‘90210’: Dads are all the rage

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In this episode of “90210,” the teens try to focus on SATs, but their family lives prove to be the real challenge.

Naomi’s surprise family reunion
Despite the fact that the school had treated Naomi to a total “Cruel Intentions” moment at the end of the last episode, it seems some totally oblivious kids still believe Mr. Cannon is a perv. That’s playing tricks with Naomi’s conscience, so she decides she has to do something about it. That something is getting on a chair in the cafeteria and publicly exclaiming that she lied. Boom! Rumor dead. So, things should start getting better for her, right?

Well, yes, if this weren’t West Bev. While Naomi works off her debt to society by picking up trash at school, Liam is picking up Annie. Well, I guess they’re just friends for now. … But as I pointed out a few episodes ago, I think those two have some chemistry. Then she comes home and overhears her parents talking about Debbie’s tantric kiss. Liam spirits her away from the drama and they bond over their messed-up parents. Then, Annie takes a wild leap into a park fountain and pulls Liam in with her. This would have been the perfect time for them to kiss, but then Annie comes to her senses. She breaks the mood and tells Liam that he should forgive Naomi, so he does. I actually thought that was a really great move on Annie’s part. Not only because it makes sense that she wouldn’t want to cheat after hearing about her parents, but also because she just got back together with Naomi. Who wants to cross her?
Well, there is one person: Jen (Sara Foster). Yes, Jen has returned to Beverly Hills, and she now owns the beach club. It was a little gift from her millionaire husband, whom she decided to get back with. She’s also not at all shy about telling Naomi that she’s out for revenge. I’m probably going to regret saying this (especially since I was so happy to see her go), but I was relieved to see Jen. The show could use a good villain again.

Someone else is out for revenge too. Liam’s stepfather is going to make sure Liam pays for hitting him and telling his mother about the affair. First order of business: He wants to renovate Liam’s makeshift boat-building workshop into a personal gym. No, not the boat! I know, right? Liam isn’t taking it sitting down, though. He proves the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when he steals a few expensive coins from his stepfather’s collection and hands them over to his ex-con dad (played by Scott Patterson). Something tells me that money isn’t going into the tackle shop his dad has been talking about starting. Just a hunch.

Dixon’s loose lips
After losing a whole lot of money to Mark, Annie’s sexter from earlier in the season, Dixon agrees to let him and his friends into the school after hours. He thinks Mark wants to decorate his girlfriend’s locker for her birthday, but really they want to steal the SATs. After Dixon tells them that the tests won’t arrive until the next morning, they decide to trash the school instead. When Harry finds Dixon on the school’s security cameras, Dixon fesses up and rats out the other guys. When Harry finds out that the superintendent wants to expel the boys, though, he covers it up for Dixon. Crisis averted, right? Wrong. When Mark approaches Dixon later to get his money, Dixon tells him how Harry had covered for them. Nice job, Dixon. Now, Mark, who we’ve seen is not one to steer clear from mischief, has a card to play the next time he needs Dixon (or worse, Harry) to get him out of a jam.

Also, we already know Dixon doesn’t do a good job of thinking about others. As I’ve said before, he’s a selfish one. So, when Annie comes to talk to him about Debbie’s transgression, he waves her away. At the same time, Ivy is looking for some attention, but she isn’t getting it either. That’s not all his fault. After all, Harry grounded him for, well, forever. OK, maybe it is his fault. He gambled, lost all that money and let Mark into the school. No forgiveness for Dixon. At least he’s dressing really cute lately.

Meet Teddy’s dad
You know how Teddy and Silver look for any reason to bicker? Well, in this episode, Silver mocks Teddy for pushing off college for his tennis career. That goes on for a while until Silver apologizes. It doesn’t take long, though, before Silver finds another reason to stop speaking to him. Teddy’s father (played by Ryan O’Neal) comes to his big match. and she introduces herself. It turns out, though, that Teddy never told his father about dating Silver. Ouch. Teddy’s in the doghouse again. Are you starting to wonder if this relationship can go on this way?

Harry Watch
We finally got some more clues as to how Rob Estes will depart the series. Debbie admitted she kissed a guy or, as she pointed out, he kissed her. The more pivotal part of that story was when she admitted that she didn’t want to stop it. But as long as we’re being honest here, Harry was like a hair away from physically cheating with Kelly. He was already deep into emotionally cheating with her. Plus, he’s kind of a self-centered jerk. And Rob Estes is sort of awful at acting like he’s drunk. I don’t need to see any more of those scenes. I’m sorry about that rant -- back to Harry Watch. I always thought it was too easy for him to leave solely over marital problems. Maybe the fact that he covered up for Dixon gets out, and he’s sent to another school? I think a car crash needs to be involved for finality, though, don’t you? — Jethro Nededog (follow me on Twitter @TheRealJethro)

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Photos, from top: Rob Estes as Harry Wilson and AnnaLynne McCord as Naomi Clark. From left, Scott Patterson as Jack and Matt Lanter as Liam. Credit: Michael Desmond / The CW