Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 8, Episode 21

"I would have confessed to roofie-ing Valerie if I had had any interest in doing jail time."

"Law and Disorder"
Original airdate: 3/4/1998

Episode summary: Noah is found legally responsible for roofie-ing Valerie - but later learns that his brother was the culprit. Donna pops pills at an alarming rate, then predictably overdoses. A Q5 rep tells David he's headed for musical stardom.

---

Recap: Valerie is on the stand, testifying about her roofie-ing. She tells the court she woke up completely disoriented, naked, and with a naked Noah in the room. During cross-examination, Noah's stern female lawyer asks her if she's ever faked a pregnancy, and she sheepishly admits, "Once. Sort of" and explains that it was part of a failed blackmail scheme. Under questioning, she also admits to having a sexual relationship with Noah previously, and that - yep - she had been in love with him. Noah's lawyer points out that she cheated on Noah with (wealthy) Cooper Hargrove...and later slapped Noah across the face when she learned that he was a member of the rich Hunter clan - and that this was after he dumped her, thereby causing her to miss out on "the big score". Valerie cries, "He raped me!" and the lawyer raises her eyebrows and sarcastically retorts, "Did he really?"

Steve tells Brandon and Kelly he's no longer keeping an open mind about Valerie's innocence 'cause of how easily swayed he's getting by Noah's lawyer. He says she should have just taken the $200,000 that Josh offered her, but Kelly snarkishly says it's clear that the shameless trollop is digging in and holding out for $10 million. Brandon reminds them that Noah is the one on trial - and when David and Valerie suddenly appear out of nowhere, David snarks, "Could have fooled me." Valerie chides Brandon for not taking her side, and he just rolls his eyes and stalks off with Kelly. Steve reminds Valerie that Brandon has always been there for her, and she snaps, "It's not enough!" Noah and Josh, meanwhile, enter the courthouse and stare over at David and Valerie...and Josh assures Noah that he's definitely going to win this case.

As Donna gulps down more pain meds, Noah looks alarmed and remarks that it looks like she's overdoing it. Josh, for some reason, informs Noah that he's been supplying her with uppers to counteract the dozy effects of her pain meds...and Noah scrunches his face worriedly and says it's probably a bad idea to mix that with prescription medicine. Donna snaps at him for offering his unsolicited advice...and Noah chalks up her bitchitude to the stress of having to attend the trial, and once again insists he's not a rapist. Donna says it's really shitty the way his lawyer is making Valerie out to be a tramp [even though I'm pretty sure that this is also Donna's opinion of her], reminds him again that he did doink her, and announces that she can no longer stomach having to sit in the courtroom.

Studio. David is rehearsing with the band when the new Q5 rep, Frank Saunders, enters the room. He explains that there's been a recent shakeup at the label...then takes David aside and tells him he really likes his sound...and by his sound, he means not Jasper's. David reminds him that the band is named Jasper's Legend, and Frank says he doesn't give a rat's ass 'cause the label is only interested in furthering his awesome talent...which, yeah, as if.  

Donna's boss announces to his staff that their new client, Remington, is deeply enamoured with Donna's Child's Play fashion line - because not only is Donna the loveliest cherub who's ever walked the earth, she's also a super talented fashion designer. He tells Donna that he'll need some preliminary sketches for children's sleepwear - and a few seconds later, Donna's back goes all out of whack, causing her to spill her coffee all over the rug. Her boss does his best to ignore the embarrassing mishap and tells Donna that he'll need sketches in thirty-six hours. Donna returns to her cubical and phones Josh to request a supply of drugs - but he snaps, "I'm not a pharmacy!" and chides her for not being more focused on Noah's trial.

David tells Frank that he and Jasper are a team, but Frank argues that Jasper is dragging him down. He then asks David if he'd mind performing a song he and Jasper were playing earlier...and when David reluctantly agrees and heads into the studio, Frank tells one of the technicians to surreptitiously record the performance.

