Mark Watches ‘Veronica Mars’: S04E05 – Losing Streak

In the fifth episode of the fourth season of Veronica Mars, THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Veronica Mars. 

Trigger Warning: For discussion of rape/sexual assault.

I really hope it’s not Nicole. I think there might be something to this new lead, but I’m not sure she fits as the identity of the bomber. OH GOD I’M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF.

Chaos

This season in particular has done a fine job of throwing in a ton of variables and just unfurling them, one after another, until it’s basically impossible to guess what’s going to happen next. Part of why it also doesn’t feel like a bunch of writers throwing shit against the wall is because Neptune has always felt like such a real city. Characters drop in and out of importance, but I remember saying during my watch of the first three seasons how realistic it felt that people re-appeared all the time. It gave the audience a sense for a living, breathing community in one place, but it also meant that there were a lot of characters at the writers’ disposal. I say all this and acknowledge that Linden is a new character, and yet? He felt exactly like someone who lived in Neptune and thought he could disrespect the police chief because he owned an “island.” (Which seemed more like an island in designation than reality.) And that’s pretty amazing when Linden could also work as a parody or a satire! It’s sort of how I felt about all the random citizens in Parks & Recreation. Yes, these characters were ridiculous, but also? Pawnee residents just feel so… easily categorizable? Like, I knew they belonged there. And Linden belongs in Neptune. 

Logan and Veronica

Man, does everything I am watching or reading need to hit me deep in my feelings? Yes. Yes. I am personally glad that Logan is not exactly the same as he was in the early seasons of the show. Seeing his growth—particularly due to going to therapy!!!—is such a treat. Especially since I really, really did not like Logan that much at the start of Veronica Mars. It also feels deeply realistic (and a little too close to home) to see a couple struggle with the sort of things that come up in a relationship. And they don’t always end perfectly, nor are things resolved after a single conversation. What we’re seeing is how a relationship—and I’d argue that this includes all types, not just romantic ones—requires work. Constant, hard, difficult, challenging work. I am worried, though, that Veronica has gotten so wrapped up in this case that she’s not doing her end of the work. Logan is in therapy, and he’s actively trying to be a better, mature person. (Can’t believe I just typed that sentence.) And Veronica is certainly getting better at communicating with Logan, but is that all that Logan needs from her? UGH I DON’T KNOW. I’ve warmed up to them as a couple, and I don’t know whether to be worried about this or to discount it as my normal paranoia for EVERYTHING I WATCH.

Comrade Quacks

So, my theory at this point relates mostly to Veronica’s final words in the episode about disappointment. I don’t think Nicole is behind the bombings, though I understand why Keith becomes suspicious of her. Rather, the fact that she sold her bar after the first bombing suggests something else to me: this is about people not living up to their own ideals. Nicole is a very entertaining and complicated character, and her backstory here finally tells us why someone as multi-faceted as her would own a place like Comrade Quacks. It just doesn’t seem like her thing, you know? But it all makes so much more sense when we find out that she sued the previous owner after he didn’t provide necessary security and she was raped. Now, I’m hoping that this season doesn’t do that messy thing they did with the campus feminists in season 2 where they felt like constructed in odd ways to make a point. I don’t think that’s what is happening here. Rather, I think Nicole was spooked by the first bombing, saw a way to take money, and did it, rather than stick it out and stick to her ideals.

Admittedly, the collar bomb doesn’t fit in with this theory, since that was the only bomb like that. Also, the blast that happens in this episode while Vinnie was in Comrade Quacks also doesn’t make sense. Nicole looked genuinely shocked that it happened, and I also don’t understand why she’d put herself in harm’s way like this. Ugh, I feel like I’m still missing something huge! 

The Letter and the Deal

So, another theory that I’m sticking to for now: the bomber didn’t write that letter. I could definitely believe Penn and Carol’s theory, that Big Dick wrote it, and that its sole purpose was to humiliate the mayor into running the streaker’s run. But it just doesn’t make sense as part of some greater plan. Does that mean Big Dick is still behind this? Those damn shell companies, all of which tie back to BEAVER, are certainly damning as hell, as is the plot with Weevil and Jesus. I think there’s a ton of evidence that points towards this conspiracy, but do all the pieces fit together perfectly? Not quite. 

Which brings me to Veronica’s treatment of Jesus. My interpretation of that scene is that we were supposed to feel deeply uncomfortable about Veronica dangling this kid’s life in front of him. Now that she’s older, I feel like she’s willing to do things she wasn’t when she was younger. I’m also thinking of the disturbing exchange she has with Weevil earlier in the episode, where she pushes him so far that they leave even further apart than they were when he walked into her office. I get that she is desperate to solve this case, and with more potential murders to come, I also get that she’s on a time crunch. But she’s also on a different side of this society in Neptune, as Weevil pointed out to her earlier this season. She doesn’t truly understand why the PCHers make the decisions they make, and how elements of their environment might nudge them in a certain direction. And yet, this dude ALSO put a knife to her throat! So I know the situation is not that binary at all. It’s… a mess. Which is way more realistic than anything else. 

The Truth

Well, now Veronica knows that her father has been having memory issues. Can we officially declare Veronica and Keith as the best father-daughter duo in the history of fiction? LOOK AT VERONICA’S REACTION! She basically said, “Fuck ethics, do what gets you better.” I just? Have? Endless? Feelings? About these two??? Please let them be okay???

The video for “Losing Streak” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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