3.13 "Postgame Mortem"
Aired Feb 13, 2007
Roundtable Reviews
topanga: I loved this episode. Great pacing and progression of the mysteries.
Chris: Great episode.
Polter-Cow: There were so many awesome things about this episode, and yet I don't feel like it was entirely awesome as a whole, like it was missing something. I think it's the placement in the arc and the fact that it feels like the last three episodes have been filler to lead up to this kickstarter.
grim squeaker: I actually found it cute, for all the inconsistencies it had. I appreciated the typical noir stuff, like Keith telling Mindy he would stay on the case even though she fired him, which is something the hard-boiled detectives always, always do as modern knight figures (and you thought a class on mystery tropes would be completely useless!). I liked the return of Ratner. I liked the fact that Dick's wife is a douche like him. And even though their plot was clichéd, I really liked Logan and Little Girl God (and hasn't she grown! So sweet). Last but not least, I really liked the MotW. Who knew?
alliterator: I think I loved this episode. I can't be sure because the stupid cable was stupidly going in and out throughout the show and I only had sound at some points.
But when it was five minutes until the end, I thought "How are they going to solve this?" AND THEN THEY DIDN'T OMG. THEY ENDED ON A COOL, AWESOME CLIFFHANGER. AND NOW WE HAVE THE RETURN OF THE WTF FACE!
I also love the inclusion of all the tertiary characters: the Coach, Mason, Jeff Ratner, and Tina. Ooh, a Cliff! I love Cliff. And I loved how when Dick asked Logan if he knew lawyers, he said, "I know a lawyer." He was totally talking about Cliff. It would be awesome if Cliff took on Dick's divorce.
Polter-Cow: Haven't they used that joke before, though?
topanga: I think it was in the episode where Logan gets arrested for Felix's murder that Veronica tells him she knows a lawyer.
alliterator: Who cares? At least Cliff came back. When was the last episode he was in? 3.06?
funky-donut: So, obviously I'm in the minority on hating this episode...
Polter-Cow: It seems to be a reversal this week. Even a lot of people who have not liked this season really liked this episode.
ninamazing: That's definitely true for me. I was so excited to see a return to the classic noir murder mystery — this felt more to me like a season one episode than anything we've had in season three so far, and that makes me freakishly happy.
maribella: Eh. I'd say I'm one who hasn't loved this season, and I wasn't terribly impressed. It was okay, but nothing spectacular. I am starting to lower my expectations for this show, which is sad.
ninamazing: The only thing that made me very unimpressed this week was that at the beginning, I thought: "WALLACE! CLIFF! SOMEBODY UP THERE LOVES ME!" Each of them were there for about two minutes at the beginning, though, and then never returned. Cliff did have that one golden line, but that's about it. I think maybe Cliff should have his own spinoff.
Polter-Cow: HOLY SHIT THEY DIDN'T SOLVE THE MOTW AND ENDED WITH A CLIFFHANGER. IT'S LIKE A REVOLUTIONARY TECHNIQUE. I AM FLAILING.
Chris: I KNOW.
topanga: I liked Veronica's P.I. skills in this episode. Her reasoning was based on fact, not just hunches, and the writers did a good job of showing the process of her deductions. It reminded me of season one in that respect. And Veronica's hair and make-up were pretty.
I have no idea about Josh's guilt or innocence, but he gives me the creeps sometimes. When he walked up behind Veronica on the cliff, I was afraid he was going to push her off.
starxdsparrow: I got that very same vibe! Plus, I'm conditioned to never believe anyone who asks, "You believe me, right?" Oh, what this show has done to make me suspicious.
misskiwi: Me too! Or three. Whatever.
ninamazing: Me four, DEFINITELY. It was so classic — it reminded me so strongly of how it felt in "Leave It to Beaver" to suddenly realize AARON WAS NOT AT THE PARTY ANYMORE. OH MY GOD. Plus, after the recent very lame solutions to mysteries (there are a million ways a bookmark could end up in a book, but thank you kindly for that deus ex machina, writers of "There's Got To Be A Morning After Pill"), I was thrilled to see an investigation that wasn't so easily solved.
