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Wow. Another really good one. We start the day after we ended last episode, and let's just say Veronica is not so much enamored of the male gender at the moment. She starts off by giving Keith what for about his affair, and ditches him to go to stay in Wallace's room, as he and Piz are renting a motel room for a hard-core cram session. However, Piz can't take Wallace's studying tunnel vision, so he comes back, and Veronica chooses to stay with him instead of going back to her dad's, which ouch. Going back to Harmony, she comes to see a guilt-ridden Keith, and tells him she's going to leave her husband, which sways him to go away with her for the weekend. This wouldn't feel good even if Vinnie Vanlowe didn't walk in and see them together. And it's way worse than that, as Vinnie, who mentions he's still working for the Fitzpatricks, then blackmails Keith with photographic evidence of the affair, because he's working for Harmony's husband, who suspected her of stepping out on him. Believe it or not, I saw this one coming, although I didn't think it would be quite this soon. I love that Vinnie is this much of a bastard, though. Keith tries to make nice with Veronica, and she world-wearily throws Jake and Lianne back in his face. Ouch, again, but not out of bounds, and Keith tearfully ends up turning Harmony away. Back in the dorm, once Piz has safely returned, some girl shows up who claims to be the girlfriend of Piz's -door neighbor, and she's worried he's missing, so Veronica agrees to look for him. We learn that Moe, who shows up this episode, has keys to all the rooms, not that that should be a complete surprise. After some stuff involving a phone call from some other girl, the boyfriend's incredibly repellent roommate (played by Ben of Ben-is-Glory Buffy Season 5 fame), and Piz sleeping on the floor of his own room, Veronica tracks the boyfriend's cell phone to...the River Stix. Uh-oh. The girl makes an ill-advised entry into the bar, and Veronica and the girl have a scary encounter with our old friends Danny Boyd and Liam, but they're saved by...Vinnie, in a cool twist I would not have seen coming. Vinnie points them in the right direction, and they find the boyfriend at the sheriff's station and have a nice little reunion. Meanwhile, Landry gives his class their final assignment: to plan a perfect murder. After class, he calls Veronica up and tells her he's recommending her for an internship with the FBI that summer in lieu of her final assignment, and that latter part is perhaps overplaying his hand, as Veronica concludes that he's trying to buy her silence about the affair with Dean Ed's wife. She confronts him, but he denies caring about whom she tells, and reiterates that she should take the internship. It still doesn't sound like she's going to, though. Veronica runs into Logan, and he begs her to trust him that his secret is better left untold. They have a rather broken conversation, Veronica goes to see Mercer in jail, and he tells her that the GHB wasn't his, and the cologne he was wearing was a sample from an issue of GQ that was all over the campus, so it's hardly damning evidence against him. He suggests two people who might want to set him up -- Chip and Dean Ed, the latter of whom is in some gambling debt to Mercer. Mercer's alibi is complete when Piz covers Mercer's Club Flush show, which, by the way, is the show that was playing on the radio when Parker was raped. Moreover, it's a call-in request show, so Mercer's exonerated. Of course, it's not clear why he didn't just tell the law this when he was arrested, but whatever. However, the damage is done, as Veronica tells Logan she needs to know where he was on the night in question, August 13th. Logan tells her they were in Tijuana, and Mercer accidentally set his motel room on fire, and he and Mercer bailed from the burning building without even checking to see if everyone was okay. Not anything like what I expected the secret to be, which is kind of awesome. Keith leaves Veronica a message telling her that he ended things with Harmony and he wants her to come home. But Veronica leaves her drink in the cafeteria alone for a minute, and ends up with a bad case of the spins. She makes it to her car, but collapses, and the rapist catches up to her. However, Logan is in the area, and rescues her none too soon, as the rapist had already started in on her hair with the clippers. You'll forgive me one joke about the close shave, won't you? Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Wow. First off, congratulations to the show people on The CW upping the episode commitment from thirteen to twenty. It makes me especially happy that it happened on the heels of another episode I really, really liked. Loved, in fact. I'll preface by saying that, aside from the kind of silly and manufactured Wallace cheating storyline, the show has consistently been creating real moral ambiguity in just about all its plotlines of late, which I find very appealing. And it will save me a lot of typing if I just tell you now that, unless I say otherwise, I have some degree of sympathy for just about every character's actions and position in this episode. I mention that in the hope that it will save the recap from turning into one big Lincoln-Douglas debate with myself. Said hope is not all that strong, I will readily admit.
Okay. Veronica arrives home and, trying to make as little noise as possible, quickly packs a bag and is on her way back out when Keith appears and asks her where she's staying. It's too bad his senses weren't so good when Duncan and his daughter were right door, but I suppose he had more reason to be on alert here. Veronica turns to face her dad, who adds that he called Logan's room at the Grand, and that Logan didn't know where Veronica was. What's more, he believes that Logan was telling the truth, and if Keith has any reaction to the logical conclusion that Veronica and Logan are having problems, he doesn't pick this time to show it. Veronica flippantly points out that Keith didn't come home the night, and...the tone here is unfortunate, but Veronica did make her feelings on this matter awfully plain to Keith more than once, and it's not like you'd need to be a rocket scientist to figure them out even if she hadn't. Keith suggests that they talk, and...you already did, Keith. Veronica, less edgily, says that Wallace and Piz rented a motel room off-campus to study (a practice I've never heard of, but plenty of posters have) so Wallace is letting her stay in his room. She returns to playing hardball when she points out that now Keith can have Harmony over to the apartment and go nuts. Keith tells her that this is his life and his choice, which...agreed, but I think Veronica's stated position of "Your choice, yours as it is to make, is not working for me, and I can only list fifty-eight reasons why off the top of my head, but if you'll just give me a minute..." is valid enough that Keith can't expect Veronica to let him off the hook. Veronica leaves.
