1.11 - Silence of the Lamb

Those who know me know that I have an obsession with those whom I dub to be the "Whedon girls." To define, every single Joss Whedon show (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) featured one nerdy and astonishingly naive/cute girl. Respectively, they were Willow, Fred, and Kaylee, and I really adore them.

Mac (Tina Majorino) doesn't quite fit the profile in that she's not naive/cute, but she makes it for it with sheer good looks. Okay, I have an odd taste in girls. Go figure.

Ultimately, the reason why I fell in love with Mac as much as I did was because of her undying quest for information. Whereas Veronica shied away from the truth of her heritage (in a rather poignant moment in episode 9), Mac wanted to KNOW. The truth to her wasn't something that hurt; it was a quest to understand why she felt she didn't fit in with her "nachos and NASCAR" family. It led to her acceptance that although she would've fit in fine with her "falafels and Fellini" family, she was just as well off with the people who took care of her for all her life.

It was closure, something she never would've found if she had followed Veronica's advice.

Although I'm sure that Veronica had Mac's well being in mind when she cautioned Mac against doing anything, I can't help but feel that every time Mac took a bold step forward in completing the puzzle of her life, Veronica sort of kicked herself. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm almost ready to call Veronica craven.

Almost.

I have to admit that Veronica's life situation is infinitely more complicated than Mac's, starting with the fact that Keith and Jake actually KNOW each other, whereas Mac's biological and non-biological parents probably didn't even know the others existed.

Let's not get me wrong here, though. I respect Veronica's choice because, after all, it was HER choice. I'm merely admiring the guts it took for Mac to find the closure she needed. I'm hoping that Veronica can find some sort of closure as well, because knowing her, there's no way she'll stay blissfully ignorant forever.

And I'm also hoping that Tina Majorino becomes a regular, if only so I could see her blue-streaked head on a regular basis.

Other Notes

- Keith and Lamb complimented each other perfectly. The episode may have lacked Logan's usual sniping comments, but the interplay between the two of them more than made up for it.

- I was so engrossesed in Mac's storyline that it took me 3 viewings to figure out who the E-string killer was.

- One thing that struck me as odd was how Weevil always seems to be on-call whenever Veronica needs him. I guess getting someone out of juvie and clearing their name is worth something, but it's still something I find odd.

- I heard after I watched this episode that it was actually supposed to air in December, before "An Echolls Family Christmas," hence, the Christmas decorations in the Mackenzie living room. However, while watching this episode, Veronica's sarcastic "ho ho ho" helped a LOT in selling that fact Mac's family was just a little lazy, thus giving a reason for the decorations to be there.

- Everyone's saying it and I'll throw in my compliments to the casting director as well. Mac's biological sister and mother were cast perfectly, not only in terms of the acting, but in the looks department as well. Big, big kudos.

- Clarence Weidman. Huh. Don't know what to make of that, but when I'm more awake, I'll try to formulate a theory.

Final Rating: *****. Yes, I am horribly biased toward Mac. Sue me. Actually, with that and the Keith/Lamb exchanges, this episode hit on all cylinders and I can't find anything to criticize.