Mars, Bars thoughts a week later...
Ok, so I'm sitting here waiting impatiently for tonight's episode of Veronica Mars to air on the West Coast, while trying to avoid looking at any comments from those who have already seen it. So, I decided to write up/cobble together a few not-very-deep comments I've been tossing around about last week's episode, Mars, Bars.
Overall, I have to say this was one of my favorite episodes of the season. Take out the one plot I didn't like (see below) and it might have been a top ten (or at least 15!) of the series for me. I can't wait for tonight's episode, but much sadness that we're on hiatus after that. :(
The Great
The Mysteries:
Two very satisfying mysteries. One resolved and one going full speed ahead to its conclusion. Even if I guessed where we'd end up with the coach's death, it was the execution that made it for me. As for the Dean's murder, my (fake)money's always been on Tim Foyle, but I'm really curious to find out what his motive really could be. Then again, I could be totally wrong and they could go with the most obvious (Landry) just because most of us would discount the most obvious. (Looking at the clock I guess a good portion of the country already knows. Ack! Stupid time zones!)
Veronica:
I loved, loved, loved the scenes in the jail. Kristen Bell was hysterical but also played the more serious moments (with Keith and Logan) very effectively. I actually love how Veronica uses humor -- even really bad humor -- to mask her insecurities.
I also really enjoyed her scenes with Josh. The actor who played him did a really terrific job in his two episodes. Too bad he's a fugitive now. I'd like to have seen more of him.
Weevil!:
Seriously, the bit with Weevil and the furnace had me freaked out for a moment that he was going to get hurt. Now, that death would have made me really sad.
Sacks:
He was awesome in this episode, even though he didn't have a ton to do. I felt so bad for him when he had to shoot Batando. And I have to quote Couch Baron's recap at TWoP because it totally cracked me up!
"Anyway, Sacks's mustache is very shaken, so Keith instructs it to go call for an ambulance." - Couch Baron
Hee!
Vinnie and Cliff:
I swear they are the GREATEST RECURRING CHARACTERS of all time. Ever. Just one scene with either of them and I'm grinning for five minutes. I want a spin-off. Vinnie can catch bail-jumpers and Cliff can defend them!
Lamb:
As for the big shocker of the episode, I kind of like that Lamb is gone and I'm a little confuzzled by the "I'm never watching again" reactions from some fans. Nothing at all against Michael Muhney or anything. I wish him well with his career and appreciate the fact that there is a large portion of fandom that loves Michael to pieces. It's just that while, to me, he was a fun-to-hate character, I never saw him as an integral part of the show. Plus, I really like the idea of Keith as temporary (I hope) Sheriff because I hope it'll introduce some interesting conflict with Veronica.
Not So Good
Scavenger Hunt Hijinx:
Really, my only complaint about the episode was almost everything related to the scavenger hunt. I mean, I get that they were going for the contrast between Veronica's life and everyone else's more carefree lifestyles, but it honestly didn't work for me here. I only found myself interested in the mystery stories and more or less irritated by the interruptions of fluff. Seriously, here are Veronica and Keith investigating major crimes and here are the rest of the gang ... on a scavenger hunt. I have to say that every time it went back to those scenes, I felt the urge to grab the remote and change the channel back to VM because it felt like the TV was suddenly tuned in to some 90210-wannabe. Which is perfectly fine if you're intentionally watching a 90210-wannabe.
Plus, the Mac and Logan who live in my head would never ever participate in something like that. Or if they did, they'd at least mock it mercilessly. :)
Parker:
I've never been a fan of Parker (minority opinion, I admit freely). And it's not because this episode made me see her as a possible threat to the Veronica/Logan relationship because I felt this way long before now. In fact, I just looked back at my Welcome Wagon post, with my first impression of her and realized it hasn't changed from this:
It's not the writing. It's not the actress. It's just a type of 'OMG, she's so bubbly and perky and friendly and gah!' character I find annoying. I think, like Mac & Veronica, I may be too jaded and cynical to deal with it. All the comparisons to Dawson's Creek's Audrey aren't helping, either, because for the most part, I didn't like her. But it's only been a couple of scenes and I'm assuming (hoping) there'll be some change brought about in the next episode. So, I'm going to withhold judgment on her for now.
I really was starting to come around to her a little bit in Spit & Eggs and Show Me the Monkey, but unfortunately, the things I find unappealing about her as a VM character were back in this episode so the "like" is gone again. It's nothing against Julie Gonzalo. She's just a character that, to me, seems more suited to a OTH / Dawson's Creek type of show than VM. She's too generic. And bubbly. And not at all unique. I guess I just prefer my characters dark and snarky or at least witty. Plus, I admit that hinting at her hooking up with Logan, who I'm already a bit annoyed with, is not even remotely interesting to me.
Logan/JD:
While it's nice to not see mopey Logan for a bit, this version of Logan seemed almost more like Jason than Logan and, well, I want snarky Logan back. Part of that's the writing, but I really thought Jason was a bit off in some of his scenes. (Not the jail scene -- that was the Logan I know and love.) I don't know. Maybe JD is just going through a little awkward transition since the Mopey-to-SuperHappy! change was so fast there had to be a little whiplash involved.
