Kelly returns from a modeling stint in New York. She brings home an artist boyfriend named Colin, who rents a loft in Los Angeles. Brandon comes home from a summer job at the Boston Herald to discover that Val's obnoxious friend Ginger is staying at the house
The house is fixed up, and Steve decides to move in with Brandon. Donna finds Mrs. Korman's ring in Ray's jacket pocket
Dylan heads for the C.U. campus in the hopes of striking up a friendship with Marchette's son
Donna, Kelly, Clare and Valerie try out for the Tournament of Roses Court. The other girls only wish to secure invitations to a ball, but Donna elects to proceed with the tryouts. Felice does not approve of this decision, leaving Donna confused
Valerie is haunted by nightmares about her father's suicide. David learns that his mother requires shock therapy to improve her chances of recovery. He does not support this course of action, and falls into a deep funk
Valerie gets herself invited on a road trip with Kelly, Donna and Clare. David thanks Val for helping him through his hard times, and gives her a kiss. During the trip, Donna goads Val into admitting that she slept with Ray
Valerie accepts her marketing professor's invitation to a seminar. They have a drink afterwards, and the man tries to come on to her. He gives her a D on a midterm essay that he had seemed to like earlier, and Val suspects that he is punishing her
Colin appeases Kelly by ending his affiliation with Claudia and taking a teaching job. A fortune teller sets up shop at the Peach Pit for Halloween. In spite of her questionable credibility, her presence has an impact on many couples
Dylan asks Toni to marry him. Kelly is shaken by the news, and angers Dylan with her selfish reaction. She also bristles at David's new relationship with Valerie
The hit on Dylan fails when Brandon, David and Steve ""kidnap"" him for a rather sedate bachelor party. The girls throw a much livelier affair for Toni. Marchette shows up at the beach apartment and tries to talk Toni out of the marriage
Ray files battery charges against Joe, who is suspended from the homecoming game when the coach discovers that he missed curfew on Halloween. The football team shuns Donna until she explains that Joe was protecting her. She agrees to testify on Joe's behalf, even though it will publicly expose her abusive relationship with Ray
Colin and Susan leave for New York to spend Thanksgiving with their families. The gang decides to spend the holiday together, and David invites his mother to join them. She annoys Valerie with her constant advice about food preparation, but saves the day when Val accidentally sleeps in
Joe rejects a plea bargain and decides to go to trial. Donna testifies that Ray was physically harming her, and Valerie corroborates this with her eyewitness account of the Palm Springs incident. The Associated Press picks up Brandon's story about the trial for nationwide syndication
Donna fills in for Lisa at a convenience store. A young boy is caught stealing a teddy bear for his brother's birthday, but Donna covers for him. Donna and Joe get lost and run out of gas
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
Clare returns after a few days out of town, and the gang fills her in on the events that transpired over New Year's. Susan's ex-boyfriend Jonathan came to town and irritated Brandon with his constant presence. On New Year's Eve, he revealed that he was still in love with Susan and hinted that he shared a mysterious connection with her
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 reunites with Colin and spends all her time getting high. The couple becomes consumed by its habit, especially when supplies run low. Valerie realizes that Kelly is using drugs, but has difficulty convincing everyone else
Susan is nominated for a college journalism award for her story about a girl's decision to have an abortion. Brandon does not understand why Jonathan insists on flying in for the awards ceremony. Susan explains that she and Jonathan broke up over a difference of opinion regarding the story; this further confuses Brandon
Valerie's really annoying friend Ginger returns to town. She forces Val to put her up at a hotel and pay for room service and new dresses. Ginger blackmails Valerie, threatening to tell everyone about the previous fall's scam unless Val coughs up $50,000
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
Colin visits Kelly and announces that he has kicked his cocaine habit. Kelly maintains that they are bad for one another and breaks up with him. Kelly gets a roommate, a troubled teenage runaway named Tara
Brandon and Susan spend the weekend at her parents' house. Susan's mother asks Brandon very intrusive questions during dinner. Mrs
Valerie puts the club up as collateral to bail Colin out of jail. She also offers to spring for a high-priced attorney, as the public defender wants to plea bargain. Colin is terrified by the thought of spending time in prison
Rush dumps Ryan and Austin off on Steve on the same day that he is hosting a fraternity party. He doesn't keep a close eye on the boys, and they drink everything in sight. Ryan becomes very ill and Greg (Kelly's med student date) diagnoses him with alcohol poisoning
Brandon, Steve and Joe go on a camping trip with Susan, Clare and Donna. The girls become jealous when the guys repeatedly ignore them to help some damsels in distress. Clare, Donna and Susan offer shelter to the tentless girls, and make their boyfriends sleep in the car
Kelly tries to coax Tara into moving out, as the hospital has found her a place to live. Tara retrieves some belongings, including her photography equipment, from a friend. Kelly does not realize that Tara has a gun in her suitcase
Tara makes a pass at Brandon and purposely overfeeds Kelly's fish. Kelly orders her to move out. Kelly snoops in Tara's suitcase and discovers that she had lied when she claimed not to know her parents' whereabouts
Colin tries to remain strong as he prepares to turn himself in and begin his prison term. He panics after catching a glimpse of some fellow inmates, and drives away in Val's car. Valerie must track him down or forfeit her $100,000 bond, which she acquired by cashing in the club's equity
Kelly agrees to help with the search for Colin when Brandon reveals that Nat could fall victim to the bail bondsman through his business ties to Valerie. Kelly gets in touch with Colin after obtaining his beeper number from Danny. She arranges a meeting and contacts the cops, but Colin realizes that something is amiss and sends Danny to the rendezvous
Colin plans to board a ship and sneak out of the country. He convinces Claudia, his former art dealer, to wire him the $10,000 passage fee. Valerie seeks Jonesy's help to track down Colin, and he sends her a handsome FBI agent