Andy's '90210' Afterthoughts: Teddy's Homophobic Bullying Storyline Finally Makes This Show (Freakishly) Relevant!

Courtesy of The CW

Teddy calls another student the F-word and then attacks him in the hallway. I feel like I’m watching the news.

It took 90210 three seasons, but it’s finally beginning to achieve the relevance of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 — still relying on the gimmicks (car crashes, pill problems, etc.) but also having something to say about the world around it. The Oct. 4 episode launched us head-first into Teddy’s (Trevor Donovan) coming out storyline — just like Jessica Lowndes foretold in our exclusive interview — and it’s actually kind of intense. My one question, though: Considering all the possible dramatic ways Teddy and Ian’s story could have played out, did it have to involve them fighting over the choreography of an all-male group striptease?

Seriously, though, 90210 has found itself in an interesting little situation. There have been so many reports of homophobia, bullying and suicide in the news — and this episode inadvertently mirrors them all. Given the circumstances, I really think a lot more people will be keeping an eye on this show now than The CW ever imagined, and a ton of them are really going to identify with it. I’m not sure there’s ever been a storyline on the show that’s managed to do that so far.

And here are more of my important thoughts worth sharing with you:

Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) makes way too many Twilight reference. Tonight, after seeing herself in the mirror with a pale face, she shrieked, “I look like a Cullen!” And in the season premiere, she blabbed about some ridiculous hook-up with Robert Pattinson. I know she’s dating Kellan Lutz, but come on now.
Sasha (Mekia Cox) is back… and when she walked in and bid on Dixon (Tristan Wilds) at the high school bachelor auction, I was expecting someone to pull a Mean Girls: “She doesn’t even go here!” But then she dropped the bomb on Dixon that she’s HIV+ and he needs to get tested for it, too. Intense.
Why would teachers left these kids perform a striptease on school grounds, even for charity? Mr. Matthews (Ryan Eggold) looked like the neighborhood pedophile watching those boys slip off their fireman jackets.
Also, let my point of view be known — I’m not seeing Liam (Matt Lanter) and Charlie (Evan Ross) as brothers and I’m trying really hard. It’s not even a genetics or race issue, it just seems so ridiculous.
And finally, someone please explain the inner workings of the human body to me: If Annie (Shenae Grimes) sells her eggs to her boss, does that just mean she’ll have a half-Wilson out there somewhere? That doesn’t seem like that big a deal, considering all the other story lines now.
This storyline is a clear case of “Degrassi did it first, but 90210 did it better.” Kind of like the sexting.