Beverly Hills, 90210 Re-Watch: Perfect Mom (Season 1 Episode 7)
A reboot of the classic teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 is coming. But before we get to see BH90210, this all-new reimagined version, I think a rewatch of the original is in order. I’m starting with a lucky one — Beverly Hills, 90210 Season 1 Episode 7, “Perfect Mom.”
Before we dive in, let me tell you what to expect from this rewatch series.
I compiled a list of about 34 episodes from fan suggestions or my favorites. Some are iconic, some are not, and I may have left out your favorites. But I have something to say about every one of the episodes on I’ll be rewatching, and I hope you enjoy reading it.
OK, enough introductory business. “Perfect Mom” is an episode suggested to me by fans, and it’s a great place to start.
The theme of most of the plots on the episode is “the other side.” I never understood why there’s grass in that saying because everyone always wants so much more than nice grass.
In Beverly Hills, Brenda wants Jackie as a mom and most other women going to the mother/daughter fashion show covet Cindy’s nurturing and home cooking.
It’s easy to call Brenda a brat in this situation. It’s not right that she doesn’t tell her mom about the event.
But I see her point of view. She’s a teenager in a relatively new, shiny home. Jackie Taylor definitely puts on a great show when she needs to. It’s natural to wonder what your life would be like if you were raised by someone else entirely.
The important thing is Brenda learns her lesson. She hit the jackpot of moms.
But, there’s an even bigger lesson to learn here. It’s absolutely exhausting to be Kelly. When Kelly runs away after her mom’s disastrous emceeing while high, she says to Brenda, “You think my mom’s so amazing. Can’t you see it’s just an act?”
Especially in her high school years — perhaps most especially in the first season of the show, Kelly puts on the biggest act of all.
It’s sometimes torturous to watch, even now. Yes, it’s dramatized and not exactly Academy-Award-worthy acting. But it’s also very real. Because teenagers are the kings and queens of over-reacting.
I don’t begrudge Kelly for acting. It’s a survival skill for her and the act is what makes her so complex.
As viewers get to dig deeper into the character she gets more and more interesting.
“Perfect Mom” is our first hint of Kelly’s depth. Her struggle with her mom’s alcohol and drug abuse feels authentic almost 30 years later.
I was two when this episode originally aired, and all of the girls’ struggles still feel relatable. That’s a huge difference from how I feel about some of the after college episodes when hardship is just thrown at different characters for drama.
Let’s get back to the Walsh house though. The scene around their kitchen counter with Cindy being honest to all of the ladies about alcoholism is my favorite on the episode.
Sure, she is a cookie-cutter mom throughout the series but that doesn’t mean honestly with teenagers is cheesy or boring. It’s absolutely great that Kelly can go to the Walsh kitchen after the horror show she just lived through and recover.
Plus, there’s still a stigma about alcoholism and lack of acceptance that it’s a disease. So for Cindy to say,
“It’s ridiculous to have to make up stories about something like this. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a disease, and when you’re sick you get help, no excuses or apologies necessary,”
was probably a bigger deal in 1990.
There’s an awkward moment around the counter that I want to stick up for. They’ve just finished telling Kelly how strong she is and Kelly turns to Andrea and says, “can I be honest with you? I never knew you were so pretty.”
That probably doesn’t pass sensitivity standards in 2019, no matter the context. But it’s kind, honestly. Something needs to be said for that.
Andrea is separate from the other women on the show too much, but not exactly ostracized by the characters when she’s with them. Everyone on this show falls into a trope most of the time. So, she’s the geeky virgin for a long time.
But true story, I’ve seen female characters on other more recent shows bullied by others without the writers seeming to recognize what they were doing. So, Andrea’s dynamic with “the rest” of the kids is something to celebrate in comparison to so many other shows.
Let’s never celebrate David Silver’s crush on Kelly though, OK?
The show does a great job of ending it gradually when they become siblings. Again, I have quit watching more recent shows for doing the opposite. But on this episode, he’s videotaping her and saying something about how much he wants to touch or smell her hair.
I’m going to give Beverly Hills, 90210 so many passes on all different storylines because it airs pre- September 11th and pre-#MeToo. It airs “pre” tons of social and political change.
But the fact is viewers see young David basically stalk Kelly without her knowledge and then get passed off as the cute dork.
Once and for all — even before they become related his crush on her is more than annoying. It’s weird and wrong, and I can’t go back in time but I will still always wish they introduced him into the inner folds of the group in a smoother way.
Speaking of the outside, Donna is so on the outside in this episode that her mom is played by a completely different actress than the rest of the series. Donna is my favorite, except in the Brenda years they tie. (Ironically, we won’t be going to Paris with them in this re-watch, though.)
It’s unfortunate that she’s not much featured on this episode, but I would argue that her overall journey on Beverly Hills, 90210 is the best by far. So, her absence right now is a small price to pay.
What did you think of this episode of Beverly Hills, 90210? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.