Brenda hopes to impress Roy Randolph, a visiting Broadway director, when she auditions for the lead role in the campus play of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof." Steve is reunited with Laura Kingman, where he coaches her for the same lead role, while Kelly also wants in on the part. Meanwhile, Brandon brushes off continuing advances from his new admirer Clare Arnold, the daughter of the university's chancellor, who won't take "no" for an answer when she handcuffs herself to his bed. Also, Dylan tries to help a jealous Erica accept her mother's new chemist boyfriend, Kevin Weaver.

When Brenda and Kelly are called back to final auditions, the resulting competition puts a serious strain on their friendship. Steve continues to coach Laura for the lead, and she ends up making a superior performance, brushing aside Brenda. Meanwhile, Brandon is still being perused by Clare who has a crush on him. So, she tricks Brandon into taking her out to her senior prom at her posh boarding school which leads to Brandon getting decked by an angry passerby at Clare's hotel post-prom party. Also, Jesse's not around when Andrea has a medical emergency and she's forced to call on Donna for help to take her to the hospital. Elsewhere, Kevin continues to charm his way into Dylan and Suzanne's life which makes Kelly feel left out.

After Brenda finally wins the lead role in the play, the unbalanced Laura attempts to sabotage Brenda's acting career by spreading rumors that she granted sexual favors with Randolph to win the lead. Meanwhile, Kevin impresses Dylan and Erica when they visit his lab where he tells Dylan about his clean-up plans for Santa Monica bay which are under funded. So, Dylan asks Kevin if he could act as his beneficiary to open up his own chemical clean-up company, while Kevin also announces his engagement to Suzanne. Kelly continues to resent Suzanne and Kevin's presence which drives a further rift between her and Dylan after she tells him that her 'Woman's Intuation' tells her that something is not right about Kevin and Suzanne. Jesse also suggests more bed-rest for Andrea who continues to feel unwell over her pregnancy. Also, Brandon speaks with Clare's skeptical father over her wild behavior and her advances towards him while she's making future plans to travel with him.

Dylan and Kelly finally call their relationship quits due to him spending more time with Erica, Suzanne and Kevin, and Kelly openly expressing that she doesn't trust Suzanne and Kevin over their continued presence. Erica tells Dylan that she overheard her mother and boyfriend talking about moving to South America, while Kevin and Suzanne easily convince Dylan they want to relocate Kevin's new chemical company to Arizona. Meanwhile, Brenda finds old feelings for Dylan returning when he gives her an opening-night gift medal before the play. Dylan considers investing in Kevin's business offer by financing it, as does Jim who agrees to be a silent partner. Elsewhere, David sees danger of his drug use returning when working with a new rock band for the CU's Mardi Gras. Andrea is hospitalized and has strange dreams, fearing she may lose the baby. Also, Brandon tries to get to meet with an elusive Chancellor Arnold, after he sees that his name is not on a list of task force members to meet the president, thinking that his times with Clare may have cost him the trip to Washington. But, Brandon eventually learns that his name being absent from the list was just a typo mistake all along.

In the two-part season finale, Brandon goes to Washington D.C. as a part of the college task force to meet the president. Kelly follows Brandon to Washington to get him out of a jam when Clare and Lucinda arrive at the hotel to pursue him. At the CU Mardi Gras, David impresses pop star Kenneth "Babyface" Edmunds, and his recording manager Ariel with his keyboard music and Donna catches David in a very compromising position with Ariel. Steve runs into Celeste who's now with John Sears. Kevin and Suzanne get married in a semi-formal ceremony where he persuades Dylan to cut out any outside investment in their business offer. Jim becomes angry at Dylan for making such a rash move and Dylan fires Jim as his financial holder. Dylan then goes to a bank and gives Kevin full power-of-attorney control over his money, unaware that Kevin and Suzanne have had a hidden agenda for Dylan's inheritance all this time. After her major success in the CU play, Brenda gets a scholarship offer to study acting in London and she pays a visit to Dylan's place before leaving. Also, Andrea and Jesse experience the joys and fears of parenthood after their daughter is born.

When Dylan is put in a coma after a car accident while driving under the influence of heroin, bizarre near-death dreams he has mirror his fight for life which involve his drug dealer, his high school principal Mrs. Teasley, Kevin, Suzanne, Erica, Valerie, the Walshes, and his own long-dead father, Jack. Meanwhile, Steve is bothered by the appearance of his annoying and overbearing father, Rush, at a flag-football tournament as part of the KEG sports weekend.

Dylan recruits Valerie to help him and Jonesy pull off a caper in Punta Brava, Mexico to reclaim his lost money after they find Kevin and Suzanne. Jones and Valerie pose as a couple at a resort hotel where they befriend Kevin and Suzanne (aka: Karl and Kitty Cavendish) in order to get to know more about where they keep Dylan's stolen money. But when Dylan wants to rescue his sister Erica, Jones backs out, leaving Dylan to carry on a rash rescue attempt alone. In Beverly Hills, Brandon feels threatened by Kelly's relationship with Professor Finley when Brandon starts dealing with criticism by the dean concerning the professor's tenure and his unorthodox teaching methods. When Brandon meets Professor Finley for the first time to question him about his teaching methods, he sees another side to Finley who lashes out at Brandon which causes a rift between him and Kelly.