September 5, 2015
BH90210 10.1, The Phantom Menace: Feeling Like a Criminal
I’m sure they’ll all be this happy and peaceful the whole season
Summary: Matt comes down to the boutique from his office to find a bunch of people crowded outside. Kelly’s in the store with Joe’s dead body. He gives her some quick legal advice just before the police arrive. Kelly announces that she killed her rapist, and that he’d threatened to kill her. Matt admits that he knew Joe and, in fact, kept him out of jail.
Donna’s happy that Wayne will be around more, but a little nervous about jumping into a relationship so soon after breaking up with Noah. Wayne tells her that he just wants them to have fun. Unfortunately, that won’t happen tonight – Matt calls to tell Donna what happened. At the After Dark, a waitress named Cherise flirts with Noah, but before he can return the favor, he gets a call from Donna. He hangs up on her and asks Cherise out.
Dylan’s the next person to get a call, so he and Gina run off to the police station. Kelly’s already there, telling a detective what happened. Matt argues that she shot Joe in self-defense. The detective wants a motive, asking if Kelly told Joe to stop. The rest of the gang waits for news, and Dylan and David get into a little scuffle. Janet wonders where Noah is.
The detective wants to know where Kelly got the gun. Matt says she doesn’t have to answer that. The detective reveals that it was stolen, which Kelly didn’t know. The rest of the gang doesn’t think Kelly did anything wrong, though Janet points out that a man is now dead. A reporter bugs Dylan, but David shuts her down. Steve’s disturbed that a reporter would pry into someone’s personal life. Janet’s like, “Hi, have you met yourself?” The reporter then approaches Gina.
Matt tells the detective that he was assigned to represent Joe. He sent Joe to the boutique, which is where he came into contact with Kelly. Matt tells the gang that Kelly’s fine, and though he doesn’t think anything will happen to her, she’s part of a homicide investigation. Matt asks Dylan about the gun, and Dylan admits that he got it for her. Matt points out that since it was unlicensed, Dylan could go to jail.
The others head to the After Dark, where Steve and Janet disagree over whether Kelly was justified in killing Joe. Donna confides in David that she wishes she hadn’t left the boutique early. David doesn’t think anything would have happened differently. They spot Noah, who’s coming downstairs with Cherise after an apparent hookup. Donna tells him what happened to Kelly, and though he wants to talk to the others about it, he won’t talk to her.
The next day, Dylan apologizes to David for hooking up with Gina. David would prefer if Dylan actually felt bad about it. He tells Dylan to leave her alone. Dylan says no, so David asks him to move out.
Kelly’s released without having any charges filed against her, but she’s upset over the way the police treated her at the crime scene. She’s also still facing potential gun charges. She notes that she could go to jail for defending herself. Donna remarks that the police are supposed to look out for citizens. Kelly shoots Matt a comment that he defends criminals like Joe. Donna asks the detective what she’s supposed to do about the boutique; after all, someone died there. The detective doesn’t seem to care.
At the Beverly Beat, Steve tries to convince Janet that their seemingly silly work is important – they can use it to distract themselves. Janet gets a phone call and starts demanding a cubicle so she can have privacy. He leaves so she can be crazy on her own. It turns out the call is about a job Janet applied for at another paper.
At the Peach Pit, Dylan, Steve, and Nat comfort Kelly over taking a life. Janet arrives and gets emotional over Kelly’s emotional state. A girl runs over and praises Kelly for defending herself. At the beach apartment, Donna wonders to David why everyone loves Gina so much: “It’s the hair, isn’t it?” He says she’s a friend. Donna replies that Dylan’s a friend, too. David compares the situation to Noah’s hookup with Cherise.
Janet calls to check up on Kelly, and when Steve comes on the phone, Janet blurts out that she loves him. Then she hangs up. Steve’s confused but pleased. The gang sees a news report about the shooting, featuring an interview with Gina. She says she’s freaked out to live with a person who killed someone. When Gina arrives, David blasts her for talking to the reporter when everyone else agreed not to. Donna kicks her out.
