vmars (this is my reality totally insanity)
So here's the thing. Which I just want to lay on the table, before things... explode.
I keep seeing myself being painted (all. the fuck. over. LJ.) as the Ultimate Bitter Fan.
Dude, what the fuck?
First of all, in terms of negative posts? There aren't really that many. I've seen jennyo, mimesere, isadora_, llamacran, and the wonderful anonymous_sibyl's. Maybe a few others, too, but just... it wasn't a wave. It wasn't an influx. You are not in the minority if you enjoyed the episode. And, frankly, none of us are sitting here going "Well, you're a jackass if you liked it". We're saying "We don't understand what about it you liked."
For the record, there were scenes I loved. I liked Lilly and Veronica singing along to Spice Girls. I liked Daddy Mars and Veronica being family (although we knew that already, and also, see anonymous_sibyl's point about Veronica needing to prove what he already knew). I was a big fan of Logan's voice mail. In fact, I liked Logan in this episode, in every scene where he wasn't a little whiny bitch. Read: if he wasn't crying, I enjoyed him. I cannot speak about the last act, so I'm not sure there; I am trying to bittorrent this fucker so that I can rewatch and comment. Although I'm not rewatching without emotional support.
See, at the end of the day, I'm really hoping it's my expectations that did me in. "A Trip to the Dentist" was not a good episode to put before this, because it emphasized how continuity-oriented this show is. Because it showed us payoff, straight-up, from the season.
Which is to say... what? I'm not actually using this to argue it should've been Lianne. Sometime around yesterday, we acknowledged on IM it wouldn't be. But I really, really, really believed it might be Celeste then. Or maybe Jake. Because that was a storyline we'd seen, with payoff. Celeste was awesome. I actually wouldn't have argued against Aaron being the killer, to be honest-- if it fit his MO. At all. Or his characterization. Or his possible motive.
Aaron's motive that would have made sense: killing Lilly as a reaction to her betraying Logan in some way. Killing Lilly as a reaction to her sleeping with Weevil behind Logan's back. Killing Lilly, conversely, because she undermined his power with his son.
Aaron's motive that didn't make any sense: killing Lilly because he was sleeping with her and killed her in a crime of passion.
Aaron is not a crime-of-passion type character. He is a cold, stewing sort. When he beat Logan's ass (IHB!), it was clearly premeditated and planned. When he beat Trina's boyfriend, it was clearly planned out. You could see it as he planned it.
Here's the thing, too. The themes of the season. People are right. We look for what we want to see. So I'm telling you that I can look back and see plenty of scenes which would have Aaron killing Lilly, accidentally or intentionally, for the sake of his family in some way. I actually stopped, yesterday, to try to think of MotWs which featured affairs. Specifically, older/younger, but really, any affairs. The only things I can pull together here would be "Credit Where Credit's Due" (doesn't fit; that's already taken with Weevil/Lilly/Logan) and "Mars vs. Mars".
See, now I'm trying to put together a seasonal arc, or a seasonal theme, and I can't find one. People are arguing that it's Daddy Mars and Veronica love each other! But... that wasn't an arc. An arc has an arc shape. An arc has rising action and a climax and a denoument. Can it really be an arc if the season starts with a daddy-daughter bond and ends with a daddy-daughter bond?
And what about the Lilly arc? How much was dropped for this? We have no idea who chased Lianne out of town-- Clarence Wiedman wasn't even IN this episode. Half the cast was sketchy, but apparently not sketchy enough to be killer? Aaron admitted to fucking Lilly. So she's a slut who fucked at least three guys at the same time. Is that the lesson we were supposed to get? Don't whore it up, because you'll be screwed! See, it's like a pun!
I don't know. I really hate the way Lilly was characterized in this episode. Her sleeping with Aaron doesn't fit how I've reconciled her character for 21 episodes at all. And maybe that's me. Maybe that's my perceptions, and trying to make Lilly into a likeable character? But I don't understand where any of this came from. Like, the only evidence I can think of, for ANYTHING? The pilot (smoking gun, first act): Aaron has an action figure. Also, he took away Logan's car for the bong. And Lilly has a secret.
