Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B+ | 38 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Veronica Mars...
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.21.2004
VMVO continues into another flashback, as we learn that six weeks after Lily's death, someone in the sheriff's department leaked the crime-scene video. We see Lily lying dead-eyed with a big head wound, as VMVO tells us that thanks to streaming video, it was all over the internet within a day. Horrified, Veronica runs off, only to bump into Logan, who emotionally asks her if her dad still thinks Jake killed Lily. He exposits that Lily was his girlfriend, and tells her that her family is destroying the Kanes. Well, sorry about your girlfriend, dude, but life tried to teach you a character-building, if extremely tragic, lesson, and you responded by sweeping the Prick of the Year election in a landslide vote. I think I hate you even more now.
Cut to Veronica's parents fighting. Her dad's arguing that Jake Kane is guilty, but her mom doesn't seem to agree, what with the packing and all. VMVO tells us that an emergency recall vote removed her dad from the sheriff's office, and that her mom wanted to leave Neptune, but that her dad wouldn't have it. In flashback, Veronica calls her dad to the TV, and they see that some other dude was arrested for Lily's murder: a disgruntled employee of Jake Kane's who was fired during the development of streaming video. Well, if the secretaries became millionaires, I can only imagine that a software developer (as this guy was) stood to make quite a pretty penny. Given the murderous rages I feel when people bump into me on the sidewalk, I can buy missing out on a million billion dollars as motivation for revenge. Keith (that's Veronica's dad, by the way) looks deflated, and Veronica looks shattered. Aw.
Present. The bikers pull up to Veronica's car. She mutters that this can't be good. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Weevil takes off his helmet and asks, "Car trouble, miss?" Veronica responds sassily, prompting one of the henchDiesels to rush at her, but the pit bull comes flying out of the back window. The possibly fruity member of the group comes rushing to Veronica's window to get her to call off the dog, but she zaps him with a stun gun. Hee. The first time I saw this scene, I thought it was too over the top, and it kind of is in a way, in that the character's still so new I'm not sure I'm completely ready to buy her pulling this off, but the saving grace is that it's funny, which is something that many shows that get described as "quirky" forget to be, and I'm thinking of a specific show when I say this. I'd name names, but it might be too soon. (Of course, judging from the Firefly fans, it might always be "too soon.") Also, it turns out that the dog's name is Backup, so that's the backup her father was talking about earlier, which is also pretty funny for a total throwaway joke. Once everyone's calmed down a little, Veronica offers Weevil a deal: he leaves Wallace alone for a week while she tries to help his boys beat their rap. If she fails, as Weevil puts it, "we come for you, your boy, and your little dog, too." I don't know what's up with all the Wizard Of Oz references, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone on the writing staff really likes poppies. Weevil spreads the sexual innuendo for not the first time this scene, and then he and his gang leave. VMVO muses that she's got quite the reputation. "You want to know how I lost my virginity? So do I." It's too bad we already used our "this can't be good" for this episode, because, well, this can't.