It all begins when Dylan (Luke Perry) gets wind that his dad's old girlfriend and her man (who swindled Dylan out of his millions last season) have been spotted in Mexico, with his little sister in tow. After spiraling into a drug-infused, destructive cycle in which he ends up crashed into a tree and then in rehab, Dylan decides to get his act together and go get his money back. He teams up with Val and Jonesy, a renegade recommended by the FBI who only wants a 50% cut and together, they trick the thieves and get Dylan's dough back. Val schemes to get a cut of the millions from Dylan and when he short-changes her, she finagles a much bigger chunk from Jonesy. She then decides to maximize her cash by buying out The Peach Pit After Dark, a little nightclub investment began by Steve (Ian Ziering), but one that was taken from him by the courts after a tragic fire ruined his business plans... and Kelly's (Jennie Garth) psyche and some skin when she gets trapped in the fire. Following her misfortune, Kelly gets involved with a cult-like group at the college and Brandon and Dylan have to save her. Ahh, the drama! David (Brian Austin Green) pursues an on-again/off-again relationship with Clare (Kathleen Robertson), the Chancellor's daughter and she actually moves in with Donna and Kelly to take David's spot.
Ray Pruitt (Jamie Walsh) is introduced as a new character and love interest for Donna (and part-time for Valerie). This velvet-voiced boy from the wrong side of the tracks seems like heaven for Donna, but after cheating with Valerie and beginning to be verbally and physically abusive towards Donna, he might not be the catch he appears. Married life is less than perfect for Andrea (Gabrielle Carteris), as she struggles with being a new mom and not being able to immediately pursue a medical career as she had planned. She finds herself catching the eye of a young doctor named Peter and almost leaves Jesse for him, but they manage to patch things up and end up leaving 90210 for Yale, when Jesse is offered a teaching position at the law school and Andrea is finally able to pursue her dream of being a Yalie. Personally, I always found her annoying and was glad to see her go.
Finally, Jim gets offered a sweet job in Hong Kong and he and Cindy decide to go for it. Brandon has to deal with his home being sold and, to complicate matters, he finds himself competing for Kelly's affections with Dylan, who decides he and Kelly are soul-mates following a hypnosis session. Beverly Hills 90210: The Fifth Season certainly brings a lot of change to the Hills and for the most part, it's good change. I like that the series continues to mature with the kids, instead of trying to keep them forever in high school. If you were a fan of 90210 back in the day, this season is where things start to get hot and really pick up the pace. Don't miss it!
