Recap: Dylan is dreaming about the explosion that "killed" his father at the end of the Dead End episode. He wakes up in a cold sweat and comes face to face with a figment of himself wearing a red baseball cap. Figment Dylan tells Actual Dylan that he'd better get used to having nightmares, since they're going to be dreaming about Jack's death for the rest of their lives. He adds that it's not just a dream, it's their nightmare...and since Jack is dead, they might as well be too. He's not a very cheery figment. Dylan falls back against the pillow, wondering if the hallucination he just had could be an early warning sign of schizophrenia. Warning: this episode contains a disproportionate number of sad and weepy parts, so you may want to grab yourself a hanky before reading any further. The Peach Pit. David whines to Steve that his recording session with Icon Records is scheduled on the same day as Jack McKay's funeral, and Steve snarks that he doesn't give a rat's ass and orders David to "make like a tree and leave". I found Steve's bitchitude odd, since I thought he and David had patched up their differences about the whole Icon Records thing by the end of the previous episode. Over by the counter, Brandon, Ahn-drea, and Nat are watching the local news on TV. It appears that a news van and a gaggle of reporters have set up camp in front of Dylan's house. I don't buy that Jack McKay was famous enough to warrant this level of media interest, but maybe it's a scarily slow news day in Beverly Hills. Incidentally, one of the reporters describes Jack's death as a "gangland style murder". Dylan's house. Dylan is on the phone, trying to reach Iris to break the news to her about Jack. In the background, Figment Dylan snidely tells him not to bother, but is ignored. Kelly enters the room and gently asks Dylan if he was able to reach his mom, but it's clear he's having no luck. He tells whoever he's talking to to tell Iris to call him back asap. Figment Dylan sullenly announces he wants to go Baja, but is ignored again. Someone knocks on the door, and Dylan assumes it's a reporter, so he turns and flees in the direction of his bedroom. Kelly answers the door, surprised to see that it's Papa Walsh. He remarks how crazy the media circus has gotten, and Kelly informs him that the reporters have been camped outside all day. He asks her how Dylan is faring, and she tells him, "Not so good." Papa Walsh goes down the hall to Dylan's bedroom and finds him hurriedly packing a bag. He tells Dylan how sorry he is for his loss, and invites him to stay at the Walsh house until the media frenzy dies down. Dylan tells him he doubts that Brenda would want him anywhere near her house, but Papa Walsh proudly informs him that his normally bitchy and vengeful daughter was the one who sent him over to extend the invitation. Kelly overhears all this from the doorway and doesn't look thrilled with the prospect of Dylan crashing at his ex-girlfriend's house - but Dylan accepts Papa Walsh's offer, and the two exit the house and jostle their way through the rowdy media mob on their way to Papa Walsh's car. After they drive off, a mysterious looking man is sitting in a parked car nearby, talking into a cell phone. He snaps at whoever he's talking to that he can't exactly kidnap the kid in front of a news crew, and that they're going to have to think of some other way to get to him. The Walsh house. Brenda nervously paces the kitchen as the rest of the Walsh clan awaits Dylan's arrival. Brandon suggests that she eat some ice cream to chillax, and remarks that inviting Dylan to stay with them during this difficult time was an uncharacteristically kind gesture on her part. Mama Walsh rushes into the kitchen to announce that Papa Walsh and Dylan have just arrived...and a minute later, Papa Walsh enters through the back door. He tells his wife that Dylan is outside, staring blankly at their backyard, so a concerned Brandon goes outside to check on his friend...and he actually is just standing there, staring. Brandon offers to take his bags into the house, and Dylan remarks on how their backyard looks exactly the same as it's always looked. Brandon makes a joke about how boring and predictable the Walshes are, and Dylan quips, "All except one." And speaking of the erratic loose cannon of the Walsh family, Brenda suddenly appears behind them. She remarks that it's chilly out and and asks them if they're coming inside. Dylan turns around to face her...and their eyes lock for a moment, but neither of them says anything. As Brandon sets up a cot in his bedroom, Brenda babbles about her Aunt Sheila, who died of cancer, and how good it felt to say goodbye. Dylan snarks about having a good cry while the media breathes down his neck, then blurts out that he doesn't want to go to his father's funeral. Brenda urges him to sleep on it and tells him he may feel differently about it in the morning. Dylan starts to express his gratitude to her for welcoming him into her home, but she stops him and says he doesn't need to say anything. In fact, she wants to apologize to him for taking an entire day to swallow her pride and do the right thing. Come again? Who is this humble, self-aware imposter, and what the hell has she done with the real Brenda Walsh?! When Brandon discreetly leaves the room to find an additional pillow, Brenda reaches for Dylan's hand and tells him that everything's going to be all right. Hmm...maybe all it takes