3.09 "Spit & Eggs"
Aired Nov 28, 2006
Roundtable Reviews
misskiwi: Well, I'm satisfied and entertained, if ultimately a bit confused in parts.
alliterator: Me too! I thought it was an awesome episode and the resolution felt very, very satisfactory. And man, the setup for the new mystery was, dare I say, AWESOMETASTIC.
Polter-Cow: That fucking rocked!
fickledame: That was bloody brilliant.
topanga: It was thrilling, but I agree that it was confusing at times. I had to rewatch a few scenes. Overall, it was brilliant.
funky-donut: I loved it. Tense, exciting, emotional — I totally cried right along with V in the shower, and I'm not a shipper.
grim squeaker: I'd say something thoughtful about the episode and how much I liked it, but I keep getting distracted by trying to get "Right Here, Right Now" out of my head...
misskiwi: My reactions during the episode went something like: "It's Moe. Oh, it's totally Moe. It's so Moe. It's...Mercer? The hell? Dammit, I—Moe? Moe? MOE? YEESSSSS!" I have to give the writers credit for a well-crafted resolution. Thanks in great part to the genius of Inigo and grim, this is the closest I've ever been to getting a Veronica Mars mystery right. And I was still totally wrong!
alliterator: I must give you credit, misskiwi, I generally didn't think it was going to be Moe until he said he was going to be the Take Back the Night driver at the Pi Sig Party. Then I thought, "That's just too much of a coincidence, right?" Then I totally forgot about it when Mercer showed up because...WTF? Didn't we already eliminate him? And then the Moe reveal and OMFG THEY WERE IN THE PRISON EXPERIMENT TOGETHER. Now THAT was some subtle foreshadowing.
Inigo: Subtle? Have you ever seen a brick?
tallow: Ouch.
grim squeaker: Or come to think of it, have you ever seen Brick? No relation to any of this, but it's a really awesome movie...
Polter-Cow: There were SO MANY CLUES, YOU GUYS. Mercer was sketchy to begin with, but dressing up as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, a rapist? That was enough for grim. And the GHB and the cologne and the clippers. And Moe drove people home and had all their keys. And had a life-changing prison experiment experience, just like Rafe and Horshack, who also retained their roles when the experiment was done.
misskiwi: Yeah, I just realized that. That was totally foreshadowing the relationship between Moe and Mercer. Horshack taking notes for Rafe, taking tests for him...oh, man, that's so awesome.
Polter-Cow: The delicious icing on top of the mystery cake was that Veronica suspected BOTH of them individually and cleared them BOTH individually. Yet, neither one of them had airtight alibis, especially since the stupid feminists screwed things up. The clues were scattered everywhere. They planned this fucker out from start to finish.
grim squeaker: I wish the Alex clue had really been enough for me, Polter-Cow, but then I was foiled by my appreciation of Ryan Devlin's looks and the high amusement factor of Mercer and drifted off into a completely different direction. Damn those inevitable noir trappings of deceitful hotness! Well, at least I somewhat called Moe's involvement.
misskiwi: Oh, word, Polter-Cow. It was a flawless set up...well, just about flawless. *mutters under her breath about pre-recorded "live" call-in shows* I was positive at the time that the prison comment meant something, and Moe just seemed like a good candidate since he wasn't obvious and yet...there were too many things that were just supposed to breeze on by unnoticed. I was completely caught off-guard by Mercer; I thought for sure he was an early red herring and was completely out of the game by this point. My bad.
alliterator: That's why I like this resolution so much: it's someone Veronica already suspected and discarded. Him being the rapist didn't just come out of nowhere (like someone *coughbeavercough*), but there was extra information that Veronica needed to know to put it all together.
