3.05 "President Evil"
Aired Oct 31, 2006
Speculation
Nous accusons!
misskiwi: Hey guys.
Inigo: Hiya.
grim squeaker: Hey, missk!
misskiwi: Ready to rock, roll, and accuse innocent people without cause?
Inigo: Absolutely, as that seems to be the thing...but not without cause.
misskiwi: Aw.
grim squeaker: But it's funny when it is without a cause!
grim squeaker: Funnier I mean.
misskiwi: You know what they say: everybody's guilty of something.
Inigo: J'accuse...Max. He looks shifty.
grim squeaker: Who is Max? (Sorry, I really didn't pay much attention this week.)
misskiwi: The "tutor," I'm guessing.
Inigo: The tutor, indeed.
misskiwi: And of course he looked shifty: he's helping lazy athletes cheat!
grim squeaker: Er, was it specifically stated that he only helps lazy athletes?
Inigo: No.
misskiwi: I'm sure he's an equal opportunity felon.
grim squeaker: I would agree.
Inigo: Okay, ladies. Where shall we start? The HC rapist(s)?
misskiwi: Well, we didn't really get that much new information on the suspects front, I don't think.
Inigo: Other than Mercer dressing up as Alex de Large, we didn't get anything new on any of the rapes except Claire's. Having said that...there is of course my disgraced football theory which Max and Mason make me extend to basketball. Any athletes, really.
grim squeaker: But the problem is, we don't really have any specific athletes that we can accuse of the rapes, do we?
misskiwi: Yeah, I think we have to have seen a specific rapist, and there haven't been that many candidates to date. Pop, maybe. Wallace's friend, although they're kind of pushing it if they're only showing us the rapist at this late point. I still think it's going to be someone within the frat, or Moe, or the T.A.
Inigo: No, but given that the feminists are so out there with accusations of institutional rape, it may well be that they are right, but just targeting the wrong institution. Not the fraternities but the athletes who, as we've been told, can get away with things.
grim squeaker: And while I am convinced that Mercer is evil and that the Alex de Large reference (thank you, Inigo) probably accounts for something, I don't think he did it.
misskiwi: But there's a big difference between potentially looking the other way at cheating or copying homework, and sanctioning rape.
grim squeaker: But again, we don't have a single prominent athlete. I don't buy that they haven't at least shown us the rapist by now. And Pop? I don't know. Seems very vague.
The more the...merrier?
Inigo: Why are you so convinced it's only one person?
misskiwi: Ooh, that's intriguing. If it's more than one person, though, I'm going to have to go with the frat, as opposed to multiple athletes.
Inigo: (Having said all that, I'm still hooked on Moe if it is a single person.)
grim squeaker: Because of a possible finale confrontation between the culprit and Veronica. How do you think they would do that, if it really was a group or even only two people?
misskiwi: She could confront one of them; I don't see a problem there. My problem is that we have only met two athletes so far. Which, to me, negates the possibility of conspiracy on the athletics front. Conspiracy within Pi Sig, however, I still buy.
Inigo: I think Wallace is going to get away with cheating. I think that Veronica is being set up big time for a fall — no friends, no boyfriend. I think that what could drive a wedge between Veronica and Wallace is her exposing the athletes.
misskiwi: Hm. Intriguing, but they could do that with the cheating ring rather than the rapes.
grim squeaker: But we didn't really have much emphasis on Wallace as an athlete, so I don't see how it could be a plot point to drive him away from Veronica.
grim squeaker: So, if it is more than one person, how do the rapes come to pass? And, to qualify, is it about one rapist and a helper, or several rapists?
Inigo: The rapes could be part of some hazing ritual.
grim squeaker: I don't think rape as a hazing ritual could be kept secret for very long. These things would have been going on for years. And to be honest, there have been too little rapes for that.
101 reasons why Moe the RA did it, chapter 52: Oolong is the new beer?
misskiwi: I might have said this already, but I'm still nagged by the connection between shaving the heads of the rape victims and those at Pi Sig who failed to nail enough chicks.
Inigo: The timing could be off too, as Stacy and Dawn's were in Feb-March. Could be a punishment of some sort, a test, introduced recently.
grim squeaker: Yes, that one's definitely interesting.
Inigo: And yes, I agree the shaving of heads is not coincidental, but that brings me back to Moe.
misskiwi: As a potential pledge who wasn't accepted?
Inigo: Yes.
misskiwi: He doesn't seem the type to be interested in frats. Ulong? Biscotti?
grim squeaker: Oolong...
misskiwi: Whatever.
grim squeaker: Hee.
Inigo: Not now, anyway.
misskiwi: That's a pretty dramatic shift in character.
grim squeaker: I would agree though. But even if he was a pledge and wasn't accepted, why turn into a rapist because of that? That seems to be some fuzzy motivation.
Inigo: Caused by trauma in Dr Kinny's experiment.
misskiwi: No, that I could buy, from somebody other than Moe. You can't attack the big buff frat brothers, so you drug and attack helpless women. What's that psychological term for it?
