{"id":3095,"date":"2013-12-11T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2013-12-11T16:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=3095"},"modified":"2014-01-20T15:07:12","modified_gmt":"2014-01-20T23:07:12","slug":"mark-watches-veronica-mars-s01e10-an-echolls-family-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/12\/mark-watches-veronica-mars-s01e10-an-echolls-family-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Veronica Mars’: S01E10 – An Echolls Family Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the tenth episode of the first season of Veronica Mars<\/em>, THIS IS SERIOUSLY ONE OF THE BEST CHRISTMAS EPISODES OF ANY SHOW I HAVE EVER SEEN. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Veronica Mars<\/em>.
\nSO GREAT IN EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Oh my god, Keith and Veronica watching A Year Without Santa Claus<\/em> while decorating the Christmas tree is just so precious becau \u00e2\u20ac\u201c
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0wait
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0oh
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0OH MY GOD
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0THE NAME OF THE MOVIE
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0IS A SPOILER FOR THE END OF THE EPISODE
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153AN ECHOLLS FAMILY CHRISTMAS\u00e2\u20ac\u009d IS LITERALLY A YEAR WITHOUT SANTA CLAUS
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0I JUST REALIZED THAT.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Okay, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve recovered. I think. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. How great is that segue to Duncan singing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Heat Miser\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliant. You know, once we cut over to the card game, I thought it was kind of strange that Weevil was suddenly hanging out with people he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really care about, but I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say anything because I LOVE FRIENDSHIP. However, it ended up being a plot point!
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Oh, what a story. This episode ends up being a fascinating commentary on the culture of the uber-rich people of the 09ers while being a DOUBLE WHODUNNIT. Two mysteries, each one investigated by one member of the Mars family, each case full of multiple possible suspects.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Can I just imagine that this whole episode is a loving homage to Clue<\/em>, one of the greatest movies in the history of the world? Yes, this is a good choice.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Anyway, I adore that this episode doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just make it about the case. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much character development here from nearly every person on the screen. Oh my god, the Echollses! Duncan! Weevil! VERONICA HELP ME.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0But the one thing that surprised me the most was my realization that Logan didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me want to reach through the screen and flick him off a cliff. He is shockingly charming here at times, though I admit I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still not the biggest fan of him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit too crude and cruel for my tastes, which is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thankful for Connor, who FINALLY calls Logan out on his really, really gross racism. (And for the record Logan, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153having something against you\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dislikes your racism.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) Like, I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the main thing keeping me from totally liking him at this point. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so consistently jerkish about race and class that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a joke for him. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m convinced that he believes a lot of what he says. At the same time, when he puts aside the facade to be casual with Veronica, it shows me that there must be more to this character than I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen so far.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Honestly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated. I know it may seem silly, but just based on these first ten episodes, Logan is the sort of person I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever hang out with in any universe, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t despise him as much as I did in the earlier episodes. I also loved that Duncan took a moment to tell Logan that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d turned into a jackass more than ever before. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true! Granted, what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen of Logan in the past seemed to suggest that he was always a huge asshole, but Logan needs to hear it from his friends that his behavior can be horribly abrasive.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0One thing the writers have been able to do with all of this, though, is explore the 09er culture at length. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fascinating to get to see it through the eyes of characters like Veronica, Wallace, and Weevil, who are so obviously not a part of it. Even if Veronica once was, I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d disagree with Weevil that she fits in perfectly with that crowd. She might have back when she was still in the Kane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good graces, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll ever be allowed back \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with these people.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0And then, through the case that Keith gets, we see another side to the 09er world, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s REALLY SAD. Lynn Echolls is a complicated character, and this only further makes her layered. We know she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s indifferent to her husband\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s abuse of Logan, but now we find out she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ignorant of how unfaithful her husband is. Well, we also have yet another reason to despise every cell in Aaron Echolls’s body. The guy is a creep who doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deserve a bit of his fame and wealth. He takes advantage of his position as a rich white man to exploit and harm everyone around him. Unfortunately, Lynn doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to realize that her husband has been taking advantage of her the entire time. I also got the sense that she was denial. That first scene in her house with Keith strongly suggested that she wanted to sweep this all under the rug as quickly as possible. For people like the Echolls family, image is everything. I mean, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen that before with Aaron at the homeless shelter, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not surprising that Lynn is interested in appearances more than reality.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Then we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Connor, a disgustingly rich actor who is part of the 09er group but doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fit a lot of the stereotypes. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not stingy, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not rude to Weevil, and Veronica discovers that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a drug addict like Logan suggest. No, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the real thing! And a nice person!
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Which is not the case for Sean Friedrich. BLESSED BE THE EPISODE THAT MAKES THE MOST UNLIKABLE CHARACTER THE REAL THIEF. Oh my god, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like him at all. I think a special place in hell should be reserved for those who treat workers in the service industry like shit. So I immediately hated Sean for that alone.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figured out who had committed both crimes in Keith\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s respective cases, so I was SUPER EXCITED to see this all come together. IN THE SAME HOUSE AT THE SAME PART ALL AT THE SAME TIME. God, it was so exciting, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and the writers did not disappoint at all.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0I love the way that the truth is revealed. I love how Veronica tackles each person, one-by-one, to lay their secrets on the table (LIKE A GAME OF POKER, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL, THE VISUAL METAPHOR IS SO PERFECT), and to wash them free of suspicion. I love that she sits down to wipe these boys clean of their money, hopefully getting enough to buy her father a fantastic Christmas present.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0AND THEN THE ECHOLLS CASE UNRAVELS BEFORE OUR EYES AND OH MY GOD, THIS EPISODE GOES FROM BEING REALLY SWEET AND VICTORIOUS TO PAINFULLY AWKWARD AND HEARTBREAKING.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0OH MY GOD, KEITH KNOWS WHO THE STALKER IS AND THE STALKER IS WALKING AROUND THE PARTY, EYEING AARON, AND YOU JUST KNOW SOMETHING\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GOING TO HAPPEN.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0And not one fucking person guessed that the thing would be VERONICA CONFRONTING JAKE KANE.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0WHICH KEITH SEES
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0AND WHICH GOES HORRIBLY BECAUSE CLEARLY, JAKE IS LYING. WHY DOES HE CONFRONT HIS WIFE LIKE THAT? WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT DO THEY KNOW? OH MY GOD, POOR HEARTBROKEN VERONICA
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0OH MY GOD, THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE CAROLERS AND AARON ECHOLLS’S BEING STABBED BY HIS STALKER WHILE EVERYONE WATCHES ON IS TOO MUCH.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0WHAT DID THIS SHOW JUST DO TO ME?<\/p>\n

The video commission for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153An Echolls Family Christmas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0right here for just $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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