1.3 - Meet John Smith

Knowledge is always a double edged sword. I'm an information junkie, so I always prefer knowing to not knowing, but not everyone has my fabled curiosity. Would YOU want to know that you were adopted? Would you want to know that your best friend was scamming with your girlfriend? Would you want to know that your dad turned himself into a female?

Like I said... there are some things that are better left unsaid.

The great thing about Veronica is that many times, she always seem to have a handle on how the client is feeling because she herself has faced some of the same issues. Of course, I hope that Veronica's mother didn't turn herself into a guy (because that wouldn't at all be awkward), but the sense of isolation when a parent departs without a word is something that is told over and over again in this show.

Parents can be funny people, hence, this episode.

On the one hand, you have Duncan's parents. They're rich and they've got connections. His dad in particular goes out of his way (as we see in subsequent episodes) to make sure that Duncan has the necessary credentials to make it into a pretigious university and a great career. In this episode, they talk over his head, as if he were some puppy that they were putting his paces. Tell me this is not an annoying style of parenting. If they were anything like this with Lily, I'd put them down as prime suspects in Lily's murder.

This is on top of the medication he's given and decides to not take during this episode. Personally, I like non-medicated Duncan because he's a lot more fun than David Boreanez-Duncan.

Then we have the one-shot character Justin and his dad. The relevant quote here: "90 miles... it's the distance that your dad travels every week to see you for a few seconds." With gas prices these days, that's some crazy committment. Sure, he was a "circus freak," but in reality, how is he worse than, let's say, Lianne or Duncan's parents? Lianne never calls and never writes and Duncan's parents want a robot. I'd take... actually, I don't know which situation I'd be most satisfied with.

I wonder how much trauma Justin's discovery caused him. Still, Veronica said it best in a later episode: This is the work she does and it's rarely pretty. She seems to handle it well, though.

Other Notes:

- Is it just me, or is Troy a BIG step down from Duncan in the looks department?

- And while I'm on the subject, put me down as a Troy-disliker. I know the he's later revealed to be a grade-A sleazebag, but the chemistry that he has with Veronica is like Buffy and Riley (oh no, another Buffy comparison! *gasp~!*), aka, non-existent. Then again, this is the part of me that wants a happy ending for Veronica, namely, Veronica + Duncan.

- This episode still lacks the big "ah ha!" factor of the later episodes, although it's slowly getting there.

- Okay, WORST production error EVER: When Justin first comes face to face with his... dad..., it's broad daylight. 1 second later, in the next cut, it's full dark. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

- So, Duncan has the lack of medication to explain his Lily hallucination. Keep this in mind for a later episode.

- Seriously, I love the running gag about how she uses the girl's restroom in school as her personal office. The extra touch in this episode was how there were actually girls who wanted to use it for its original purpose. I'll refrain from adding another Buffy reference here.

Final Rating: ***½. Call it the lack of "ah ha!" factor and the somewhat dull Troy scenes.