Brenda, Kelly, Donna, Andrea and David go to Magic Mountain for Senior Ditch Day (an event organized by the school). A classmate steals Kelly's wallet, but Donna beats him up when he tries to snatch her purse. Andrea struggles to overcome her fear of roller coasters, and she and Donna have a talk about being virgins. Brandon misses out on the trip to fill in for an ailing Nat at the Peach Pit. A tour guide brings the Burt Reynolds Fan Club to the Pit, but cannot pay the bill because she has supposedly been scammed by her boss. She jumps out the bathroom window and steals Brandon's car. Steve and Dylan catch up to her and spend the day trying to track down Burt Reynolds and convince him to meet the fan club. Burt shows up as a favor to Steve's mother, but the tour guide turns out to be the actual con artist.

Music: ""Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"" by Roy Orbison (#4, 1962); ""Walk Right In"" by the Rooftop Singers (#1, 1963)

Professor Randall and Lucinda invite Brandon and D'Shawn over for dinner. Steve tries to avoid the smitten Laura. Mr. and Mrs. Carson plan to turn Brenda and Stuart's wedding into a major social event. The couple decides to sneak off to Las Vegas and elope. Brandon and the gang follow them in the hopes of changing their minds. They pretend to be supportive, but play on the couple's insecurities by constantly dropping hints about the difficulties of marriage. Jim and Cindy dash off to Las Vegas to stop the wedding, but Brenda and Stuart have already called it off. Donna arranges a truce between David and Kelly.

Music: ""You Keep Me Hangin' On"" by the Supremes (#1, 1966); ""It's Not Unusual"" by Tom Jones (#10, 1965); ""Let's Get It On"" by Marvin Gaye (#1, 1973); ""When I Fall in Love"" (Doris Day - #20, 1952), played by band

Caught in a funk, Brenda pretends that she is grounded and backs out of a ski trip with her friends. She finds a diary in her room that belonged to a previous resident. Brenda becomes fascinated by the girl's accounts of the political struggles and her own personal crises in the years 1968 and '69. She imagines herself, her family and her friends as the individuals described in the diary.

Music: ""Monday, Monday"" by the Mamas and the Papas; ""These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"" by Nancy Sinatra (#1, 1966); ""For What It's Worth"" by Buffalo Springfield (#7, 1967); ""Let's Get Together"" by The Youngbloods (#5, 1969); ""Time Has Come Today"" by the Chambers Brothers (#11, 1968); ""Reach Out of the Darkness"" by Friend and Lover (#10, 1968); ""Give Peace a Chance"" (John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band - #14, 1969), sung at rally; ""The Times They Are A-Changin'"" by Bob Dylan; ""Wear Your Love Like Heaven"" by Donov

Val wants to move back to Buffalo, but her mother has checked into a mental facility and cannot care for her. Brandon explains Valerie's situation to Steve and asks him to give her another chance. A pool hall acquaintance supplies Dylan with drugs. Brandon behaves coldly toward Valerie after she skips a party to go to Dylan's house. She reveals the gravity of Dylan's situation and pleads with Brandon for help. Dylan finds his gun and points it at brats who vandalize his house on Halloween. He shoots up his living room. Brandon confiscates Dylan's gun, ignoring his threats of legal action. After Dylan passes out, he stays to watch over him. Ray reacts angrily after seeing Griffin kiss Donna at a Halloween party. Donna finally tells Griffin about Ray; he responds rudely and gets slapped. Ray agrees to respect Donna's decision to remain a virgin. Andrea hestitates to take Hannah to a Día de los Muertos ceremony. She enjoys the experience, but expresses reservations when J

Dylan asks Brandon to join him on a motorcycle road trip before he begins his probation and loses his driver's license. They constantly argue about Kelly and nearly call off the trip. They are caught going to the bathroom on a Native American burial ground, and must make amends by digging a hole for a special ceremony. The Native American sheriff invites Brandon and Dylan to join him in a sweat lodge, where they learn valuable lessons. Jonesy calls Dylan and tells him that he has found Kevin and Suzanne. Kelly and Valerie attend a psychology seminar conducted by Professor Patrick Finley. Val laughs off the philosophies and decides to leave. Kelly takes the professor's words to heart because of her experience with the fire. Steve is still bitter about being cut out of the Peach Pit After Dark. Rush apologizes for being insensitive to his feelings.

Music: ""I Wonder Wh

While under hyponsis, Dylan recalls a past life as a gunslinger in the Wild West. He recognizes Kelly as the woman who convinced him to change his ways and become a family man. He later helped rescue a past love from hanging and was gunned down by the son of one of his victims. Dylan concludes that Kelly is his soulmate. He shows up on her doorstep when she returns from a trip to New York, and they share a passionate kiss. Brandon seeks re-election and is virtually unopposed. When the board of education mandates a tuition hike, Brandon is criticized for failing to look out for the students' interests. Alex Diaz runs for president as a write-in candidate and wins easily. Valerie concludes that Brandon is her perfect guy. Jim fears that his job is in jeopardy when his bosses hold meetings behind his back. Jesse is offered a teaching job at the Yale School of Law, but will only accept if Andrea's scholarship is reinstated.

Music: ""I Know"" by Dionne Farris

Dylan heads for the C.U. campus in the hopes of striking up a friendship with Marchette's son. Marchette actually has a beautiful daughter, Toni; she agrees to go out with Dylan. Brandon notices that Toni really likes Dylan, and disapproves of his friend's actions. Brandon expresses an interest in a columnist job with the school paper. Editor Susan Keats turns him down and seems to loathe him. Brandon writes a sexist column about women as a counterpoint to Susan's similar column about men. They go to the After Dark to ""research"" behavior of the opposite sex, and Susan decides to hire him. Steve's advisor finally realizes that he cheated on his math placement test as a freshman. He ruins Steve's cushy schedule by forcing him to enroll in remedial math. Steve cannot find a suitable tutor, so he reluctantly accepts an offer from Clare. Kelly feels uncomfortable when she learns that Colin and Valerie once toured Europe together as part of a teen group.

Cindy surprises Brandon by coming to visit for Christmas. Her relationship with Jim is on the rocks, and she is unsure about returning to Hong Kong. Brandon feels devastated, as he fears that his family is falling apart. A special Christmas present from Jim squashes Cindy's doubts about his love, so she returns home. Colin begins using cocaine. Kelly is livid, as he had promised to give up the habit for good. Steve delivers Christmas presents to his boss's mistress and young niece. He gets fired when they receive the wrong gifts (the little girl gets a negligée), making the man's wife aware of his affair. Although someone else had switched the address labels, Rush blames Steve and lights into him. Steve angrily replies that Rush shouldn't worry about him, as they are not really father and son. When Steve meets Rush to apologize, his father makes a shocking revelation: he is Steve's biological father.

Kelly is very excited by a visit from her father, who claims to be planning a permanent move to Los Angeles. Jackie and David warn Kelly not to get her hopes up. Bill urges Kelly to give Colin another chance; they stop by Colin's loft, only to find that he is high. Kelly breaks up with him. Bill fails to show for a meeting with Kelly and a realtor, and leaves town without saying goodbye. He leaves Kelly some flowers and a check. Kelly rolls the check and uses it to snort the cocaine stash that Val had confiscated from Colin. Joe has the team doctor check out his injured ankle. The doctor notices something strange in Joe's breathing and recommends that he see a cardiologist. Dr. Martin diagnoses Joe with a congenital heart defect, but the athletic department arranges for a second opinion. The team-sanctioned doctor insists that he is fine, and Joe chooses to believe him. Steve organizes a Roger Corman film festival at the After Dark. The gang finds out that Nat appeared in one of Corman

