The Violence of the Lamb
So, I still have no idea who blew up the bus, and I'm finding it hard to care, since, while things appear to be on the upswing, season 2 of VM thus far has turned out to be the biggest disappointment since… season 2 of Joan of Arcadia, which, actually, was just last year, so I guess maybe sucky sophomore seasons are the in thing for the kids right now.
But I’m still holding out hope that VM can come back in season 3, and that’s why I paid close attention to ep 16 after Rob said we’d get a glimpse of next year’s big mystery. So there’s this whole serial rape deal going on, and everyone’s afraid that George Michael did it, but not me… See, I think I figured out who the rapist is.
It’s none other than the law himself, Sheriff Lamb. Allow me to present my case:
Existentialism
Why is Lamb in this episode? He’s the one person in “The Rapes of Graff” who’s not important to the overall plot of the episode. It could’ve been anyone who was spotted in the elevator with the hooker. His brief moment with Troy and Veronica at the station didn’t serve any purpose other than to invite us to recall his part in Veronica’s rape story, to remind us of his incredible insensitivity on that particular subject. But if Lamb is the serial rapist, then this all becomes important - the hotel scene to establish a potential alibi, the scene with Veronica for a healthy dose of meta, and one very important piece of incriminating evidence: Lamb likes to have sex with 18-year-old women.
So let’s break all this down:
Meta
Lamb as the rapist has all kinds of pay-off value. He’s been around since the beginning, and the fans are invested in him. That makes good TV. People still complain that the murderer from S1 should’ve been somebody who was in the pilot, which Aaron wasn’t, so this is really a good way to make up for it: not only is Lamb in what is essentially the “pilot” for the serial rapist storyline, he was in the series pilot as well! And how interesting is it that he was really the only character besides Veronica who was featured in her rape storyline in the pilot? (We didn’t find out about the boys’ involvement until ATttD.) Lamb’s a walking callback! Plus, how cool would it be for Rob to be able to say at the end of S3 that everything you needed to know to solve the mystery was in 2.16?
Motive
38 episodes into the series, this is the first time we see Lamb have any kind of romantic encounter that’s not with the mirror in the weight room. And what we learn is that he likes the barely-legal set. Plenty of girls in that age range at a college, no? Why tell us this particular detail about Lamb? Yeah, it sets up a great sight gag, but I’m betting there’s more to it than that.
It’s hard to say to what extent physical attraction factors into rape (or whether the writers would bother to consider that issue). We’ve all heard the old mantra about how rape isn’t about sex - it’s an act of violence. The use of roofies complicates things a bit, because it takes away much of the physical violence of rape and makes the girl seem willing (if she’ still conscious). That’s why roofie rapes are often categorized as “date rape” in order to imply that the guy really is just trying to get laid and has chosen the easiest way to go about doing it. A lot of guys don’t consider it rape when they ply a girl with alcohol to get her more “in the mood.” Lamb’s line about date rape to Troy at the station is an interesting comment on this: “When they use roofies to knock them out and then shave their head afterwards, we drop the ‘date’ part.” It could be a reference to what Lamb already knows to be true: date rape is acquaintance rape, but when a woman is drugged and has no memory of what happened, the assailant could be absolutely anyone. This was Veronica’s experience (though I guess in her mind it turned out to be a date after all). Stacy was very likely raped by a total stranger.
So while Lamb’s sexual desire for co-eds could be relevant to his choice of victims, the rapes are most definitely about violence, and this is clear from his post-coital activities - shaving the woman’s head. That’s branding, a sign of ownership and conquest that is meant to humiliate the victim. It’s about power and domination.
This humiliation aspect is another thing that makes Lamb a prime suspect in terms of motive. We know very little about him, but one of the things we do know is that Lamb suffered psychological abuse at the hands of his father. If this backstory exists to make him sympathetic or excuse some of his asshole behavior, then he’s just another Logan. I think the writers don’t want another Logan and will instead take this storyline in the opposite direction - that the mental torture turned little Donnie into a sociopath. Want to bet that Rob’s seen Profit?
