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VERONICA MARS
Episode Twenty-Two, Season Two
UPN Production
"You're gonna cry, cry, cry and
you'll cry alone"
The big season final as we not only
receive the solution to the bus crash mystery, but following in the tradition of the
opening season this episode manages to offer up a truly harrowing final confrontation
between Veronica and the mystery villain. Now I have to confess I was a little
disappointed by the scene where we discover the motive behind the bus crash as killing a
bus full on innocent victims to silence a pair of witnesses who were coming forward with
information that the villain didn’t want revealed felt a bit excessive. Plus given
the technical know how that this villain displays over the course of this episode, not to
mention his ability to orchestrate the evidence so that it points to another suspect, the
question becomes why didn’t he simply stage an accident that only killed his intended
targets. However, the episode does earn serious points for offering up a big, bad villain
that I have to confess I never once suspected, and while I was a little concerned after
the big reveal that this character would be able to pull off the proper sense of menace
when the curtain was pulled away I have to give Kyle Gallner full credit for selling the
sheer malevolence of his character. I mean while the episode managed to offer up a happy
ending reversal, the raw emotion of the scene where this villain set off the second bomb
was truly amazing, and watching Veronica completely fall apart when she comes to realize
what’s happened completely sold the impact of this scene. The follow up material
where he uses Veronica’s taser to torture her was also quite chilling, as was the
scene where he gives her the option of leaping to her death. Veronica’s knight in
shining armor was also a pleasant surprise. The episode also managed to offer up a couple
lovely surprise developments, from Aaron Echolls meeting his end from a very unexpected
source, to the return of a plot thread from the first season that had appeared to have
already been resolved, but it returns to make the big baddie even more of a creep. In the
end this second season ender didn’t quite equal the sheer intensity of the first
season’s final but it came pretty darn close. A thrilling finish to yet another
fantastic season of Veronica Mars.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Twenty-One, Season Two
UPN Production
"Lock me up cause I'm as guilty as
sin"
This episode could learn a lesson from the
various court room dramas that have been offered up on film and television over the
decades, as if you want viewers to get caught up in the intrigue of the final verdict than
you have to cast a sense of doubt over the final outcome. However, the whole point of the
court room scenes in this episode seemed to be to show how skilfully the defence lawyer
managed to shoot down the evidence that has been assembled against his client, so when the
final verdict arrives, the impact of the "not guilty" has been muted by the
simple fact that the entire episode has been telegraphing it’s arrival. Still the
fallout from this development should be interesting as Veronica, Logan and Keith tried
their very best to put Aaron behind bars and one has to imagine now that he’s free
he’ll set about making their lives miserable. In any event the other big development
that this episode offers up is that it provides yet another compelling suspect in the bus
crash as a deep, dark secret from Woody Goodman’s past is revealed. However while
Woody does look to have both the motive and the means to pull off the bus crash I have to
say part of me is hoping that this is a red herring, as killing a bus full of people to
silence two people who might expose your secret does seem a bit excessive. Plus, it seems
a little odd that if he was willing to take such an extreme step to protect his secret,
why wouldn’t he be equally aggressive in silencing the increasingly vocal Lucky. I
also found the back and forth exchanges in this episode to be a little too cute, as while
Beaver, Mac and Weevil some a fun scenes together, there were a couple moments when
Veronica’s normally breezy exchanges felt a bit too much like the writing trying to
be noticed. In any event as we close in on the final episode I have to give this episode
credit for making several bold moves, as Woody Goodman’s big secret stands revealed,
Aaron Eckolls is found not guilty in Lilly Kane’s murder, and Veronica’s
relationship with her father hits a bit of a rough patch as a number of her more
questionable actions are exposed in the court room.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Twenty, Season Two
UPN Production
"One magic moment"
A very busy episode with a number of various
plot threads weaving their way around the main story which has Veronica helping Gia
Goodman discover the identity of the person who is stalking her. However, this episode is
very much a case of too much of a good thing as while this episode doesn’t offer up
any time for the viewer to become bored, this episode does suffer from a rather
scattershot presentation that gives the short shift to a number of engaging plot
developments. Now given we’re closing in on the end of the second season it is a bit
odd to get an episode that doesn’t look to be linked to the bus crash, but the past
couple episode have already waded into those waters, so I’m willing to accept this
episode little side plots. In any event a pretty good chunk of the episode is devoted to
our cast celebrating an impromptu prom, and a couple key developments spring out of this
plot thread. However, if you didn’t figure out how Veronica’s visit to
