May 10, 2006

Veronica Mars "Not Pictured"

Sally and Rob must stop reading right now. You do not want to spoil the entirety of “Veronica Mars” season 2 before the DVDs come out.

"Where's your brother?"

"I think he took Ghost World up to his room. They're probably up there making loooove. Or playing Dungeons and Dragons."

Leave it to Beaver.

So I wasn’t completely shocked by how the bus crash went down. It was one of the two people that everybody figured it was. Luckily there were several other seriously unexpected moments in the episode.

Weevil got arrested at graduation! That was actually really sad, and with his Grandma and niece and nephew right in the audience? Lamb is an ass. And then we didn’t see Weevil again. So that’s it? He’s going to just rot in jail? Since when do we care about justice? I really didn’t expect Weevil to figure into the next season since everyone else will be at college. But maybe we’ll get lucky.

Veronica was really raped. That I didn’t expect at all. It was really horrifying. But I think it’s going to end up helping Veronica be more sympathetic next season when she’s investigating the serial rapist at Hearst College.

Aaron got exactly what he deserved. And on Duncan’s orders? That was awesome. If Duncan were to ever come back as a regular, that would throw yet another interesting wrench into the Duncan and Logan friendship. But… where was Kendall when Clarence Wiedman was in the room?

Beaver blew up Woody! That was actually a nice favor he did for everyone in town, and the entire faux tanning industry. I wasn’t really worried that Keith was on the plane as we were to assume. There’s no way this show could go on without Enrico Colantoni. But watching Veronica think Keith was on the plane as it blew up, was heartbreaking. Kristen Bell really deserves that damned Emmy already.

Jackie has a kid? I didn’t see that coming either, but I’m not really sure that I care. Jackie was only minimally interesting as a character. And once she left for “Paris” I ceased to care about her at all. But Poor Wallace. Although now it’s going to make more sense when Veronica ends up going to Hearst. Wallace and Mac are going to need her.

And Mac… poor Mac. Tina Majorino kicks so much ass with just two lines and a bed sheet. Veronica going to find Mac in the hotel suite was one of the best emotional moments of the episode. Excellent performances from both of them, but I thought what really sold it was the fact that Mac wasn’t the only one betrayed by Beaver. He wasn’t what anybody thought he was, including the audience. Tina Majorino must be a regular next season. She can keep doing “Big Love”, just like she’s been doing through this season. It can work, I just know it.

Now I have to confess, as it was getting to the 45 minute mark, I was really worried that we were not going to get nearly enough Logan. But then of course he shows up just in time to save Veronica’s life. I was seriously tense when he coaxed the gun out of her hands by telling her that she’s no killer. I was just sure that he was going to turn it on Beaver himself. And even though it would be somewhat a self defense move, Logan really has enough mental torment.

Loved the scene of Veronica passed out on Logan’s lap, which echoed the scene of him on her lap from the season premiere. And of course, love them together! The few moments we got to see of them as a couple were perfect. I actually believe they can be happy, as long as they don’t let the other stuff get in the way. Other stuff, like Kendall.

So how is it that Kendall and the Fitzpatricks don’t fit in at all? All that time spent on them and they had nothing to do with any of it? Although it looks like Charisma Carpenter has signed on for another season, since she showed up with a briefcase important enough to make Keith stand Veronica up at the airport. Can you believe Beaver left all his money to Kendall? The hell? That probably wasn’t intentional, but what a bizarre development.

Oh, and something occurred to me last night as I was drifting off to sleep. Lamb made Keith get off the plane so Keith wouldn’t be photographed as the one bringing Woody to justice when they landed. So does that mean Lamb was on the plane? Can that be? Lamb is an ass, but his interactions with Veronica and Keith are so great. And do we really want Keith to be Sheriff again?

Oh, and did I mention Beaver jumped off a building?

Okay, that’s everything I can think of. Now, I have to say this. And don’t get me wrong, because I think this show kicks the ass of overrated “Lost” on a regular basis. But, I felt like the season finale was… anti-climactic. Maybe because we didn’t know the bus crash victims that well, the finale lacked the same emotional resonance as finding Lilly’s killer? (Loved seeing Amanda Seyfried last night!) Maybe it was just over-hyped? I know some of the advance word on the finale insisted that it would be making our heads explode. And there was definitely an enormous amount of shocking revelations, but my head remains intact. Maybe it was because the last moments definitely lacked the squee value of last year’s ‘who’s at the door?’ Veronica standing alone in an airport waiting on her dad just doesn’t make me tear out my hair in anticipation of next season. Why didn’t she just get on the plane? He’d either catch the next flight or she’d see him in a week. Either way, my ass would be headed to NYC.

But all of that said, even in a slightly uneven season, this is a far better drama than anything else on TV. (And I can safely say that because "Deadwood” has been on hiatus for a year.)

But, what's in the briefcase?! So okay, maybe I will be tearing my hair out before next season.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I don't think the writers spend as much time creating scripts as you do critiquing this stuff.