Later? Well, I'm trying to think of Lilly lines. In anything. That might point, even indirectly. Wrath of Con's got nothing. Lord of the Bling, maybe? But no. It really doesn't. We just know she's getting bored of Logan, and that his kissing another girl makes her break up with him. Dude, she's fucking his dad. And also Weevil. But, dude, his dad.
And all Logan could say was "Lilly liked boys"? See, now, yeah, okay, he's justified moving on to Veronica. That's great. Now I hate Lilly. That was worth it.
And point of view. Jeez, point of view. I've talked about this before, a lot, most recently in my Trip to the Dentist, about Veronica's propensity to be wrong. Or, well, more accurately, the likelihood of her being skewed in her view. We've been trained on this show: one to three mis-guessed problems, twist at the end of the third act or beginning of fourth. And yet this episode: Duncan, who no one thought was seriously the killer ("Ooh, that was easy. Okay, now we'll have 52 minutes of Logan and Veronica making out!"); Logan, who no one thought was seriously the killer ("Also easy. Now we'll have 40 minutes of Lianne and Keith making out." "BITE YOUR TONGUE."), and then Aaron around MIDPOINT. And she guessed the scenario. And she was right exactly.
Here's the thing. I didn't trust it. I kept waiting for the final reveal. She has guessed the crimes so many times and never been right like that. She usually gets the solution from someone who was, like, involved. And she waits for them to confess and fill in the blanks. This didn't have that. This had Veronica's skewed perspective, AND THAT'S IT. Let's all trust Veronica!
And... how does this have an impact on Veronica? I mean, I know she's going to now have to live with knowing who killed Lilly, but how does this hurt her? She never really knew Aaron. She never really liked Aaron. We did, because he was complex and an evil bastard but an awesome one. And now he's an evil bastard who's in jail, and Lynn's dead, and Logan's essentially an orphan 9 months from riches, and at least one, if not both, of Duncan's parents are going to jail for covering this up, so maybe he and Logan can share a room at the Home for Wayward Woobies. Or maybe at Weevil's grandmother's.
And Veronica... well. We don't know who's going to be on the other end of the door. I know I'm holding my breath.
I just... I just don't get it. Because I don't want to be bitter. I want to love this show. I tried so hard to love this show. I'm hoping it was my expectations being too high, or coming at this from the wrong place. Because last night, all that I could see was Urban Legend. Except Aaron wasn't played by Rebecca Gayheart. (Mind, it would have been EXCELLENT if she had been. Also, if Alicia Witt were in this episode. Possibly sleeping with someone attractive. Er, digression.) Also, this was the first time I have ever seen someone get hit by a moving vehicle that I didn't laugh uproariously at. I mean, I bought Final Destination for that shit. Rob Thomas, why do you hurt me?
I guess I don't feel bitter. I don't think bitter involves literally, actually crying over what happened. Because I looked and I didn't understand. Because I spent this entire season working from the belief that I would have payoff, and spent, like, hours on this show. Possibly adding up to days. Dozens of IMs and phone conversations best summarized as "I love you, Rob Thomas!" More LJ entries than you could shake a stick at. We looked at this show, not as a random TV show, but as a text. We looked at it assuming there would be neat arcing, and neat games, and just... it would be a clean show. We looked for textual foreshadowing, for thematic foreshadowing, for anything.
And at the end of the day, it was sloppy fucking storytelling. Even if you believe that this was a good episode, I don't know how you can defend Veronica recapping what happened previously in the episode on more than one occasion. I mean, it's just... that I expect better.
And, the thing is, I should have fucking KNOWN. Looking back? I should have realized. This is Satellite Down all over again (except completely different, but... yeah). I should have known.
And now I'm being painted as bitter. Which, I guess reading this over, I am? To some people? But I don't really understand how 24 hours ago I was the most giddy adorable fangirl ever with a VMars dollhouse and today I'm trading in my newbie credentials for a BOFQ crown, or whatever.
I'm not bitter. I'm disappointed. And that hurts more.
