3.16 "Un-American Graffiti"
Aired May 01, 2007
Roundtable Reviews
topanga: I didn't realize how much I missed this show till I watched it tonight. Great episode. There was nothing earth-shattering in any of the mysteries, but the characters were wonderful. And everyone except Weevil was in it.
Polter-Cow: That's how I feel. It was nice to be back in Neptune.
alliterator: The Veronica storyline was good, if a little preachy at the end. I loved Keith's b-plot. Dick's antics were kind of stupid, but still hilarious. And dammit, if the show didn't still have some of the best lines I've ever heard.
WELCOME BACK, VERONICA MARS! OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU.
starxdsparrow: I guess I'm completely in the minority this time around. I feel let down to say the very least. The MotW was terrible, preachy, and contrived and the father's complete turnaround was hokey.
maribella: sparrow, I agree with you about the MotW, at least. It felt very stereotyped and unoriginal to me. An Middle Eastern man who sees women as property? Yeah, like I've never heard that before. I think it would have been much more interesting to see characters who went against the typical Middle Eastern roles.
Chris: The MotW was oh so boring, I never cared for any of the involved, and even when Amira was disowned I never doubted that she would be forgiven in the end.
alliterator: Aside from Nasir, I think the other Arab characters went against stereotype. I liked the Owner guy saying he was a "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
topanga: I agree. The way the wife stood up to her husband in front of Veronica--that normally doesn't happen. And we have no indication that he "punished" her later. She continued to challenge him till the end.
maribella: True, but I still think his tone in that scene still was too much of the "women are not equal to men" idea. Which, I'm not saying it's inaccurate, but it's not particularly interesting either.
funky-donut: Meh. Nothing really excited me about this episode. I don't care if Logan and Veronica never get back together, but Logan with Parker annoys me. They're too cutesy.
maribella: I've never been a Logan/Veronica shipper really, though, and I've liked Piz. I liked the "All in" lead up to it, though I think they did a good job with slight misdirection. I almost thought that Piz was going to let the Veronica thing go for a while (Looking back, that was kind of a stupid thought). And Piz is just too cute not to like; I'm glad Veronica is with him, since I think he's way better than Logan.
topanga: The Piz/Veronica kiss was hot. Chris Lowell did an excellent job of showing how passionate yet respectful Piz is towards Veronica.
starxdsparrow: Piz and Veronica's relationship is unbelievable. He's a puppy, Veronica's a shark. I just can't see them together, even for the short term.
wyk: Look at Veronica's dating history: Duncan, Leo, Logan, and Piz. Only one of her boyfriends have been a bad boy, the rest have been good guys. I don't think it's out of character for her to start a relationship with good guy Piz.
maribella: What was the deal with Veronica and Logan, though? Isn't it a little to soon for them to be all friendly and everything, like with the coffee? I mean, I know that they didn't have a huge break-up fight like the last time, but it still felt forced to me.
Chris: Well it's has been like 2 months.
wyk: You know what bugged me about the coffee scene: Veronica and Logan walking around in a circle in the food court for no apparent reason. It's either a metaphor for the endless circular Love cycle or an attempt by the director to bring some dynamic movement to a set with limited space.
topanga: I think Veronica and Logan are both trying hard to be friends and to be cool with their breakup, but they obviously are not over each other. And I'm not a big 'shipper either. But we already know that Logan has a hard time getting over women he loves, and the elevator scene was a perfect example of that. His shrug and his carefree glance said "I don't care," but his body language said he did. And Veronica couldn't stop looking at him when he got off the elevator. She seemed downright embarrassed that Logan saw her kissing Piz. Also, Veronica probably thought she was mostly over Logan, but seeing him date one of her friends was a bit much. Like Duncan and Meg. Jeez, why do Veronica's friends always want her leftovers?
starxdsparrow: Logan's so completely castrated, he isn't even the same character anymore, so I can't even complain about that sickening display of "Parker's carrying my manhood around in her Louis Vuitton bag" accompanied by cake.
alliterator: But we've seen that before, when he was dating Paris Hilton, I believe. It's just when he was with Veronica that he wasn't like that and I think that was because he knew she didn't like that stuff.
maribella: And Mac? What happened to Bronson? Why wasn't he at the party?
starxdsparrow: And Mac and Max? How did she go from being 'dead from the waist down' to banging one dude, then flirting with another? Maybe I just read too much into their conversation... but, I was a little taken aback.
wyk: I like the Mac and Max scene. Mac didn't intend to hookup with someone at the party; she just wanted to defend the foxhole. But then all of the sudden she meet this guy...and they started sharing their geek/theif stories...and then...
And if you think about it, other than being adorably cute, what do Bronson and Mac really have in common? Bronson likes politicos-in-training, hiking, and mornings; Mac, not so much. On the other hand, Mac and Max have so much in common: history of internet crime, similiar names, weird fashion sense, getting their hearts broken by their first loves.
topanga: Wallace! He has the best arms. And I love that he said "pimp juice." Wow, we haven't heard that since season 1, episode 4. I like the continuity.
topanga: Why did Amira blame Veronica for her Pirate Points becoming useless. Didn't Duncan do that as Student Body President?
Polter-Cow: Yes, but Veronica was responsible for unrigging the election results. If she hadn't meddled, Wanda would have been President, and the Pirate Points would have stayed.
starxdsparrow: I thought Wanda's whole platform was about abolishing the Pirate Points. And didn't Duncan keep the Pirate Points? He just added other activities that would garner points.
topanga: Keith as sheriff is so awesome. I don't think he's mean, but Sachs already knows not to mess with him. I think everyone else learned that.
Chris: Liked Keith forcing Piz/Wallace to work for him. It was also nice to see the conflict between Keith/Veronica as a result of him becoming sheriff; I'm looking forward to see were they are taking that SL.
starxdsparrow: Keith's b-line? Annoyed me. Okay, I get it. He's a better sheriff than Lamb ever was. I could have told you that, oh, 60 episodes ago. But do we have to keep dancing that same dance? Obviously he had to do some house-cleaning so he could get more of his own sort of deputies in... but it took up a lot of time. It was funny when Keith called Piz Stosh, though. Twice.
starxdsparrow: The best thing I saw in the whole episode seems to be Veronica herself. She's toned down, gone back a little to her pre-glam girl look, strayed from the over-the-top slapstick-y gestures and ill-conceived one-liners. For that, at least, I have hope for the remaining four.
funky-donut: Dudes, I almost forgot the 2-second blip of Clemmons. Made me miss him a lot. I wish they could find a way to bring him back.
alliterator: Yeah, I liked that, but what was the point of bringing Duane Daniels back for one shot? I want him in more scenes!
wyk: What I like about the Clemmons cameo is that Veronica shoots the dude for shooting Clemmons. Veronica from the pilot would probably have smiled at the fact that random-locker-search Clemmons got paint balled. By the end of season two, Veronica and Clemmons's developed a mutual respect for each other. She paint balls the jerk who attacked her favorite stay-cool-Mr.C high school principal.
Chris: It was nice to see him again, maybe they can do a MotW with him.