Logan’s penthouse the next morning was going to play out than you really need to
watch more soap operas as the writers make use of a pretty familiar cliché. In fact one
of the golden rules of television is that if a guy opens the door in a state of undress
than you know there’s another woman lurking in that room. Still I do give Kristen
Bell full marks for her wounded puppy dog expression when Logan reaffirms the idea that
he’ll never be her knight in shining armor, as how can you not feel for her in that
final shot. As for the main plot involving Gia’s stalker there’s some nice
detective work on display, and while the writing is guilty of having the most important
clue drop right in her lap, the show did earn some serious danger points as Veronica ends
up in a very small room with Gia and her stalker while the latter ventures to a very
creepy place. This episode also makes it pretty clear that Woody Goodman has some serious
skeletons that he’s looking to keep buried, and Keith Mars ends up getting screwed
over after lending a helping hand. In fact the scene felt a little bit set-up, and this
episode manages to offer up a wonderful teaser moment where Gia’s stalker is just
about to reveal Woody’s deep, dark secret, but Sheriff Lamb proves to have impeccable
timing when it comes to his entrance.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Nineteen, Season Two
UPN Production
"She looks like an angel"
A very busy episode with a couple blink and
you’ll miss them moments that are actually quite important to the big mystery. On the
other hand this series is almost too good when it comes to offering up plausible motives
for the bus crash, as right now there’s at least half a dozen suspects with very good
reasons for wanting to cause that bus crash. However while one could accuse this series of
weaving a web that’s becoming a little too tangled it does manage to remove a
potential suspect that I had placed in the highly implausible category, as we learn why
Weevil was tailing the bus. Also this episode provides a pretty big clue as Veronica
discovers the Fitzpatrick crime family have a direct link to a party who had a vested
interest in seeing people they believed to be on board that bus plummet to their deaths.
However while this episode does provide a suspect who is looking increasingly guilty I
have to confess I’m a little concerned about this character turning out to be the big
baddie, as I’ve found their performance in previous episodes to be a little wooden,
and I worry they won’t have the acting chops to pull off the big moment when their
guilt stands revealed. However, given this character looks too good as the guilty party I
have to imagine that this show is going to offer up a couple more twists that so that
viewers will be blind-sided when the truth is revealed. Plus, I suspect this
aforementioned leading suspect is likely responsible for the "reasonable doubt"
evidence that turns up in the Lilly Kane murder investigation, which probably excludes
them from the bus crash plot. Still, this episode offers up a wealth of riveting moments
from Keith Mars’ harrowing encounter with Liam Fitzpatrick which provided the best
cut to commercial moment of the season, to the closing scene where we see Veronica is
faced with a difficult choice about whether she should reveal what she’s learned. I
also have to give this episode a big thumbs up for how it deftly linked Veronica’s
efforts to locate a car that ran down a beloved pet to the bus crash plot. In fact the
only weak link in this episode would have to be the scenes involving Wallace and Jackie,
as their interaction felt a bit stilted.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Eighteen, Season Two
UPN Production
"I’m gonna haunt u,
girl"
The preview for this episode left me a little
concerned that the series was going to jump genres as Veronica was going to start seeing
dead people. Now regular visits from Lilly Kane’s ghost were a regular part of the
first season, and the reason why Veronica wasn’t on the ill-fated bus also had a
supernatural vibe to it, but these both could be written off as Veronica’s
subconscious rising to the surface rather than the series taking a headlong dive into the
supernatural arena, and thankfully Veronica’s ghostly visits in this episode can also
be viewed as her mind shuffling seemingly inconsequential details to the front of the
line, where she can come to realize that they bring important questions to the table. In
fact if I had to make one complaint about this episode is that it brings a few too many
questions to the table that I found myself struggling to keep up. I mean I’m a big
fan of this show, and I’m all for the introduction of new theories, but this episode
brings a good half dozen new questions to an already crowded table. With that said I have
to say a couple of the new potential reasons for the bus crash can’t help but sound
like perfectly good reasons why someone would’ve wanted to crash the bus, from the
life insurance policies that were taken out on Dick and Beaver by their father, to the
suspicious $2 million out of court settlement that was paid out by Woody to the family of
one of the bus crash victims. Now this issue doesn’t really offer up any real
resolution to the bus crash mystery, but I can’t help but feel that several key
pieces were introduced, and with four episodes left in the season I guess we won’t
have to wait very long to get the final answer, so I can’t fault the writing for
wanting to keep viewers on their toes with a wealth of intriguing new possibilities. The
episode also offers up a solid secondary plot that continues to set the stage for the next
