90210 – Recap & Review – Holiday Madness

photo: cw

90210
Holiday Madness

Original Air Date: Ded 6, 2010

Meg – Sr. Reviewer
meg@thetwocentscorp.com

They say pride comes before a fall. Apparently so do elves. Who knew? Well it may be a hot and sunny holiday in West Bev, it is most certainly flu season in Megville. So I hope you’ll forgive the slight posting delay and any delirious ravings. For an episode ostensibly meant to invoke the warm and fuzzies of the holiday season, this sure had a lot of infidelity and deceit, didn’t it?

Adrianna and Ego
I so badly want to feel sorry for Adrianna. But her character is just such an odious harpy right now that it’s hard to root for her. Ade has acquired an impossibly tiny toy pooch (Beyonce) to complement her disastrously inflated ego.

Her real estate agent tells her that she has found a house that is “so Adrianna” (so… cavernous and empty?), for $20,000 a month. Victor – who has transformed from loathsome sleazeball into legitimate manager in the space of a few episodes – wisely counsels Ade against committing herself to rent a $20K/month house for six months. She throws his cost-consciousness back in his face and cuts his commission in half.

Victor apologizes to Ade by bringing her a bottle of champagne and a cashmere blanket (because she was criticizing him for being a “wet blanket”). That’s surprisingly sweet, considering I was ready to guillotine this guy a few episodes a go. Instead of being gracious, Ade ridicules his present and demands that he return it.

Ade throws a massive holiday bash in her new digs and pulls out all the stops. We’re talking outdoor skating rink and a train of elves to pull her around in a Santa suit (slim and sexy Santa, not old, fat Santa) as she sings “Santa Baby.” To be fair, her welcome speech about how her life is a miracle is a definite step up from her Thanksgiving speech (ie. “Let’s give thanks for ME!”).

Ade finds another present from Victor—a picture of him holding the book of songs she stole from Javier. When she demands that he return it, Victor cuts her off and tells her he’s already going to the tabloids and there’s nothing she can do about it. Pretty soon there’s a flashy headline (“Pop Princess Adrianna is a Grave Robber!”) and Ade seems to realize things are about to get very, very ugly.

Navid and Silver
I love Silver’s shirt tonight (the argyle one, not the bedazzled romper she wears to the party), but she seems to have forgotten pants. That happens a lot on this show. Navid and Silver are awkward, but still good-natured when they talk about, you know, how he confessed his feelings for her (and then went back to his girlfriend!).

Navid is being completely unfair here, all “well… I’m officially with Ade, but if I were to know that Someone Else (hint: Starts with “S” and ends in “-ilver!”) liked me, then I’d totally break up with her.” He’s trying to get Silver to make the decision for him. Respecting girl code, Silver tells Navid that they’re just friends and that he got confused.

Of course this leads to a positively agonizing sleepover when Ade, Navid, and Silver christen Ade’s new house (not in that way). Ade is all kinds of oblivious, while Navid and Silver are trying their darndest to act normal. At Ade’s party, Silver throws caution to the wind and tells Navid she has feelings for him too. Smooching ensues. Scandal!

Ivy and Naomi
I love this friendship – I know I can rag on Ivy and Naomi a lot individually, but for some reason I just think they are great together. Naomi is such a good friend, she doesn’t even point out that Ivy is wearing a psychedelic bandana headband that makes her look like a wounded Civil War soldier who fell into tie-dye machine. Sadly they have a little falling out because Ivy can’t believe Naomi wants to date Oscar after he treated her so horribly. I don’t know why she wants to date him either – but that’s more based on the fact that he says “gwackamole” than his scheming sluttiness.

Still furious with her mother, Ivy reaches out to her father. Their reunion is Too Good to Be True and the story plays out in a fairly cliché way. To sum up:
Ivy: Hi Dad…
Ivy’s Dad: What a coincidence! I was just about to call you, long-lost daughter! Look how we’re bonding! Attagirl! You’re great! Even though I’ve talked to you once, I know that we’re so totally on the same page. So….. I accidentally signed a stupid divorce deal that said I’d pay for your college tuition. But… since I have real kids of my own whom I actually value I don’t want to. And now that we’re BFF, couldn’t you convince your mom to pay for college?
Ivy: …and this is why I don’t call you.

(If I were a meaner person, I would say that it’s a moot point because c’mon, folks, Ivy wasn’t exactly named for the Ivy League…). The flu is making me mean!

Again showing how good a friend she is, Naomi tips Laurel off to Ivy’s disappointing paternal reunion, leading to reconciliations for Laurel and Ivy and for Naomi and Ivy. Aww. Ivy and Laurel celebrate the solstice by taking out their frustrations on a piñata. Poor Naomi only wishes she had a baseball bat, when she arrives home to find Mr. Cannon hiding in her hotel room. Worst Christmas surprise ever!

Teddy and Ian
After their big kiss last episode, Teddy and Ian are adorably cute when they run into each other in the hallway. This lasts for, like, three seconds. Teddy tells Ian that he’s not ready for people to know his secret (what—that’s he’s in his 30’s?). To his credit, this is a great improvement from his “NOT GAY! HETERO HULK SMASH!” attitude earlier this season.

Teddy wants to secretly date Ian, but Ian has too much integrity. Way to go, Ian! Although Ian’s lounge lizard rendition of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” doesn’t do anything for me, it certainly inspires Teddy to try again. They agree that they like each other and Ian says he’s okay keeping their relationship a secret in the short-term. They make out on the stairs, much to the surprise of passerby Dixon.

Annie and Liam
Having been thrashed within an inch of his life last episode, Liam ended up in the hospital. Dixon and Annie bring him home to stay with them, despite the fact that he totally could have gone back to Laura’s. Annie is thrilled to play nurse—especially considering Liam’s injuries apparently make him unable to wear a shirt.

Charlie drops by to show some brotherly love, but Liam ain’t having it. While Liam sleeps, Annie stares at him. I’m sure it’s meant to be romantic, but it’s just a little creepy. She sits on the bed to talk to him. Oh we all know where this is going (but I’m kind of okay with it). Liam apologizes for being weird about Charlie and tells Annie that he has trouble seeing them together because he’s in love with her (wow he must have been hit on the head harder than he thought. I kid, I kid…). Later, Charlie texts Annie to ask if Liam is okay. She replies that he’s asleep, but doesn’t the “naked and next to me” part of it. There is no emoticon for that.

Tonight was a lot of fun – although that could be a result of the flu meds. I’m jazzed about Teddy and Ian – they are really adorable together. I’m wondering how Adrianna is going to weather the coming storm. I’d love to know what you thought – leave some comments and let me know your two cents! I’ll be back next week (hopefully 100% less flu-tastic…)!