OPEN
CASE: VERONICA MARS
=====================================================================
Weapons
of class destruction
Season
1 -- Episode 18
Aired: April 12, 2005
By: Sue
=====================================================================
Jumping
right in:
The
Story of the Week
The
specific details of the mystery of the week--who is threatening to blow up
Neptune High?--are far less important than the overall messages contained
within the plot:
**Revenge
is a powerful motive. (Think Pete)
**So
is protecting one's reputation. (Ben)
**Surface
appearances are not always accurate.
(Think Norris)
**Beware
of making assumptions based on past reputation. (Think Norris)
**Identities
can be mistaken, falsified (Veronica's impersonation of Ms. Rausch) and even
dual. (Think Ben the extraordinarily
young AFT agent)
**Watch
out for misdirection. (Think Pete)
**Bad
parents are ubiquitous in Neptune.
(Pete)
**Veronica
is not above using her friends to help crack the case. (Wallace and Mac)
**Actions
have consequences. (Ms. Stafford and
the newspaper)
**Principal
Clemmons expects the newspaper to ignore the real story and act as propaganda
to make the school look good while covering up the truth.
**Veronica
is willing to ignore the obvious and look below the surface to find the true
guilty party.
**And,
finally and most significantly: someone
has been framed to look guilty. In fact, in this particular case Norris is framed twice: first,
by Pete the computer nerd and later by Ben, the law enforcement officer. To quote Veronica, "You have the wrong guy."
These
are lessons which occur repeatedly in every episode of Veronica
Mars. Now, apply each one of
them to unraveling the mystery of Lilly's murder.
<b>Lilly's
Murder Arc</b>
No
real progress is made on finding Lilly's murderer. No new clues are introduced (unless you count having the themes
mentioned above drummed into our heads.)
The arc is advanced only in that Logan informs Duncan of Veronica's
investigation and files. Duncan angrily
confronts Veronica and is stunned to find that she really does suspect
him. Even more disconcerting is
his realization that he is indeed be
capable of rage and possibly even violence and that his missing memory may hide
something terribly dark.
Duncan does disappear at the end of the episode, but
this cannot really be taken as direct evidence of anything other than his
intense confusion.
Ongoing
Character and Relationship Developments
On
the other hand a great deal of progress takes place in the relationships
developing among our primary characters.
Far
from being the totally ostracized and isolated Veronica of episode one this
episode begins with our heroine in serious lip-lock with Deputy Leo, who clearly
wants to take the relationship to another level. Later in the episode she is hit on by both Courtney and Norris,
to say nothing of The Kiss with Logan. (We'll get to that in more detail,
friends. And, yes, it must be thought
of in terms of capital letters!) At one
point, as she is called to Principal Clemmons office Veronica even jokes,
"I'm beginning to think he has a crush on me."
Her
bond with Wallace endures angst over their parents' developing relationship and
they actually express their affection for one another verbally as best
friends. I could so see them
as stepsiblings somewhere down the line.
We see Veronica interacting as well with Meagan, Mac and Ms. Stafford.
Much
is made of the meaning of friendship in this episode. To Veronica and Wallace being best friends seems to include being
honest with one another and keeping each other's secrets as well. (Well, at least Wallace is keeping
Veronica's secret about her mother in spite of his misgivings.) Logan claims to have told Duncan about
Veronica's files because, "he's my best friend." Duncan, on the other hand, never told Logan
about his epilepsy. And Veronica
defends her invasion of privacy as legitimate because, "Lilly was my best
friend."
Other
relationships are growing as well.
Keith and Alicia Fennell are dating, seriously it seems. Meagan and Duncan are still together. Duncan and Veronica seem friendly enough in
the hallway during the fire drill. Of
course that is before he learns of her investigation and suspicions.
Veronica
seems to be making a place for herself in the journalism class and on the
school newspaper. She is concerned
about the position her investigation will put Ms. Stafford in with Principal
Clemmons. She is expanding her circle of
trust and friendship and her popularity appears to be on the rise as well. She does, however, continue to believe in
her mother with an almost painful naivety.
In spite of everything we know about Lianne she must have done something
right in Veronica's early years to inspire such love and trust. Or is she just all that is left of
Veronica's childhood for her to hold on to?
Am I right to be afraid of what waits around the corner?
And
then there are Veronica and Logan. Or
should I say: Veronica/Logan? Some of you saw it coming, but very few of
us expected it to arrive like a ton of bricks at the speed of a freight train.