In the boys' room, Veronica has just taken a shower and is pulling on a t-shirt as VMVO unnecessarily says that she needs sanctuary, a place where no one can find her. She then opens the closet door, and we "ironically" see Piz in the mirror. For the record, it appears as though Veronica left the door open, and given that I thought the dorm floors were segregated by gender, that doesn't seem like the wisest choice. (I could go on a rant about the ongoing lack of security on a campus that's plagued by a SERIAL RAPIST, but at this point I might as well be complaining about how dumb it was for the Buffy regulars not to wear crucifixes as a matter of course. This is how it is in TV Land sometimes, like it or not.) Anyway, Piz swears that he was only standing in the doorway for a couple of seconds, and enters and shuts the door. He then marble-mouths something about his guitar that I can't for the life of me decipher. Of course, this could be clever manipulation on his part, since Veronica's relationships with Logan and Leo suggest that she's not really a fan of clear diction in her boyfriends. Veronica asks why he's back, and he explains that a cram session is one thing, but that a weekend alone with a guy who's hell-bent on becoming a mechanical engineer despite never having taken basic math seriously in his entire life up to this point is another thing entirely. I may be paraphrasing a bit here. Anyway, Piz asks why she's there, and you'd think Wallace would have told Piz about Veronica's sojourn, except for two things: one, given the scenario Piz described (with a pretty hilarious Wallace imitation, I should add), I can see him leaving without telling Wallace he was going, and two: Wallace has shown he's taking pleasure in watching Piz struggle with his feelings for Veronica. I'm not saying Piz definitely didn't know Veronica would be there, but I think it's possible. I'll be sure to ask Wallace about it when the rigors of Mech E let up in a few years. Veronica picks up her stuff and says she'll get going, but Piz invites her to stay. Veronica weighs her options for a moment and smiles.
Out in the hallway, Moe the RA sees a girl sitting on the floor outside one of the rooms. He squats down to talk to her, and she tells him that it's her boyfriend's room she's waiting by, and that he's supposed to be there. Moe offers her some tea, and I'm not the only one who doesn't know what's up with that running joke if the girl's bewildered expression is any indication.
Piz is either trying or pretending to study, but in either case, what he's really doing is watching Veronica, whose attention is fixed on her laptop. There's a knock at the door, and Piz opens it to find Moe and the now-tea-brandishing girl. Heh. Moe gets all "So that's how it is" when he sees Veronica lounging on Wallace's bed in a t-shirt and cotton shorts. She quickly says that it's not what it looks like, and Moe over-enthuses, "Not one to judge!" The fact that he delivers the line more awkwardly than a non-English speaker would read it out of a phrasebook is what sells it. (Said phrasebook was compiled by Andy Dick, FYI.) Anyway, Moe asks Piz if he's seen his -door-neighbor "Sully," since the tea-drinker is his girlfriend. The girl ("Meryl" is her name, and if that's not how you spell it, don't email me) pipes up that she flew down from Sacramento, and that Sully was supposed to pick her up at the airport, and it's not like him to flake, so she's worried something's happened to him. Piz gives an hilariously overdramatic head-turn toward Veronica. It's like he's practicing for his credit sequence for when he gets cast on The Amazing Race. Veronica's like, "Oh, fine, like I have a choice," and her resigned smile takes us into the opening credits.
We watch from within Sully's room as the four from the scene enter. Moe exposits that all the RAs have keys to all the dorm rooms, and as things that Might Be Important Later go, that one's pretty far up the list. Veronica notes all the cheesecake posters on the wall, but the girl says that they're Sully's roommate's. Piz then discovers that Sully's toiletries are still there, and then Veronica, flipping through the facebook, asks the girl if she knows a "Scarlett Reyes," since her picture is circled. The girl says that Sully didn't draw that circle -- his is more perfect due to all the drafting classes he's taken. Honey, a year of drafting was mandatory in my high school, and I didn't gain any improvement in my circle-drawing. I did gain an abiding hatred for non-Number Two pencils, but that's threatening to become a different story. In other news, many posters were quick to point out that Scarlett's surname is the same as the mysterious "Marisol Reyes" who was mentioned all the way back in mid-Season 1, so we'll get to see if that goes anywhere. Meryl says that she's just going to stay and wait for Sully, and Veronica says that she's got a class, but that she'll check back with Meryl later. Veronica then digs into the wastebasket. Moe warily looks at Piz, who's like, "Year of finishing school. What are you gonna do." Hee. Veronica comes up with a credit-card receipt: "I'll check to see if he's out spending money."
