In the meantime, Amanda (Heather Locklear) and Peter (Jack Wagner) are having their share of problems, as are Kyle (Rob Estes) and Taylor (Lisa Rinna), and these problems eventually drive them into the arms of each other's spouses. Taylor, whose schemes have finally paid off, ends up with Peter, but he didn't realize she had been manipulating him from the start, having loved him for years when he was previously married to her now-dead sister. Kyle didn't realize it either and really feels betrayed. Sidney (Laura Leighton) is dating the super-wealthy Carter (Chad Lowe), but still loves Kyle, which costs her Carter's affections. Things further go downhill for Sid when a customer trips in her shop and sues her for everything. On the upside, the sleazy lawyer for the customer approaches Sidney to make some money with a slip-and-fall, and since Sid despises Amanda (especially since Kyle seems to care for her), she perpetrates a fraud at D&D, actually really getting quite hurt in the process.
Craig (David Charvet) makes it his mission in life to schmooze Sidney and get her to back off of the lawsuit that could ruin D&D, especially since it was his fault the insurance wasn't up to snuff. He never meant to fall in love with Sidney, though, and the two end up together and decide to begin their own ad agency, taking all of Amanda's clients and employees with them. Amanda feels devastated, but ends up falling hard for Kyle, especially since she had just partnered up with him to open the jazz club of his dreams over Kyle's Restaurant.
Meanwhile, when Peter goes a little nuts, expecting Taylor to dress up and act like her dead sister, she gets her revenge by teaming up with Michael to trick him (by drugging him) into making him believe he has rage epilepsy and has been beating her up. This little charade costs Peter the Chief of Staff position, when Michael manipulates Peter into appointing him as the interim Chief of Staff. When Peter finds out, he gets his revenge by throwing Michael through a plate glass window and almost kills Taylor, but not before she reveals she is pregnant with his child, which stops him in his tracks. Is she telling the truth or did she sense her impending doom?
Allison (Courtney Thorne-Smith) and Jake (Grant Show) get back together and Allison discovers she's pregnant. However, working too hard when she was supposed to be on bedrest eventually costs her the baby and kicks her drinking back into gear. Despite that, the two get married and pursue plans to adopt a baby. This doesn't go so well, since the pair are bar owners and have previous dependency problems, so they give up on dreams of a family. In the meantime, Jake's son and ex-girlfriend move into town for a little while when her marriage breaks up and Allison feels like she is keeping Jake from having a real family. Although the two had made plans to sell Shooters and by a restaurant in Ojai, Allison manipulates Jake's son and ex into revealing their true feelings for Jake and leaves town for Atlanta, GA, freeing Jake to move to Ojai with his new pseudo family, also departing the show.
Michael's little sister, Jennifer (Alyssa Milano), breezes into town and it turns out she is the one who had an affair with Kyle back in Boston. Many awkward times ensue, as she, Taylor and Amanda exchange verbal barbs. Determined to get Kyle back, she manipulates it so he feels compelled to let her crash at his place, but she doesn't quite realize he only has eyes for Amanda.
Sam (Brooke Langton) and Billy (Andrew Shue) have their fair share of problems this season when Sam's no-good dad comes back into her life, after she testified to send him to prison for armed robbery way back when. He guilts her into giving him money and causes many problems between she and Billy, but when they find out he escaped from prison and they are arrested for aiding and abetting a wanted man, things get dicey. In the season finale, Craig and Sidney are getting married and all of their "friends" are there, but when Sam's dad robs the grocery she is working at and kidnaps her at gunpoint, forcing her to drive the getaway car, naturally the runaway car runs over Sidney, presumably killing her, in her wedding dress and all. Poor Sid.
Like I said, this was a roller coaster season and it ended in quite a shocking finale with a number of regulars leaving. If you missed the old days when you ran to the TV on Wednesday nights, be sure to rent Melrose Place: The Fifth Season, Volume 2 to see the sparks fly. There are no special features, so you may not want to purchase it, but definitely put this on your Netflix account if you were a fan from back in the day.
