Spoilers for "Veronica Mars" and "Gilmore Girls" coming up just as soon as I tell the FBI to call off the search for Tina Majorino...First things first with "Veronica Mars": I don't care whether or not Keith knows that Veronica got a bad haircut from her attacker. If Keith Mars knew A)that his daughter had been drugged on campus, and B)that there was a serial rapist at work on campus who was drugging his victims, there's no way he wouldn't be on some kind of door-to-door rampage through Hearst. Veronica's a lone wolf, that's part of her personality and appeal, and I get that, but sometimes the contrivances to keep her working solo feel, well, contrived.
Fortunately, I was over the Keith silliness by the time Patty Hearst got abducted again, and this was one of the season's strongest episodes. With Diane Rugggiero on script, you know there's going to be the funny, and we got it with "keister egg," Veronica's weird "Tommy" dance, or the triple-layered Lebowski/Citizen Kane/William Randolph Hearst thing going on with Bud Rose (flip that one, why don't you?), his missing wife, toady assistant, etc. Plus, we did get a Veronica/Keith team-up, just on the Mystery of the Week instead of the rape arc.
And the arc itself took a big leap forward by essentially clearing Nish and the feminists, because there's no way so much evidence would be pointing towards them in the penultimate episode if they actually did it. My take is that they faked a few of the rapes, and obviously that they raped Chip themselves, but they were just copycatting the real rapist, the one who attacked Maebe and Parker and gave Veronica her close shave last week. I also think the Pi Sigs are in the clear -- from a dramatic standpoint, it's more interesting if the Lilith House women have been doing these copycat crimes to frame the wrong people -- which leaves a whole bunch of people who weren't in this episode: Prof. Landry, Tim the TA, Moe the RA, maybe even Mercer Hayes (but probably not, as he would need an accomplice to attack Veronica while he was still in the pokey).
I tried not to pay too much attention to the previews for next week, but it looks like we'll have the entire supporting cast (save maybe Weevil, who I didn't spot) back for the big finale -- and yet, knowing Rob and company's MO, in the end Veronica no doubt will have to throw down with the big bad all by her lonesome.
As a non-shipper of any kind, I'm not too bothered by the latest Veronica/Logan tumult, but I was pleased to see him win an argument about her stubborn, judgmental qualities. Of course, Veronica went icy on him afterwards, but at least from a show perspective, we're not supposed to be feeling that Veronica's perfect when she clearly isn't.
Similarly being taken down a peg by her Logan is Rory over on "Gilmore Girls." I'm not a Logan H. fan, but Rory needed to wake up and smell the hypocrisy. I ain't saying she a golddigger, but she ain't messing with no broke Marty, you know?
(In fairness, Jess and Dean were poor, but Rory has become much more enamored of the blue-blood lifestyle -- both through her grandparents and through Logan -- since she started college. Remember her whining that they couldn't spend the summer traveling through every country in Europe?)
Not really enthralled by Lorelai and Christopher's big move-in, but I continue to like Luke and April's father-daughter bonding, and I'm still trying to map out the whole "Philadelphia Story" bit at the end. Lorelai's obviously Katharine Hepburn, but does Luke see himself as Cary Grant (the ex/love of her life who convinces Kate to take him back over her bland new fella), or is Christopher supposed to be Cary Grant while Luke is Jimmy Stewart (the new guy who mistakenly thinks he has a shot at Kate, even though she's destined to get back with Cary Grant in the end)?
What did everybody else think?
17 comments:
I try not to believe the promos, but yay for the return of Mac!
A good episode. An interesting case, Veronica got a whole lot of good lines, even Wallace actually got two scenes with Veronica (I think that's a record this season).
I didn't quite get why Keith and Veronica were sneaking into the pool house, though. What was their theory, that she had been kidnapped and was stashed there?
There's no way that RA guy is the rapist - he's been in what, 2 episodes? And wasn't exactly the star of either one. I think the only two legitimate suspects are the professor and the TA.
For all that I hated how April's story line hurt the show last year, I continue to love April's character, the actress who plays her, and her interaction with Luke. I would absolutely watch a Luke-April spin off.
At this point I have no clue about the rapist's identity, and I like it that way. The TA and the professor are the most likely suspects, but I think Rob Thomas might have something else up his sleeve. Before the Season 1 finale I never would have thought of Aaron Echolls as a legit suspect -- until the last episode, he had no motive and there was no evidence pointing towards him. Major new information during the finale led to the big reveal that he was the killer. I have high hopes for next week's episode!
Alan, I'm surprised you liked the VM episode so much. I felt it was a bit flat, particularly for a Diane Ruggiero episode. Maybe that's because the past two episodes were so excellent, or maybe it's because the mystery of the week didn't really grab me and many of the cultural references flew by me (I'm ashamed to say).
Still, very much looking forward to next week's episode! I try to avoid watching the promos, since they're so misleading anyway, but I did catch a snippet of Tina Majorino, which is a relief.
This past week was the first Gilmore Girls I've watched in its entirety since the season premiere.
