Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 8 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls...
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 15 | Aired on 02.26.2007
Veronica takes a long moment to gather her thoughts, and then raises her hand -- the one holding the bug. I'm not sure Tim sees it, but either way, his voice is very tight and his face dead as he calls on her again. My problems with certain plot points aside, this scene was very subtly acted and well done. Veronica brings up the point about Tim knowing that the kids were in England, and then says that whoever bugged Landry's phone knew about the Dean's fight with Landry and Mindy, that the Dean was drunk in his office, and -- most importantly -- that Landry had shot down Tim's chance for a teaching job at Pepperdine. The students ooh and aah, but they're not getting the big picture yet. This isn't Simon and Ryan fighting on the way to the bedroom, kids. Veronica gets to her feet, and after starting to approach Tim, she tells him that he bugged both her phone and Landry's, and that he had access to Landry's clothes: "You murdered Dean O'Dell to destroy Professor Landry! Because he used you, then betrayed you! And when he said he had an alibi, you faked it, so you'd be sure he'd go down." Tim is responding to Veronica's triumph by holding himself like a Titanic passenger in the final minutes. Don't ever let go, Tim! Veronica hisses, "Bet he'll change his mind about you not being that smart." Everyone looks around, like, "Does this mean we get out early again?" Not really, but Tim bows his head in defeat, while Veronica looks like she could spit nails at the guy who killed her buddy Dean Ed. She's even too mad to point out that she "Foyled" his evil plan. Just as well -- you should never pun angry.
Cut to a TV screen showing a reporter telling us that Tim confessed to Dean Ed's murder. At home, Veronica watches as VMVO says that the downside of justice is that it doesn't change anything. Keith arrives, and Veronica congratulates him on his work and on being sheriff. Keith says that's true at least until the special election, so since he's running and is obviously going to win, I guess they're breaking down the Mars Investigations set for good. Veronica and Keith exchange a little light banter about the meat and potatoes they're having, and I just hope she didn't slice the once-again-absent Backup up for dinner. In California these days, there's reason to worry. Keith tells Veronica that Landry will be tried for manslaughter, since he killed Mindy: "He confessed too." I hope they waited for the formal confession until Landry was sober, even though it certainly looked like that was going to take quite some time. Another murder story comes on, and Keith tells Veronica to turn it off, since he doesn't want her exposed to all that crime and violence: "It's gonna warp your mind." Dude, you're the one who told her that Woody Goodman's password was "Mr. GoodWood." No amount of treatment will un-warp a mind after that. I wonder, though, if Keith might be telling her something he used to say when he was sheriff the first time, before Veronica was Veronica Mars, you know? That would be kind of cute. But once Veronica's sat glumly in silence for a few moments, Keith's like, "Who am I kidding?," and turns it back on. The Marses grin at each other as we fade out. Aw, a moment of stillness. No wonder people on the boards said it felt like a series finale!