Polter-Cow: I asked for them to shake up the formula, AND THEY DID. Hell, even Mercer's mwahahaha speech wasn't as jarring as Aaron's and Beaver's (the latter's especially) because Mercer was always kind of sketchy and we weren't even seeing an upswing of good behavior, like we had with Aaron. So it seemed to fit much more with his character.
tallow: I expected Mercer to start twirling the ends of his mustache during his evil speech. But honestly, until he started saying it and brought out the clippers, I wasn't totally ready to believe it was him. They've tricked me too many times. But I do think it was totally believable.
misskiwi: I was in denial during that scene, too, mostly because I had been so sure about both Moe being the rapist and Mercer being a red herring.
grim squeaker: I must say for an evil overlord speech, the whole thing was rather subtle, both in writing and acting. (Also, I read somewhere that the text was inspired by a real life serial rapist case, is that true? If so, yikes.) Way less overdone than Beaver's, certainly, and thus, much, much creepier. And the fight was well done, too, with special props for the unicorn, which almost wins over Woody's stuffed animal head as most original impromptu weapon used on the show.
funky-donut: Alas, grim squeaker, I found his evilness to be more overdone than you did. But, oh, my twin, I too loved the use of the unicorn. Veronica loves unicorns! The random girl that we never saw awake loved unicorns! Veronica effing stabbed Mercer with a unicorn horn!
misskiwi: So that's what that was. HA! Awesome. Karma's a bitch, Mercer.
grim squeaker: Dearest twin, I didn't mean to say the evilness wasn't a little overly much, I'm saying it was "subtle" for an evil overlord speech... Frankly, I expected to giggle through the whole thing and I didn't, so it gets points for that already, and Ryan Devlin managed to keep Mercer on a level of creepiness that Kyle Gallner only had because that was Beaver, for heaven's sake! and which Harry Hamlin mostly achieved because we had already witnessed the violence Aaron was capable of, so he — Ryan Devlin — definitely gets kudos for that. That's not to say it wasn't Creepy Sexual Predator Monologuing in its most classical form, and were this a written mystery I would scream bloody murder, but since it isn't...hey.
fickledame: The clues were excellent. I love how you can now watch back and say, well that was because of that, and that meant that! It was so wonderfully crafted.
misskiwi: Okay, so...let's see if I can piece this together. Nancy's rape had to have been a fake, because Mercer was confirmed to be in Mexico. Right?
Inigo: Right. This is one of my nitpicks, because I haven't got anything that helps me understand why Nancy and Liliths did it then, in August. I got that the whole point of staging a rape was to to further their agenda, which was to shut down the Greek system, both because they were convinced that they were the source of all evil and for the personal motive of punishing two particular houses. The more girls raped, the more people would rally to the cause and the more chance they would have of achieving their aims. But the summer rape, out of term time, less public, doesn't seem to fit that pattern. Odd.
misskiwi: Yeah, I'm a little lost on that one too. And what Piz said about Mercer's show being unable to be pre-recorded because it's a call-in request show was a total foul on the part of the writers.
Inigo: There, I'll quibble, because what Piz actually said was that he seriously doubted that Mercer's show was pre-recorded because it was a phone-in request show. The writers did not make it definitive. Veronica didn't double check it and there was reason for her not to. She believed Logan when he gave Mercer an alibi for Nancy's rape, so she already had reason to think that Mercer was innocent. The information about the radio show was simply the way that Mercer could be exonerated from a crime she already believed he'd not committed.
misskiwi: Yeah, I totally get why she didn't check up on that, because, as you say, as far as she knew this was just a backup alibi since he had Logan vouching for him for the other rape. It bugs me, though, because I suspected that the shows were taped and they just kind of brushed it off a little too quickly.
So...Moe was the one at the parties drugging girls? Or was he drugging them in the safe ride home cart? Or drugging girls when he picked up some other drunk at the party, then coming back?
Inigo: I speculated a while back that Moe probably carried bottled water with him and, in his solicitous way, offered targets a drink from it. I don't know. That one we need to take on trust. He could also have targeted someone while he was at a party picking up a third party.
BethGee: Seemed to me that Veronica heard something odd from the speakers at the Pi Sig party. I rewound and it seemed like a computerized robot voice. So...perhaps Mercer somehow jerry-rigged his shows as faux call-in hours or otherwise, thereby cementing a solid alibi? Again, why he didn't call upon this iron-clad (if manipulated) alibi when he was thrown in JAIL is beyond me.
