Veronica Mars: rewatches are the best
Jun. 23rd, 2006 02:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI am continuing my Veronica Mars rewatch and have just finished "Meet John Smith." This is my third time watching S1 and VM really is one of those rare shows that improves on rewatching because you notice all those layers you didn't see before.
The thing that strikes me the most, this time? How on the edge Veronica is, how FUBARed, how driven. Her calm voice-overs serve to mask all of that edginess (just like the funny jaunty music during Aaron's beating of Trina's boyfriend masks the true violence and dark nature of that scene. Try watching it with the music of. It's scary), they tend to conceal how near breaking point she is. That's the thing with Season 1. So much of narration is from Veronica's POV, from her side, you don't realize how fucked up the whole thing is: her skipping school, running around to find her Mom. If you look past her flat, matter-of fact narration and just look at what she says and does you can see how FUBAR she is. But if you ignore the voice-overs (because Veronica can be rational in her method, but she is not rational in her goals and wants), you see someone at the end of her rope.
Veronica is not the only one who's completely gone off the rails. All the characters are at their lowest points at the start of S1, and only through watching the season we realize that their equilibrium point is so different (Logan is perhaps the most subtle case in point. We see him initially as this giant OPJ and inobtrusively find out that he was quite different before Lilly's death and have been slowly going off the rails in a spectacular fashion and beginning of S1 is the culmination of that). Season 1 is basically Veronica (and the rest of the characters) climbing out of this giant pit of despair. At the end of S2, even when thinking Keith is dead, Veronica is still so much better off, nowhere near the bleakness of beginning of S1 because she has a support network: she has Wallace, she has Logan (not to mention more casual friends like Mac). She has people who are going to take care of her, as opposed to the beginning of S1 where she is spectacularly isolated, no one but Keith to be with (and much as Keith and Veronica are one of the most loving and amazing relationships on TV, a girl does need friends and peers, not just her family). Cutting down Wallace is probably the first thing she's ever done for anyone else, any contact she's made since her new tough attitude and it's the beginning of her shell becoming more flexible, if not cracking altogether.
Of course, the theme of S2 is once you get better, once you climb out of the pit, what do you do with yourself, how do you fit in and how do you function? (Arguably except for Logan who should brace for a spectacularly bad year. But even with Logan, he's emotionally unfroze because of his connection to Veronica in late S1, as I don't think Veronica was the only one who'd frozen. He was able to move on).
Another part of the reason Veronica finds peace is because she finds answers. In this detective story, the detectives are not dispassionate observers. They are driven. Keith is driven first by jealousy (at least in part) and a desire to vindicate himself. Veronica is driven (to an almost destructive degree) because Lilly's death was not just personal but turned her world upside down (not to mention she wants to reaffirm that standing by her Dad was the right choice).
Another thing I am noticing? Veronica likes to label people and once she does, it's hard for them to work to overcome it. In it, she acts just like a cop, but also I think it's to provide some structure and stability in her chaotic life. Of course, Logan is the one it affects the most (this is where his earlier jackassery reaps huge and painful dividends), as when they go from enemies to a couple, she keeps being still uncertain of him and his personality and his motives.
But these are all general observations. Here are some more "Meet John Smith" specific. I am fascinated by this show's portrayal of family, its approach to importance of family ties (this is highly unusual in shows dealing with teens, because they usually prefer to focus on romance, but this is one of the many things I love about VM, that realism, that acknowledgement). MJS is chockfull of examples of good dads: Keith trying to talk to the guidance counsellor to figure out how to best 'bring up' Veronica (and having many a loving moment with her), Jake trying to talk to apathetic Duncan about getting him an internship in a Congressional office (and of course we find out later just how much love Jake must have had for Duncan, to think Duncan did what he thought he did, and still love him that much), and Justin's MOTW Dad, who drives 80 miles to see him for a few minutes every day. Of course, we have yet to meet the Worst Dad of the Year, aka Aaron (when the kid is nonplussed by the sex change, I want to tell him 'hey, look at some of Neptune's families and thank the Lord for yours). Family is crucial in the VM world. Your parents affect you tremendously in it. Veronica's loving relationship with her father is the bedrock of her world, the reason why she is the individual she is. Duncan's perfectionist, cold mother affectionate father, too much pressure parents are the reason he is the way he is. And Logan is the glorious mess he is because of his little family of horrors. I think a lot of VM is not only about overcoming your background and your circumstances but about being shaped by them.
