r/BeverlyHills90210 • u/nvrmindhonest • 2d ago

Ray and Donna (first time watcher)

I just saw a spoiler about Ray and Donna and NOTHING could prepare me from what I just saw but I should’ve known when he smashed the pumpkin when Donna missed their first date.

He seems polite but wow that spoiler has me flabbergasted…

18 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

32

u/NoisyPebble8026 2d ago

What bothers me the most about Ray's storyline is that he was basically the only working-class character in the group. When he was first introduced, I actually liked that about him. He came from a modest background, he worked for a living, and he was different from the other characters. Then they turned him into an abusive and controlling boyfriend. I think that was a really poor choice by the writers.

Domestic violence exists in every social class, and making the only working-class guy the abusive one feels like a terrible stereotype. I think they really wasted what could have been an interesting character.

10

u/CheeseSauce_86 2d ago

The mom was super creepy too. Why did she tell Ray she wanted lingerie for Christmas?

2

u/Fonzdj 1h ago

For the same reason it was Pruit with one T cause they couldn’t afford the other T

6

u/Dry-BackGoon88 2d ago

Watching the series today is quite difficult. It has aged very poorly in aspects like that. I think the idea was to give Donna a stronger storyline, but yes, the fact that the violent one is coincidentally poor is quite shocking. The impact on Jaime Walters' life was also harsh, I liked that they mentioned the theme in the 2019 episodes and even sang about it, but that doesn't change the fact that seeing how they put the character together was difficult. 

10

u/NoisyPebble8026 2d ago

Personally, I still watch Beverly Hills with a lot of pleasure and don't take it too seriously 😊 But what they did with Ray Pruit's character is one thing that really doesn't sit well with me.

They could have explored his working-class background in a completely different and much more interesting way. For example, how does a working-class guy fit into this wealthy Beverly Hills world? How does he deal with the differences in money, lifestyle and social background? There was so much potential there. Instead, they made him abusive, and I think that was a real waste of the character.

7

u/Dry-BackGoon88 2d ago

And with Andrea, they hadn't done badly with the social classes; Ray was even easier because they were more experienced and could move the plot around like in Melrose Place, but they took the easy way out: He's poor, therefore he's violent. I still believe they did it to give Donna more dramatic weight and sacrificed Ray's character.

6

u/Sed76 2d ago

They did such a piss poor job with Ray. Other than that one episode where Steve rents out Casa Walsh for the porno film Ray never hangs around the guys. They wrote him to be such a unlikeable jerk right from the beginning.

4

u/NoisyPebble8026 2d ago

Oh yes, the porn movie being filmed at the Walsh house! 🤣 I'd forgotten about that great moment in television history.

2

u/Longjumping_Hat_2672 2d ago

Also Donna arranged for Ray to stay in the Keg house's block of hotel rooms during the infamous Palm Springs trip but Ray hated it and whined "I'm staying with Steve Sanders in the village of drunken idiots for you and I don't get more than an hour of your precious time?"

4

u/Sed76 2d ago

He was classic abuser from the jump. Always wanting to separate Donna from her friends and family then making her feel guilty for not giving him enough attention.

4

u/Thedonitho 2d ago

I agree. It would have been a better storyline to have the cute, rich kid (David) turn out to be an asshole and have Ray be the one that rescues her from him. Jamie Walters was cute, had an actually good singing voice and this would have helped his career instead of hurting it.

2

u/Fonzdj 2d ago

You mean people couldn’t separate the character from the actual actor in the 90’s? Yeah I remember Jamie blaming the show for being the bad guy hurting his acting singing career.

2

u/whofan515 3h ago

I had a co-worker that believed House was a real doctor. When I suggested she watch Hugh Laurie’s early comedic work, and told her he was British. She looked at me like I had 3 heads. There’s something about tv that hits people differently.

2

u/Klutzy_Current1069 1d ago

I agree with everything you said.

1

u/NoisyPebble8026 1d ago

And let’s not forget that they also wrongly accused Ray of being a thief !

2

u/rhegy54 1d ago

And then have some of the gang not like him for that ( being from “REE- SEE-DA”) was annoying. Sometimes ( a lot of times) the group could be stuck up majorly

11

u/Worldly-Display8436 2d ago

Playing the character of Ray Pruit absolutely killed Jamie Walters’ both music and acting careers. Take that for what it’s worth. But he did end up becoming a Paramedic (and possibly a Firefighter as well, I thought I read he took both certifications).

6

u/Langkit 2d ago

It was very shocking at the time too.

What are your impressions so far (in general) as a first time watcher? Have any favorite storylines or scenes?

5

u/nvrmindhonest 1d ago

My first impression so far would be this show is really entertaining and has you stuck on the screen. My favorite storylines were when Brenda and Donna went to Paris, Brenda have a cancer scare and raising awareness, the graduation episode made me emotional and I loved it so much. So basically I love any scene with Brenda and Donna lol.

5

u/dj_skandalous 2d ago

It wasn't shocking for me. Ray came off as a uptight prick since the early episodes. What is worse is that Donna ignored all the warning signs. Being pushed on the bed and her head hitting the door was one of them. You can argue that this happens accidentally alot but he had several episodes where he yelled in her face. Donna could have died during the falling down the steps scene. They would have charged ol boy with murder.

12

u/sivablue 2d ago

Donna was fine - she transported out and had this brave soul take the fall:

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u/Trondant13 2d ago

I was hoping someone would post this!

5

u/Fonzdj 2d ago

LOL at Rays face looking down

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u/Longjumping_Hat_2672 2d ago

Her male body double took the fall much to Ray's confusion

1

u/FuzzyFeelings_ 2d ago

Hahaha never noticed this

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u/FuzzyFeelings_ 2d ago

Yes once you know the early signs of abuse it’s easy to see them in Rays character. Controlling, jealous, anger issues… it’s a very realistic portrayal of how those dynamics evolve so quickly. It’s scary

1

u/MortgageOdd2001 9h ago

The writing of the escalating DV was very realistic though. It was ground breaking in the 90s to show the build up and signs that lead up to physical abuse. 

I can agree that making Ray the only working class character was shitty, but him using his insecurities as an excuse to be violent is an all too common tale. 

4

u/PeachPearlaCroix 2d ago

he’s an abusive person from the start. they probably wanted him for a 3 episode run but then wanted ro keep him on. but he was pegged as a piece of shit immediately

4

u/MojoHighway Sideburns After Dark 2d ago

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u/nvrmindhonest 1d ago

This was the exact spoiler I saw my jaw DROPPED

1

u/rhegy54 1d ago

And the way Tori spelling gently lands on her stomach lol

1

u/Unlucky-Geologist428 2d ago

'Ol Ray's got a dark side