OPEN CASE: VERONICA MARS

Season 2 - Episode 13

by Rae

VM 2x13: Ain’t No Magic Mountain High Enough – Veronica Mars the Ride

Pull your lap bar down until it locks into place, fasten your seat beat, and secure all loose belongings. For your safety, please stay seated, face forward, keep your head, arms, and legs inside the episode at all times. The ride is about to begin…

I don’t know about you but it sure felt this episode was our version of the upcoming senior trip to (Six Flags) Magic Mountain. Complete with a roller coaster, the MoTW; overdosing on sweet stuff; a little throwing up; and that slightly sick feeling you have in the pit of your stomach on your way out of the park.

Get Ready to Experience the MoTW!

Roller coasters generally start with a slow climb up a slope, gears cranking away as you grip the handlebars and anxiously wait for what’s coming. Then, someone steals the cash box and we’re off.

The Hauser Loop-de-loop

One of the many twists and turns on this ride is the discovery that Mrs. Ms. Hauser has been doing a little fundraising of her own. Like Mr. Pope, she can’t wait for her ship to sail. Hers is a little less literal and definitely more bitter than his but it seems even the teachers at Neptune High are more aware of the class differences this year and seeking ways to raise their social status. Sadly, Ms. Hauser is not nearly as moral as Mr. Pope and is quite willing to stick some other suckers, the seniors, with the consequences of her stealing the money they’ve raised. Anything to raise the anchor and get her ship out of the harbor.

Ms. Hauser spends the episode happily and viciously pointing the finger at others for the theft. I’m guessing she was more worried about not having the opportunity to skim more money of the top than bringing the thief to justice. One just hopes she lets her son in on the “plenty of people with notorious parents who turn out to be decent people” tidbit when the word gets around about what she’s done. Neptune is a fickle place and the children always pay the price for their parents’ misdeeds.

The JB Corkscrew

I was going to berate JB for not paying attention last year and then I remembered that he was busy going through the Triton initiation rites. It’s understandable that he didn’t get the message. JB? Veronica Mars? She’s smarter than you. And, given that the Ms. Hauser’s quiz was on Alcohol and Alcoholism, I’m not even sure having the answers would guarantee that you’d do better than Veronica on it.

Knowledge is power, they say. In Veronica’s words, “True that.” There are some interesting parallels between Veronica and Keith in this episode and this is one of them. In case there was any doubt left, we’ve seen how these two think and work alike this season. Witness how Keith uses information he learned about Terrence, by chance, to get him to admit the truth and how Veronica uses information she learned about JB, by chance, to get him to admit the truth. Not to mention the fact that they even mirror each other when they reveal the information, pushing a button on their laptop and swiveling the screen to face the guilty party’s way.

See, JB, you never stood a chance. That brain? That’s genetics, baby!

A Thumper Boomerang Turn

Good things stuffed snakes can’t actually hurt you or we’d all have huge lumps on our heads because, in case we missed it last week, Thumper is the snake in the grass. So, it’s hard to feel bad for him. He may not have stolen the cash box but he is Neptune High’s drug connection. I’m guessing Weevil got more than just a car out of the deal. He knew that Lamb wouldn’t hold Thumper once he realized what the pills really were but, in the meantime, Thumper got a little ego check. He may be the new PCHer leader but he’s not invulnerable either.

The Uncle Eli Heartline Spin

“This is Ophelia, my niece.” That was all we really needed, Ophelia, whose namesake was known for her obedience to her father. If the name didn’t give it away, the red balloon she carried around throughout the episode was probably a hint. But who would have suspected Weevil would send his niece to steal the money?

I’m pretty sure it’s his niece who actually takes the cashbox. She can be seen in the background when Veronica is distracted talking to Wallace about the annual Triton Tuck and Run. Plus, she’s small enough that no one would be suspicious of her standing on the other side of the slushie counter. She’s at the right height to slide open the door, slip the cashbox into her backpack, and run back over to Uncle Eli.

Weevil proved that he’s a cool customer and is very capable at what he does. Too bad he wasn’t so good at sneaking around with Logan or he might still have his bike and gang. I’m pretty impressed with his resourcefulness. I’m not sure he intended to steal the cashbox. After all, he couldn’t have known that Ms. Hauser was going to give it to Veronica but it seems too well planned to have been a spur of the moment decision. I’d guess he was following Ms. Hauser around waiting for the perfect opportunity. Still, the way his plan fell together was impressive.