Inigo: Crazy?
misskiwi: No, it's...something else. Projection?
grim squeaker: I think Projection means you see something you dislike about yourself in another person...
misskiwi: Anyways, I could see Moe as the rapist based on the prison experiment, but not the frat.
grim squeaker: And again, how many sexually traumatized young men turned rapist can you have on one show? Without it being a soap, I mean.
Inigo: And that's where the theory breaks down. I hate meta reasons.
grim squeaker: Yes, but they are there and they are valid. Sorry.
Inigo: Isn't one of the key patterns in an abuser that they do what was done to them? Head shaved when weaker = Head shaving the weaker.
grim squeaker: Not necessarily. Sometimes you repeat the abuser pattern, sometimes you do something like marry an abuser.
[Insert Animal House reference here]
misskiwi: I think Nish is on to something with the Pi Sig parties happening the night of the rapes. Although, it's a college frat...is there a night they don't have a party?
Inigo: Doubt it, since we know Stacy wasn't at the frat event.
misskiwi: But Pi Sig frat boys were at wherever Stacy was. Wasn't the guy Veronica tasered one of the Pi Sigs?
grim squeaker: Nish doesn't seem to be the most reliable source, either.
Inigo: Yes, which tends to make me doubt the accuracy of Nish's report.
misskiwi: So even if it wasn't hosted by the frat, it still links the frat to one of the rapes.
grim squeaker: Yes, I think that was Drew, the guy who gave his hair to Stacy.
Inigo: Snap!
misskiwi: Oh right, I forgot about that. Doesn't seem very rapist of him.
Inigo: It links every frat to that party if that's the test. And every non-frat.
grim squeaker: What test?
misskiwi: Attendance at the party that Stacy was raped at. And that's true. But at this point, they're not going to come out with a different frat and make them responsible.
Inigo: Any group of any description one of whose members were there. If that's fairly described as a Pi Sig event.
grim squeaker: The problem is, it really could have been anyone. Including Moe. Remember, Dean was at that party, and he was an RA.
Inigo: Yes.
misskiwi: Very true.
Inigo: I think Moe was supposed to be Dean.
misskiwi: And driving the Safe Ride home cart could pretty much be linked to frat parties, since you would encounter the same people.
Inigo: Yes.
misskiwi: The fact that he has an alibi for the night of Parker's rape actually makes me more suspicious, since it might be there purely to throw us off the scent. Much like the way they dropped Logan being in Mexico at the time of Lilly's murder, only to bust his alibi at the beginning of "Leave it to Beaver."
Inigo: Yes, particularly in an episode about putting clocks back.
The girl who cried roofie
Inigo: So, Claire faked her rape to take advantage of the shout-out she got in the Lampoon and give publicity to the cause. No doubt about that now, right?
misskiwi: Yeah, looks like I was wrong about that one. Although really, my opposition was to the feminists on the radio show being in on it, which I think still remains to be seen.
Inigo: I don't think they were. This was either just Claire or Claire and a few others. I don't think Nish and Fern could have faked the outrage.
misskiwi: Yeah, that's why I opposed the "Claire is faking" theory at first. But I'm a bit confused...why the act for the convenience store? Just to give credence to her story? And at the ATM?
Inigo: I doubt there was any faking. She was drunk. She and her boyfriend wanted sex.
misskiwi: Hm. That's certainly possible.
Inigo: She was about to cut all her hair off. She needed to be pissed. And she needed to show signs of sexual activity.
misskiwi: Plus, nobody in their right mind would look as bad as she did in the ATM photo without some form of substance abuse.
grim squeaker: And then they thought it was a great opportunity to stick it to the frats? That's amazingly stupid. I mean, the boyfriend could have gotten into serious trouble for that ATM photo alone.
misskiwi: Well, it's not like we've heard anything about forensics yet, but point taken.
Inigo: Yes, but Veronica, and thus we, are not going to be privy to what Lamb is doing and how far he's got.
misskiwi: True.
grim squeaker: No, I mean, it's stupid of the characters, not that it is a stupid theory.
misskiwi: Yeah.
grim squeaker: I actually think you are right. I was just raving at... fictional people. I clearly need a life.
misskiwi: Besides, Fern and Nish seemed way more pissed off about the Lampoon than Claire did.
Inigo: Of course it is, but it's realistic that people will do stupid things for a cause they feel strongly about.
grim squeaker: I wouldn't like to get into a rant about how extraordinarily bizarre it is for a so-called "feminist" to fake being a rape victim.
misskiwi: No doubt. As if it will help their cause if/when Veronica exposes that one of the victims was faking.
grim squeaker: Exactly.
Inigo: Well, it could be a rant about how extraordinarily bizzare it is for a so-called "anything" to fake an incident that puts the opposing side in a bad light. It happens.
misskiwi: I'm trying to think here...could there have been some other motivation for Claire to fake her rape? These don't actually make sense, but if, like...she was trying to cover up the fact that she and her bf had sex, or if she was cheating, or...do you get what I mean?