season, as Veronica’s efforts to get into Stanford and secure the Kane Scholarship
are seriously impeded by an evil rival, and Veronica’s supporting players launch
separate efforts to help Veronica get into Stanford. However, even with the successful
downfall of Veronica’s rival, I still think she’ll be attending Hearst next
season.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Seventeen, Season Two
UPN Production
"I always feel like, somebody's
watching me"
This episode’s main plot centres around
the murder that took place on the bridge, as Veronica is finally brings her investigative
talents to bear on this mystery, and while it was a little convenient that Logan was
suddenly able to provide a witness who could clear him of the murder charge, the story
takes a lovely little twist when we see Weevil decides to take matters into his own hands,
and Thumper finds himself paying the ultimate price for his evil deed. Now I have to say I
was a little surprised to see Weevil pay such a key role in this death, as he had to know
his actions were going to get Thumper killed, and this marks the first time one of
Veronica’s supporting players has done something that could force her to question
whether she can still be friends with a person who was complacent in a murder. However, it
is nice to see this side mystery has been effectively removed from the table, as it was
pulling attention away from the main plot involving the bus crash, and now the writing can
fully commit it’s energies to the big season ending resolution, and if the second
season finish comes anywhere close to matching the final episode of the first season that
we’re is for a wonderful viewing experience. The episode also offers up a nice side
plot involving Mac and Beaver, and while it does venture into After School Special terrain
the sharp writing kept it interesting, and how can one not feel for poor Mac in that final
shot. There’s also some solid back and forth between Logan and Woody Goodman as the
former wins an essay contest and ends up as the Honorary Deputy County Commissioner for
the day. Now if I had to make a compliant about this episode it’s that it
doesn’t really feature any of the clever detective work that is a regular part of
this series, as Veronica has much all the information she needed dropped right in her lap,
and one also has to ask why didn’t Logan provide the information about the witness
when he was being brought up on murder charges, though I guess the answer could always be
that this witness has been bought and paid for by Logan.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Sixteen, Season Two
UPN Production
"Guilty until you’re proven
innocent"
Me thinks that Veronica protests too much, as
while the character spends pretty much the entire episode stating that she will never
attend Hearst College, it would seem that this episode almost acts as a dry run for the
series in this new environment. Now I have to say I’m rather pleased to see the
series taking steps to remove Veronica from the high school setting as it shows the
writers are willing to embrace the passage of time rather than have the series act like a
time capsule where the characters never venture outside the safe confines of the
established setting the series has created. However, fans need not grow too concerned
about the series changing too dramatically since Hearst College is so close to home that
pretty much all the supporting players will still be in play, and the entire purpose of
this episode would seem to be to establish that Veronica will play the same social pariah
role at Hearst that she currently holds at Neptune High. Plus, while their appearance
might just be a one episode guest-spot I have to say having Michael Cera (George-Michael)
and Alia Shawkat (Maeby) from "Arrested Development" attending Hearst as
possible classmates of Veronica’s makes for the place look even more promising,
especially since Arrested Development’s return on Showcase looks rather dubious. Now
the mystery that Veronica is called upon to solve was a bit odd as the rapist is left
uncaptured, but again this unresolved status offers up yet another sign that Veronica is
destined to attend Hearst next season, provided the upcoming move to a nightmarish Tuesday
time slot doesn’t completely kick the stuffing out of this series. As for the plots
playing out back in Neptune, we see Keith Mars teams up with Cliff, the always
entertaining seedy lawyer, to discover who stole his briefcase, but again this is another
mystery plot that stalls out. We also see Logan’s happy new relationship is dealt a
serious blow, and the main mystery involving the bus crash finally gets around to drawing
a link to the most likely suspect, but I suspect a few more twists and turns will be
offered up in upcoming episodes.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Fifteen, Season Two
UPN Production
"Your cheatin' heart will tell on
you"
Before I get into discussing the main plot
where Veronica is called upon to locate a runaway bride, I have to make mention of the
previously on recap which does a glorious job of making this series feel like a tangled
web that I’m sure it scared off any potential new viewers. I mean I realize that this
season’s mystery arc regarding the bus crash is a little involved, but this recap
included pretty much every element that we’ve received up to this point including
elements that it didn’t need to such as the discover of the body with Veronica’s
name written on it’s hand, or the dead rat on the bus. Still, I will give this
episode credit for offering up quite a bit of forward movement on the bus crash case as
it’s pretty clear that Cooke is being set up to take the fall, and in spite of
