Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT ...And It's Going To Bug The Hell Out Of Me
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 18 | Aired on 05.14.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Keith is quizzing Veronica for her imminent FBI test. She aces it, of course. Other happenings under the Mars roof include Piz and Veronica playing footsie while reading a book called Soldier Of Misfortune, written by a onetime child soldier from Uganda, now a Hearst student. Piz interviews him for his radio show, and the guy, "Apollo," talks about how he was brainwashed into being a killing machine. He gives a lot of credit to his female adviser, who's known him for years. Someone who apparently hasn't known him for quite that long is a mysterious caller to Mars Investigations (now in Veronica's care), who says he thinks Apollo is his son. Veronica has a disturbing interview with Apollo, and in the course of it, she's able to confirm the father's story. Veronica then gets busted for faking the interview, so she comes clean to Apollo, who's unhappy about the potential parenthood. So unhappy that he disappears, and in looking for him, Veronica discovers that Apollo's book is a lie -- he was never conscripted. However, Wallace points out to Veronica that if she exposes him as a fraud, the good his book has done will be nullified. Apollo agrees to the paternity test, but his possible dad doesn't show. Twist Number One: Apollo actually did write the book, and was just testing the guy to see if he was after his money. Twist Number Two: The guy was just detained, and is actually his dad. So he's rich and no longer an orphan! It's a good day to be named after a Greek god.
With the election two weeks away, burglaries are up in the '09, Keith hauls in a guy he comes to suspect is working for the Fitzpatricks, and soon Liam Fitzpatrick is stopping by for a chat. He tells Keith that the robberies aren't going to stop until he gets the money he's owed from Kendall and Cormac, and not to get too comfy in the office. Keith realizes that Vinnie is colluding with the Fitzpatricks, but it's not clear that he's going to be able to do anything about it.
In Relationship Land, Piz gets a sweet music internship in New York, but is un-psyched that Veronica isn't more broken up about their potential separation. In a similar vein, Parker's parents show up, and they're about as pleasant as we remember her mom being after Parker got raped. Logan offers Parker his suite, but not in the way she hoped: he's going to South America for the entire summer with Dick. Parker goes to Veronica (!) for advice, and Veronica gives the only possible "What can I tell you?" answer. Mac and Max are hanging, but when Max tells her he plans on not studying until he gets expelled, she has second thoughts about the wisdom of their relationship. But she does stay with him for the moment. Also, Logan changes his tune and invites Parker to South America, albeit not enthusiastically. But Dick's dad returns, saying that he turned himself in, and will be going to jail for a year in a couple months. He wants to spend the interim with Dick, pulling Dick neatly off the surf trip. Dick finally breaks down at his dad about Beaver's death (in the process calling him "Cassidy," amazingly), but Dick decides to stay around, prompting Logan to can the trip, much to Parker's dismay. And Veronica gets the summer internship in Virginia, causing Piz to go all boo-boo-kitty again. It's rough dating Veronica, Piz -- haven't you been watching Logan all season? Want more? The full recap starts right below!
So several people pointed out to me that at the gig last episode, it was actually Veronica that took Piz's hand. I think I must have been so overcome with anti-Piz rage that I couldn't actually see what was going on -- I hear that can happen. Either that, or my TV is too dark and I was way too close to finished with the recap to pay proper attention. But I think I'm going with anti-Piz rage. ROOWWWWR! Die, Beaverton!
Oh, I never mention previouslies, but this week is notable in that there aren't any. So in a way, I'm continuing not to mention them.
Veronica and Piz are sitting up in her bed (fully clothed, except for shoes) with their feet intertwined, playfully shoving each other with their elbows. If you're thinking of cringing at the method of displaying affection, I'd advise you to save it for Max's later Pamplona evocation. Piz and Veronica are each reading a copy of a book called Soldier Of Misfortune, and Logan's going to be pissed when he finds out there's a copyright issue with the title of his autobiography. Keith bursts in with a legal trivia question for Veronica, who doesn't bother looking up as she supplies him with the correct answer. Keith leaves just as quickly as he came, and Piz, kind of weirded out, asks what that display was. It was Keith acting like a speed freak, a legal dictionary, and a jack-in-the-box rolled into one. Veronica explains that she's taking her "PI exam" the next day. And she...hadn't told Piz about that until this moment? I don't often mind when they have to get the exposition in, but that felt particularly clumsy. Veronica goes on that she's going to beat her dad's score, and then "dine on the shared knowledge for a lifetime." That, or a supply of crow that I suspect isn't going to run out any time soon either. But, you know, whichever.
Keith pops back in and gets another correct answer and an admonition to bug Piz for a while. Keith amicably asks what Piz is studying, and Piz explains that the book he's reading is by a Hearst student named Apollo Bukenya, who was a child soldier in Uganda, never knew his father, and was forced to start killing when he was six years old. Now, as many people probably know, this storyline is based in truth, ("Invisible Children" is the commonly used moniker), and given the horrifying subject matter, I'm a lot more inclined to give any PSAs more of a pass than I would have (and Joe R did) on the "The Less You Know" (HEE, Joe) plotline of two weeks ago. But let's see how this goes. Piz adds that Apollo's mom was killed by the Rebel Army, and he never knew his dad, but Apollo managed to escape as a teenager and get to the U.S. He wraps up by saying that he's interviewing Apollo on his radio show tomorrow, and Veronica chimes in that the book's been optioned into a movie, plus Apollo is going on Oprah. "But Piz got him first!" Enjoy it while you can, Piz, before Oprah tears you into A Million Little Pieces. Keith tells Veronica that it's nice that one of her "gentleman callers" has more to talk about than how high the waves are breaking. Ouch for Logan, although given his plotline this episode, he makes it tough to argue the point. Still, I think it's in fairly poor taste to mock the recent ex with the current boyfriend in the room, and Veronica's facial expression heartily concurs. When Keith's gone, Piz is scared that the fact that Keith likes him is "the kiss of death," and I know I heard the words "if only" coming from the internet immediately following. Poor Piz is so in over his head. Remember when all he did was ogle chicks in a non-threatening way? In other words, when he was called "Wallace"?