Like I said, I loved the episode. I wish there weren't a few scenes I know I'll feel compelled to skip upon rewatch, but what's left was a really damn good episode.
Overall, I have to say this was one of my favorite episodes of the season. Take out the one plot I didn't like (see below) and it might have been a top ten (or at least 15!) of the series for me. I can't wait for tonight's episode, but much sadness that we're on hiatus after that. :(
The Great
The Mysteries:
Two very satisfying mysteries. One resolved and one going full speed ahead to its conclusion. Even if I guessed where we'd end up with the coach's death, it was the execution that made it for me. As for the Dean's murder, my (fake)money's always been on Tim Foyle, but I'm really curious to find out what his motive really could be. Then again, I could be totally wrong and they could go with the most obvious (Landry) just because most of us would discount the most obvious. (Looking at the clock I guess a good portion of the country already knows. Ack! Stupid time zones!)
Veronica:
I loved, loved, loved the scenes in the jail. Kristen Bell was hysterical but also played the more serious moments (with Keith and Logan) very effectively. I actually love how Veronica uses humor -- even really bad humor -- to mask her insecurities.
I also really enjoyed her scenes with Josh. The actor who played him did a really terrific job in his two episodes. Too bad he's a fugitive now. I'd like to have seen more of him.
Weevil!:
Seriously, the bit with Weevil and the furnace had me freaked out for a moment that he was going to get hurt. Now, that death would have made me really sad.
Sacks:
He was awesome in this episode, even though he didn't have a ton to do. I felt so bad for him when he had to shoot Batando. And I have to quote Couch Baron's recap at TWoP because it totally cracked me up!
"Anyway, Sacks's mustache is very shaken, so Keith instructs it to go call for an ambulance." - Couch Baron
Hee!
Vinnie and Cliff:
I swear they are the GREATEST RECURRING CHARACTERS of all time. Ever. Just one scene with either of them and I'm grinning for five minutes. I want a spin-off. Vinnie can catch bail-jumpers and Cliff can defend them!
Lamb:
As for the big shocker of the episode, I kind of like that Lamb is gone and I'm a little confuzzled by the "I'm never watching again" reactions from some fans. Nothing at all against Michael Muhney or anything. I wish him well with his career and appreciate the fact that there is a large portion of fandom that loves Michael to pieces. It's just that while, to me, he was a fun-to-hate character, I never saw him as an integral part of the show. Plus, I really like the idea of Keith as temporary (I hope) Sheriff because I hope it'll introduce some interesting conflict with Veronica.
Not So Good
Scavenger Hunt Hijinx:
Really, my only complaint about the episode was almost everything related to the scavenger hunt. I mean, I get that they were going for the contrast between Veronica's life and everyone else's more carefree lifestyles, but it honestly didn't work for me here. I only found myself interested in the mystery stories and more or less irritated by the interruptions of fluff. Seriously, here are Veronica and Keith investigating major crimes and here are the rest of the gang ... on a scavenger hunt. I have to say that every time it went back to those scenes, I felt the urge to grab the remote and change the channel back to VM because it felt like the TV was suddenly tuned in to some 90210-wannabe. Which is perfectly fine if you're intentionally watching a 90210-wannabe.
Plus, the Mac and Logan who live in my head would never ever participate in something like that. Or if they did, they'd at least mock it mercilessly. :)
Parker:
I've never been a fan of Parker (minority opinion, I admit freely). And it's not because this episode made me see her as a possible threat to the Veronica/Logan relationship because I felt this way long before now. In fact, I just looked back at my Welcome Wagon post, with my first impression of her and realized it hasn't changed from this:
It's not the writing. It's not the actress. It's just a type of 'OMG, she's so bubbly and perky and friendly and gah!' character I find annoying. I think, like Mac & Veronica, I may be too jaded and cynical to deal with it. All the comparisons to Dawson's Creek's Audrey aren't helping, either, because for the most part, I didn't like her. But it's only been a couple of scenes and I'm assuming (hoping) there'll be some change brought about in the next episode. So, I'm going to withhold judgment on her for now.
I really was starting to come around to her a little bit in Spit & Eggs and Show Me the Monkey, but unfortunately, the things I find unappealing about her as a VM character were back in this episode so the "like" is gone again. It's nothing against Julie Gonzalo. She's just a character that, to me, seems more suited to a OTH / Dawson's Creek type of show than VM. She's too generic. And bubbly. And not at all unique. I guess I just prefer my characters dark and snarky or at least witty. Plus, I admit that hinting at her hooking up with Logan, who I'm already a bit annoyed with, is not even remotely interesting to me.
Logan/JD:
While it's nice to not see mopey Logan for a bit, this version of Logan seemed almost more like Jason than Logan and, well, I want snarky Logan back. Part of that's the writing, but I really thought Jason was a bit off in some of his scenes. (Not the jail scene -- that was the Logan I know and love.) I don't know. Maybe JD is just going through a little awkward transition since the Mopey-to-SuperHappy! change was so fast there had to be a little whiplash involved.
Like I said, I loved the episode. I wish there weren't a few scenes I know I'll feel compelled to skip upon rewatch, but what's left was a really damn good episode.