Friday, May 17, 2013

90210

90210
Episode 22: We All Fall Down
The Series Finale
By: Carlos Uribe

90210 is a show about wealthy kids who do business and go to college in the zip. Or something.

Spoilers Ahoy!

This finale provided a surprising amount of closure. I've been skeptical that this could act as a series finale as there had been rumors that there was going to be a final season. I've been afraid that we would end with a massive cliff-hanger and we would have no closure. I was prepared to face a finale that wouldn't close any plots nor would I get to say goodbye to these characters. I was prepared for a season finale so it's such a pleasant surprise that I didn't get one. It could have potentially acted as one as there's a lot of potential plots that could have been explored in the next season but I'm happy we won't. Do we really need to follow a second cancer storyline even if this time it affects a main character? Do we really need to follow the engagement drama between Annie and Liam? This is an ending that basically delivers a clue of where the character's lives will be heading. Well All Fall Down is a pretty good series finale that manages to be entertaining and there's moments where it gets to be real. It gets a bit hokey at times when the characters keep affirming the importance of friendship but it's excusable as this is the end. Of course this is going to be hokey. This show has always been about this group of friends so you are going to have an episode that basically confirms they will always be there for each other. It could have been a little bit less on-the-nose about it but 90210 has never been a particularly subtle show. It wears it's themes on it's sleeves and screams out it's message to ensure every viewer gets what it's trying to say. I almost can't believe that after five years of watching the lives of these idiots that I'll never have them on my television screen. I might be harsh on them, I might even criticize them, but I've always like them. This may not have been the best written drama on the CW but I did watch it for a reason. I'm not sure what that reason is but I think it's because at the end of the day, I liked everyone not named Navid. Navid is just the worst and I'm slightly disappointed he got to live. It might have messed up the finale's good mood at the end so I can understand why he won't be needing a funeral.


I guess we should start with boring Navid and Adrianna. This episode picks up where we had left off. The stage had collapsed. Navid had gone backstage to talk to her while she was performing. Navid does get rescued but he immediately heads back into the auditorium when he finds out that Adrianna is trapped under the stage. He's relieved when he finds out that she's alive and the two quickly get over Navid's mistrust of her. She thinks it would be best if they take it slow until she realizes that's not what she wants. The two are in love and they should jump into a relationship. There's some drama as the show pretends that their lives might actually be in danger. There's some gas issue but that gets resolved. The set collapses again once the characters are leaving that threatens Navid's life. He does get rescued at the end and Adrianna gets on the ambulance with him. The two are going to the hospital so they can start their new life together. It's basically the ending that anybody could have predicted for Navid. He did have a crush on Adrianna when we first met him and it's obvious that the two were going to be endgame from the beginning. There's really no surprise here. The other predictable ending was the Annie and Liam story.

It was pretty obvious that the two were going to get together by the end of the finale. They liked each other even if it took Liam an eternity to figure it out. The writers literally made him wait until the very last few minutes of the show to read her book so he could realize that she wanted to be with him. He rode his motorcycle to the airport and actually chased the plane just so that he could propose to her. Annie accepts this time and it's a moment that could easily belong on any cheesy romantic comedy. Their reunion and engagement is something that this season has been building up to. The writers have always been heading to them being endgame and it was very predictable that Liam would get to stop the plane. This is the finale so it's okay to have a happy ending for the two lovebirds. As for Naomi? She gets to be with Jordan by the end of the episode but I don't believe their relationship is going to last. There's too many issues with Jordan's mother and their honeymoon phase of their romance will eventually fade. So I like to think that, while Naomi might currently have a boyfriend, she basically ended the show as being single and having her whole life ahead of her. Overall, happy endings for all of these characters.

The only character who doesn't get a happy ending is Silver. She lost her baby, she lost her body, and now she's in a battle for her life. She has cancer. She thinks about ending her life after she gets the news but Dixon gives her the strength to fight on. She decides she'll have the surgeries and hope for the best. She might be facing cancer but I think that there's no doubt she's going to beat it. She has her friends and the general upbeat ending of the finale seems to support this inclination. The only character who doesn't really get an ending is Dixon. There is a nice scene where Annie gets to say goodbye to him and he basically tells her that he's grown up and can take care of himself. He doesn't need her to save him from his weaknesses anymore. It's a nice sign that he's grown as a character but then the writers don't really give him a future. He's just going to be there for his friends and I guess continue to pursue his music career.

We All Fall Down is a happy ending for 90210 and it's the finale I would have expected from an official final season. 90210 might have been advertised as a dark show where every character has a dark secret when it was first picked up to series but it's been a generally happy show since it's premiered. There might have been a lot of drama and dark moments within the plots but the sunny setting and upbeat atmosphere never really went away. Silver might have cancer but there's no doubt she'll beat it. Liam and Annie might have problems but their love will win in the end. Navid might be a bore but Adrianna will be happy with him. Dixon will find a way to succeed in the music business. Naomi's relationship with Jordan might last or it might be doomed but she'll eventually find the right guy.

Other Notes:

They sadly couldn't get Teddy to appear in the finale. You think he would have at least called to make sure his friends were okay but no reference of him.

90210 continues to amaze by getting the Goo Goo Dolls to perform on the show. How a show with such a limited budget and small ratings get these big performers to perform is always going to be a big mystery to me.

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