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Veronica Mars: Not Pictured

Clemmons: "Anything I should know in case I get another one like you someday?"
Veronica: "Don't keep all your passwords taped to the bottom of your stapler."

These last two episodes were just spectacular.
I had no idea that Cassidy was behind it all. And it was believable, because there were hints all along. Last season's main plot points were skillfully interwoven into this season's. Turns out Veronica was raped at Shelly Pomroy's party, after all.

Cassidy raped Veronica, and killed a lot of people: the eight on the bus, Curly Moran, and whoever was in the plane with Woody. Kyle Gallner must have been cast just for this, to be a believable villain. I really thought he'd killed Mac, and was so glad he didn't. Mac is a terrific character, and I want her back next season. Veronica needs a Q of her very own, after all. As well as a roommate at Hearst.

(I thought Keith was dead for about a minute. And then I thought, no, I just don't believe they'll do that to us.)

If someone had told me ten episodes ago that, once again in mortal danger, Veronica would turn to Logan, he would save her life, and they would end up together, I wouldn't have believed it. Even though I wanted it to happen. Now that's some damned good writing, baby.

I thought Logan would end up killing Aaron, possibly in self-defense. It was so appropriate that Duncan had Aaron executed by Clarence Wiedman instead; it was Duncan's sister that Aaron killed, after all. Veronica in the elevator with Aaron made me shudder, and made Aaron's execution just a bit more delicious. (Harry Hamlin, you were a terrific villain.)

All season, I kept wanting to believe the worst of Duncan, but he again turned out to be pretty darned cool. But can't he just stay in Australia with the baby? I want Duncan out of Veronica's life. And I want more Veronica and Logan before they break them up again, which I'm certain they will.

Veronica's pink and glowy graduation day dream was amazing, and rather sad. Keith was still the sheriff, and still with Lianne. Veronica was going to San Diego State in the fall. Duncan was there, but interestingly enough, Veronica appeared to be with Logan instead. (Meant to be.) Veronica loved high school, and had never met Wallace. Lilly was alive and going to Vassar. Lilly noticing her own memorial fountain was sad.

We were left with two cliffhangers: Weevil's arrest for Thumper's murder, and whatever Kendall showed Keith. What was in the briefcase? Why didn't Keith show up at the airport?

Bits and pieces:

— Sheriff Lamb, with glee on his face, arrested Weevil at the graduation ceremony, before he could graduate. Any real human being would have let him get his diploma first. That was just too bad.

— In "Normal is the Watchword," the flashback of Logan arriving at Veronica's door also had them on the sofa together with him stretched across her lap as she tended to him. There was a parallel scene here in reverse, with Veronica lying across Logan's lap as he tended to her. I love stuff like this.


— Surprise. Jackie has a toddler, a former drug problem, her mother wasn't a model, and her waitressing skills didn't come naturally. I like Jackie as a character, but I don't think they were consistent with her characterization throughout the season.

— Keith partnered with Vinnie Van Lowe again to find Woody. Vinnie is such a terrific character. We never know which side he'll be on.

— Alicia was there for Wallace's graduation. Too bad it never worked out for Keith and Alicia.

— At graduation, Mac and Veronica were wearing tassels, for honors. (I got to wear tassels when I graduated from high school.) Veronica was also wearing a medal. What was it for? I don't think she was valedictorian, was she? Did she get the Kane scholarship after all?

— Dick was in the audience, with Cassidy. So Dick didn't graduate. How is Dick going to take his brother's death?

— Little nod to Smallville, and the future CW? Woody was watching The Dukes of Hazzard. (And funnily enough, the boys were talking about going to prison.) Woody, scary in the last episode, was a lot less scary here half dressed and throwing a stuffed deer head at Keith.

— In the last episode, Hart Hanson was standing by Cassidy's car, and he told Veronica that he was still keeping quiet. Veronica had forgotten who he was, and so had I. He was the one who accidentally filmed Logan's mother going off the Coronado bridge, right?

— Duncan and baby Lilly were in Mollymook, Australia. On another beach. Let them stay there, please. Why did Duncan as a character never work for me? The requisite angst was built into his relationship with Veronica, but I just never cared. Was it the actor? Would it have been different if they'd cast Jason Dohring, who has tremendous chemistry with Kristen Bell, as Duncan instead of Logan?

