{"id":3099,"date":"2013-12-13T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=3099"},"modified":"2014-01-20T15:11:12","modified_gmt":"2014-01-20T23:11:12","slug":"mark-watches-veronica-mars-s01e12-clash-of-the-tritons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/12\/mark-watches-veronica-mars-s01e12-clash-of-the-tritons\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches &#8216;Veronica Mars&#8217;: S01E12 &#8211; Clash of the Tritons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the twelfth episode of the first season of <i>Veronica Mars<\/i>, Veronica is smacked with a bogus charge of distributing fake IDs to the Neptune population, only to discover that the reason for her framing is a lot more complicated than she expected. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch <i>Veronica Mars<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->OH MY GOD THIS SHOW IS SO MESSED UP, I SWEAR.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I think the ultimate handling of the Tritons is kind of weird, but otherwise, HOLY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, this is one intense episode of television.<\/li>\n<li>The main framing device here \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s framing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is certainly engaging and entertaining, and what Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spying reveals is HUGE for the ongoing story of Lilly Kane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s murder. Like I said, the amount of character development here is unreal, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of awesome that Rebecca was able to get these people to open up about how Lilly Kane affected their life. In a way, each person <i>defines<\/i> their character through their session with Rebecca.<\/li>\n<li>Think about it! Veronica starts off by using her unwillingness to discuss Lilly with Rebecca as a way to plant a bug in the office, but she then segues to her mission statement (of sorts): She is turning her grief into something positive and empowering. Lilly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s murder informs so much of what Veronica does in the present, not just in her pursuit of the real murderer. Veronica is a force for moral goodness, and she tries to bring closure to other people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lives. Through that, she hopes to bring closure to her own life. (Oh god, so much of what I wrote yesterday is eerily relevant to this conversation, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?)<\/li>\n<li>Then we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Weevil, who demonstrates his character\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main behavioral qualities through his interview. Note that he quickly brings up his own background and neighborhood early in his talk. Weevil is <i>incredibly<\/i> loyal to the people in his life, and that goes for the forgotten and undesirable people in Neptune. In this case, he refers to the disappearance and murder of a young woman of color in his neighborhood that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get any of the same attention Lilly did. Yeah, that one hit a little too close to home for me. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a work of fiction in the slightest, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s despairing to think that racism and classism play a part in <i>which<\/i> people get the most attention and effort when they disappear or when they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re murdered.<\/li>\n<li>And I love that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t meant as an insult to Lilly, either. No, Weevil <i>desperately<\/i> cares about her, and we finally get confirmation that they had some sort of relationship, though the details are slim at this point. Lilly broke things off prior to her death, and Weevil may have also pursued her to the point of making her uncomfortable. Whatever happened, can I add Francis Capra to the list of actors who are not allowed to cry on camera because their faces are too much? That list includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kristen Bell, Jorge Garcia, and Connie Britton, thank you very much.<\/li>\n<li>Just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 my god, I NEED SO MUCH MORE BACKSTORY FOR WEEVIL RIGHT NOW.<\/li>\n<li>Logan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the next guest in Rebecca\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s office, AND LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK ABOUT NOT OKAY FOREVER. I have to admit that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m intrigued by the writers continuing to pull back the curtains on Logan. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been such an <i>angry<\/i> character beneath that mask of wit, sarcasm, and attitude, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve now seen multiple glimpses of something really sad and scary that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hiding from everyone. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect him to reveal the <i>real<\/i> reason he treats Veronica so poorly. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to note that his reasoning \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sleuthing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meant that Lilly was alone on the night of her death instead of with Logan \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is later mirrored in Rick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s justification for framing Veronica. Now, from our perspective, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to see that Lilly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death is <i>clearly<\/i> not Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fault, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the show is saying it is at <i>all<\/i>. No, this is about how Logan has internalized his grief and found someone to blame. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easier for him to process his loss by blaming Veronica and by blaming <i>himself<\/i>. God, the delivery on that line \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so great about living?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is UNREAL.<\/li>\n<li>But oh my god, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. DUNCAN. DUNCAN. I have a theory about his behavior that is really, <i>really<\/i> disturbing. See, I was bothered by the idea that he was put onto medication so quickly after his sister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what suggested here, though I could have misinterpreted this. While Rebecca is talking about how the medication may have blocked the grieving process, Duncan reveals that <i>he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember the days around Lilly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s murder<\/i>. Wait, WHAT THE FUCK. Oh my god, that <i>certainly<\/i> explains his bizarre behavior outside his house when Veronica ran up to him. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 how? How could he forget that period of time? I mean, I suppose that post-traumatic stress disorder could play a part in it, but the fact that he was on <i>another<\/i> medication prior to that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 oh god. What if someone <i>purposely wanted him to forget those days?