90210: Teddy and Marco are dating but More DRAMA coming!

90210 recap: Teddy hooks up with 'Aqua man' while on Spring Break in Mexico

90210: Teddy accidentally hits a cute guy!

MY view: The end of Teddy and Ian’s romance on “90210″ was disappointing on several levels!

By Greg Hernandez
Via Greg in Hollywood

We knew that since the actor who plays Ian (Kyle Riabko) wanted off the show, the character was not going to appear in episodes past February. It’s a pity he wasn’t committed at least for the season because Ian and Teddy and made such slow but steady progress together in the five minutes they were given in any given episode.

Well, this week they got more than five minutes and the episode had Teddy coming out to all his friends at West Beverly High. His ex-girlfriend Silver figured it out on her own and their talk about it was well-written and well-acted.

But the plotline that had Teddy being blackmailed turned out to be a bitter bill to swallow. Teddy, who had just spend wionter break skiing with Ian in Colorado, gets a note in his locker demanding $50,000 or a photo of he and Ian kissing will be made public. He panics and wants to pay the money.

But in the end, rather than run, he decides to come out and after sharing his news with Silver, he arrives at a dinner of friends holding hands with Ian – a very dramatic statement that said it all. The openly gay Ian breaks the tension as they sit down by announcing to everyone that he is gay.

This is the Ian we love. He’s fun, he’s popular, he’s a student leader, he’s true to who he is.

He would never do what happened next: It turns out that Ian was the person behind the blackmailing and he did so to push Teddy out of the closet so their relationship could be out in the open. It really is beyond the pale and completely out of character for this young man.

There are so few gay characters on broadcast television and I’m not saying they should all be saints but they should at least make sense. This did not make sense at all.

So now Teddy, deeply betrayed, will move forward as an openly gay student. Hopefully he will have better luck with guys down the road. We all thought he had hit the jackpot with Ian who could have been written out of the show in so many other ways. Why undo all the wonderful things about him?

90210: Ian Blackmails Teddy into Coming Out!

90210: Dixon contronts Teddy about kissing Ian!

My only complaint was that Ian and Teddy spent the night together but never showed them together for the remainder of the episode.

SOAP Q: Look who Teddy is hooking up with on “90210"!

TVLine reports that a character played by Smallville alum (Aqua Man) Alan Ritchson (pictured) will hook up with Teddy (Trevor Donovan) in the 18th episode of the season.

Ritchson will play Teddy’s old prep school roommate Tripp who he, of course, privately crushed on back in the day. The two run into each other during spring break.

So what is happening to Ian? It’s not clear how he is being written out but the behind-the-scenes reason for hos departure is that actor Kyle Riabko wants to move on. He is not just a young TV actor looking for a break – Riabko is the Broadway star of the musicals Spring Awakening and Hair and wants to make himself available for the looming pilot season.

“90210″ Spoiler Alert: Teddy Kisses Ian Goodbye!

While the two characters are moving forward in their relationship, we got an inkling that it might not last when Michael Ausiello reported that this casting call went out in November: Casting is underway for the role of Marco, a “hot, super-athletic, openly gay love interest” for Trevor Donovan’s same-sex-lovin’ alter ego. Interested actors MUST be comfortable making out with another dude.

Now Ausiello reports that the role of Marco has been cast with newcomer Freddie Smith who is slated to debut in February.

So what happens to Riabko, the Broadway star of the musicals Spring Awakening and Hair? He is reportedly leaving of his own accord because he wants to make himself available for the looming pilot season.

Maybe the talented Riabko would have wanted to stay on the show longer if he and Donovan had been given more screen time? I know Kyle would have wanted more Love scenes!

90210: Teddy tells Ian he likes him and wants to keep seeing him SECRETLY!

SOAP Q: Trevor Donovan and Kyle Riabko Kiss on 90210!

SOAP Q: Casting call out for Teddy’s love interest on “90210 “who MUST be comfortable making out with another dude”

Michael Ausiello is reporting that Teddy (Donovan), a high school student who is coming to terms with being gay, will be getting some action on 90210.

Writes Michael on Facebook: Casting is underway for the role of Marco, a “hot, super-athletic, openly gay love interest” for Trevor Donovan’s same-sex-lovin’ alter ego. Interested actors MUST be comfortable make out with another dude.

Not sure what this means for Teddy and Ian (Kyle Riabko), the fellow student with whom he hooked up with once so far and is fighting his attraction for.

90210: Teddy goes to West Hollywood gay bar

SOAP Q: Trevor Donovan: Gay Storyline 'True To Life'

Cynics may see 90210's recent foray into the realm of gay programming as nothing more than a ratings grab. Having watched the show, though, I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with how they're handling it: broken tennis pro Teddy, played by Trevor Donovan, grappling with a gay hook-up, and lashing out at the man he kissed.

Donovan also appreciates the plot line, telling TV Guide, "It's true to real life, it's happening at a pace I think it would actually happen and it's going to unfold very realistically, very heartfelt." And there's more to come: "He's battling with himself. He's creating his own problems and... there's going to be a lot of external struggles from other people mostly caused by his frustration, his anger, his denial and confusion."

Sure, it's easy to dismiss this show as nothing but a soap with bad acting and contrived plot lines, but it's also a guilty pleasure with a conscience. They're also doing an HIV-related story line and, shocker, it doesn't involve the gay man: it involves an black woman who was recently infected.

SOAP Q: On 90210: a closeted Teddy is feeling the pressure!

Teddy attacks his lover, Ian!