I’m posting this early in the event anyone wants to make a final guess as to what in the ?!$* we can expect tonight and who was behind the bus crash.
Not Pictured. The second season ends as Veronica, on her graduation day, learns who is responsible for the bus crash. After uncovering the culprit, her life is endangered as she tries to warn those closest to the killer. Also, Wallace learns some surprising information about Jackie, and the seniors celebrate their graduation with a lavish party at the Neptune Grand.
Parting is such sweet sorrow!
Jackie’s a MAN, baby!
Crashers of the bus: Gia, Gia’s psycho mom, Lynn Echolls, Charisma Carpenter and Meg. It’s an Agatha Christie book: they’re all in on it together!
On the more likely front: was there a secret legit alibi I don’t recall, or are we all ruling out Terrence as a suspect just because he seems so sad and redeemable while moaning about how if he weren’t stuck in a hospital bed being tended hand and foot by his daughter, he’d definitely start acting like a real dad?
I’ve been ruling out Terrence because he seems too obvious based on his creepiness last episode.
But I would be okay with him turning out to be the bomber.
(Donut! Donut! Donut!)
I would definitely like to see Terrence/Jackie and the whole casino subplot have some further significance.
I’m still sort of thinking the bomber is Beaver and really, really hoping it’s not.
Well, it would be a lot more interesting than just “Sorry, kid, your girlfriend took off for France without saying goodbye” if Jackie has in fact been either kidnapped or shipped out of town because Bad Things are going down around Terrence’s gambling history.
If Beaver really does turn out to be the bomber, all I have to say is that next season better see Mac hooking up with Veronica.
So guesses: There is something physically in the hard drive of Kendall’s which shall reveal all (not data on it, but something attached or whatnot) and that’s why she wants it mailed back rather than freaking about the data that’s been downloaded.
Um, I’m still 50/50 split on the Aaron doing it and the molestees were trying to kill Woody. (NOT BEAV THOUGH. It’s not Beav.)
After uncovering the culprit, her life is endangered as she tries to warn those closest to the killer.
This is the line that troubles me – if it’s Aaron – there’s really just Logan and I don’t think Aaron would kill him. This makes me lean more towards the Casablancas, but I still don’t see Dick and Beav involved. So they must be the ones in danger. UNLESS Kendall is secritly related to the Mannings and um Woody molested her brother and it was the MANNINGS all along and that’s why they are so creepy.
whoops. Speculation overload.
Whether or not her dad turns out to be the bomber, I definitely don’t think Jackie left on her own. My only question is whether her dad’s responsible or whether someone else nabbed her and he’s afraid to go to the cops.
(Terrence-as-bomber would fit with the parents-screwing-over-their-kids theme that someone [Chance?] has mentioned. It would also be horrible-painful for Keith, who’s spent the whole season being let down.)
Of all the characters we’ve speculated about, Woody (or Donut!) is the only one that I can see posing a threat to those-closest. I could maybe believe Beav as the bomber, frex, but I don’t believe for a second that he would (physically) hurt Mac or Dick. I don’t think Terence would harm Jackie. Logan might, but who other than Veronica herself would he go after? And even if it is Woody…Veronica trying to save Gia wouldn’t have the tension to it that Veronica trying to save, say, Wallace might.
(Oooooh. What if Jackie did it? We know she can be sneaky and proud, and I don’t think she’s dumb, and she diiid have access to the explosives in hangar. It would have to be another case of a misdirected bomb, I think.)
Um. But the point is, I wonder if the line that Chance quotes means that her life and that of those-closest is endangered by something other than the killer, whoever that turns out to be.
Which makes me think Beav again, via Kendall and the Fitzpatricks.
(I will say, I’m far less disturbed by the idea of Beav as killer than I am by the idea that something might happen to him in the finale.)
WTF?
Not in the good way.
Comments here: http://buymeaclue.livejournal.com/256669.html
Well… I was disappointed we didn’t get the wild ride of twists and turns we had in last season’s finale. But even though I didn’t want it to be Beav, they sold me on him as the guy. Every bit of what he did, it all fits together, and it’s all in keeping with his character, even though we hadn’t seen the “oh and also a complete psychopath” aspect of his nature in full bloom before. I’m glad they resolved the question of Veronica’s rape in a way that makes total sense.
Anyway. I’m okay with Beav out of the picture, because this means Mac and Veronica will be a couple next season, right? Okay, best buds. Whatever.
