In the twelfth episode of the second season of Veronica Mars, Veronica assists Logan, Weevil, and Wallace with their own legal troubles, while Keith makes some astonishing theories as to the true purpose of the bus crash. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Veronica Mars.
Bless this show, y’all. IT’S SO SATISFYING TO WATCH.
- I imagine that for those of you who watched this in real time, season two had a high bar to reach, one set by the truly mesmerizing mystery that the writers crafted concerning Lilly Kane’s murder. The brilliance of that plot relied on the fact that there were so many suspects, all of them with believable motives for killing Lilly. So how do you live up to that?
- There are a lot of things going on in season two right now, and I really am having a blast trying to figure them all out. And the key mystery – the reason that bus plunged off the cliff in “Normal Is the Watchword” – is just as complex as the Lilly Kane murder, at least from my perspective. Of course, my experience watching this show is completely different than how most people experience a television show, and I do have to be conscious of how that affects my view of this. I tend to not be bothered by “bad” episodes as much as the rest of fandom (except for “Bugs” and “Route 666” in Supernatural and “Fear Her” in Doctor Who) because…well, I don’t have to wait as long as everyone else. Here’s a good example: I admit that at times, LOST and The X-Files disappointed me, but it was only in hindsight that I realized that time can do a hell of a thing to one’s perception. When you have to wait a week for a new episode (as opposed to me waiting like two hours), you build up expectations. You develop headcanons. You desire things. And if we’re talking about the wait between seasons, we’re in a whole new ballpark.
- I remember after finishing Harry Potter back in 2010, I spoke to a lot of fans about what it was like to be in that fandom as the books were coming back, and that shit sounded INTENSE AS HELL. Years waiting between books four and five. NO THANKS. I’LL WAIT A DAY. But it affects and changes perception of a work of fiction, you know? And I can’t deny that! I don’t develop the same opinions or perceptions as others do because I don’t have to wait nearly as long as most people. I imagine that if you don’t have to write about each episode and develop super intense emotional attachments to narratives like I do, binging Veronica Mars straight through gives you a better grasp of the overarching narratives and serial plots.
- Which is sort of the point of Mark Reads and Mark Watches: Our experiences with these shows and book are so varied and different that we should celebrate and discuss them instead of saying that there’s only one way to view or experience a fictional world.
- This is a large part of why I feel season two is so compelling and successful to me. I love the stories being told; I love the serialization; I love that these characters I’ve come to enjoy are so different from the pilot episode. And I adore that I’m still just as invested in figuring out this season’s endgame as I was for season one. But I recognize that there are folks who think this season pales in comparison to season one. (Which really was INCREDIBLE!)
- I was satisfied with the way that “Rashard & Wallace Go To White Castle” examined so many important character dynamics. Can Jackie and Wallace remain friends after what’s happened between them? How does class affect Wallace’s attempt to shirk the charges that he drove the car that permanently injured the homeless man in Chicago? What happens to Weevil when he’s stripped of the very gang that’s made him into who he is? And what if Keith and Veronica looked too deeply into the rat taped under a seat on the bus?
- Like father, like daughter, I suppose. Y’all, it’s just so amusing to me that after the last episode, Keith is manipulating someone at the Neptune Police Department so that he can get hold of Lamb’s interview tapes in the bus crash case. YOU ARE A TRICKY ONE, KEITH. And he’s clearly an influence on Veronica in this sense because we have seen how, time and time again, the draw of her own curiosity has led her to pursue cases at any cost. Guess what Keith’s doing in this episode? Precisely that. He’s breaking the law in order to find the truth. LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER.
- Keith and Veronica Mars for joint President of the United States.
- I also didn’t realize until just now how Weevil’s eventual end in this episode is foreshadowed by his scene with Molly Fitzpatrick. We finally meet Felix’s secret girlfriend, and it unearths a whole host of issues about race and class, all of which are at the forefront of what Veronica Mars is about. Obviously, the Fitzpatricks would be undeniably furious with Molly for dating someone who is…well, brown and poor. It’s clear that even though we’re in the 20th century, the Fitzpatricks are not. At the same time, this episode analyzes the way that the PChers react to what they view as a betrayal of their core goal: not to do anything that helps the 09ers.
- Except get them high
- Well, it doesn’t exactly make a ton of sense, but that’s sort of the point. Weevil is slowly discovering that the black-and-white ideals he held aren’t working out for him at all, you know? And they didn’t work for Felix, either, who fell for Molly and pursued a relationship with her in spite of the fact that his friends wouldn’t approve of it.