is a human tragedy to dilute the inner bitch aspect of her personality. Kelly's house. Kelly tells Donna she feels useless and that everything she says to Dylan seems like the wrong thing. Donna theorizes that Dylan is still in shock from watching his father get blown to bits, and points out that it makes sense that Kelly would be useless in a crisis, since she's never really dealt with death before. Kelly sulkily snaps that the Walshes sure know how to handle the situation...and David interrupts them to announce that dinner is ready. He invites Donna to stay, and tells her that Jackie's serving meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Donna goes "Yum", while Kelly turns up her nose and grunts "Ew" and complains that it's too retro and fatty a meal for her liking. The phone rings, and it's Serge Menkin, calling to remind David about the recording session that's been booked for the following day. Donna gets annoyed at David for not rescheduling the session so he can attend Jack McKay's funeral, and David retorts that it's highly doubtful Dylan would even notice his absence. That's safe to say. He and Donna head downstairs for dinner, but Kelly isn't hungry and says she'd prefer to hang out alone in her room. Brandon is in his room watching the end of a sports game when Dylan slouches in. Brandon gripes that he took a loss on the game, but fully expects to bounce back the following week. Sounds like someone's gambling addiction is continuing to spiral out of control. Dylan collapses on his cot and moans about how he hasn't slept in two days, so Brandon takes the hint and shuts off the TV, then turns the lights off and tip-toes out of the room. Sometime during the middle of the night, a restless Dylan goes downstairs and finds Figment Dylan standing in front of the Walsh's liquor cabinet, boozing it up. He urges Dylan to drink with him, and Dylan looks very tempted. Figment Dylan taunts him about calling his AA sponsor, then tells him how good it feels to drink and numb the pain. He hands Dylan the bottle, and Dylan stares at it for a few seconds before giving in to the temptation. He takes a long swig. It's the morning of Jack's funeral, and Mama Walsh is bustling around the kitchen in her usual motherly, nurturing way, asking Brenda and Brandon what they think Dylan might like for breakfast. Brandon says he'd probably be fine with a cup of black coffee, and Brenda adds that Dylan isn't much of a morning person. Papa Walsh enters the kitchen with a newspaper and grimly informs his family that Jack McKay is on the cover again, and that the article that's written about him isn't exactly flattering. They all agree it would be best if Dylan doesn't see it. Kelly's house. Kelly is languishing around her bedroom in her bathrobe, complaining to Donna that she doesn't feel very well and therefore can't go to the funeral. David enters the room and reminds Donna that they're going to need to take separate vehicles because he has to go to Icon Records immediately after the service. For some strange reason, this continues to really bother Donna, who anxiously shrieks that they're expected at the Walsh house following the service to pay their condolences. Kelly informs her that she too is planning to skip the Walsh thing, and when Donna starts bitching at her, David has to explain to the dimwit how awkward it would be for Kelly to show up at the Walsh house when Brenda is barely speaking to her. Fair point. Donna retorts that funerals are awkward for everyone, and says that as Dylan's girlfriend, Kelly is obligated to be by his side as he moodily mourns. She then turns to David and rails at him for not telling Serge Menkin that the day of his friend's father's funeral isn't a good day to cut a record. David argues that he can't start making any demands at this point in his budding music career. Donna clucks her disapproval at both of them and says she's very disappointed. Kelly sighs and capitulates and tells Donna she'll attend the funeral...but before she can do that, she needs to select something suitably mournful to wear. The Walsh house. Dylan is standing in front of the mirror in the upstairs bathroom, trying to hold himself together while he ties his tie. Brenda knocks on the door, and as soon as he opens it, he breaks down and starts to cry. He tells her he doesn't want to wear a tie, and she says he doesn't have to if he doesn't want to. He then follows her into her bedroom, glances around, and immediately notices that all of his memorabilia has disappeared. He assumes that Brenda burned it all in a fit of rage, but she tells him she packed it all up and put it in the garage. She says that despite how badly he and Kelly hurt her, she realizes it's nothing compared to what he's going through now. And she predicts that years from now, he'll just remember her as a girl he once knew in high school. Dylan denies that that will happen, especially after everything they've been through together. He leans in for a hug, and then decides he should wear a tie after all. Funeral. In the back room of the church, Dylan and Figment Dylan are staring at the grey urn that contains Jack's fake ashes. Papa Walsh enters the room and tells Dylan the service is about to get started. The two enter the main part of the church, which is packed full of mourners, including Christine, who's sitting in the front row. Dylan walks all the way to the front, and sandwiches himself between Brenda and