Inigo: Yes. Maybe it was drunken sex quickly regretted and then she decided that if she had to lose her virginity, she might as well make political capital out of it.
misskiwi: Yeah, something along those lines. Just because right now, the obvious answer is "so they could get back at the frats." Which makes me wonder if there's a less obvious answer. I just have this gut feeling that there's more to it than "hey, let's fake my rape to teach them a lesson!" I think she had her own motivations, whatever they may turn out to be.
Inigo: But my problem with that is that at 2 a.m. she was well out of it, and the decision to do that was made at 5 a.m.
misskiwi: Not necessarily. What if we only have Claire's word that she woke up with her head shaved at 5 a.m.? Nish and Fern found out on Piz's radio show, which would have to be at least hours later.
Inigo: The call to the radio station was, like 15-20 hours later.
grim squeaker: There has been an investigation though, hasn't there?
misskiwi: Presumably.
grim squeaker: I always mean to say "Investigation - proper examination by doctor," but then I remember that this isn't quite CSI.
misskiwi: But again, Claire could be lying about the circumstances if she's lying about the rape itself.
Inigo: Yes, that's a good point misskiwi. Where does the 5 a.m. come from?
misskiwi: Well, from Claire, as far as we know. Maybe she was found by someone, or maybe she just went to the police and said "Hey, I woke up at 5 a.m. like this." We don't know.
Inigo: Exactly. If it was all done in the course of the Saturday, and then she went to Lamb sometime...that would deal with the three hours between pissed and strategic spin quite nicely.
Has your wife met the suspicious chick?
Inigo: Something is up with Mindy.
misskiwi: Who? Oh, the dean's wife. I mean, the hot chick. (Hee.) You think there's more to the MotW than we saw?
Inigo: "I just...needed to talk to you, and I didn't know any other way." "No other way?" The look exchanged between the two of them was significant.
grim squeaker: Well, I interpreted it as two divorcées who pretty much hate each others guts.
misskiwi: Yeah, nothing really connected for me there.
grim squeaker: I mean, he hates her so much that he doesn't want to give his son his friggin' bone marrow.
Inigo: It was more than that. It was like: Steve: You know very well how to contact me. Mindy: Not in front of Cyrus!
Inigo: Just me, then?
misskiwi: Yep.
grim squeaker: To be honest, when he said it I was finishing his sentence as: "Like, have you heard of phones?"
misskiwi: Yeah, grim, that's what I thought too.
grim squeaker: So, I guess it's just you, Inigo.
misskiwi: As usual. ;)
Inigo: Okay. I'll nurse that one close to my breast and when it develops later, I'll stick my tongue out at both of you and go nah-nah-nah-nah-nah.
Inigo: Or not.
grim squeaker: Right. Hee.
misskiwi: Go for it.
Inigo: She reminded me a lot of Marjorie. Not just looks, tone of voice.
misskiwi: Really? I found Marjorie way more down-to-earth.
grim squeaker: Tell her about the sister theory, before we have to drag up Rita Hayworth again.
Inigo: Just in her opening lines, with Veronica. It put me in immediate thought of Marjorie.
Inigo: It's always worth dragging up Rita Hayworth.
misskiwi: ...
grim squeaker: Never mind, it's just some weird infatuation.
Inigo: I don't know that they are sisters, but there was something about her that just made me think they could be related.
misskiwi: Mindy and Marjorie?
Inigo: Yes.
misskiwi: Is there anywhere you don't see some kind of conspiracy?
Inigo: Nope.
misskiwi: 'Kay. Just checking.
Inigo: That's all there was, really. That there was something she was keeping from her husband re Steve Batando, and that she strongly reminded me of Marjorie. I think it might come up again later. Nothing to do with the rapes.
grim squeaker: I agree, I think the dean and his wife might be important for one of the other mysteries.
misskiwi: I didn't get any vibes like that. Seemed like a straightforward, encapsulated MotW to me. Which probably means it'll be the second major mystery or something.
grim squeaker: Well, they did use Richard Grieco, who seems a bit too "prominent" for a one-time guest stint.
Inigo: Oh, shit. Fireworks.
grim squeaker: Fireworks? Where?
Inigo: Here. Dog is a quivering wreck.
misskiwi: Aww.
Inigo: It's coming up to November 5th.
misskiwi: What's November 5th?
grim squeaker: Guy Fawkes Day?
Inigo: Guy Faulks Night.
misskiwi: Ah.
Inigo: Yeah.
grim squeaker: Cool.
Inigo: Faulks? Not sure of the spelling. I should be deported.
misskiwi: I think grim's got it right.
Inigo: I think she did.
grim squeaker: Yes, I did. Shame on you.
Inigo: Anyway, important part is — dog, quivering wreck. One year she actually crawled up onto my lap. She's a ten ton German Shepherd.
misskiwi: Ha.
grim squeaker: Aww, poor Charlie.
Inigo: We hates this time of year.
grim squeaker: I can see why. Any more spec?
misskiwi: Nope.
grim squeaker: That's a clever place to make a cut.
Inigo: We done, gels?
misskiwi: Yep. Time for coffee and Jacob's BSG recap. Also perhaps some actual work.