Since Lamb’s chosen path is law enforcement, it’s possible that he’s humiliating these women as a form of punishment or retributive justice. Perhaps he targets women of "loose morals," a girl like Stacy who hooks up with random guys at parties. By pinning the blame on Troy, Lamb manages to punish the man as well.
On the topic of motive, I think it’s important to consider the writers’ motives as well. Why would they want to make Lamb the rapist? Well, for one, it creates lots of potential for red herrings, because if Lamb is the one investigating the crimes, he can plant evidence implicating a whole host of other suspects, such as Dean, and thus the misdirects become all the more believable. Secondly, we’ve seen aspects of moral corruption in Lamb and his abuse of power. The darker and more deviant that corruption becomes, the more it highlights the noir aspect of the show.
Also, Rob hates the Lamb fangirls, as evidenced when he lashed out at one of the fans via email and threatened to write Lamb off the show. What better way to punish them than to turn their beloved character into a serial rapist? (especially now that Rob’s learned the hard way that making a character a rapist does not actually endear that character to the audience). Also, Rob will be able to pat himself on the back for having the balls to make one of his most popular actors The Big Bad.
Opportunity
The biggest potential flaw in this theory is that Lamb appears to have an alibi, having been at the Neptune Grand that night at 2 a.m. But if there’s one thing I’ve noticed on Veronica Mars, it’s that all alibis are bogus. This particular one doesn’t make any sense. If Lamb is worried about how his dalliance with Madison will look if it gets out, why is he taking her to a posh hotel where there are a thousand security cameras and where he could easily be spotted by any of Neptune’s more influential residents, like Woody Goodman? Why not just go to his place, or, if that’s not an option (because he lives with his mother?), why not go to the motel that caters to the under-the-radar crowd - the Camelot? Yes, Madison’s an 09er and wants to be pampered, but I just don’t see Lamb taking the risk unless he’s got an underlying motive, such as the desire to create an alibi. Lamb is the sheriff - he knows about the security cameras at the Neptune Grand. He’s probably subpoenaed that footage himself on several occasions.
So follow me, if you will: Lamb checks into the NG with Madison. They have sex. Afterwards, Lamb roofies her to make sure she stays asleep, then he navigates what he knows is the way out of the hotel without drawing significant camera coverage. He goes to Hearst, where, in street clothes, he looks young enough to blend into the crowd, especially since the partiers are all wasted by that point. If anyone should recognize him, he can claim that he was in the neighborhood and is responding to a noise complaint about the party. He chooses a victim based on the existence of a viable alternative suspect. After all, whoever raped Stacy likely saw Troy coming out of her room. Afterwards, Lamb goes back to the NG and wakes up in the morning with Madison, who has no idea he ever left.
Part of what makes it a perfect alibi is that it’s not obvious. Having sex with a barely-legal girl could potentially hurt his career, so it would never appear to be something he would purposely set up. Ultimately, he hopes the alibi will never become necessary, and his night with Madison will remain a secret. But if it ever does become an issue, he knows just how far back the Neptune Grand keeps their security tape. And if the security tape is no longer available, he’s got Madison to testify that he was with her all night.
Of course, to believe this, you must believe that Lamb is one crafty s.o.b. I’ve never thought that Lamb was stupid. Lazy about his police work, yes, but not stupid. And since he works in law enforcement, he knows a great deal about how to set up an alibi.
The Clue
Serial killers (and by extension, serial rapists) almost always leave behind a calling card, especially in movies and on TV. In The Silence of the Lambs (the movie, not to be confused with “Silence of the Lamb,” but while we’re on the subject - coincidence?), this was the moth larvae found in the victim’s throat. Consider this as the last piece of evidence: Our good sheriff’s last name is LAMB. What does our rapist do to his victims after he has sex with them? He shears them. If that’s not a perfect calling card, I don’t know what is. (And the frat boys shaving each others’ heads is a classic red herring).