Donna is at the pharmacy, begging the pharmacist to re-fill her prescription of pain meds. He points out that the label on the bottle says no re-fills, which means he's unable to give her anymore pills without a doctor's signature. He admonishes her for going through sixty pills in a week when the prescription is supposed to last two weeks, then says he's closing up...and ignores Donna even while she's shrieking, "But I'm in painnnnnnn!" LOL.

David learns that he's being called as a character witness for Noah, and this distresses and irks Valerie.

Wyatt Clinic. Donna drops by to whine to her father about how much her back hurts and to score some more painkillers. When Papa Martin strongly urges her to get adequate bed rest, she snaps that she's far too busy at work to lay around in bed all day. He asks her what happened to the pills he prescribed, and she fibs and says she accidentally spilled them down the drain. He pretends to buy the obvious lie and agrees to give her enough for the next few days...but says if she's still having pain, he wants her to come back to the clinic. She thanks him, then goes out into the hallway and gulps down several pills at once. Nice work pacing yourself, Donna.

Courtroom. David, Kelly, and Brandon testify about all the awesome things that Noah has done for them (saved David in Hawaii, bailed him out financially, donated life-saving blood to Kelly after her shooting, etc.) since joining the show during the Season 8 premiere.

Donna is at work, drinking coffee and swallowing more pills. She ambles over to her co-worker Danielle's cubical and finds her working on some cool looking sketches. She looks impressed and calls it "great stuff", and Danielle tries to cover the sketches with her hands and explains that they're just something she's working on for an upcoming job interview. A few seconds later, the boss comes over to ask Donna how the sleepwear sketches are coming along, and she promises that they'll be ready tomorrow...then goes back to her cubicle and weeps tears of frustration.

Studio. Frank tells David that he outright told Jasper how badly he sucks...and Jasper threw a hissy fit and quit the band. David expresses skepticism of that 'cause of how important the band is to him...and Frank wanks him by telling him how much the band (sans Jasper) looks up to him, admires his talent, and has full confidence that he's headed for stardom. Frank says he's going to have to decide if he wants to be a nice guy, or a rock star who gets featured on the cover of Rolling Stone...and David mulls over the implausibleness of that last thing.

Valerie's lawyer tells her not to worry about Noah's positive character witnesses...and when Noah suddenly walks by, Valerie glares at him and barks, "Go to hell!" and he snaps back, "I'm already there!"

​As Danielle heads home for the day, she wishes Donna luck on the sleepwear sketches...and as soon as she exits the office, Donna sneaks over to her cubicle, opens her portfolio case, and pulls out the sketches she had complimented earlier and smiles evilly. Eeeek! All that pill popping is turning this angelic lass into a monster.

Kelly and Brandon return to the beach house and discuss the trial. Kelly is adamant that Valerie is a malicious money grubbing whore, while Brandon defends her honor and makes it clear that she's still his friend. They agree to disagree (sort of), then decide that they're not yet ready to hit the sheets together...and Brandon dejectedly shuffles out. 
​
David is play acting in his bathroom, pretending to accept a Grammy, while Valerie watches him with amusement. When he spots her standing in the doorway, he sheepishly explains that he was just pretending to be someone else. She says she likes the sound of that, then gives him a hug and assures him that she doesn't blame him for his pro-Noah testimony during court. She then tells him that a miffed looking Jasper is here to see him.

Jasper bitterly accuses David of selling him out by recording their material for Q5. David's all, "Wha-a?" so Jasper throws down the offending tape (I'll assume Frank gave it to him) and reminds him that he "made" him and saved him from wasting his life at a car wash [sorry dude - but that honor goes to Brandon and Steve]. He calls David a double-crosser who hasn't yet paid his dues...and speaking of not paying one's dues, a deliveryman arrives with a Porsche for David that Q5 is needlessly loaning to him for a week. Jasper snorts with disgust at the extravagant gift, then snarls as he storms out, "When you crash and burn, don't call!"