Inigo: I think there was a glitch in the tape, when Mercer says "What do you want to hear?" It was as if the tape momentarily stretched, slowing down the words. It was this that made Veronica turn around, see that Mercer was not on stage, broadcasting live. It was this that led her to realise that Mercer's show could be pre-recorded, that Mercer wasn't there and that Mercer was the rapist.
misskiwi: I thought what Veronica heard was just the show, but since she had just seen Mercer at the party, she realized (with horror) that his show was pre-recorded and that she had erroneously cleared him. But you're right, there was some kind of a jump in the tape there. And I think Mercer would have refrained from using his show as an alibi because if the cops had looked into that in detail, they might have figured out that it was pre-recorded...but then since that was what cleared him, I don't know how that works.
BethGee: Also? His claims about O'Dell and Chip owing him big in the world of gambling? True or false?
alliterator: I'm guessing false, since it turned out the GHB was his and nobody planted it.
misskiwi: Not necessarily false; it's entirely possible that people did owe him money. Only the part about the GHB not being his and him being set up was B.S. Which I had always figured, since there was no way that a setup made any kind of sense, given the circumstances under which it was found. Also, how awesome was it that Parker's instinct on Mercer was totally accurate and not just a random coincidence, as I afterwards assumed? Answer: very awesome.
Inigo: I vote true. There was some basis on which he knew O'Dell was a fight fan.
grim squeaker: The debt may also have been a clue for the next mystery (oh, poor dean!). Who knows, maybe O'Dell owed money not only to Mercer, but to other bookies who had more effective means of collecting their debt.
alliterator: My only nitpick would be how Mercer pre-recorded his shows, but I can nix that by fanwanking that the caller was Moe with a voice distorter or something.
misskiwi: Yeah, I definitely call foul on how Piz said it was a call-in show and couldn't be recorded. I was a bit skeptical of that at the time, but I dismissed it, and I'm mad that we never really found out how he can do a "live" call-in show that's not live.
tallow: Didn't Piz only say that he doubted it could be pre-recorded? And I think what Veronica heard was an audio glitch in Club Flush being broadcast, making her realize that this, at least, was pre-recorded.
grim squeaker: Yeah, but it really seems a little overly convenient that nobody thought to check if it really was live, or if there could be at least reasonable doubt. I mean, Lamb is not the most observant sheriff, but I doubt he would be this dumb. And the fact that Mercer couldn't remember his alibis, even though his show was on regularly, should have made them even more suspicious.
Inigo: You are right. Lamb should have checked it out. But we certainly can't claim that we have insufficient grounds for believing that Lamb is lazy and incompetent. It was his job to check out the alibi. No one else's.
tallow: Mercer thought he was untouchable. Big ego. Lots of hair gel.
grim squeaker: Really awful cologne?
misskiwi: I can somewhat understand Veronica not checking too deeply into Mercer's alibis with respect to his radio show — after all, Logan claimed that Mercer had an alibi for Nancy's rape, so the alibi she uncovered for the other two rapes wouldn't have been under as much scrutiny. Lamb has no such excuse.
funky-donut: I'm not happy with assuming that Nancy's rape was faked. We haven't seen her amongst the Big Three of Liliths: Nish, Fern, and Claire. She was participating in the Take Back the Night rallies, but her anger never seemed faked. I think Mercer actually let Moe do that one while he was in TJ with Logan so that he'd have an alibi on purpose. I think he probably even set the motel room on fire on purpose so that the night would stick out more clearly in Logan's mind. But maybe I'm just crazy.
grim squeaker: I don't know. All the Lilith feminists were righteously angry, so I think Nancy could have been angry just for the cause. But I find it interesting that they didn't really clear this one up. From their relationship, I don't think Mercer would have "allowed" Moe to rape anyone (ew), and given how fast and loose he was about his other alibis, I doubt he would have thought up such an elaborate plan to make sure no one would suspect him. I mean, pre-recording your show so that people think you are elsewhere while the rapes happen is one thing, going to Mexico with your buddy and setting a hotel room on fire to have a memorable alibi while at home your accomplice rapes a girl is quite another. For instance, what would he have done if Logan had insisted to stay and help? Or what if the Mexican authorities had actually caught them? Even Mercer can't be that cocky. Or stupid. Then again, he thought that Fatboy Slim is techno. Hm.
misskiwi: Mercer was in Mexico with Logan when Nancy was raped. It had to have been one of the faked ones. I'm annoyed that we didn't get it spelled out, but what does make me happy is that the feminists essentially contributed to Mercer remaining at large...
