3.12 "There's Got To Be A Morning After Pill"
Aired Feb 06, 2007
Roundtable Reviews
Inigo: Can we get this out of the way? The show did not confuse the morning after pill (referred to in the title) and RU-486. The pill referred to in the title was the one Veronica needed after learning about Madison and Logan, the one she needed to erase the image from her head. Yes? No? Am I fanwanking again?
funky-donut: No, Inigo, you're right. The show didn't confuse them, but the CW did, which I think is where all the controversy came from.
wyk: Writer Jon Moskin mentions in the podcast that the writers know the morning after pill is not RU-486. Rob came up with the title and they decided to use it because they thought it was funny.
I'm surprised by the political fallout from some people about the show. I just saw this episode as a specific story about one roommate giving RU486 to another roommate. I didn't see any broader social/political message. How about you guys?
Inigo: I'm with you. But then one of the things I've always admired about the show is that it's not giving us after-school, uplifting morality plays and I've never thought it should have the responsibility to do so.
funky-donut: Yeah, I don't get the big controversy. The thing that bugged me the most was Veronica being totally puzzled and asking for an explanation of RU-486. I mean, I realize that was probably for the viewers' benefit, but I don't buy Veronica — well-read, well-educated Veronica — having never heard of RU-486.
Inigo: Funky, good point. Of course, Veronica would have been familiar with RU-486. Then again, I needed to be told, so it's a device I can live with.
topanga: Veronica didn't even know you could be infected with chlamydia and not have symptoms, so she might not be as knowledgeable about reproductive health as she should be.
funky-donut: True, and a good point, topanga. I guess Neptune's sex ed wasn't as comprehensive as my school system. Wait, I forgot about Deborah Philipinia Hauser. Of course it wasn't.
alliterator: I liked this episode much, much better than last episode. First of all: the mystery was good. I like how even though Bonnie's father was a televangelist, he still turned out to be a good father and good guy, which is another nice little twist. Also, I totally didn't guess the culprit until Veronica found the bookmark.
funky-donut: I wasn't that crazy about this episode, although I did like the unexpected twist that Bonnie's dad turned out to be very compassionate and caring. Maybe it's the media forming my opinion, which I think is what the writers were aiming for, but I expected him to turn out to be corrupt and un-Christian.
fulfilled: Seeing the televangelist, I was really kind of scared--I mean, I know that a lot of televangelists are corrupt, and there are some really bad ones out there, but there are also some good guys, and some have genuine pastor-hearts towards the people they're reaching out to, rather than just trying to scam them.
I didn't mind that one of his employees was somewhat questionable, since it, unfortunately, is a very real part of televangelism, but I did like that Bonnie's dad himself was good.
topanga: I'm glad the episode didn't portray him as another stereotypical, fire-and-brimstone, stealing-from-the-congregation, hypocritical Christan. But when the pastor was quoting the Bible and looking at Veronica, that was eerie. It's like he was looking into her soul and seeing her pain. Many good pastors can do that. Or maybe Veronica simply looked like every other scorned teenager he's encountered.
misskiwi: This was obviously one of those stories that Rob has talked about as being too big for high school, but accessible now that Veronica's in a college setting. I, for one, found it compelling and enjoyable, but I'm not sure I liked the resolution. I would have found it much more believable that either one of the potential fathers or that guy who worked for Bonnie's dad had slipped her the RU-486 as opposed to her best friend who merely didn't want Bonnie's life to be derailed.
funky-donut: Yeah, misskiwi, I tend to agree. I also don't understand why she told Veronica that Tim gave Bonnie What to Expect When You're Expecting, but at the same time, she was telling Veronica she didn't think Tim did it, and that she'd changed her opinion of Tim favorably. I don't know what she was hoping to accomplish there. I can't imagine anyone doing that to their supposed best friend. Not to mention that what Phyllis did is assault. And I'm not even going to get into the plot holes involved in someone getting RU-486 who isn't pregnant. Whoops, I think I just did.
Inigo: Hmm, I enjoyed it but it certainly doesn't hold up to examination. I have the same problem with What to Expect When You're Expecting, funky-donut. It was like a bad episode of Murder, She Wrote when a character says twenty minutes in that "I entered the house and when straight to the unlocked gun cabinet," so you just know that "unlocked" is going to give the culprit away because there is no other possible reason on earth for him/her to say the word. And all so silly. All Bonnie had to say was "Tim didn't give me that bookmark, Phyllis did." Add to that the fact that Veronica announced "Tim did it" based on a bookmark that was sent to people who attended the clinic. What? Did Veronica reckon the pro-lifers couldn't tell the difference between Tim and a pregnant woman? How was he supposed to have gotten the bookmark? Working hard, I can just about fanwank that Veronica calculated that Tim had started his own investigation and got as far at the publishers...forget it.
misskiwi: I assumed that Veronica assumed that Tim got the bookmark the same way Keith did...maybe Bonnie went to the clinic before she saw her family doctor? Also, way to blurt out what happened to Bonnie in front of her father, Veronica.
