Tuesday’s episode of 90210 attacked some very serious subject matter: mental illness. In a series of intense scenes, Erin Silver (played by Jessica Stroup) struggled to find her very confused way through the emotional upheaval of lost love.

Attack is just the right way to describe how the topic was handled. I was immediately impressed with the dizzying direction used for Silver’s first train station scene, with the camera whirring around her as she spit out her words without taking a breath (viewable in the clip above). The episode, “Off the Rails,” was directed by Jason Priestley (who has made many behind-the-camera contributions to the show through the season).

It was obvious on last week’s episode that Silver’s level of sanity was sharply changing, but it wasn’t until the end of this week’s episode that the true nature of her condition became clear. See the diagnosis of Silver’s mental illness in the clip below: