Date of airing: December 14, 2004 (UPN)
Nielsen ratings information: 1.97 million viewers, 1.6/2 in Households, 0.9/2 with Adults 18-49
written by: Diane Ruggiero
directed by: Nick Marck
UPN and the writers definitely wanted VERONICA MARS to end 2004 with a huge cliffhanger, just so the series can get a little more coverage in the entertainment press and maybe convince some new internet-savvy viewers to show up and tune to the doomed network. Even if Aaron Echolls getting ice-picked by an enraged ex-lover is not much of a cliffhanger (it was not presented as a thrilling storyline), it was a surprising scene, and it could help to let Logan spiral down a dark path that has been teased all through the past couple of episodes, and has sort of been mentioned in this hour. Logan, the rich 09er son who is being abused by his father behind closed doors, most likely rejected by his own mother who does not care about him, and who does not have any friends who care about him enough, is on the verge of living a really terrible life, and it begs the question if the stabbing of his father will be the catalyst for a very dark Logan-centric storyline. Or maybe Logan does not give a damn because he hates his father too much, so he will not even bat an eye when Aaron lands in the hospital, or who knows, maybe dies.
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| Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas, Aaron! |
The episode was surprisingly good. Veronica's investigation into the poker night was fun to watch, especially since the four suspects of stealing Weevil’s winnings were given a great amount of screentime, including two new characters who I cannot imagine ever seeing again in this show, even if it proved that Neptune is filled with weird characters who would do anything to level up their social status (and that should be a more repeated premise in this show, since it shows the cesspool that is rich white people trying to become richer and even whiter). Not to mention that all four characters getting an equal amount of screetime had something of a proper CBS crime procedural, in which the homicide detectives interrogate every single suspect, so that the viewers can wonder which one of them is the perp.
Of course, the writers helped themselves out by letting Veronica solve the case in-between scenes, without the viewers watching her realize the truth, while having the most important Columbo moments shown on screen (Logan’s chaotic room, Connor missing the trashcan when he was throwing away his teabag, and Sean’s father answering the door). I have no idea if solving the case between scenes was also an element of the noir genre, but every once in a while I would not mind to see Veronica’s “a-ha” face after she cracked the case, when she realized the identity of the culprit, and when her brain is working overtime on how to bring the culprit to the front, or how to play them out like Veronica truly is the daughter of Columbo. Forget Keith Mars or the potential twist that Jake Kane is Veronica’s father, because according to this episode, it’s Peter freaking Falk.
Besides all that, it was enjoyable seeing Veronica go through the ranks of the poker game and question all of the suspects. It had her hang out with Duncan and Logan this way, as well as admiring what any teenager would admire when an oily and bare chest stands in front of her, and seeing Veronica with those who considered her a friend once and an enemy now is important for her character development. Weevil already trusts her when she comes with an offer for help, and her relationship with Duncan has been soft enough lately to warrant a thought of getting back into making out behind a corner again (and this time, the two are not that ashamed to talk about their shared past that might resurface for the public to see).
And in the meantime, with every interaction Veronica has with Logan, he becomes less and less the potentially evil asshole he was at the beginning of the show, and turns more and more into a troubled teenager who cannot wait to have a bout of depression and swallow some seriously deadly pills, just to free himself from the pressure he lives under. Or fight his way out of said pressure to come out of it a new and more likable boy. Not that there is a reason for Logan to be suicidal at this point, but the way the character has been treated and depicted so far, it seems like a logical conclusion to where his story is right now. And VERONICA MARS definitely does not shy away from depicting dark stuff. Let's not forget that Veronica's backstory involves rape, as established in the pilot episode, or Jessica Chastain's character from "The Girl Next Door" who was sexually assaulted by her stepfather (wait a minute... I think I see a pattern here). Even the simple inclusion of a post-transgender character makes the show feel like it is part of real life, and what you do not know about real life is that it is freaking scary at times.
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| Veronica takes a long hard look at a shiny sixpack. |
Meanwhile, Keith was also investigating stuff, and while it led
to the ice-pick scene at the end, it was not much of a story, even if I liked the fact that both Veronica and Keith were working on separate cases that got the same amount of screetime, depicting the talents of the two sleuths. Yes,
it might have been interesting to see Keith sort of investigating
straight into a wall because the Echolls have not been particularly
forthcoming, and yes, it might have been hilariously funny after Keith
asked Aaron to circle the name of the woman he slept with, and he
continued to circle in names. But the story could have been a great
opportunity to get a little deeper into the Echolls family and show why
Logan is on the brink of a breakdown. Logan and his parents were
separated throughout the entire hour, and there might have been a space
or two in which Logan noticed that something was happening (especially
with Keith visiting the estate and talking to his parents, all while
Veronica also visits to talk to Logan). The only time Logan was
connected to the rest of the Echolls story was when he saw his father
getting ice-picked, and that was part of the final minute of the
episode. This was an episode about the Echolls family, and the Echolls family was not interacting with one another at all.