Criminology class. Landry wraps up a slide show and tells the class about their end-of-term research paper -- "to plan the perfect murder." Considering how overzealously he approaches term assignments, it's probably a good thing Rider Strong isn't in this class. Landry charms the class as VMVO lumps him in with all the men in her life who are currently disappointing her. Landry then calls Veronica up to speak with him, and the creepy way the light from the projector bathes his face is perhaps ruining the potential subtlety of the upcoming exchange. Once the class has basically cleared out, Veronica approaches and starts to say that what she saw really doesn't matter to her, but Landry doesn't acknowledge that and conversationally steamrolls her as he tells her he's recommending her for a summer internship at the FBI. Veronica takes a folder from him and warily reads, "Fifteen hundred words on why I'll benefit from the program?" Landry says that they take it seriously, so she should fill the application out and he'll take it in lieu of her final assignment. He adds that the guy who runs the intern program at Quantico is an old undergrad buddy of his. I'm no expert on the Federal government's law institutions, but I'd think that before Landry recommended Veronica for this internship, he'd want to find out a few things, like, say, how many times Veronica's been hauled in to be interrogated by the local law. At the very least, he should want to know just how big a favor he's asking for. Veronica thanks Landry, but when he's gone, VMVO is a little less enthusiastic about the whole thing.
Logan is waiting for Veronica outside the building. She somewhat impatiently informs him that she's on Mercer's case, but she won't be permitted to talk to him until the morning. Logan tells her that he wants to make things right between them. Veronica: "You tell me your friend couldn't have raped a girl because he was with you this summer. Then you won't tell me what you were doing or why you can't come forward to provide an alibi." I do get paid to recap this stuff, Veronica. Take a load off. Logan begs her to trust him, since it'll be better for everyone if the secret doesn't come to light. However, Veronica points out that the alibi must be pretty damning if Mercer would rather stay in jail than divulge it, and Logan's expression does nothing to allay her fears. Logan then gives us the other side of the phone call to which Keith referred, and asks where she's staying. Veronica parrots Logan: "It's better for everyone if that secret stays that way." That sounds harsh, but she's probably not kidding that it's at least better for Piz. Seriously, I know it may seem I'm all over the map on Veronica this season, but I think there's a big difference between being bitchy when your life is in a calm and stable period and lashing out when you're clearly hurt, and with good reason. I mean, Logan said he wanted to make things right, but in practice, he offered Veronica nothing new to work with. Not that I don't have some sympathy for Logan here too, but that can wait for the moment.
Veronica goes to see Meryl, who tells her that Sully hasn't shown up, and that maybe they should go to the police. Veronica says that it hasn't been forty-eight hours, and we've been over this ground before, but let's ignore that in favor of reporting that she also doesn't advocate Meryl's idea "because the sheriff is a moron." She asks if Meryl knows Sully's cell-phone PIN, only she says "PIN number." Oy. I suppose I should be thankful that the whole thing with Claire and the camera didn't result in a reference to an "ATM machine."
Cut to Veronica checking Sully's messages. The fact that she's being allowed to do this makes me think Meryl and Sully don't have a lot of voicemail phone sex. Anyway, after a couple of messages from when Meryl was stranded at the airport, they hear Scarlett asking if she and Sully are still on for 8 at the food court that night. "You told your girlfriend, right?" Meryl, not in the least suspicious, asks Veronica what she makes of that. Veronica wonders where she can get hold of some sock puppets as we go to commercial.
Mercer's sleeping uncomfortably in lock-up when Veronica's voice cuts in, "Nobody willing to spoon you?" Untrue, my dear, and I can supply handles and IP addresses to prove it. Veronica, after making a "Jailhouse Rock" reference, asks Mercer about the alibi for the night of the third rape, which occurred on August 13th. Mercer says that while the nights of the other three rapes aren't memorable for him, this one is, but as for what they were up to? "Logan has good reason to keep that to himself." However, Mercer adds that Logan is a solid guy: "I'd want him to be my boyfriend if I swung that way." My boards are busy enough, kid, so get away from me with that LoMer shit. But I will agree with the rapidly burgeoning sentiment that Ryan Devlin is pretty damn hot, and the jailhouse stubble he's working is not hurting one bit. Veronica asks if there's anything he can tell her that would help, and Mercer informs her that Lamb was very interested in his cologne. However, GQ had a sample of it in its back-to-school issue, so "I hardly think that's some huge clue." Considering most college males are more on the level of Maxim, I'm not sure I agree. He also tells her that the GHB wasn't his, and that he thinks someone's setting him up -- a couple of guys owe him big. The first is Chip, which doesn't surprise Veronica. Although I can't believe no one has made mention of the rather important revelation that Claire's having faked her rape means that the Pi Sigs haven't been cleared of shit. You'd think Nish at least would have caught that. But the second guy Mercer suggests is Dean Ed, as the Dean is a big boxing fan, as we all knew from last episode. Mercer adds that Dean Ed is not the greatest at picking the pugilists, and while he places the bets through a student aide, it's his money: "He'd like to see me gone." Veronica, intrigued, says that she'll look into it, and Mercer tells her that Logan's "bragged her up," and that he appreciates the help. I'm not sure I believe one word he said, but that doesn't mean I didn't love hearing him talk.
