Wow. Last night's episode of Veronica Mars was so worth the wait. Remember that little teaser I posted yesterday? Not even that did justice to how awesome and satisfying this episode was, which is hands down the best of the season. This one wrapped up the first arc of the season with Veronica discovering the identity of the Hearst College rapist. As is usual when Veronica solves mysteries, the reveal was totally surprising with a huge dramatic build up.
I previously wanted the rape mystery to be buttoned up and done but I now understand a lot of what went on. Nonetheless, I'm eager to jump ahead again to the show's next big mystery arc — which, with its noir-ish murder, looks to be more appropriate for the show. But before I go there, let's talk about the no-holds-barred end to the first big mystery of the season.
1. It wrapped up the lingering and rape mystery. There's been a similar mystery on the show before (remember sicko Beaver raping Veronica?), but this one held its own against that.
2. Like last season's finale, this episode revealed so much — the huge payoff was sweet. For instance, we understood the importance of the prisoner-guard class project that Logan and Wallace were involved in early this season. We got a few more answers about Tim, the creepy teaching assistant. Dean O'Dell learned the identity of his wife's lover. And most important, we all discovered that there's a coaster that tests drinks for date-rape drugs!
3. The trusty gang was working together again. Piz, Wallace, Mac, and Logan — even after he broke it off with Veronica — helped her execute her mystery-solving plan at the Pi Sigs' party. They're all integral to the show, so it was wonderful to see them actually be used as such. I died laughing when Mac (so glad she's back) wondered whether the Pi Sigs would let her in even though her tube top had lost much of its glitter. Hilarious.
One interesting thing about the solution to the rape mystery was that Veronica had already gone down the Mercer road and had been reluctant to even try to clear his name. She couldn't have known that Moe, the RA, was stuck in that twisted prisoner-guard relationship with Mercer and was helping him commit the rapes. But it's curious that when Piz pointed out that Mercer's radio show was a live call-in show, she immediately accepted that as an alibi. And she believed that the date-rape drugs in his dorm room were planted there. In so many other cases, she double- and even triple-checks details, but she let these things slide. Why? Maybe because it was Logan who was urging her to clear Mercer's name.
Some of the final scenes were awesome. Veronica leaped out to zap Mercer with her Taser. He then dared to punch our dear Veronica before she very fittingly stabbed him with one of the unicorns lying around the room. Then that chase sequence seen in the preview with the background music was chilling. I was on the edge of my seat as Veronica realized that Moe was in on it too as he locked her in his room and she saw the picture of him and Mercer. I was praying as she began to pass out that she would get away. My heart raced as she hid in the closet yet was discovered by her ringing phone. Luckily she had the whistle that Parker had given her so she blew on it. Parker, just a few doors down, heard it and called out rape just in time.
While they did manage to get away, a pissed off Keith quickly tracked them and kicked open the door to the room where Moe was pulling the unicorn horn out of Mercer's leg and, more or less, told them to freeze, dirtbags! And then Logan bashed in the police car to ensure that he would be taken to their jail cell, where he probably did very bad things to a very deserving Mercer.
Some thought Piz was the rapist. However for now, it looks like he'll hang on to his good-guy status and maybe even play more of a role in the coming episodes. As for Tim, Dr. Landry's teaching assistant? I thought they might pull out some crazy story for him to be behind the rapes, but I have a feeling there will be more to his story. His rape-mystery bulletin board, if that's what it really was, pointed fingers (or circles, as Veronica noted) at several not-guilty Pi Sigs. Plus, we were treated to the blowout he had with his girlfriend at the party, where he said he'd been with "someone new" every time she had been with a frat boy. Hmm, maybe it's nothing. But maybe it's somehow connected to the next mystery and Dean O'Dell's murder.
But what of the huge mess with LoVe (Logan & Veronica, for all of you non-fans)? From the looks of it, they'll probably get back together, especially now that the polarizing rape mystery is over. I'm sure all of you huge LoVe fans out there were convulsing with pain when Logan ended his touching break-up speech to Veronica by saying, "I'm always here, if you need me. But you never need anything." Then we saw that Veronica is really more vulnerable than ever. That scene of her crying in the shower was heart-breaking. Still, I couldn't help sympathizing with Logan.
Now to Dean O'Dell and the next mystery. He's dead, and that's sad. What happened when he went to Dr. Landry's (room at the Neptune Grand? Did he kill his wife and Dr. Landry and calmly go back to his office? Or did he simply confront them, whereupon one of them came back to his office and killed him? A couple other scenarios come to mind: What if the dean killed his wife and Dr. Landry, then Tim, the teaching assistant, found out and killed the dean out of rage?
Some other suspects: the sketchy Hearst alum, Mel, who came back advocating for the Greek system; the board member whose vote was deemed void; Chip Diller, the Pi Sig president; or one of the feminists who had been staging the fake rapes. They had egged his car earlier in the episode, and his office window was being egged just before his death. Or what about suicide? So many possibilities, and sadly, we'll have to wait for answers. The show's on break through the end of January so see you then.
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