Veronica Mars 2x01
Veronica dumps Logan because she wants a "normal" life? Dude, no wonder Joss Whedon loves this show!
Okay, I'm being snarky. I actually liked the episode quite a bit.
Here's what I enjoyed:
- It was Logan at the door! And it was exactly the kind of hurt-comforty goodness that I adore, like fanfic brought to life. *sigh* Poor, adorable Logan. :)
- Speaking of Logan, he's integral to pretty much all the main plot arcs this season! (Veronica's romantic life, who killed Felix, whatever Charisma's plot will be, his own downward spiral, and maybe even the bus thing.) I couldn't have asked for more; one thing that bothered me with Spike was that he was always on the periphery, never really included in the main plots (until the show turned stupid, and then I didn't care). But Logan is clearly significant, probably the most significant character (story-wise) aside from Veronica.
- The Logan/Veronica breakup happened over the summer. This means it's not the story; it's the prelude to the story. That bodes well for the future.
- I loved that stuff actually happened over the summer. I hate it when shows act like nothing would've happened over a bunch of important months.
- Charisma Carpenter is beautiful.
- They did a great job maintaining Logan's complexity. He's a fucked-up mess of a kid, and he has every reason to be (he has no one; he's been abandoned and betrayed by everyone he's ever loved). He's spoiled, whiny, angry, and potentially violent. But he also has such a deep core of sweetness, and wants above all to love and be loved. I mean, how can you not adore him?
- Veronica's reasons for dumping him were interesting... and they too bode well for the story. From what I could tell, it wasn't that she didn't care about him or wasn't attracted to him or whatever. Veronica went through a nightmare last year--a 17-year-old girl who was raped, almost murdered, lost her best friend, and was socially ostracized. She wants a nice, normal, calm life. Now, you know that I don't find this a particularly admirable goal, but I'm cutting her quite a bit of slack at this point--she's very young, she's traumatized, she's not whining incessantly or putting herself above others, and her suffering last year wasn't her own fault. (If this goes on three more seasons, believe me, I will feel differently.)
So here's the thing with Logan--they're hanging out in the back of his car and they almost get shot. This for a girl who was nearly burned alive recently--I don't think you can underestimate the importance of that scene. Being with Logan makes her a target, and being with him will never be "safe" or "normal." Plus he's got his own problems, spoiled rich boy and all, and that part of him bothers her--but she was already looking for a way out, and pretty much uses that as an excuse to dump him. This isn't admirable behavior on her part, but it's understandable.
And the most important thing: unlike, say, S6 Buffy, the story arc isn't "Veronica dumps Logan because she wants a normal life" dragged out over half a season. It's the prelude to the story, not the final note. So, just looking at it structurally, this is not the end, or the "moral of the story," or anything of the sort. It's just a jumping-off-point for exploring the issue in more depth.
[And the same goes for Normal-Veronica. Of course I prefer her angry, non-conformist, critical, challenging Neptune's fucked-up social dynamic, etc. This simpering conformist little "PodVeronica" is not an end, just a starting point. And it's not going to last; Lilly told her last season that she can't go back to the way things were. Once your innocence is lost, you can't get it back. Hopefully Veronica (unlike Buffy) will learn to embrace her unique perspective and abilities as strengths (ie, she's a detective, dammit, not a waitress!)]
And actually, I'm glad she's with Duncan. Their story clearly wasn't over, and only would've gotten in the way if she started out with Logan. The fact that she starts out with Duncan should hopefully give that storyline more of a resolution. (And, c'mon, is there really any long-term potential there? Duncan rivals Riley in terms of boringness.)
- Logan's "downward spiral." It's hard to maintain that balance in having a character grow and change while keeping the aspects that made him interesting to begin with. Admit it, Logan's more fun when he's fucked up. I want to see Logan's adorable sweet side as much as anyone, but cuddly-boyfriend-Logan isn't interesting. It's much more fun to see the sweet side peeking out between fucked-up-assholish moments. And Logan's certainly got the justification for all of his issues. The Charisma thing... oh boy. You know how Joss was obsessed with fucked-up daddy issues? Rob Thomas is obsessed with fucked-up mommy issues.
I didn't like:
- The "who's Veronica's boyfriend" thing. It was cheesy and poorly done. No one refers to their boyfriend as "my boyfriend" among mutual acquaintences; you call him by his name.
- Meg's mega-bitchiness was a bit much. Last year she was a saint, this year she doesn't show a single glimmer of kindness? After Veronica looked the other way when she started dating Veronica's ex? After it's been months since her breakup, which didn't happen through any action of Veronica's? That just seemed like a distortion of character to suit the plot.
- So much was smushed into this episode that it was hard to get emotionally into it. I felt very disconnected. (But I was also running back and forth in the kitchen trying to make spaghetti, so that was probably also part of the problem.)
I am wondering at the constant set-up of "Is Logan guilty of [problem of the week]?" They did this last season and it turned out, repeatedly, that he wasn't. I wonder if they'll subvert that this season and actually make him guilty of something... because it's going to get old if he's just eternally falsely-accused. (Though I suppose the other thing they could subvert would be to make Veronica actually believe him, which could be possible due to her guilt at accusing him last year.)
Anyway... it was a good set-up for a season. Not perfect, but a starting point with a ton of potential.