Veronica goes to check on Meryl, who's beside herself with worry. She tells Veronica that Sully's Physics class was working with lasers, and babblingly wonders whether he could have made some technological discovery that forced him to go on the run from "sinister forces." It seems likely that she's overestimating his intelligence by not a little bit here, but to be fair, the only time we actually meet Sully is after he's had some head trauma. Anyway, Veronica -- with far more patience that I think I'd be able to muster -- explains Occam's Razor as the theory that advocates the idea that, when faced with multiple explanations for a phenomenon, "we should embrace the least complicated." I think William of Occam was just looking for a clever way to get people to shut up. Which in turn makes me wonder why he was never canonized. Anyway, Meryl sort of takes Veronica's point, but says she'd be happy if Sully's dumping her were all this was, because at least then she'd know he's okay. Veronica does not get to display her "Does Not Compute" face, though...
...as some royal douchebag with assy long hair struts in and introduces himself as Sully's roommate Glenn -- "the man, the myth, the legend." Well, I'll grant that when even someone as nice and clueless as Meryl is completely repulsed by you, you can claim being legendary in certain respects. Glenn, by the way, is being played, just about unrecognizably, by Charlie Weber, whom Buffy viewers will remember as Season 5's Ben, Glory's mortal alter ego. Also, many people on the boards opined that he's basically doing a K-Fed impression, and it's hard to imagine that they could be more right. Anyway, Ben/Glenn says that he saw Sully the morning of the day, but Sully asked him to clear out for the weekend so that he and Meryl could have some privacy. Also, Sully apparently was going surfing, and the idea that Sully surfs at all is news to Meryl. Glenn wraps up by saying that he came back because his stepmother confiscated his Xbox ["he has a stepmother who takes shit away from him? Wasn't this guy convincingly old enough to play a doctor FIVE YEARS AGO?" -- Wing Chun], and besides, he figured maybe Sully wouldn't need the room after the "knock-down drag-out" that he and Meryl had on the phone. Veronica gets all up in Meryl's face about how much trouble she went to explain Occam's Razor, and this is the thanks she gets?
Mars Investigations. Harmony enters, and she and Keith banter a bit about the fact that Keith apparently has not made himself available over the phone of late. He's happy but guilty about seeing Harmony, and she tries to ease his burden by telling him that she and her husband haven't had sex in eight months, and that she's going to leave him. Well, that is an awfully long time. I mean, thinking about it solely in terms of world of Neptune, when Harmony and her husband last had sex, Mac was still on the show! Keith thinks Harmony's idea is crazy, but she thinks sticking out a loveless marriage is the insane notion. They agree that they're both feeling some complicated things, and Harmony invites Keith to Palm Springs for the weekend. Because there's nothing better for working out your complex life decisions like a few days of screwing like bunnies. Older, somewhat wrinkly, and blessedly off-screen bunnies. Keith kisses Harmony...
...and when Harmony walks out of Keith's office, she's startled to see Vinnie Vanlowe on the couch. She goes from startled to "Oh, SHIT" when he greets her as "Mrs. Chase." Uh oh.
Vinnie enters Keith's office, and Keith somewhat cheerily greets him. I'm thinking he's being nice because he already smells what's coming, because I can't believe Vinnie's putting Liam Fitzpatrick on Keith's and Cormac's tail would have inspired anything other than a punch in the face. Or perhaps a La Femme Nikita-esque use of Vinnie's pen. Vinnie, in fact, brings up the Fitzpatricks, saying that he's on retainer for them, and they have the idea that Kendall "owes them money," and that Keith knows where the money's hidden. It doesn't sound to me like they necessarily think Kendall's alive, but maybe I'm simply leaning toward the show not going that ridiculous route. We've been doing pretty well without the coma babies of late, and I'd like things to stay that way. Anyway, Vinnie says that rather than his wasting a lot of energy tracking her down, they can simply split the retainer. Keith does not suggest that they head over to South Neptune for some free soup to cement their deal, but he really, really should. Keith says that he doesn't know where Kendall is, which is technically true, so Vinnie tosses him an envelope containing...pictures of Keith and Harmony hooking up. Like I said, uh oh. Vinnie genially says that this isn't a value judgment or anything, since he's been down the married-woman road himself, but...Keith breaks in to ask him what he wants. Vinnie toys with his prey for a moment by way of admiring his own photographic artistry: "The girl at the Fotomat used to call me the 'human tripod'...wait. That's somethin' else." It certainly is. Keith asks what price he's setting today's extortion at, and Vinnie tells him that Harmony's husband is paying Vinnie two grand to find out if Harmony is having an affair, so four grand will make the answer a negative one. As I mentioned in the recaplet, I actually recently idly conceived of this little subplot occurring, just because of the incredibly heavy irony. I mean, if you'll remember, this is how Veronica described Vinnie's MO in the episode wherein we first met him. I didn't think it would happen near this soon, but it's nice of the writers to put it in before I could forget that I'd even thought of it. Also, I'm assuming that Keith is worried about what would happen to Harmony in the divorce proceedings if news of the affair got out, because otherwise I can't see him coughing up the four grand without asking Harmony if she was serious about that whole ending-her-marriage thing. Keith looks stunned and saddened as we go to commercial. Maybe it's because Vinnie didn't offer him a discount out of professional courtesy.