Off to go reply to the previous post. Or possibly lunch. Or homework. Something.
I keep seeing myself being painted (all. the fuck. over. LJ.) as the Ultimate Bitter Fan.
Dude, what the fuck?
First of all, in terms of negative posts? There aren't really that many. I've seen jennyo, mimesere, isadora_, llamacran, and the wonderful anonymous_sibyl's. Maybe a few others, too, but just... it wasn't a wave. It wasn't an influx. You are not in the minority if you enjoyed the episode. And, frankly, none of us are sitting here going "Well, you're a jackass if you liked it". We're saying "We don't understand what about it you liked."
For the record, there were scenes I loved. I liked Lilly and Veronica singing along to Spice Girls. I liked Daddy Mars and Veronica being family (although we knew that already, and also, see anonymous_sibyl's point about Veronica needing to prove what he already knew). I was a big fan of Logan's voice mail. In fact, I liked Logan in this episode, in every scene where he wasn't a little whiny bitch. Read: if he wasn't crying, I enjoyed him. I cannot speak about the last act, so I'm not sure there; I am trying to bittorrent this fucker so that I can rewatch and comment. Although I'm not rewatching without emotional support.
See, at the end of the day, I'm really hoping it's my expectations that did me in. "A Trip to the Dentist" was not a good episode to put before this, because it emphasized how continuity-oriented this show is. Because it showed us payoff, straight-up, from the season.
Which is to say... what? I'm not actually using this to argue it should've been Lianne. Sometime around yesterday, we acknowledged on IM it wouldn't be. But I really, really, really believed it might be Celeste then. Or maybe Jake. Because that was a storyline we'd seen, with payoff. Celeste was awesome. I actually wouldn't have argued against Aaron being the killer, to be honest-- if it fit his MO. At all. Or his characterization. Or his possible motive.
Aaron's motive that would have made sense: killing Lilly as a reaction to her betraying Logan in some way. Killing Lilly as a reaction to her sleeping with Weevil behind Logan's back. Killing Lilly, conversely, because she undermined his power with his son.
Aaron's motive that didn't make any sense: killing Lilly because he was sleeping with her and killed her in a crime of passion.
Aaron is not a crime-of-passion type character. He is a cold, stewing sort. When he beat Logan's ass (IHB!), it was clearly premeditated and planned. When he beat Trina's boyfriend, it was clearly planned out. You could see it as he planned it.
Here's the thing, too. The themes of the season. People are right. We look for what we want to see. So I'm telling you that I can look back and see plenty of scenes which would have Aaron killing Lilly, accidentally or intentionally, for the sake of his family in some way. I actually stopped, yesterday, to try to think of MotWs which featured affairs. Specifically, older/younger, but really, any affairs. The only things I can pull together here would be "Credit Where Credit's Due" (doesn't fit; that's already taken with Weevil/Lilly/Logan) and "Mars vs. Mars".
See, now I'm trying to put together a seasonal arc, or a seasonal theme, and I can't find one. People are arguing that it's Daddy Mars and Veronica love each other! But... that wasn't an arc. An arc has an arc shape. An arc has rising action and a climax and a denoument. Can it really be an arc if the season starts with a daddy-daughter bond and ends with a daddy-daughter bond?
And what about the Lilly arc? How much was dropped for this? We have no idea who chased Lianne out of town-- Clarence Wiedman wasn't even IN this episode. Half the cast was sketchy, but apparently not sketchy enough to be killer? Aaron admitted to fucking Lilly. So she's a slut who fucked at least three guys at the same time. Is that the lesson we were supposed to get? Don't whore it up, because you'll be screwed! See, it's like a pun!
I don't know. I really hate the way Lilly was characterized in this episode. Her sleeping with Aaron doesn't fit how I've reconciled her character for 21 episodes at all. And maybe that's me. Maybe that's my perceptions, and trying to make Lilly into a likeable character? But I don't understand where any of this came from. Like, the only evidence I can think of, for ANYTHING? The pilot (smoking gun, first act): Aaron has an action figure. Also, he took away Logan's car for the bong. And Lilly has a secret.
