1.5 - You Think You Know Somebody

As I write these reviews/musings, I'm beginning to notice a running theme in this season of Veronica Mars. It's about information and how people handle it.

• In "The Girl Next Door, information was met with denial and eventually, ugly rage.
• In "Silence of the Lamb," information led to acceptance and further happiness.
• In "Meet John Smith," information was greeted with indignation, followed by what seemed like a numbing shock.

I'm getting the feeling that in their own subtle way, Rob Thomas and his crew are showing us the different responses to potentially life-altering information, with the question of the season being: how is Veronica going to handle such information herself? Let's face it: the disclosure of Lily's killer is going to have major ramifications on Veronica's life, just by virtue of who it'll be. This may or may not be connected to Veronica's parentage, which could also have a major impact on Veronica's life.

This episode, then, provides us with an example of how Veronica deals information. It wasn't exactly life shattering, but it gives an idea of how her mind works. It's also fairly consistent with the philosophy she spelled out later in "Like a Virgin."

You Get Tough

The sort of problem with this part in this particular episode was that Veronica herself wasn't being attacked. Therefore, getting tough wouldn't've meant ignoring the evidence, the information, and her findings outright. Getting tough meant taking action in this case (whereas in some cases, getting tough would mean inaction, ignoring what others say).

Note that Veronica had a couple other options besides the one she took. She could have told Troy's father of what Troy was planning. She could have notified the police about Troy's plans, including the drugs and the stolen car. Instead...

You Get Even

She personally saw to it that she ruined this part of Troy's life, starting with taking away his income source. I wouldn't be surprised if Veronica also told Shawna about the kissage that took place between Troy and Veronica. She topped it off with a pretty snarky note.

This is why I love her so.

Now, take a small problem like this and apply it to a national level. Can she get tough when Lily's killer is revealed? I'd say that for her, this would be the easy part. Veronica, as she's shown here as well as in future episodes, is remarkably well adjusted in a distant sort of way.

But getting even... this is going to be the meat of it. Just how far is she going to go?

Other Notes

- Line of the night: "Dude, where's your car?" Delivered with the perfect amount of sarcasm.

- Somehow, I find it amusing that Veronica and Keith always play Spy vs. Spy with each other.

- I really, really liked the scene where Keith broke up with the guidance counselor lady. The scenery and the framing captured the uncomfortable situation perfectly and for the first time in that relationship, I got the feeling that they truly did like each other.

- Now, for a change of pace, bad scenery: anytime Veronica was driving. Can we say "bad bluescreen technique"?

- Oh, I forgot to do my *Troy is gone!* dance. I shall do that right now. Observe.

- Did anyone else recall the "riding my big hog" comment from episode 1 during a particular scene in this episode?

Rating: ***½. 3 for the somewhat solid mystery end and ½* for the miscellaneous stuff.