90210: Hello, Goodbye, Amen

Posted by: Mandi  •  January 7, 2009 @ 11:13pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Welcome to 2009! After an extremely long hiatus, we finally have new television to watch. So without further ado, I give you this, your first recap of the year.

We left our characters in the middle of some major drama. Sean showed up, creating a major rift between Harry and Dixon, Naomi and Annie were fighting over Ethan, and Brenda fell off a stage and broke her arm. And this week, we have three new exciting dramas:

The Sean Saga
The episode opens on the first day back at school after winter break. Naomi and Annie run into each other and have a rather heated exchange about who Sean likes more. I suppose they've simply forgotten that they're both related to him? Geez. In class, Annie's teacher is discussing perceptions and intuition, and everyone looks thoughtful, as though this is an important plot point that we need to remember for later.

That night, the Wilsons and Sean are playing Pictionary when Sean's cell phone rings. He walks away as he answers it, but Annie sneaks up behind him and hears him assure the person on the other end that he will have the money soon. She asks him what's going on, and after trying to convince them all that it's not a big deal, Sean finally admits that his adopted dad was a gambler who lost a lot of money. His solution was suicide, because he thought that the life insurance would cover his debt. Unfortunately, he forgot to consider that his policy didn't cover suicide. So Sean is next in line to pay off the $200,000 debt that his dad left behind. Obviously, Harry and Debbie immediately offer to help him out, but Sean declines their offer.

Later that evening, Annie and Sean are talking in his room when his cell phone rings. Annie picks it up and glances at the screen before handing it to Sean, who lets the call go to voice mail. As soon as Annie leaves, though, he picks up his phone to check his missed calls. I sense that he may be hiding something...

Dixon is in the bathroom brushing his teeth, and Annie walks in. She asks her brother what he thinks of Sean, and then tells him that the phone call Sean got when she was in his room was from a local number – which is disconcerting because he previously told them that he didn't know anyone in town. Annie is quite the little detective. Dixon tells her to drop it, though, because Harry will get upset if he finds out that Annie doesn't like Sean.

Downstairs, Tabitha, Debbie, and Harry are discussing the family's finances. Tabitha's only contribution is announcing that she wants to go back to acting and then walking out of the room. Left behind, Harry and Debbie talk about how they can help Sean – they consider borrowing from their 401(k) or from the kids' college funds. Finally Debbie says that they shouldn't make any decisions without including Tracy. The three of them meet in Harry's office the next day, and Tracy offers to help Sean. She says she'll be in touch and gives Harry a pat on the arm and a meaningful look before leaving. As soon as she's gone, Harry thanks his wife for not stabbing her to death, which is quite possibly the highlight of the episode.

Annie and Ethan are eating lunch together when Naomi approaches to show Annie some pictures of her and Sean. The photos, which in no way convey the fact that Naomi and Sean are siblings, launch Annie into a flashback of Sean's odd behavior and her teacher discussing intuition. She seems to be having some sort of revelation, and rushes home to tell Debbie all about it. It's all VERY dramatic.

Annie and Debbie are talking about Sean later that day when Harry comes home. He tells Debbie that he's thinking about taking out a second mortgage on the house to help Sean pay off his father's debt. Debbie tries to explain that neither she nor Annie trusts Sean, but Harry is unwilling to listen. They are arguing about this when Sean comes in with a bruised up face, claiming that he got attacked by the guys he owes money to. Harry offers to call the police but Sean won't let him. Everyone walks away in separate directions, and as soon as they're gone, Annie rushes back in and takes Sean's phone out of his bag. She dials the last number that called it and reached Moore Investigations. Curious. She tells her parents about it later, telling them that she's scared. Debbie encourages Harry to take a paternity test. Harry argues, claiming that he knows Sean is his son, that he can feel it in his gut. But when he goes to talk to Sean later, he tells him that the money is available to him as soon as he agrees to a paternity test. Sean agrees, saying he understands completely.

That night, Annie is in her bedroom when Sean appears behind her, looking especially scary. They have words, and he stares at her creepily and then leaves. The next morning, Harry wakes up and immediately starts looking for Sean, but he's not there. Later, the Wilsons tell Tracy and Naomi that Sean left, and Tracy storms out of the room. The others follow her, leaving Annie and Naomi alone. Naomi tells Annie that Sean visited Tracy last night to borrow the money and accuses her of being responsible for everything that goes wrong in Naomi's life, The conversation doesn't make a whole lot of sense due to the fact that Naomi is completely insane.

