OPEN CASE: VERONICA MARS

Season 1 - Episode 2

Credit Where Credit's Due: It's All About Veronica

By Sue– 01-OCT-04

The show's title is Veronica Mars and it lives up to it's billing. Veronica appears in nearly every scene. We see her interact with Wallace, her Dad, Duncan, Weevil, Troy, Sheriff Lamb, Logan, the newspaper sponsor, the sleazy lawyer, dead Lilly, the guilty cousin, and more. The only scenes in the entire episode without Veronica in them are the exchanges involving Weevil, the cousin and Logan. And that's O-K. Because we care about Veronica even though we are only on the second episode.

One short year ago we might not have liked Veronica very much. She ran with the in-crowd and we have no way of knowing whether there was a "marshmallow", or any other center, under her shallow exterior. A year ago it's a good bet Veronica wouldn't have cared about the fate of Wallace, Weevil or Weevil's grandmother--if she'd even been aware of their existences. As horrible as the past year has been for Veronica, it made her what she is today: smart, resourceful, loyal and badly damaged by her history. Mostly, she's the outsider and the underdog and we are already rooting for her. Are we clear on what we are rooting for? Does Veronica really want to know who killed Lilly, who raped her, what her mother is up to, or to return to her past glory days of popularity? We want what Veronica wants--but, what, exactly, does Veronica want?

In a wonderful convergence of casting and writing Kristen Bell is up to the task of appearing in nearly every scene and creating chemistry with a wide range of supporting secondary, and even tertiary, characters. This episode sheds just a bit more light on Veronica's relationships: Her friendship with Wallace continues to grow. They discuss plans for Friday night. We see her interacting in a fairly normal parent/child manner with her father: "You going to wear that cap inside?" (She sasses him, but takes it off.) But their relationship continues to have its dark corners. He is keeping information from Veronica; she has examined his files without asking. Now she has a whopping big piece of information about the time of Lilly's death. This is the "big reveal" of the episode. When will she tell her father? How will she tell him? Will he then let her in on the investigation? This is too big to keep from him.

Notice also that Veronica is not just the lead female character; thus far she's the only female character with a role of any significance. (Although with Sydney Tamia Poitier getting billing up front that may change.) Veronica's relationships are primarily with males at this point: her Dad Keith, Weevil, Wallace, Logan, Duncan, Troy, Sheriff Lamb, Cliff the lawyer, Jake Kane and the cousin. Outside of consecutive, seconds-long appearances by Olga the only other female characters are: Mrs. Kane (1 appearance); Mrs. Navarro (likely 1 episode); Lianne Mars (she's missing, although maybe see caught a glimpse of her hand); Lilly (she's dead, although remarkably chatty); Caitlin (1 time guest shot); and, of course, the weekend desk clerk at City Hall.

So, it's all about Veronica. How does Veronica's character develop in this episode? We already learned quite a bit of her past--good and bad. We briefly see her acting like a typical teenager in the diner with her father. She continues to hang with Wallace but has no compunction about ordering him to download student schedules to help her research. Wallace: "Don't mess with me, I'm an office aide." Veronica: "That's great.... for me." (Can we say Buffy/Xander moment?) Her knowledge of and ability with photography is re-emphasized. When posing as Lilly, she almost gets busted by Lamb, but still pushes her luck by taunting him. The only false note: Veronica Mars needs help changing a tire? That's a throwback to her pre-murder persona, fer sure.

Reputations

The title of Tuesday's episode was "Credit Where Credit is Due." A play on words since the plot line involved stolen credit cards but also because much of the episode centered on making sure that the "credit" for the crime went to the true criminal. The irony just dripped from Veronica's look after her father says, "I thought they had the confessed criminal in jail." Yeah, right Dad, because the forces of good are always right.

Unfortunately credit is often doled out based on one's reputation rather than the actual facts. Reputations loom large throughout the episode. Mainly Veronica's and Weevil's. The school counselor has already decided that Veronica is "disconnected and passionless."