persnicketier: I did think it was cool that they didn't resolve the MotW. And Josh creeped me out too, but that might have been the idea.
topanga: I loved Lamb's "Not now, Veronica" just before he arrested Josh. As in, "Your teasing is usually funny and appropriate, but I have to be a real cop now."
misskiwi: Hey, who was that guy on the basketball team that was talking to Veronica later? He looked familiar somehow, but I couldn't quite place him. Walter? No, that's not right...
persnicketier: It's bad when Sacks has been in about as many episodes as Wallace this season.
topanga: Yay, Wallace! He only had a few minutes of screen time, but it was great to see him. I missed his smile. And I missed his interaction with Veronica. He eases some of the gloom-and-doom in her life. "Mason is always in the coach's doghouse, and I'm—" "You're you." Aww.
funky-donut: Why, in a plot line that involved the basketball coach, was Wallace in one scene and then not again? He easily could have been included in the investigation. Oh, right, had to make more time for the hijinks with Dick, his wife ex-wife-to-be, and the cute kid.
Chris: I whole heartily agree with that.
topanga: I agree that Wallace could have been used more in the Coach investigation. He didn't even have a chance to comment on his death. Where did he go for the remainder of the episode?
Polter-Cow: There was so much other stuff happening that I didn't think of what else Wallace could possibly do to help the case. There was so much MYSTERY focus this week, which was great.
ninamazing: But they've always found ways for Wallace to help the case! The writers can certainly find the equivalent of his old administrative office job so that Veronica can use him for sleuthing and we can get her best friend back. That'd certainly, for me, be a GIANT improvement over the tired and ridiculously contrived romantic zigzags between Logan and her.
misskiwi: Heh. I actually said at one point, "Well, it's an odd-numbered episode, so they have to stay broken up until next week."
funky-donut: Something else that bothered me: if Ratner is on graveyard as punishment for Veronica's shampoo prank, why was he working when Dick got home from class?
maribella: Well, maybe he was only punished for a short time? Was it the graveyard shift when Veronica talked to him? It's possible that his punishment was to work graveyard for a week or something, and now he's back to regular shifts.
misskiwi: Didn't Ratner get fired? Or did we just see him get caught?
alliterator: We just saw him get caught with all the toiletries in his trunk.
maribella: Yeah, at the time, I assumed he got fired, too, but I guess that the writers thought he was more useful this way, so they just said he got punished.
topanga: How cute was the little girl who played Heather? I know some people are bound to think she was annoying, but the actress was really good. She and Jason Dohring had great chemistry. Was the scenario a little clichéd? Maybe. But the actress sold it, so I didn't care.
And the elevator scene was priceless. "Oh, God. It's her! It's her!" Like she had sighted a celebrity. I laughed so loud, I almost woke up my sleeping sons. Veronica: "Is that my shirt?" Hee.
funky-donut: I find the "adorable moppet teaches [Character] a lesson about life and love" cliché to be annoying and trite. And while I dig that little girl — she was one of the God incarnations on Joan of Arcadia, one of my favorite ones — I didn't like the device any more here.
Polter-Cow: I didn't even recognize the "child brings epiphany" storyline as some sort of cliché because I liked the girl so much and enjoyed the storyline, Mario Kart and all.
ninamazing: It was pretty amazing. I liked it. When you want to bring a little honesty and bluntness into a situation, there's no better way to do it than to bring in a little kid, and I'm of the opinion that we could use more intelligent portrayals of younger children on television. It was a little irritating and I was suspicious at first, but the actors did a good job — by the time they were hugging and saying goodbye, a little place in my heart just warmed a little bit. Yes, I am a silly, silly sap sometimes.
alliterator: I love Little Girl God and I love how her radio love declaration did nothing to sway Veronica. I like how Veronica simply turned it off, like she erased Logan's message.
persnicketier: I liked the little girl. Her acting. She was very good.
