In the seventh episode of the second season of Veronica Mars, Duncan comes to Veronica for help deciphering a possible case of child abuse he discovered in Meg’s emails; meanwhile, Kendall discovers she has no money. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Veronica Mars.
Trigger Warning: It’s impossible to discuss this episode without bringing up child abuse, so please take heed!
This was a difficult episode for me to watch, obviously, but oh my god, that did not end as I expected it to.
- We’ll get to all the truly awful stuff in the end, and thankfully, there’s a lot going on in this episode, so I have a lot to discuss!
- First of all, Veronica has The Big Lebowski memorized. Clearly she and I were destined to be best friends.
- Unlike all the people in that first scene. This is beyond awkward. I don’t have a word in my vocabulary to describe the sensation I felt when Logan walked in to comment on Duncan and Veronica, only to follow that with KENDALL COMING OVER TO DUNCAN’S HOTEL ROOM. Does Logan just not even care about how anyone else feels? Duncan is generous enough with you to split his two bedroom hotel room. (Seriously, Duncan must have SO MUCH MONEY to be able to afford a place like this for months on end. IT BLOWS MY MIND.) And this is how Logan returns the favor? By guaranteeing that things will be awkward??? Ugh, Logan, you make it so hard to like you, I swear!
- Wow, Woody Goodman doesn’t give up at all. Despite losing the election for Sheriff, it looks like Keith has a chance at running the law enforcement of Neptune. This time, Goodman wants to incorporate the town, to make it an actual city with its own police force. Of which Keith would be CHIEF OF POLICE. There’s a problem that Keith is quick to point out: This will continue to cater to the rich of Neptune, pushing people like Keith and those who are lower class out of Neptune.
- Speaking of that class divide, Logan approaches Veronica to ask for help resolving the legal issues he’s having that are directly causing a lot of the problems in the city. Logan is convinced he’s being set up by the witness who is fingering him as Felix’s killer. The whole thing is convoluted and confusing by nature, since Logan can’t remember the events after he kicked Weevil in the face. But why would someone frame Logan? What would they gain from that?
- Meanwhile, Duncan’s got his own mystery to unravel, and this one unfortunately has to do with Meg’s laptop. Duncan finally got around to reading her files, and in them, he discovered emails between Meg and Child Protective Service. One of the kids Meg is babysitting is being abused.
- There was already so much going on in JUST THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES ALONG. I’ll address Meg’s story last, so let’s first talk about Kendall Casablancas. I’ll get it out of the way, but oh lord, I couldn’t help but think of Cordelia’s journey on Angel at times here, and then I just wanted to see more of Charisma Carpenter all of the time forever. Anyway, Kendall is a fascinating character because the writers don’t go out of their way to necessarily make her the most sympathetic character. Like many of the residents of Neptune, she’s used to a life of luxury, and she’s hasn’t had to care about where her money came from in quite some time. So what happens when she discovers that her husband has left her entirely out of all financial matters?
- God, I know I already said it, but Dick Casablancas, Jr. is so creepy.
- Like, how the hell do you try to pursue your own stepmother? And buy her SEXY HOUSEMAID LINGERIE???
- how are you a REAL CHARACTER
- Anyway, Kendall is someone who hasn’t really had a job since she was a Laker Girl, and she certainly didn’t expect to be thrown into a situation like this. It doesn’t help when Cassidy and Dick’s biological mother shows up to dote on her sons and be really weird about the whole thing? Mostly, I felt bad for Cassidy, who is once again ignored or made fun of by the people around. Actually, you know, I did feel bad for Kendall here, as she’s left to just flutter about in the background, unsure of what she’s supposed to do. It’s an awful situation, you know? No one there makes her feel like she belongs in that house. And Dick definitely doesn’t count. At the same time, get a job? Do something? Because Dick’s clearly not going to leave you alone ever.
- Instead, she decides to pursue some sort of relationship with Logan that’ll help her out financially or materially, and Logan is, unsurprisingly, really crude about the whole thing. Not that he should pay Kendall or provide for her, but it’s still more rude than he needs to be.
- Which does not excuse nor condone what happens next: Kendall starts pursuing Duncan. We’re left to wonder if Duncan ever took up the offer; the reveal later on that Kendall spent time in Duncan’s room DOESN’T REALLY HELP. Oh god, IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
- There’s also a brief investigation of Dr. Griffith, the man is the key witness against Logan. Unfortunately, Veronica’s initial probe into his characterization yields nothing. The man is nice and genuine, which shocks Veronica. Even when she follows him to a cigar shop, there’s nothing shady about anything he does. How is he connected to Logan aside from what seems like coincidence?
- Alas, there is but one hint in this episode: Keith claims that the cigar shop Dr. Griffith was in is a front for drug deals. So… I still don’t see how that’s connected to Logan. At all.
- So, let’s talk about the main plot in “Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner.” (Christ, the episode title is technically a spoiler, isn’t it? LORD.) Veronica devises a fairly ingenuous method to determine which one of Meg’s babysitting gigs is home to abusive parents. Veronica will babysit for as many of Meg’s old clients as possible, get samples of their handwriting, and then… okay, breaking into Meg’s house to find the notebooks she stole isn’t exactly the best plan ever, but it’s all they have! Once again, Wallace’s absence is extremely obvious, though I do admit it was really fun to see Duncan give the whole private eye gig a try. Black turtlenecks! A nice touch, sir.
