Episode Report Card 5 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT I Turn My Camera On
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 19 | Aired on 05.21.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.All right, kids, this is it. It's Dead Week at Hearst, and a girl gets arrested in the food court for using a fake student ID, which doubles as a debit card. Meanwhile, Weevil files for workman's comp for an on-the-job injury. It's not long before the two kids who bought the IDs have accused Weevil of being their supplier, which means he's well and truly screwed, at least in Keith's eyes. Of course, Weevil turns to Veronica in his hour of need, and he tells her that he was an easy patsy because everyone knows he's an ex-con, thanks to her. Veronica flashes her new badge every which way as she pokes around, but the kids who bought the IDs are seemingly shooting straight when they tell Veronica how the deal with Weevil went down, and on top of that, Keith discovers that a machine used to put money on the debit cards was discovered in the locker right next to Weevil's, and Weevil's prints were all over it. However, Wallace's Mech E professor informs Veronica that it would take an extremely powerful computer to pull off the stunt. He refers her to a student who's an expert in these matters, but when he looks for his research on the subject, he finds it's been stolen. Veronica and Weevil then try to figure out how his prints could have gotten on the machine, and they realize that he left his toolbox in the room of a girl who was in Veronica's Criminology class. Veronica discovers that the two kids that accused him, the toolbox girl, and the brilliant student were all in on the ID scam, and lays a trap for them. They try to bribe Veronica, but she stands firm, and Weevil is cleared. Not, however, before he gets his hand on a third money machine. Baaaaad Eli. In other news, some creepy guy starts following Wallace around, but he eventually reveals that he's been authorized to invite him into "The Castle," which sounds like a secret society of some kind, but we don't hear any more about it in this episode. Piz has Keith appear on his radio show with Vinnie, and they talk about drunk driving. Joe R will be so pleased. But actually, he will, for Keith pays a heavy Lincoln-Douglas price for his preposterous stance on underage drinking. Things aren't looking good for Keith retaining the "Sheriff" title too much longer. Dick's on a dad's-back-in-town bender; he's still stuck on Beaver's death, and cries in front of Logan. Logan tries to cheer him up with some surfing, but they run into Piz, Veronica, Mac, and Wallace, and when Wallace bails to work on his plane, the bunch of them sit around having the awkward. Dick then actually apologizes to Mac about how he treated her, and is both hilarious and sincere in the process. So this leaves the love triangle, and Logan wastes no time laying on the self-pity, which looks twice as bad in the context of Dick's first baby step toward redemption. And finally, Veronica is aware that Piz is mopey about their internship-driven separation, so Mac counsels her to tell Piz that she'll miss him, which she does, but he doesn't cheer up until they have The Sex. Well, you don't actually see them have The Sex -- until A RECORDING OF IT POPS UP ON THE INTERNET. Logan sees it -- and barges into the radio booth and beats the crap put of Piz. In the end, Logan shows up to Mars Investigations and tells Veronica there's something she should know. YOU DON'T SAY. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
So as you probably know from last time, the show is not coming back for a fourth season. And as I said before, I will miss it rather a lot, although there are certainly arguments to be made on both sides of the cancellation issue. But it's time to say goodbye, and I, personally, don't want to do so with any resentment or bitterness. I've had my share of issues with some of the creative decisions made over the past couple of seasons, wherever they may have come from, but overall, Veronica Mars has been tremendously plotted and written, and I don't know that many programs will ever have a season that got people to the edge of their seats quite like the first one of this show. (Heroes, your awesome exception is noted.) So as part of my eulogy here, I'm going to use the ten act breaks over the two episodes to detail, in the order in which they appeared, ten moments that made me fall in love with Veronica Mars, the character (and by extension, the show). Ready? Neither am I, really, but here we go.
Man, it is jarring to see Capra looking so good back in "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough." Get better, dude!
Mac and Veronica are waiting on a Post Office-length line in the cafeteria as Veronica expresses the hope that Piz won't be moping for the rest of the year. So she's clued in to his mood since last episode. Considering that it took longer for her to figure out he liked her than it generally takes plastic to degrade, you have to admire her progress. She admits that if he didn't care, she'd probably be complaining: "To my girlfriend, while waiting to pay for frozen yogurt. I'm a girl!" I've seen the next episode, and I'll say this: not for long. Mac suggests that Veronica might possibly want to tell Piz that she, too, will be bummed when they're apart, and Veronica is quite taken with that simple idea. The chick talk, however, is interrupted when a blonde girl at the front of the line gets led away by campus security over some snafu with her payment.
Weevil's in with some Human Resources guy filing a workman's comp claim for his knee, which he says he injured moving a busted washing machine across campus. The guy is condescendingly wary with just a touch of racist, telling Weevil that a lot of people file these sort of claims to try to take deep-pockets Hearst for cash, but that he'll pass Weevil's claim on to the review board, and Weevil can expect a decision within the next month or so. Weevil, surely no fan of red tape at the best of times, asks what he's supposed to do until then. Well, dude, you could try stretching out your leg. It'll be therapeutic, especially if you happen to boot this guy in the face in the process.