Beverly Hills, 90210 Re-Watch: Love Hurts (Season 5 Episode 23)

We’re resuming our rewatch with Beverly Hills, 90210 Season 5 Episodes 23, “Love Hurts,” so we’ve got to start by talking about Donna because there is no other place to begin. 

Garrett/Warren Slan attempts to rape her on the episode and thankfully doesn’t succeed.

David comes to the beach house in the middle of the attack. Donna, under orders from her attacker, tries to get him to leave by calling him “Dave,” a nickname she never uses for him. Somehow, hearing her call him “Dave” signals to David that something is wrong.

It’s an almost clever way to let someone know you are in distress, but let’s be clear. If you need to use a similar strategy, let your friends and family know the word or name you plan to use if you can. 

Also, Donna and David are romantic interests through the entire series, so there may be a tendency to think of David’s actions as “sweet.” They aren’t.

They’re just decent. You should help anyone in this type of situation who needs it. Even someone you don’t know at a party when no one else is reacting. 

Beverly Hills, 90210 doesn’t have the best history where this is concerned. Also, considering David calls Donna a “bitch” earlier on the episode for standing up for Ray, he’s truly not even much of a friend at this point in time. 

I will always ship Donna and David, despite their problematic relationship because an appreciation for their love is already ingrained in me. But on this episode, David is nothing more than a good person. 

Garrett/Warren is psychotic and rape is always horrific. The scenes of Donna’s attack just don’t have as deep of an emotional impact today as they probably did in 1995. 

There are cheap horror movie vibes to it all because of the music playing behind the scenes. 

Also, both the story and the screenplay for this episode are credited to men. Gender sometimes matters with stories like this because there is absolutely no need to have a parallel story to Donna’s. 

Especially not one where Lenny, who is falsely accused of being the campus rapist (but who is a convicted sex offender thanks to a “wrong place, wrong time” scenario that is explained away too quickly) gets help from David and Brandon to leave campus and start a new life. 

He may not be a sex offender, but there’s just no need to have a story that ends with the line “the guy deserves a break” on the same episode a woman is attacked. That is pungent poor taste. 

Let’s move on to Dylan and Andrea’s storyline. If there is a man within this hour who deserves abundant praise, it’s Dylan McKay. 

When he learns about Andrea and Peter’s affair he truly doesn’t judge her. He just respectfully lets her know he saw her coming out of the motel, doesn’t let her make excuses about the nature of the affair (to help her get some clarity about the stakes of the situation), and tells her he’ll be there for her if she needs to talk. 

This re-watch is of random episodes that I think are important to discuss, so it’s very random to have no context for why Dylan is hanging out at some motel. 

But when he sees Andrea run out of the room in distress, he immediately runs out to the parking lot and wraps his arms around her to comfort her. 

This might be one of the best depictions of pure, selfless friendship ever on TV.

That’s an extreme statement but consider the circumstances. These two people have no romantic history, so there is no ulterior motive behind his actions.

Plus, friends get judgy about affairs all of the time — whether someone is having one, staying with a spouse who had one, or even leaving a spouse who had one. So yes, David is a decent human for preventing Donna’s rape. But Dylan McKay is the friend we all deserve for life. 

Episodes like this make Luke Perry’s work and legacy truly shine.

What did you think of this episode of Beverly Hills, 90210? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

 

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 TV Dramas That Had Us on the Edge of Our Seats in 2019