'90210' Recap: Season 2 Finale, 'Confessions'

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I love a good finale, the season-long story lines that finally get wrapped up, all neat and tidy; the slow, dramatic build-up to some inevitable cliffhanger that makes you think you will never be able to survive the next four months not knowing what happens next. It’s television torture and I’m a masochist for it. So knowing the ingredients for a good finale, let’s go over last night’s “90210” shall we?

There definitely were some tidy storyline wrap-ups: Navid’s charm bracelet make it’s way to Adrianna in New York and they admit they still love each other on a live (!) broadcast of the Blaze. Silver and Teddy reunite after Teddy promises he can handle both tennis and love. (Federer would be proud.) Liam finally ends it with Naomi after barely speaking or seeing each other for weeks; he also confesses to his mom that he was culprit in the case of the stolen coins and he gets his boat on the water. (Spoiler: It floats!) Dixon tells Ivy about his drunken kiss with Silver, but she later forgives him and the trip to Australia is still on.

And then the many, many cliffhangers: It was confirmed that Jen’s rapidly rising bun in the oven is, in fact, Mr. Matthews, although his profession as lowly public school teacher leaves him an undesirable candidate for participating father. Jen threatens to bury him in legal expenses if he tries to claim any parental rights, but Matthews procures his own legal counsel anyway. Jim Beam and Jack Daniels, LLC advise Matthews to promptly gets wasted, show up at the high school dance, steal the school shuttle bus and crash his car into some signage and speed off with a trail of fire in his wake. He should see some jail time in season 3, but it will probably turn into rehab and partial custody of Baby Clark-Matthews.

Inspired by Liam’s confession and how heavily the housekeeper’s lost job weighed on his soul, Annie finally decides to come clean on the life she took last finale. Principal Harry loses his job after he tells the superintendent that he covered up for Dixon breaking into the school. Deb nixes Dixon’s trip to Australia and then comes to a stand off with Harry as both wait for the other to admit they don’t love each other anymore. Annie takes her parents silence as the perfect opportunity to say she has “something to tell them.” Does she confess? Does Dixon go to Australia? Does anyone care if Harry and Deb still love each other? We know Rob Estes isn’t returning next season, but it looks like an off-camera plot line will have to account for his departure.

Despite being on crutches, Jasper apparently never really stopped stalking Annie. He goes crazy with jealousy, torching Liam’s boat after seeing them together on it. Liam beats Jasper's face to a pulp while the boat sadly burns in the distance. Police sirens blare in the distance. Are the cops there for the boat? Or are Mr. Matthews and his burning car conveniently being pulled over at the marina as well?

Lastly, penniless, boyfriend-less Naomi finds herself alone at school with a car that won’t start. She runs into Mr. Cannon and he tries to impress her with his voice-over work in a documentary, showing her a clip of animals in the wild before he becomes predatory himself. She threatens to expose him for what he is doing and, slapping her, he asks who is going to believe her anyway, a girl who cried wolf. Alone in a dark school, Naomi realizes he is right.

And so there you have it. West Beverly Hills High closes the year leaderless, a faculty of wrongdoers. The students are arsonists and murderers. They blackmail and lie. They are both the perpetrators and the victims. Dreams are discarded for sex and love, but mostly sex, as it seems love doesn’t live long in this zip code. But maybe next year, after the arrests and the trials and the various plea bargains, once the school has re-staffed its faculty, maybe, just maybe, the kids can have a little fun again?

Tags 90210, AnnaLynne McCord, Diego Boneta, Gillian Zinser, Jessica Lowndes, Jessica Stroup, Lori Loughlin, Matt Lanter, Michael Steger, Ryan Eggold, Shenae Grimes, Trevor Donovan, Tristan Wilds, TV Recap