Keith Mar's comment on Weevil, "I've been picking up Eli since he was 12," implies that this is good reason to assume he committed the credit card theft. Even Weevil's grandmother asks, when the police show up, "What have those boys done?"

Then there is the exchange between Troy and Veronica:

T: "Are you always this persnickety? Let me help you. I'm Troy, by the way."

V: "I'm Veronica"

T: (light bulb clearly clicking on): "Really! Veronica! Okay, yeah, that does make a lot more sense."

V: "Makes more sense how?"
T: "Ah, it's nothing. I should never listen to those guys..."

The look on Veronica's face makes it clear that she knows what he has heard about her.

And finally, this key exchange between Veronica and Weevil:

V: "The problem with befriending the head of a motorcycle gang is that at the end of the day, he's still the head of a motorcycle gang."

Weevil watches her examine the paint job on his bike.

V: "I'm just saying, with your reputation..."

W: "My reputation? I guess what everybody says about you is true too. That you like it.... Be honest, Veronica Mars, you think you're this big outsider but when push comes to shove, you're still one of them. You still think like one of them."

Reputations are even the stuff of comic relief. When Caitlin expresses her plan to go to the gym to interview some students Ms. Dent (the newspaper sponsor), presuming from Caitlin's reputation, sees fit to remind her; "Remember we are a multicultural school with a diverse population of students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds."

Caitlin, "Meaning?" Ms. Dent with an inaudible sigh, "Don't just interview all of your friends."

The viewer is reminded that one's reputation may not be accurate, or truly representative. Beware of making assumptions when you watch Veronica Mars.

Open Minds

Tied in with the theme of reputations is the search for open minds. They aren't plentiful, but there are a few shining examples. Troy regrets listening to the gossip about Veronica and his further actions clearly indicate that he is keeping an open mind. Later he even asks Veronica directly to do the same for him: "An open mind. That's all I ask."

Ms. Dent seems to have a pretty open mind about Veronica and her abilities. (Minor aside: She is obviously a newly hired teacher. Any teacher who had been at Neptune High the previous year would know all about Duncan and Veronica's previous relationship.)

Veronica questions her father's closed-minded assumption that Weevil is guilty just because he confessed.

And, very surprisingly, Logan even exhibits a bit of open-mindedness when he agrees to hear Weevil out, even as you hear his friends whispering in the background, ".... going to punk out?" Logan is proving to be a wonderfully complex and intriguing character. He doesn't knuckle under, gives as good as he gets, but deals with the truth when it slaps him in the face. I don't know about you, but I automatically suspected him of using the credit cards and setting Weevil up. It was a great plot twist to have it be the girlfriend and cousin. Logan's had some major disappointments in his life too. There are no easy categories of "good guys" and "bad guys" in this show. Viewers had better keep their minds open and avoid presumptions.

Questions:

About the only question answered in this episode was "Who used the credit cards?" But the big questions remain. "Who killed Lilly?" "Why?" "Who messed with her time of death and how?" And the one Veronica calls "the question that defines our very existence: what made you go after Jake Kane?" At least the revelations from episode two affirm in Veronica's own mind that she was right in supporting her father, even before there was any evidence. It's called faith. Veronica has it in her father.

And, finally, a question of my own: Does Rob Thomas plan on answering these questions in the thirteen episodes on order so far or is his plan even broader than that?

Miscellaneous but Possibly Important:

**Lilly's comments on Mrs. Kane's possessiveness of Duncan.

**Lilly had a secret?

**Duncan offered Veronica a ride. Why?

**Duncan opens up a bit to Veronica and mentions Lilly.

**Duncan doesn't fall back on Kane name when the police show up.

**If Dad had it to do over he would have done it differently.

**Troy seems genuinely nice.

**Loyalty, even in the absence of evidence, is key.

Miscellaneous but Probably Trivial:

**Troy and Duncan's conversation in the car prior to the beach party using phrases like "raise the roof" and "getting jiggy with it." Not important to the plot but an effort to connect with older viewers?