The
Kiss
I
can't speak for everyone, but what is hot compelling to me
about this scene is not the kiss so much as the
looks. Romantically minded
viewers (of either gender) melted across the nation. The look on Logan's face is uncertain, determined, awed, stunned. The look on Veronica's face starts with
stunned and proceeds through questioning, searching, maybe
yearning and possibly accepting. She
certainly didn't pull away once Logan initiated the lip-lock. The next dozen times you re-watch tear your
eyes away from their facial expressions long enough to observe the body
language--mostly the hands, but the entire posture. Thank the powers that cast that both Kristen Bell and Jason
Dohring can act superbly simply via facial expressions and body language
without the need for dialogue. The
post-kiss expressions were every bit as priceless. I believe the use of "gob-smacked" is entirely
appropriate. Logan is pure
vulnerability and questioning (was anybody else expecting a head-tilt?). As Veronica pulls away and walks to her car
she appears uncertain, but not rejecting.
My take: Logan knew what he was
feeling but feared to put it to the test until she gave him the friendly
peck. Then he watched her carefully
both before and after, desperately trying to ascertain her reaction. Veronica on the other hand had no
clue--either of his feelings or of hers.
She is entirely taken aback by the kiss and her reaction to it.
And
how wonderful for Logan to be the brave knight in shining armor arriving to
save the girl. After all, Veronica has
already saved him at least once.
I
loved this scene, not just for the intriguing element it introduces to the
storyline, but for the total lack of dialogue:
there was no need, their faces said so much.
Of
course, there were also two other scenes in which these two exchange glances of
great eloquence. These scenes frame the
episode: in the beginning in Journalism
class and again at the end; same location, but of course, everything has
changed.
Looks and a List
In
fact, this is an entire episode of looks. I'd be fascinated to know how many pages the
transcript comprises--and how that compares to other episodes or other
shows. If you taped the episode, try
re-watching it with the sound off.
Scene after scene relies on facial close-ups and facial expression far
more than any dialogue. I wish I knew
how to do screen-caps, but I'm sure others have already done it faster and
better than any attempt I could make.
In
case you didn't tape it, I'll remind you of just a few of the most obvious and
delicious to watch:
*Veronica
and Leo
*Veronica
and Keith: Veronica's face
*Wallace
and Alicia: Wallace's face
*Back
to Veronica's face
====
*Veronica
and Wallace
*Veronica
eyes Duncan (voiceover)
*Logan
and Veronica exchange glances in journalism class
====
*Courtney's
guilty face as the dogs ignore him
*Veronica
ponders dogs' behavior
=====
*Veronica's
face as Mr. Clemmons berates Ms. Stafford
*Ms.
Stafford as Veronica demonstrates "the voice"
=====
*English
class: camera pans faces of Ben, Norris
and Pete
*Veronica's
face as she passes Keith and Alicia on the couch
*Keith's
expression when Wallace insists it's time to go
*Wallace
comments that Veronica will want Ben's file and Veronica answers with a
"speaking" look
====
*flashback
to Norris' "rescue" of Veronica:
no dialogue
*Duncan's
angry profile at the lunch table
====
*Veronica
approaches Duncan from behind---we can see his stony face
*Duncan's
enraged face
*Duncan
as it hits him that Veronica suspects him; as he becomes aware of his rage and
later as he questions the possible implications of his memory loss.
====
*Logan
exchanges looks with Ben after beating him.
*The
entire sequence of looks both before and after the kiss
===
**And
the one glaring exception to this visual smorgasbord: The Voice.
We don't see Ms. Rausch, we only hear her
tremendously distinctive voice. Of
course that is more than enough to we see her clearly in our mind's eye. An actual visual would be overkill. What a clever device to allow Veronica to so
convincingly impersonate her.
Quotes,
Quibbles and a Comment;
A
trio of quotes caught my ear:
Ms.
Stafford to Veronica: "I believe
in you."
And
later, again Ms. Stafford to Veronica:
"We're bringing daylight here."
Veronica: "I'm blowing the lid off.....fire
safety policy."
And
one that was just funny. Veronica (as she prepares to throw the Japanese
weapon): "Detention? Me?
I think not Mr. Clemmons!"
==================
Overall,
I thought this was a superb episode and, as usual, my minor quibbles about
reality are really just nitpicks. I
really don't expect TV shows to totally reflect real life in all of its
mundane, boring facets. But still, it
seemed odd that the students assumed the random fire drills were evidence of an
administration on Oxycontin rather than assuming the alarm was being set off as
a student prank. Likewise in the real
world no principal would attempt to handle bomb threats without informing his
superiors and even if he did there is no way he could get away with calling in
the police and bomb sniffing dogs without the media getting hold of the
situation. Just sayin'.
And an
even smaller nitpick---how is it that Veronica thinks she can be undercover
when trailing someone or staking them out in her oh-so-very distinctive car?
=================
Finally, I wonder whether to make anything of the
fact that in the end there was no actual bomb?
It was all only fabricated threat.
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