To answer Veronica’s question, it’s clear that Weevil is into the classics and, while he rented the Brosnan remake to see Rene Russo in her see through dress, he definitely owns the original McQueen The Thomas Crown Affair. For those not familiar with the movie, it’s about a handsome millionaire who pulls off the perfect crime. He hires four men to rob a bank. They dump the money in a trashcan and Crown goes back later to retrieve it. Vicki Anderson, an independent insurance investigator, is contracted to investigate the crime and quickly suspects that Crown is involved. To get closer to him she starts seeing him socially while openly admitting that she is investigating him.

It is, indeed, the perfect comparison to what Weevil pulls off in this episode. He uses his niece to steal the money and then has her stash it in the middle of the ball pit in plain sight. Once her bag has been searched and ruled out as a hiding place, she makes the switch again and no one is the wiser. Veronica makes a good Vicki, immediately pegging him as a likely suspect and continuing to question him even when it seems unlikely that he could have pulled it off. I must say, though, I’m glad Weevil and Veronica failed to re-enact the longest kiss in cinema history. I prefer to believe it’s Veronica’s undying platonic love for him that kept her from turning him into Clemmons.

WARNING: Splash Zone

What’s a theme park without a water ride? Well, dry but nearly as much fun.

Jackie draws the comparison between herself and Veronica for us. She’s right, though. Veronica didn’t lie down and let people walk all over her when she made the decision to stand by her dad. However, to be fair, Veronica’s dad was accusing someone else of murder not being accused of being a murderer himself.

Jackie’s quick fall from grace could lead to an interesting study of Neptune High’s 09er “royalty” and social standings. Logan’s father is arrested for the murder of Lilly Kane and the attempted murder of Veronica. Logan himself is accused of murdering someone and, yet, he’s still the Social King of Neptune High. Dick’s dad flees the country because he’s been scamming millions out of people and Dick hasn’t suffered a bit socially. Jackie’s dad is only accused of being involved in the bus crash and she’s fallen to the last rung of the social ladder. What makes the difference in Jackie’s case? I think it’s because of the number of students involved and how many other students were affected by it. Even the one 09er involved is now dead so every social class has been touched by the crash. Plus, it’s consistent with the way the entire school turned on Jessie back in “Driver’s Ed.”

While Veronica has learned her lesson about jumping to conclusions where the bus crash is concerned – note how she doesn’t try to avoid Jackie’s gaze like she did Jessie’s not so long ago – she still doesn’t immediately discount Jackie as a suspect in the case of the missing cash box. That is also consistent with the history between Jackie and Veronica. Still, Veronica does well by not continuing to jump to quick conclusions about Jackie. Perhaps seeing a bit of herself in Jackie, bringing us back to Jackie’s comparison between the two of them. She even has Wallace there sticking up for her like Veronica did last year.

Meanwhile, as Veronica is getting to know more about Jackie and helping clear her of the theft, Keith is getting to know Terrence and deciding whether he is going to help clear him of his involvement in the bus crash. In a sad twist of fate, where one Mars gains respect for one Cook another Mars loses a great deal of a respect another Cook. For better and for worse, our first impressions aren’t always right.

Sweet Shoppe

Who can resist the lure of sweets? From flavored, ice, cold sugar water to cotton candy, it’s temptation in it’s purest form. The first few bites are always the best; they give you a little spark of energy and leave you craving more. Even when you start to realize you’ve had too many, you keeping eating. Then at the end of the day, when you’re leaving the park, it’s been a good day and you’re smiling but you can’t ignore the nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach. Not quite enough to make you throw up, just enough to sour your excitement a bit and make you curse the evil of sweets.

The exchange between Logan and Veronica was like that first bite of something sweet. For the first time in a long time, there didn’t seem to be a mean undercurrent to their words. Logan is flirty but still snarky with her and, while Veronica doesn’t exactly flirt back, she isn’t cold either. Perhaps that’s what should have clued me in on what he was doing with Hannah? He is openly flirting and admitting to Veronica what it is about her that attracts him. A nice follow-up to Veronica’s realization last week that she hadn’t quite been herself lately; Logan is now admitting that is the Veronica he likes.

Yet, from what we see of Hannah, that doesn’t seem to make sense. If ice, cold bitchiness attracts him, why go for the sweet and innocent younger girl? His initial flirting with Veronica distracted me, had me wondering if that’s just how he woos girls. We’ve never seen Logan approach girls but we know he’s good at attracting them so it felt right that he’d know the right thing to say and do to get a girl to spend time with him.