Keith’s best efforts to point out the problems with the case against Cooke the
Sheriff seems dead set on the idea that he’s got his man. Now this episode also
provides a likely motive for the murders during the economics class and I suspect that the
teacher’s explanation for what would happen to the real estate values in town if
Neptune Falls was incorporated will play a key role in the bus accident. As for the main
plot Veronica is called upon to locate a woman who has seemingly vanished on the eve of
her wedding, and while the means that she uses to locate the woman are pretty standard
detective work, the case does benefit from a clever little twist as we discover what made
this woman decide to run away on the eve of her wedding. There’s also a delightfully
awkward moment where this woman shows up at her wedding ceremony to discover her
husband-to-be has completely soured on the idea, and her casual acceptance of this
development was a lot of fun. The episode also offers up some interesting developments
when it comes to Logan’s new relationship, as it would seem that his interest in her
might actually be genuine. The episode also deftly brings in a plot thread from the
previous season, as the case against last season’s bad guy does look to be falling
apart.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Fourteen, Season Two
UPN Production
"Keep it in the closet"
Veronica Mars is finally back from an
insanely long hiatus, and I have to say for a series that seems to be trying to build up
it’s fan base, UPN isn’t doing the show any favours with this scheduling
decision. They also did a very poor job of selling it’s return to the airwaves, as
I’m a devoted fan of this series and I had real trouble figuring out if this
week’s episode was going to be a new episode, until I planted myself in front of the
television yet again with my fingers crossed. Still, there’s nothing quite as
enjoyable as watching the "previously on" clip piece that opens the show, and
spotting scenes from the last new episode are being shown. Now this episode is largely
centred around one of Veronica's done in one episode mysteries, as we see the homosexual
students that attend Neptune High are being blackmailed, and if they don’t fork over
five thousand dollars they’ll find themselves pushed out of the closet in front of
the entire school. Now I had the solution figured out pretty early in the game, as once
one of the blackmail victims ousted herself during the newscast I had put most of the
puzzle together. Still the episode managed to offer up some solid detective work from
Veronica, and there was a number of fun dialogue exchanges that made me smile, such as the
delightfully uncomfortable conversation between Veronica and Mac where Veronica tries to
explain why she wants to get on a gay chat room. The episode also offers up a fair amount
of forward momentum regarding Logan’s new relationship with the daughter of the man
who claims he saw Logan kill a man on the bridge, and I love the fact that Logan’s
intentions are never made all that clear. Keith Mars also continues his investigation of
the bus crash, and his efforts provide Cook with a pretty solid alibi for the time of the
accident. Now while Veronica’s episode ending discovery would seem to swing the
suspicion back in Cook’s direction it is worth noting that it was established earlier
in the episode that Steve Guttenberg’s character was the owner of the hanger where
Cook was storing his car collection so in my mind he’s still suspect number one.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Thirteen, Season Two
UPN Production
"He found Captain Winkie!"
The episode does suffer from a rather
implausible display of Veronica’s deductive talents as we see her expose a number of
seedy activities but my main complaint stems from the simple fact that these deductive
leaps stem from clues that simply fall into her lap rather than any clever investigative
work. I mean I’m not asking for every investigation to be a mental puzzler but is it
too much to ask that the writing put a little more effort than simply having her look down
and spot an all important clue at an ever so convenient moment. Now the episode does offer
up an unexpected plot twist involving the real thief’s identity, and I rather enjoyed
the line of reasoning that is used to explain why Veronica decided to let this one slip
free of the net. I also have to say that while the young actress performance is a bit
one-note I have to say I rather enjoyed the scenes that were devoted to Logan’s
latest pursuit. I mean the back and forth of these scenes does a lovely job of selling the
idea that Logan can be quite the charmer, and how can one not love the discomfort on the
face of this girl’s father when Logan decided to wave goodnight. There’s also a
cute throwaway side-plot involving the Stifler-clone, Dick Casablancas as he falls prey to
a cruel, but very clever gag that his younger brother put together. However, I have to say
my personal favourite section of the episode would have to be the plot involving Keith
Mars as he gets involved in a extended conversation with Terrence Cook, the baseball
player who has been linked to the bus crash. I mean, Enrico Colantoni turns in a lovely
character moment where he discovers his baseball idol was nowhere near as perfect as he
wanted to believe, and I’m sure every sports fan can identify with the moment where
Keith explains that he always blamed himself for that lost game. In fact this exchange
more than made up for the weaker elements of the main plot involving the stolen money box.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Twelve, Season Two
UPN Production
"I didn't say it went
perfectly."
