For ten seasons the residents of Beverly Hills, 90210 climbed social ladders, stole each other’s boyfriends, and got an education to last them a lifetime. The series began as Brandon and Brenda Walsh adjusted from midwestern life to sunny California, but the cast of characters rotated in and out as the series progressed.
A few core relationships at the beginning of the show remained mostly intact throughout the series, despite a lot of breaking up and making up. Over the course of a decade, there were a lot of characters that coupled up. These are just the very best and the worst of the couples that the the show had to offer.
Best: Kelly And Dylan
Kelly showed an interest in Dylan early in the series, but the two didn’t actually get together until Dylan was already dating Brenda. Cheating isn’t exactly the foundation for a great relationship, but there was just something about these two that often had the audience rooting for them.
Though they both ended up with other people many times throughout the series, the 90210 sequel series showed that they eventually found their way back to one another and had a son.
Worst: Valerie And Noah
Valerie began season eight of Beverly Hills, 90210 pursuing male model Noah. She was initially attracted to him, but put off by his other line of work: fixing boats. Noah hid the fact that he was wealthy from her as a result.
Though the two eventually got together, Valerie cheated on Noah with someone she thought was a better match. Likewise, Noah wasn’t really ready for a relationship with her. He was still preoccupied with a girlfriend he’d lost in a car accident and had feelings for Donna. The two of them were never going to work out.
Best: Brenda And Dylan
They were truly the couple that started America’s obsession with the show. Brenda was a “good girl” from the Midwest who was in for a culture shock in Beverly Hills, California. What she found was a group of friends who spent more having fun than they did in class and a loner who made her think.
Brenda’s feelings for Dylan helped her grow up in a way that margaritas at a house party and smoking in Paris didn’t. Their experiences together allowed the teenagers to experience what an adult relationship would be like. If only Brenda hadn’t left the show so early, maybe the audience would have seen more of them together.
Worst: Brandon And Emily
Brandon was a serial monogamist on the show. Unlike most of his friends, he didn’t date around. His love interests had longer arcs that played into larger storylines. Emily was one of those.
Introduced as the opposite of his sunny California friends, Emily was a bit of a rebel. While the other women in Brandon’s life were in bright colors and flowered sundresses, Emily was in ripped jeans and leather jackets. She was a breath of fresh air at first, but she also happened to be unstable. When Brandon pulled away from her, Emily didn’t take no for an answer, becoming angry and volatile.
Best: Kelly And Brandon
Kelly and Brandon were the will-they-or-won’t-they couple for most of the show’s run. They were certainly a predictable pairing for fans when the series began to air.
As Brenda’s first frenemy in town, Kelly spent a lot of time with the Walsh siblings early in the show. She might have had her eye on Dylan, but her heart drifted to Brandon time and again. Brandon was the one usually there for her during the darker times in her life, and their love for one another had them walking down the aisle at one point.
Worst: Kelly And Colin
If Brandon was helpful when it came to pulling Kelly out of dark slumps, Colin was the opposite. Colin was actually responsible for putting her in one of them.
Kelly met Colin while interning in New York during the college years of the show. An artist, Kelly thought they connected over his work right away. It turned out Colin did favors for a gallery owner to get his art on display and liked cocaine more than his work. He got Kelly hooked and their relationship quickly went downhill.
Best: Steve And Janet
Who would have thought that Steve would wind up in one of the most stable relationships by the end of the series run? Steve carried a torch for Kelly in high school, but committed to playing the field in college - that is, until he met Janet.
Janet was serious and studious to Steve’s immaturity. The two somehow found a way to balance one another out. They ran the paper The Blaze together, had a daughter, and got their happy ending.
Worst: Brandon And Lucinda
Brandon seemed to get really unlucky in love when it wasn’t Kelly he was dating. One of his relationships was even with a faculty member at his university.
Lucinda taught Brandon and several of his friends during their college years. When she first pursued Brandon, she was actually married, but unhappy in her relationship. Brandon broke things off when he found out, but she pursued him yet again when she and her husband separated. Brandon probably would have loved a relationship with a mature academic that understood him, but Lucinda frequently liked to play mind games with him, creating a turbulent match up that didn’t last.
Best: David And Donna
This is one-time high school sweethearts really made things work. David and Donna were one of the sweetest couples on the show for most of the show’s run. In fact, they might even have been the longest-running couple on the show, though they did break up a few times throughout the series.
David crushed on Donna hard when the series began. A lowly sophomore, no one thought he had a chance with the pretty and popular upperclassman. David was sweet and earnest, and he won Donna’s heart. After a few missteps, they found their way back to each other in the end. Beverly Hills, 90210 even ended with their wedding.
Worst: Donna And Ray
Ray wasn’t from the wealthy neighborhoods of Beverly Hills. He appealed to Donna during one of the times in the series that she wasn’t dating David. Ray was down to Earth and not easily swayed by the trappings of the rich.
That all seemed well and good, but Ray also became possessive, moody, and even violent. He treated Donna horribly, tightening his hold on her, making her think that it was her fault, or that he would change. It was classic abusive behavior, and it took a lot for Donna to finally move on from him.