Welcome to the season of Super Thrillers, or at least the season that started them! 😉 This season was the most outrageous yet, and I hope you take the time to use this post as your cheat sheet for what you may have missed in the world of Sweet Valley High.
Since Sweet Valley High is pretty much a soap opera, I have broken up the books into seasons and in this special five-part post treat it like a TV show. In this post you will find “The Skinny (highlights from season 3), “The Perfect Size 6” (each book/episode broken down into a single paragraph), and in the very last post everything Sweet Valley High did this year including monumental firsts, personality transplants and time travel. Enjoy! 🙂
The Skinny
This season of Sweet Valley High was the most dramatic yet! There was: a secret father who turned out to be a big Hollywood director; Elizabeth almost leaving for a Swiss boarding school; the high school paper’s personal/dating ads; and one of Sweet Valley High’s golden couples – Regina Morrow and Bruce Patman – broke up because Bruce is a bastard again. Then one of Sweet Valley High’s most beloved characters died tragically (a main character – this was a first for the series). Then there was the fugitive and the girl who almost skipped town with him; a near-fatal boating accident and lots or racism to go around. Jessica witnessed a murder, and the killer who was mentally ill tried to knock off both her and Elizabeth because he isn’t sure who is who. The twins’ cousin Kelly comes to live with them for awhile where she discovers repressed memories and that her dad was an abusive and violent jerk. Liz falls for another boy, even though she is with Jeffrey, only to find out the mob is after him because his father testified against some guy, and they’re in the witness protection program. Then there was a girl named Barbara who was in terrible trouble. She was an unwilling pawn in a plot to make a mayoral candidate think he was crazy enough to drop out of the election. He was being set up because he committed a horrible murder, years ago, and Barbara looked just like the girl he killed. Nicholas Morrow and the twins try to help her and someone goes off a cliff, another person accosted by a gun, more abduction and struggles before it’s all over. Speaking of abductions there were quite a few in this season, it happened on average every four or five episodes! And let’s not forget a little gambling problem and being in debt to your bookie so badly you‘re getting roughed up and threatened unless you rig a big game… And heart attacks – there were a few this season. Besides all the big stuff, this season saw a whole lot more personality transplants, cases of mistaken identity, many “golden” couples falling from grace and even more potential gold couples getting together. And of course no season would be complete without all the lying, scheming and high school drama that is the very foundation of Sweet Valley High! 😛
The Season 3 “Perfect Six 6”
Episode 42 – “Last Chance”: Johanna Porter dropped out of school a year ago, but is giving it another try because she read her (recently deceased) mother’s journal and found out her mother hoped she would return to school again on her own. Johanna believes she is stupid, but this is the only way she is actually stupid. She has a crush on Peter DeHaven who is going out with Amy Sutton. Peter leads Johanna on and sees her in secret, saying he will break up with Amy, but then treats Johanna like crap at school. Johanna confesses what is going on to Elizabeth Wakefield, who turns around and tells Jessica, who turns around and tells Amy, because Jessica is mad at Amy. Meanwhile, Johanna is flourishing at school and while she needs help with English, she excels in Science and Math, even more than brainy, arrogant Peter. Johanna quits school again after Peter snubs her, Elizabeth tells Peter he is a creep and Peter fixes a computer program he created by using Johanna’s suggestion. Finally, Peter grows a pair and apologizes to Johanna, but she doesn’t take him back because he is a creep and finally she gets that. She returns to school and rocks it. Also, Jessica schemes to break up her best friend, Cara Walker, and her brother Steven, because she thinks they have become boring since they are a happy and steady couple. It works until it doesn’t and Jessica is found out. Cara and Steven remain together… for now.
Episode 43 – “Rumors”: Susan Stewart is beautiful, smart, kind and her parents are a total mystery. She lives with a guardian named Aunt Helen and everyone assumes her parents are rich and possibly famous so she is also popular. She is going to the Bridgewater Ball with Gordan Stoddard and is really excited. But Lila Fowler wants to go the ball with Gordon, so she starts a rumor that Susan’s mother has been locked away in a hospital for the criminally insane. Gordon dumps her and no one wants to talk to her, though everyone is talking about her. Susan begs her Aunt Helen to tell her the truth, but Aunt Helen refuses until Susan is eighteen. Meanwhile a famous movie director, Jackson Croft is having a casting call for his latest movie in Sweet Valley, and he happens to show up on Susan’s doorstep. Susan finds out Aunt Helen is really her mother and Jackson Croft is her father, but her mother couldn’t come clean because she was an unwed mother, which was a very bad thing back then. People find out the truth thanks to Jessica’s mouth and now everyone likes Susan again. Gordon who agreed to go with Lila after he dumped Susan, tries to make a play for Susan again and Susan turns him down. But Lila is pissed about it and makes a scene, dumping soda over his head. While all this was going on Jessica became convinced her mother was pregnant and gets Elizabeth and Steven in on her crazy. Their snooping makes their parents think one of the twins is pregnant and everyone laughs when they find out no one is pregnant. You know, nervous laughter…
Episode 44 – “Leaving Home”: Elizabeth wants to attend a boarding school in Switzerland (Interlochen) because they have a wonderful writing program and it is Europe after all (inspiration). Nobody wants Elizabeth to go, so Elizabeth decides to make everyone feel better by only talking about how great the school is. She gets into a fight with her boyfriend, Jeffrey, and her best friend, Enid, because they’ll miss her too much and worry what will happen if she is gone for so long. Jessica is beside herself and she and the twins’ brother Steven decide to ruin Elizabeth’s chances for a scholarship that she needs to get to be able to go at all. Mr. Sterne, who holds Elizabeth’s scholarship fate in his hands visits Sweet Valley and Jessica convinces him that she is a tramp, and Steven convinces him that he is a bum, because a person’s family is a reflection of… The next day at school, Jessica impersonates Elizabeth and makes Mr. Sterne believe Elizabeth is the trampiest of them all. Mr. Sterne lays into Elizabeth and calls her inappropriate and Elizabeth finally figures out what is happening. She screams at her siblings and takes off to go to Jeffrey’s house, but sees Enid’s car there and is sure they are moving on without her since both of them have been blowing her off all week. When she gets home Mr. Sterne is there and tells Elizabeth that her siblings confessed what they did and it speaks of Elizabeth’s character. She is offered the scholarship, but before she can respond, Jeffrey and Enid arrive with a surprise for Elizabeth, a scrapbook they made (which is why they kept blowing her off) so she won’t get too homesick while she is Switzerland. This makes her decide that she can’t possibly go. She turns down the scholarship and decides to stay. Meanwhile, while all this was happening Winston Egbert played the local lottery, but accidentally switched jackets with an old man at a gas station. The old man’s ticket wins and Winston claims the prize at first, but then is overcome with guilt and tells everyone the truth so the prize goes to the old man who never knew he won (or what had happened with the coats). Everyone is proud of him, except Lila Fowler, who expected a gift… just because she’s Lila.
