Couch Baron
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First off, I'd just like to say how much fun the Austin Marsathon was, and how great it was to meet so many people from the boards. There were people there whose handles I was familiar with even before I started writing for TWoP, so it was really cool to put faces and real names to those monikers. All credit to the Alamo Drafthouse for running the event so smoothly, to Rob Thomas for putting together some great clips, and to everyone on the panel (Rob, Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, and Michael Muhney) for doing such an entertaining Q&A and also signing autographs for and taking pictures with every last person there.
Now, if you know the agenda of the event, you're aware that they showed this episode as the feature presentation, so Wednesday night wasn't my first viewing. But what you don't know is that my exposure to this episode goes back quite a bit further. You see, back in September, I had occasion to visit L.A. on business, and I was able to take Rob up on an invitation to meet him and the other writers. At the end of that visit, he invited me to see the set the time I was in town. Business again took me out there in November, and I was able to duck down to San Diego for a quick trip during the filming of this episode, which you probably know marks Rob's directorial debut. And I have to say, everyone I've met who works on this show in both L.A. and San Diego is funny and down-to-earth and kind of just plain awesome. In one sense, it seems like a no-brainer to be nice to someone who critiques your show, but in another sense it's...not, at all, so thanks for showing me a great time. Special shout-outs go to Dan Etheridge, for rocking like Dokken; Rick Pickett, who's a great designer and, I just found out, went to Princeton, my alma mater; and Venita Ozols-Graham, for insisting on putting me on tape despite my better judgment. Oh, we'll get to that.
On a somewhat less fun note, I should say that opinions of this episode were rather bitterly divided on the boards. I really enjoyed it when I watched it in Austin, but I have to admit on closer examination that there were quite a few problems, although I don't think they were as serious as some people did. Maybe it's partially because I've already gotten my "Duncan sucks" rant and my "Whatbus crash?" rant out of my system recently. Or maybe I've just totally lost any objectivity because people on the show have been so nice to me. Hey, I'm just trying to save people the trouble of sending me hate mail. I don't like anyone to put himself out unnecessarily. Anyway, I'm going to recap the episode as if I don't know the twist, and explain what worked for me and what didn't afterward.
“ Logan exposits that Duncan doesn't come out of his room: 'He must have really loved Meg.' Well, so did I, but I've still managed to get outside every once in a while. ”
Okay. Neptune Grand. Logan's already in the elevator when Veronica runs in ahead of the closing doors. They give each other an annoyed look, and Logan says, "Hi ho," which he then tries to cover as an "off to work we go" reference. Uch. Is he making fun of her for being short? Because we've been over the "ho" ground before, and far more amusingly, and for Logan still to be this nasty to Veronica when they've been hanging out in the same suite for several episodes is tiresome. After some Seven Dwarves-themed back-and-forth, Logan exposits that Duncan doesn't come out of his room: "He must have really loved Meg." Well, so did I, but I've still managed to get outside every once in a while. Veronica snits that it might also be because Duncan isn't being allowed to see his baby. Logan: "A baby? How'd that happen?" If memory serves, it was by Caesarean and off-screen. Inside, Veronica heads toward Duncan's door as Logan sighs, "Time to fake the Donut." Ew. I forgot how flat this scene felt to me. First off, since Logan and Duncan's reconciliation as best friends was made such a big deal of and Duncan's been generous enough to let Logan live with him, Logan making cracks about Duncan's lack of sexual prowess doesn't ring true. I mean, Logan's a jackass, but it's crystal clear that he likes Duncan a lot and that Duncan's friendship is very meaningful to him. And secondly, as Jason Dohring said in his interview, most of Logan and Veronica's snarky interactions are crisp in that way that makes you think that, underneath, they actually care about each other. But in this scene, they just seem bored and completely over each other. Not good. Anyway, Veronica pauses when she hears Duncan's shower running, and we see Kendall emerge from it while wrapping a towel around herself. The towel will come in handy -- they'll need something for cleanup after Veronica uses her eyebeams of death to dissolve Kendall into a small blob of goo. Veronica asks what she's doing there, and Kendall breezily says that she was invited. Veronica then storms out, and Logan takes the opportunity to observe Kendall's bare back as she dons a bathrobe. Logan: "Lost?" Well, it's true this episode has been slow to get going, but I'm not quite ready to change the channel yet. Kendall says that Logan shouldn't be so smug, since he's just going to call her the day saying he wants some company, which doesn't satisfy her. Logan: "Really? You always come." (I'm surprised that one got by the censors. I mean, even if they didn't get the double entendre, you'd think the embarrassed look on the glorified hooker's face would raise a red flag.)
School. Veronica seems to be waiting for someone. Presumably, it's not Dick, but that doesn't stop him from appearing and doling out some fake comfort about the Kendall bombshell. "If you're gonna date an heir to billions, the occasional afternoon quickie -- you gotta let it slide." I think Donald Trump's kid is going to look upon Dick as an oracle. And "Dick" and "oracle" appearing in the same sentence has got to be a sign of the apocalypse. Dick goes on to say that girls like Kendall let guys do "vile stuff. Really vile stuff." Hee. Veronica shoos Dick away, and then approaches Duncan, who's shuffling his feet and looking guilty about something. Veronica asks where he was the day before and, finding him untruthful and unforthcoming, drops the Kendall bomb, loudly enough for a number of onlookers to hear. Duncan shiftily denies knowledge of Kendall's being in his room, but Veronica barks that she doesn't trust him anymore: "I'm nobody's fool!" It's too bad they couldn't afford Duane Daniels for this episode, because it would have been awesome if Principal Clemmons appeared at this point, pointedly clearing his throat. Duncan heatedly says that Meg is dead, and that he can't see his daughter, but by all means, Veronica should make it about her. Veronica yells that she's the one who's alive: "I'm your girlfriend!" Duncan rolls his eyes: "Not anymore." I guess Dick really wasn't kidding about the things Kendall will do. Veronica gapes, all, "Oh no you DI-IN'T!," as the onlookers give typical "Oh, SNAP!" noises. The really sad thing is that anyone keeping track of Veronica's most embarrassing school moments has no need to change his top five.