![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI was watching my recently purchased brand-new, Season 1 DVDs and I have to say that on rewatch, The Wrath of Con is really one of my all-time favorite VM episodes. The MotW is fun enough, with the highlight being the "nerdy" party and Veronica dressing like an anime girl with the gamers' tongues hanging out, but what really got me is the underlying story, as Veronica remembers the Homecoming she went to with Duncan, Lilly, and Logan and the memorial fountain dedication for Lilly.
Because (even though I now know it was false), you get the sense that, at least in retrospect, it seemed like a golden time for Veronica, a time before the fall. She was a happy girl with a loving, handsome boyfriend (and this is probably he only episode I find Duncan smokin' hot in, in those flashbacks), and a fun and feisty best friend. And you get to see Logan the way he was, and he isn't nasty, or mean, or lashing out: he is just a fun, nice guy who comes across so very young. Duncan is not a zombie, and a severely screwed up one at that, he is just a sweet guy in love. Your heart just breaks for all of them, knowing what's in store. And true, there all these cracks underneath the surface: Veronica's Mom is already cheating with Duncan's Dad. Logan's father is still abusing him, and has for years. Lilly is a slutty cheat. Veronica's naivete is bound to get shot down sooner or later. But still, it's Lilly's death that exposes everything, that brings it to the fore.
And this, perhaps more than any other episode, shows why people loved Lilly. Because, knowing what I know now, I think Lilly was a horrible person. But watching her here, I can't help but be drawn to her, to her magnetism, and passion for life, and irrespressible fun. She is irresistable, and you get why Veronica misses her so desperately, why Logan could believe his horrible life was OK as long as he had her (I really do think he transferred all his need for love and hope of happiness onto her, which is why he snapped so badly when she died), why Jake and Duncan feel so empty.
That scene with Logan's video? It almost makes me cry, especially when Jake breaks down, because he misses his daughter, and Duncan's mask cracks. You really get the feeling of how much Lilly's death left such a hole, and you get a sense of all these people truly bereaved, how Lilly, and Logan, and Duncan, and Jake truly miss her, and feel incomplete. And I love that almost shy look Logan gives when the video starts into the "homecoming" part: you don't see him vulnerable much, but he is very vulnerable in this episode, and how fitting that he and Veronica have their tentative truce because she knows he misses Lilly and I think, despite his anger at her, he knows she misses Lilly too. I think it makes them remember their friendship.
This was actually the first episode where I thought there was a lot more to Logan than the pushing-your-buttons, spoiled snark. The bit where he offers to do Lilly's memorial video? It's to help Duncan who is clearly unhappy to do it (and what's with Jake asking him to do it), but also because he is lonely and he desperately misses Lilly and that's a chance to reconnect. And on some level, I think it's so fitting that his and Veronica first moment of reconnection is over their shared grief.
Also, that scene where Lilly kisses him to annoy her parents further? The highly nervous look on his face? Priceless. Another universe from Logan of the Pilot when all his walls are up. And you know, Duncan pre-Lilly's death is such a sweet guy also: he and Veronica were adorable. You really do see in this episode how much Lilly's death destroyed Duncan, and Logan, and Veronica.
Last point: I always adored Troy. A pity about the drugs, because I thought he was cute and funny and issue-free. Oh well :)
Because (even though I now know it was false), you get the sense that, at least in retrospect, it seemed like a golden time for Veronica, a time before the fall. She was a happy girl with a loving, handsome boyfriend (and this is probably he only episode I find Duncan smokin' hot in, in those flashbacks), and a fun and feisty best friend. And you get to see Logan the way he was, and he isn't nasty, or mean, or lashing out: he is just a fun, nice guy who comes across so very young. Duncan is not a zombie, and a severely screwed up one at that, he is just a sweet guy in love. Your heart just breaks for all of them, knowing what's in store. And true, there all these cracks underneath the surface: Veronica's Mom is already cheating with Duncan's Dad. Logan's father is still abusing him, and has for years. Lilly is a slutty cheat. Veronica's naivete is bound to get shot down sooner or later. But still, it's Lilly's death that exposes everything, that brings it to the fore.
And this, perhaps more than any other episode, shows why people loved Lilly. Because, knowing what I know now, I think Lilly was a horrible person. But watching her here, I can't help but be drawn to her, to her magnetism, and passion for life, and irrespressible fun. She is irresistable, and you get why Veronica misses her so desperately, why Logan could believe his horrible life was OK as long as he had her (I really do think he transferred all his need for love and hope of happiness onto her, which is why he snapped so badly when she died), why Jake and Duncan feel so empty.
That scene with Logan's video? It almost makes me cry, especially when Jake breaks down, because he misses his daughter, and Duncan's mask cracks. You really get the feeling of how much Lilly's death left such a hole, and you get a sense of all these people truly bereaved, how Lilly, and Logan, and Duncan, and Jake truly miss her, and feel incomplete. And I love that almost shy look Logan gives when the video starts into the "homecoming" part: you don't see him vulnerable much, but he is very vulnerable in this episode, and how fitting that he and Veronica have their tentative truce because she knows he misses Lilly and I think, despite his anger at her, he knows she misses Lilly too. I think it makes them remember their friendship.
This was actually the first episode where I thought there was a lot more to Logan than the pushing-your-buttons, spoiled snark. The bit where he offers to do Lilly's memorial video? It's to help Duncan who is clearly unhappy to do it (and what's with Jake asking him to do it), but also because he is lonely and he desperately misses Lilly and that's a chance to reconnect. And on some level, I think it's so fitting that his and Veronica first moment of reconnection is over their shared grief.
Also, that scene where Lilly kisses him to annoy her parents further? The highly nervous look on his face? Priceless. Another universe from Logan of the Pilot when all his walls are up. And you know, Duncan pre-Lilly's death is such a sweet guy also: he and Veronica were adorable. You really do see in this episode how much Lilly's death destroyed Duncan, and Logan, and Veronica.
Last point: I always adored Troy. A pity about the drugs, because I thought he was cute and funny and issue-free. Oh well :)
