VM2x01: A Short Review

[coalescent]

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I'd been dreading the season premiere of Veronica Mars as much as I'd been looking forward to it.

Spoilers below, obviously.

Comments

I rather enjoyed it

[johnnyeponymous]

The flashbacks were a tad heavy, though I always like a Flashback wihtin a Flashback) but I thought the story was interesting enough. Having gone to the High School that Veronica Mars seems to be attending (OK, that's not true, Santa Clara High isn't that bad, but it's close) there was a lot that rang true. I did like the way they presented the initial mystery.
Chris

Re: I rather enjoyed it

[coalescent]

Yes, Neptune High still seemed convincing. I think a lot of my reaction is down to the weight of expectation the episode was carrying (both optimism and pessimism)--to a certain extent, I don't think I'll be able to judge it fairly until I come back and watch it again in a few months.

[pyropyga]

I caught up on this episode this morning after an ill-advised nap during the nominal broadcast slot, and I was pretty pleased. My one gripe right now is that I haven't had a chance to go back and figure out the passenger manifest, which is sure to be important.

My romantic affiliations with VM seem opposite to yours, I find Duncan a personality-free zone. Sure, Logan may be in need of some heavy therapy, but at least he comes by his nature via humanity, and not cyborg hyper-wealth expectations.

[coalescent]

My romantic affiliations with VM seem opposite to yours, I find Duncan a personality-free zone.

So does almost everyone else. I'm the one out on a limb here, don't worry. [g] To a certain extent I think it's not fair to compare Logan and Duncan, since we've seen much, much more of Logan, and Duncan was drugged to the eyeballs for most of last season. And I liked the more relaxed Duncan we got in this episode, whereas it only reinforced my impression that Logan is seriously unstable.

[danmilburn]

Veronica/Duncan worked much better here than it ever did in the flashbacks last season.

And clearly Logan is seriously unstable, I don't think anyone is claiming otherwise. But there lies the dramatic potential. :)

[coalescent]

You haven't spent much time reading around VM fandom, have you? [g]

[coffeeandink]

I think comice's post is also interesting, although I disagree with several parts of it.

I'm trying to formulate my response to a number of discussions I've seen, and I ... eh, I think I need not to read people not on my flist, the shipping distracts me. While Veronica's relationship with Duncan seems to me clearly painted as regressive, I'm distressed by the fannish counter-narrative in favor of the Logan/Veronica ship, as it isn't healthy for either of them. Breaking up with Logan isn't refusing to accept the changes in her life; breaking up with Logan is realizing sex alone can't create a healthy relationship and that a damaged boy with a history of violence and no ethic beyond loyalty to his inner circle is not a good relationship prospect.

[coffeeandink]

And I completely forgot to say that I don't like the way Veronica keeps being read in terms of romantic relationships, as if her only form of self-definition is which boy she chooses.

[coalescent]

Agreed, but I don't think that can be blamed entirely on the viewers; this episode was markedly more 'shippy than almost anything from last season. I would like her either to be in a stable relationship or not in a relationship, and for the focus of the show to then be on other things, but somehow I don't think that's what we're going to get.

[coffeeandink]

I agree with almost all of that. I'm not sure the episode was markedly more shippy than anything from last season; I will have to think about it. I've been mostly comparing it to the pilot, mentally, where the focus was on Veronica being outcast--forced out of relationships and roles--whereas here the focus is on Veronica casting people out, trying to define herself and her relationships to the people around her. That sounds more negative and judgmental than I mean it to be -- I like Veronica, and I like this as a depiction of reaction to trauma. And I like that it's all being set up as precarious and unworkable and is falling apart even in the first episode. Right now the Veronica/Duncan breakup is so predictable I'm looking forward to finding out how they're going to surprise me.

[parallactic]

The balance is off; the Logan-Veronica-Duncan triangle is given too much weight, and the case of the week too little.

I couldn't put a finger on what felt off about the ep, but I think that's it. Also, the case of the week didn't tie in thematically with the current events, not like in past eps.

I'm excited over what could be a double mystery arc of who stabbed Felix (and setting off class tensions), and who was responsible for the bus crash. That would be like last season's double mystery of who killed Lilly, and who raped Veronica.

[danmilburn]

Also, the case of the week didn't tie in thematically with the current events, not like in past eps.

The rich kids' parents fixing the drugs tests didn't tie in thematically? I think you were seeing different themes to me. :)

[parallactic]

I knew I should have rewatched the ep again. I picked up class conflict (Felix's stabbing polarizing the town, the football player's accusation to Veronica, Weevil's accusations, the swimming pools). The drug test didn't twig me as class conflict, because Meg and one other 09er was implicated (the girl whose parents were being sued).

But I suppose the big theme could be corruption, which falls in with the film noir aspects of the show, and the political stuff (which I also didn't pick up on). That is the reason why the non-09ers dislike the 09ers, that they use their privilege to get away with things. And the upper class' corruption and sense of entitlement could also cause them to turn on their own. Hm... I definitely have to rewatch the ep.

What themes did you see?

[danmilburn]

Yes, Meg was implicated. She was also on the bus. Nothing that happens in Neptune is a coincidence. ;)

Other than that you've pretty much covered it. The thematic links weren't perfect, but I do think they were there to a certain extent.

[chance88088]

What is up with creepy Leo fondling Veronica when he comes to arrest Logan? (totally disturbing)

Also, I thought the drug testing storyline was rather lame and didn't seem very plausible, so I am glad they didn't spend a whole lot of time on it.

Spoilers

[burger_eater]

I must be your Bizzaro-world twin, because I thought Leo was the best choice of the guys she dated (smart, armed and highly unlikely to be a killer). I also wanted more of the mystery, and felt a little cheated when it was solved around minute 40.

I felt sorry for the actress who played Meg. I can just picture her calling her parents, telling them how happy she was to be asked back for another season. Maybe she'll get to be a ghost, too.

And if I was Veronica, I'd do pretty much whatever my ghosts told me to do. Lily hasn't steered her wrong yet.

Re: Spoilers

[coalescent]

I would also support a reunion with Leo. But I have long since accepted that heroines in TV shows will never go for the stable relationships, because most viewers think that's boring ... ;)

Re: Spoilers

[chance88088]

not boring, creepy - I bet he's a stalker by the middle of the season. :P