I'm totally unspoiled, btw, so no spoilers in comments, please. :)
Okay, I'm being snarky. I actually liked the episode quite a bit.
Here's what I enjoyed:
- It was Logan at the door! And it was exactly the kind of hurt-comforty goodness that I adore, like fanfic brought to life. *sigh* Poor, adorable Logan. :)
- Speaking of Logan, he's integral to pretty much all the main plot arcs this season! (Veronica's romantic life, who killed Felix, whatever Charisma's plot will be, his own downward spiral, and maybe even the bus thing.) I couldn't have asked for more; one thing that bothered me with Spike was that he was always on the periphery, never really included in the main plots (until the show turned stupid, and then I didn't care). But Logan is clearly significant, probably the most significant character (story-wise) aside from Veronica.
- The Logan/Veronica breakup happened over the summer. This means it's not the story; it's the prelude to the story. That bodes well for the future.
- I loved that stuff actually happened over the summer. I hate it when shows act like nothing would've happened over a bunch of important months.
- Charisma Carpenter is beautiful.
- They did a great job maintaining Logan's complexity. He's a fucked-up mess of a kid, and he has every reason to be (he has no one; he's been abandoned and betrayed by everyone he's ever loved). He's spoiled, whiny, angry, and potentially violent. But he also has such a deep core of sweetness, and wants above all to love and be loved. I mean, how can you not adore him?
- Veronica's reasons for dumping him were interesting... and they too bode well for the story. From what I could tell, it wasn't that she didn't care about him or wasn't attracted to him or whatever. Veronica went through a nightmare last year--a 17-year-old girl who was raped, almost murdered, lost her best friend, and was socially ostracized. She wants a nice, normal, calm life. Now, you know that I don't find this a particularly admirable goal, but I'm cutting her quite a bit of slack at this point--she's very young, she's traumatized, she's not whining incessantly or putting herself above others, and her suffering last year wasn't her own fault. (If this goes on three more seasons, believe me, I will feel differently.)
So here's the thing with Logan--they're hanging out in the back of his car and they almost get shot. This for a girl who was nearly burned alive recently--I don't think you can underestimate the importance of that scene. Being with Logan makes her a target, and being with him will never be "safe" or "normal." Plus he's got his own problems, spoiled rich boy and all, and that part of him bothers her--but she was already looking for a way out, and pretty much uses that as an excuse to dump him. This isn't admirable behavior on her part, but it's understandable.
And the most important thing: unlike, say, S6 Buffy, the story arc isn't "Veronica dumps Logan because she wants a normal life" dragged out over half a season. It's the prelude to the story, not the final note. So, just looking at it structurally, this is not the end, or the "moral of the story," or anything of the sort. It's just a jumping-off-point for exploring the issue in more depth.
[And the same goes for Normal-Veronica. Of course I prefer her angry, non-conformist, critical, challenging Neptune's fucked-up social dynamic, etc. This simpering conformist little "PodVeronica" is not an end, just a starting point. And it's not going to last; Lilly told her last season that she can't go back to the way things were. Once your innocence is lost, you can't get it back. Hopefully Veronica (unlike Buffy) will learn to embrace her unique perspective and abilities as strengths (ie, she's a detective, dammit, not a waitress!)]
And actually, I'm glad she's with Duncan. Their story clearly wasn't over, and only would've gotten in the way if she started out with Logan. The fact that she starts out with Duncan should hopefully give that storyline more of a resolution. (And, c'mon, is there really any long-term potential there? Duncan rivals Riley in terms of boringness.)
- Logan's "downward spiral." It's hard to maintain that balance in having a character grow and change while keeping the aspects that made him interesting to begin with. Admit it, Logan's more fun when he's fucked up. I want to see Logan's adorable sweet side as much as anyone, but cuddly-boyfriend-Logan isn't interesting. It's much more fun to see the sweet side peeking out between fucked-up-assholish moments. And Logan's certainly got the justification for all of his issues. The Charisma thing... oh boy. You know how Joss was obsessed with fucked-up daddy issues? Rob Thomas is obsessed with fucked-up mommy issues.
I didn't like:
- The "who's Veronica's boyfriend" thing. It was cheesy and poorly done. No one refers to their boyfriend as "my boyfriend" among mutual acquaintences; you call him by his name.
- Meg's mega-bitchiness was a bit much. Last year she was a saint, this year she doesn't show a single glimmer of kindness? After Veronica looked the other way when she started dating Veronica's ex? After it's been months since her breakup, which didn't happen through any action of Veronica's? That just seemed like a distortion of character to suit the plot.
- So much was smushed into this episode that it was hard to get emotionally into it. I felt very disconnected. (But I was also running back and forth in the kitchen trying to make spaghetti, so that was probably also part of the problem.)
I am wondering at the constant set-up of "Is Logan guilty of [problem of the week]?" They did this last season and it turned out, repeatedly, that he wasn't. I wonder if they'll subvert that this season and actually make him guilty of something... because it's going to get old if he's just eternally falsely-accused. (Though I suppose the other thing they could subvert would be to make Veronica actually believe him, which could be possible due to her guilt at accusing him last year.)
Anyway... it was a good set-up for a season. Not perfect, but a starting point with a ton of potential.
I'm totally unspoiled, btw, so no spoilers in comments, please. :)