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Veronica Mars: An Echolls Family Christmas

"No, Veronica. There is no Santa Claus."

Dual mysteries at the Echolls house, just in time for the holidays.

Let's start with the fun one, the big poker game theft. Five players, ergo five possible suspects. I eliminated Logan immediately because, despite his often questionable behavior, it just didn't feel like something Logan would do. I eliminated Weevil nearly as quickly because he has principles; he just isn't duplicitous enough to keep hounding the other guys for money he already had. I thought for awhile that Duncan had done it for some obscure reason of his own because seeing him drunk just felt off, somehow. But no, not our squeaky clean Duncan. He was even faking being drunk.

And that left the two strangers. Stranger number one: Connor Larkin, hot but not too bright movie star, who kept defending Weevil. Was he really a nice guy, or just overcompensating because of Weevil's social status? Probably both. Stranger number two: Sean Friedrich. Sean's over-the-top snark made him the logical culprit. The way that the writers kept setting up obvious red herrings made me think it couldn't be him. But it was. This time, the obvious red herring culprit was our winner.

I didn't have a clue who was stalking the despicable Aaron Echolls, and frankly, I didn't much care. Aaron Echolls not only beats his son with a belt, he sleeps around on the wife he supposedly loves; it's impossible to feel sympathy for him even after his unfortunate encounter with an icepick. The really interesting part of that party was Veronica's brief confrontation with Jake Kane in the library. Jake thought Celeste was behind the gun sight surveillance photos. And isn't that interesting?

So there was Logan, running a poker game, smoking a cigar and making racist digs at Weevil, and I just wanted to smack him. And then we saw the other guys ogling Logan's bikini-clad mother by the pool, Logan looked away, and I immediately felt major sympathy for him. (Interesting that Weevil was the only one who picked up on Logan's feelings. Shame on you, Duncan.) I immediately felt for Logan when his father was stabbed, too. There's something about Logan, isn't there?

Logan and Veronica actually bonded a little during that scene where she came over with the papers. As she was leaving, Logan looked at Veronica in a rather pointed way with interest on his face. Am I picking up a romantic vibe? And wouldn't that be really, really interesting?

Bits and pieces:

— As usual, there was a deliberate marked contrast between the Echolls' catered fake-snow gala with many servants, and Keith and Veronica in their small apartment putting handmade ornaments on their tacky Christmas tree.

— If Aaron and Lynn Echolls had listened to Keith, Aaron wouldn't have been icepicked. Why hire a detective if you're just going to ignore him?

— Duncan told Logan, "It's like you've been going over to the dark side bit by bit, so slowly that I didn't notice when you morphed into a full-fledged jackass." I've wondered why an upright good guy like Duncan had a best friend like Logan. It's because Logan used to be a much nicer guy.

— When Logan was ten, he was in love with Rosie Perez. This just made me smile.


— If I were Veronica, I'd be panting to know the contents of Duncan's journal. What was he writing about her?

— When Logan was discussing Veronica on the phone with Connor, he referred to her as "V, as in virgin." Maybe my mind just goes this way, but I started thinking about the still unsolved date rape. If Logan knew about it, or if he was the one who did it, would it be more or less likely that he would refer to Veronica that way?

Quotes:

Veronica: "The down side to being an only child? You know all the scary handmade ornaments are yours."

Logan: "Look, he's mortal, believe me. They just draw his abs on."

Sean: "Connor, you really are like the son Aaron Echolls never had."
What an impossibly rude thing to say with Logan in the room.

Logan: "Annoy, tiny blonde one. Annoy like the wind."

Weevil: "Seriously. Don't I just blend right in? Where's Weevil?"

Another good one. Three stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

4 comments:

  1. Very good episode. Again, we see the difference between the Neptune family who seems to have it all and Veronica/Keith. Their relationship is healthier that entire Neptune.
    My favourite scene: everyone surprised at how Veronica was dealing the cards.

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  2. I just knew that Veronica was going to be a card shark :). I'm just loving this show. All the characters (well almost all) are interesting and funny. I think my favourite character after Veronica and Wallace is Weevil. I agree with Billie, he has his own kind of integrity and he manages to deal with the rich kids on his own terms. Veronica is still trying to figure that out.

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  3. There's something about Logan, isn't there?

    There really, really is. On the one hand, I want to smack him. On the other, I want to hug him and tell him that everything is going to be all right. Amazing dichotomy for a kid.

    I agree with Doc about Weevil. There's something about him that I respect. The scene where he picks up on Logan's distress was underplayed and was, therefore, powerful to watch.

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  4. There's a bit I liked where Veronica is pestering her dad about what he'd like for Christmas and he's giving her funny answers ("Your love and respect :)" "You to save your money"). Later in the episode after Logan's da gets sent the pumpkin head, V's dad is freaking out trying to track down where the sender could've bought it from and wondering aloud how there isn't the right produce available year round even in California, and then V says "Well at least now I know what I'm getting you" LOL

    >>"There's something about Logan, isn't there?"
    No. Haven't gotten around to drinking that kool-aid yet... Duncan's boring but I like him more. But Weevil more than both.

    >>Sean: "Connor, you really are like the son Aaron Echolls never had."
    >>What an impossibly rude thing to say with Logan in the room.
    That was kind of the point though wasn't it lol. I think it'd be more rude if he said it behind his back because then it'd be something he really meant, not just "bantering" with Logan.

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