Last week’s episode which returned this
series from a rather lengthy hiatus was pre-empted by collage basketball and if the UPN
station broadcast the episode sometime over the past week I missed it, so in addition to
having to trust my less than trustworthy recall ability when it comes to the plot threads
from a month and half back, but I also had to contend with the fact that I had missed an
episode where it appears quite a bit of plot played out. However, while I could pay a
visit to the "Televison Without Pity" site and fill in this gap, I’d rather
wait until I encounter the episode during summer reruns, and trust that I’ll be able
to get myself back up to speed. In any event while there were a couple moments where the
cast members were discussing elements that must’ve played out in the episode that I
missed, for the most part I was able to follow the action with only minor moments of
confusion. Now the school bus crash looks to have taken an interesting turn as we see that
an effort was made to get certain students off the bus, and if I had to answer the
question about why these students were removed it would have to be that their rich parents
would be more readily be able to afford an investigation into the crash, and this would
turn up the idea that it wasn’t an accident. As for the other plot I have to say I
was a little disappointed as clearing Wallace’s name was a rather simple "A
follows B" effort that didn’t really involve any clever detective work on
Veronica’s part, though I will concede I was rather impressed by how she got her
hands on the cell-phone that provided the key evidence that they needed to clear Wallace
of the hit-and-run charge. In the end though I have to say my enjoyment of this episode
was somewhat hampered by my having to spend a fair bit of it scrambling to fill in the
information gaps that stemmed from having missed a episode combined with the lengthy
layoff since the last episode.
3 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Ten, Season Two
UPN Production
"I don't feel I have to be loyal
to one side or the other. I'm just asking questions."
This is the first episode of Veronica Mars
that left me a little unimpressed, but I do think that my bar is set a little higher for
this series than most because most of the time this series has managed to exceed my
expectations. However, this episode is by in large a repeat performance of the classic
film "12 Angry Men", and truth be told most stories that venture into jury
deliberations end up looking pretty weak by comparison. Now I will concede that it was fun
to see Veronica taking all the relevant facts that had been brought forward, and by the
end of the episode she had fashioned a surprisingly plausible recreation of the crime. On
the other hand the venom filled reaction by her main adversary felt a bit dated, as when
Lee J. Cobb launched into the infamous executioner speech during the original film, his
reaction was very believable given the era the film was set, but in this episode a similar
speech felt like it was simply trying to reinforce the position that Veronica and the
others were correct in their decision. On the other hand his final comments do offer up a
nice dig at the current state of the judicial process, as one is left with little doubt
that this is exactly what will happen. As for the secondary plot involving Keith Mar's
efforts to locate the stolen Echolls sex tapes, I had the guilty party figured out pretty
early, and while the fallout from this revelation might be interesting as I'm sure Keith
reach out to bring this former detective under his employ when Veronica heads to collage,
the mystery itself was a bit flat. Still there is some interesting follow-up, as well as
an unexpected development from the previous episode's cliff-hanger, and the final scene of
this episode left me quite happy, as this character's absence has been quite noticeable,
so I'm delighted to see them back in the picture.
3 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Nine, Season Two
UPN Production
"Bringing Out Baby"
I have to say the cliff-hanger reveal was
more than enough to earn this episode an extra star, as forehead slapping moments like
this are actually quite rare, and I loved how the final moments play out, as Veronica and
us viewers slowly take notice of the visual clues up until the big episode ending reveal.
