Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 8, Episode 28

There's no way this is going to end well

"Ricochet"
Original airdate: 5/6/1998

Episode summary: David gets mugged, then goes squirrelly about protecting himself and accidentally shoots Noah's friend, Gwen. Brandon proposes to Kelly when she tells him she doesn't trust that he'll remain faithful to her. Valerie opts to not donate bone marrow to a child molester.

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Recap: Brandon invites Steve to tag along to the movies with him and Kelly, and Steve agrees to go as long as it's not a romantic film...'cause lately he's been feeling sad and unloved. Kelly glances at the front page of the newspaper that's laying around the kitchen table and remarks on the feature story: a councilman who was busted for cheating on his wife. Kelly's like, "Wasn't he the same councilman you met with once?" and Brandon says it was and that he did get a tip on his philandering...but decided to not run the story since his infidelity issues are no one's business but his and his wife's. Kelly snappishly asks him if this means he approves of cheating (fuuuuuuuuck), and Brandon wearily reminds her that they've been over this ground before...blah blah blah...I don't care. Break up already.

Valerie gets a call from somebody at the local hospital, informing her that her bone marrow is a match for a patient who's in desperate need of a transplant. (Apparently, her marrow is in the national registry from when she had a sick friend in Buffalo.) He asks her to come in for a counselling appointment...and she hems and haws about it for a few minutes, but then agrees to come in.  

David is at an ATM when a shady looking guy comes up behind him, pulls out a gun - eeeek! - and orders him to withdraw his limit and then hand the cash over. A flustered David manages to withdraw $300 and hands it over, along with his wallet. The gunman orders him to count to fifty, then disappears into the night.
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The Peach Pit. The gang is clumped together at a table, rallying around the traumatized David. Kelly suggests changing his locks and getting an alarm, while Noah urges him to buy a gun...then reveals that he has one on the boat and one by the cash register at the After Dark. Donna scrunches her big face and is all, "Wha-a?!" 'cause apparently she had no idea her boyfriend was a gun owner. 

Hospital. Valerie is meeting with the transplant coordinator at the hospital. She says she'd like to spend some quality time contemplating the decision to donate her marrow, but the counsellor warns her that the patient doesn't have the luxury of time 'cause he's on death's door, then hands her an information pamphlet. When she exits the office and meets up with David, a curly-haired woman named Judy notices the pamphlet she's carrying and asks her if she's the bone marrow donor she heard might be a match for her father...and explains that he has leukemia. Her brother, Mark, emerges from their father's hospital room, and the four spend a few minutes chatting. Valerie later remarks to David that she's definitely leaning toward doing the transplant.  

The Beverly Beat. Steve, Brandon, and Janet are interviewing for an assistant. They wrap up an interview with a vapid blonde in a short skirt and, needless to say, Janet is not impressed. When the next applicant - a pretty young woman named Sarah - enters the newsroom, Steve turns beet red and gets tongue-tied like a smitten schoolgirl. Janet tells him that Sarah is fully qualified for the position, and is the office manager at Empire Magazine. [I wonder why the hell she applied to The Beverly Beat when she already has a great sounding job.] Steve continues to ogle Sarah, then finally mumbles, "We'll let you know" ... but once she's out of hearing range, he tells Janet he can't possibly work with someone who's so soft and pretty.

Noah brings Donna aboard his boat and introduces her to his old school chum, Gwen, who's in town for a few days. The three chit-chat about their lives...blah blah...and Gwen reminds Noah of her fear of heights. Noah offers to help her overcome it by taking her on a Ferris wheel, and she tentatively accepts. I have no idea how or why this girl's visit is a storyline.

Beach house. Kelly tries to reach Brandon at the newsroom, but Janet tells her he's not around 'cause the source he was supposed to meet with bailed on him, so he left early. Kelly says she tried to reach him at home, then stares into space with suspicion written all over her face. Donna enters her bedroom to ask whassup, so Kelly tells her she wasn't able to get a hold of Brandon...and since she's still not over the fact that he cheated on her, she can't help but wonder if he's off doinking another woman.  

