Spoiler city!While the CW is usually beyond reproach, I must protest their abruptly notifying 90210's cast and crew of their cancellation halfway through the filming of a would-be season finale. Watching the last episode, it's clear that certain aspects were hurriedly tacked on to add closure, while other, vital, characters and plotlines get next to none whatsoever.
I had told myself I would be satisfied if two of my wishes were granted in the finale: 1) Lannie would end up together, and 2) Naomi would not end up with Max. Both of those did pan out. The Liam / Annie proposal scene is easily the best part of the episode, and it could not be more obvious that (in addition to Adrianna/Navid) it is the wildly scrambled attempt to cap off the show in some kind of a final-seeming way. However, it works beautifully, and Lannie shippers like myself are very happy right now.
While at least Naomi won't be stuck with that sniveling, idiotic man-child Max forever, it seems her ultimate destiny is unresolved. I guess that might just be the nature of her free-spirited character, but she does kind of get thrown together with Boyfriend for a Few Episodes Jordan, who doesn't have much personality. Is that really going to last? Errr...probably not, which we can tell from Naomi's "I don't know" speech at the end. The part about friendship was touching, but I wish Naomi could have had an epic love equivelant to Liam.
That's nothing compared to what happens to Poor Silver. I loved her whole melodramatic and yet poignant plotline right up until Michaela lost the baby and Silver found out she had cancer. Sure, Silver's going to fight her illness and will probably prevail, but it would have been so, so, so much better to let her have her damn baby and her health at the end. Silver got so baby-obsessed that she even gave Brooke Davis a run for her money. The dire and troubling situation she's left in, despite her heartening will to live, is downright sad and a disservice to the character. And, barring a tv movie to tie up the numerous loose ends of 90210, we'll never know what happens to her regarding her cancer and who she ends up with. Sigh.
Speaking of unresolved, the jumbled up sequencing and cut-and-paste qualities of the finale are distracting. Um, who bombed the theatre, and why? I originally assumed that the sketchbomb who sat down and randomly started talking to Silver was the bomber, but then I found out that he was Prince Michael Jackson, which means it was most likely just a weird cameo. Even Navid's magical ability to apparate out of smoking piles of rubble pales in comparison to the venue's self-exploding trick.
I actually wouldn't have minded if the whole admittedly amusing Naomi charity GooGoo Dolls show was cut from the episode so that more of the actually important characters and events could have gotten their proper due.
Since this was, tied with Season 2, the best season 90210 ever did, it's a bit disappointing as well to see no resolution to supporting characters such as Michaela or Mark, who both played huge and entertaining roles in the year of stories.
I don't care, on the other hand, that Ivy didn't come back to rear her whiney head again, Andie MacPhee style. It's really unfortunate that it took the writers right up until the very last year of the show to actually create some fun and dynamic supporting characters.
Even so, over five seasons, they still couldn't come up with a decent post-Liam love interest for Naomi. I keep coming back to that because it's so bizarre and makes me wish I'd been given a shot in the writer's room (and casting room for that matter).
I'm relatively certain the intended cliffhanger was Silver's diagnosis, which makes so much more sense in that context. Matt Lanter recently revealed the intended 5 year time-jump that would have made the squashed mini-6th-season epic. He also confirmed my suspicion that there was something wack about that yellow traveling bag he was heaving around backstage at Ade's concert. That must have been where the bomb was, but who put it there? Patrick, maybe?! A returning psycho-Ashley?! Hmm? Heh?
From the hmm/heh that is the only logical response (aside from a big old Lannie "Squee!") to the series finale, let's segue to a look back at the best and most fabulous moments in 90210's run.
Sure, the show never should have hastily and disrespectfully jettisoned both its connections to the original series and all parent or teacher characters (and ETHAN!). And sure, Seasons 3-4 had some cringe-worthy awful developments (anything Ivy did, whenever Dixon "sang," Adrianna/Dixon, Liam/Silver/Navid et al). But there have totally been some exceptionally soapalicious good times as well! Since there are no shows in this genre currently running or planned on the main networks, let's hope for a resurgence sometime soon.
10. Javier gets interrupted while berating Adrianna...interrupted by his DEATH, that is!
There's no denying that the sudden demise of this loathsome character was well-executed (hehe).9. Ethan kisses Silver
I still ship this couple.
8. Annie becomes an escort, then writes a tell-all book about it
7. Jasper goes totally nuts and threatens and/or tries to kill everyone
After witnessing Annie's hit and run, Jasper first seduces, then tries to destroy Miss Wilson over the course of a Season 2 which found the former Kansas girl deluged by bad situations (she also had to deal with Naomi trying to bring her down at the same time!). Eventually, once The Gang figured out that Annie was being victimized rather than enjoying a druggie jaunt with her dealer beau, Jasper took on pretty much every character in his reign of psycho-ness.
It was fun to see Jasper again, having reformed but still showing some residual creepiness, in Season 5's terrific 100th episode.
6. Liam is beseiged by two different psychotic harpies in one season
As much as we all love Arielle Kebbel's (give that girl a CW show of her own already!) adorably wicked Vanessa, I have to give the edge to Ashley, infused with so much toothsome mania by Natalie Morales. All of the delightfully absurd shenanigans culminated in Annie's awesome rescue of Liam, wherein girl took a bullet to protect him!
5. Adrianna steals Silver's bipolar meds
The tipping point in this harsh frenemyship's descent into infamy came when Ade switched out Silver's pills so that her rival would go into a manic phase. Fantastically ridiculous and soapy!4. Naomi and Silver team up to escape from the evil Mr. Cannon
It was these dark, suspenseful, thrilling storylines that were deeply missed when 90210 turned into pure cotton candy in the later seasons (though Season 5, thank goodness, did have some crazy stalkers). This entire plotline, wherein Naomi had to recover and then exact revenge on the terrible Mr. Cannon after he attacked her and no one believed it, was stunning and exemplary.
3. Liam confesses his love to Annie
2. That time almost the whole gang got together to take down Naomi's sister Jen
Even the lame characters become awesome when everyone gets together to scheme for a good cause. It was about time that Naomi learned Jen's true colors and that Liam and Annie had never slept together at the end of Season 1. So a massive Oceans 11-style scam was assembled to expose Jen and redeem Annie and Liam. Ahmazing.1. Kansas Skank!!! // Crash!
Gawd, do I wish the whole show had been on the level of excellence seen in this one sequence of events!Remember when Annie and Naomi hated each other back in Season 1? Well, after Naomi assumes that Annie and Liam slept together, she humiliates her frenemy in front of everyone at her end-of-the-year party. Then a drunken Annie hits the road, only to crash into a human being with her car. The accident is witnessed by a mysterious observer. This is the stuff that great primetime soaps are made of!
