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Veronica Mars: Lord of the Bling

Logan: "If you really want flowers, dying seems to be the way to go. Here's your costume. If it's not sad enough, I can order you a veil."

We had an angry sons and powerful, not-so-nice entertainment mogul dads theme going on here, as well as a nice little Romeo and Juliet subplot. I guessed immediately that Yolanda hadn't really been kidnapped, but her little brother Bryce orchestrating the whole thing was an unexpected twist. Bone Hamilton treated his son with disdain, his daughter like she was a possession, and his wife like she barely existed. I totally understood Bryce's anger toward Bone. It was similar to Logan's toward Aaron.

It was almost possible to feel sorry for Aaron in this episode, though. He showed anger at the nasty photographer who complained about his broken camera. He dumped his insensitive and pushy agent, and even said he was quitting show biz. We could tell Aaron was still acting, playing the part of the grieving husband, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was because he didn't know how to genuinely express grief.

The best part of this episode for me was, of course, Logan Echolls. Logan is fascinating, and is already one of my three favorite characters (the others being Veronica and Keith). Breaking that camera, telling his father off in front of the paparazzi, acting out at his mother's funeral – Logan's pain and anger just got to me. I can relate to Logan. I had a seriously terrible childhood myself, and I was an angry and emotionally unbalanced adolescent. (Not any more, though. I'm a grown woman, and except for that broccoli incident, I'm much better now.)


Extensive flashbacks. I love extensive flashbacks. For me, the most interesting flashback revelation was Logan's hyper-jealousy of Lilly. Does that put him back on the suspect list? Not for me. Absolutely everything Logan feels comes right out of his mouth. How could he possibly prevaricate to that extent?

The only way Logan could cope was to believe that his mother ran away. How about that final scene, with Logan finally coming to Veronica for help with finding his mother? I didn't see it coming, but it had to happen. Where else could he go?

Bits and pieces:

— In nearly every episode, there's at least one stand-alone scene that I love. This week, it was Veronica as Melinda, your hospitality hostess. Veronica doesn't lack for nerve, which is one of the reasons I adore her.

— Lynn may have run away. Veronica's mother Lianne ran away. So did Yolanda. Another recurring theme.

— A couple of episodes ago, Keith had marks on his face. This time, he had hurt his back. The P.I. biz can be hazardous. "Next time, remember. Lift drunk, combative bail jumpers with your legs, not your back."

— Lynn Echolls left her suicide note on a Blackberry. Uh huh. Tell me another one.

— Keith kept telling Veronica to stay in the car. Veronica didn't once stay in the car.

— Trina was too busy shooting in Sydney to come home for her mother's funeral. Maybe they haven't cast her yet.

— In this week's hair report, Wallace had a new do. Not bad at all.

Quotes:

Bone: "Tell me this, baby. How did a man like me end up with National Black Velvet and Urkel?"

Veronica actually said of Yolanda: "We used to be friends a long time ago."

Keith: "What's cooking?"
Veronica: "Not quite sure myself. Something that ends in 'a-roni'."

Lilly: "Glad to see you guys are equal opportunity oglers."
Logan: "Hey, I judge not by the color of the skin, but by the content of their sweater."

Keith: "He was here Saturday night with his bunch of dudes."
Veronica: "His posse, Dad. The Eagles had a bunch of dudes."

Photographer: "Who's going to pay for my camera?"
Aaron: "I'll tell you what. I'll get on it just as soon as I bury my wife."

Logan: "My father thanks you. My mother thanks you. I thank you." Here is where a background in old movies is helpful; this is a line from the old Jimmy Cagney film, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Except Logan left out "my sister thanks you." Maybe because she's still in Sydney.

Veronica to Keith, who is holding a pile of rubber duckies: "Make yourself useful. Get those things in a row."

Two out of four stars,

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

2 comments:

  1. I feel this episode is actually one of the weakest ones of season one. The main case is not very interesting, except when it parallels Veronica. And we needed more Logan here.

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  2. The writing on this series continues to astonish me. In the same episode that Logan paraphrases King, we see a lighter that says "Free At Last." In no way is this a coincidence. Fascinating that such a white bread family would relate so strongly to the civil rights movement. Makes we want to know why.

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