(Season 2, Episodes 5-8)
Season two of Veronica Mars continues and I’m not seeing the drop off that some people warned me about. I think it’s quite similar to season one, actually. I’m wondering if the season long mystery isn’t going to end up as tight as the one in season one. At this point in the season, the mystery is still a little unclear. I suppose it’s the bus crash and what exactly happened. Certainly, that’s not as compelling as Lily’s murder in season one. Maybe if the writers had actually killed some characters that we had cared about, I would be more invested in the crash, but….
“Blast from the Past”
So… the writers wait an entire year to give Wallace a story and this is what we get? I guess I should give them points for trying, but I’m still not really that interested. Why is it that I think his mom is a far more interesting character than Wallace and she has about a fifth of the screen time, if that?
I do have to give some props to Jackie after this episode, though. She definitely played Veronica like a fiddle, and that’s saying a lot. Veronica is not the type to let herself get fooled. Although with all the shenanigans she has been involved with, I think she may have had this coming to her.
The big revelation in this episode, aside from Wallace skipping out of town, is that Veronica discovered that there was an explosion before the bus crashed. It certainly seems like Aaron set the whole thing up to take out Veronica, the star witness against him. Could it really be that simple? I mean, it seems like Aaron’s conviction is a foregone conclusion. Why would he even bother on trying to take out Veronica?
“Rat Saw God”
Well, I wasn’t expecting the election to be over so soon. I was hoping for more Keith/Lamb shenanigans and confrontations. I suppose we’ll still get some without the election.
Veronica and Clarence Wiedman working together? This is the type of partnership that wacky buddy films are made of. I enjoyed them together, and was actually a little surprised at just how brutal Wiedman really was in his tactics. I wonder if we’ve seen the last of him now.
This whole episode seemed to be a shout out to season one, with appearances by Weidman and Aaron Echolls. I’ll never complain about more Harry Hamlin, though, even if his visit was a tad odd. Also, it was totally awesome to see Joss Whedon doing a guest spot. I almost “squeed” like a tweenaged fan girl. Almost. I said almost!
“Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner”
This was a dark episode. Child abuse and creepy, neglectful parents of rich, spoiled children. It was a big downer. I thought that Meg’s parents looked a little sketchy when Veronica first bumped into them in the hospital. It also looked like one of the other Manning children had a black eye in that episode. I wrote it off as my imagination, but I guess it wasn’t.
It’s so strange seeing Krysten Ritter as Gia Goodman after watching her in this past season of Breaking Bad. I don’t think the two characters could be any more different. Gia seems like such an innocent, and slightly sheltered, princess. Jane, her character on Breaking Bad, was a recovering junkie and pretty dark. I guess it’s a testament to the actress that both characters really work.
“Ahoy, Mateys”
The darkness continued, if not escalated, in this episode, with Veronica very nearly being tortured by a gang of criminals, saved only by Logan and his gun. Then it got even worse as Weevil’s gang kidnapped Logan and played Russian Roulette with his hand. It was uncomfortable to watch, to say the least. Season one managed to stay pretty light, even when it was dealing with murder and rape. I haven’t really minded these dark turns, but I prefer a lighter Veronica Mars.
Duncan also opened up Meg’s letter at the end of this episode… I wonder what sort of secrets that letter held….
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jul 10, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
“I’m not seeing the drop off that some people warned me about.” Hmm, that’s odd. People also warned me about the drop off two years ago when I started watching season 3 and decided to watch S1 & S2 on DVD. I thought S1 was kickbutt awesome, but was sorely disappointed in S2, from ep 1-on. S1 was all about the formerly popular girl (a la Buffy) who descends into high school nothingness and utterly transforms because of it. Although S2 was about what happens when Veronica becomes popular again, I found myself not caring as much. Plus, I found last year’s mystery more compelling.
I think the difference maybe is that I would never describe the first season as Kickbutt Awesome. At best, it was fun and smart. Everything that I enjoy about the show is still there in season two. I like Guttenberg, his daughter, and the Casablancas, so that has kept me pretty well entertained.
It’s hard to judge the season 2 mystery at this point, because I don’t know how it is going to all come together. I think I will be able to make a better judgement at that point. As of right now, however, I’m enjoying season 2 about as much as I did season 1. But it sounds like my expectations weren’t as high as yours moving into the 2nd season.
I think when you go into season 2 expecting a major drop in quality, you expectations are exceeded. If you go in expecting Citizen Kane 2: Electric Boogaloo you are going to be disappointed.
Plus its hard to give a bad review to anything that has Charisma Carpender in a bikini.
Most people don’t like Season 2 as much because the big mystery isn’t as personal to Veronica (or to us), and it kind of gets put on the back burner more than it should have been. The mystery isn’t as “tight”, but still, episode for episode, I think Season 2 is great. I think the episodes get better later in the season too.
I enjoyed season 2 as much as season 1 personally. Season 3 is the drop off in quality, and it’s a very big drop.
I agree; I really enjoyed season two. Some of the episodes in season three were really good too, it just wasn’t as powerful without the story arc piece. I loved the relationship between Veronica and the dean.
I love “Ahoy,Mateys”; Jason Dohring really demonstrates his acting shops in this episode (he was good before too).
I love season 2 mostly for the Logan/Weevil storyline, i loved their dynamic and i was most interested by them than by Veronica.
It’s also for this reason that the last season is not as good as the others : it’s not enough about the other old characters beside Veronica.