Diary of a Veronica Mars virgin – Adultery, cults, babies switched at birth, and secret societies

(Season 1, Episodes 9-12)

With my expectations reeled back in, I’m really starting to enjoy Veronica Mars now. It’s a fun show, and the ongoing mystery is intriguing.  With that being said, I was promised smart and respectful treatment of real teenage issues. So far I’ve seen transexual parents, cults, children switched at birth, and secret societies. I don’t know about you, but I never dealt with any of those things in high school. Now, if there were an episode about a teacher getting fired for having an affair with a student, then I could relate (true story, that actually happened while I was in high school).

I’m poking fun a little bit here, because I enjoy the fun, slightly off-the-wall plots. The really crazy ones usually end up being some of the better episodes.

“Drinking the Kool-Aid”

I thought this was an interesting and different take on the “young impressionable kid brainwashed by a cult” story. In this episode it turned out that the cult didn’t have any nefarious intentions, but were really just a happy bunch of earthy folks living together.

The real heart of this episode was the relationship between Veronica and her dad. After tricking Keith into giving her a blood sample for a paternity test, Veronica decided to shred the results without looking at them. I thought it was sweet that she didn’t want to disrespect the bond between her and the man that raised her. Plus, it would be way too creepy if she had accidentally dated her half brother.

“An Echolls Family Christmas”

Another fun episode, this one featured a mystery surrounding a high stakes poker game hosted by Logan. As Veronica got to the bottom of that problem, Keith was busy hunting down a stalker that was harassing Aaron. The mystery of the week was structured really well, with Veronica questioning each of the players in the game, rebuilding the evening and eventually solving the crime (she’s one smart cookie).

Real life couple Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna are a hoot as Logan’s dysfunctional family. I didn’t really buy Hamlin as a child beating monster, but he totally pulls off a womanizing jerk. Aaron’s stabbing at the hands of his former lover and stalker wasn’t the only exciting thing happening at the Echolls’ Christmas party, though. The scene with Veronica confronting Jake about the photos of her in the crosshairs was great.

“Silence of the Lamb”

This was a decent episode. It was fun to see Keith and Lamb going at each other as they investigated a murderer in Neptune. It was also fun to see Mac back in the picture, even though her subplot was a little sad. How much would it suck finding out that you were switched at birth, and really should have been raised in a super wealthy household? If you felt out of place at home and didn’t really like your family, like Mac did, you would probably be miserable at this revelation.

I also enjoyed Veronica hanging around the police station, flirting with Leo D’Amato. Not sure if he’ll be recurring or not, but there were certainly some genuine sparks between them, even if Veronica squelched most of them by getting him suspended with her antics.

“Clash of the Tritons”

This episode won a ton of bonus points with me for the title alone. I can’t look at Harry Hamlin without thinking of him wearing a loin cloth and fighting clay skeletons in Clash of the Titans. Aside from the title, I thought the Echolls drama really worked. I’m not sure if Lynn really did plunge off the bridge at the end of the episode, but I kind of hope she did. Not that I didn’t like her, but I think it would make for one kick ass plot twist!

There was a lot of other juicy dirt that came out in this episode as Veronica bugged the counselor’s office while she interviewed students about Lilly’s murder. It turns out that Weevil’s tattoo didn’t actually refer to his sister; he had a relationship with Lilly before she died. Also, it was revealed that Duncan (yawn) has some sort of illness aside from the depression. I don’t really care.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jun 05, 2009 @ 11:03 EST5EDT