Expert: Mel - 1/13/2008

Question
Hi I have 2 question, number one, What did Kelly write about Donna and Claire in her dairy that was so bad? in episode I Only Have Eyes for You in season 7?
And my second question is how many times did Brenda and Dylan break up because I think its 3 in season one finale she breaks up with him because she thought they were moving and then got back together at the party because in the season 2 opener she said she had a date with Dylan, then the broke up again because of the pregnancy scare and broke up again in season 3. Please clarify this for me
Kelly

Answer
Hi Kelly,

In "I Only Have Eyes for You", S7, Valerie reveals that Kelly had mentioned, in her private journal, Donna being "way obsessive" about her grades and essentially going to school for a "Mrs. Degree" (Fashion Design).  About Claire, she wrote that she was vain, spent too much time on her looks, and insulted her hairstyle.  We never see her diary entry but this is what Val, out to sabotage Kelly's relationships with Donna and Claire, says she wrote.  

As for your second question, here's a run-down.  Arguably, Brenda and Dylan broke up 7 times.  

1. "Home Again" - In the S1 finale, Brenda breaks up with Dylan because her family is moving back to Minnesota.  They get back together after the news that the Walshes will be staying, after all.

2. "Beach Blanket Brandon" (S2) - Brenda breaks up with Dylan as a result of her pregnancy scare and feeling that things are moving too fast with them.  

3. "Summer Storm" (S2) - With Dylan staying at the Walshes following his surfing accident, Brenda is tempted to get back together with Dylan and it looks like she agrees to when he's lying on the couch and asks her to bring him one more thing: her.  With a big grin, she comes over and they start making out.  She then says, "You know, the hardest thing I ever had to do was stay away from you."  To me, it looks like she just agreed to a reconciliation.  Then her father walks in and becomes enraged, which changes everything.  In the next episode, "Anaconda", we get clarification that their status is 'broken up'.  Donna wants Dylan to come along and see a movie with them.  "You know, as you may recall, Dylan McKay and Brenda Walsh broke up ...", she rebuts.  And later that summer, Brenda pursues her drama teacher, Chris Suitor, along with Andrea, and neither of them mention Dylan as her boyfriend.  In "Camping Trip", Dylan is angry with Brenda for still wanting to be apart, and by the end of "Wildfire", S2, they are back together.

4. "Destiny Rides Again" (S3) - In the midst of Dylan being falsely accused of cheating on the S.A.T.s and not wanting to necessarily go to college, and them fighting over that, Brenda decides that their summer affairs (his with Kelly, hers with Rick, whom she met in Paris and who shows up in Beverly Hills just then) do mean something and they need to break up.

5. "Back In the High Life Again" (S3) - Following the discovery that Dylan had chosen to date Kelly right after their break up, tempers flare among all three and he's asked to make a choice: Brenda or Kelly.  In this episode, he does, and it's Brenda who gets her heart broken, sure as she was that he would want to get back together with her.  Considering that it was a surprise and she had shared some kisses with Dylan between the time of their last break-up and then, it's a lot like another break-up, though less official.  She says in the next episode that she felt worse than she did during their break-up in "Beach Blanket Brandon".

6. Between the end of S4 and the beginning of S5.  When Brenda asks Dylan to "give [her] something to come back to" in the final scene of "Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington", and they fall to the floor, making-out, I took that as them getting back together.  After all, she professed her undying love for him as well.  But, then she goes to London and fails to return.  So, they're both single again.  No longer in contact by S5, Brenda has effectively broken things off with Dylan.

7. "I'm Back Because" (S9) - It's in this episode that, despite backstory in S6 of them reuniting in London and still being well in touch (if not a couple) in S8, Dylan says that he broke up with Brenda a little over 2 years ago.

Thanks for the question!

All the best,

Mel