90210 S1E13: Slumber Party

Skeletons in the Closet! That is the first thing that popped into my mind when this ep began. The girls have a slumber party and some horrible mean girl shows up and forces them all to play Skeletons in the Closet. I remember lots of crying, and the mean girl totally has an eating disorder. I also recall Kelly's secret, but not anybody else. Meanwhile, the boys go out to pick up babes and meet two girls who end up stealing Steve’s car. They might be prostitutes, I’m not quite sure.

Brenda has a slumber party, though she calls it “an evening of female bonding.” The other girls are not into the idea of a night spent without boys, until they realize that they can stuff their faces and not worry about what they look like. Kelly invites her friend Amanda, a senior, but she worries that Amanda will think that it’s lame. The girls have a blast even though Amanda is a royal bitch. Also, I think she’s one of the Heathers. Though she keeps complaining about not wanting to be at the slumber party, she won’t leave. She’d rather just roll her eyes and make snarky comments. Eventually she convinces them to play Skeletons in the Closet.

Side note: I know that, much like other older shows to be released on DVD, a lot of the music for 90210 has been changed. I have to say that it really affects the experience of re-watching the show. I don’t recognize 90% of the songs, and in scenes where the music plays a big part – for example, in this ep when the girls dance like crazy – I often find myself distracted as I wonder what the original song might have been.

The girls ask Kelly about her first sexual experience and she describes an awkward, cute night with Steve. Then Amanda’s all, “Now tell the truth.” So Kelly tells a story about how she had sex with a “godly football stud” in the woods and though she wanted to do it, it wasn’t quite how she wanted it to happen. Amanda makes a point to tell the other girls this was “PNJ.” What’s that, you ask? “Pre-nose job.”

Next, it’s Andrea’s turn. Amanda and Kelly tell her the way she pronounces her name is pretentious. They ask who she wants her first time to be with, then force her to admit that it’s Brandon. Finally, once she is good and upset, they tell her “the whole school knows.”

Donna’s up. She has nothing to confess, and is embarrassed that she is so boring.

Finally, we have Brenda, who admits that back in Minneapolis she tried to steal her best friend’s boyfriend. Kelly, overcome with emotion, admits that she tried to make a date with Dylan after he and Brenda started dating. They start fighting, and then everyone else is suddenly screaming at each other. And then – just as quickly – they all make up. Amanda takes off, but leaves her purse behind. When Andrea goes to pick it up, she knocks it off the table and a bunch of pills fall out.

Amanda returns for her purse and accuses them of going through it. Kelly lectures her about the dangers of diet pills, and Amanda retorts that some people have to work at looking good. Apparently she was fat in middle school and swore she’d never be that way again. They tell her she’s beautiful and ask her to stay, and she gets all weepy and agrees. Donna goes to get some cookies from the kitchen, and Amanda says, “Bring the whole box.” It’s pretty ridiculous to imply that this girl can get over a serious eating disorder in three minutes, but whatever. 90210 deals with some great topics, but I wish the writers hadn’t felt like everything needed to be wrapped up with a bow at the end of each episode.

In the secondary storyline, Steve and Brandon meet two hot young things outside a club. The girls suggest they go to an empty parking lot, where Steve’s chickie convinces him to let her drive his car. Her friend then jumps in, and they speed off. Steve cries. Really, he does. It’s kind of cute. When the cops find track the girls down, they claim they got lost. Steve’s girl offers to “make it up to him” and Steve, thinking he might get sex out of it, decides not to press charges. And then he is sad, because all the girl does is give him a gift certificate for a free manicure. Nice.