[HipHopKingMike]

Rush made me laugh on a few occasions

[yulan]

That was a great line from him. I quote it at work a lot these days.

(Well, in my head at least )

[Crystal Clear]

Gosh he was so mean to Steve.

It seemed like such a psychologically damaging dynamic they had. Rush was hiding the parentage truth for years, and using that as an excuse to intimidate Steve because that way, Steve would never believe Rush was his father, because his real father supposedly wouldn't be so mean to him

...

[yulan]

He was, but Steve also deserved such a criticism from time to time, and let's face it, did not get much because he was an overprivileged rich white boy. As Jesse pointed out after the fire debacle.

Why was Rush criticizing him here?

It is almost Clare's level of putting down. I guess men often go for women who remind them of their mothers. Maybe Clare reminded Steve of his father

[Crystal Clear]

^ Was there ever a point you liked Ray?

I can't help but think he was a moron right from the beginning. The acting by Jamie Walters was stilted so that didn't help, but from the moment they met, he immediately knew that Donna was spoken for yet he kept pursuing her... And that whole thing with how he treated her about the survey when they first met was so telling of his true personality. He just lost it with her and didn't care who saw.

Originally Posted by yulan (View Post) He was, but Steve also deserved such a criticism from time to time, and let's face it, did not get much because he was an overprivileged rich white boy. As Jesse pointed out after the fire debacle.

I'd be okay with it if it was merely a matter of privilege with Steve but it ran deeper with Rush's treatment of him. With the possible exception of the fire incident in season 5 (because I don't doubt that Steve took on more than he could handle with that party), Rush always deliberately put down Steve in what appears to be a deliberate tactic to keep Steve at a distance because of the screwed up way in which everyone had hidden his parental history from him.

[yulan]

^ Was there ever a point you liked Ray?

No. I just did not care. However, he was probably the most useful and the most mindful guy around during the fire. Almost like a premonition Jamie Walters would become a firefighter

I think the show was not fair to him though. He was the poor one, the one who did not belong to their class, and the show had to make him the violent one. There is even a cast pic with the caption "One of them is not like the others...", and he wears A BLUE COLLAR in that pic (you guys know it's a code for the working class). I mean, COME ON.

I'd be okay with it if it was merely a matter of privilege with Steve but it ran deeper with Rush's treatment of him. With the possible exception of the fire incident in season 5 (because I don't doubt that Steve took on more than he could handle with that party), Rush always deliberately put down Steve in what appears to be a deliberate tactic to keep Steve at a distance because of the screwed up way in which everyone had hidden his parental history from him.

Well, the SL with the hidden parentage did not pop up until S6, if not even later, so I would not project it retroactively on the stuff that happened before it. But I can imagine Rush being an ass to Steve not just when he deserved it, but because Rush was also an arrogant, over-privileged rich guy, and he probably treated everyone that way from time to time. He did have likeable sides, of course, but let's not forget that these people, with all their problems, virtues, and flaws, were first and foremost very privileged people. Class explains a lot, and there's nothing deeper than that. It's not the same if you cry because of parents in a luxurious hotel or as a homeless kid on the street. Or if you're a drug addict who can afford a fancy rehab (more precisely, your parents can) or a homeless addict who cannot afford any.

[Crystal Clear]

Originally Posted by yulan (View Post) There is even a cast pic with the caption "One of them is not like the others...", and he wears A BLUE COLLAR in that pic (you guys know it's a code for the working class). I mean, COME ON.

Oh WOW I did not know that Jeez, they really went full-steam with the brutal honesty in class divide in promo, that's for sure.

I'm still not sold on his "nice guy" persona in those screen caps you posted of when he rejects Felice Martin's offer to buy him off. I honestly think he did that to keep Donna on side and make her remember what her Mother did to him, so that he can act violent and get away with it.

[yulan]

[Crystal Clear]

Looking at the post above, I realize that the thing season five really nailed was the hardships of growing up.

They showed Dylan's difficulty in coping without his family (even a fake one), and Andrea being in a marriage where she and Jesse struggle to overcome their differences plus how it affects their daughter.

[Crystal Clear]

This image is cracking me up I can't picture Brandon and Dylan spending quality time with Ray The only time one of them did was in season 6 and ironically it was the same episode where Donna plucks up the courage to finish with Ray for good.

[yulan]

Yeah. Well, that picture was taken years before Jaime joined the 90210... He was a star of some other show, I'm lazy to check

[heyitsrachel]

Oh, I didn't know that was taken before he was on the show.

[Booklover85]

Season 5 is such a guilty pleasure for me. It has everything I like in a soap opera.

[yulan]

Oh, I didn't know that was taken before he was on the show.

I think it was S2 time or so. Dana Ashbrooke from Twin Peaks was also with them. Jaime starred in some show... Waterfalls something? I'm too lazy to check He was actually cast for 90210 as already sort of famous.

[Crystal Clear]

^ Dylan irritated the hell out of me in that episode. He swore to Brandon that he was gonna to do the right thing and talk Kelly out of that cult craziness, then he basically ended up allowing himself to tag along with it -- if only because he got some alone time with her.

I love Clare and Donna's sarcasm in that scene.

Originally Posted by yulan (View Post) I think it was S2 time or so.

Wait, really? I didn't know that. Luke looks remarkably similar to his season 5 look in that pic.

That's actually cute that they met Jamie long before he joined the cast.