90210's Jessica Stroup Talks Silver's New Cause and Show's "Incestuous Little Group"

Jackie Taylor may be gone, but she's definitely not forgotten. On Tuesday's 90210 (8/7c, CW), Silver (Jessica Stroup) will honor her late mother — who died from breast cancer in the Nov. 17 episode — by becoming a Ford Warrior in Pink and participating in a Race for the Cure run for breast cancer research. The story line happened "organically," Stroup tells TVGuide.com, as the show and Ford teamed up to raise awareness and educate the show's young female fans about the disease. "When they came to us and said, 'Would you want to participate in an ad?' I jumped on board," Stroup says. "They incorporated it into the story line and I was all game for it. I loved working with them." Find out what Stroup, 23, hopes fans take away from the episode, what's ahead for Silver's love life and more.
TVGuide.com: Are you happy the breast cancer story line hasn't ended with Jackie's death and that Silver's trying to make a difference as a Warrior in Pink — and so is the show?
Jessica Stroup: Yeah, [this] affected me so much stronger than many other story lines have because I knew how relatable it was to so many girls, dealing with a parent who is diagnosed and the tables are turned. It's this really sad, but interesting dynamic. Silver, being who she is, she's not going to take it lying down. What Ford does and on the show ... really speaks to young girls. They make these shirts and really great looking items and 100 percent of the proceeds go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. I really wish we were filming her running in one of the races because that's a huge passion of mine. I've been in a couple of races for various stuff, but I was so happy they gave her something real.

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TVGuide.com: What do you think girls can take away from the episode?
Stroup: If [cancer] hasn't affected you directly, there are still things that girls can do and should do. If you don't participate in a race, you can have the knowledge of what you can do at home, just checking yourself out. I grew up [learning] to get check-ups, but I didn't really know how to do a breast self-exam. I didn't know exactly what I should be looking for and how often I should do it, so I really hope there are girls out there who see the show, maybe it touches them, and they get checked out. If it affects one person, then we've done our job.TVGuide.com: How else is Silver going to be affected by Jackie's death?
Stroup: I think the most influential thing that has happened to her through this has been her relationship with Teddy. She's kind of always been this loner, this old soul. Being able to relate to someone like Teddy, whose mother went through the same thing, just shocks her and shakes her and makes her aware that she can talk to him. And he's different from what she thought. He's caring and actually really vulnerable, so this little spark happens out of nowhere and it's going to develop.

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TVGuide.com: Fans have been pretty divided over the addition of Teddy.
Stroup: Yeah. I'll tell you, when I first met Trevor Donovan, I had an idea that we were going to be written together. It's always interesting when you get a new castmate because you don't know them at first, but the relationship in real life that I've built with him has been so fantastic and I love working with him. They have this banter where they're so comfortable with each other because they were friends and might progress to something more. He really tries to get her and woo her, but she's not an easy catch and she's going to be careful about falling in love again. TVGuide.com: Silver and Dixon are friends again. Will sparks reignite and we'll get a triangle here?
Stroup: We have an incestuous little group! It's so fun. It's like, "Who am I with today? Who haven't I made out with?" [Laughs] I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen in the end with the two of them, but I know that it's not fully done in Dixon's mind and in Silver's mind. ... Dixon might see them hanging out and get jealous. I think this is a whole new year and I think their friendship is more important than them getting back together as a couple. ... It's not over. He's definitely going to try. I don't know if it's going to kick in again because she's kind of interested in seeing where this thing with Teddy is going to go.

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TVGuide.com: Now that the truth is out about Liam and Jen, when will Silver reconcile with Annie?
Stroup: It's going to be difficult. I honestly don't see Shenae [Grimes] a whole lot on set. ... We were filming last night and I was like, "I miss Shenae! Where's Annie? C'mon!" But it's great because her character is going through this whole other story line outside of our group. It gets worse and worse and she's right in the thick of it. We, as friends, stand behind her. After we find out that she didn't sleep with Liam, everybody is really apologetic, even though I think Silver really did believe that she didn't do it. Annie has to watch herself and has to slowly come back into the group. I think by the end of the year we'll be friends again.TVGuide.com: What else can we expect after you come back from winter hiatus?
Stroup: Well, going back to my "incestuous little group" comment, I think you'll be surprised by a lot of the pairings when we come back. It's going to get really interesting!