Then again, this is Neptune and as Veronica reminded us in the very first episode this season, “Nothing happens accidentally.” Logan’s smile and little wave to Dr. Griffiths from outside the car window suddenly changed the innocence of his scenes with Hannah from sweet to sour and I was left with the same sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get when I’ve overdosed on sweets.

Looking back on the episode, it’s clear that Logan’s moves were very calculated. Winning her a stuffed animal, calling her Princess, and sitting in the bounce house with her. All fairly normal things that a teenage boy would do to get close to a teenage girl – witness how every girl in the couples Veronica sees entering the carnival are all clutching a stuffed animal to their chests – but Logan is about as far as you can get from your typical teenager. The question now is how far he’ll be willing to take this move. Was it just a warning to the morally ambiguous doctor? Or was it just the beginning of Logan’s plans for Hannah?

Other Attractions

No theme park would be the same without the smaller attractions that give us a break in between the dizzying rides and seduction of sugar.

Clown Time

Oh Dick. You were an easy mark. Way too easy. I didn’t expect her to be a drag queen but, as soon as she fed you the line about being a step mom who isn’t younger men, I knew you were being set up. You poor pathetic horny asshole. You deserved that.

Why was Dick so bothered by Beaver and Mac? Could it be that, yet again, Beaver’s getting all the lovin’ while Dick’s flapping out in the breeze? Gia is nowhere to be seen and Madison turns him down quick. Dick can’t seem to get lucky and I don’t think he likes seeing Beaver succeed where he’s failing.

Before I move on to our next attraction, I find I must note that this episode seemed to reiterate that Dick really isn’t that complicated but is still dangerous when angered. He takes such pleasure at shooting into the clown’s mouth (ahem). So much that he preens again in Clemmons’ office when that’s what we see him doing on the video yearbook tape. He even glances around at the others in the room with pride. Then, he gets easily distracted by Ophelia’s red balloon and has to be called back to attention.

Even his attempt to break Beaver and Mac up, while cruel, wasn’t all that clever. No, I think we get lots of examples of how his motivations are fairly simple but that doesn’t mean his potential for causing damage should be underestimated. When he’s jealous of Beaver, he doesn’t think twice about hurting his brother. And, again when he realizes who duped him in the end, the only thing that stops him from beating Beaver to a pulp is Beaver’s own form of insurance against his older brother’s violence.

In a way, Dick reminded me of Aaron in this episode. He swings back and forth between simplistic asshole to raging Dick so seamlessly that it’s almost scary. This Casablancas boy bears watching.

Check out that Beaver, Damn!

Then again, so does the other Casablancas boy. He’s not quite the pushover that he’s appeared to be in the past. He comes off as follower but he’s got the power to control Dick and that makes him more powerful than I realized. Especially now that he and Mac are a team, they appear to be cute and cuddlely but together they have a dangerous combination of know-how and money.

Themes Everywhere

There are so many themes mixed into this episode that examining each one fully would take forever and this review is already too long. Instead, I’m going to touch on each one briefly and leave you to ponder further.

· Royalty vs. Hoi Polloi: This theme is one of the foundations of this entire show and it’s a prime focus in this episode.

o “Their senior trip, the rest of us want to go to Magic Mountain.” The Student Council, comprised of 09ers, gets to decide for everyone where they’ll be going for the senior trip, even if it’s not what everyone else wants to do. The ‘Royalty’ of Neptune High making the decisions.

o “Oh, the rich, how they mock you.” This should be the motto for Neptune. It’s the reason Ms. Hauser starts skimming off the top and it’s what happens throughout this episode.

o First we get: “There’s a fifty dollar bill?!” “I had them made special.”

Then we get: “Uh, I never leave house without at least thirteen [grand].” “Yeah, me either.”