starxdsparrow: My only hang up: who leaves her kid sister with some random guy in a hotel room? True, this was the same bed-bouncing girl who likely got plastered and married Dick, but, really? Logan could have been a pedophile or a crazy ashtray-wielding murderer. The storyline was adorable, but it was a little too contrived for me to wrap my brain around completely. I really had to delve into my reserves of suspension of disbelief.
topanga: Yeah, sparrow. I kept waiting for Heather to turn up missing or for Logan to be accused of molesting her. This is noir television, you know.
misskiwi: The bigger question is, who marries Dick? (Alternatively, who marries Dick?)
persnicketier: Why is Dick on this show? He doesn't seem to be much use, other than that Pi Sig episode. I wouldn't care if other, better characters were on more. But they aren't.
ninamazing: Agreed agreed AGREED. It's funny at times to see someone who is just so dreadful, and I do like his performance, but I'd take more noir mystery (OR MORE WALLACE) over Dick any day.
topanga: Word! (On the Wallace part.)
misskiwi: I have to admit, I found Dick hilarious this week. Locking Logan out on the balcony was classic.
maribella: Dick probably gets so much screen time because he's the cheapest. Ryan Hansen is really a lucky guy. From extra to series regular just for impressing the writers? That's gotta be every extra's (sorry, "background actor's") dream.
Chris: Why didn't they introduce the letter before? Very "I Am God."
misskiwi: I find it harder to swallow that Veronica would be shown her letters of recommendation so casually. Usually such things are kept confidential.
maribella: Yeah, I was suspicious of that, too. At the time, I was thinking that Landry faked it or something, and that there is something more sinister going on, but I don't know. It seems more like they are using it as a reason to avenge the Dean's death. But something still seems strange about it.
misskiwi: I can't believe it didn't immediately click that the unknown man who was overheard fighting with Landry was Dean O'Dell. *headdesk* I really need to go back and watch "Spit & Eggs" again.
Polter-Cow: I didn't figure it out until I was writing my post. I felt like a doof.
wyk: Who did you think Landry was arguing with? Just some random guy?
Polter-Cow: Who knows? Keith was asking! I thought it was a mystery clue!
misskiwi: Yeah, I was like, oooh, a mystery man arguing with Landry and Mindy? Iiiiinteresting.
funky-donut: How does Hank knowing the details of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang mean he definitely watched it that night? It's been months since the dean died, he could have watched it on numerous other occasions. Also, thanks, SHOW, I haven't seen that movie, but now I know Robert Downey Jr. lives through the whole movie.
grim squeaker: Actually that's a question that never really comes up during the movie, so it's not a real spoiler. I mean, it's a bit like saying, Zach Braff lives through Garden State.
misskiwi: Great. Now you've ruined that movie, too!
wyk: Intentionally asking someone a misleading questions about an event, film, book, TV show, etc. to confirm or refute their alibi is a standard plot device that has been used hundreds of times.
misskiwi: I thought that too, funky. He could have watched it after the murder, or way before. But really, you can't prove he was watching it when he said he was watching it: you can only prove whether he's seen the movie or not.
Polter-Cow: Oh, absolutely. But like wyk said, it's totally a standard question, and while a positive answer really means nothing, a negative answer would have made him way more fucking suspicious. So that's why you ask. For instance, Mindy's little "Oh, he must have put it on after I went to sleep" is plausible but suspicious. Like, well, everything Mindy and Hank have said during this arc. Heh.
ninamazing: Also, am I the only one who thinks Keith and Veronica would do well to show a bit more discretion and sneakiness when asking these questions? Veronica bringing up Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was so obvious — that was just plain stupid. Landry's already proven that he's a formidable foe; he totally shut Keith down when Keith tried to investigate, and I'm sure he's got plenty of plans of his own whether he's guilty or not. Don't you think they'd turn on the extra-strength P.I. skillz to foil a CRIMINOLOGY PROFESSOR?
persnicketier: Oh, and the whole toothpaste thing? Stupid. Like Landry would remember that quickly when Mindy barely remembered the call?
Polter-Cow: Which absolutely lends credence to the idea that they planned the toothpaste alibi in advance.
It's far too simple for one of them to be the murderer, but they're obviously covering for something or someone. It's almost Lilly Kane Redux.