I also have to say that this reveal brings a whole new element to the table, and while I
would normally be concerned that the series might fall prey to the soap opera style
mawkish emotional displays that could result from such a moment, this series has shown it
knows how to avoid these pitfalls. As for the rest of the episode we see Veronica is
steered toward her mother’s permanent school files where she discovers a curious
detail, and her ensuing investigation plays up Veronica darker edge, as we see her
motivation for continuing this investigation is her desire to toss some dirt in the face
of Duncan’s mother. Now I have to say I had pretty much figured out the solution to
the mystery of the abandoned baby fairly early in the episode, as the word
"fiend" is such an odd descriptive term, and it only real purpose that it could
serve is that if one adds a single letter the meaning reverses, and with this knowledge
the puzzle is pretty easy to put together. Still while the main mystery wasn’t all
that mysterious, Kristen Bell is given several nice moments where we can see the numerous
underlying emotions that are driving her continued interest in this case. There’s
also an unexpected development in the rivalry between Logan and Weevil that I have to
confess I didn’t see coming, and how can one not love a well choreographed fight
scene. In fact the only section of this episode that didn’t really work for me was
the verbal cat fight between Trina and Kendall, as while I realize there is a Buffy
connection between these two actresses, the scene felt manufactured, and more like a
steady stream of cute comments rather that a real conversation. Still, Buffy fans will
probably draw more from this exchange than I did, and it’s such a quick scene that
it’s easy enough to ignore.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Eight, Season Two
UPN Production
"Stay out of the road, if you want
to grow old."
With the notable exception of last
season’s explosive finale this episode deftly sells the idea that Veronica has never
really gotten herself involved in a situation where she is in physical danger, so this
episode’s confrontation in the biker bar was actually quite jarring, as one
can’t help but be reminded that there are some situations where Veronica won’t
be able to talk her way out of a problem. In fact, I have to say there is part of me that
was rather pleased to see Veronica didn’t suddenly switch into butt-kicking mode, as
frankly it makes the character feel more genuine, as frankly there’s always something
rather artificial about those scenes where a lead character suddenly becomes a
hand-to-hand combat expert when they are threatened by the big bad villain. It also adds
an extra element of danger to future episode as we have been given a pretty good look at
one arena that Veronica can’t perform in. I also have to say it always bugged me when
Sherlock Holmes would get involved in physical combat, as it felt like a betrayal of the
underlying brain over brawn concept of the character, so it’s nice to see this series
isn’t making the same mistake with it’s lead character. Now the done in one
mystery of this episode is a welcome change of pace as we see Veronica is back to helping
her father on one of his cases, and since I’m a fan of the father/daughter
partnership I rather enjoyed the return of this element. The episode also offers up a
solid escalation of the tensions between Logan and Weevil, as we see the latter attempts
to figure out the truth of what happened on the bridge by giving Logan a good scare, but
this plan doesn’t produce the desired result. There’s also an interesting
development involving Duncan, as we get a look inside his head, and learn he has some
serious unresolved issues.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Seven, Season Two
UPN Production
"Don't hear one and judge
two."
I have to say the main mystery didn’t
quite work for me, as Veronica finds herself faced with a rather unsettling case as Duncan
stumbles across evidence of a child being abused, and Veronica’s investigation forces
her to take on a series of baby-sitting jobs in order to collect handwriting samples. Now
there’s some comical scenes in this episode that stem from Veronica discovering the
joys of baby-sitting, but for the most part the clever detective work that normally holds
my interest during these done-in-one episode mysteries simply wasn’t present, and the
final solution was a bit weak, though we do learn a bit about Sheriff Lamb that makes the
character a little more than a continually ineffective police presence that stands in the
path of Veronica’s investigations. Still, unlike most episodes the main story
didn’t quite hold up it’s end, but than again it was up against a particularly
strong week when it came to the running character arcs. I mean Logan gets one of his
strongest episodes yet as the exchange where he shoots down Kendall’s bid to get more
from her relationship with him than a roll in a sack was a wonderfully display of the
character’s ruthless edge, and this rejection in turn produces an interesting wrinkle
in Veronica’s relationship with Duncan. The episode also continues to develop my
affections for the frat boy antics of Dick, as he gets a wonderfully seedy moment with his
stepmother. There’s also a wealth of hilarious dialogue exchanges in this episode,
from the back and forth between Gia and Veronica during sex-ed class, to the comments that
are offered up when Veronica and Logan get a look at Duncan’s late night intruder
outfit. I’m a little curious about the big discovery that Keith Mars made in the
school bus in the previous episode as well, but it doesn’t even rate a mention in
this episode.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Six, Season Two
UPN Production
"Confessions of the Knotty
Nymphos"
This episode is rather heavy on plot elements
that played out in the first season and as such I’m patting myself on the back for
the efforts I made to watch every episode of the first season before I entered the second
season. I mean there’s a number of big plot elements from the first season at play in
this episode from the main plot of the episode which has Veronica searching for the
missing daughter of a dying Abel Koontz, to the even cooler reveal moment as Logan
discovers that he’s sharing a cell with his father. There’s also a nice little
conversation between Keith Mars and Arron Echolls, where the two men discuss the idea that
the bus crash may have been a failed bid at killing Veronica, and I have to say based on
his surprised reaction I don’t think it was. In fact if I had to guess the bus crash
is linked to Steve Guttenburg’s character, as I do believe his daughter was also
supposed to be on that bus. In any event this episode is full of fun little plot twists
and turns, as in addition to making numerous links back to the previous season, this
episode also manages to offer up a pretty solid display of how to present a mystery, as
Veronica’s search for the missing daughter featured some solid and at times some
highly amusing detective work. There’s also a nice escalation of the tensions between
Logan and Weevil that is sure to explode, and you just know when it does Veronica will be
caught right in the middle. I also have to say I’m rather enjoying the character of
Dick Casablancas as he’s has a hilarious Owen Wilson’s surfer dude/ American
Pie’s Stifler quality about him that I can’t help but enjoy. In the end this
episode did what this show does best, as it provided a highly engaging done in one
mystery, and some very compelling forward movement on the season long puzzler.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Five, Season Two
UPN Production
"Success always occurs in private,
and failure in full view."