Episode 45 – “Secret Admirer”: Sweet Valley High’s student newspaper is starting to run personal columns and the paper’s editor, Penny Ayala, places her own ad after some encouragement from Elizabeth Wakefield and Enid Rollins. She writes a funny ad and signs it Quasimodo because she wants any guy who replies to her to have a similar sense of humor and be clever, creative and witty. She gets a response from a boy named Jamie. The two write back and forth and finally decide to meet. They make arrangements to meet, and Penny is stood up and heartbroken. Elizabeth and Enid overhear the new boy, Kirk Anderson, who is a total creep, making fun of Penny and discover that Jamie was actually a group of guys just messing around. Neil Freemont, the person who wrote all of Jamie’s responses, however, has fallen for Penny wants to come clean, so he asks her for another chance through the ad and they agree to meet. When they do, Neil comes clean to Penny, apologizes and tells Penny he has fallen for her. They go to the upcoming dance together. Meanwhile, Elizabeth plots revenge for the Kirk the Jerk. He overhears them talking about Elizabeth’s cousin, a model who doesn’t actually exist, and Kirk insists they allow him to do her a favor and let her be his date. Also, Jessica and Lila have a wager going on who can write the best personal column. After a few duds, they both think they have the winning guy, but he turns out to be the same person who was using them as subjects for a sociology paper. They both find last minute dates just in time, and everyone has a great time at the dance except Kirk Anderson who is stood up by Elizabeth’s imaginary model cousin.
Episode 46 – “On The Edge”: Bruce Patman is back to his bastardly ways, and is cheating on Regina Morrow, with Amy Sutton. Elizabeth finds out and wants to tell Regina what is going on, but her twin sister, Jessica, and Elizabeth’s boyfriend, Jeffrey French, convince her not to. The Wakefields have a barbecue and both Amy and Regina are invited. Bruce and Amy sneak away into the bushes and Regina finally discovers the truth. She screams at them both and then takes off. Regina won’t talk to Elizabeth or any of her friends, because they kept the truth from Regina and she feels betrayed by everyone. She befriends Justin Belson who runs with the wild crowd. Regina realizes that Justin is just as lonely as she is and vows to make a difference in his life, since she couldn’t make a difference in Bruce’s. Justin is trying to get over his ex-girlfriend and best friend, Molly Hecht, who has fallen into hardcore drugs in a serious way. Justin wants to go to a party Molly is having, but Regina doesn’t want to. Regina finally agrees when she realizes that Justin is worried about Molly. Elizabeth begs her not to go, and so does Bruce, but Regina refuses to listen. Before she leaves, however, she writes a mysterious letter and feels much better after she drops it in the mail. Regina and Justin go to the party and Regina has a little beer after being taunted for being “too good” for such a thing. A drug dealer named Buzz shows up and offers everyone cocaine. Regina tries to leave, but Justin convinces her to stay and she decides to try cocaine because it is something she would never do, and she wants to be different and less predictable. Regina passes out just as her brother Nicholas arrives with police to find her (he was arrested en route because he didn’t have his license on him, and then police went with him to pick up Regina). Regina passes out right after she tells Nicholas that it is nobody’s fault, asks to see Elizabeth and Bruce and that she loves him and their family. Regina never woke up again and dies at the hospital due to heart complications. Everyone is devastated, and the school holds a memorial service for her. Elizabeth receives a letter from Regina (they mystery letter) a few days later. In the letter Regina says that she forgives Elizabeth and understands she was just trying to protect Regina’s feelings – Regina even forgives Bruce and Amy. Regina ends the letter by telling Elizabeth that she hopes they can be friends forever…
Yes, Regina is dead. I still can’t believe it, even though I knew it was coming…
Tomorrow’s post includes the episode recap for the very first Super Thriller – you won’t want to miss it!
-DMW