Inigo: Like the Kanes before them...
misskiwi: ...if Nancy hadn't faked her rape, Logan wouldn't have come to Veronica telling her that Mercer was innocent. Veronica might have taken a closer, more critical look of Mercer's radio show alibis, and Mercer might have remained in jail after Parker got suspicious and Lamb found the GHB.
Polter-Cow: Ha, it's funny that it makes you happy, misskiwi, because it causes a blind rage in the people who have hated the characterization of the "feminists" all season. And yet, I doubt very seriously that Rob was seeking to make a point about feminism: he was making a point about people. Extremists of all kinds, whose misguided actions end up causing more harm than good.
misskiwi: That's why I like it — because it's ironic and noir, not because they're caricatures that give "feminism" a bad name.
funky-donut: The feminists had their hearts in the right place: they were utterly convinced that it was the Pi Sigs. Unfortunately, they let that conviction blind them to anything pointing in any other direction. Rob's not saying that all feminists are like that, and he certainly didn't paint the Lilith Girls as entirely evil. Here's hoping they cut Veronica a little slack from now on, because I was actually starting to like Fern, starting with last week when she almost kindly warned Veronica to watch what she drinks.
Inigo: How deliciously noir is it that if Moe did carry a bottle of doctored water, he drugged the victims right in front of Fern?
grim squeaker: I still think the Liliths were outstandingly moronic for pulling the stunt with the faked rapes, and why they consider that a feminist means to an end in any way is completely beyond me, but I've harped enough on this. And I'm getting used to Fern, too, despite myself. I guess she can stay.
topanga: My question: why wouldn't Veronica call Logan and Wallace to tell them they were on their way to the wrong girl? Why did she go to Carrie's dorm room by herself?
funky-donut: Good point, topanga, and something I wondered myself. I think it's Veronica's false sense that she can always handle any situation rearing its head again. In the rush of the moment, she just headed over there. Although she did think to call in the bomb threat on the way, which, if Sacks wasn't so lazy, might have worked to foil Mercer's plans.
misskiwi: Oh, that was her? But...why wouldn't she just call in a suspected rape instead of a vague bomb threat? And if she was already using her phone, why wouldn't she have called Keith then, if she wasn't going to call the cops for help?
Inigo: Veronica said it herself: "I am what I am." Veronica rushes headlong in when she thinks someone's in danger. Wallace and Logan were already on their way and couldn't have got back in time. Keith was off campus. At the point when she is running to Benes Hall, she doesn't know Carrie's dorm room, plus she is already familiar with the sluggishness of Neptune's law-enforcers. What can she say that won't involve her stopping, trying to persuade them that she was right, all the while knowing that Mercer has disappeared and Carrie's been drugged? A bomb threat was far more practical a way to clear the building. But then she gets there and finds, surprise, surprise, the cops haven't responded. At that point, I don't think she could have stopped for anything other than getting to Carrie before Mercer did. Similarly, I don't see a problem with her banging on Wallace and Piz's door. In times of great stress, time passes slowly and she may well have thought, prayed even, that Wallace and Piz were back in their room.
fickledame: I don't think Veronica believed that if she called the police with a suspected rape, they would have come. This was set up at the Take Back The Night booth, when she was surprised that Parker believed people would come if they heard the rape whistle. I suspect she doesn't think that a lot of other people take rape seriously, and would react more to the bomb threat. And really, she was right in the sense that people did ignore the whistle. The girls carried on walking, the boys on the floor clearly heard it, but didn't do anything until Parker actually screamed rape over and over.
