Date of airing: March 29, 2006 (UPN)
Nielsen ratings information: 2.15 million viewers, 1.6/2 in Households, 1.0/2 rating with Adults 18-49
written by: John Enbom
directed by: Michael Fields
Danny Boyd has returned, and with him comes Taylor Sheridan (still credited as "Tayler," as he was when he first appeared in "Ahoy, Mateys!"), who reminds me once more that he does not know what a script coordinator is or does. Plus, there is a rumor that series creator Rob Thomas never liked Sheridan very much (Sheridan apparently hates exposition-heavy scenes, Thomas is a big fan of them) and always tried to mock him, which is probably why Sheridan was being credited wrongly by misspelling his first name on the show. It turns out there is always a reason for the names of actors, writers, directors, or producers being misspelled during the credits – sometimes, it is just about hate.
The episode was solid. Veronica and Wallace make a trip to Hearst
College, and before Veronica even decides to go to that college (spoiler
alert: She will, because this is BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and the
characters who go to college need to stay in the fictional town they reside in, or the
show changes like DAWSON’S CREEK did for its fifth season, and that show
is a bit of a cautionary tale), she already investigated a crime,
created enemies, and potentially even friends she can call up for help in the future. Veronica only needed one
or two days to sort of find out who did or did not rape two of Hearst’s
college students, and she managed to shut out a fraternity for being horrible idiots. Good old Veronica – she does what she can do to piss off
the white and entitled white boys of the county, and I am so here for
that. I can only hope this is part of season four,
because I cannot imagine that Neptune has ever changed into being a
normal town in America during the 12 years the show was off the air. Neptune has always been corrupt and evil, that does not change in a generation.
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| Cliff got himself into a steamy situation. |
Of course, consider me dumbfounded that the police were unable to investigate the case like Veronica did. Considering this is a rape we are talking about, and Troy was accused of it, one might think there was an actual investigation into the rape and police was on scene doing their job, but it does not look like Stacy was ever questioned by the police, let alone did they ever show up on campus. Otherwise, Dawn may have come forward with her own story (even if only anonymously), and there might have been a real scandal on campus, as a rapist was obviously going around to create literally existential nightmares for the women of Hearst.
It is one of those premises a VERONICA MARS viewer has to accept and suspend their disbelief for, but every once in a while, it is kind of absurd that the police are not investigating and not giving a crap. Granted, the Sheriff in this case was Don Lamb, and we already got to see how much he really cares about doing his job, but still, this is still rape. It is a rape with a potential suspect already having the attention of the police. It is not at all like when Veronica was walking into the Sheriff’s office to report her rape the morning after Shelly Pomroy's end-of-the-year party. Although maybe it is the same because everything that happens here happens in and around Neptune, where nothing happens. Oh damn, did I just discover consistency here, and the Sheriff’s Department really does not give a damn about women being raped in Southern California? Maybe Lamb should have never been reelected in the first place...
Meanwhile, Keith was dealing with hookers and Cliff and stolen murder case files, which is probably going to be a lot more important during the next few episodes, as the people who hired Sugar Jones might have had a reason for the murder case files to be stolen. And who knows, maybe it is not even the Logan Echolls case that was important to the people (people may just want to prevent Keith and Cliff from getting closer to the real killer), although it is the most logical choice of story, especially now that the case has been dismissed, thanks to Logan’s actions with Hannah and her father.
It is a good thing that Cliff was a light and funny character in this situation, never troubled or fearful that something bad just happened. He is like the Vinny Van Lowe of public attorneys, only much nicer most of the time, and actually able to help the Mars investigators when they ask nicely for help. Besides that, it led to one of the funniest jokes of the entire series, when Don Lamb inadvertently created his new campaign slogan, which Keith and Cliff had already printed and were ready to show to Lamb. I do not think a laugh ever came this surprisingly and shockingly out of me before, and it is a nice reminder that VERONICA MARS can also be funny every once in a while.
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| Sheriff Lamb's new campaign slogan is a hit! |
And finally, Logan was actually interested in Hannah for real – that was a bit of a surprise for me, as I was expecting that he would only fake his interest to get to her father. Now that Logan managed to turn Hannah’s father, everything was peachy for him, and he could live the life of a free man. That he would want Hannah’s apology was the first surprise, that she would forgive him was the second surprise, and that they went back to his place to have sex was the third surprise. And then the writers decided to get rid of Hannah and have her shipped off to boarding school, so that they do not have to continue giving screentime to a love interest who is not part of the main cast. As expected, Hannah's heart got broken, thanks to Logan's actions. And for the first time, I could actually feel Logan’s heart breaking into pieces, and for the first time, it looked like he felt genuinely responsible for the hurt he caused another person. Who would have thought that this would ever be the case after one and a half seasons? I guess your girlfriend getting killed by your father, your mother committing suicide, and your other girlfriend almost getting shotgunned by the local biker gang changes you