The Adrianna/Brenda Saga
Brenda is still in the hospital at the beginning of the episode, and her doctor has just given her some bad news. We don't know what the bad news is yet, but she (Brenda) looks heartbroken.

At school, Adrianna approaches Kelly and asks if she has contact information for Brenda. It seems as though her rehab support group is having a gathering for all the people who have helped with their recoveries, and Adrianna wants Brenda to be there. Kelly tries to insist that she doesn't know how to get in touch with Brenda, but offers to at least try when she sees how disappointed Adrianna is. She visits Brenda after work, but Brenda is still angry about their last fight (you know, the one where she admitted to sleeping with Ryan), so they argue and Brenda kicks Kelly out.

The next day, Kelly ends up accompanying Adrianna to the support gathering, and when they arrive, they see that Brenda is there too. The three of them go inside together, and once everyone has arrived, Adrianna gives what is supposed to be a heartwarming speech about her recovery process. It comes off as more hokey than heartwarming, though. Brenda stands up to speak and tells Adrianna that she is her friend and will always be there for her.

After the meeting, everyone is mingling outside. Kelly and Brenda are talking, and Brenda is about to say something important, but she's interrupted by Adrianna, who is looking for her friend Hank. One of the group leaders tells her that Hank found out that he's HIV positive and started using again. Adrianna is shocked, because apparently she slept with Hank a couple of times. Well of COURSE she did. Kelly and Brenda encourage her to get tested, and the three of them go to the clinic immediately. The three of them are sitting in the waiting room when the nurse comes out to talk to Adrianna. She tells her that she tested negative for the HIV virus.

I have to say something here. What kind of under qualified nurse does a person have to be to announce test results out loud IN THE WAITING ROOM? Also, if anyone reading this has ever received the results of blood work on the same day that the blood was taken, I would like to hear about it. I mean, I don't spend a LOT of time going to the doctor, but I'm fairly certain that's not common.

But I digress. Adrianna's test is negative, but OH WAIT. There's something else! She's pregnant? Well, of COURSE she is. (The nurse also tells her this in the waiting room.) Brenda looks really uncomfortable and makes some excuse about having to go. Adrianna is crying uncontrollably and is worried about what Navid is going to think.

That night, Kelly goes to Brenda's house and asks her what the hell is wrong. Brenda confides that she's upset because she just found out that she can't have kids, and she felt jealous of Adrianna. She also says that she thinks she's ready to be a mom right now, so she's thinking about adoption. I think I can see where this is headed.

The next morning, Adrianna gets out of bed and looks at her belly in the mirror, then calls Navid but hangs up the phone before he answers and bursts into tears.

The Dixon Love-Triangle Saga
At school, Dixon is talking about music with the random cheerleader from the last episode, whose name turns out to be Christina. Silver shows up and acts jealous and catty towards Christina, who walks away, leaving Dixon to deal with his melodramatic girlfriend. The next morning, though, Christina visits Dixon at the Peach Pit and invites him to her father's monthly gospel barbecue the next day...unless Silver would have a problem with that. Dixon assures her that it will be okay, but when Silver asks him what he's doing the next day, he tells her he has a "family thing."

When Dixon arrives at the barbecue, the first thing he does is comment on the fact that everyone there is black. The second thing he does is meet Christina's dad. When he talks to Christina later, she tells him that her father seems to like him, and he gets really nervous and reminds her that he has a girlfriend. Her response? "I know. So do I." Turns out Silver has nothing to worry about.

Speaking of Silver, she ends up coming to the barbecue. She asks Dixon why he lied to her, and he explains that Christina has exposed him to many different things, and as a black kid in a white family, he wants to experience this other culture. Silver apologizes for acting so jealous, and then everyone gathers 'round and they all reflect on what they have to be thankful for. Christina's father invites Dixon to sing Amazing Grace.

Tags: 90210, Shenae Grimes, Ethan Ward, Dixon Wilson, Josh Henderson

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Original Comments Posted (2)

sarahm says...

I feel like the whole Dixon/Christina story line was just a big set up so that they could work in Tristan Wilds singing skillz in somehow. If he starts persuing a music career I might vomit.

I too thought it was strange that they told her she was pregnant in the waiting room, in front of two ladies who are not related to her. And the nurse was so nonchalant about it "Oh, and also the test revealed you're pregnant." T'was unintentionally funny.

Jan 8, 2009 9:06pm

metal2000 says...

I can't believe I still watch this show -- but every week, I still tune in. Maybe it's just to watch the two Jessicas who, while legal, are probably inappropriately too young.

Jan 9, 2009 12:12am

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