fulfilled: I did guess that it was going to be Phyllis, though. I don't know why, but her first scene, I guessed that it would be her. It wasn't substantiated on anything, really, but I just had a feeling.
topanga: Me too. It's very hard to fool the audience when the culprit of the MotW is close to the victim. Or maybe the actors aren't good at redirecting suspicion. The only times I've been surprised this season were with "Wichita Linebacker" and "Hi, Infidelity."
maribella: I didn't guess it, but I maybe could have if I had been trying harder. The culprit is usually someone who shows up unsuspectingly near the beginning and then the "big twist" reveals her to be guilty. My sister and her friends have guessed a few on that theory alone.
misskiwi: I've never been one of the people on the "Why doesn't Veronica destroy Dick for what he did at Shell[e]y's party?" bandwagon, but...I've got to admit, I can't reconcile her hatred/blame of Madison and her cavalier attitude towards Dick. Her anger for the "SLUT" writing on her car is totally valid, but all Madison did was maliciously spit in a drink and pass it off. Dick was the one who had the roofies and spike the drink. Not to mention how he encouraged his little brother to rape Veronica. Which he THEN DID. Did you enjoy that Chlamydia, Veronica?
I can totally buy her hating Madison, but I don't think it's fair that she claims that Madison roofied her without her also directing that anger at Dick. Times fifty.
BethGee: As Randy Jackson would say, I 1,000-percent agree. Were it up to Madison, V's drink would have been laced with skank saliva...nothing more. Dick was directly the one who rendered said saliva toxic. I don't GET it. She shares the same living space with Dick, but swears Madison as her mortal enemy.
funky-donut: Yeah, Madison didn't roofie Veronica. She unintentionally (albeit maliciously in a different way) passed Veronica a drink that had been roofied by someone else. She can hate Madison all she wants — I do, too — but not for roofie-ing her.
Inigo: I'm definitely marching to the sound of my own drummer on this, eh? I get it. Or rather, I get Veronica. Madison is the personification of everything she hates. Dick was also the personification of everything she hates but because of his relationship with Logan, to the extent of his being Logan's only friend during the tough summer of 2005, she had to deal with those feelings towards him for Logan's sake, regardless of his culpability for the events of that night (which she still did not know fully). She still hates Dick, but has learned to tolerate him and subsequent events haven't changed that. I think, to some extent, this is self-protection. Her coping mechanism with the rape has always been not to think too much on it. She did it throughout S1 and she's done it ever since. Madison, on the other hand, she's never had to tolerate or amend her feelings towards. Couple that with the facts that there was no place in that dialogue for how she felt about Dick, it being all about Madison; with the fact that at the point she was roofied, the only one who had a malevolent intent towards her was Madison who chose to pass her a drink into which she had spat; and with the fact that in every meeting since then Madison has maintained her utter disdain for Veronica, and yes, I get her feelings. I'm not saying she's right. She acknowledges that she's not being rational. But I certainly see it as within a range of responses reasonable for that character. She's wrong to say that Madison "roofied" her drink, but Madison is responsible, solely, for Veronica getting the drink that was roofied, and when one's in an argument or upset, one doesn't select their words as carefully as they might.
misskiwi: I still can't get behind this one-sided residual anger from her rape. I'm okay with her hating Madison for various other reasons, and I'm okay with her having come to terms with Dick, but I don't think it makes sense that she can still hold the roofie-ing against Madison and be okay with Dick when he was not only just as responsible for it, but did much worse.
funky-donut: Word, misskiwi. Inigo, I see your point, and she can hate Logan for sleeping with Madison all she wants. But there are plenty of other reasons for her to hate Madison.
Inigo: Absolutely, and for me that is the point. She hates Madison. She's not hating Logan in this, she is hating Madison because she is predisposed to hate Madison. I don't think Veronica's blaming Madison for all the events of that night, but Madison is the one who dragged her into them. Veronica has a problem in how she thinks about that night anyway. She had to forgive Duncan, whom she loved and who was also unknowingly drugged. She had to forgive Logan, whom she also loved/loves. I don't think she's forgiven Dick, but she had to accommodate him for Logan's sake. She certainly didn't forgive Beaver, but anger at him is futile due to his being dead. The one person she's free to "blame" unconditionally is Madison. Hence Madison remains the "Big Bad" in her head. Madison has always made it easy for her anyway, by being a bitch to Veronica and others at every opportunity. Sure, it's a biased view. Sure, it's wrong. But does it work as the red rag in her head? Yes, for me it does.
[aliterator:] I didn't mind the Madison stuff so much and I like the added continuity about Madison and Mac having their birthdays days apart. Except aren't their birthdays in the fall? And it's after winter vacation, so it's not really fall anymore. Eh. Details.
Polter-Cow: Oooooh!! Nice catch.
maribella: Well, the baby-switching episode is "Silence of the Lamb," right? Which is 1x11. "An Echolls Family Christmas" is 1x10, so their birthdays are after Christmas. I'd say the timing is about right.