You know another thing I've been noticing on this rewatch? Duncan. Now that his storyline is done and I can view it in a coherency, I am both more invested in the character and more regretful of lost possibilities. I loved watching his first breaths of freedom, when he stops taking the pills, his joy, his new awareness of the world. Of course he takes pills again after Lilly's apparition and I don't blame him, but I do think it's an interesting intercut with v's talk about choices and easy ways out.
I loved the bit in MJS where he rushes to pick up Veronica's books when they get knocked down and the chemistry is there (what happened to it later?) and it's all gloriously awkward. And I am struck by the thought that this totally could have been some sort of an R&J story, and I am a V/L shipper, so I am happy with the way it did work out, but the teasing possibilities buzz in my brain. I wonder how it would have been if JD did get cast as Duncan. The thing is, I am such a sucker for those first-forever, destined star-crossed kinda loves. (V/L is in many ways a shippy abberation for me, but the sheer chemistry and snark just get me). Duncan could have been different and the story could have been different and I am so curious about the what if. There was this glorious mine of possibility and angst in Duncan: medicated, potentially wondering if he killed his sister, still loving a girl who he thinks is his half sister and unable to stop. Someone he had sex with and has to live with that. I think Duncan's handling was the weakest part of S2 (in S1 he was full of interesting choices and possibilities and hints and in S2 it just evaporated for the most of it, until the brilliant finale), but even in S1, while I am satisfied with his story, I keep wondering about what ifs and how D/V would have went in other circumstances (JD playing Duncan, or JD not being so good as Logan or TD acting differently, or writing having a different emphasis). I guess we'll never know.
You know what else strikes me? I love Troy. Even knowing that he was a lying drug dealer, I can't help but adore him (and hey if we had him in love triangle in S2, I might have been a bit more torn). i am swept off my feet by him: he is snarky and funny and cool (or comes off that way). I love V kissing him in front of the bleachers. I like her being outside his house at the end of MJS, and his just hugging her. He is a bit like Logan, without the issues. And he is tall, yum :P I do think Troy was necessary for L/V. He enabled V to unfreeze.
I am so fickle with the shipping on this show. If it makes sense, I am for it. Heck, in MJS I am rooting for Duncan, as they have adorableness, and a second later, Troy, and through it all feel glee that Logan/Veronica will happen later. I guess it means it's well written, character wise.
And I close with my favorite quote from the ep:
Troy: Guess what I am doing this weekend?
Veronica: I am guessing it involves auto-eroticism.
ETA: I simply must rec![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bennet_7's visual paean to Logan's sleeves at this link.
The thing that strikes me the most, this time? How on the edge Veronica is, how FUBARed, how driven. Her calm voice-overs serve to mask all of that edginess (just like the funny jaunty music during Aaron's beating of Trina's boyfriend masks the true violence and dark nature of that scene. Try watching it with the music of. It's scary), they tend to conceal how near breaking point she is. That's the thing with Season 1. So much of narration is from Veronica's POV, from her side, you don't realize how fucked up the whole thing is: her skipping school, running around to find her Mom. If you look past her flat, matter-of fact narration and just look at what she says and does you can see how FUBAR she is. But if you ignore the voice-overs (because Veronica can be rational in her method, but she is not rational in her goals and wants), you see someone at the end of her rope.
Veronica is not the only one who's completely gone off the rails. All the characters are at their lowest points at the start of S1, and only through watching the season we realize that their equilibrium point is so different (Logan is perhaps the most subtle case in point. We see him initially as this giant OPJ and inobtrusively find out that he was quite different before Lilly's death and have been slowly going off the rails in a spectacular fashion and beginning of S1 is the culmination of that). Season 1 is basically Veronica (and the rest of the characters) climbing out of this giant pit of despair. At the end of S2, even when thinking Keith is dead, Veronica is still so much better off, nowhere near the bleakness of beginning of S1 because she has a support network: she has Wallace, she has Logan (not to mention more casual friends like Mac). She has people who are going to take care of her, as opposed to the beginning of S1 where she is spectacularly isolated, no one but Keith to be with (and much as Keith and Veronica are one of the most loving and amazing relationships on TV, a girl does need friends and peers, not just her family). Cutting down Wallace is probably the first thing she's ever done for anyone else, any contact she's made since her new tough attitude and it's the beginning of her shell becoming more flexible, if not cracking altogether.
