90210 has returned from its super-sized hiatus with "Life's a Drag," the first episode under the direction of new showrunner Rebecca Rand Kirshner (Gilmore Girls). Naomi takes a detour into the high-speed world of drag-racing with Liam, Annie and Ethan go through a rough patch, and Silver literally goes crazy.
NAOMI and LIAM
After three months of no 9-0, the writers attempt to make up for lost time by kick-starting the rest of the season with a bang. "Life's a Drag" starts with Naomi and Liam the bartender getting BI-ZAY up against a locker. Of course it's a dream sequence, but soon enough we learn that Liam is actually in high school, since his mom caught him moonlighting at the bar after Naomi's champagne arrived. Naomi volunteers to tutor Liam in math for extra play credit. He blows her off at first, but when Naomi plants herself on the hood of his car, he humors her and listens to her attempts at teaching. Only problem is he's smarter than she is (which isn't saying much). Turns out he's an "auto-didact," which means he's self-taught in things like math, English — and the art of drag-racing. Guess we know where they're off to next!
Yes, Naomi is riding shotgun with her boy in a drag race and gets a thrill out of it. While at the victory celebration, a sketchy guy comes on to her so Liam decks him. Call me crazy, but all this guy did was open her beer and introduce himself, correct? Just checking. Naomi is visibly shaken by this, but all that goes away when Liam gives her a long good-night kiss.
ANNIE and ETHAN
Annie and Ethan are still on the outs. Annie, thinking the play is getting in the way, quits, so she can "focus on her relationship." Give up what you love for a guy? At least she's got her priorities straight. Ethan and Rhonda have a heart-to-heart where Ethan says he wants to be friends, but Rhonda wants more. Where does that leave them? With no relationship at all. But don't think that getting Rhonda out of the picture will improve things between Annie and Ethan because Adrianna accidently lets it slip that Navid saw Ethan and Rhonda kissing at the dance. One scathing voicemail later, Annie has moved on to another guy. Ah, high school!
Ethan finds her in Griffith Park star-gazing with another guy. He's jealous, but that's not why he thinks the two should call it quits. His rationale: "We're in two different places and have grown apart." He's right; lots of couples grow apart... after three months. He's not planning on jumping back into Rhonda's arms, though, because, a) Aimee Teegarden actually still has a job over at Friday Night Lights and b) Ethan wants some me time since he's been a serial monogamist since he was 12. I can't even bring myself to comment.
SILVER and DIXON
Next up we have the focal point of this episode: Silver. For her presentation about love poems, a very enthusiastic Silver asks Mr. Matthews if she can do a video for her presentation. Mr. Matthews is OK with it as long as it's under 10 minutes, but since Silver can't bring it in under 45, she does the only logical thing — she rents a movie theater to present it to all her friends, of course. She finds the time to make a poster for the movie as well. That's more than what half of the moviemakers in L.A. can muster. The film starts out as your typical high school emo nonsense with eyeball close-ups and beating hearts. But wait, is that Dixon and Silver having sex in the storage closet at the Peach Pit? Oh damn, it is! Silver's response to Dixon's shock: "You're upset?"
Silver goes to Dixon's house to apologize and beg for his forgiveness because he's the only thing that means anything to her. Dixon isn't hearing it, and once he's inside, he discovers Silver has started a bonfire in his backyard to burn all the movie swag (and presumably the film itself). She's officially tapped her inner Emily Valentine. But wait, there's more insanity to be had. Silver then breaks into Mr. Matthews' apartment and goes nuts on him because she's convinced herself that Dixon dumped her because Mr. Matthews told him to. To punctuate her new state of mind, she chucks a wine bottle at Mr. Matthews' head, who ducks just in time. "I want you to fix all of this," she seethes.
What did you think of "Life's a Drag"? We all knew Silver was heading down a bipolar path, but was her transformation perhaps a smidge over the top? OMG, will she be better in time for prom? And don't forget to share your take on Naomi's new beau and the Ethan-Annie fall out.
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90210 has returned from its super-sized hiatus with "Life's a Drag," the first episode under the direction of new showrunner Rebecca Rand Kirshner (Gilmore Girls). Naomi takes a detour into the high-speed world of drag-racing with Liam, Annie and Ethan go through a rough patch, and Silver literally goes crazy.
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