[aliterator:] Except "Silence of the Lamb" takes place before "An Echolls Family Christmas." Veronica even says that Madison's birthday is a "rite of fall." But it's not a big deal.
maribella: I think, though, that episode order depends more on when they aired. I mean, I know it was intended to go before AEFC, but it was shown after, and that's what most people remember, especially the less hard-core fans. If they had mentioned something about their birthdays in the fall, you know people would have called that discontinuity. I think the way they did it is the best way.
[aliterator:] From "Silence of the Lamb": VERONICA: "The rite of fall. Madison Sinclair's birthday."
But I'm not nitpicking, I swear.
misskiwi: That line's a continuity glitch of "Silence of the Lamb." Deal with it. I'd rather they keep the continuity based on when it aired than have had Madison's birthday in the fall back in episode 6 or something.
BethGee: On a related topic, I thought it very out of character that she'd ask Weevil, who is already on perilously thin ice with the law, to commit a crime that would ultimately not hurt Madison nearly as much as it would hurt her parents (or her parents' insurance company). I know it was all "Crazy Veronica" and what not, but I thought it too much of a stretch.
Inigo: Weevil's a grown-up. He could have said no. She has no obligation to nanny him and I don't see how it's out of character to ask people to do things for her that furthers her own agenda. She does it all the time.
funky-donut: What I thought was odder was Weevil's agreeing to do it. I mean, I know he's got a soft spot for V., and obviously he hated Madison, too. But he's risking going back to jail for a prank?
wyk: Weevil had his own reasons for taking Madison down a notch. 1) She falsely accused Weevil of stealing her hubcaps for drug money. 2) Her license plate was "gotzmine." Eli ain't exactly fond of the rich white kids and that license plate sums up everything that is wrong with the narcissistic, materialistic, over privileged 09ers.
Inigo: What I did like was the look on Veronica's face when he charged her for it. Her actions in accusing him in "President Evil" are coming home to roost.
funky-donut: Also, he had to have put two and two together there, right? That something had happened with Logan and Madison? Damn, as if he didn't already hate Logan enough. We're never gonna get that WeeLogan pairing, are we? Speaking of which, those two haven't had nearly enough scenes together this season.
topanga: I miss the flirtatious snark between Veronica and Weevil. When Veronica mentioned asking Weevil to do her a favor that would be "something they'd both enjoy," his face said, "Hmm. I guess so." In season 1, he might have responded with a sexy "Oh, yeah? I know you'd enjoy it" and a suggestive glance.
funky-donut: Good point, topanga. I miss that, too.
BethGee: God, I love Logan. And I love Veronica. But they are both being whiny bitches and I CANNOT STAND IT anymore. Keep 'em together or learn to live apart. This behavior is distressing everyone. Though distraught, unshaven Logan is always nice. Perhaps he could be distraught about...I don't know...being an orphan?
topanga: Didn't Logan and Lilly constantly break up and make up? Lilly could have been the instigator, but Weevil mentioned that Lilly "kept taking him back." What is it with Logan? Is he that good between the sheets?
misskiwi: I'm still rooting for Veronica to hook up with Piz. I did like Veronica's comment that she broke up with Logan "...again." Nice meta.
funky-donut: Yeah, I'm sick of it. I totally understand Veronica's day/nightmares, with Madison and Logan running on a loop through her head, because that's happened to me.
misskiwi: That was excellently done. More creepy and effective, I think, than when Veronica was haunted by nightmares in "I Am God."
funky-donut: And I thought Logan's voicemail for Veronica was nicely done. He kind of broke my heart a little with it. But the thing with Veronica only listening to the snarky part and deleting it before the heartfelt part...eh. Would it really have changed her mind? That seemed kind of...clichéed to me.
Inigo: I agree. It was the classic "missed message" device and unworthy of them. Having said that, I don't think it would have made a difference. I think Veronica knows full well that Logan loves her and that he regrets sleeping with Madison. He's already said it.
maribella: I am so bored with them, so I'm glad it's over. But I don't think the reason it's over is any good. How is this better than if they had just broken up after "Spit and Eggs"? I think maybe to writers don't know how to use Logan anymore, if he's not with Veronica. I think there is a lot of potential, and I hope we get to see some new interactions.
misskiwi: Like...Veronica and Piz? Or, failing that, me and Piz.
topanga: Hee. Now you're talking, misskiwi.
funky-donut: I just realized while writing Bonnie's bio that she's probably Tim's alibi. If she went after him after their fight at the party like she said she did and begged him to forgive her, then it's unlikely that he was able to go kill the dean.
topanga: True 'dat. Mindy is looking more and more suspicious. Did Keith find egg (or eggshell) on the Volvo? The one she said she was driving the night of the murder?
wyk: Jon said it was an eggshell fragment in the podcast. I think Gram is looking more and more suspicious. Mindy wasn't sure if Cyrus's plan of sending Gram to a discipline school would've helped, which suggest stealing and trashing the Volvo wasn't the only time Gram acted out.