Lilly, Lilly not-so-pure

[dangermousie]

I was rewatching Lord of the Bling yesterday and you know what really stood out for me (and something I didn't even realize on my initial viewing): the fact that Lilly & Co. are going to San Diego for fleet week with the purpose of having hordes of drunken sailors drool over them (and in Lilly's case, probably more than drool). They are all excited about it (well, I imagine Veronica is excited because Lilly is). Leaving aside the insignificant fact that Lilly and Veronica have steady boyfriends, so trolling for men is a bit...not done, the whole "flaunting jailbait in front of really horny men" is just so classy. Not.

And that brings me to a lengthier comment about Logan/Lilly, and since I know that at least femmenerd is still working through VM S1 and this contains thorough spoilers for the whole of first season, the thoughts are behind the cut.



Another thing that really caught my attention this time around is Lilly telling Veronica and Yolanda that she is tired of Logan because of his crazy jealousy every time a guy undresses her with her eyes (and props to RT for sneaking in more "clues" to make Veronica think Logan was capable of killing Lilly in a jealous rage). When I saw the ep for the first time, I didn't particularly pay attention to this. But after having seen all of the season, this really stood out to me. Because Logan? Doesn't really strike me as Othello. I mean, he suspected Caitlin was cheating on him so he idly checked out her phone (and with radar no doubt honed by years with Lilly, he was right on the money with his spidey sense). But that's not extreme jealousy. And he was never ever jealous with Veronica, and if any girl would drive a jealous guy crazy, it would be V: she kept bailing on him with no explanation! He didn't even suspect anything when she gave him excuses that a 5 year old wouldn't buy in LITB but instead was incredibly supportive.

So, what was Lilly talking about? Well, I am sure she was partly exaggerating, as girls often do, to show off to other girls how much her guy is crazy for her, but there was more to it though. Lilly strikes me as a girl who loved being the center of attention (I bet one of the main reasons Veronica appealed to her was because V thought Lilly treaded on water). If Logan ever paid any less attention to her than she thought was her due, she'd use plenty of means (and flaunting someone else's admiration is the quickest) to get his attention on track.

And it's one thing to behave in a way to make a naturally jealous person jealous. But to make someone who appears perfectly normal in that regard crazy jealous? That's entirely a different behavior alltogether. And by season finale, it's pretty clear there was a lot more than undressing with eyes going on. Lilly is a girl who definitely enjoyed a power trip and would probably really have fun driving her boyfriend crazy, pushing all his insecurities buttons and flaunting other guys in his face. Not Weevil because of status or Aaron because of taboo, but I am sure there were plenty of other candidates willing and able to be flaunted to play "hey Logan, I might be seeing this guy too" card.

Do I sound like I really dislike Lilly? I admit I really do. She strikes me as solipcistic, though not to the extremes Aaron was. Other people matter only in a way they relate to her, and provide her amusement or whatnot. Because no person who can empathize with other people's feelings and/or understand them on more than an abstract level would do the whole "sleep with Aaron" thing to Logan, or to any person, really, unless you loathed them, and even then...no. (And forget her treatment of Weevil). Because cheating is wrong, but it happens. But to be capable of the kind of cheating Lilly was doing? It's a whole other level of sick.

It's a good thing Logan/Lilly relationship came to an end (though bad it ended in murder of course). Because, I don't think the break-up note would have been the end. Lilly is not the type of girl to have the guy break up with her. She dump him? Yes. But not the other way around. She has to initiate it. And if Logan started showing interest in "moving on" or liking some other girl? Lilly is VERY proprietary. She might not care for him, but claws would come out, and guess what would happen...

They would be in a severely dysfunctional relationship until Lilly wanted to call it quits. Could be years. Ugh.

Comments

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I think Lilly was supposed to be a sociopath from the get go. The question for me is not so much on whether to like her but whether one buys into the attraction she has for Duncan, Logan and especially Veronica.

If you can buy that even if Lilly was not a nice person, even smart people like Veronica were drawn to her. Her energy, her high spirits, the way she handled life.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely buy into the attraction she had for Veronica & Co. In that one ep where Veronica flashbacks to homecoming, you can see Lilly's charisma and magnetism sky-high. I think that Veronica was just blinded by all this energy and charm directed at her to ever think about whether Lilly was any good as a person. And of course for Duncan and Logan, besides this, there is the whole "she is my sister" part for Duncan and Logan's not having anyone to care for him at all so latching onto the girl who shows interest.

I think in a way, Lilly and Aaron are rather similar. Yikes!

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I think Veronica because saw some vulnerability in Lilly when there wasn't any. That's why I think that it would have been a loooog time if ever that Veronica would have given up in Lilly. I mean it says something if somebody as needy as Logan is closer to seeing Lilly's true colors than Veronica.

Especially? I don't get the impression that Veronica necessarily thought less of Lilly after finding out about Aaron/Lilly. It definitively shocked her, but I don't think that it stopped Veronica from loving Lilly's memory.

I'm sure one factor is that with Logan the hurt Lilly inflicted was more personal. Which is probably why he wisened up to some extent. But still, I see Veronica as giving Lilly a free pass for whatever reason. Maybe if Lilly had still been alive when Veronica learned about Lilly/Aaron, my guess is that there would have been a confrontation. But it probably still would have taken a long time for Veronica to start seeing Lilly as a bad person.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

But it probably still would have taken a long time for Veronica to start seeing Lilly as a bad person.

That is very true, and that just strikes me as odd. I think Veronica just doesn't like to give up on people (look at her dealings with Lianne). But I do think she would have wisened up eventually (once again, look at Lianne).

I think it was even harder to let go of "loved Lilly" image, even after the Aaron thing came out, because Lilly is dead and enshrined in perfection, so to speak. But yes, I really wondered how Veronica was not affected by what is a pretty big revelation about her former BFF's character. I think her sense of loss sublimated everything else.

But I do think it's significant we don't see her think much of Lilly this year (and not just because they couldn't get the actress back :P)

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Playing what if with the Lilly question, I truely wonder how it would affected the group dynamics if Lilly had survived and Aaron thing would have come out. Since Duncan probably doesn't have the option of emotionally abandoning Lilly as she is his sister, Logan naturally being freaked and Veronica probably being torn at least for a while.

I think she gave up on Lianne because of her dad. She loves Lianne, but she just loves and adores her father a lot more. On the other hand, I don't think that Veronica cared more about Logan than about Lilly. Which is why I think it would have taken her longer. I think her rejecting Lianne wasn't about "You are a bad person" but about "You hurt me and the ones I love".

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

think she gave up on Lianne because of her dad. She loves Lianne, but she just loves and adores her father a lot more.

That's true. OTOH Lianne was her mother, which is a more important bond than best friend, IMO. It also depends which Veronica we are talking about. The mousy, pre-murder V would probably be a lot more reluctant to ditch Lilly than the new V 2.0.

[femmenerd.livejournal.com]

Awww, you're so sweet to think of me. But I'm all done now so I can now peruse your VM musings without fear.

BTW, do you have your fave V/L fics linked anywhere?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

If you go into my Memories and go to "VM" there are a LOT of fics there (there are other VM-related posts too, but I'd think 75% of stuff there are fics). It would be enough to keep you reading for days. If you want me to narrow down further, I can. My all time fave VM fic (linked in my memories, of course), is an Aaron and Logan fic (nope, not that way, ick!) called "White Honey".

[femmenerd.livejournal.com]

Nifty! I've been reading some of buffyx's fic and really, that girl's a genius with the bittersweet.