90210 Recap: Episode Eight, "There Is No Place Like Homecoming"

Ah, October. The leaves are turning, the wind is gusting, and the kids of 90210 are going to the homecoming dance. It feels like a lifetime since I watched this show and have mixed emotions about its return to my Tuesday night.

I'm really glad Navid has a hefty part in this episode (as illogical as his motives may be) and also love it when they give Aunt Becky Debbie some juicy stuff to do besides being the nicest, prettiest mom ever. Personally, I'm still missing Brenda and Kelly and talk of Dylan, but I'm hanging in there. Ready to chat about it? Just read more.

• The opening montage lets us know that the high school is preparing for homecoming, and we see Naomi and Ethan on the wall nominated for queen and king, but did I miss something? Do we ever find out who won? That's half the fun of these dance episodes, right?
• Aw, I like how Dixon loves homecoming and Silver doesn't. Her line about why she is anti-dance is perceptive: "It’s everything wrong with this place."
• The Ryan and Kimberly-the-cop story is pretty lame, right? The part where he breaks up her circle of friends in the stairwell is kind of cringe-inducing. She flirts back (or something) and then he snaps, "You know what, Kimberly? You’re crossing the line. Knock it off."
• But of course later we learn he secretly didn't want her to knock it off because she's a cop! And she's 25 years old, so he's all clear to make out with her! Does anyone else find it creepy that he's attracted to someone who was a teenage student about a half hour before he was kissing her? Ack!
• So Ethan tells Annie he's not going to ask her to the dance but then tells her his "avoid Naomi's wrath" plan ("Here's the plan. You show up. Then — I show up. Then it will be, like, a total surprise").



• Here's a question: Is Adrianna the star of the show? Because there has been an awful lot of time spent on this character. As you know, she nearly died of a drug overdose last time we saw her. While she's still sweaty and sallow-looking, she did survive and confesses the whole thing, so Naomi is off the hook save for after-school detention.
• Oh, and some mysterious person pays for Adrianna to go to rehab. Turns out it's Navid, who's loved her since middle school. Huh? They could have maybe had Navid mention something about how downhill Adrianna's gone since childhood an episode or two ago to make this a bit more fluid.
• Meanwhile Naomi's in detention being snotty to a new boy who speaks Spanish and ribs her for being "A one-dimensional poster." She says something back to him in Spanish that is probably witty and mean. He's impressed. Clearly, they're going to fall in love (or lust).
• Later at the dance Annie asks who that guy is and Naomi says, "That's my detention buddy. He's a smartass," to which Annie remarks, "He's a hot ass." And then Naomi feels like that's exactly something she would say. Thus, they're on their way to being BFFs.
• How adorable was the Tabitha and Debbie scene? Tabitha gives Debbie some advice and confidence to take on Naomi's mom, who is kissing Debbie's husband: "I could squash you with an eyeroll, but you can take on Tracy." Aw, bonding!
• And then, at the dance, Debbie goes in for the kill: "If you ever kiss my husband again, or touch him, or look at him in the wrong way, you and I will have a very big problem . . . Let me define big problem just so we’re clear. I will hit you in the face so hard your teeth will fall out." Whoa. Awesome.
• So Naomi is really nice to Annie, inviting her over to get ready for the dance and stuff. And then, when she sees Annie dancing with Ethan, she's actually pretty calm and just says that she wants to be friends but not if she's dating Ethan. Annie pushes back and says they're broken up, but I think Naomi has a point with the "boys come and go but friends are forever" stuff. What do you think?
• Of course boy-crazy Annie can't help but make-out with Ethan in the end anyway. This is probably good because at least it's setting up a showdown between Naomi and Annie. Whose team will you be on?

So what did you guys think? Let's discuss!

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Photos courtesy of The CW