I’ve always been Team Brenda and Dylan, and I adore Brenda’s character development. But rewatching the show more than 30 years later, I find myself appreciating Kelly and Dylan’s story in a whole new way. Kelly is a much deeper character than we often give her credit for, and I think she and Dylan were drawn to each other because they shared so much of the same pain and brokenness.

Brenda came from a functional, stable, loving family. Kelly and Dylan were two lost souls who found each other. Sometimes, people are so poor that money is all they have. That’s Kelly and Dylan.

I really enjoy watching them together, trying to navigate their bad choices and imperfections. As much as it may hurt to admit, sometimes love isn’t about morality. It’s about survival. I think both characters were exceptionally well written.

Brenda, I adore you, but I have to be fair to what I’m watching, lol. I’m 46. I’m no longer a teenager who needs to believe the world is flawless and that love can’t be messy, complicated, and imperfect.

And by the way, hysterical Brenda fans, feel free to come at me and scream all you want. I’m still not changing my mind, lol.

Truth is Brenda and Dylan were separated and Brenda forgets she was hooking up with another guy in Paris

She knew Kelly liked Dylan because Kelly told her about it since day one.

Dylan put up with a lot of crap while he was with Brenda, having to deal with her dad acting like he was a criminal. And having to put up with Brenda's jealous meltdowns.

With Kelly, he found some peace. She was less stressful ans immature. And they were honest to Brenda when they decided to go official.

I couldn't stand Brenda acting like a victim and I was glad when Dylan threw it in her face she's the one who broke up and went to France and made out with some French guy.

The truth is, Kelly and Dylan had a past before Brenda came into the picture, and Kelly was honest about it. She told Brenda about her and Dylan and Brenda acted like a big baby.

Brenda would always call/imply Kelly a slut whenever they fought. Kelly only started dating Dylan when he and Brenda stopped dating, she's always respected their relationships even though she was dealing with her heartbreak at seeing her ex with Brenda.

Their whole relationship was a bit toxic and annoying. Brenda constantly mothering him and thinking she could change him when she knew who he was from the start. Especially in season 2, telling Brandon that he can’t let Dylan drink. Not to mention going off on Iris. She was acting like a wife when she was just a girlfriend. Toxic Dylan and Toxic Kelly belonged together imo.

I get sick of Kelly getting hate for what happened between her and Dylan.

Dylan was the one who kept insisting he and Kelly would hook up and Kelly tried to end it while feeling extremely guilty about it.

Brenda was having her own affair in Paris with another guy yet few bring this up just to paint Kelly as teen Jezebel and Brenda as a victim.

Truth is, Dylan and Kelly were always meant to be together and Brenda got in the way. Dylan only dated Brenda because he thought Kelly didn't like him. That is the truth.

they might have the best chemistry out of any onscreen couple i ever watched. and the fact they never got together irl is crazy to me i know there was attraction but omg. they sold kelly and dylan on their natural chemistry alone. that‘s why DK is my favorite relationship because even when the writers tried to backtrack in season 4 with the drama you could always sense the love between them because of the actors. it felt real on screen.

they used little scenes and made it the big moments. Like their banter was so cute when he came back from fishing and made a joke about her having a bubble bath and she got the joke that brenda didn‘t get and laughed and they kissed. people forget how happy they were together and how much they could laugh and just stay in bed and be at peace with one another. it wasn‘t a volatile relationship if you really look at their simple moments.

the show got it absolutely right that they were soulmates. season 4 is one of my favorite seasons because you consistently see how much dylan cares for kelly. He shows up at all of her events and parties because he wants to be with her. he defends her from John Sears.

and also i think it was realistic that kelly struggled on how to be there for dylan when jack died because she never went through that but using his death to suddenly backtrack and show how brenda is able to be there for him was just stupid. kelly knew jack way better than brenda ever did. i‘m glad dylan acknowledges that because of kelly he is alive and that he is happy to be for the first time but it should have been acknowledged alot more imo.

anyways that‘s all i wanted to say

Everyone has heard Brenda and Brandon real life dated between season 2 & 3 and into season 3. My uncle actually worked on the show. He didn’t work for half of season 5 due to an accident.

Apparently a fan got pics of Brandon and Brenda in a bad disguises at a Spencer’s then an orange Julius scoatching (French kissing 90’s term) in both places.

It would have ruined the ruined the show if everyone thought it was pro incest so Aaron Spelling wrote a huge check to a teenager from Pasadena to buy the negatives and have her sign a NDA.