Of course, the theme of S2 is once you get better, once you climb out of the pit, what do you do with yourself, how do you fit in and how do you function? (Arguably except for Logan who should brace for a spectacularly bad year. But even with Logan, he's emotionally unfroze because of his connection to Veronica in late S1, as I don't think Veronica was the only one who'd frozen. He was able to move on).
Another part of the reason Veronica finds peace is because she finds answers. In this detective story, the detectives are not dispassionate observers. They are driven. Keith is driven first by jealousy (at least in part) and a desire to vindicate himself. Veronica is driven (to an almost destructive degree) because Lilly's death was not just personal but turned her world upside down (not to mention she wants to reaffirm that standing by her Dad was the right choice).
Another thing I am noticing? Veronica likes to label people and once she does, it's hard for them to work to overcome it. In it, she acts just like a cop, but also I think it's to provide some structure and stability in her chaotic life. Of course, Logan is the one it affects the most (this is where his earlier jackassery reaps huge and painful dividends), as when they go from enemies to a couple, she keeps being still uncertain of him and his personality and his motives.
But these are all general observations. Here are some more "Meet John Smith" specific. I am fascinated by this show's portrayal of family, its approach to importance of family ties (this is highly unusual in shows dealing with teens, because they usually prefer to focus on romance, but this is one of the many things I love about VM, that realism, that acknowledgement). MJS is chockfull of examples of good dads: Keith trying to talk to the guidance counsellor to figure out how to best 'bring up' Veronica (and having many a loving moment with her), Jake trying to talk to apathetic Duncan about getting him an internship in a Congressional office (and of course we find out later just how much love Jake must have had for Duncan, to think Duncan did what he thought he did, and still love him that much), and Justin's MOTW Dad, who drives 80 miles to see him for a few minutes every day. Of course, we have yet to meet the Worst Dad of the Year, aka Aaron (when the kid is nonplussed by the sex change, I want to tell him 'hey, look at some of Neptune's families and thank the Lord for yours). Family is crucial in the VM world. Your parents affect you tremendously in it. Veronica's loving relationship with her father is the bedrock of her world, the reason why she is the individual she is. Duncan's perfectionist, cold mother affectionate father, too much pressure parents are the reason he is the way he is. And Logan is the glorious mess he is because of his little family of horrors. I think a lot of VM is not only about overcoming your background and your circumstances but about being shaped by them.
You know another thing I've been noticing on this rewatch? Duncan. Now that his storyline is done and I can view it in a coherency, I am both more invested in the character and more regretful of lost possibilities. I loved watching his first breaths of freedom, when he stops taking the pills, his joy, his new awareness of the world. Of course he takes pills again after Lilly's apparition and I don't blame him, but I do think it's an interesting intercut with v's talk about choices and easy ways out.
I loved the bit in MJS where he rushes to pick up Veronica's books when they get knocked down and the chemistry is there (what happened to it later?) and it's all gloriously awkward. And I am struck by the thought that this totally could have been some sort of an R&J story, and I am a V/L shipper, so I am happy with the way it did work out, but the teasing possibilities buzz in my brain. I wonder how it would have been if JD did get cast as Duncan. The thing is, I am such a sucker for those first-forever, destined star-crossed kinda loves. (V/L is in many ways a shippy abberation for me, but the sheer chemistry and snark just get me). Duncan could have been different and the story could have been different and I am so curious about the what if. There was this glorious mine of possibility and angst in Duncan: medicated, potentially wondering if he killed his sister, still loving a girl who he thinks is his half sister and unable to stop. Someone he had sex with and has to live with that. I think Duncan's handling was the weakest part of S2 (in S1 he was full of interesting choices and possibilities and hints and in S2 it just evaporated for the most of it, until the brilliant finale), but even in S1, while I am satisfied with his story, I keep wondering about what ifs and how D/V would have went in other circumstances (JD playing Duncan, or JD not being so good as Logan or TD acting differently, or writing having a different emphasis). I guess we'll never know.