**Likewise the "Fonzie" moment in the girls' bathroom.

**Considerably less flashback and voiceover.

**But excellent use of flashback to explain Veronica's possession of a Lilly ID. Excellence is in the details, people.

**Troy is extremely similar in "type" to Duncan.

**Weevil is 17?????? Okay, Francis Capra is only 21, but he looks older, not younger.

**Loved that Grandma Navarro didn't automatically have a thick Hispanic accent. She was a sharp cookie. This is not a show that is going to play into anyone's preconceived notions.

**Un-Real World characteristics of Veronica's world (aka nitpicks):

There were no other girls in the restroom during class change? Yeah, in what universe?

This high school has diving class?

Gives P.E. credit for Pep Club?

Allows kids to wander around and interrupt gym class to do interviews? With no hall pass?

Quotable Quotes:

"When it's dark outside you should use a flash."

"Oil crisis be damned."

"He's guilty of.... wanting to see pictures of Alyssa Milano naked." (Rob Thomas knows his audience!)

Troy: "Flat?"

Veronica: "Just as God made me."

"She doesn't like her ice-cubes made with tap water."

"Honey, it's ugly." (Well, Dad, guess what, Veronica knows ugly.)

"I'm pregnant.... and the next part's a little embarrassing." Dad growls. (The next part is embarrassing--but the pregnancy is not? I'm a dinosaur.)

And, the most outrageous exchange of the episode, at the beach party:

Weevil: "What the hell do you think you're doing on our beach?

Logan: "Am I supposed to apologize? Am I supposed to shake in my boots? Look around you man; it ain't 15 and 4 tonight. Hey, Caitlin, you've been to my house a bunch, right? It's nice, right? Clean and well kept. Do you want to know why? It's because Weevil's grandma keeps it that way. She, she is a good worker your grandma: spic and span."

Crowd: "ooooo"

Cousin: "It's a tough job ya know. Grandma say you go through a box of tissues a day--your bedroom alone."

L: "What can I say, she's a very sexy lady."

Police siren.

Buffy-esque Moments:

This show is not Buffy. I don't think it's even modeled on Buffy (other than the short, blond, incredibly capable female lead). But I can't help think that creator Rob Thomas is familar with Buffy and a lot of other television shows which have blazed a trail. The biggest similarity: Veronica is a genre-buster, although less so than Buffy was. We all know one of the excuses for never nominating Buffy for an award was that nobody knew in which category to nominate it. Veronica Mars is clearly drama. But not at all like the typical teen-drama of Dawson's Creek or One Tree Hill. Veronica Mars is also a mystery show. But light years away from Murder She Wrote, Columbo, L & O, or CSI.

Veronica Mars is also similar to Buffy in the complexity of its characters. Although on Buffy said characters grew into their complexities over time, on Veronica it's been very rapid. But both shows exhibit a wonderful attention to detail, dialogue, personal interactions, and standing one's expectations on their heads.

I don't intentionally compare the two shows while watching, but occasionally I'm struck by "A Very Buffy Moment." I already mentioned Wallace fulfilling the role of faithful Xander-type side-kick. Two other moments which struck me: Veronica's flippant dismissal of her counselor's assessment, and Troy's rambling explanation of how "a no is like a yes except that with different letters and arranged a little different and when spoken out loud..." sounding very Willow-ish.

One clear difference between Buffy in her early years and Veronica is that Veronica is already well aware of the gray areas of life and far more adept to drawing on her "dark" side. I wonder if this will make Veronica potentially more open to a possible relationship with a very "gray" male lead. Actually, I personally hope the show's creator has no plans to throw Veronica together with any of her co-stars anytime in the near future. And, should that day ever come, I certainly won't be placing any bets on which one.

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