‘90210’ hits its stride, and it was so worth the wait

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Ain’t nothin’ better

So that’s why we stuck with this show, through the narc arc, and Harry’s life lessons, and the Annie Wilson toothbrushing scenes. Tonight, it was all worth it, because the relationships were believable, the suspense was beyond, and heck, even the hair was better than usual.

Tonight’s eppy kept what had worked in the past, and mercilessly tossed out whatever had not. Wilson family bonding sessions? Cut dramatically. Milquetoast twosome Annie and Ethan? Stick a fork in ‘em. Naomi’s daddy-drama-induced, flare-nosed crying scenes? Non-existent. (And so much the better. Naomi is rocking it in her new role as confidante to Adrianna, and their friendship is actually really sweet and believable.)

But by far the greatest moment of the entire star eppy came when Ethan asked Rhonda, the girl he hit with his car, what school she attended. Followed by a great big pause while she realized that Mr. Popular did not even know she went to West Bev. And they have a class together!

What? It wasn’t bad enough that the poor girl had a collapsed lung and the name ‘Rhonda’ (I mean seriously, what is this, 1950?), now she had to live with the realization of her colossal nerddom too?

And believe it or not, Dustin Milligan, or DMill, as all his besties call him, totally rose to the challenge of the emotional scene. Maybe it was the pairing with ‘Friday Night Lights’ actress Aimee Teegarden, but DMill really brought it tonight. Or maybe he has been honing his acting skills with a few impromptu games of pass the clap?

So, despite her unfortunate name, and the unsightly gash on her noggin, I am loving lil Ms. Carpe-Diem, and I really, really hope they don’t take her away from us any time soon.

I cannot, however, say the same for Ty Collins, a.k.a. baby daddy, a.k.a. worst person ever. He completely had me fooled this episode, early on, when he told Adrianna they were in this together. I should have known by his creepy ‘stache and chicklet-teeth that he had some tricks up his sleeve. The whole gag order from the Collins clan was a horrifying and awesome plot twist. I can’t stop raving about tonight’s show; this never happens!

Amongst all the greatness, however, one relationship remained a little hard to swallow. Adrianna and her dragon-lady-mother’s sudden reconciliation seemed pretty far-fetched. The whole sledding in summer thing? It felt a little too convenient. Would mama-Ad really change her evil ways overnight? And would Adrianna really forgive her insufferable stage mother that easily? Up until this point, her mom has pretty much been a caricature of evil, with zero redeeming qualities.

OK, so looking ahead to next week, I have a few questions. Answers and predictions welcome!

1. It’s clear that Rhonda is not quite as innocent as she seems –- after acting like a cripple in Ethan’s presence, she practically did a cartwheel when he left the room –- but what is her devious plan?

2. Did you get chills when Adrianna slow-mo-sashayed down the hall after giving that speech on the intercom? Because I did.

3. What was the best line of the eppy? For me, it Navid’s throwaway: ‘She looks pretty and not pregnant.’

Till next week!

-- Stephanie Lysaght