Tonight is the season finale of Veronica Mars. VM is one of the best television shows I've ever seen, and it equals the entire Whedonverse with its intelligence, refusal to accept or endorse cliches, and strong, well-written female characters.
I've pasted the full description, with some minor spoilers, from Herc at Ain't It Cool News, on the main post page. Just click the link.
Veronica Mars 2.22 FAQ
What’s it called?
“Not Pictured.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to John Enborn (“The Rapes of Graff,” “Look Who’s Stalking”) and series mastermind Rob Thomas (“Normal is the Watchword,” “Donut Run”).
What does TV Guide say?
“The second season ends as Veronica, on her graduation day, learns who is responsible for the bus crash. After uncovering the culprit, her life is endangered as she tries to warn those closest to the killer. Also, Wallace learns some surprising information about Jackie, and the seniors celebrate their graduation with a lavish party at the Neptune Grand.”
Five stars? Really?
The episode does a lot more than wrap up the bus-crash storyline. Like all good season finales, “Not Pictured” contains enough plot for two episodes. It’s fast-moving, suspenseful, dramatic, poignant and, at junctures, laugh-out-loud funny.
Does the title refer to Veronica’s graduation photo?
It does not. The title’s meaning is very specific.
What is TV Guide not telling us?
A lot. The second act contains the shocking revelation of who engineered the bus crash. The third act contains another shocking (and related) revelation. And the final act contains too many shocking revelations to count. The final act, in truth, is one massive plot explosion after another; big things happen so quickly the viewer will barely notice that Weevil’s dire predicament, established in the first act, isn’t resolved by episode’s end.
How does the episode begin, spoiler-boy?
The first scene is set outside the courthouse as the media surround a beaming matinee idol. The title character narrates: “So this is how it is. The innocent suffer, the guilty go free, and truth and fiction are pretty much interchangeable.” “Mr. Echolls, how do you feel about your acquittal?” asks the reporter from KQUA-TV. “I feel relieved to have my name cleared of this horrible crime,” Aaron Echolls replies. Veronica’s voice resumes its atheist’s prayer: “There is neither a Santa Claus nor an Easter Bunny, and there are no angels watching over us. Things just happen for no reason. And nothing makes any sense.”
Does Aaron immediately begin whipping Logan with a large leather belt?
Not … immediately. But by the second act, we already get a sense that life just got much, much harder for Logan. “I got the purse-strings back,” smirks Aaron. “You’re my dependent again, son.”
What’s doing with Mr. Goodwood?
Meg’s dad offers $20,000 for the capture Mayor Woody Goodman. Before the teaser is over, rival private investigator Vinnie Van Lowe will propose teaming with Keith in an effort to collect that sum.
What else happens in the teaser?
A sleeping Veronica generates the best dream sequence the show has given us to date, a fascinating fantasy that no longtime fan is going to want to miss.
Does Keith beat anybody up this time?
He certainly tussles.
Any season-ending advancement on the Mac-Beaver front?
The Beav finally agrees to indulge a new level of intimacy.
Speaking of the Beav, is similar progress made in the Kendall Phoenix Land Trust storyline?
Significant progress.
Now that you’ve seen the entire second season, do you still feel comfortable declaring it better than the first?
Extremely comfortable. The first season was brilliant, no doubt, but the second saw far less meandering in its plotting. “Mars” 2.X will stand as one of the most successful and complex season-long stories ever to grace a cathode-ray tube.
What’s great?
You name it. The dreaming. The many many many surprises. The graduation ceremony. The John Schneider cameo. Dick’s nickname for Mac. The furry weapon used against Keith. “A pony??” “It’s liquid! It’s courage! It’s liquid courage!” “Or both. At the same time.”
What’s not so great?
The killer gets the upper hand, frankly, because Veronica’s famous reserve of brainpower seems to inconveniently and inexplicably (if temporarily) vanish.
Does the season end with a cliffhanger?
More than one, my friend.
When do we learn whether or not The CW picks up “Veronica Mars” for a third season?
In nine days: May 18, 2006. By the way, commuters on the 405 should keep an eye to the Los Angeles skies today. “Mars” fans hired a plane that will, during the rush hours, trail a banner that reads: "RENEW VERONICA MARS! CW 2006!"
Herc’s rating for “The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse”?*****
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6 Thoughts:
OMG I can post about VM on someone's blog? Squeeeee!!
Whilst I did have a few issues with a bit of the continuity, I have to say that the season finale fucking rocked!
Evil Beaver (my name is Cassidy!)
Lamb is dead?!?!? (and his ego so comes back to bite him in the ass.)
Poor Mac!!
Okay, I'll stop now. Thanks for letting me squeee.
This is a Squee zone, so no problem.
Lamb's not dead, though. He wasn't in Nevada - he just called the deputy there and made them take Keith off the plane.
I think the continuity flowed perfectly, especially if you get the chance to watch the season all the way through at once (which I plan on doing once it comes out on DVD).
Glad to find another VM fan - it's the best show on TV. Here's hoping it will be here next year.
This show totally picks up the slack left when Joss left the buffyverse behind (and totally love that he did that cameo.)
I watched Season 1 on DVD all the way through in one weekend, and it was the best way to get involved in this show. I am planning on being first in line to get Season 2 when it is released. I'm sure I will appreciate this season more once I can watch it from start to finish without weekly breaks (and repeats.)
Have I mentioned that Rob Thomas is a genius? Cause he is.
And poor Weevil. Lamb is such a fucktard. He couldn't just let him walk across the stage and then arrest him?
And, holy shit... CW! And Duncan. Dude. I never knew you had it in you.
You opened this door ;)
Did you catch the little CW joke?
"CW?"
"It's a done deal."
It was a little Rob Thomas comment about their renewal. Very clever.
While I'm glad Aaron got killed, I really wanted him to make it and be a free man for the third season. Everyone would suspect him, since he got away with murder, but he'd actually just make for interesting drama.
I'm really interested to see (a) what Kendall asked Keith to do, (b) how Dick is going to react to his little brother's nefariousness and death, and (c) if the two people from Arrested Development will join the cast when VM goes to Hearst.
If you're looking for a good place to talk about VM (other than here, of course), you should try www.televisionwithoutpity.com. TWOP is a great site - I lurk there but don't post. The posters are quite snarky and sometimes a bit negative, but still fun to read.
Totally caught that joke, there are so many of those moments throughout the season. I still can't believe how much Rob got past the censors.
I lurk at TWOP, post occasionally when I can't help myself, but those particular forum posters intimidate me a bit.
Re: Aaron's death. I wanted to see the look on Kendall's face when she walked out to find him splattered all over the TV set. I agree though, he would've made excellent fodder for next season.
Personally, I am very thankful to see Woody gone. The ick factor grew exponentially week over week with that man. And could his face get any darker and wrinklier? Eww.
Dick's reaction is going to be very interesting. As he is not big into the emotions, I suspect this may finally break down that wall.
And I think we will get the AD kids back again when V ends up at Hearst. Which so not of the bad.
Thursday is the big day when they'll announce whether or not they picked VM up.
Current rumor has that they're only picked up for 13 eps, but I guess we'll see.
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