To me, the scenes seemed strangely disconnected, as though Lorelai and Christopher, Lorelai and Rory, Rory and Logan, and April and Luke were all trapped in really bad one-act plays. I don't know who was directing but the blocking was off and the actors seemed to be waiting for the other to finish before speaking.(Very un-Gilmore.) And, in the Luke and April scenes, the camera barely moved. It all felt very artificial. I knew the show had gone down hill, but wow, I was surprised at how very bad it was.
Also, the party scene? A) I never thought something could make me hate the British, but, well, it kind of did and B) One's claims to man-of-the-people, non-elitism are somewhat undercut by continued references to George Plimpton and pretentious dissing of the NYT Style section. I'm all about high-falutin' references, but I like it when they serve more of a purpose than just to make the show's writers look cultured.
Finally,I imagine they intended Luke to be Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, though he's actually (if you want to get picky) more like George Kitteridge, Tracy's new working-class fiancee.
As for Veronica Mars, I was pleasantly surprised after I read a blurb review in EW that totally panned it.(That'll teach me to listen to EW.) I loved how giddy Veronica was as she and Keith broke into the Rose house. She hasn't had that much fun all season.
And I'm almost psyched at the prospect of Logan breaking up with Veronica. I think it'll really amp up the angst and the tension, which can only be a good thing. And perhaps it will stop the really bad promos. ("Their relationship isn't broken... but it is starting to crack! DUN DUN DUN!)
Okay. Naming the girl who took a leap off the roof "Patrice Petrelli" has to be a Heroes shout-out, right? Right?
PS- Happy Thanksgiving, Alan! I hope you and your family enjoy the holiday.
"The park is closed. The walrus out front should have told you that." Is that from something? Is it another Lebowski reference?
Isn't the "park is closed" reference from National Lampoon's Vacation and the Griswold's visit to WallyWorld, when John Candy says as much, except its the Moose out front, funny that reference to Walrus......
Whoa....just had a scary thought. What if the person who attacks Veronica (the one they showed in the promo for next week) turns out to be AARON ECHOLLS???? They did say it would be 'controversial.' Hmmm....how disturbing would that be?
They did show Veronica in the shower crying...so I think she will end up being a rape victim. And if it were Logan's dad...that's just plain creepy.
I am *so* hoping that is not the case, but he does have a lot of reason to attack her and humiliate her. And imagine the destruction that would cause to her relationship with Logan? Imagine Logan's reaction to that happening???
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
It would be very, very disturbing, especially since Aaron Echolls is dead. Ol' CW capped his ass.
If they make Veronica a victim of rape, again, that will be too much for me. Too tragic.
Okay, I'm an idiot. I must be watching too many tv shows...I can't keep all the plots straight. Sorry for my mistake on Aaron Echolls. I am just going to go stick my head in the sand until I stop feeling so stupid.
I hate to criticize VERONICA MARS. The show is a true underdog that's smart, funny and deserving of mad love. Kind of like Veronica herself. Actually the Veronica of seasons one and two. Season three has been really off. Not GILMORE GIRLS off, but off none the less. From the tranquilized credit sequence to an unpleasant first mystery.
Now don't get me wrong. A teen getting her brains bashed in is indeed unpleasant. But how fondly I look back on Lily Kane's murder! A bus crash even seems like a breath of fresh air compared to serial rape. Or faux rape. Or whatever. The mystery is no longer capturing my curiosity. After each episode I wonder why Veronica is such a beyotch. She survived her annual murder attempt and goes off to college to judge and alienate her fellow classmates. Personal history and class consciousness of Neptune High created an environment where Veronica was an outcast. But now in college, the writers recreate that character trait by making her run afoul of nearly everyone she comes in contact with. How can new viewers connect with such a brittle smart ass? According to ratings, they cannot.
Lighten up, Veronica. She'll end up a drinker like her mother if this persists!
RE: Gilmore Girls -
I think there is more to the class issues than just who has money and who doesn't. Rory is part of Logan's class not just because she went to prep school and Yale, but because of her family. And that is something she doesn't get just yet. Even though Lorelai struck out on her own and she and Rory know what it's like to worry about money, they still had some upper-class values becuase they are Gilmores. By values I don't mean the stereotypical snottiness, but the knowledge and drive to go to college, appreciate art and intellectual ideas, etc. I think Lorelai was able to pass on the good parts of upper class values and culture and filter out the ugly bits when she was raising Rory. Also, it's not like Lorelai was slumming it when she dated Christopher in her youth. So Rory is a blue blood on both sides of the family.
Also, Rory made the mistake of treating an entire group of people the same, without really knowing them. But, since she knows Logan, he's the exception. To me, it's similar to writing off all blacks/poor people/immigrants as lazy free-loaders, but making an exception for the one friend you have who's black/poor/immigrant. It's just not nearly offensive since Rory's pillorying the rich. Unless, of course, you're rich.
I was a little surprised, tho, that Logan didn't point out that Rory herslelf made a professional connection when she was critcizing the networking aspect of the party. Then again, there's a whole bunch of stuff that makes Rory's article hypocritical, e.g., who's paying her tuition? Who paid her tuition before Christopher became rich? Who paid her tuition at Chilton? And what about all that time living it up in the grandparents' pool house?
I don't think Logan is going to be our hero this season.
We lost an Echolls in each season so far... Logan in the 3rd?
Post a Comment