Episode 13: “Lord of the Bling”
Whether it’s with Bone Hamilton or Aaron Echolls or even, to an extent, flashback Veronica, image plays a huge role in how they treat others and how they make their decisions. And, when they’re preoccupied with maintaining their street cred or their Hollywood status or their 09er-dom, others will inevitably be hurt. Bone (aka Antown Mitchell from The Shield), ends up pushing away both his son Bryce and his daughter Yolanda, and he ultimately isn’t able to settle things with either; his notions of masculinity and his feud with the Blooms are both tied to his image, and his son and daughter end up as the victims.
However, they won’t let that go on for another minute. Bryce proves himself, and Yolanda escapes by running off with a Bloom. The latter’s ultimate decision ties in with both Lianne Mars and, more importantly for this episode, Lynn Echolls. The episode takes a look at the fallout of the apparent suicide of Logan’s mother, and we see a wonderful performance by Jason Dohring throughout as Logan’s frustration and grief bubble up above the surface of sarcasm. He’s falling apart and it’s difficult to watch, and when he mentions his mom’s escape, you get the sense that he’s happy for her; he’s happy that she was able to run away from the artificial, screwed up life they all lived.
GRADE: B+
Episode 14: “Mars vs. Mars”
To get to where she wants to go, Veronica’s sometimes going to have make a number of tough decisions and take sides that will ultimately end up with her in the wrong. “Mars vs. Mars” pits her against Keith over Mr. Rooks (hey, it’s Adam Scott!), and her notions of him as a teacher make her steadfast about her defense of him; it’s similar to how earlier in the season, Keith’s views of cults prevented him from believing Veronica when she told him that they were different. In both episodes, though, the person in the wrong eventually sees it and learns from it, and it’s nice that the series is willing to have its main character be wrong at times (this explains the reappearance of Leo in this episode; she successfully used him, but from another perspective, she knows that how she treated him was wrong). This specific case’s resolution also makes for a key point about criminals: even someone as cool as Adam Scott can be one, and we’re quick to take sides when we think we know someone.
Elsewhere, it’s Logan and Veronica teaming up to figure out what happened to Lynn Echolls. You can see a shift in the Logan-Veronica dynamic here: no longer is Logan insulting her. He just has to know that his mother escaped, and his reactions to the video and subsequent credit card realization are so brilliantly played by Jason Dohring that I will compliment him again.
GRADE: A-
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-The woman at the front desk was probably just transfixed by the wonderful that is Veronica Mars, which explains why she’d allow “Melinda”, hospitality hostess, to take the guys to their room (“We have chairs…for sitting”). I have a feeling Veronica could get away with anything. “Hi, I’m here to send you plummeting to your deaths! Follow me!” “Sure!”
– “We used to be friends. A long time ago.” *Cue opening credits* Hahaha, I love it.
-I didn’t expand on the flashbacks in “Lord of the Bling” above, but it’s, to be honest, a bit different than protecting her “09er-dom” there. Essentially, Veronica’s choosing her long-time friend over someone she just met, and it’s nice to see that Yolanda understands that. Of course, this storyline also illustrates just how influential Lilly’s death was; just look at the 09ers in flashback and compare them to now.
-The safe scene is amazing in its entirety, from Veronica’s monologue about passwords to her finding the password to her opening the safe and meeting an ink/paint/dye bomb. Keith: “You don’t have to get all blue in the face.”
-Leighton Meester plays Carrie, the Gossip Queen of Neptune High. She will then later join Gossip Girl. So will Kristen Bell. On a more important note, Adam Scott will later join Parks and Recreation.
– “So, you got a trophy for a rim job?”
– “I could write down that I met Kid Rock every weekend at the Hedonism Lodge for a sensual massage and smoothies, but that doesn’t make it true.”
-Abel Koontz was certainly paid off, but by who? Right now, they might be suggesting Jake Kane, and it might be tied in with Duncan’s Type IV Epilepsy in some way.
Photo credit: UPN/CW, Veronica Mars
Polar Bears Watch TV 
Have you seen the series before, or is this your first time watching it? Nice review by the way.
First time!
Nice. I’m pretty newish to the Veronica Mars series. I only started watching it after I heard about the movie. Season One is great, I’m excited to see what you think about the rest of the season. It get’s really good.
By the way what have you thought of “American Horror Story: Freak Show”? I was fairly defensive of last season despite all of it’s flaws, but this year is hardly watchable at times.
I am a bit behind. I think episode 4 was easily the best, but outside of that, there hasn’t been much to get excited about. It’s all just so bland now.
the “Edward Mordrake” one? Yeah, that one was great. It seems like there isn’t even an attempt at cohesiveness this season. There are all these “OMG” moments but they seem to be there in placement of actually having a storyline. It’s a shame, because they have a really great cast this season and an interesting premise but aren’t doing anything with it.
I’ve never seen this but excellent review as always
Definitely check it out whenever you can! It’s a great show.
“Veronica Mars” was terrific entertainment and brings back great memories. Easily among my top 10 shows.