Recap: The ambulance arrives at the Martin house...but there's nothing the paramedics can do for Papa Martin, other than cover him up with a sheet 'cause, yep, he's definitely a goner. Donna tearfully tells the first responders that her dad suffered a stroke two years ago, then gives them the name of his physician. Gina stands around looking dazed and says she figured something was wrong when he didn't respond to her after she screeched at him to answer the door. Donna hears a car pull into the driveway and cries, "My mom!" and runs outside. An ashen faced Felice rushes toward her and asks, "How is he?" and when she sees the heartbreak etched across Donna's face, she shrieks, "Noooooo!!" then rushes into the house, snarking at the paramedics that she wants to see her husband before they cart him off to the morgue. Noah's jeep is in the process of being towed when Steve arrives at the After Dark and informs Noah and Dylan that Papa Martin died of a stroke last night. Noah scrunches his face concernedly and asks Dylan to not tell Donna about last episode's bizarre abduction storyline 'cause he doesn't want her to stress about it while she's coping with the loss of her father. Beach house. The 90210 gang is over, murmuring words of support to Donna. She tells them there's a lot to take care of before the funeral, then sadly remarks on how surreal it is that her dad was fine yesterday, but is suddenly gone today. Kelly asks if he was supposed to be exercising, and Gina shoots her the stink eye and says, "Meaning..?" and Donna says she's not exactly sure how bad off his bum heart was. Gina dashes out onto the patio and is followed by David. She complains to him that she feels invisible and is not allowed to be sad about losing her father, and David just kind of shrugs and says that people (meaning Kelly) are wondering if something more could have been done to prevent him from stroking out. Gina tearfully moans about how hard it sucks that everyone thinks she's to blame for her father's death. While ambling down the street after a dinner out, Kelly asks Matt if one needs a special license to be a personal trainer, and Matt chides her for her snideitude and says that asking stuff like that when Papa Martin just died isn't making things easier for Donna. She wisely changes the subject and tells him she had an interview with Pia Swanson for a PR job, and adds that it's a big agency which pays well. When the two arrive at the spot where Matt parked his car, he looks around worriedly and says it looks as though his car has been stolen. A valet, who happens to be standing nearby, tells him it was taken by a repo guy. Matt laments how much time and energy he spent on law school, only to end up being a broke loser with zero clients. Beach house. Dylan drops by to see Gina and express his condolences about Papa Martin. She says, "I screwed up" but Dylan tells her he doesn't buy that, and points out that she always made sure her dad wasn't overexerting himself. He also points out that Papa Martin was happy working out 'cause he enjoyed spending time with her, and that it must have meant a lot to him that she forgave him for being such a dickwad for colluding with Bobbi to keep her paternity a secret her entire life. Martin house. Donna asks Felice if she looked into the life insurance policy info so she can use it to cover the funeral costs, and Felice says she just can't deal with anything finance-related and wails, "I don't even know if the mortgage is paid!" Donna hugs her and says she'll help her through her startling-for-a-grown-woman helplessness. A few minutes later, David and Camille arrive with flowers and add them to the pile that's stacked up in the foyer. Donna moans about how lost she feels, and that her mom is freaking out about all the day-to-day stuff that Papa Martin took care of. Considering the precariousness of his health during the last two years of his life, he probably should have clued in his hapless wife about how to cover the mortgage and pay the electric bill. Matt grumbles to Kelly about having to start at ground zero with clients after being suspended for so long. He wonders if maybe he should consider joining a law firm so he has more in the way of financial security, then tells her he doesn't want her to take the PR job for the sole purpose of supporting him financially. She assures him that she's genuinely interested in the job, and that they're going to be A-OK. Martin house. Gina asks Felice if she's OK, and Felice says no, and snippily adds that she knows it's not the answer she's looking for. She starts nattering about various memories she shared with her husband...and that after reading his obituary, she actually learned a couple of things she didn't know about him. Gina's like, "Uh, speaking of the obit.." and says she was miffed that it said he was survived by a wife and one daughter. Felice rolls her eyes and snaps, "What difference does it make now?" and Gina's like, "Uh, he was my father" and Felice retorts, "He was my life" and that if the news broke that he had fathered an illegitimate daughter, his reputation would be destroyed. Felice snarks at Gina for not doing a better job of monitoring Papa Martin's blood pressure during their workouts, and Gina wails, "Don't dooooo this!" and flees the house in tears. After Dark. Janet takes pity on sad Noah and invites him over to Casa Walsh for dinner, but he tells her she doesn't have to worry about him. He then looks all spacey as he recalls the previous episode's abduction storyline and remembers thinking how easily he could have died at the hands of a deranged former child actor. Kelly chides Dylan for risking his life by getting involved with a head case like Shane, and he snarls that he was trying to save Noah's life, and that no part of it was