You're Like Rich-Dude Kryptonite, Veronica

Over last summer, after Veronica Mars finished up, I really wasn’t wondering lad to behind the door that Ronnie was glad to see, instead I was thinking of how they could keep up the intensity of the first season going into the second. Both season long arcs, with Veronica trying to figure out who raped her and more importantly who killed her best friend, Lilly Kane, were very personal to her and you know she wouldn’t stop until she got her answers.

But my worries quickly went away with the second season premiere that rivaled the entertainment value of anything in the first season that came to the crescendo as Ashes started to swell up at the end with Veronica, riding on the back of Weevil’s bike, rode up to the scene where the bus she was supposed to be on went over a cliff. Adding to the guilt of that should have been her, the lone 09’er stood by her last year, Meg, who just happened to be upset with her for stealing her boyfriend, happened to be on the bus. And I’m not sure that Meg being the lone survivor, and by survivor I mean she needed a machine to breathe, maybe even upped the guilt factor.

In the first episode we also met Butters and Gia, who would show up periodically during the second season. Both of which grew on me as the season progressed and both shined in the third to last episode with Gia’s various monologues about her stalker and Butters in the elevator up to the alterna-prom. Hopefully both of them cross Ronnie’s path during season three. Oddly missing in the first episode was the newest cast member, Jackie Cook, even though even her father showed up in the opener having an argument with Mayor Goodwood. An argument I don’t think we ever really figured out was about.

As for the other major arc this season, this one really had more to do with Logan and how he dealt with it than anything. Not that Logan originally really cared about finding out who the real killer of Felix was, just that he beat the wrap. But once the witness came forward, it came clear that Logan would have to find out who was behind it if he wanted to clear his name. To do this he had to team out with his arch nemesis, Weevil who also wanted to know who really killed his number two. This unusual pairing lead to one of the best lines in the series when Veronica devised that the two were in cahoots prompting Vee to asked “do either of you have any experience being a horse’s ass?”

This storyline lost some steam near the end as it became apparent that it was either the Fitzpatrick’s or Thumper, only to find out it was both were involved with a few episodes still left in the season. But this gave Weevil time to plan his revenge on the PCH turncoat and poetically it was Logan who carried that out when he set off the trigger that imploded Shark Stadium where Thumper was in. But it looks like this will carry into next season as Lamb, in his biggest heartless act of the series besides blowing off Veronica’s rape allegations and listening to Big and Rich, picked the inappropriate time of graduation to arrested Weevil for the crime.

Throughout the season we met many suspects that you look at and think, yeah, dude’s psycho enough to blow up a bus full of high schooler including Mayor Goodwood, evil Indians, Not-So-Lucky, Papa Manning, Big Dick, and the Fighting Fitzpatrick’s. Even last season’s big bad, Aaron Echolls looked like a potential candidate via a proxy. But in the end it was Evil Beaver who did the deed to keep his dirty little secret that Mayor Goodwood touched his, um, Goodwood. I still don’t really buy the Evil Beaver doing I because even in his despair, I don’t see him killing innocents especially Meg. I’d be nice to think that Beaver would at least try to convince her to take the limo.

But unlike other shows where a bad reveal would ruin an episode, if not the entire season or show, the finale, along with the whole second season remained thoroughly entertaining. Part of this is due to the excellent addition of Dick Casablancas to the cast. You know whenever Little Dick came across the screen, there was going to be a great one-line, including my favorite, “sometimes you don’t need the prettiest house, just one that will let you ride horseback.” (Sadly no one has complied all of them together for YouTube yet.) Who can forget when he not so subtly looked down Vee’s dress at the alterna-prom. And even though he makes for a good t-shirt, Dick himself was always seen sporting great ones of his own (I have candy). Hopefully Dick isn’t to depressed next season over Beaver’s death so he can deliver more one-liners and maybe he will even get Ronnie drunk enough to hook up with him.

Granted you can trace Dick’s greatness back to the writers who feed him the great one-liners. They are really the MVP’s of the show who can keep it entertaining even when they rehash older mystery of the week (more dead dogs) and guest stars that have no acting training (the chick from Laguna Beach). Even with the disappointment of the Evil Beaver reveil, the Aaron Echolls death scene (which could possibly have been the best death scene of the year) more than made up for it, then throw in Dick slapping Ronnie’s butt and it quickly turned into the best finale of the season. Thanks to the writers there was not a throwaway episode this season or for the whole series for that matter. Can you say that about any other show?

And even though I’m against acting awards because I believe most good acting is devised from the page (hey, even I was able to win an acting award) it’s obvious that Kristen Bell is one of few great actors today. She easily goes from snarky to emotional without missing a beat or being overdramatic like some of her contemporaries (i.e. the lead in a certain series created by a guest star this season). And she never takes a scene off even when she is not the focal point like when she’s hiding her face behind her hair while talking Hearst College with Wallace. A lot has been made of this new Emmy voting system so hopefully the voters can look beyond the sixth rate network and high school drama façade and not just relegate Bell to the Emmy Idol this year. But if they do, may I suggest she do The Facts of Life theme this year.


Unlike last year, there were quite a few unanswered questions at the end of this season (feel free to add any I left out in the comment section):

What were Terrence Cook and Mayor Goodwood arguing about?

Why did Lamb’s dad say the same thing that Mr. Manning said when Lamb went to check out Grace’s closet?

Who is Sally and why could Beaver hang her over Dick?

How and more importantly why did Not-Kendal and Logan hook up?

What happened to the dude the presumable killed Amelia Delongpre that Clarence Wiedman said he’d take care off? Did he go “CW” on him?

Why did Mayor Goodwood tell his daughter not to take the bus back to school?

Who leaked to the press that Terrence threw a baseball game?

When will Ronnie start sporting an “I (Heart) Dick” t-shirt?

Now that her husband isn’t around, will Logan’s mom come out of hiding or at the very least wash to shore?

And of course, what’s in Not-Kendal’s briefcase? (Am I too simple minded to think it’s just money, lots and lots of money?

Veronica Mars 2.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. It also won six STA's.





In related Veronica Mars news, some of the cast will be holding a Q&A session this year at Comic Con in San Diego. Yeah, I don’t know what the comic connection is with the show, but it is at very least a chance to ask the questions above. The panel will take place Saturday July 22nd from 4:30 to 5:30 and will include Creator Rob Thomas and stars Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Francis Capra, Ryan Hansen, and Michael Muhney are all scheduled to appear. The panel will be moderated by some dude from TVGuide.com.

Unfortunately I am, what the government considers poor so it looks as if I won’t be able to attend to grill Rob Thomas one more time. Although if the readers of the 9th Green chipped in, maybe I could make an appearance. So if you have and extra dollar to spare, well, donate it to one of the worthy charities on my sidebar or Ducky’s AIDS Ride. But if you have two extra dollars to spare, give one to the worthy charities and the other to the Scooter McGavin is Poor Fund. Where’s Warren Buffet when you need him?

And on a bookkeeping note, due to the impending holiday, there will be no new posts until the fifth when I may bring you the last album (at least of new material) of one of my personal favorite artists and maybe a review of one of my summer guilty pleasures.