Sarcasm aside, we’re being reminded again at the rather large difference between the rich and the poor of Neptune. Could the class warfare be about to heat up again?

o “The hoi polloi, they don’t know what they want until I’ve have it.” Logan, the Social King of Neptune High, pointing out how the others follow him.

o Madison’s dad giving her the money to buy pie and then making a show of buying “her” pie in front of everyone. An example of how money is no object to the 09ers and is often used to keep up appearances.

o Terrence tells Keith that in the game he threw, that one pitch erased millions in debt. What lengths will the rich go to in order to maintain their social status? They know exactly what happens when they fall from grace and become one of the masses.

o Ms. Hauser skims off the top of the senior trip money to help raise her status and free herself from Neptune High.

o Weevil’s plan to frame Thumper relies on the social structure of Neptune and who will be considered likely to have stole the cash box. The very reason he is a prime suspect is the reason no one questions the evidence against Thumper.

o In the end, Weevil steals the money to raise his status now that he’s no longer in charge of the PCHers. He’s no longer a loser on the bus; he has his own wheels again.

o Terrence reveals that he was using his fame and status in town to help get the support of Neptune 09er minorities in on Woody’s plan to incorporate. This is an important connection because the 09er minorities were probably the hardest to convince. They, of all 09ers, are the most likely to have a problem drawing city lines based on income. Note: He also reminds Keith that this would change Lamb’s status in Neptune and that’s why Lamb is suddenly looking for ways to discredit Woody. Again, a person’s status serves as the motivation for taking action.

o Earlier in the episode Logan informs Hannah that Dick is “all about the Royals” and, later, that seems to be true since Dick is attracted to a drag queen.

· Who’s Your Daddy: Ahh, another theme that has always played a pivotal role in this show. How your parents and their actions define you in Neptune:

o Jackie’s father is accused of murder and she suffers the consequences. Overnight her status changes and she becomes an outcast even though she hasn’t actually done anything different.

o Madison’s father continues to spoil her and putting on a show before her friends to ensure her status at the top of the 09er pyramid. It could also be said that he continues to do this to make up for his past decision to keep her over Mac, as if he has to continue to buy her affection.

o Logan goes after Hannah because her father is pretending to be the witness on the bridge.

o Throughout the episode we see Veronica trying to get the truth out of people much like Keith is trying to get the truth out of Terrence.

o Uncle Eli acts as a father figure to Ophelia but what is he teaching her and how will his decision to involve her in stealing shape her in the future.

o How have the actions of Dick Sr. affected Dick and Beaver? How much of how they act towards each other and others is shaped by his actions? We could also probably include Dick’s big brother/fatherly role with Beaver, claiming to be looking out for his best interests but actually trying to sabotage his relationship and how Beaver reacts to that interference.

o How much will Terrence’s past decisions reflect on Jackie in the future? Will it make a difference that he’s not a murderer but that he is a cheat?

o For that matter, how will Woody’s desire to incorporate Neptune affect Gia?

· Cold vs. Hot: I don’t have very many of these but I like two main images of cold vs. hot that we get.

o Logan gets some ice, cold sugar water from Veronica but later shares cotton candy or melted (hot) sugar with Hannah. He goes from wanting something that will turn his tongue blue to sneaking bites of something that will turn it pink.

o Winter Carnival in Cali. Notice the icicles hanging everywhere and winter scenery that gives the appearance of it being cold. Almost everyone is bundled up in winter coats, scarves, and gloves again making us think that it’s cold. Yet, we have the Triton Tuck and Run. Naked boys baring themselves to the cold. Then, we have Jackie shivering in her bikini. Is she shivering because of her many dunkings or is she shivering because of the cold reception of those around her? The images of winter and cold work well to contrast with how naked and vulnerable she is to all of them. Later in the episode, when Veronica has proven that she’s not the thief, she’s back to being covered and bundled up nice and warm in her coat.

o Two ice, cold slushies = Hot date

· Liquid/Water/Sea: Appropriately, we often get a lot of liquid/water imagery in Neptune. This episode is no exception. I’m pretty sure there are more than these but here are a few:

o What’s your poison?

o Liquid evil

o Rain check

o The quiz in the copy machine is on Alcohol/Alcoholism.

o Ice, cold sugar water

o Dunk tank with repeated images of Jackie sinking beneath the water and emerging cold and dripping wet.

o Lots of images of snow and icicles

o Spit, spitting out the memories and, uh, shooting into the clown’s mouth.

o Ms. Hauser wanting her ship to come in

o Goldfish Toss constantly in the background shots

o Madison would rather set sail to Catalina

· Sexual Innuendos: This one is fairly obvious but we had a lot of sexual references in this episode. I’m not sure that these will ever end up being important but just in case, I made a list.

o “Do I look like I enjoy being covered in white goo?” Uh. Actually, no. You’ve denied Dick enough times, Madison. You’ve convinced me you’re not into that…

o Heh. This one actually makes me laugh out loud each time I hear it. Veronica describes Madison’s hills as “hideous, fake hills” but Ms. Hauser is much more complimentary, “What wonderful mountains, Madison.” Think about it.

