"Pilot" is the first episode of One Tree Hill's first season. It first aired on The WB television network in the United States on September 23, 2003. It was written by Mark Schwahn and directed by Bryan Gordon. It saw John Keenan and Melissa Claire Egan guest star as Officer Wayman and Melody, respectively. It introduces the character of Lucas Scott — a high school student — and his friends and relatives in the fictional Tree Hill, North Carolina.

Lucas blows his first Varsity game and decides to quit the team. The wedge between Nathan and Peyton continues to grow after Peyton tires of Nathan's jabs at Lucas. Meanwhile, Keith forces Karen to deal with her feelings for Dan after she refuses to step foot in the high school gym to support her son.

When someone unleashes the students' time capsule upon Tree Hill High, Lucas and Mouth must confront a person from their past. Brooke has to deal with the revelation that secrets aren't the only things she exposed in the time capsule. Dan learns to forgive Keith. Haley is forced to reconcile the man Nathan was before with the man he has become, and Peyton's Breast Cancer Benefit Concert at Tric features performances by Haley, Jack's Mannequin and the return of Fall Out Boy.

Due to the aftermath of the release of the time capsule, chaos breaks out. Someone is holding students of Tree Hill hostage with a gun, shooting. While lives hang in the balance, Nathan and Lucas put themselves at risk to protect their friends and loved ones. Young lives are shattered and two lives will end.