because the former was out of employment and the latter just recovered from getting shot, surviving a coma, stalking her shooter, and then having an all out horror movie type brawl with said shooter.  Wait... what?  Let's back up a second. 

Why the heck was Quinn in such need of excitement?  With Brooke it made sense, but Quinn should have just taken some time to relax!

Whatever the case may be, the girls had themselves some fun saving the adopted tranny (their words, not mine) from the Tree Hill High bullies, and the whole thing was worth it to see Nathan and Clay's reaction when they saw the ladies in the street-wearing spandex, capes and eye masks.

Speaking of being restless: Chase was pretty tired of getting people drunk all day at Tric, so he decided he needed to do something more with his life.  This larger storyline for the character tied in with the first episode in which Stephen Colletti was recognized as a regular cast member.* While I was pleased with the way the plot of Chuck as his little brother came together nicely in the end, as the little rascal finally warmed up to him, I am a bit worried about how they plan on working Chase into more stories in the future.  If it doesn't have to do with Mia or Alex, it might seem out of place at times.

(* Good for Stephen, by the way.  I have said before that I think he does a fantastic job on this show, and nothing has changed as of late.  I remember watching him back in the day on Laguna Beach and thinking he was an absolute stud.  I'm glad to see at least one good story to come out of reality television programming.)

Now Nathan, who continues to be the absolute rock of this town, wasn't as much restless as he was fed up.  He was sick of the bullying by Professor Kellerman, and even though he found some other students that couldn't stand the guy (led by Quinton Aaron of The Blind Side), it didn't help him in the classroom. 

Luckily, Clay stepped in to play the hero, as he gave Kellerman a lesson in real world business.  The speech by Clay about oral contracts, personal relationships, and hugs was great.  Don't get me wrong, it was moving, but you can't make every deal in business with a smile and a hug.  I know the point of the speech was to prove that the professor isn't always right - which he definitely got across - but it didn't all come together the way I feel it was supposed to.

Let's take a quick moment to recognize the great meta moment performed by Peter Riegert.  In Nathan's dream, Professor Kellerman proclaims "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son."  This is, of course, a famous line from the 1978 frat movie Animal House, in which Riegert played student Donald Schoenstein.  And then when Clay called Nathan out for quoting lines from Animal House?  Great stuff.

I guess I kind of buried the lead a bit here, but the Alex vs. Mia plot was my favorite of the episode.  These two actresses are fantastic, and the problems between their characters just feel so real.  As a proud member of Team Alex, I'm glad that she was pretty much portrayed as the good guy in this ya-ya cat fight.  At the end of it all, it was nice to see Mia give in and compliment the actress on also being a good singer.  While I don't see these two becoming the best of friends any time soon, it was a nice little moment between the worst of enemies.

So how did you enjoy the episode?  Was it a let down from last week's wedding spectacular?  And what do you see happening next in Tree Hill.  See you then... same OTH time... same OTH channel.

Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.