In the ninth episode of the second season of Veronica Mars, THIS IS TOO MUCH. HOW DO YOU FIT SO MANY PLOT TWISTS INTO A SINGLE EPISODE? If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch Veronica Mars.
Bless this show, I swear. I’m entertained, I’m satisfied, I’m challenged – there are just so many things that this show does right.
- I’m curious to know how prevalent those creepy robot baby things were. I’d forgotten about them! Our health classes didn’t have them; it was for “Life Skills” or some other course whose name I forgot, so I managed to skip it. I think I had enough science credits to get out of it. Regardless, I distinctly remember the frustration we all felt when on of those things began to cry IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXAM. Because it always happened, you know?
- Anyway, I thought the opening of “My Mother, The Fiend” was a neat way for the show to force Veronica to be responsible for her frequent rule-breaking at school. It’s not often that you see characters held accountable for things like this, you know? I don’t know that the eventual context of Clemmons’s behavior necessarily changes that opinion because Veronica Mars routinely shows us that it’s willing to present its titular character in less-than-perfect ways. However, I never once considered that this was all a long con on the part of Vice Principal Clemmons. I definitely expected him to cut a deal with Veronica. He obviously wanted something from her for free, and what better way to rope her into all those ridiculous filing?
- But this episode is full of surprises, y’all. Like I mentioned in the video commission, I really didn’t think we’d get another story about Lianne Mars. Even though she’s never onscreen, “My Mother, The Fiend” is a fascinating and revealing look at Lianne, as well as a way to examine whether or not Veronica is becoming the same sort of person her mother once was at Neptune high. What rumor did her mother and Ms. Hauser spread 25 years prior that got them suspended? Do people get suspended for that???
- Oh, Weevil. Oh, Logan. Men. FIGHTING. Everything’s a mess, and after Thumper’s torment of Logan, Weevil kind of had this coming. Plus, it’s not lost on me that Weevil comes full circle when he is taped to the flagpole in the middle of campus.
- BOYS.
- For the most part, though, this episode is entirely about Veronica’s quest to find out the truth about her mother. Was Lianne always a mean girl? And if Veronica is obsessed with getting even with those who wrong others, does that make her any better than her mother? At the heart of this is the idea of what makes a person good or not. Everything that Veronica hears about her mother’s time in high school is distinctly negative. When she speaks to one of the staff members who was around when Lianne was, that woman, Mary, confirms that Lianne was a “fiend.”
- And look, I understand that Veronica has complicated feelings about her mother, especially in the wake of her leaving town again. It makes sense that she’d want to find something good her mother did all those years ago. It’ll make her feel better, you know?
- Unfortunately, she can’t find anything at all. And despite that we later find out that Principal Moorehead is a dirty liar, I don’t think he was necessarily lying to Veronica about Lianne being “vicious.” It’s possible she was a huge gossip, and her old friend Patty pretty much confirms that. But Patty also hits a bit close to home for Veronica by reigniting the old Celeste/Lianne rivalry. Either Lianne spread a nasty rumor about Celeste being pregnant to get back at Jake leaving her, or Jake left Lianne because Celeste was pregnant.
- Meaning there’s probably a MYSTERY CHILD, TOO.
- So much mystery.
- TRINA ECHOLLS IS BACK. HELLO, ALYSON HANNIGAN.
- Okay, I was really confused about Kendall telling Duncan that she’s been in his bed. So… what? Does she mean that figuratively with Logan but literally with Duncan? Like, she laid in Duncan’s bed while they spoke? Regardless, it’s clear that Duncan isn’t interested in cheating on Veronica with Kendall. I think? That wasn’t totally clear.
- AND THEN LOGAN AND TRINA ARRIVE
- AND THEN ALYSON HANNIGAN AND CHARISMA CARPENTER ARE ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER AND IT’S JUST THE MOST SURREAL THING IN THE UNIVERSE
- HHHHEEEEELLLLLPPPP ME.
- Do I need to tell y’all that I love Keith and Veronica’s relationship again? No? Well, I do. It’s so satisfying to see how comfortable they are with one another, and in this instance, it’s their honesty that’s refreshing. Keith knows that his daughter’s curiosity often gets the best of her, so he doesn’t give her any ultimatums when she reveals that she’s looking into her mother’s past. He’s concerned, but not pushy. But what is this journey going to reveal for Veronica? Will she be satisfied by what she finds? What’s it going to prove to her?