Back in court, Josh testifies about how he was sitting with Valerie and Noah in the bar...and we get an accompanying black and white flashback. He recalls getting a phone call from his fiancee, and a few minutes after that, Valerie had finished her drink and was acting sluggish...and the next thing he knew, she and Noah were headed upstairs to the office. The lawyer says the only people close enough to her drink to slip a roofie in it were Noah and Josh, then asks, "Who else could have put rohypnol in her glass?" When Josh steers clear of pointing out that he had ample opportunity to commit the nefarious deed, Valerie's lawyer concludes that it had to have been Noah. 

Donna's boss is thrilled with her sketches [meaning Danielle's sketches] and gushes, "You are pure talent!" while Danielle stands in a corner and twitches with irritation. The boss urges Donna to go home and get some rest, and she giggles and goes, "OK!" and sashays back to her cubicle. Danielle follows her and confronts her about stealing her designs, and Donna smarmily replies, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Danielle says that the only reason she didn't blow the whistle 'cause one of them would have been fired [Donna most likely - you should have risked it and blown the whistle], and says, "I thought we were going to be friends. Guess I wrong" then sadly shuffles off...and Donna stares sheepishly into space.

Courthouse. Kelly seats herself beside Valerie and tells her that the jury is deliberating. She apologizes for believing the worst about her, and says she's seeing things completely differently than she did a day ago...and suddenly believes she's telling the truth. Valerie mumbles something about losing even if she wins in court.

When the jury returns with the verdict, the judge announces that they've found for the plaintiff. Valerie and David are all, "Yay!" while Noah and Josh scowl and scurry out of the courtroom.

While going for a drive in the Porsche, Valerie remarks to David how different everyone has been treating her ever since the verdict came down - meaning there are no more smirks or skeptical eye-rolls in her direction. David's like, "That's nice" and complains about how he should be on top of the world after being wanked so hard by Q5...but instead he can't stop thinking about poor Jasper and how screwed over he feels. Valerie's like, "Meh" and urges him to believe in himself more. 

Donna is rifling through the boat in a desperate search for drugs. She breaks open Josh's briefcase and squeals with relief when she finds a bottle of pills, as well as a packet marked rohypnol. Josh catches her in the act and snarkishly says it would have been nice to get a heads up before she came over to rob him, and she snarks back at him for not standing up for Noah in court. A few seconds later, Noah enters the boat and asks whassup, so Josh tells him that Donna is strung out on prescription drugs. Noah asks her if this is true, and she thrusts the packet of rohypnol at him, tells him she found it in Josh's briefcase, and that clearly it was Josh who roofied Valerie. When Noah's all, "Wha-a-a-a?!", Josh tries to convince his brother that he got the drug in Paris 'cause he sometimes likes to roofie himself to avoid insomnia. LOL. Noah slugs him and yells, "WHY????!!!" and Josh admits that his icky plan to date-rape an unconscious Valerie went awry when he (Noah) took her upstairs to his office...and after she filed charges, he was too scared to come forward 'cause he didn't think he could hack it in jail. Noah glares at him with disgust and calls him pathetic - but Josh insists that they just need to pay Valerie off and move on. Noah barks, "No!" and makes it clear that he has absolutely no problem turning in his own flesh and blood.

The Walsh house. Noah drops by to inform Valerie that Josh - and not him - was the scumbag who roofied her. He shows her the packet of rohypnol as proof and says she can confirm with Donna that it was found in Josh's briefcase. He then tells her that if she ever decides to file charges against Josh, he'll do everything he can to support her. 

After that, Noah heads over to the beach house to see Donna...and when she doesn't answer the door, he peers through the window and sees her laying on the floor, unconscious. He immediately kicks in the door, rushes inside to check for a pulse, and calls 911 to report the nitwit's overdose.  

Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

---