Veronica and Meryl arrive at the busy, busy food court. Once they're safely hidden behind some fake plants, Veronica, gently enough, reproaches Meryl for not telling her about the fight. Meryl says that it was over nothing, and just caused by long-distance stress, but Veronica comes back to pushing the "he's just not into you" angle as a possibility, again. Hey, Veronica? Occam's Razor suggests that if she wanted your opinion, she'd ask for it. Anyway, Scarlett sits down at a table, and Meryl starts to rush over to her. Veronica tries to get her to hang back and see if Sully appears, but Meryl isn't having it, and marches over to Scarlett's table and introduces herself. Veronica catches up and asks Scarlett when she last saw Sully, and the answer was Thursday, "in Physics Lab." It's Friday, honey, so here's a tip: learn the word "Yesterday." The Beatles can help. Veronica, noting that Scarlett is dressed for a night out, accuses her of at least wanting to steal Sully, and you know, it occurs to me that just because Meryl turns out to be right about Sully doesn't mean that Veronica is completely wrong about Scarlett here. Even with her explanation that she's going to a club after this, a study date in a hot outfit with a guy on a Friday night doesn't strike me as above suspicion, you know? Meryl says that Veronica doesn't have to be mean, but Veronica tells her that she can choose to be a patsy or not to be one. This doesn't strike me as any worse than her yelly speech to Mandy in "Hot Dogs" -- if anything, it's milder -- and she's under similar amounts of emotional stress here, so I can let it pass. Again, it's only when Veronica's bitchy in her resting emotional state that I have a real problem with it.
Anyway, Veronica sees Landry across the food court, and if he's hanging on campus at 8 on a Friday night, maybe his dance card isn't as full as I would have expected. Or more likely, his dates don't tend to start until the kids are in bed. Veronica marches over to Landry, who's standing in front of the Chili's we've seen before, although this is the first time it's been featured quite so prominently. He greets her affably, but his mood darkens a little when she tells him that she's turning down the internship, and she'll be doing the paper like everyone else. Landry plays dumb a bit longer, which people a lot less intelligent than he is could tell him is a mistake, forcing Veronica to inform him that she doesn't think she'll get much out of the program if she feels like she's been bought off. She adds that she was never going to tell anyone about his "situation" with Mindy, and Landry's expression at having to hear the "I'm not angry; I'm just disappointed" lecture from a student barely over five feet tall is pretty priceless. He recovers well, though, and says he expects nothing from her in return for the recommendation; she's his strongest student by far, and the internship would help her future tremendously. And, going back to the ambiguity theme here, I don't entirely disbelieve him. For all his disappointment about Landry's personal life, it doesn't seem like Landry treated Lucky Tim badly; there's every reason to think their association has benefited Tim tremendously, or he would presumably have walked away in a fit of moral pique. VMVO says that her mind is blown, and it gets even more so when she observes Scarlett and Meryl hugging. Heh.
Piz returns to his room, and Veronica sunnily tells him that she's planning the perfect murder. I guess she was able to un-blow her mind in a hurry. Piz then notices that Meryl is in his bed. Veronica: "Yeah, buddy!" Hee. Piz asks where he'll be sleeping. Veronica: "Play your cards right...the floor!" Hee, again. Piz, you could go sleep in Sully's bed, but that would mean you'd have to deal with Glenn's snoring and farting, which I hear are legendary. Anyway, Piz is just stopping in to get some records, since he's covering Mercer's slot at the radio show. And yes, it's Club Flush, which is the same show that was playing in the room when Parker was raped. Veronica quickly jumps up to go with him.
At the radio station, Piz shows Veronica the database wherein every show is logged. Veronica checks Saturday September 30th, the night Parker was raped, and discovers that Mercer's show was indeed on. The log shows that he was playing from 9 to 11 PM, which seems like a simple, if unfortunate, production error. (I think that's the term I'm going to start using to refer to mistakes in my recaps. It sounds so much more impressive, doesn't it?) Veronica also determines that Mercer was DJing when Stacy was raped, on Friday, March 24th, although that does give us the new information that he was at Hearst last year. Veronica speculates that he could have taped his stuff in advance, but Piz tells her that Mercer's is a call-in request show. Veronica looks stymied before she's swallowed up by the METAL TEETH CHOMP! (Sorry, just thought I'd throw in some synergy. God knows the CW isn't producing enough of it.)