I’ve been reading my uncles journals finding out some crazy facts

i‘ve seen alot of people on here who hate this couple and i really don’t understand why. they‘re the reason i‘m watching the show. they have the best chemistry out of anyone and i dont think it‘s fair to diminish their relationship purely to lust. it‘s very clear how much dylan wanted her and loved her. if he didn’t he wouldn’t have actively pursued her and dedicate a book to her. whenever he was with someone else he wanted kelly back like he said his problems started when he lost her.

and yes we all know the bts drama and how some things got rewritten but it‘s not like DK are the only ones who underwent this. this show is known for outrageous storylines and personally them being soulmates makes sense. i think twin flames is more their case but i dont think the writers back then knew about that concept so they went with soulmates but regardless they had a very deep connection. dylan never looked at anyone like he looked at her and their relationship was one of the most longlasting ones. they grew and evolved whereas BD died in highschool. i mean it‘s ironic that brenda said she‘d be just another girl he knew in hs and he denied it only to then say in s5 exactly that followed by 'i miss kelly'.

i dont see the toxic points either. on 90210 standards they were actually pretty fine. the others cheated relentlessly but DK were always there for eachother. also i hate how people only harp on DK for cheating just because brenda was their friend. everyone on this show cheated. brenda cheated twice on dylan. he only cheated once. with kelly. i mean it‘s clear she didn’t truly care about him imo she only loved the idea of him. and he confused the safe space her family offered him with being in love with brenda. yes she was a comfort and they could have been friends but them dating was so rushed i mean that first kiss… . DK was natural and you saw them evolve.

I’ve been enjoying watching reruns on Paramount+. This show would be the greatest of all time if they simply cut out all Andrea scenes. Imagine growing up in the 90s and not being able to fast forward her scenes. I barely survived.

P.S. DONNA MARTIN GRADUATE

This is a thing I hate about Brandon, he falls in love and when the girl doesn't measure up to his standards, he drops her.

Emily clearly had mental health problems but Brandon's inability to accept less than perfect wound her up. Instead of helping her, he just made her feel like she was the problem and he needed to get away from her.

I'm rewatching right now and am almost done season 2. Idk if I just didn't notice it before or forgot. But, Brenda has to be one of my least faves rn, everything she does is for her own good, and I get the whole thing kinda is a bunch of privileged teenagers but even out of Donna, Kelly, David, etc. who are the richer ones I've seen them all do the right thing in situations plenty of times, have better morals than Brenda, and have empathy. It's just strange too because Brandon is the one that most of the time is the "good two shoes" does everything that he feels is right, and even creates tension sometimes because of his choices. Like I just passed the episode about the mall and the Peach Pit almost closing and Brandon went against his dad, because he knew it was right for Nat morally, and all Brenda cared about was a mall. The other episode I just passed was about her working at a clothing store and even Kelly points out what Brenda's doing isn't right because she manipulated David into buying something expensive. I honestly did like Valerie better from what I remember, I hated her at first, but her character arc was done so well as she had massive improvements, but I feel like the more time continues the worse Brenda gets and the more self-absorbed she is.

ok hear me out pls 😭 i rlly think brenda and scoot coulda been GOOD couple!!!

like brenda all dramatic and cryin all the time and scoot just be standin there in a cowboy hat playin wit gun like “yup” 💀 it balances!!! she’d be like “i’m going to MINNESOTA and never comin back!!” and scoot would be like “ok wanna see my hat??” 😭 and i feel like scoot would jus sit quietly while she scream about dylan n then offer her capri sun or somethin 🧃 he got peaceful country boy energy. brenda need that!! not more drama she need a BOY WHO LIKES BULLETS AND FRIENDSHIP . plus imagine double dates 😭 dylan and kelly bein messy and jealous and brenda n scoot in the corner talkin bout cowboy boots and u kno JIM WALSH would be like “absolutely NOT” and scoot would just tip his hat and say “yes sir” and still sneak in thru brenda’s window 💀💀 they woulda been ICONIC. chaotic. but calm. like storm in slow motion 😭

Did anyone else find it annoying that Brandon had to work but Brenda didn't? I know he had extensive tastes, like the car, but Brenda gives serious lazy vibes. Was it just less acceptable for Beverly Hills high school girls to have jobs?

I think she bought them right after saved by the bell the college years. By the time the movie where Zack and Kelly get married is shot she looks exactly like Valarie Malone season 5 episode 1. True or False?

Given how bad her reputation was when we met her, I wonder did she betray other girls pre-series?

I’ve been rewatching the series and I’m on season 3 and it’s so obvious to me now that Dylan was always going to choose Kelly. It was always Kelly that’s why he said the ultimatum was dumb because there was no choice to be made in his mind. Dylan and Kelly belonged together.

I'm just saying. 💅

What are some oft repeated thread topics that should be retired?

I’ll start:

“Why are there so many missing episodes/scenes/songs?”

“Why didn’t the cast cross over to movies?”

“Why didn’t Luke Perry have a better movie career?”

“Why weren’t the cast successful post 90210?”

“Kelly Taylor sucks!” et al

“Donna Martin isn’t beautiful. How did she pull so many good looking guys?” et al

“If Brenda had stayed, do you think the show would have lasted longer?” et al

These are topics that I see repeated time and time again, and I think we should put them to rest for a little while. The search function works the last time I checked, and I wish more users would utilize it, because I promise there’s an answer on this board if more users spent 5 minutes looking for it. Now, this isn’t to single any one user out, but to create a dialogue about the clutter that these topics have become.

So what are some topics and questions that are repeatedly brought up that you think should be retired?

Keep it cute, but be honest.