The mystery of the week managed to offer up a
fun little twist that I have to confess I didn't see coming, though now that I look back
of the episode I have to say that the writing did offer up a bit of a cheat by offering up
the scene where Jackie's credit card was declined, which made it seem like her plight was
genuine rather than the elaborate ruse it turned out to be. Still, while the scene is
clearly only in the episode to mislead the audience, the simple fact that it managed to
cast the illusion of legitimacy over Jackie's request made it all too important to the
episode. In the end this episode did a nice job of show viewers that for all her smarts,
Veronica can be played for a fool, and this in turn makes her a more engaging character,
as a character who never fails quickly makes for a boring character. The episode also
manages to offer up another important piece of the puzzle to the bus crash, and we also
see an element from Keith Mars past surfaces and is deftly linked to the bus crash by his
opponent in the race for sheriff. Plus, this information casts a big question mark over
Keith Mars desire to prove that the accident wasn't the fault of the driver, and further
justifies his opponent's desire to see that it was. This episode also manages to offer up
a pretty serious shake-up of the status quo, as Wallace finds himself dealing with some
pretty serious information, and when Veronica gets to caught up in her own problems to
spot how close to the edge he is, we see him jump in a completely unexpected direction.
Now the material dealing with Wallace's personal crisis got off to a bit of a rocky start,
as I found the "Papa was a Rolling Stone" bit to be a little too obvious, but
the scene where Wallace confronts Veronica and begs her to retract her claws proved to be
the scene that made this episode my favourite of the new season.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Four, Season Two
UPN Production
"When a fellow says, 'It ain't the
money but the principle of the thing,' it's the money."
The detective plot of this episode was pretty
entertaining as we see Veronica takes on what looks to be a rather simple, but highly
lucrative snoop and snap case that her father was too busy to take on. Now the idea that
two wealthy trust fund people who were looking to establish a real relationship that
wasn't based on knowledge of their considerable wealth would end up in a relationship
strained credibility, and the ending where Veronica sends her client the proof that the
man was exactly what he appeared to be was a bit much. However the episode does serve as a
pretty good look at the detective work that Veronica employs to uncover the dirt that her
clients are expecting her to find, and while I did have to wonder what Veronica had
planned if the boyfriend had responded to her obvious flirting, Wallace's awkward bid to
explain why he knocked on the door made for one of episode's funniest moments. There's
also a nice moment of tension that stems from this case between Veronica and her father
when he discovers that she didn't turn aside the case like he asked he to. As for the
material dealing with the season long mystery we learn that a mystery phone call linked to
the bus crash is linked to the Echolls' household, and naturally Logan becomes a suspect,
which in turn results in a hostility laced meeting between Logan and Veronica, though one
has to imagine that the phone call was made by Logan's sister, or else his supposedly dead
mother. There's also a fun little sitcomish moment where we see Veronica late night visit
to Duncan's hotel room is interrupted by a knock at the door, and I loved that her first
response is that it's her father. There's also an interesting secondary bit of intrigue
involving Wallace's mother that takes an unexpected turn in this episode.
4 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Three, Season Two
UPN Production
"Keep your eyes wide open before
marriage, half shut afterwards."