Brandon in the front pew. Uh oh - that's not going to go over very well with Kelly. Sure enough, when Kelly arrives with David and Donna, she notices where he's sitting and looks annoyed. The mysterious man who made the phone call in his car at the beginning of the episode is also in attendance. As the service gets underway, Figment Dylan stands in front of the room, mocks the minister, and tells Dylan that instead of eulogizing Jack, he should be telling everyone what a lousy scofflaw he was. It would certainly make the service a lot more interesting. Dylan starts to choke up, and Figment Dylan snidely claims that Jack got whacked because he was a horrible person who had it coming. Papa Walsh discreetly asks Dylan if he wants to say a few words about his father, but he just shakes his head and starts weeping. After the service, everyone relocates into the church's reception room to wait for Dylan to appear. David is desperate to hit the road so he can get to his recording session on time, and he asks Donna if she could say goodbye to Dylan for him. She adamantly refuses, which I found baffling, but even more baffling is how afraid David is to disobey his giant headed girlfriend. Elsewhere in the reception room, Kelly tells Christine it looks like this is goodbye for them as well, and they hug. Christine asks her if she's going to the post-funeral shindig at the Walsh house, and Kelly says it isn't likely, since she'd feel like an intruder. At that moment, Brenda approaches to politely ask Christine if she has directions to her house. She then turns to Kelly and rhetorically asks her if she remembers the way there, and Kelly looks touched and softly answers, "I think I can find it." Papa Walsh enters the room to announce to everyone that Dylan will be a few more minutes because he had to go to the can. Thanks for sharing, Jim. Dylan is striding down the hall toward the bathroom when the mysterious man appears behind him and calls out his name. Dylan turns around and stares at him suspiciously, so the man explains that he used to work with Terry Wilson on Jack's yacht, and wanted to extend his condolences. Dylan thanks him and enters the bathroom...and gets a little freaked out when the mysterious man follows him. He informs Dylan that in two hours he'll get a call at the Walsh house, and that he should do exactly what he's told. Suddenly, David bursts into the bathroom, and the mysterious man promptly slips out. David starts yammering about how sorry he is to have to leave because he has to get to his recording session, but Dylan is barely listening. He just mumbles "Whatever" and pushes past David to exit the bathroom and stare after the mysterious man...but he's already disappeared. Just go to your &#%$ recording session, David. The Walsh house. The reporters must have figured out that Dylan is temporarily staying at the Walsh house, 'cause they're all camped out there now. Inside the house, Brandon and Steve decide they want to go outside and shoot some hoops. They invite Dylan to join them, but he isn't up for it. On their way out, they pass through the kitchen, and Brenda asks for a private minute with Brandon. She tells him she's worried that Dylan might be the next target of the people who killed Jack...and she also suspects he knows he's possibly in danger. Elsewhere in the Walsh house, Kelly tells Donna she's nervous about Dylan and Brenda living under the same roof together. Plus, she has no idea what the hell to say to Dylan while he's mourning, and feels like he's totally ignoring her. Donna explains that he's probably ignoring her 'cause ever since Jack got blown up, she's been acting very weird. And excessively whiny. Dylan is in the living room, sitting on the couch and listening to Mama Walsh and Ahn-drea chatter about flowers and gardening. Dylan is staring across the room at Figment Dylan, who's stationed beside the liquor cabinet holding a bottle of booze. Icon Records. Curtis Bray tells David they'll have to wait about an hour before the studio will be available. Apparently, the musician who was booked in the time-slot before his is running late. David looks stressed by the delay and tells Curtis and Serge that he's expected at his friend's father's funeral reception - even though he isn't, really. Curtis looks exasperated and asks him why he didn't mention something about this sooner, since studio time is expensive, blah blah. Serge is completely unsympathetic and lectures David about how he needs to take his career more seriously. The Walsh house. Steve is standing in front of the basketball hoop, philosophizing about the shot he's about to take. An impatient Brandon charges toward him, steals the ball, and passes it to Ahn-drea, who passes it to Dylan, who successfully makes the shot. Figment Dylan suddenly appears and dampens the only moment of levity in this entire episode, and snarkily tells Dylan that these people aren't really his friends, and that it's Brandon everyone loves. Well, d'yuh...but he is very dreamy. Figment Dylan also scoffs at Dylan because he has absolutely nothing in common with Donna Martin - true enough - and predicts that Kelly, however good looking she is, will eventually burn him like everyone else. Kelly tentatively approaches Dylan and says how weird it feels to be at the Walsh house. Dylan just shrugs and moodily retorts that everything has been weird ever since Jack got released from prison. Kelly tells him she doesn't believe what was written about Jack in the newspaper article, and Dylan immediately snaps, "What article?" He then shouts across the lawn at Brandon to ask him if he got today's paper, but Brandon fibs and tells him he already threw it out. Dylan then turns his snarly attention back to Kelly and rants about how the article probably described Jack as a mobster, a liar, and a cheat. Kelly awkwardly tells him she's sorry, and Dylan sneers, "Why? Did you write it?" and glares at her as he stalks off. He goes inside the house and makes a beeline to the living room so he can stare longingly at the liquor cabinet again...and at Figment Dylan, who's guzzling from several bottles. In the meantime, David has arrived at the Walsh house and enters the living room. An irritated Figment Dylan yells, "Not now, goof ball!" Haha! David needlessly explains to a completely disengaged Dylan that he was able to persuade his music producer, Serge, to postpone the recording session because his head wasn't in it. Figment Dylan loses patience and barks at him to get lost because he and Dylan were about to get drunk...and they have nothing to say to him. A clueless David starts prattling to Dylan about how they've never been close, and says it's because he (Dylan) doesn't like him (David) very much. Dylan wearily explains that he doesn't really know him very well, so David tells him the sad story about how he was in the room when his yokelly friend Scott accidentally shot himself in Season 2...and describes it like a nightmare he wanted to run away from, and was often tempted to get high. However, he soon realized that it's impossible to run away from what's in your head. Mmm...not if you drink enough alcohol or smoke enough dope it isn't. Somehow David's words have resonated deeply with Dylan, and he invites David to go outside and get some air with him. On their way out, Mama Walsh intercepts them and urges them to have something to eat. Dylan suddenly realizes he hasn't eaten all day, so he and David start loading up their plates. The phone rings, and Papa Walsh answers it and looks puzzled when he holds up the receiver and informs Dylan that his "Uncle Frank" is on the line. Dylan pales, and slouches over to the phone and takes the receiver into the next room so he can talk in relative privacy. Kelly enters the house and overhears part of Dylan's end of the conversation. He demands to know if he's being threatened, and then promises to secretly meet whoever is calling him. After the call, he brusquely asks Kelly if Brandon is still outside. She ignores his question and starts wailing that she wants to leave, and that nothing she says to him is coming out right. Dylan callously mumbles, "Do what you gotta do." She urges him to leave with her, but he tells her he can't...and then takes a minute to give her a hug and promise that he'll call her later. He rushes outside, finds Brandon, and tells him he needs a favor. In the following scene, Brandon strides toward his Mustang, which is parked in front of the house. The reporters start rushing over to him, but when they notice he isn't Dylan, they immediately lose interest and disperse. Brandon drives for a few blocks and stops where Dylan is waiting. Brandon gets out of the car so Dylan can get behind the wheel. When he asks him where he's going, Dylan promises to tell him all about it when he gets back. In the car, Figment Dylan warns Dylan that they could be in danger, and Dylan snaps at him to shut up. Figment Dylan looks wounded by the rebuke, and sulkily mutters that they should blow off the meeting and drive to Baja instead of risking possible death. Dylan ignores his stressed-out figment and parks the car. He steps onto a busy street with an open market, and a minute later a burly black guy approaches him and tells him he's happy he could make it. He starts to steer Dylan to the secret location, but Dylan refuses to leave the safety of the public street until he knows exactly who the guy is. The man discreetly flashes him his FBI badge, which seems to surprise Dylan...but also reassures him that he's probably not in any immediate danger. The agent leads Dylan into an empty building where the mysterious man (who followed him into the church bathroom) is waiting. He tells Dylan that the conversation which is about to take place never took place...wink wink, nudge nudge. Dylan looks confused and asks the men if he was brought here to discuss Jack's mob ties. He looks even more confused when Christine suddenly appears and informs him that she's an FBI agent and that she works with these men...as did Jack. The mysterious man tells Dylan that Jack had made him promise that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted Dylan to know he was working with the good guys. Dylan correctly guesses that Jack had volunteered to be part of a sting operation, and that he got killed while under the FBI's watch. The mysterious man concedes that the clandestine operation was a fuck-up of gargantuan proportion, and a distressed Dylan turns his attention toward Christine and asks her if he can speak with her privately. When the two men leave, he asks her if the engagement between her and Jack was really real, and she assures him it was and that she'd been prepared to quit the FBI once they got married. Dylan snidely points out that she no longer has to quit her job, and she concedes that that's true, but points out that she now has to find a way to go on