A lamp switches on, and Logan wakes up to find Veronica standing over him. She tells him, in a very adenoidal voice, that she has the proof to get Mercer off, but that Logan has to tell her where he was that night. Logan asks if she can just trust him, but she tells him she's not built that way. Logan complains about being blackmailed by his girlfriend, although it seems more like bribery to me; either way, his larger point about it not being conducive to relationship bliss is taken. Veronica looks like she's hanging on by a thread as Logan tells her they were partying in Tijuana, and that it was no big deal. They went back to Mercer's hotel room and started making a drink where you set a shot on fire and drop it in a beer. Veronica snots that she wants to jot down the recipe, and hon, I've cut you some breaks this episode, but he's telling you what you want to know, awful as it is, so I'm going to have to insist that you shut up without delay. Anyway, after Logan went to sleep in his room, Mercer accidentally set his own room on fire. Ironic that the real flaming only started after Logan had made his exit. Veronica asks whether Logan was alone in bed and, upon hearing a yes, notes that he's actually not that much of an alibi. Well, considering that (a) he probably went to bed later than the rape occurred, and (b) I'm thinking he witnessed Mercer drink enough alcohol to impress even Paula Abdul, the chances of Mercer driving back to campus and orchestrating a careful rape seem pretty slim to me. However, Logan says that he and Mercer had adjoining rooms, and he could hear "them." Yes, there were girls in with Mercer, but that's not the worst part. No, the fire spread quickly, and they fled the scene without even seeing if everyone in the place was okay. Logan concludes, "It's because of the look on your face right now that I didn't want to tell you." Um, I hope for your sake that's not the only reason, Logan, because if it is, you haven't come nearly as far as I thought. Logan says that "nine out of ten guys" in his situation would have done what he did, and I'm sympathetic to the idea that crippling guilt affects your math skills, so I'll just say that I think he might be overstating the case a little. Anyway, the die was then cast: either Logan remained silent about that night, or Mercer would have gone to jail in Mexico, and I know I'm jumping the gun with the Arrested Development, but that doesn't sound like a fun, sexy time for him. Maybe for his cellmate, though. Veronica, with disappointed, bitter steel, tells Logan to have Lamb check the log at the campus radio station, and leaves.
Couple thoughts; I have to pace myself here. As I indicated earlier, my sympathy's all over the map here, and while I think the "nine out of ten" thing is bullshit, the idea that some people would panic and run in Logan's situation rings true to me. When something happens like that that you didn't plan, your best instincts don't always take over, so I'm with him to some degree there, although it might be because I just saw Babel. But here's the thing: Logan kept a whopper of a secret from Veronica. He probably never would have told her if his hand hadn't been forced by the Mercer accusation. And to claim that he didn't tell her because of how she'd react -- that's chickenshit behavior, it's blaming her for how she is, and that's not stuff that leads to relationship bliss either. Notice how the words "I'm sorry" never came out of Logan's mouth? Those words are hard for him to say, as I've opined in the recent past, but if he can't find something in this situation about which to say it, that is, as they say in Mexico, no bueno. Also, I have to add this: what kind of bullshit was it that Mercer and Logan were going to risk going back to Mexico in "Wichita Linebacker"? And Veronica having misgivings about that trip doesn't seem so crazy in light of this revelation, does it? And one more thing: I noted at the time how ridiculous it seemed that Mercer would blow off the casino for a weekend jaunt to TJ, but now we find out he would have been skipping out on two radio shows as well? I thought that episode pretty much sucked, so I'm happy to blame it instead of this one, but that is some crap, there.
In the morning, Meryl excitedly wakes Veronica up and says that she got a message from Sully. Veronica listens to it, and all I can say is it sounds like Sully's been partying with Mercer. And given where we end up finding him, maybe that's not out of the realm of possibility. Veronica asks about the number Sully called from, and upon learning that it was his cell number, says that as long as he's got it turned on, they can track him. And...she couldn't have tried this earlier? I know Meryl's kind of a dingbat, Veronica, but I think she could reliably have supplied you with his cell number, babe. Damn, I didn't catch that on first viewing, but that's really irritating. Veronica hops out of bed and steps over Piz, who sleepily asks her to being back "an egg sandwich of some sort." Veronica assents by way of a Blues Brothers reference.
Mars Investigations. Veronica is poking around in a file cabinet. She finds the cell-phone tracker as Keith enters the room and asks for the opportunity to explain. Keith, I don't think what Veronica needs right now is the adulterer's version of the birds and the bees, but I'll admit that as far as ill-advised approaches go, your subsequent smiling and telling her that what you have with Harmony is "something special" makes your first try pale in comparison. Veronica tells Keith that that's the same speech they've heard from "every john we've ever caught with his pants down." As a John myself, Veronica, I'd swear not to give you that speech were I caught in that position with someone's wife, but the promise might ring a little hollow in my case. Veronica goes for the gut-punch, asking if it would have been okay if Jake Kane thought he had something special with Lianne. This is completely in-bounds, in my opinion, but it still doesn't mean Dean Ed wouldn't have enjoyed watching it unfold. Keith tries to defend himself by saying that Harmony is going to leave her husband, but Veronica isn't having that either, as she asks whether Harmony's husband knows that yet. Again, good point. Keith is flummoxed into silence, so Veronica starts to leave, but then turns and tells Keith to do what he has to, since she's seen too much working at Mars Investigations ever to be surprised again. Keith snaps that she's not that jaded, and Keith, it's your turn to shut up, but it's too late, as Veronica says she didn't used to be: "I had this one shining example that gave me some faith." Some people thought this one was too much, but considering it's the first line that actually seems really to get through to Keith, I can't say as I agree. Remember how Veronica was obsessed with finding Lilly Kane's killer? She started that search not for Lilly's sake, but to prove that her dad didn't bungle the investigation, since she blamed the allegations of said bungling for breaking up her parents' marriage. It's all there in the pilot, and now Keith is going to stand there and smilingly tell Veronica that he's got "something special" going with another man's wife? I think maybe Keith got off a little easy. If you'll pardon the expression.