fun, sexy, or remotely interesting for viewers to watch. Kelly suddenly looks sheepish and goes, "Oh. I had no idea you were trying to save a life" and Dylan admonishes her for bitchily lecturing him, then stalks off. Martin house. Donna summons David over to keep her company while she grieves and tries to get some much needed sleep. She gabbles about her dad while they canoodle on the couch...and within a few minutes, she starts to nod off and then falls asleep in his arms. Beverly Royale Hotel. Gina tells Dylan that Felice blames her for Papa Martin's death, and Dylan says she shouldn't take it personally 'cause clearly the woman's not in her right head. I dunno 'bout that; her cruel words seemed pretty consistent with her bitchy personality. Gina shakes her head and complains that L.A. is a tough town, then shrugs helplessly and says, "You just are what people say you are." Dylan concurs about the crappiness of La La Land and says he just got a taste of that this evening and didn't much like how it felt. He suggests the two of them pull up stakes and go somewhere else, and Gina perks up at that and goes, "For good?" ... and when he nods, she happily chirps, "Count me in!" The Peach Pit. Pia offers Kelly the job, and welcomes her to the wonderful world of PR. She tells Kelly that her first order of business will be working on a ballot initiative involving gay public high school students wanting to set up their own clubs. Kelly says she can definitely get passionate 'bout an issue like that, and Pia's like, "Great!" and promises to messenger the details about the campaign to her apartment asap. Interestingly, she leaves out the part about how it's a ballot initiative against gay students getting to have their own clubs. Kelly runs into Dylan and apologizes for calling him reckless, and Dylan grumpily mumbles that after Papa Martin's funeral, he's leaving town for good. Again. He glares at her and snidely sneers, "What I'm looking for isn't here anymore." Martin house. Gina drops by to inform Donna - along with David, who's hanging with Donna - that she's decided to leave this sinking ship of a been-on-the-air-for-waaaay-too-long TV series for greener pastures. Donna's like, "Wuh? Now?" and Gina thanks her for everything, but adds how bummed she's been that people are subtly casting blame on her for Papa Martin's death. Donna snarls that right now she doesn't have the emotional capacity to comfort her, and Gina snaps, "Sorry, but he was my father too" and Donna bitchily retorts, "And if you hadn't found that out, maybe he'd still be alive" ... which, OK, but weren't you the idiot who insisted on going down that rabbit-hole when you insisted on telling Gina about her secret paternity? Gina glares at her and asks her if she really thinks that their father's death is her fault, and Donna back pedals and says she doesn't know whose fault it is, then stalks off. After Dark. Dylan tells Kelly he's thinking of slouching off to South America with Gina for an undetermined period of time. Kelly snorts derisively and snarks, "She didn't grieve long" and says she wants to be happy for him, but can't help herself from being all judgey about the way he always seems to be running away from his problems. He nonsensically snarks, "How's Matt?" and she snaps, "Go to hell!" and Dylan world-wearily mutters that that location is definitely on the itinerary. Casa David. David arrives home and finds Noah drinking from a bottle of Scotch while music blares in the background. David shuts the stereo off and asks him whassup with his self-medicating...and Noah pours himself another drink and recalls the grisly manner in which his dad blew his brains out, and whines about how cursed he is. David tells him to cut the shit with his annoying self-pity, and that doesn't have a curse so much as the choice to not kill himself...but that if he truly wants to end it, Dylan's gun is prolly laying around the apartment somewhere. Noah mulls that over while staring contemplatively into space, no doubt thinking that David would make a terrible suicide prevention counsellor. Martin house. Dylan finds Donna sitting by the pool and tells her he dropped by to say goodbye. He tells her that when he left Beverly Hills, 90210 in Season 6, she was a shy, sweet, indescribably lovely cherub...and when he returned in early Season 9, he found that she was still a shy, sweet, indescribably lovely cherub - but also a capable successful business woman who's well prepared for whatever lies ahead. Donna wryly tells him she was just in a panic about what she's going to say during her father's funeral service, but he assures her she's probably way more prepared than he was when Jack (fake) blew up...then remarks that he's been running away from stuff ever since that traumatic event. She tells him she's sad he's leaving, and says that during hard times she gathers strength from their incestuous, tight-knit clique of hometown friends. Dylan says that for him L.A. is "a love-hate thing", but then looks contemplative when Donna tells him that they all need help and support from friends and family from time to time. Beach house. Kelly tells Matt she accepted the PR job, then asks him to look over the ballot initiative paperwork that Pia had messengered. As the two look it over, Kelly realizes that the firm has been asked to convince ballot voters to oppose gay high school students from starting up their own clubs. She looks miffed and is all, "Aw shit." Funeral. Felice and Donna are sitting in the front pew, staring sadly at Papa Martin's flag draped coffin. When Gina arrives and makes a beeline for the front pew, David blocks her path and tells her that Felice haughtily requested that she not be seated with immediate family. Gina shoots him the stink-eye and seats herself beside Dylan and