If you grew up in the 90s, you remember the leather jacket. You remember the peroxide-blonde hair that looked like it had been cut with kitchen shears. And you definitely remember the gas can. Emily Valentine didn't just walk into West Beverly High; she crashed into it on a motorcycle and blew up every "wholesome" trope the show had spent a year building.
Honestly, she was a wrecking ball.
Before Emily Valentine on Beverly Hills 90210 became a shorthand for "the crazy girlfriend," she was actually a breath of fresh air. She was the counterculture. While Kelly Taylor was worrying about her spring queen crown and Donna Martin was trying to stay a virgin, Emily was listening to punk rock and looking for something real.
But then things got weird. Fast.
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The U4EA Incident and the Descent Into Chaos
It all started with an underground rave and a little drug called U4EA. Looking back, that episode is peak 90s hysteria. Brandon Walsh, the moral compass of the series, gets his drink spiked by Emily. He loses his mind, his car gets stripped, and he basically becomes a cautionary tale for the "Just Say No" generation.
Fans hated her for it. Not just "TV villain" hate, but "get this woman off my screen" hate.
Christine Elise, the actress who played Emily, has been pretty open about how the writers shifted the character. Initially, she was supposed to be a misunderstood outsider. Then, suddenly, she’s a "Fatal Attraction" clone. She’s stalking Brandon. She’s calling the house and hanging up. She’s wearing his Minnesota jersey as a trophy.
Then came the float.
The image of Emily standing over the West Beverly homecoming float with a lighter and a can of gasoline is burned into the retinas of every Gen X-er. It was dramatic. It was terrifying. And for most fans, it was the point of no return.
The Jason Priestley Connection: Why She Kept Coming Back
Here is what most people forget: Emily Valentine was only supposed to be around for a handful of episodes in Season 2. Yet, she kept popping up. She showed up in San Francisco in Season 4. She returned again in Season 5 to accidentally almost burn Kelly Taylor alive in a fire (not her fault that time, but still—on brand).
Why did the writers keep dragging her back?
It wasn't just for the ratings. In real life, Christine Elise and Jason Priestley were a serious item. They dated for five years and lived together. Because the show's star was head-over-heels, Emily Valentine became the "one who got away" for Brandon Walsh.
A lot of viewers found this frustrating. Brandon was supposed to be with Kelly. Or Brenda. Or literally anyone who didn't try to commit arson on school property. But if you watch those Season 4 San Francisco episodes now, the chemistry is undeniable. It’s some of the most natural acting Jason Priestley ever did on the show, mostly because he was actually looking at his real-life girlfriend.
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The Career Pivot That Almost Happened
Did you know Emily was almost the star of Melrose Place?
It’s true. Darren Star originally pitched Emily Valentine as the character who would spin off from 90210 into the apartment complex on Melrose. The idea was that she’d just been released from the psychiatric hospital and was trying to start over.
Christine Elise has since called turning that down one of the biggest mistakes of her career. They offered her a low salary, she held out for more, and they eventually created the character of Jake (Grant Show) to lead the spinoff instead. Can you imagine the chaos of Emily Valentine living next door to Heather Locklear’s Amanda Woodward? It would have been legendary.
Redefining the "Crazy" Label
We talk a lot about mental health now, but in 1991, the show just labeled Emily as "crazy" and sent her to a facility. Watching it through a 2026 lens, it’s a lot more complicated. Emily was a girl with no parental supervision, moving from city to city, clearly suffering from a massive abandonment complex.
She wasn't a villain. She was a kid who needed a therapist, not a public shaming.
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The "donkey in a Dutch boy wig" comments—which Elise says actually made her cry in real life—showed how much the audience turned on her. But for the kids who didn't fit in, the ones who were "different," Emily remained a hero. She was the only person on that show who didn't look like a Barbie doll.
The Legacy of the Character
Even now, people still argue about whether Brandon should have ended up with her. She was his most intellectual match. She challenged him. She wasn't impressed by his "Mr. Perfect" act.
If you're looking to revisit the Emily Valentine saga, here is how to do it right:
- Watch "Wildfire" (Season 2, Ep 8): See her introduction before the writers turned her into a stalker.
- The U4EA/Gasoline Arc: Episodes 2.15 and 2.16 are the essential "90210" lore.
- The San Francisco Reunion: Season 4, episodes 12 and 13. It’s surprisingly romantic and gives the character some much-needed redemption.
- Check out Christine Elise’s work now: She’s an incredible photographer and has been very involved in the Chucky franchise.
The show eventually tried to replace her energy with characters like Valerie Malone, but they never quite captured that same "lightning in a bottle" danger. Emily was the original disruptor. Whether you loved her or wanted to hide your lighters when she appeared, she made the show worth watching.
If you're feeling nostalgic, go back and watch the San Francisco arc. It’s the only time Brandon Walsh feels like a real human being with a pulse, and you can thank the "crazy" girl for that.