- EVERYTHING WITH KENDALL AND CASSIDY IS SO STRANGE. I really hope that we see a bit more of Kendall than we’re getting, despite that I am intrigued by her character. At times, she feels like a stereotype tacked onto the show, but in her scene with her son, Kendall gives us a hint of something else. Cassidy calls her “desperate,” but I don’t think that’s right description of her. Sure, desperation plays into her motivations, but I think she’s also sick of relying on other people for sustenance. So when Cassidy suggests a business venture to her, I think she’s worried that it’s going to be the same thing she’s always dealt with. She’s going to be under the control of someone else. At the same time, Cassidy has no real interest in that sort of dynamic; he’s just looking for a face to his company that’ll allow him to get into the real estate market. And sign contracts. At sixteen! Good lord. What was I doing at sixteen? Oh, running away from home and being poor. THE LITERAL POLAR OPPOSITE OF CASSIDY CASABLANCAS.
- Well, he’s also nowhere near as terrible as his older brother, so there’s that.
- Hahaha, can we just make this a thing? “Not as bad as Dick Casablancas.” I need a banner with a rainbow behind it STAT.
- So, back to BABY DRAMA. And by baby drama, I’m referring to Keith’s discovery that a Jane Doe baby was abandoned at Neptune. 25 years prior. AT THE SAME PROM LIANNE AND CELESTE WERE AT.
- And that’s when we get to see a side of Veronica that certainly appears to have a lot in common with the Lianne of old. When she goes to visit Duncan, she has to spend every second not blurting out the gossip she knows. And it’s gossip, make no mistake about it. There’s absolutely no confirmation that the child is Celeste’s, you know? SO YEAH, IT’S KIND OF A BIG DEAL WHEN CELESTE WALKS IN. Oh god, I should have known the assumption Veronica made was wrong because Celeste did not even flinch when Veronica made all those subtle comments about a baby left at Neptune High. She genuinely didn’t know what Veronica was talking about. Astrid was certainly a red herring, too!
- HEY. BUDDY COP MOVIE. LOGAN AND WEEVIL. VERONICA AND CLARENCE. MAKE IT HAPPEN.
- Actually, I’ve decided that’s the plot of the upcoming movie. IT IS. GREAT IDEA, YOU’RE WELCOME.
- Oh my god, so does this mean that Logan and Weevil have got their macho insecurities out of their system? Please? Because they really do have a common interest in finding Felix’s killer.
- Wow, Mac is smooth and charming with Cassidy. That’s a weird pairing, but it’s kind of cute, especially based on what we see here. As long as I get more Mac out of this arrangement, I’m okay with it.
- So. The last fifteen minutes of “My Mother, The Fiend.” This happened. I witnessed it. I have barely survived it. In rapid succession, this show drops plot twist after plot twist, and they’re all so UNREAL. Veronica, clad in her best business suit, meets with one of the foster parents who cared for the Jane Doe child, and Veronica discovers her real identity.
- IT’S TRINA ECHOLLS
- WHICH EXPLAINS A LOT, HOLY SHIT.
- But I love what the show does here. Initially, Veronica plots to expose Celeste Kane by tricking Trina into making a plea for help on video so that Celeste is drawn out of hiding. But after she flawlessly pulls this off, Veronica immediately returns to Trina to tell her the truth. It’s in this moment that Veronica, realizing she’s becoming exactly the sort of person she wished her mother wasn’t, chooses to tell Trina the truth. Trina’s reaction is so hilarious because Veronica should have realized that Trina would have been game to seek out her birth parents through the tabloids.
- EXCEPT IT’S NOT CELESTE KANE.
- IT’S MARY.
- MARY IS TRINA’S MOTHER!!!!!!
- OH MY GOD. The real truth comes out, and it reflects much more positively on Lianne. That terrible rumor that she and Deborah Hauser spread? It was the truth of Mary’s pregnancy. And even if the show doesn’t go into detail here, the writers understood the power dynamics at hand. Veronica doesn’t shame Mary for trying to keep this all a secret because she knew Mary was terrified of what this pregnancy would do to her if she exposed who the real father was. And I love that Trina ultimately holds Moorehead responsible for what he did to Mary all those years ago.
- OH, HI, CASUAL REVEAL THAT VICE PRINCIPAL CLEMMONS WAS BEHIND THE WHOLE THING AND THAT IT WAS AN ORCHESTRATED EFFORT SO HE’D GET MOOREHEAD’S JOB.
- GOOD. I’M SO OKAY WITH THIS.
- but y’all
- Y’ALL
- MEG
- IS
- PREGNANT
- WHICH MEANS SHE WAS PREGNANT WHEN THE BUS CRASHED
- OH GOD, SHE’S AWAKE.
- I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS SHOW IS REAL AND WE GET TO WATCH IT
- I NEED MORE VERONICA MARS RIGHT NOW.
The video commission for “My Mother, The Fiend” can be downloaded right here for just $0.99.
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