ON THE NEXT 90210 S1 E8

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOMECOMING

Annie (Shenae Grimes) prepares for her driver's test and works out a plan with Ethan (Dustin Milligan) so they can attend the Homecoming dance without officially making it a date. Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) confesses about her drug use, effectively clearing Naomi's (AnnaLynne McCord) name, and is forced to check into rehab for her addiction. With no one left to turn to, Adrianna finds Navid (Michael Steger) by her side, determined to help her through her pain. At the dance, Ryan (Ryan Eggold) catches Kimberly (guest star Jessica Lucas) buying drugs from a student but is even more surprised to learn that she is an undercover cop. After a conversation with Tabitha (Jessica Walter), Debbie (Lori Loughlin) confronts Tracy (guest star Christina Moore) about her inappropriate behavior towards Harry (Rob Estes), and despite her root canal pain, Silver (Jessica Stroup) and Dixon (Tristan Wilds) dance the night away. Tony Wharmby directed the episode written by Darlene Hunt.

Adrianna is dead

...but hopefully not for good!

Last night's episode ended with shots of the drugged out drama queen splayed on the floor, eyes unblinking, paramedics shoving a needle into her chest, accompanied by Naomi's oh-so-ironic words: "You are dead to me!"

Let's rewind. Naomi had taken the fall for her friend, snatching Adrianna's lipstick locket of coke at the very moment the school was hit with a drug bust. (Yes, cops, drug-sniffing dogs, locker searches -- the works.) Talk about your bad timing, huh? So Naomi goes down expecting Daddy, a rich lawyer, to bail her out. Of course, he bursts that bubble and Naomi tells Adrianna to be a good friend and fess up. She did give Adrianna her lucky necklace earlier. And it did help her score that role in the horror movie. (Also a big help: Annie's painful audition. Does Annie really have to stick with the whole aspiring actress thing? It doesn't do Shanae Grimes any favors.) But Adrianna's mama hits her with a little too many thanks -- thanks for landing a job that saved their house -- and boom! She's back on the stuff, going into arrest and leaving Naomi no choice but to leave that ill-timed message.

That was the good part. Sure, I need to see Naomi do a lot more than get screwed over week after week -- crying isn't her best look -- but that portion of last night's episode proved that maybe, just maybe, the new "90210" class can carry the show. And without resting on the old familiar faces. It was just the right amount of over-the-top craziness I'd expect from "Gossip Girl's" network neighbor. Make Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) a regular already!