You know what else strikes me? I love Troy. Even knowing that he was a lying drug dealer, I can't help but adore him (and hey if we had him in love triangle in S2, I might have been a bit more torn). i am swept off my feet by him: he is snarky and funny and cool (or comes off that way). I love V kissing him in front of the bleachers. I like her being outside his house at the end of MJS, and his just hugging her. He is a bit like Logan, without the issues. And he is tall, yum :P I do think Troy was necessary for L/V. He enabled V to unfreeze.
I am so fickle with the shipping on this show. If it makes sense, I am for it. Heck, in MJS I am rooting for Duncan, as they have adorableness, and a second later, Troy, and through it all feel glee that Logan/Veronica will happen later. I guess it means it's well written, character wise.
And I close with my favorite quote from the ep:
Troy: Guess what I am doing this weekend?
Veronica: I am guessing it involves auto-eroticism.
ETA: I simply must rec
bennet_7's visual paean to Logan's sleeves at this link.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:03 pm (UTC)I LOVE that! Is it "Return of the Kane" where we get these three contrasting fathers? Jake, Keith and then the spectacularly Bad Dad, Aaron? (It's also a refreshing change from the absent, cold or cruel fathers in the Jossverse to have someone like Keith here!)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:05 pm (UTC)I totally got why Veronica finally succumbed to his charms, and I was crushed that he turned out to be a drug dealing creep. But I was glad to see he had grown up a bit in S2. That was believable to me that he had mended his ways, at least some. I always thought he did truly like and care about Veronica, even if he was always planning to reunite with his partner in crime Shauna. If he just wanted some quick and cheap nookie, there would have been a lot of girls at Neptune more suitable than Veronica. She took some effort, and he didn't give up easily.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:07 pm (UTC)I am fascinated by the parental figures in VM world, both mother and the more visible fathers. I love how it's such a large part of each teen character's life. And how it shapes each person (I am not sure if you've seen S2, but that continues in it as well, with other characters we meet then).
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:10 pm (UTC)Exactly. After all, he would have found pretty quickly that V was not just prickly and smart but also not an easy lay (or any lay at all). I really do think he was attracted by her and genuinely liked her. And I too think he's mended his ways in S2. I am wondering if they are opening the door to bringing him back to S3? I don't think so, but I wouldn't mind.
And yes, I can see why V would succumb as well. He is not just someone attractive, from 09ers, who disregards the defacto ban to hang out with her (sort of a light version of Logan's 'you are dead to me' speech in 1.21), but he can keep up with her mentally, doesn't push her, and unlike everyone else in Neptune, he is free of all the past baggage in her life.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:26 pm (UTC)Troy is someone who would seriously give Logan reason to be jealous. Logan was already jealous of Troy last year, and if Troy started coming around V again, even just as a "let's be friends" thing, I'd be curious to see how Logan would react.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:44 pm (UTC)I've got the Season 1 DVDs sitting here... and now you're really making me want to get started on them!
Awesome meta!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:46 pm (UTC)Anyway, great post.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:48 pm (UTC)I always thought Troy was the "boy" Veronica.
He had a goal, and people were pawns to move towards his endgame. Just like V does. I'm not sure if really he felt remorse while leaving Neptune. But, I like to think he did feel bad about hurting V. Rapes of Graff mirrors Logan/Hannah & V/T so nicely.
I really like his character & am afeared of him in S.3, a L/V/T triangle would hurt me.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:55 pm (UTC)Logan was already jealous of Troy last year, and if Troy started coming around V again,
You know what I noticed on this rewatch? When Duncan is drugged out on happy pills and thus oblivious to things, it's Logan who seems to pay a lot of attention Troy is courting V. Hmmm. Yeah, I can see the boy turning a bit green.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:56 pm (UTC)Agreed. I think they let D/V go on for too long in S2 and/or wasted its potential for conflict and issues (they are not the same people any more) but it was clear they needed to get back together once again to get closure.
I am OK with where Duncan is left at, but I keep wondering about a more fascinating story for him...
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Date: 2006-06-23 07:57 pm (UTC)And btw, I am reading the story you recced and you are right, it's brilliant!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 08:01 pm (UTC)I had Troy icons, at some point, but sadly not right now. :(
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 08:08 pm (UTC)OK, I'm bumping VM up the list!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 08:57 pm (UTC)Duncan is the Angel, Logan is the Spike, and the latter is almost always more interesting. I concur.