Veronica is driving and Meryl is holding the tracker as Veronica tells her that there was a lot of activity on Sully's credit cards the night before, and that they were all in service of various vices. Meryl says that at least Sully's okay, but her tone suggests she's finally stepping out of her Voltaire paperback. They get to their destination, which is...the River Stix. Niiiice, and scary. Veronica brazenly makes a Casablanca reference, which I don't really buy given everything she's been through with the Fitzpatricks. Meryl starts to get out of the car, but Veronica stops her and says that they'll call the sheriff. Meryl asks whether she means the moron. Veronica: "He's a well-armed moron." Hee. Meryl, however, takes the opportunity afforded by Veronica's being on the phone to run out of the car and into the bar. Veronica: "Oh, crap." In deference to the fact that, as your line reminds me, this is network TV, Veronica: no effing kidding.
Inside, Meryl is describing Sully to...Danny Boyd. This is not good. Veronica bustles in and tries to get Meryl out of there without drawing attention to them, but Danny recognizes her: "You're Keith Mars's little girl." When Veronica has time, she'll probably ponder the irony that being Keith's daughter got her into mortal peril right at a time when she would happily have disclaimed her relation to him. Danny asks why she thinks "Billy Sullivan" was there, and seeing Danny resting against several cases of beer, Veronica snaps, "You're sitting on it, Potsie." Hee. Between the Horshack and the Potsie, we're building up the hit parade of '70s TV. Which makes me realize that I could definitely see Veronica on The Mod Squad. Anyway, Veronica calls Sully's cell phone, which rings very nearby, so she's proven that Sully was in fact in the bar! Unfortunately, she's also proven that she forgot why she wanted to get out of there so quickly in the first place, so it's nice of Liam to grab her in a bear hug from behind and remind her. Meryl looks scared for the first time as Liam lurches around the bar while seemingly drunkenly but nonetheless menacingly keeping hold of Veronica, and Meryl even grabs a bottle with the intent of breaking it over Liam's head until Danny stops her. Just as well -- I bet that's happened to him a million times before. There's so much scar tissue up top that a hungry mosquito landing on his head would be like, "Is this a joke?" However, someone drunkenly shambles toward them and takes their picture on a camera phone, and as he slurs, "Say cheese!," we see it's Vinnie. Awesome. He tells Liam that Keith is going to love the email, which is enough to cause Liam to release Veronica and back away. So Vinnie is feigning misguided drunken sycophantic horseplay here, just in case it's unclear why Liam didn't kick his ass. Veronica and Meryl hustle out...
...and outside, Vinnie catches up to them and soberly reproaches Veronica for setting foot in the River Stix. Meryl looks chastened, and Veronica asks whether he really sent the picture to Keith. Vinnie: "If I did, it was a miracle. Phone didn't have a camera on it." Hee. Vinnie tells Meryl that Sully came in like he'd just come back from the beach, and that he also was tanked, so Danny took his wallet and said he'd get him home, but instead took him on a shopping spree. Then the Fitzpatricks got bored and kicked him out. That doesn't sound like good Irish hospitality to me, but I guess you have to remember that Liam blew his brother's brains out. Veronica asks where Sully might be, and Vinnie suggests the drunk tank...
...and at the sheriff's station, Lamb is telling them that the cops picked Sully up the night before, all drunk and in a wetsuit. He couldn't remember his name, which didn't seem strange until his memory didn't return after he sobered up, and they noticed a big knot on the back of his head. Lamb says that he's going to have Sacks take Sully to the hospital "as soon as he gets back with my bear claw." Hee. I love the idea of Sacks being the PA of the sheriff's station. Lamb tells Meryl that he'll have someone let her back to see Sully in a minute. When he's gone, Veronica apologizes (yes, she said "I'm sorry") for jumping to the wrong conclusions and putting doubts in Meryl's head, but Meryl says it's okay, and that she never would have found him without Veronica. Well, "never" is a strong word, but I'll ignore it, because if I don't move on, I'll never get this recap finished. Meryl adds, "If I hadn't been in love before, I never would have believed it either." Veronica wonders if it's unusual for the "The More You Know" starfall to actually pierce people's hearts.
At the drunk tank, Meryl calls Sully's name, and he wakes up and responds in kind. He kind of heartbreakingly adds, "I was looking for you, " and kisses Meryl's forehead. Veronica looks wistful until Lamb yells, "Hey! No touching!" And if you want to dissipate any semblance of sappiness, a good Arrested Development reference is certainly the way to go. Lamb tells Meryl that they're going to take Sully to the hospital now, and that she's welcome to tag along. Meryl happily bids Veronica farewell.