After Dark. Mark (from the hospital) drops by the club, and Valerie pre-emptively tells him she hasn't decided for sure if she's going through with the transplant. He assures her he's not here to push her - to the contrary, he hopes she declines, then tells her that his father is a child molester who abused both of his sisters. He's only been showing up at the hospital to support Judy, who believes that their father is totally rehabilitated. Mark derisively calls his father a predator and doesn't think his life deserves to be saved. 

The Beverly Beat. Kelly drops by the newsroom just as Brandon is finishing up an interview with another hot looking woman. Apparently, the same kind of woman keeps showing up for interviews 'cause Steve called his buddy at a modelling agency to send over "applicants" he could pick over in case one of them is actually willing to go out with him. Well that's just stupid and gross on so many levels. Kelly asks Brandon how his source meeting went yesterday, and he tells her it was cancelled...so he ran some errands, checked in on David, and went to the gym. A few minutes later, Kelly covertly calls David to see if he corroborates Brandon's version of events, and is visibly relieved when it checks out.

Valerie returns to the hospital to ask the coordinator for information about the transplant recipient - but the coordinator says she's not allowed to give out personal details. She then hands her an 'intent to donate' form to fill out and reminds her to giddyup about making a decision, 'cause time is of the essence.

David goes to a gun store and picks out a handgun for himself - but is irked when he learns that he has to wait eleven days until a background check can be completed. 

Valerie is in the hospital giving blood when Judy spots her and lets her know that Mark told her he spilled the beans about her father being a molester. This hospital really doesn't seem to be big on privacy. Judy says her father is a totally different man now, and that he loves doting on his grandkids. Valerie looks out into the hallway and sees the old man playing with the little kids, then icily tells Judy that she was eleven when her father molested her.

The Beverly Beat. Brandon, Steve, and Janet compare interview notes...and Brandon and Janet vote to hire the only non-model who applied, Sarah. Steve says he doesn't like the idea of hiring a woman he's so hopelessly attracted to, and Brandon orders him to grow up and try to not crush on every attractive woman he encounters. Steve promises to give maturity his best effort.

Boat. Noah, Donna, and Gwen guzzle wine and chat some more. A tipsy Donna asks Gwen if she and Noah ever hooked up, and she assures her they were only ever just friends. Donna asks her if she's ever been in love - just as Gwen spills her wine on the floor, and Donna and Noah kneel down to mop it up and then start tonguing each other. Gwen looks nauseated by the rude PDA and murmurs, "Maybe once or twice" while staring hungrily at Noah. Mmm hmm..

​The Walsh house. Kelly rifles through Brandon's pockets while he's in the bathroom...and when he catches her red-handed, she sheepishly admits, "I don't trust you" and says she can't stop herself from questioning his fidelity. Brandon snaps, "I'm tired of this" and Kelly tears up and says she freaks out every time she can't get a hold of him, and pictures him bumping uglies with helmet hairdo'ed skanks like Emily. He insists he's not hitting the sheets with anyone else...and when she says she desperately wants to believe him, he promises to never cheat on her again or leave her, then flatly proposes, "Marry me." Kelly stares at him, dumbfounded, gives him a tentative yes, and the two lean toward each other and start smooching.

The Peach Pit. Kelly tells Donna about Brandon's lacklustre proposal - at the same time Brandon is breaking the news to Steve and Valerie. Valerie makes a face and asks him if he really wants to marry Kelly just 'cause he doesn't want to argue about his past infidelity anymore. At the Peach Pit, Donna agrees to be Kelly's maid of honor.

David is at an ATM...and when a man gets in line behind him and hovers too close, he snaps at him to back the fuck off and give him some space.   

The Beverly Beat. Sarah stops by to let everyone know that she's turning down the assistant job, thanks them for the opportunity, then leaves. A stricken looking Steve mutters, "She hates me" and says he has no idea what he might have done wrong. [Maybe the stammering, the ogling, the brightly flushed cheeks??]  

Noah takes Gwen on a Ferris wheel that he reserved for the evening. Snore. When they get to the top, Gwen looks queasy...but quickly overcomes her nausea and tells Noah she'd really like to smooch him the way they always joked about when they were kids. She leans in and kisses him - but he breaks away and reminds her that he's with Donna.

The Walsh house. As Kelly sorts through her laundry, she tells Brandon she's sooo happy he finally found the nerve to propose. He just kind of shrugs and goes, "I wasn't even thinking", and she gives him a funny look and asks him if he's really thought this through. He reminds her he's proposed to her before and really means it this time...and when she raises her eyebrows and goes, "Forever?" he's like, "Uh...yeah...sure." LOL.

After Dark. Noah confesses to Donna that he and Gwen smooched while they were on the Ferris wheel, and now realizes that Gwen probably digs him a lot more than he realized. Donna's all, "Wha-a?!" and bitchily storms off.

The Walsh house. Valerie glumly tells Brandon that the dying person who needs her bone marrow is a child molester, and that she felt nauseous when she saw him playing with his grandkids in the hospital. Brandon reminds her that she'll be taking a man's life if she doesn't agree to the transplant, but she argues she'd actually be saving a life.

After Dark. David is drunk...and when he realizes he's out of cash, he hops over the bar and grabs the handgun that Noah keeps near the cash register so he can take it with him to the ATM for protection. Gwen notices and immediately informs Noah, and the two of them chase after David, who's staggering down the street and crazily waving the gun around. When Noah orders him to hand it over, he laughs maniacally and fires it in the air...then laughs maniacally again and fires at a dumpster a few feet away. Unfortunately for Gwen, the bullet ricochets (hence the episode title) and grazes her arm. 

Noah and David rush Gwen to the hospital...and she's pretty out of it and moaning incoherently for someone who just got nicked in the arm. The male nurse assures Noah and David that she'll be fine - but he's going to have to call a safety officer, since the injury was the result of a gunshot. David's like, "Oooooh nooooo!" and scrunches his face worriedly.   

Valerie takes Brandon along when she drops in on Judy to inform her that she's decided to not donate her bone marrow to the child molester. She says she had to make a choice she can live with - but Judy bitches that she's killing her father, bellows, "Murderer!", and slams the door in her face.

Beach house. Donna gives Kelly a wedding planner and tells her that the first step is to set a date. Kelly says she wants Brandon to get comfortable with the idea of marriage before she steamrolls ahead with any wedding planning, then worries that he only proposed 'cause she's so paranoid that he might cheat on her again. Yep, I definitely got that impression as well. She admits that she still doesn't totally trust him - and Donna says if she truly feels that way she should decline his proposal.
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Steve tags along with Brandon when he goes ring shopping. As Brandon mutters about needing a "fresh ring" 'cause of all the ring-related baggage he's gone through with Kelly, Steve says that if he has any doubts about marriage whatsoever, he should speak up now [and not wait until the wedding day, the way TV shows always like to do].

Boat. Donna apologizes to Noah for storming away from him when he admitted to kissing Gwen, and Noah says he kind of digs the fact that it made her so jealous...'cause, yeah, that's the sign of a healthy relationship. He then tells her that the bullet only grazed Gwen's arm, and that David will be charged with a misdemeanor. A few seconds later, Gwen enters the room with her arm in a sling, looking tired. Donna clucks sympathetically and invites her to stay at the beach house so she can comfortably recuperate - and not be only one bedroom away from her boyfriend anymore.  

The Beverly Beat. Janet is pleased that the new Beat assistant is a good looking guy, and tells Steve he needs to be more welcoming to him. Sarah drops in to tell Steve it would have been awful to work for him...then explains that she's totes attracted to him and is interested in going out with him sometime. Steve blushes girlishly and beams.

Valerie arrives at David's apartment, and the two talk about her decision to not donate bone marrow...blah blah...I couldn't care less if the fictional child-molesting douchebag dies. David questions if she's ever been truly OK after what her father did to her, and suggests they both go to therapy after suffering such life-changing traumas. Valerie gets prickly and accuses him of judging her, so he reminds her that she once urged him to leap to his death from a cliff that overlooked traffic, then shakes his head and mutters, "You go too far."

Brandon and Kelly are strolling along the beach together. She tells him he really doesn't need to get her a ring, 'cause she already has the one he proposed to her with at the end of Season 5 - but he says he'd rather she didn't wear that as her official engagement ring, since it was more about competing for her with Dylan than wanting to move forward. He assures her he wants her in his life forever, then formally proposes...again. She chirps, "Yes!" and seals it with a kiss.

​Soak it up, kids.

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