VM 2.22: Not Pictured
I didn't like the finale.
Beaver practically stroked his evil mustache, and actually *laughed*, and talked about how he was the cause of the bus crash, Curly's murder, Veronica's rape, and global warming. It's just too much. Evil!Beaver buried me under the anvils of ebil. I was cracking up and rolling my eyes during that scene. Especially when he decided to jump off the roof. The scene might have been salvageable if Beaver was a) evil, b) bragged he could get off scott free like Aaron Echolls, thus justifying the trial. Because I could then see an interesting storyline that played off the class tensions, with a parallel storyline that contrasted Beaver, and Weevil's trials.
Or, alternately, Veronica could have actually shot Beaver. Because we've already seen time and again how vengeful Veronica is, and how much she loves her dad, and her frustration over how Aaron was acquitted, and it would have been so very noir. But I doubt any show is willing to go there, because it would be too risky and alienating. (Even though noir is about alienation, and paranoia, and human frailty.)
I realize that the first season's finale was hokey as well, what with the car chase that was out of a slasher flick. Watching the second season finale made me more aware of the first season's flaws. And, the second season had no "Trip to the Dentist" episode to make things better. Speaking of which, I HATE that they retconned a brilliant episode, where the rapist was someone Veronica knew and trusted, and instead substituted a cardboard villain. Argh.
I also don't like how Aaron got acquitted in one episode, then shot in the next. It just seems like pointless sensationalism, especially they weren't going anywhere with it. The only thing I liked was that it was Duncan who made the call. That's chilling, and casts new insight into his character, as well as tarnishing his 'nice guy' image. (I'm still undecided over whether the show knows that there's a disconnect between Duncan's popular image, and what he actually does, or if it's a discrepancy.)
Speaking of pointless sensationalism, there was also: the fake out with Keith's death, Jackie's surprise child, and Lamb arresting Weevil during graduation. Veronica/Logan came out of left field, but I don't hold it against the show, because that's usually how I react to these things.
Some parts of the episode I did like:
-Veronica's dream sequence, or the alternate reality version of what she thinks life would have been life had Lilly not died. (Also, the evidence for Veronica/Lilly UST went up when Lilly made the college experiment comment.) I liked the blurry color wash the sequence was shot in.
-That shot of Mac huddled in the corner, devastated that Beaver left her without clothes, and Veronica reaching out to hug her. It was just a great intersection of the mundanely traumatic (dumped and humiliated on graduation night) with the out of the ordinary traumatic ( bus crash! murder! rape! eating babies!).
-Is it just me, or is there some sort of contract that in the season finale, Veronica has to hold a gun? Especially since her weapons of choice are skeletons in the closet, a taser, and a dog.
-Veronica and Keith having a family bonding moment, while Logan's in the corner. That slam of the door in the middle of the joyous reunion. It actually made me feel sympathetic for Logan, and he's not one of my favorites.