— Kendall came out well with the Phoenix thing, to the tune of eight million dollars, because Cassidy bet against incorporation. Cassidy must have thought he'd take Woody out and that would kill incorporation at the same time. But then he didn't do it before the election... so I don't know what I'm talking about.

— Logan is now an orphan, and very rich. Let's hope he doesn't have a psychotic break next season as a result of too much trauma. And hey. His mother could still be alive, after all.

Quotes:

Vinnie: "I risk my life to bring a fugitive to justice, and you're giving me the world's tiniest violin."

Dream Veronica: "So how's the sheriff business?"
Dream Keith: "Pretty sweet. We got Otis sleeping it off in cell one, and Lamb has to wear the Clete the Crime-Fighting Canine costume to all the elementary schools this week."
I'd pay to see that. A perfect match for Lamb's crime-fighting skills, indeed.

Veronica: "I don't know if I like the idea of you running around a place full of armed, drunk businessman."
Keith: "That's why I rarely go to Texas."

Keith: "For you, on this momentous occasion."
Veronica: (after feeling and sniffing the envelope) "A pony?"

Veronica: "Where's your brother?"
Dick: "I think he took 'Ghost World' up to his room. They're probably up there making love. Or playing Dungeons & Dragons. Or both, at the same time."

Veronica: (to Kendall) "Why are you here?"
Logan: "Yeah, I didn't know you could come out during daylight hours."
Vampire reference. A little Buffy homage?

Season two had such a different feel from season one, probably because one was a lot more personal for Veronica: solving her own rape (incorrectly, as it turned out) and her best friend's murder. But I'm still very satisfied. This show is unbelievably addictive.

Four big stars,

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

3 comments:

  1. I still think Lamb should have let Weevil graduate.
    This episode is truly thrilling and having Cassidy be the villain is totally believable. Major kudos to Kirsten Bell who did a phenomenal job.

    I love season two, I do but the fact that it has too many bus crash suspects and too many theories hurt the season a bit. But I still love it! This and season one are awesome.

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  2. This season and its resolution, although both were very good, lacked something. As I think about it, I believe it is that I was much more invested last season in the people involved than I was this year.

    To begin at the beginning, we knew the victim last season; this season they were a group of students of whom we only had fleeting glimpses. The suspects last season were people we knew and we cared about. This year, there were so many that it was hard to believe that any were the guilty party. And, as it turned out, the guilty party was pretty out there.

    To be fair, the clues were there. Right from the first episode, Woody talks about coaching the little league team; Cassidy is uninterested is sex; his business shows us that he has quite the brain. Yet, somehow this resolution did not affect me nearly as much as the previous one. Last season, I was terrified when Veronica confronted Aaron; this season, not so much. Was it because she was up against a kid and not an adult? I think that’s part of it.

    While I love the idea of Logan and Veronica together, this time it felt unearned. She was so upset with him just a few episodes ago for making that booty call to Kendall. I understand why Veronica would trust him with her life; I don’t understand why she would trust him with her heart -- yet.

    Having said all that, it was still a wonderful season of television and I liked a lot more of it than I didn’t. Once again, thanks for the reviews, Billie. Fantastic, as always.

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  3. My NAME is CASSIDY!!!
    That made me grin in the middle of all that tension. But damn what a neat way to bring the """almost-rape""" back into the picture. Very cool.

    Vinnie: "I risk my life to bring a fugitive to justice, and you're giving me the world's tiniest violin."
    The joke was that Keith was trying to do the hand signal for 'moolah' right? I don't know if I got too clever with my interpretation there

    I like the resolution here way more than season 1's, though I understand and agree with the complaints that the writers didn't do a good job of making us care about the bus victims, and took too long to even try to flesh any of them out. Though I disagree that the rooftop confrontation with Cassidy was less scary than the one with Aaron last season. I mean yes it is viscerally more terrifying to close your car door to find the grown man killer right behind you, but there was such a slasher element to it with Veronica the only one being in immediate danger (well, until Keith arrived on the scene - that is to say that Keith's arrival made me think he was in real danger, not that Veronica wasn't lol) that I found Mac's absence and lack of confirmation on her fate until Beav-- Cassidy killed himself scarier in the end. And there's just something more terrible about it being fellow castmember-on-castmember violence. The 'retributive' tasering, while not being as immediately lethal as Aaron was still disturbing to watch. And Veronica's little "Daddy" when she was trying to reach Keith on the phone :( She's so cute

    The MVP of the episode is... DUNCAN!!! I only wish he was wearing cool silver shades when he received The Call.

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