This was a very enjoyable read! Nice to see folks having intelligent discussion about a show I enjoy. Thanks for posting this.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 09:35 pm (UTC)I definitley agree with you about Duncan and Duncan/Veronica. I'm also a L/V shipper, but I can see moments of chemistry with them and definite potential to be some awesome angsty star-crossed lovers thing. They could've been like Buffy/Angel or something. Obviously not as angsty, but they both had their issues and their obstacles and everything to overcome. Their relationship could've been great in s2, if it had been dealt with properly. The fact that it was completley ruined kind of makes me sad. I mean, I enjoy shipping Logan/Veronica and they have amazing chemistry, but I still can't help wonder.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 09:38 pm (UTC)(Yes, I swim in the shallow end of the pool.)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 10:19 pm (UTC)i love troy, i think the way he went to veronica despite the fact that his friends were o'niners showed that he had good character and i just loved t/v together cause it was so snarky and so funny. i also think he made duncan a little bit more interesting .
and i think the reason why duncan wasn't so interesting in S2 wasn't just because of his story line, but because at the end of S1 the LoVe story line was so HOTT and so interesting and edgy and then when we get to season two it immediately started off with D/V which is alot more of a safer choice for veronica. it was like the rug was pulled out from all of our LoVe feet. and Duncan's character was left with the fall out.
i really hope they bring troy back though, cause it would be a nice contrast to logan next season
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 11:46 pm (UTC)I think the chemistry between duncan and veronica was in their restrained affection. When they were friendly and you had Duncan in one corner secretly harboring feelings for this girl he perceived to be his half-sister and veronica in the other corner looking for answers but still muddled with attraction you had this enormous amount of weight to their interactions.
For starters, no one ever told us he still loved her, we had to SEE that, and we did. That was where he was really shining.
I lost my train of thought, but yeah.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 11:51 pm (UTC)So true. Basically, once LV started, DV was doomed.
And yeah, Troy back would be good, but maybe he is a bit too similar to Logan to be on the show? Hmmm.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-24 04:56 am (UTC)And I too regret the loss of Duncan and the way they mistreated his character in season 2. It seems to me as though they were trying to portray this fantastic relationship between V/D instead of a real relationship where they fight about Coma babies and hanging out with exes. I also hated how they treated the Logan/Duncan friendship - they didn't even get to say good bye.
Always left with the thought of what might have been if they had written the character differently.
And thanks for the rec. I'm friending you btw ;-)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-24 05:39 am (UTC)Always left with the thought of what might have been if they had written the character differently.
Exactly. TD is not winning Emmies any time soon, but the writers in S2 did him no favors. I would have loved to see D/V deal with the fact that they are very different people than when they dated first, and either adjust to each other's new identities (with all the friction it entails) or decide to call it quits. Because new Veronica and new Duncan aren't that compatible. But instead we got soapy coma baby (blaaaaah) and a bunch of pointless red herrings about Duncan that went nowhere (why make him shady in places? Odd. He doesn't have Logan's 'persona' to carry stuff off). I liked Duncan in places of S2: in Blast from the Past, in Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner, even in bits of Normal is the Watchword. But he really was written very oddly and the D/V thing went for far too long. I think it's significant that by the end of S1, there were people who liked Duncan and V/D and they were a minority but there was a decent number. But by the time he left, everyone (at leastif TWoP and LJs I see) are any indication, wanted him off the screen. And as soon as he left, the season really seemed to have gotten better mainly in the effect it had on Veronica.
And yes, the Logan-Duncan stuff also get dropped badly. It had all those moments (like the fight) but ultimately...
In retrospect, seeing how everything turned out, I am OK with Duncan and his arc, but the possibilities for something better are pretty tantalizing.
Logan reaching it during season 1 (because as you say, even though things do get worse he is able to deal with them better now.)
I do think also dealing with Lilly's death hardened him to future misery. The first cut is always the worst. Or something.
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Date: 2006-06-24 09:43 pm (UTC)You definitely made me want to re-watch season 1 again - and understandable I can't wait for the season 2 dvd in august.... YAY!!! lol
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Date: 2006-06-25 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-25 07:07 am (UTC)