- So it’s interesting to see how the other main plot in this episode – how Wallace will prove he’s innocent – is about another common theme we’ve seen on Veronica Mars. If Weevil’s story is about the degradation of his own ideals, then Wallace’s is about his need to break through the class barriers that are harming him. These are represented in Monte Rucker, the man who views his nephew as a source of income. It’s honestly really repulsive to hear how Monte talks about Rashard and women and everything ever. I admit that this isn’t as compelling as what Friday Night Lights did with Smash Williams and Vince Howard in terms of explaining why it was so common that men of color (and mostly black men) pursued their excellence in sports as a way to escape the poverty that they grew up in. It’s sort of the unsaid motivation here, but I definitely wish it was addressed a bit more plainly.
- Regardless, it’s the reason Rashard is so ready to shift the blame to Wallace. I think that’s the scariest part of this episode. Monte may have the money and influence to buy off witnesses and to literally shut Wallace up, but Rashard’s immediate transformation into an utter douchebag is what bothered me the most. When Wallace confronted him at the frat party, it was shocking to see Rashard not only turn on Wallace, but to heavily imply that if Wallace was a good friend, Wallace would let Rashard go make $50 million while he sat in jail. That cognitive dissonance is entirely because of Monte’s influence, and it’s so disturbing.
- I am also so glad that Veronica basically validated my buddy cop/sitcom ideas about Logan and Weevil. Oh my god, I love that they said it was bad for them to be seen together, and yet they get tables RIGHT NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER. People not as good as Veronica at being inconspicuous: LOGAN AND WEEVIL.
- People asking absurd things of Veronica: LOGAN AND WEEVIL. Oh my god, BUGGING A CONFESSIONAL.
- Let’s talk about Keith Mars for a second. So, he discovers two fascinating new theories about the bus crash, both dealing with the fact that someone may have been trying to get people off the bus before it crashed. First, both Casablancas brothers admit that they got a limo after the bus proved to be terribly smelly. Which means that the rat may not have been some sort of subtle message about being a snitch, but may have had a more practical application: to get some of the 09ers off the bus. Particularly the Casablancas brothers? That’s weirdly specific, as someone would need to know that Dick and Cassidy would have responded to the smell by requesting a limo. Still, both brothers also knew Curly Moran, so there’s that. I don’t see the connection at all, though, and there’s still no motive here. Keith might have a new theory about why certain people got off the bus, but we still don’t know why those onboard it might have been the targets.
- Then there’s Gia, who got off the bus and got in the limo because her father told her not to be on that bus. WELL, SHIT. What the hell does that mean? Was Woody just superstitious or acting off a hunch? Or is there something more sinister going on?
- I DON’T GET IT YET.
- Oh gosh, Veronica’s confessional scene is just so LAYERED. I don’t think she expected to get advice like that from Father Fitzpatrick, and his seeming genuine nature surprised her. But his talk of vengeance is like EVERYTHING THAT VERONICA IS ABOUT. Veronica needs closure, and so she’ll go to practically any lengths to get it. But Father Fitzpatrick says that Veronica should approach her enemies with kindness, that overcoming evil is done by doing good. So what does that mean for the future? Is this foreshadowing or just a neat little moment for Veronica to reflect on revenge?
- OH, HEY, LOOK. MORE CONS. Yeah, I can’t talk about the scene where Jackie flirts with Rashard in the way I wanted to when it happened because she was conning Rashard the whole time. And the whole display was a way to manipulate Monte into the club Thin, so that the deputy bouncer from “One Angry Veronica” could help Veronica steal Monte’s phone. Y’all, I will forever be impressed with the way this show uses clever and consistent casting to build up a believable world of characters. I LOVE IT. Seriously, this show brought back Jane as a potential date for Wallace. JANE. WHO WASN’T IN THE SHOW FOR MORE THAN LIKE TWO MINUTES. Bless. Bless.
- So let’s talk about Weevil. Veronica’s camera captures the method in which Liam Fitzpatrick not only distributes drugs, but which one of the PCHers is his contact: THUMPER. WOW. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. However, this whole season has been hinting at what eventually happens to Weevil. His own gang has been increasingly disagreeing with him or doing things behind his back, and it’s in this episode that they final disavow themselves of their leader. Weevil’s downfall? His alliance with Logan, which the rest of the gang discovers through Hector’s cousin. And in this moment, Weevil’s own belief – that there’s no exceptions to be made about PCHers and 09ers mixing together – comes back to bite him in the ass. And it’s sad, more than anything else. This sort of culture is a support system for Weevil! If anything, as flawed as it is, we’ve seen how the PCHers were a way for Weevil to feel like he could make it in the world. It was a family! And now they’ve all turned on him and rejected him and I am full of Weevil feelings.
- WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS HE ON CAMERA BEATING UP CURLY MORAN
- stop it, show. IT HURTS TOO MUCH.
- And now Jackie’s dad is a suspect? This shit just keeps getting more and more complex, which means I’m even less prepared than before.
- At least we got a scene of Wallace using Monte’s own words to get back at him. What a dreamboat, that Wallace.
The video commission for “Rashard & Wallace Go to White Castle” can be downloaded right here for just $0.99.
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