o “Wow, people really love Pep Squad pie.” This is kind of surprising considering how we know Madison feels about white goo.

o “I am so good at this game, bro.” “Shooting in a clown’s mouth. Your future’s bright, Dick.” Do you think “into” didn’t make it past Standards and Practices?

o And, the perfect follow-up to that “Would that you could spit out the memories.” Indeed, Logan. Indeed.

o “See how it just slipped right out.” I hope Dick doesn’t give Beaver a complex.

o Bambi Gasm. Very, very bad imagery.

o “Fewer quickies, more longies.” I liked Madison’s delivery of this line but I’m not sure I can believe she ever engaged in any quickies with Dick.

o Note: Is it a coincidence that the first episode in which Madison plays a big role this season is also the first episode that we get several references to spitting?

· Magic/Fairy Tales/Fables: I can’t leave out these references. A mix of fairy tale, magical, and fable type of references. I’m pretty sure I’ve missed several but here are the few that I caught.

o “Magic” Mountain

o Madison and her glitter make her a Fairy Princess

o The decorations of the carnival seem very fair tale-like. The cartoonish quality of the hills and the glittery signs.

o What’s your poison, little boy? You know, I’m a little sad that this is the one episode we don’t have Logan biting into an apple but, since he’s actually the evil witch tempting the innocent girl this time, I guess I’ll overlook the chance for that obvious symbolism.

o Leaping frogs.

o “Fairy floss” aka cotton candy

o Princesses and pink bunnies

o Veronica’s magic trick with JB

o Veronica references Noah’s Ark and people entering two by two.

· Animals: Spring and Sue’s reviews have pointed out that we’re getting a lot of animal imagery this season. So, I wanted to make sure and note the various animals we either see or hear referenced in this episode.

o “I can’t help but notice that you’re separated from the herd and I’m concerned. Predators and all that.” I’ll say. Does that make Logan the wolf in sheep’s clothing? Maybe this entry should be included under the Magic/Fairy Tales theme as well.

o People entering two by two, just like in Noah’s Ark.

o Jane is holding a panda bear that Wallace has obviously won her.

o Logan notes that he won’t actually be leaping frogs.

o Snakes. Thumper will do anything to get the stuffed snake so he can scare people with it and Veronica comforts with the fact that Magic Mountain has the Viper, her mother ship.

o Logan wins himself a pink bunny and gives it to Hannah telling her to name it after him.

o Several penguins decorate the FBLA slushie booth.

o Other stuffed animals we see people with: teddy bears, cows, goldfish (lots and lots of fish), frogs, and lions.

Have Some Pop Culture

I’ve touched on a lot of these above but wanted to provide a quick list of all the pop culture references I caught in this episode. Actually, they aren’t all so much “pop” as just plain culture:

· The title of the episode is a reference to the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

· The title is also a reference to Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Los Angeles. Later we get mentions of both Batman the Ride and the Viper, both rides at Magic Mountain.

· OJ Simpson – Dick makes a crack about his Terrence Cook autograph being worth more than his OJ Simpson autograph.

· “Sorry, I was distracted by the pitchforks and torches.” Salem witch trials.

· Grease – “School Carnival? Me, you, and the Shake Shack doing a little ‘You’re the one that I want.’”

· Hamlet – Two references to this one. The name of Weevil’s niece and Logan’s comment about the “hot daughter of a King he marries off to get Denmark or something.”

· Powerpuff Girls – Veronica asks Ophelia if she likes them and which one is her favorite. With all that pink? I’m going to guess Ophelia favors Blossom.

· Ghost World – Dick refers to Mac as “that chick from Ghost World”, referring to Enid in the movie.

· Veronica wonders which version of The Thomas Crown Affair that Weevil watched when planning his theft. I refer you to my breakdown of the MoTW for a synopsis of the movie.

· Fatal Attraction – Terrence compares his relationship with Ms. Dumas to what happens in this movie.

· Bambi – I’m not sure this should count but I noted it. The escort that Mac and Beaver hire is named Bambi Gasm. Plus, we’ve got Thumper too so that’s two people in one episode whose names come from Bambi.

