Theodore "Teddy" Montgomery is a fictional character on The CW television series 90210, the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. Portrayed by Trevor Donovan, Teddy Montgomery was introduced in the second season premiere as a recurring character. Where in season three he was upgraded to series regular;Upgraded Retrieved: 2011-04-23. however, by season four he was downgraded to a recurring cast member once more. In season 5, he returned in a recurring role.
The character was introduced during the second season of the show. In season two, Teddy was known as a "player" who had commitment problems with many women, including with Adrianna and Silver. During the hiatus between the second and third season, it was revealed that a character from the show would come out as gay.Gay Male Character Revealed! Retrieved: 2011-04-23. This was later revealed to be Teddy. In the third season, Teddy deals with the many complications and struggles of being gay, which includes harassment, acceptance and relationships. Unlike the second season, where the character had received many negative reviews from both critics and fans, he became extremely popular and well liked in the third season.Prime Time Shake-Up Retrieved: 2011-04-23.
Storylines
Season 2 At the beginning of the season, Teddy comes to town as Adrianna's ex and childhood friend. Adrianna ends up leaving her boyfriend, Navid, to be with Teddy. But Teddy later tells Adrianna that he isn't the relationship type, leaving Adrianna devastated. Now attending West Bev, Teddy grows close to one of Adrianna's closest friends, Silver, who is struggling to take care of her mother who has cancer. Teddy relates to Silver when he tells her that his mother died of breast cancer when he was younger. As time progresses, Teddy develops feelings for Silver and asks her to the West Bev Winter Wonderland Dance. Silver rejects Teddy's offer due to him playing Adrianna. Teddy later realizes that Silver is the one he wants to be with, so he makes a video and shows it to the entire school during the morning announcements and reveals that Silver is the only girl he would date. Unfortunately, Silver turns him down again. Though, later at the dance Teddy asks Silver to dance but as friends. While dancing Teddy kisses a shocked Silver, and she walks away. Later Silver sees Teddy hugging another girl in the presence of Dixon, who is her ex-boyfriend. Dixon asks Teddy to tell him who the girl was, and Teddy reveals it was in fact his sister, Savanna Montgomery. Dixon runs back to Silver to tell her that the person Teddy was hugging was just another fling in his life. A saddened Silver is then caught off guard when Dixon kisses her, and Teddy manages to spot the two and leaves heartbroken. Silver then tells Dixon the kiss was a mistake and is left interested in only Teddy. Silver tries talking to Teddy, but he tells her that she was right and that they would have never worked due to him being a player. A few weeks later, Teddy's sister, Savanna walks up to Silver and Dixon having lunch, and tells her how she missed out on a great chance on dating her brother. An angry Silver then learns how Dixon lied to her. Silver leaves Dixon and goes back to Teddy to confess her feelings for him. She reveals that she really likes him, but isn't sure if she can trust him.
Later on, Dixon reveals to Teddy what he did and an angry Teddy punches Dixon. The trust problems are still the case when Silver finally decides to give Teddy a chance. While dating, Silver becomes suspicious of Teddy, and asks for advice from another of her closest friends, Naomi. Silver hires someone to spy on Teddy and finds out Teddy is telling other people how much he cares about Silver and that it's serious. Silver then regrets not trusting Teddy, and reveals to him that she had someone spy on him. Teddy is glad that Silver can trust him, but isn't sure if he can trust her. They later end up growing closer and rekindle their trust for each other. The two have fallen completely in love at this point, but Teddy's father, Spence, is reluctant about Teddy having a relationship, saying it will distract him from his tennis. Spence goes as far as to bribe Silver with money to break up with Teddy. Silver declines but breaks up with Teddy anyway, saying she cares about him too much and doesn't want him to stop doing something he loves because of her. In the season finale, Silver allows Teddy to make the decision on whether or not they should stay together. The two later get back together.
Season 3 Trevor Donovan became a regular in season 3, and Teddy's storyline became a larger focus of the series.
During the season premiere, an earthquake rocks Beverly Hills, which causes a heavy bookcase to fall on one of Teddy's legs while trying to take cover. Teddy seems to be okay at first, but while at tennis practice he receives a sharp pain in his leg and is transported to the hospital where he later learns he can't play tennis anymore. Angry and frustrated Teddy shows up at Naomi's party and mistreats Silver. An angry Silver walks away, as Teddy gets drunk. He later walks in on a drunken Naomi giving a striptease to two other guys and forces them out to prevent Naomi from making a dumb decision. Naomi is then attracted by Teddy's antics and approaches him in a seductive way as Silver walks in on them. Silver then leaves in tears as Teddy fails to stop her due to his injured leg. The next day, the reconcile but soon get into another fight after Silver finds Teddy drunk and lies to her about it. This brings Silver memories of her and her mother dealing with her alcoholism. Silver then leaves Teddy to do what he wants. The next morning, Teddy wakes up nude in a bed and begins vomiting. He then finds a note from someone telling him how much they enjoyed the hook up. Teddy later finds out he slept with a male student from West Bev named Ian. Teddy confronts Ian, and he assures Teddy that he has nothing to worry about and that he won't tell anyone they hooked up. This only agitates Teddy who then calls Ian a "faggot", when Ian comments on Teddy's bad dance moves during Silver's breast cancer benefit. Ian storms off followed by an angry Silver. On the night of the benefit, he attempts to apologize to Silver, who in return tells him that it's over between them. The next day, Teddy runs into Ian, and orders him to stay away from him. Ian tells Teddy that he doesn't want to be around him either and that just because he can't accept himself, he shouldn't be taking it out on him. This then causes Teddy to attack Ian and a fight emerges between the two. The fight is then broken up by Mr. Matthews and both are given detention for failing to explain the reason for the fight.
During detention, the principal informs Teddy and Ian that the school is short on janitors. So she offers them manual labor which will shorten their detention. The two then agree. While cleaning the gutters, Ian tells Teddy it'll be easier if they work from the roof. They then walk up to the roof and begin to clean. While on the roof, part of the edge breaks off, which causes Ian to almost fall off only to be saved by Teddy. The two reconcile and Teddy apologizes to Ian for everything. Ian forgives Teddy due to him knowing what he's going through. Ian tells Teddy he will be there for him if he ever needs to talk, but Teddy informs Ian there is nothing to talk about. Teddy soon realizes he could be gay when he is about to have sex with a female student. She questions Teddy on why he isn't erect, and Teddy makes an excuse and storms off. As time progresses, Teddy slowly begins to accept his sexuality when he visits a gay bar alone. Though he forgets his wallet at home, and is left to ask Ian for help. Teddy then begins to trust Ian more and sees him as an inspiration. Teddy reveals to Ian that he has been questioning his sexuality for years, but that he's always been trying to ignore those feelings. And that his first attraction to the same sex was on his roommate, Tripp Wellington, while attending Exeter Prep School. He then reveals he dropped out of Exeter after developing feelings for him. This conversation then brings Teddy and Ian closer as friends due to Ian being the only one Teddy can confide in about his homosexuality. A few nights later during a beach luau, Teddy sees Ian with another guy and becomes jealous. Teddy then goes to speak with Silver, who is upset about her romantic feelings towards Navid while he is with Adrianna. Silver then kisses Teddy, but Teddy tells Silver there is someone else. At the end of the night, Teddy offers to help Ian by putting things away. While in a shed, Teddy pulls Ian in for a kiss which ignites the start of their relationship.