Veronica's on her way out when she sees Mercer being led back to the cells. She asks him whether Logan didn't come by, and Mercer says that he did, and thanks her for clearing his name, although not overly effusively. This guy is one cool customer. He tells Veronica that Lamb found something lacking in Mercer's attitude, so he's holding Mercer as long as he can under law. He adds that Logan's picking him up for breakfast the day, and that Veronica's welcome to join them. Veronica: "Doubtful!" Hee. But...a lot of things seem off about Mercer. First, if Logan's account of what happened in Mexico is to be believed, Mercer's comment to Veronica that it was in Logan's best interests to keep the secret seems both disingenuous and callous. But beyond that, Mercer didn't tell the sheriff he was DJing on the night of Parker's rape, which seems preposterous. I mean, he spins Friday and Saturday nights, so it's not like he had to recall the exact date, particularly not with that log available. Then when Veronica provides evidence to clear him, he mysteriously gets kept in jail on the very night Veronica is attacked? It feels like he wanted to have an airtight alibi for the night, which suggests involvement somehow. I could be making something out of nothing, and it wouldn't be the first time, but this episode has made me think way more than any other in a long time, so you'll just have to put up with my rambling. If you haven't skipped ahead already.
Harmony comes into Keith's office to pick him up, but he tells her he's not going. Weirdly, she smiles big and asks him again to come with her, and he looks like he's going to throw up as he says he can't. Some Dramamine might help, Keith.
Later, Keith answers a call: it's Logan, who confesses that he's looking for Veronica, as that he thinks she's trying to hide from him. Keith sympathetically tells Logan that Keith's on her shit list too, but reveals that she's staying at Wallace's.
Oh God. Here we go. In the food court, a "DJ Hellfish" is on the college radio. Veronica sets her tray down, but sees something in her food that, judging from the look on her face, is either a hair or an image of the Lord. Either way, I don't think she's going to be chowing down on this particular plate. She does in fact go back, but leaves her drink on the table. She returns with a new tray, takes a couple of sips of her drink, and checks her messages, which include three, from Logan, of varying degrees of agitation. No mention of their troubles, though, which might have been the way to go. The message is from Keith, who emotionally tells her that he ended things with Harmony, and that he'd just like to see her. Take notes, Logan. Veronica, to me, looks thrilled that Keith did the right thing and not that she got her way, but the moment is interrupted when some fancy, choppy editing and camera work seems to indicate that she gets a case of the spins. She shakes it off, though, and doesn't seem to think anything's amiss. And maybe it's Babel on my mind again, but the event of leaving her drink unattended, which was so happenstance at the time and seems so ill-judged in retrospect, is thematically brilliant given Logan's whole confession. Yes, yes, I know you want to get back to the part where VERONICA JUST GOT DRUGGED.
But first, Piz is in his room, and let me just say now that unless they're being assholes with the editing timeline, I don't see how Piz could be involved in the rapes unless he has an accomplice, which seems exceedingly unlikely. The idea has been advanced that Veronica's assailant is a copycat and not the real rapist, which...is interesting, but frankly, I don't see them catching a copycat and the real rapist in the two episodes left in this arc. There's a knock at the door, and Piz answers to find Logan, who looks surprised, although he shouldn't be. Veronica did say the bowling would be Wallace and his roommate, so the math isn't something that requires excessive motel-bound studying to have a handle on. Anyway, Logan struggles to contain his emotions as he gets the information Piz has, which is not a lot but is enough to provoke some jealousy and suspicion. A lot of people thought Piz was taking a lot of pleasure in Logan's misery here, and while I love Piz, I have to admit I see that maybe just a little.
Veronica has left the cafeteria, and I'm with the posters who thought she did so because the drugs were messing with her head. I mean, if the drug allowed people to think out, "Wow, I've been drugged, I should really ask someone for help," its efficacy in the realm of date rape would be severely compromised. The VMVO here is kind of on the nose about how she can't believe this is happening to her again, though, which I think is a mistake, because if you're trying to paint the picture that she left the populated food court because the drug was affecting her judgment, I don't think you should really allow Veronica to have too many coherent thoughts. Veronica tries to get to her car, but in the parking garage, she sees a blurry, hooded figure approaching. She tries to speed up, and actually gets her car door open, but can't manage to get in, and collapses. With her last conscious action, though, she presses the alarm button on her car keys, causing her car's lights to flash and the horn to honk.
Nearby, Logan sees and hears Veronica's car.
The assailant reaches a rubber-gloved hand down and turns off the alarm. From the skin visible on his wrist, he does appear to be a white male.
Logan rushes in and finds Veronica lying face-down and alone. He turns her over, and she heartbreakingly asks him to take her home. Logan's horrified to see that the assailant shaved off a bit of Veronica's hair. Of course, given some of the board sentiment about her current do, he might have been doing her a favor there. And Logan, I know you're in an emotional state here, but the rapist is probably all of fifty feet away at the moment, so might I suggest you RUN AWAY? I mean, if this episode has taught us anything, it's that you know how to do that rather well.
We fade back up to Keith spoon-feeding Veronica some medicine as Logan anxiously hovers behind him. Veronica complains that it's nasty. Logan: "Cowboy up, Mars." Aw.
After another fade-out, it's Keith and Logan who are in Sleepyland, while I think Veronica's half-awake, although it's hard to tell through the two pounds of makeup she's wearing. I mean, I know last night was rough, but she's not crossing over just yet. A VMVO, by way of a South Park reference (and nice continuity, again, some more) tells us that you can give faith to the people you love, but the ones who really deserve it come through even when you don't love them enough.
time: Veronica and Logan are having problems. Yes, I'm sure that's a new promo.