- However, Veronica unexpectedly uncovers something a lot more insidious: ALL OF THESE NEPTUNE PARENTS ARE KIND OF AWFUL. LIKE, SUPER AWFUL.
- The Fullers are mega-rich parents who control their child through highly-regulated schedules, which turns him into a child version of a Stepford wife. It’s EERIE.
- AND THEN MR. FULLER JUST CASUALLY INVITES VERONICA TO SMOKE WEED WITH HIM AND MAKE OUT AND DID THAT HAPPEN. I actually thought I misheard it the first time around, but nope. That just happened. IT HAPPENED.
- Christ.
- And while Edwin’s photo was horrifying, I wasn’t sure this was a case of child abuse.
- Next, Veronica finally babysits for Ms. Hauser, who teaches sex ed? Health? Something like that. She’s very high strung at school, though Dick purposely antagonizes her over this because he’s a terrible person. Dude, she went through a nasty divorce, shut up.
- Honestly, I kind of like Ms. Hauser? And I don’t think she’s on the same level as the Goodmans or the Fullers here, and this episode more or less explores different parenting techniques. Negatively, yes. I can’t deny that. Ms. Hauser’s child is…fun. He’s real fun. And by “fun,” I mean, “able to inspire me not to want children of my own with a single scream.” Lord, poor Veronica. Poor Ms. Hauser! How does she deal with that kid?
- Veronica is surprised by the Goodmans, however, and I was convinced that Gia’s emotionally sensitive younger brother was the real culprit. Amidst this, though, Veronica has to contend with a true slumber party, complete with Madison Sinclair and a bunch of other girls she has no connection with. You know, until that scene, I’d never really thought about Veronica’s identity as a woman, and it was during the slumber party scenes that the writers really conveyed to us how different Veronica is from her peers. And it’s not that she’s exceptional or better than Gia or her friends; she just has different interests than them.
- At the same time, I wonder if her unease throughout these scenes was concern. Was she freaking out over the possibility that Rodney was the child being abused? What we saw here was SO DISTURBING. The vicious organization, the clear different treatment of Gia versus Rodney, that very obvious fear in Rodney’s every move.
- I really hope Veronica still goes after this. Something weird is going on in that house.
- The only reason I say this is because it turns out that none of Meg’s babysitting gigs produce the actual abused child. While Veronica is exhausted after the experience, she has no proof at all that any of the kids were abused. After Duncan quickly locates the hidden journal that Meg referenced in her email, Veronica begins to think they got it all wrong. (WHAT WAS THAT LITTLE NOTE THAT DUNCAN HID??)
- It’s at this point that “Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner” that this show gets…wow. Like, I had to take a break writing this review. I wrote most of it on a Monday, then had to sleep on the last third because this was one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in ages. As soon as Veronica suggested that one of Meg’s sisters was the actual culprit, I remembered something from earlier this season. Didn’t the middle sister (whose name escapes me at the moment) tell Duncan that if Meg’s parents found her laptop, they’d cut her off of life support or something like that? I’m now convinced that not only did she mean that literally, but that she also knew that Grace was being abused by their parents. Neither of them knew what to do, and they were both CLEARLY terrified at what their parents were capable of.
- That image of Grace sitting upright in the hidden compartment of her closet, hundreds of journals sitting at her feet, is something I’ll never, ever, ever forget.
- I’m trying to find the words to describe the sense of growing terror and despair as Mr. Manning came upon Duncan and Veronica, got Grace out of the room, and called the Sheriff to have these two arrested. Even worse, just…fuck, y’all. Veronica’s face as she begs the silent Sheriff Lamb to please listen to her and look in the closet. Because Lamb hates everything Veronica stands for, I feared the worst was happening: the Mannings were getting away with it. Lamb was going to facilitate it because of his hatred of Veronica. And the Mannings were going to get away with it.
- Except then Lamb, after dumping the two in his squad car, returns to Grace’s room and, ignoring Mr. Manning’s angry speech about privacy, opens the secret door where Grace was kept.
- HIS FATHER GAVE THE SAME SPEECH ONCE
- WHAT THE FUCK WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME
- NO, HOLY SHIT
- IS HE SERIOUSLY
- HE LET THEM GO
- IS SHERIFF LAMB DOING SOMETHING I RESPECT
- I MEAN
- y’all.
- HE IS SITTING OUTSIDE THE MANNING HOUSE
- Seriously, think about this. He probably couldn’t do anything about Veronica’s accusations since she and Duncan were guilty of breaking and entering. Did he legally obtain evidence of Grace’s abuse? It’s a gray area, so instead, he uses his power to do something good. He reminds the Mannings that he knows what they’ve done.
- i can’t
- I CANNOT DO THIS.
- I GENUINELY NEVER EXPECTED THIS.
- Not that this excuses twenty-eight episodes of Lamb being a horrible person, but WHERE DID THIS CHARACTER DEPTH COME FROM. Holy shit.
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