While I think this could be a great story, it worries me because if Rob does do the three shorter mysteries next season, the storyline will be wrapped up in seven or eight episodes, and then no more Lamb. That would be a crime.
But I’m still holding out hope that VM can come back in season 3, and that’s why I paid close attention to ep 16 after Rob said we’d get a glimpse of next year’s big mystery. So there’s this whole serial rape deal going on, and everyone’s afraid that George Michael did it, but not me… See, I think I figured out who the rapist is.
It’s none other than the law himself, Sheriff Lamb. Allow me to present my case:
Existentialism
Why is Lamb in this episode? He’s the one person in “The Rapes of Graff” who’s not important to the overall plot of the episode. It could’ve been anyone who was spotted in the elevator with the hooker. His brief moment with Troy and Veronica at the station didn’t serve any purpose other than to invite us to recall his part in Veronica’s rape story, to remind us of his incredible insensitivity on that particular subject. But if Lamb is the serial rapist, then this all becomes important - the hotel scene to establish a potential alibi, the scene with Veronica for a healthy dose of meta, and one very important piece of incriminating evidence: Lamb likes to have sex with 18-year-old women.
So let’s break all this down:
Meta
Lamb as the rapist has all kinds of pay-off value. He’s been around since the beginning, and the fans are invested in him. That makes good TV. People still complain that the murderer from S1 should’ve been somebody who was in the pilot, which Aaron wasn’t, so this is really a good way to make up for it: not only is Lamb in what is essentially the “pilot” for the serial rapist storyline, he was in the series pilot as well! And how interesting is it that he was really the only character besides Veronica who was featured in her rape storyline in the pilot? (We didn’t find out about the boys’ involvement until ATttD.) Lamb’s a walking callback! Plus, how cool would it be for Rob to be able to say at the end of S3 that everything you needed to know to solve the mystery was in 2.16?
Motive
38 episodes into the series, this is the first time we see Lamb have any kind of romantic encounter that’s not with the mirror in the weight room. And what we learn is that he likes the barely-legal set. Plenty of girls in that age range at a college, no? Why tell us this particular detail about Lamb? Yeah, it sets up a great sight gag, but I’m betting there’s more to it than that.
It’s hard to say to what extent physical attraction factors into rape (or whether the writers would bother to consider that issue). We’ve all heard the old mantra about how rape isn’t about sex - it’s an act of violence. The use of roofies complicates things a bit, because it takes away much of the physical violence of rape and makes the girl seem willing (if she’ still conscious). That’s why roofie rapes are often categorized as “date rape” in order to imply that the guy really is just trying to get laid and has chosen the easiest way to go about doing it. A lot of guys don’t consider it rape when they ply a girl with alcohol to get her more “in the mood.” Lamb’s line about date rape to Troy at the station is an interesting comment on this: “When they use roofies to knock them out and then shave their head afterwards, we drop the ‘date’ part.” It could be a reference to what Lamb already knows to be true: date rape is acquaintance rape, but when a woman is drugged and has no memory of what happened, the assailant could be absolutely anyone. This was Veronica’s experience (though I guess in her mind it turned out to be a date after all). Stacy was very likely raped by a total stranger.
So while Lamb’s sexual desire for co-eds could be relevant to his choice of victims, the rapes are most definitely about violence, and this is clear from his post-coital activities - shaving the woman’s head. That’s branding, a sign of ownership and conquest that is meant to humiliate the victim. It’s about power and domination.
This humiliation aspect is another thing that makes Lamb a prime suspect in terms of motive. We know very little about him, but one of the things we do know is that Lamb suffered psychological abuse at the hands of his father. If this backstory exists to make him sympathetic or excuse some of his asshole behavior, then he’s just another Logan. I think the writers don’t want another Logan and will instead take this storyline in the opposite direction - that the mental torture turned little Donnie into a sociopath. Want to bet that Rob’s seen Profit?