Spot the Continuity Fairy

Every theme park has mascot, whose image is plastered all over the place pointing out the rules to the rides or plastered on the packaging of all the souvenirs. This park is no exception. The Continuity Fairy can be seen flitting almost every scene of this episode. You don’t even have to look hard to spot her working her magic:

· Annual Triton Tuck & Run, first seen last year during “Clash of the Tritons”

· Veronica uses the pictures she took of the Triton Initiation Ceremony in “Clash of the Tritons.” (For the curious, JB is not the guy seen in the background during CotT.)

· Again from “Clash of the Tritons,” Veronica uses words written on money to smoke out the real culprit.

· From “Return of the Kane,” a student assistant has access to a teacher’s copy machine code and uses it to make unauthorized copies. Plus, Veronica uses the copy machine’s ability to keep track of codes and the time they are used to get the guilty party to confess.

· Also in “Return of the Kane,” we have Ms. Dent standing behind Veronica’s requests during her investigation. During this episode, we have Mr. Clemmons standing behind Veronica’s requests during her investigation. Also, in both episodes, Clemmons asks Veronica whom she is accusing.

· Look! Corny!

· Veronica herself remembers back to “The Girl Next Door” and asks Weevil how he and Logan managed to spindle Mr. Daniels car.

· Back in “M.A.D.” Logan was “beyond tardy for physics” and Veronica gave him a lesson on Newton’s second law of physics, “Remember *kiss* force equals mass times acceleration.” Fast forward to Hannah speculating that Logan hasn’t taken physics and he informs her that he has Newton’s second law tattooed on his heart. The ‘shipper in me wants that to mean more than it probably does but it’s definitely marked by the continuity fairy.

· “M.A.D.” is also the first time we hear about Catalina, when Logan asks Veronica there on a date. Is it any wonder that Veronica would prefer Magic Mountain to a trip at sea with her classmates?

· JB considers Veronica his arch-nemesis for the Kane Scholarship Fund, which is first mentioned back in “Kanes and Abel’s.”

· Veronica tells Logan how Madison’s Dad buys the Pep Squad pie and then drops three bills for it in front of every one. This reminds us of the time that he hired a string quartet and waiter to show up for her birthday in “Silence of the Lamb.”

· It’s been a while but Lady Justice is back on the corner of Veronica’s desk at Mars’ Investigations.

· Good to know that Veronica was prepared for Clemmons’ confiscating her keys in “My Mother, the Fiend.” I was wondering how she was going to handle it when she needed to get into the office after hours.

· Twice in the episode, we see a reference to Terrence meeting the kids at the stadium and signing autographs for them in “Normal is the Watchword.” Of course, Terrence remembered Veronica when he met her again later with Jackie so I think it’s a bit weird he didn’t mention her when talking to Keith about that day. Maybe he just didn’t want to remind Keith that his daughter would have been on that bus?

· Mr. Pope was counting on his actual ship coming in when his Casablancas stock hit back in “Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang” and here we have Ms. Hauser being eager for her ship to come in as well.

· “Like A Virgin” ends with Veronica realizing it was Mac who had set up the test results web site when she sees her drive off in her new green car. This episode ends with Veronica confirming her suspicions about Weevil when she sees him pull up in his new green car. And, as with Mac, Veronica doesn’t turn him in either.

Mysterious Information

Last, but not least, we got some more information about the Fitzpatricks and the bus crash this week. Are the two connected in some way? It’s difficult to tell but it’s a little suspicious that they keep coming up connected to things. Either the Fitzpatricks are involved or someone is trying to frame them. This week we learn that Terrence owed lots of money to the Fitzpatricks for gambling debts and he threw a game to help settle the debt. Ms. Dumas had found out about this and she had threatened to go public with the information if he ever left her. Now, I agree with Keith that Terrence wouldn’t have killed a busload of kids to off Ms. Dumas but can the same be said about the Fitzpatricks?

We also learned that Lamb’s forensics people found traces of cell phone and baseball fragments embedded into the driver’s body. Terrence claims that Lamb believes he planted a cell phone with a bomb in the back of the bus and detonated it by calling the phone. I’m not clear why Lamb would think the bomb was detonated at the back of the bus. I take it as a good sign that Lamb has begun investigating the bus crash again even if it is just to try and stop Woody’s plans for incorporation. Sadly, I don’t see Lamb sharing any of his information with the Mars family seeing as Veronica just made a fool out of him and he knows that Woody wants Keith on his side. How will all of that play out in the weeks to come?

And, that folks, is Veronica Mars the Ride. Push on the lap bar to release it, gather your belongings, and exit the episode to the right.

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