Dylan winds up at the Beverly Royale Hotel (formerly the Bel Age), promising the concierge that he’ll be much better behaved than he was when he was in high school. Apparently the concierge lives under a rock because he doesn’t know what happened to Jack. Gina shows up and pretty much invites herself to move in. Dylan finds it hard to say no when her tongue is in his mouth.
Matt complains to the detective that the police are pressuring the DA to file gun charges against Kelly. He thinks they should back off and start protecting the innocent. The detective argues that they need to work on gun control. Matt points out that if Kelly hadn’t been armed, Joe would have killed her. His death was ruled justifiable homicide, emphasis on the “justifiable.” “Justice was done,” Matt says.
At the boutique, Donna tells Dylan that she kicked Gina out because of her interview. This is new information for Dylan. Kelly shows up to help them clean things up, but Donna and Dylan quickly come up with something else for the three of them to do. Steve learns what Janet’s been up to when someone calls for a recommendation. He’s hurt that she wants to leave despite never mentioning it. Janet says she’s been confused. Steve says they have that in common.
Donna runs into Wayne downtown and he asks to hang out. She tells him she’s busy with friend stuff. He seems to think that cheering Kelly up won’t take that long, and they can hang out when Donna’s done. Donna realizes that Wayne doesn’t respect her friendships, I guess, so she runs off. I don’t know what’s going on here.
Gina tries to make up with David, but he’s not interested. She and Donna see Noah dancing with Cherise, and Gina comments that Cherise is pretty. David asks the crowd at the After Dark if any of them qualify as the “nice guy” in their friend group. He tells them they’re screwed – they’re just placeholders until the women they like find someone else. Oh, crap, is David a meninist?
Matt tells Kelly that the DA’s office won’t be pressing gun charges after all. He suggests that they take a vacation to get away from their problems. Kelly tells him she doesn’t blame him for anything; she made her own choice. Matt accidentally breaks a vase, giving Kelly a flashback to the cheating. She admits that she’s been trying to pretend everything’s over, but it’s not.
Dylan lets Gina know that he and the rest of the gang are spending the day with Kelly, but she’s invited. Gina doesn’t exactly feel welcome. He assures her that she can stay with him at the hotel, so at least one thing in her life is going all right. However, he makes it clear that he’s not going to stop being friends with Kelly and Donna. It would be nice if Gina tried to get along with them.
Janet goes to the Walshes’ to apologize to Steve for her recent strange behavior. She tells him that she didn’t get the job. As Janet starts crying, Steve worries that she’s going to break up with him. She admits that she’s not sure things are working for them.
As the rest of the gang sets up for a day at the beach, Kelly runs into Janet at the Peach Pit. Janet laments that her life has turned out very different from the way she’d planned. Kelly can relate. Janet blurts out that she’s pregnant. She’s held off on telling Steve, since her family has a history of miscarriages and rough pregnancies. She admits that she’s four months along.
Kelly realizes that Janet plans to have the baby whether Steve’s on board or not. Janet’s hesitated to tell him because he always does something childish just when she thinks things are okay. She always winds up running away. Kelly assures her that Steve will be okay with the news. Janet says that telling Kelly has made the situation feel real.
Since Kelly’s a no-show, everyone packs up to leave the beach. David takes a moment to comfort Donna, who’s been really worried. Kelly finally arrives, making everyone happy. They hang out while Janet reads What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Kelly tells Steve that she thinks things between him and Janet will turn out okay. She predicts that he’s going to have a great year.
Thoughts: In news that I swear is 100% true, the detective is Jackie Chiles.
Noah considers Kelly a friend? I can’t remember them even talking after she dropped her crush on him and went back to Brandon two years ago.
Finally, someone kicked Gina out!
Does anyone know why they changed the hotel’s name from the Bel Age to the Beverly Royale?
I’m impressed that Janet’s four months pregnant and isn’t showing even a little.
'90s Flashback 
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