Kelly and Colin argue because she used their entire coke stash. She goes to see his dealer alone, and a second man nearly rapes her. She hits him in the head with a wine bottle and drives away. Kelly calls Brandon for help; he finds her trembling in her car. Brandon and Jackie get Kelly into a rehab center. She confesses her love for Brandon, who does not reply. David writes Val a special poem for Valentine's Day. Valerie tries to pacifiy Ginger (and help out Susan) by setting her up with Jonathan. They pretend to be a couple in the hopes of making Susan jealous. When Jonathan tries to trick Susan into entering a dance contest with him, she punches him in the face. Valerie tells David about her scam with Ginger, and asks him to save her from humiliation by spending the night with Ginger. Nothing happens between David and Ginger, but he dumps Valerie because he feels betrayed by her request. The football coach kicks Joe off the team and recruits a new quarterback. Donna stops Joe from q

During an argument with Donna in the student union, David throws a tantrum and cuts his hand on a glass. He must see a psychiatrist after displaying hostile behavior toward the ER staff. Mel agrees with the doctor's recommendation that David be held 72 hours for observation. David is diagnosed with a mild form of manic depression. His mother comes to see him and advises him to moderate his behavior; he will not require medication if he seeks therapy and stops drinking. David thanks Donna for her support, and they decide to get back together. Steve faces plagiarism charges; Professor Randall, who assumed control of the independent study course after returning to C.U., recognized Brandon's writing. Randall still holds a vendetta against Brandon, and brings collusion charges against him. Kelly and Mark's plans for a romantic weekend getaway are foiled by a lost reservation. They finally secure a motel room, only to come down with food poisoning. The gang helps Willie build a house, which

Brandon and Mark vie for the prestigious Dryer scholarship. Mark appeases Kelly by providing Brandon with tips, although he believes that he is a shoo-in because of his wealth and connections. Brandon wins one of the two scholarships, while Mark gets nothing. Mark does not handle the news well. He skips a party for Brandon, then confronts Kelly in the Peach Pit parking lot. He orders her to stay away until she is willing to sleep with him, so she dumps him. Clare gets Steve an interview at the C.U. job fair, but his interviewer propositions him. Clare suspects that Steve invented the story to hide the fact that he blew the interview. The woman again comes on to Steve, unaware that her boss and Clare are listening nearby. Donna fills in for her father's ailing receptionist. Dr. Martin criticizes Donna for humoring talkative patients, but her listening skills later head off a potential disaster. Tom Miller, Valerie's old boyfriend from Buffalo, comes to town. Valerie offers him a job man

Tracy is in a snit over the fact that Brandon kept the engagement ring. She breaks up with him. Brandon and Kelly each confess their feelings to friends, but expect the other person to make a move. Tracy confronts Kelly, who admits that she still loves Brandon. Kelly tries to stop Brandon from returning the ring. He cannot bring himself to sell it, and runs into Kelly in the street. She believes that he has already sold it and pretends to support this decision. Brandon exchanges the ring to get a bracelet for Tracy, and Kelly buys the ring and sulks. Valerie tells her mother that her father repeatedly molested her. Abby refuses to accept this and slaps Val. Abby comes to grips with the truth and apologizes for not protecting Valerie. Val asks Tom to leave town, as his presence is a painful reminder of the abuse. Donna is torn between David and Cliff. Chloe makes a pass at David and annoys him with her rude remarks about Donna. Donna tries to reconcile with David, but storms out when Ch

Valerie becomes depressed when her mom, Jim and Cindy all fail to come to graduation. She tries to make amends with Kelly after overhearing her push Brandon to evict her. Val pleads with Steve to lobby Brandon on her behalf, but he still kicks her out. She checks into a motel across the street from the bluff where she once contemplated suicide. Brandon finds a suicide note and learns Val's probable location from David. Donna ponders taking her relationship with David to the next level. David helps Steve and Muntz with a senior prank. Kelly is furious when her father insists on attending her graduation. The gang receives invitations to a special grad party with a ""roaring '20s"" theme. Kelly's sister Joy confesses that Bill is responsible for the event.