Inigo: I've been thinking about the hair. Although Mercer gave it to Moe who kept it in his closet, I don't think Mercer's motivation for shaving them was to do with Moe. That relationship wasn't about Mercer satisfying Moe with anything except dominating and abusing him. I think the hair was for Mercer. It was in his monologue. He was doing these girls a favour, bestowing his grace on them, and unless he did something, they would never know. His ego needed them to know. Shaving their heads was his way of letting them know that he'd been there. Does that make sense?
grim squeaker: Well, in an odd, sociopathic way...
misskiwi: Yeah, I can see that. Now excuse me while I go bathe in some disinfectant.
funky-donut: *Lights a candle for Dean O'Dell*
misskiwi: Stupid dean! I was so, so sure that Landry was going to be the one to end up dead. He ruined all my fun at being one step ahead of the writers instead of my usual position three steps behind.
funky-donut: Dude, seriously, I never expected to like Ed Begley Jr. that much. What a fun character he turned out to be! I still miss Clemmons, but he was an excellent adversary/ally for Veronica. I'm sad that he's dead. I suspect that it will be a very clean room, possibly still hearkening back to the Plan a Perfect Murder papers. Off the top of my head, the list of obvious suspects are Mindy, Landry, the feminists, someone he owed money to for gambling, that creepy alum who made him let the frats stay, and, well, Keith. Keith was the last person to see him alive (except for Mindy and Landry, which I bet won't come out until later), so I wouldn't be surprised if Keith isn't a suspect at first by Lamb.
tallow: What about Mindy's ex-husband Steve Batando? And, of course, the Fitzpatricks. They could be behind everything.
Inigo: I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see them. We know from their dealings with Terrence Cook that they are deep in illegal sports gambling. Also, there's Cora, the dean's assistant, possibly new for what happened to Angela, who was at that desk when Nish and Veronica were waiting while Claire was being put through the coals. There's Tim, who, it appears to me anyway, clearly staged that scene with Bonnie at the Pi Sig party. There's a first wife somewhere, there's the botany professor he was gunning for, Karen left out in the cold, the Board of Trustees member he outed for his property interests, Nish and Claire as individuals, Chip who was coupled with O'Dell by Mercer as being in heavy debt to him...
grim squeaker: And strike two for characters I like departing rather abruptly, for I did not only enjoy Ryan Devlin a lot this season, but also Ed Begley Jr. Watch out, James Jordan and Tina Majorino: if we continue in that vein, you might be next.
Inigo: Tim it is then.
grim squeaker: You're so encouraging. Seriously, though, I'll miss the dean. *sniff*
Polter-Cow: I, on the other hand, was sure I would be writing an angry e-mail to Rob about how he keeps killing off my hot women, but Mindy O'Dell lives! (We didn't see what happened, but no way she's not alive come January to be a suspect.) I was really liking the dean, too. But a friend of mine fervently hopes that Dean O'Dell is replaced by...Clemmons. Which would be the bestest thing ever.
funky-donut: OMG AWESOME! That would rock so hard. I have missed him.
alliterator: Oh yeah. Dean Clemmons would be the rockiest thing that ever rocked, followed closely by Dean McCormack.
grim squeaker: I'm still rather worried about Marjorie, though. Considering that your favourites always turn up dead, Polter-Cow, and mine always turn out to be evil and/or get killed, she is pretty much doomed.
misskiwi: Marjorie will kill Mindy!
Polter-Cow: *hates misskiwi*
grim squeaker: *glares*
misskiwi: And Tim will help. What? It's not my fault you're both cursed.
grim squeaker: LA LA LA, I can't hear you...
misskiwi: Kristen Bell rocked that shower scene. Very true to Veronica's character to have her break down in private while maintaining a Teflon exterior when around other people.
topanga: Have you ever cried in the shower? Kristen Bell did it perfectly. And I like that Veronica wasn't totally stoic during her break-up scene with Logan. Her voice quivered, and her face showed that it took great effort to keep from breaking down on the Quad.
