90210: Okaeri, Donna!

Posted by: Mandi  •  April 16, 2009 @ 9:59pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

It's spring break for the students of West Beverly, and everyone has Big Plans.

Most of the class is going to party in the Greek Isles, but Dixon and Annie have decided that they don't spend enough quality time together and so are taking a "brother-sister" road trip to Arizona. Dixon suggests the trip under the pretense of visiting all the cool water parks, but he has something else up his sleeve...

The Wilson siblings know that Harry and Debbie will be opposed to the idea of them traveling to Arizona unattended, so they lie and tell their parents that they're going to Grandma Wilson's house in Palm Springs. Harry and Debbie seem unconcerned about the whereabouts of their children, however. They're too busy taking advantage of the empty house in their own ways: Harry by encouraging his wife to have "lots of sex" while the kids are away, and Debbie by inviting a male model over for a nude photo shoot. The situation becomes more than a little bit uncomfortable when Harry gets jealous of the male model and refuses to leave the room while Debbie is working.

Dixon and Annie check into their hotel and plan their next move. Annie is trying to decide which water park they should hit first, but Dixon seems distracted. When Annie finally asks what's going on, he admits that he's not really there for the water parks. They really came so Dixon could track down his birth mother, Dana Bowen. He claims that he just wants to make sure she's alright. He explains to Annie that after his grandmother died, he was given a choice: go back to live with Dana again or be put up for adoption. He chose adoption because he was mad at his mother for being crazy, but he realizes now that it was out of her control. He wants to apologize.

Annie is understanding about the situation and accompanies Dixon to his mom's workplace. They sit in the car until they spot her leaving, and Annie tells her brother to call when he's ready to go. But Dixon freezes. He says he's not ready to see Dana yet because it's still too painful. So Annie steps up and goes in his place. She introduces herself as Dixon's sister and passes on his apology. Dana corrects Annie, saying that she was the one who ultimately decided to put Dixon up for adoption, and then asks her to stay and talk for a minute. The two bond as Dana tells Annie how badly Dixon used to want a sister. When Annie returns to the car, Dixon thanks her.

Ryan Matthews is helping with a Habitat for Humanity project over spring break and invites his students to volunteer. Ethan is eager to go because Mr. Matthews promises that he'll "learn something about himself". Naomi is resistant at first, but she signs up as soon as she finds out that Liam will be there.

Liam is still hot and cold with Naomi, despite their makeout session a couple weeks ago. Naomi, getting frustrated, goes to Ethan for advice. She ends up begging him to ask Liam whether he likes her. Ethan finally gets annoyed enough to agree. But Liam thinks Ethan is asking as a jealous ex-boyfriend, and assumes he's looking for a fight. The two guys argue, and Naomi never gets an answer. Well, not a verbal one, anyway. Later that night, Liam finds her alone in the woods. They talk for about two seconds, and Naomi is about to walk away when Liam grabs her arm and kisses her.

The next morning, Naomi finds Ethan and starts talking to him about Liam. She won't shut up, and Ethan isn't interested, so he simply walks away. Ethan finds Mr. Matthews and tells his teacher that he came on the trip to learn something about himself, but he doesn't feel like he has learned anything yet. Later that day, Ethan sits down next to Liam and asks if he has any peyote. He says that if Liam doesn't share the drugs he has, Ethan will tell Matthews he's holding. Liam gives in, but only with the stipulation that they have to do it together. The guys meet up that night to get high. Ethan gets very introspective and realizes that he's been putting on a show for years, acting as though he's fine even when he's angry or upset, because he doesn't want to make anyone's life harder.

Ethan keeps talking and then stops suddenly and asks if he's ruining Liam's high. Liam says no, and then excuses himself to go take a leak. Seconds later, Ethan hears a crash, and finds Liam has fallen and hurt his ankle. He debates whether to help him, wondering if it's some sort of cosmic test to see if he can do something that won't keep people happy. Liam tells him to shut up, that he's not even high – it was herbal tea that they were drinking, not peyote. Ethan helps Liam get up and then punches him out. When Liam recovers, he tells Ethan that hallucinogens aren't all they're cracked up to be. In fact, the last time he dropped acid, he lost it and tried to cut his own arm off. He even shows Ethan the scar to prove it.

Silver is forced to stay in Beverly Hills over spring break as Kelly tries to eliminate any unnecessary excitement from her sister's life in order to get a handle on Silver's recently diagnosed bipolar disorder. The two of them are having a quiet night at home and discussing Silver's mood chart when the doorbell rings. Kelly answers it and finds Donna Martin standing on her doorstep. Shrieking ensues.

Donna is now married to David Silver and working in Japan as a successful fashion designer. Kelly insists that Donna stay with them rather than getting a hotel room. The next morning, the two of them revisit their high school days as they drive through L.A. They stop at a Japanese restaurant for lunch and run into none other than Diablo Cody, who compliments Donna on her dress. We learn that Juno was released as Teenage MommyGirl in Japan. We also learn that Diablo Cody has a premiere to attend and that she would love to wear one of Donna's designs. Despite it being a last-minute request, Donna agrees to make a dress for her.

When Kelly and Donna tell Silver about their run-in, Silver flips. Apparently Diablo Cody is her idol. Donna asks Silver if she wants to be her assistant, but Kelly shoots the idea down, claiming it would be too much excitement. Silver is not happy about it and brushes off Donna's attempt to make her see Kelly's point of view. But when Donna is with Diablo Cody at the premiere, she accidentally ends up on the red carpet, and Kelly and Silver, watching at home, bond as they laugh at the situation. They have a heart to heart, and Kelly finally accepts that Silver needs at least a small amount of spontaneity in her life.

And she gets it not long after, when Donna brings Diablo Cody to the house. Silver shrieks a lot and gets her picture taken with her idol, and everything is back to normal in the Taylor-Silver household again. Well, with one glaring exception: Donna's presence – which, we learn, is due to the fact that she and David are separated and she is considering moving back to L.A. Tune in next week to find out if she's going to stick around!

Tags: 90210, Donna Martin, Tori Spelling, Diablo Cody

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