The One Time I Root for Kelly & Brandon Over Kelly & Dylan

I’ve already shared that my top two all-time favorite couples are Kelly & Dylan and Kelly & Brandon, both from “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

How does that work exactly, especially when half of both couples is the same? Well, to put it simply: For the most part in seasons 3, 4, 9, and 10, I’m rooting for Kelly and Dylan. And for the most part in seasons 5, 7, and 8, I’m rooting for Kelly and Brandon. (Season 6 is a toss-up where I root for both pairings.) But at the end of the day, I ultimately want Kelly with Dylan.

There is, however, one time that isn’t true.

Yes, there is one time I betray my top ship.

Blasphemous, I know.

It happens with season 5, episode 30, “Hello Life, Goodbye Beverly Hills.” In the prior episode, “The Real McCoy,” Dylan undergoes hypnosis and discovers he and Kelly were together in another lifetime, confirming what he already knew: They’re soulmates. I LOVE IT! At the very end of the episode, they even share an intense, unexpected kiss.

The problem is that Kelly is in a relationship with Brandon. But in the following episode, 5.30, that doesn’t stop Dylan from asking her to go on a trip around the world with him. I should want Kelly to say yes, since she and Dylan are my all-time favorite couple from any TV show or movie ever. But I don’t.

Instead, I want Kelly to accept the marriage proposal she receives from Brandon after he learns about Dylan’s trip offer.

And Dylan is to blame.

The “calm, cool Dylan McKay,” as he’s described, is a jerk in this episode. He’s cocky, pushy, demanding, and disrespectful. It turns me SO off.

This Dylan just isn’t likeable. The tone of his approach is incredibly off-putting and at times he’s just plain rude. It’s a stark contrast not just to how Brandon comes off in the episode, but also to the Dylan we see in season 10, the one who can’t bear to see Kelly in a wedding dress but isn’t a jackass about it. Your heart breaks for him then.

It doesn’t here. My heart actually breaks for Brandon. And when Andrea encourages Kelly to be with Brandon, telling her, “Go for the brass ring, Kelly. Marry him,” I want her to do that too. Even in the next episode, when Kelly raises the prospect of still being with Brandon without getting married, I want that as well.

So while my overall eternal loyalty lies with Kelly and Dylan, it doesn’t here. But it doesn’t matter much. After all, Kelly declared, “I choose me.”