BethGee: Indeed. And many a young girl has responded to a demoralizing break-up by getting severe bangs cut. Logan's farewell forehead kiss killed me dead. I have hope for those two crazy kids yet.
misskiwi: *pulls out banners and flags rooting for Piz*
alliterator: And we've seen that when Veronica feels bad, she takes a shower. See: "A Trip to the Dentist." But I wouldn't want a Piz/Veronica relationship just yet (Viz? Peronica?). It's too soon and I think that Veronica still likes Logan a lot. That's not to say that Piz won't ask her out, but I'm going to a "We're just friends" Buffy/Xander Season 1 thing.
grim squeaker: Peronica? And I thought LoVe was a bad portmanteau. More vodka...
tallow: The break-up scene had me a little weepy each of the three times I saw it, as did Veronica's shower breakdown. The best thing about both of those scenes is how much was being said without saying anything. Yeah, Logan talked, but it was the look on his and Veronica's faces that did me in.
fickledame: I agree, it was Veronica looking so heartbreakingly confused and Logan resigned. It was so very well done. I loved how Veronica told Wallace and Mac, trying not to make a big deal, but at the same time, the fact she told them shows how huge it is. And the fact she couldn't hide her spacing outs showing how upset she was. The breakdown scene in the shower was so very sad, and so very Veronica — holding it in until she was alone. No one can possibly say she doesn't love him after this episode.
Polter-Cow: And it's true to Logan's character that he bashes a police car in order to get thrown into the same jail cell as the rapist duo that terrorized his ex-girlfriend.
misskiwi: That was so awesome. Just the way he sauntered up to the police car all nonchalant and the way we were seeing it through the window...I laughed so hard, and then laughed even harder when I realized what his motivation was.
alliterator: Ha. That was awesome. And the expression on Mercer's face when he saw Logan, all "Oh shit." It's not going to be the time of his life!
Polter-Cow: It's something unpredictable but in the end is right!
Inigo: Vigilantism is a good thing? No wonder the Death Wish films did so well.
alliterator: I'm quoting Arrested Development, not that stupid song!
misskiwi: Maybe the end of that scene was Logan offering Mercer and Moe some ice cream sandwiches. I wonder if Lamb would ignore shouts of "No touching!" coming from the holding cell...ah, who am I kidding. Of course he would ignore it.
grim squeaker: The whole sequence cutting from Mac asking about Logan and Veronica saying that she doesn't know where he is to him very purposefully bashing the windshield of the police car in was very funny. However, while I do understand Logan wanting to engage in some personal, Aaron-approved "discussion" with Mercer specifically, I'd still think it wouldn't be all that clever to beat up the guy who could rat you out for your involvement in a Mexican motel fire. Just sayin'.
funky-donut: Well, yeah, not to mention that he's doing it IN A POLICE HOLDING CELL, so it's not like the cops will need to go to much trouble to charge Logan with assault. But I still love that he did it.
Inigo: He was never more like his father. From the incidents we saw, Aaron always felt justified in his violence.
misskiwi: Logan's never been known for either thinking things through or caring about consequences. In fact, Logan's often a bit of a martyr like that.
topanga: So he can be the martyr and the calvary? Just like Duncan. I really miss that guy.
funky-donut: I was cracking up during the beat-the-cop-car scene, too. And I absolutely loved seeing Veronica with her own personal Scooby Gang gathered around her. She does need people and ask for help, Logan! She just can't be weak around you!
tallow: Funky, she asked him for help! Well, let him help her, anyway. She let him go after Kim Kaiser. Granted, KK wasn't the victim, but still. She didn't know that. She's trying. She's just not built that way!
funky-donut: I know, but I got the feeling she only let him go after Kim Kaiser because she didn't feel like fighting with him. I just find it so telling that we have Logan saying to Veronica, "But I'm always here...if you need anything. But you never need anything." Then the rest of the episode, Veronica is going to Wallace, Piz, Mac, Moe, the dean, etc., with things she needs, favors. Hell, I'm surprised she didn't get Weevil to go to the party as backup! She doesn't call Logan from Moe's closet, she calls her dad. Who, like, what the hell, Keith, WHERE WERE YOU? Ahem. Anyway, I just think she feels like she has to be very independent and self-sufficient with Logan, like she can't fully let herself trust him. Doesn't mean she doesn't love him, it just means she's...not ready. And seriously, it's hard to remember sometimes, but she is only 19. It works, but it still breaks my heart a little. Dude, I'm totally rambling at this point.
topanga: A-ha. funky-donut is a LoVe shipper. Young love, so tragic.
grim squeaker: I'll drink to that.
Inigo: Who wouldn't?