unhappily mutters, "We cannot leave soon enough." Donna goes to the front of the church to eulogize her father and gabbles about being a daddy's girl, blah blah. She then pulls out a letter that Papa Martin wrote to her while he was recovering from his stroke two years ago. In it, he wrote about what truly matters in life: love, faith, and family. She breaks down in tears about halfway through, and Gina springs up from her pew and goes up to the front and finishes reading the letter for her. Afterwards, she and Donna hug...and as they step down to re-take their seats, Felice tells Gina that that was beautiful, and that she'd like her to sit with them. Hurray! After the funeral, Kelly compliments Donna and Gina on the letter reading and suggests they all meet up at the beach house to decompress. Gina goes over to Dylan, who breaks it to her that he's changed his mind about running off...and that since he's decided to take a page out of Papa Martin's book, he suddenly wants his life to be all about love, faith, and family and is going to stick around and wait out Kelly's inevitable breakup with Matt. Casa David. David and Camille are flirtily bantering when Noah arrives home with a bag of groceries. After searching the bag for booze (and finding none), David tells Noah they're off to the beach house to comfort Donna and invites him to come along, but he declines and grunts, "Maybe later." After David and Camille leave, Noah pulls a bottle of booze from his inside jacket pocket and takes a long swig. Martin house. Gina tells Donna she's decided to drive across the country and figure out her aimless life while on the road. The two reminisce about playing together as kids, blah blah...and Donna says she's sad to see her go. After the two hug for the last time, Gina says, "Well, see ya" and slips out of the room, never to be seen on Beverly Hills, 90210 again. Bye-bye Gina! Beach house. Kelly and Dylan agree that they don't want to be in a weird place with each other, and he tells her he wants to get out of it, and that it's one of the reasons he's decided to continue sticking it out on the show. Donna, meanwhile, is standing on the patio, staring out at the ocean. David joins her and asks her if she's OK, and she says no...but knows that losing a loved one is a part of life. He tells her she was there for him when his beloved grandfather died, and that he wants to be there for her now...and gives her a chaste forehead kiss. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
10 Comments
Lara
10/31/2018 08:48:13 pm
So far the only thing I want to know about the blessedly nonexistent Season 11 is how long it would have taken for Felice to remarry. I'm guessing 3 or 4 episodes.
Reply
stephanie
2/21/2019 04:18:27 pm
When Felice was freaking out about all of the financial details of her now collapsed world, especially the part with her shrieking that she didn't even know where the checkbook was, I couldn't help but chuckle, even though it was a sad scene. How the hell do you not know where your checkbook is?? Good grief, did this woman do ANYTHING during her marriage, that didn't amount to making snide and rude comments about or to Donna's boyfriends or anyone else that didn't fit her definition of angelic perfection.
Reply
Addy
4/26/2019 08:00:06 pm
If her husband had control of the checkbook, how was Felice able to write a check to Donna’s abusive (now ex) boyfriend some seasons ago?
Reply
Jen
11/29/2020 07:14:51 pm
Exactly, she knows where the checkbook is when she wants to pay someone to go away. Like she tried with Gina just a few episodes ago.
aria
10/12/2021 09:47:43 am
I actually knew a woman just like Felice [well maybe not the judgey/bitchy part]. She married the first time in college, dropped out, had a baby, divorced, remarried... someone with decent $, maybe a dr. When they split many years later, she was completely clueless. She was over 40, but he paid the mortgage, car payments/car insurance, bills etc. She got money like an "allowance" put in her account for whatever other expenses and had credit cards but never saw the bills. She had her phone cut off more than once because she couldn't figure out how to pay the bills on time. I was only about 26 at the time but living on my own, paying all my own bills and couldn't believe someone could be that out of it. But it happens...esp women from a certain generation.
Reply
Annie
10/18/2019 04:57:01 am
Kelly doesn’t know what PR is or what PR firms do.
Reply
MARY
11/20/2019 09:55:50 am
I was SO angry with how Donna treated Gina, implying that it was Gina's fault that their father died.....after all like you said, DONNA is the one who found out the secret and insisted that Gina should know about it, and after that she pushed for her Dad and Gina to work on a relationship. I understand that Donna had just lost her father, and was upset, but the way she treated Gina was horrible. Showed a very SELFISH side of Donna, which of course no one can ever point out. David was a jerk too. I was proud of Dylan for at least comforting Gina. I kindof wish he would've ended up leaving with her, because at this point to me Donna and Kelly were being so self-righteous with everyone.
Reply
Pam
6/15/2021 11:17:53 am
I thought the Martins were getting a divorce…did I miss a reconciliation? I’m watching on paramount plus, which skips a handful of episodes each season, so it’s quite possible…
Reply
Kristin
8/19/2021 06:58:55 pm
Donna's dad had a stroke a few seasons ago....didn't Felice learn ANYTHING about taking care of the finances???
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Beverly Hills, 90210 homepageRecapper: Isabel K. French
Your contributions help keep the site ad-free
|
Television of Yore
Snide recaps of television's most entertaining classics recapper@televisionofyore.com |
|