Brandon finds Jack Canner (the homeless vet he met at the beach club) rummaging through the dumpster behind the Peach Pit. He takes him home for Thanksgiving dinner, but Canner runs afoul of Jim, who accuses him of shirking his family responsibilities and hiding behind the flag. Brandon explains to Canner that Jim's father was a Marine, and the two never spoke again after Jim refused to go to Vietnam. Canner helps repair a leaky roof, and Jim apologizes and urges him to reach out to his son. Jack McKay gets a furlough and spends Thanksgiving with Dylan. Jack insists on spending time with his girlfriend and gets on Dylan's case about dropping out. Jack's girlfriend, Christine, convinces Dylan to give his father another chance. Dylan returns to West Beverly and greets a surprised Brenda and Kelly with kisses. Steve and Samantha appear on a television show about celebrities, and Steve tells her on-camera that he has been expelled. Samantha stands up for Steve and gets his punishment reduced to probation.
This long-running drama dealt with the experiences of a group of young people in Beverly Hills, CA as they navigated high school, college and ultimately the real world. The series focused on their travails as they tried to maintain their friendship while dealing with romances, family and personal crises, tragedies and countless drug addictions.