By Lady Lola
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Unsatisfied after being sidelined by injury during Operation: Jen Is Juiced, Navid continues in his singular mission to take down Kris Jr. He asks AAdrianna to flip on her favorite former pusher, but she doesn't want to compromise her probation. Navid continues to find himself at dead ends until AAdrianna realizes that corruptible-to-the-max Annie is dating Kris Jr. This is enough to convince her that he's a bad person who needs some learnin'. She makes an unexpected appearance at a group intervention to confirm that Annie's virginity-plucker is, in fact, a drug dealer. Navid later tells her that she doesn't need to sacrifice herself for his vendetta and vows to take down Kris Jr. another way. But it may be more difficult than imagined. This kid is positively slippery! To wit, Annie confronts Kris Jr. with the knowledge that he's dealing only to discover that he has the mother of all blow-your-brains knowledge: He has known all along that Annie ran over his vagabond uncle, but he simply overlooked it. Watch out for that one, kid. He's battier than any of us could have guessed.
All of this occurs during the Winter Wonderland dance, which is of such secondary importance that I haven't even felt the need to mention it until now. The only time it actually figures in is when Teddy, who has been making a major, public play for Silver -- even going so far as to disavow his playboy status -- turns a contrived impromptu falling of snow at the dance as a sign to plant another smooch on Silver. She freaks out and runs, only to have Naomi tell her to give blondie a chance. She seriously considers it until she sees Teddy hugging a red-dressed little thing… who turns out to be his sister. The catch is that only Dixon knows this for the time being, and he conveniently keeps it quiet so he can act on his recently reinvigorated feelings for Silver (thanks in no small part to Teddy, I'm guessing). Silver leaves this hanging for now.
And then there's Naomi. She and Liam spend the episode obviously pining for each other, despite her moral objections and his efforts to sublimate his feelings onto poor, second-best Ivy. Eventually the Little Surfer Girl gets it and tells Liam to stop being a jackass and tell Naomi how he feels. Knowing that he won't do this himself, she texts Naomi to set up the meeting. Liam explains every pertinent detail of his seduction by Jen. He acknowledges that he has serious characters flaws (an overly private and secretive nature), but resolves to be a better man for Naomi. Also, he shows her his big boat. Not Freudian at all.
And, in a rather slipshod tertiary storyline, Dixon makes up with Debbie only to tell her that he wants to meet up with his birth mom. And that's it until the new year, kids. Everyone is poised to make up, break up, get down, get exposed, or get out their fists (or their ta tas, in Naomi's case). And Matthews just gets wasted. For which I'm personally pretty psyched. Until 2010!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: AAdrianna got high. Jen got taken down. Ivy got in the middle of Liam and Naomi. Annie's tires got all up some once-rich hobo. And Navid went down -- the stairs, with a little push from Kris Jr.
West Bev is all dolled up for the holidays. Ballerinas dance to The Nutcracker in the halls, then invite the students to the Winter Wonderland dance. It's like an ultra-low-budget version of the Yule Ball from Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire. Kris Jr. mocks the festivities, but Annie and her eight-inch-long roots mourn for the days when she wasn't a second-rate art clique wannabe. Back when she actually fit in at stuff. Before the hobo-killing. Kris Jr. says they probably couldn't go anyway since Harry is likely chaperoning. Annie says that, actually, he's going to be out of town but assures him she is okay with not going.
She heads to the girls bathroom, where Naomi intercepts her to apologize for being a monumental bitch re: Liam. Naomi cops to her massive insecurities and seems genuinely remorseful about her lapse in judgment. Annie, as you would expect, doesn't give her a damn inch. Instead, she just acts like a brat and storms off. Forgetting that it was her own stupidity that caused her to get wasted and plow down an itinerant. Forgetting that it was this very same hit-and-run spree that led her to her current one-and-only Poor Man's Sonic the Hedgehog. Annie's not really a silver lining girl. I'm not even sure she sees the cloud, honestly.
Elsewhere, Navid regrets not getting a good look at Kris Jr. (aside from his Nazi Youth combat boots) before he was pushed down the stairs. He has nothing to tell the police and no way to secure proof. He does think it'll be pretty solid to get proof that Kris Jr. is a drug dealer, though. Enter RuWill Knock-Off "Lila," who regrets to inform Navid that no one's turning stool pigeon on Kris Jr. Navid won't take no for an answer, though, and works himself into a frenzy over taking Kris Jr. down. Honestly, I think he's just jealous that he had to miss the Jen-ocide because he was in the hospital.
Over in the caf, Ivy gets all aggressive towards a leftover spinning ballerina, obviously separated from the flock on the way back to the bar. Liam takes this to mean she's not interested in going to the Winter Wonderland dance. She changes her tune fast enough to make your head spin, playing it like she wants to go and mock them. Secretly, of course, we know that she wants to have some She's All That walking-down-the-stairs moment. She's probably practicing that dance to "The Rockafeller Skank" in her head as I type. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe you are not, honey. She and Liam head over to their table while, Teddy makes a beeline for Silver.