without Jack...and tells Dylan he needs to do the same. Dylan returns to the Mustang, and Figment Dylan starts raving about how the story he's just been told about Jack is nothing more than a fairytale. He thinks they're still in danger and rants about how he wants to go on a wild bender and get plastered. This causes Dylan to totally lose it, and he screams at the figment that he refuses to listen to a stupid broken record for the rest of his life. He shouts that they'll get through this, and that he definitely. Does. Not. Want. A. Drink. He then turns toward Figment Dylan, who has suddenly morphed into Figment Thirteen Year Old Dylan. The kid stares over at Dylan with a devastated, dejected look on his face, and is very close to tears. The Walsh house. Dylan returns to the Walsh house well after dark. The reporters are still camped out on the front lawn, and Dylan strides past them. One of them runs up to him and asks him how he's going to remember his father, so Dylan stops in his tracks, turns around, and calmly says, "He is survived by his only son, who loved him very much...who will miss him very much." The reporter looks satisfied enough with that boring statement and ambles away. Papa Walsh steps onto the front porch, greets Dylan, and tells him how worried he was. Dylan tells him he needed to take a drive to clear his head, and that it really helped a lot. Fortunately, Papa Walsh doesn't press him for further details. The two go inside, and Brenda is scooping ice cream and offers him some. Brandon asks him if he found what he was looking for, and he tells him he did. Kelly is fast asleep when Dylan calls. He assures her that he's OK, and that he called because he wanted to hear her voice, and promises to call her again tomorrow. She looks relieved that he remembered to call, and that he's finally broken out of his dour mood. After Dylan hangs up, he glances at the Walsh's liquor cabinet...then defiantly walks past it. He stands in front of the grey urn that's holding Jack's fake ashes and stares at it sadly. He turns around and sees the figment of his thirteen year old self sitting on the living room step, crying inconsolably. He goes over to the lad, sits beside him, and pulls him into his arms. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
12 Comments
Justme
11/29/2018 03:16:04 am
Oh my god! Such cheese! I love it! Your recaps are fucking HI-LA-RIOUS! And I hated Andrea too! What a useless, boring character she was!
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MTCIII65
4/1/2019 01:22:36 pm
A big thumb's up to Figment Dylan - would have loved to see more of this guy in the series!
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Cass
4/18/2019 07:41:10 am
Hilarious recap!! I lol again & again. Fake Ash McKay who was cremated in like an instant apparently. I will not ruin the timeline as I always do with anything death related on tv, being I am a funeral director but where the hell is all of Dylan's real family? Am I to believe the Dylan has no cousins or extended family besides from The Walksh's & the West Beverly Clan?
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CJM
7/8/2021 08:16:50 pm
A lot of people don’t have family.
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MTCIII65
4/18/2019 08:06:35 pm
Cass - inquiring minds want to know - how was Cowboy Scott Scanlon interred? Or was he spread over the WBHS campus after school??
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Cass
4/18/2019 08:24:41 pm
Scott - the yokel had no visitation, no casket, no cemetery, no hearse, no marker, so I would assume he was cremated. lol Erica! i forgot all about the Erica’s! She went from 11 to hooker in like 3 years.
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MTCIII65
4/18/2019 09:23:59 pm
And I can picture Mother Scanlon guilting the Beverly Hills National Guard giving Scott a 21 Gun Salute over the WBHS as his ashes were spread over the Blaze classroom/office to honor his gunplay accident.
Dylan4eva
6/24/2019 08:19:13 pm
Great episode. Figment Dylan was so lively. It was a nice contrast to brooding Dylan. Haven't watched 90210 since it's original run. So cheesy, yet I must keep watching. So much I had forgotten.
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Kelly
9/19/2021 06:00:12 am
Did we ever figure out why Jack needed the trust fund money? Was it so he could start a new life in the WPP?
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fanfan
10/4/2021 12:48:50 pm
Good question !
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Kelly Henderson
1/26/2022 04:11:36 pm
I agree with that. I think it probably had something to do with the mob connections. The boat captain dude and the dudes in the van and the old guy on the boat next door were all FBI agents , and I think when the money didn’t come quickly enough and Dylan’s dad was on the verge of spilling the beans to Dylan , they figured the time was nigh , that there was too much risk so operation plan B was to fake his death
Kelly Henderson
1/26/2022 04:04:40 pm
I always liked Dylan and Brenda together. Kelly was so needy and self centred. Don’t get me wrong, Brenda was very self involved too. But she had more self awareness than Kelly. And Dylan and Kelly were opposites … but I always felt like Brenda and Dylan were soulmates. She seemed to be the only one who could bring him back down to earth mid meltdown. Lol
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