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Luke Perry
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When Luke Perry and his sexy sideburns settled into the Beverly Hills zip code of 90210 as the rich guy-bad boy Dylan McKay, he instantly became the James Dean of the ’90s. There was no one on the small screen who could match his ability to epitomize cool, but that’s not why we loved Dylan. No, it was because no matter how much the deck was stacked against him, Dylan always tried to do the right thing. Sadly, it always seemed as if his heart and soul would always get burned.
Sadly, Luke Perry left us today at the far too young age of 52, and now it is our hearts and our souls that are burning. He may be gone, but his fine work as Dylan McKay will be with us forever. Here are five of his most memorable Beverly Hills 90210 episodes that you can remember him by.
"Dead End" (Season 3, Episode 21)
Dylan and his estranged father Jack (Josh Taylor) are finally in a good place, having reconnected and doing their best to put their past and rough patches behind them. The future seems like it will burn bright, but then BOOM goes the dynamite — quite literally. Instead of a future, the only thing burning is McKay Sr.’s charred body in front of Dylan’s own eyes. Dylan ends the episode by screaming at the top of his lungs, which is how we all feel right about now after hearing of Luke’s passing :(
Later in the series we learn that the death was a hoax, and Jack McKay staged his own death to go into hiding. Dylan later reconnects with him… only to NOT make their relationship work… again :(
"The Dreams of Dylan McKay" (Season 5, Episode 10)
After crashing his beloved car in a drunken druggy haze, Dylan finds himself in a deep coma. Comas tend to make for a great narrative device on TV because they keep our characters stationary, which allows us to see into their psyche (when we usually don’t have an excuse to do so). Dylan starts having a series of wild dreams involving everyone from his principal, Mrs. Teasley, those a-holes Suzanne and Kevin, who tried to swindle him out of money AND his half-sister, his drug dealer dressed like the devil, and the rest of the 90210 gang, including a wedding scene wherein his romantic rival Brandon marries his beloved Kelly.
Throw in some more of the ladies throwing themselves at him, a bunch of spooky train sequences, and his “dead” dad telling him that life’s worth living, and finally Dylan sees the light and comes back to the land of the living. If only real life worked like this :(
Stream Beverly Hills 90210 "The Dreams of Dylan McKay" on Hulu
"One Wedding and a Funeral" (Season 6, Episode 10)
Happiness and peace of mind has finally arrived for Dylan. He walks down the aisle and forms a perfect union with the girl of his dreams, Antonia Marchette (Noxzema girl Rebecca Gayheart). Sadly, her father Anthony (Stanley Kamel) does not approve of these nuptials and hires hitmen to take out his new son-in-law. Identities are mistaken, and while Antonia is out driving in the pouring rain in her hubby’s Porsche 356 Speedster, she is on the receiving end of the hitmen’s hit.
There was no event in all of 90210 more tragic than this. Dylan was so devastated that he would not reappear on the show until season 9. The show wasn’t the same without him :(
Stream Beverly Hills 90210 "One Wedding And A Funeral" on Hulu
“Trials and Tribulations" (Season 9, Episode 12)
Dylan has finally hit the rockiest of rock bottoms. He is still seeking revenge for the death of his wife by trying to take down Antonia’s father. He finds Marchette’s last known address, and even though he’s no longer there (BECAUSE HE COMMITTED SUICIDE!!!), he threatens the home’s current residents at gunpoint, takes off, gets pulled over by the cops and lands himself in jail. Strung out from heroin withdrawal, Dylan begs his current flame Gina (Vanessa Marcil) to bring him the goods behind the bars so he can chase the dragon. She doesn’t until he’s released, and when he finally abides, he’s out of whack again. In an extremely out of character move, Dylan whacks Donna into a pool (by accident!), in what seems like certain death for her.
In the next episode, we find out that Donna lives (almost tougher than graduating!), but Dylan spirals further out of control. When will he ever hit rock middle??? :(
Stream Beverly Hills 90210 "Trials And Tribulations" on DailyMotion
"Ode To Joy" (Season 10, Episode 27)
The way things kept going, it seemed that Kelly was destined to NEVER end up with Dylan, but the show always left the door open with the tiniest of cracks. It was so ridiculous that they would do this, teasing the audience endlessly in a game that always seemed like “Won’t they or won’t they?”
Well, in the end, Donna finally got with David, and Kelly got with Dylan, just like they were supposed to! Why go out with a bang when you can go out with a smile :)
Thank you, Luke Perry – through Dylan’s pain and torture, you somehow provided us with endless happiness. And you always will.
Michael Palan is a New York based writer and multimedia producer. He got an A+ in bowling at a midwestern university, and once handed Kurt Vonnegut his coat. In his free time he enjoys Edward Hopper paintings and eating fried chicken.