I have to say I was a little surprised by how
quickly the Logan/Kendall Casablancas fling was exposed, but than again now that I think
about it's not like this plot was bringing much to the table beyond lingering shots of
Charisma Carpenter, so it's probably for the best that it was brought to a head soon than
I expected, rather than linger until is wore out it's welcome. Now I'm not sure I fully
understood how one builds a secure fortune though real estate fraud, as to me it looks
like a crime that leaves a huge paper trail, and as the economic teacher points out it's a
house of cards that is entirely dependant on the blind trust of gullible investors.
However, I guess the important element that one should walk away with from this episode
with is that Veronica's efforts have managed to destroy a family's fortune, and one has to
imagine that she has earn herself some new enemies. This episode managed to offer up a
pretty powerful reveal about the bus crash plot, as we learn that it wasn't a simple
accident, but rather it was an attempt on Veronica's life. We also discover the person
likely responsible for this murder attempt, and one has to imagine Veronica is going to be
wracked by guilt after learning that everyone on that bus is dead because of her. Now I
hope this elephant in the room doesn't bury this series under too much emotional angst as
one of this series best elements is the breezy, delightfully self aware dialogue, but
given the first season managed to play with some fairly serious plot elements while
maintaining it's sense of humour, I don't expect the second season will be any different.
I also have to say Neptune High has itself some of the best teachers, as this was the
first economics class that actually looked pretty darn interesting, and I hope this
teacher is more than a single episode character.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode Two, Season Two
UPN Production
"A student by definition doesn't
know what he or she doesn't know."
Before I get into an actual review of this
episode I have to say I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith's films, and I even enjoy the ones that
most people dismiss as his misfires (Jersey Girl, Mallrats), as I find his ability to
deliver hilarious back and forth banter to be enough to carry a movie, even when it's
saddled with a not so impressive plot. So when I learned about his guest-appearance on
Veronica Mars a series that has set the bar for engaging banter on television, I have to
say I was expecting to be blown away. However, I have to say I found the interplay between
Kevin Smith's character and Veronica Mars to be rather awkward, as it felt like it was
trying to hard to sell the idea that the character was a witty, crass and unabashedly
capitalist individual. Still the rest of the episode more than made up for my crushed
expectations, as the writing offers up a fun little twist on it's secondary mystery plot
in that Wallace decides that he doesn't need to call upon Veronica to solve the mystery of
the hot girl's dented fender, and we see that the time he's spent as Veronica's sidekick
has allowed him to develop some deductive skills of his own. As for the main plot
involving Veronica's investigation of the bus crash, this episode manages to offer up a
lovely way to pull Veronica into digging a little deeper, as the daughter of the bus
driver asks for her help in proving the her father didn't deliberately drive off that
cliff. Now the performance of the girl's younger brother was a little suspect, but scene
where Veronica is forced to sit through the complete meltdown of this girl's family was a
powerful moment. The scene where the daughter makes a desperate bid to get the case
reopened was also a solid way to get Keith Mars back in the running for the job of
sheriff.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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VERONICA MARS
Episode One, Season Two
UPN Production
"Heartthrobs: The Dream Date
Game"
I discovered this series during my search for
summer viewing, and I have to say I didn’t exactly enter it with high hopes as I was
fully expecting a silly teenage drama. However, what I discovered was one of the more
intelligently scripted shows on television, with some uniformly solid performances from a
well rounded cast of characters. I also have to give the series credit for offering up one
of the most tension filled season finales I’ve ever seen. Now this new season picks
up on the momentum of the first season, and manages to shake things up so that
there’s little danger of this series becoming stale. Now the switching boyfriend
trick felt like the show was trying too hard to mess with the viewer, but I’ll give
the writing credit for taking the time to establish why Veronica left Logan, and how
Duncan made his way back into her life so that Veronica doesn’t come off looking too
bad. The episode also managed to offer up a pretty interesting little mystery that weaves
it’s way in and out of the new character dynamics, as we see Wallace and several
other students fail a drug test, and Veronica’s investigation deftly eliminates all
the obvious explanations that most other shows would’ve offered up, and the final
solution while a little complicated, was also rather clever. In the end while the mystery
of the week element is a nesseary evil of episodic televison, this series manages to put
some real thought into it’s mysteries so that more often than not I find myself
surprised as the cards are revealed over the course of the episode. However, the real hook
of this series is the main mystery that carries over the entire season, and the final
moment of this episode offers up an amazing final twist that looks like it’ll easily
support the entire season.
4 out of 5 Stars
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