<\/i><\/li>\n<li>I just need y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all to know that predicting things terrifies me because I have to do them so publicly, but I FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THIS ONE.<\/li>\n<li>So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about the Tritons. I loved the way the writers combined the more dangerous aspects of frat pledging with the fucked-up weirdness of secret societies. I actually misread the final scene of the cold open because Veronica didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem that shocked by all the fake IDs in her locker, so I got really worried that she was totally guilty. SOMETIMES I GET THINGS HORRIBLY WRONG.<\/li>\n<li>Yay, another appearance of Deputy Lamb! Guess who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happy about that? NOT ME. AT ALL.<\/li>\n<li>For the most part, I really love the Triton plot line. I love the idea of Veronica going up against a generational society by herself and sticking\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 it to them. The threat is a lot bigger here, too, since Tim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents are threatening a massive lawsuit against the parties who may have been partially responsible for their son\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alcohol poisoning.<\/li>\n<li>That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the reasons why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m confused by the ending. The Tritons <i>did<\/i> have a 12-part drink-a-thon, which is disturbing as <i>hell<\/i> for a high school group. And they LOCKED VERONICA IN HER OWN TRUNK! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that is really messed up and super illegal? I mean, I understand that Rick and Tim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t <i>actually<\/i> due to the Tritons in the end, but them getting a free pass from Veronica seemed strange.<\/li>\n<li>At the same time, THIS EPISODE FEATURES VERONICA MARS SINGING \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ONE WAY OR ANOTHER\u00e2\u20ac\u009d TO THE TRITONS AND IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO PERFECT THAT I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T STAND IT.<\/li>\n<li>Honorary mention to: <i>every<\/i> one of Wallace\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scenes in this episode. I love how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at a point in his relationship with Veronica that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just game for <i>anything<\/i>. God, how could you dislike this character? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so adorable and charming!!!<\/li>\n<li>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one other plot that runs through \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Clash of the Tritons,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and it concerns the aftermath of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153An Echolls Family Christmas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (And for the record, I now know the Christmas episode aired BEFORE \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Silence of the Lamb,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so it explains why there is an episode between these two.) Aaron surprisingly goes to Keith for help discovering who has been leaking personal information to tabloids. Which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care about. The dude was revealed to have been cheating on his wife with plenty of women, so he made his own bed. Who cares?<\/li>\n<li>I was far more interested in Logan lashing out at people being SUPER FUCKING AWFUL about his mother, especially since this episode shows us that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gotten rather protective of his mother. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a new side to him, one created in the wake of his father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s indiscretions being made public. Of course, that made me worry about how Aaron Echolls would lash out, too, because we know that Aaron cares more about his image than anything else. He tells Keith that he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want these stories to hurt his family, but I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe that for a second.<\/li>\n<li>It makes sense, then, that Lynn had finally found a way to hurt Aaron back: by ruining his career. WHICH GOOD. IT SHOULD BE. So I was <i>terrified<\/i> by Aaron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction, which was to threaten to take <i>everything<\/i> from Lynn if she tried to get divorced. That takes some nerve, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, given that HE was the one who cheated. Of course, the big shocker comes from Logan, who threatens to KILL his father if he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leave his mother alone.<\/li>\n<li>Logan. <i>Logan<\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m crushed by this ending, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so upsetting and unfair, and I am desperate to find out that this is a misdirect, that Lynn is still alive.<\/li>\n<li>PLEASE?<\/li>\n<li><i>PLEASE<\/i>???<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The video commission for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Clash of the Tritons\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/markdoesstuff.com\/collections\/frontpage\/products\/mark-watches-veronica-mars\" target=\"_blank\">right here for just $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/11\/support-mark-does-stuff-with-a-holiday-card\/\">You can now purchase a personalized Holiday Card from Mark for just $20!<\/a><br \/>\n&#8211; If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, <a href=\"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/09\/help-keep-mark-does-stuff-running\/\">I&#8217;ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a><br \/>\n&#8211; Please check out the <a href=\"http:\/\/markdoesstuff.com\/\">MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!<br \/>\n&#8211; My <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/calendar\/embed?src=815s3sbr8clhdi9tn8k7r3tim4%40group.calendar.google.com&amp;ctz=America\/Los_Angeles\">Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. The schedule for Double Features is also updated through the end of the year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the twelfth episode of the first season of Veronica Mars, Veronica is smacked with a bogus charge of distributing fake IDs to the Neptune population, only to discover that the reason for her framing is a lot more complicated &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/12\/mark-watches-veronica-mars-s01e12-clash-of-the-tritons\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":[596],"class_list":["post-3099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-veronica-mars","tag-mark-watches-veronica-mars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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