Later? Well, I'm trying to think of Lilly lines. In anything. That might point, even indirectly. Wrath of Con's got nothing. Lord of the Bling, maybe? But no. It really doesn't. We just know she's getting bored of Logan, and that his kissing another girl makes her break up with him. Dude, she's fucking his dad. And also Weevil. But, dude, his dad.
And all Logan could say was "Lilly liked boys"? See, now, yeah, okay, he's justified moving on to Veronica. That's great. Now I hate Lilly. That was worth it.
And point of view. Jeez, point of view. I've talked about this before, a lot, most recently in my Trip to the Dentist, about Veronica's propensity to be wrong. Or, well, more accurately, the likelihood of her being skewed in her view. We've been trained on this show: one to three mis-guessed problems, twist at the end of the third act or beginning of fourth. And yet this episode: Duncan, who no one thought was seriously the killer ("Ooh, that was easy. Okay, now we'll have 52 minutes of Logan and Veronica making out!"); Logan, who no one thought was seriously the killer ("Also easy. Now we'll have 40 minutes of Lianne and Keith making out." "BITE YOUR TONGUE."), and then Aaron around MIDPOINT. And she guessed the scenario. And she was right exactly.
Here's the thing. I didn't trust it. I kept waiting for the final reveal. She has guessed the crimes so many times and never been right like that. She usually gets the solution from someone who was, like, involved. And she waits for them to confess and fill in the blanks. This didn't have that. This had Veronica's skewed perspective, AND THAT'S IT. Let's all trust Veronica!
And... how does this have an impact on Veronica? I mean, I know she's going to now have to live with knowing who killed Lilly, but how does this hurt her? She never really knew Aaron. She never really liked Aaron. We did, because he was complex and an evil bastard but an awesome one. And now he's an evil bastard who's in jail, and Lynn's dead, and Logan's essentially an orphan 9 months from riches, and at least one, if not both, of Duncan's parents are going to jail for covering this up, so maybe he and Logan can share a room at the Home for Wayward Woobies. Or maybe at Weevil's grandmother's.
And Veronica... well. We don't know who's going to be on the other end of the door. I know I'm holding my breath.
I just... I just don't get it. Because I don't want to be bitter. I want to love this show. I tried so hard to love this show. I'm hoping it was my expectations being too high, or coming at this from the wrong place. Because last night, all that I could see was Urban Legend. Except Aaron wasn't played by Rebecca Gayheart. (Mind, it would have been EXCELLENT if she had been. Also, if Alicia Witt were in this episode. Possibly sleeping with someone attractive. Er, digression.) Also, this was the first time I have ever seen someone get hit by a moving vehicle that I didn't laugh uproariously at. I mean, I bought Final Destination for that shit. Rob Thomas, why do you hurt me?
I guess I don't feel bitter. I don't think bitter involves literally, actually crying over what happened. Because I looked and I didn't understand. Because I spent this entire season working from the belief that I would have payoff, and spent, like, hours on this show. Possibly adding up to days. Dozens of IMs and phone conversations best summarized as "I love you, Rob Thomas!" More LJ entries than you could shake a stick at. We looked at this show, not as a random TV show, but as a text. We looked at it assuming there would be neat arcing, and neat games, and just... it would be a clean show. We looked for textual foreshadowing, for thematic foreshadowing, for anything.
And at the end of the day, it was sloppy fucking storytelling. Even if you believe that this was a good episode, I don't know how you can defend Veronica recapping what happened previously in the episode on more than one occasion. I mean, it's just... that I expect better.
And, the thing is, I should have fucking KNOWN. Looking back? I should have realized. This is Satellite Down all over again (except completely different, but... yeah). I should have known.
And now I'm being painted as bitter. Which, I guess reading this over, I am? To some people? But I don't really understand how 24 hours ago I was the most giddy adorable fangirl ever with a VMars dollhouse and today I'm trading in my newbie credentials for a BOFQ crown, or whatever.
I'm not bitter. I'm disappointed. And that hurts more.
Off to go reply to the previous post. Or possibly lunch. Or homework. Something.