Episodes
Hidden Palms was first slated to be a mid-season show and 13 episodes had been ordered. During production, the show's episode number was lowered to 8 and The CW decided to keep it for the summer. In a press release, The CW announced that it would stop airing encores on Sundays and that the series would air two new episodes on Wednesdays, replacing what would have been One Tree Hill repeats, and wrap up on two weeks earlier.
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Scott Winant | Kevin Williamson | May 30, 2007 (2007-05-30) |
| Johnny Miller was a happy, well-adjusted high school student with good grades and a room full of sports trophies until the terrible night a year ago that his father committed suicide. Unable to cope, he tried to drown his pain in alcohol and drugs. Now, fresh out of rehab, Johnny is struggling to deal with an uncertain future in the surreal glare of Palm Springs, where his mother, Karen, and her new husband, Bob have decided to make a new start. The lush oasis of Palm Springs, with its golf courses, country clubs and beautiful people, is an unsettling new environment for Johnny. He quickly discovers that this paradise isn't quite what it seems when he meets his next-door neighbors: Cliff, a handsome high school junior whose considerable charm can't quite hide his disturbing dark side; and Cliff's mother, Tess, a former Southern beauty queen with a taste for younger men. Johnny learns that his new neighborhood is consumed by a tragedy when Cliff reveals that his best friend, Eddie, who lived in Johnny's house, recently died under mysterious circumstances. Eddie's death seems to haunt everyone Johnny meets, especially Greta, a stunning young beauty who fascinates Johnny from the moment he lays eyes on her. Intriguing and secretive, Greta has been on her own since the death of her mother many years before. With her father always away on business, Greta has become a self-sufficient loner. She quickly realizes, however, that Johnny is a kindred soul; someone forced by tough circumstances to grow up too soon. Even though Greta is drawn to Johnny, she refuses to talk about Eddie's death. In his search for answers to the deepening mystery, Johnny turns to another neighbor, Liza, a gifted but awkward high school student who conducts explosive science experiments in her garage, yet still manages to keep a close eye on everything that happens in the neighborhood. Liza and Johnny soon bond in their pursuit of the truth. While Johnny adjusts to his new circle of friends, he is surprised by the arrival of Nikki, a troubled L.A. party girl he met in rehab, whose family has written her off as a lost cause. Nikki is also fighting to stay sober, so Johnny introduces her to his colorful AA sponsor, Jesse Jo, who just happens to be transgender. Jesse Jo cares deeply about Johnny's recovery, and she immediately takes Nikki under she wing as well. It often seems to Johnny that Jesse Jo is the only voice of reason in the strange and artificial atmosphere of Palm Springs. As he searches for answers to the questions surrounding Eddie's death and tries to fit into his new hometown, Johnny is learning that growing up may be the biggest mystery of all. | ||||
| 2 | "Ghosts" | Scott Winant | Kevin Williamson | June 6, 2007 (2007-06-06) |
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While Johnny is trying hard to win the heart of Greta, Nikki, a beautiful girl Johnny dated when they were in rehab together, comes to Palm Springs. At a country club fundraiser, Nikki gets drunk and causes a scene, ruining Johnny's first date with Greta but catching Cliff's eye. Cliff dislikes Tess's latest boyfriend and schemes to get rid of him. Johnny learns Eddie's death was a suicide and receives a mysterious email of a video of Eddie. |
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| 3 | "Party Hardy" | John Kretchmer | Steve Blackman | June 13, 2007 (2007-06-13) |
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Determined to find out who is sending him instant messages from Eddie, Johnny asks Greta questions about Eddie's death but she refuses to answer him, causing tension in their new relationship. Bob and Karen go out for a night at the country club with Tess and Travis, leaving Johnny alone to look after Nikki. However, after Johnny leaves her to mend things with Greta, a lonely Nikki calls some old friends and an impromptu party breaks out at the Hardy house, quickly escalating into to a fist fight between Johnny and Cliff. |
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| 4 | "What Liza Beneath" | June 20, 2007 (2007-06-20) | ||
| 5 | "Mulligan" | June 20, 2007 (2007-06-20) | ||
| 6 | "Dangerous Liaisons" | June 27, 2007 (2007-06-27) | ||
| Johnny confronts Greta about the bloody costume, Greta explains that she and Cliff went to see Eddie the night he died and discovered his body, which she then held. Cliff later disputes this story, saying that Greta arrived 15 minutes earlier, shifting Johnnys suspicions. Cliff however confronts Liza, whom he suspects to be involved, a thought he shares with Johnny. Cliff and Eddie's mom continue their affair, only to be discovered by Nikki, at Tess's birthday party. Finally the end of the episode reveals a connection between Skip (Greta's Dad) and Maria (Eddie's Mom) revealing he returned because she called him, ending with Maria commenting 'we have a problem.' | ||||
| 7 | "Stand By Your Woman" | Bryan M. Holdman | June 27, 2007 (2007-06-27) | |
| 8 | "Second Chances" | Perry Lang | Bryan M. Holdman and Dwayne Darian | July 4, 2007 (2007-07-04) |
| The mystery deepens into who really killed Eddie. Johnny goes to Cliff for help in stealing Eddie's laptop from Mrs. Nolan's house. Cliff attempts to do it but is caught by her. Johnny starts to back off solving the mystery after he learns from Greta's dad he's hurting her. In the end, Liza goes to Mrs. Nolan's house to steal Eddie's laptop and finds her dead. Mrs. Nolan shot herself and in a suicide note, admits she was the one who killed Eddie. However, at the very end of the episode, Johnny gets an e-mail with a video possibly sent from Mrs. Nolan before she killed herself. In the video, it reveals that Eddie had learned that Greta's father was the man she had the affair with, and claimed that the two had been plotting to kill Greta's mother and had done so. The two try to explain that she had cancer, but Eddie doesn't listen, leaving the mystery of the death of Greta's mother unresolved. In the end of the video it is shown that Eddie was in possession of the gun that killed him*1, and during a struggle, Greta's dad pushes the gun toward Eddie's head and the trigger is pulled. Afterwards, Greta's father yells at a distraught Maria, "You're gonna do exactly as I say! Oh, yeah! We're in this together!" as Johnny looks in shock and the episode ends. |
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Famous quotes containing the word episodes:
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—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
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—Václav Havel (b. 1936)