Since Lamb’s chosen path is law enforcement, it’s possible that he’s humiliating these women as a form of punishment or retributive justice. Perhaps he targets women of "loose morals," a girl like Stacy who hooks up with random guys at parties. By pinning the blame on Troy, Lamb manages to punish the man as well.
On the topic of motive, I think it’s important to consider the writers’ motives as well. Why would they want to make Lamb the rapist? Well, for one, it creates lots of potential for red herrings, because if Lamb is the one investigating the crimes, he can plant evidence implicating a whole host of other suspects, such as Dean, and thus the misdirects become all the more believable. Secondly, we’ve seen aspects of moral corruption in Lamb and his abuse of power. The darker and more deviant that corruption becomes, the more it highlights the noir aspect of the show.
Also, Rob hates the Lamb fangirls, as evidenced when he lashed out at one of the fans via email and threatened to write Lamb off the show. What better way to punish them than to turn their beloved character into a serial rapist? (especially now that Rob’s learned the hard way that making a character a rapist does not actually endear that character to the audience). Also, Rob will be able to pat himself on the back for having the balls to make one of his most popular actors The Big Bad.
Opportunity
The biggest potential flaw in this theory is that Lamb appears to have an alibi, having been at the Neptune Grand that night at 2 a.m. But if there’s one thing I’ve noticed on Veronica Mars, it’s that all alibis are bogus. This particular one doesn’t make any sense. If Lamb is worried about how his dalliance with Madison will look if it gets out, why is he taking her to a posh hotel where there are a thousand security cameras and where he could easily be spotted by any of Neptune’s more influential residents, like Woody Goodman? Why not just go to his place, or, if that’s not an option (because he lives with his mother?), why not go to the motel that caters to the under-the-radar crowd - the Camelot? Yes, Madison’s an 09er and wants to be pampered, but I just don’t see Lamb taking the risk unless he’s got an underlying motive, such as the desire to create an alibi. Lamb is the sheriff - he knows about the security cameras at the Neptune Grand. He’s probably subpoenaed that footage himself on several occasions.
So follow me, if you will: Lamb checks into the NG with Madison. They have sex. Afterwards, Lamb roofies her to make sure she stays asleep, then he navigates what he knows is the way out of the hotel without drawing significant camera coverage. He goes to Hearst, where, in street clothes, he looks young enough to blend into the crowd, especially since the partiers are all wasted by that point. If anyone should recognize him, he can claim that he was in the neighborhood and is responding to a noise complaint about the party. He chooses a victim based on the existence of a viable alternative suspect. After all, whoever raped Stacy likely saw Troy coming out of her room. Afterwards, Lamb goes back to the NG and wakes up in the morning with Madison, who has no idea he ever left.
Part of what makes it a perfect alibi is that it’s not obvious. Having sex with a barely-legal girl could potentially hurt his career, so it would never appear to be something he would purposely set up. Ultimately, he hopes the alibi will never become necessary, and his night with Madison will remain a secret. But if it ever does become an issue, he knows just how far back the Neptune Grand keeps their security tape. And if the security tape is no longer available, he’s got Madison to testify that he was with her all night.
Of course, to believe this, you must believe that Lamb is one crafty s.o.b. I’ve never thought that Lamb was stupid. Lazy about his police work, yes, but not stupid. And since he works in law enforcement, he knows a great deal about how to set up an alibi.
The Clue
Serial killers (and by extension, serial rapists) almost always leave behind a calling card, especially in movies and on TV. In The Silence of the Lambs (the movie, not to be confused with “Silence of the Lamb,” but while we’re on the subject - coincidence?), this was the moth larvae found in the victim’s throat. Consider this as the last piece of evidence: Our good sheriff’s last name is LAMB. What does our rapist do to his victims after he has sex with them? He shears them. If that’s not a perfect calling card, I don’t know what is. (And the frat boys shaving each others’ heads is a classic red herring).
While I think this could be a great story, it worries me because if Rob does do the three shorter mysteries next season, the storyline will be wrapped up in seven or eight episodes, and then no more Lamb. That would be a crime.