Favorite part: Donut, playing with his baby on a beach, giving the order to whack Aaron. Best thing he’s ever done.
I’m with Hannah on finding the cold-blooded psychopath much less, well, evil than the fucked-up human. Whacking Aaron was really satisfying, though I kind of wanted him to stay around and complicate things from a plot perspective. I think the ending must have been trimmed for time, b/c there were some weird fucking transitions b/w shots — space didn’t feel fully established, and it all felt rushed. Also, I’m sorry, that plane would not have been right by the building. That was annoying.
Karen, “best buds” is the new “not-so-secret lovers.” Pass it on.
I really need to watch the episode again — I was tired and distracted and kept having to pause it for various reasons.
Overall, I thought it seemed a bit rushed. And that the big climactic roof scene wasn’t nearly as tense as it should have been. At no point did I beleive that either Mac or Keith was dead; I just don’t believe that a show would waste the shock value of either of those on a quick hit — they’d want it to be more resonant. And I felt nothing when Cassidy jumped, except oh, sleazebag dies, film at 11. Maybe this will change on second viewing.
The only thing that makes Cassidy interesting to me at all is his treatment of Mac. Are we to believe that the cold-blooded sociopath has such a soft spot for the girl that he’s unwilling to give her chlamydia? Or shoot her? Well, I believe it, because it’s Mac — but, of course, it’s inconsistent with the rest of his portrayal as a total raving sociopath.
What about the Jackie reveal though? Was it really necessary?
Agree on Duncan icing Aaron. Way to go, Donut.
Oh and what of the ending? It’d be too easy if it was an 8 mil suitcase, right?
I thought the finale was pretty good, and wrapped up most of what needed wrapping up.
In particular, I like that Keith and Veronica totally missed Beaver’s whole land scam even though they know Beaver was blackmailing Woody to make incorporation fail.
I expect that to tie into Kendall’s case in S3.
I also like Clarence’s appearance, which ameliorated my annoyance at their being no Kanes at Aaron’s trial.
I would have liked to see Dick’s reaction to the news.
I really thought Keith was dead. I was even speechifying to my wife during a commercial about how even though that relationship was the core of the show, it made sense with her making the move to university…
Two things I really expected at the moment while watching:
* Veronica pulling something to get Weevil his walk across the stage
* Logan, reaching Veronica with the “you’re not a killer” line, turns around and shoots Beaver. Lots of practice with Big Dick at the range. Leads into a whole thing about his psychological problems with his Dad being a killer.
Two things that annoyed me:
* The applause at graduation. I felt it was deserved, but it was too much like the same scene in That Other Show, and I’m already annoyed at the comparisons.
* The Veronica in jeopardy, and needs rescuing by a man ending. We did that last year. Can one of the (three) endings next year please have Veronica either rescue someone else or resolve the mystery by inviting everyone to the parlour, or something. Stop trying to up the emotional ante by making my noir heroine into a damsel in distress.
Unresolved mysteries (which would all bother me if I didn’t think they would get picked up next season):
* Meg’s family / Lucky / etc.
* Cliff’s suitcase (and that guy who looks like Aaron’s cellmate)
* Hair rapist
Unresolved plot threads, which I hope get addressed next season:
* Weevil’s future
* Wallace’s future
* Kendall/Keith/briefcase cliffhanger (obviously not money, since Keith wouldn’t blow off V for just $$)
Was the The Irish car with the bus just a coincidence?
Are we supposed to assume Beaver put the rat there and talked Dick into getting the limo offscreen?
Oh, one other subtle thing I liked was having Veronica with Logan in her dream, even though Lily was still alive & Duncan was around.
That was a nice way of showing that despiter schoolgirl “love you forever” thing when Duncan left, she really wants to be with Logan.
Having that tucked up inside the whole “I am guilty that I’m glad that I’m not living this life anymore” dream makes it double good.
My lengthy thoughts are here.
I don’t think it was the clap stopping Beav, it was his crippling sexual anxiety making him unable to perform with a woman who’s conscious.
They went over the top with him suddenly being all eeevil, but it wasn’t actually incongruous with who he’s been throughout the show. Things we already knew:
– he was this little guy who got picked on, overlooked, and treated with contempt by most everyone in his life. Factor in Woody the molester and you’ve got a violated, messed-up, angry kid with a lot to prove and no guidance in finding any sane ways to prove it.
– it was in character for him to keep his feelings all bottled up; it’s not entirely out of the blue that he could be one of the “quiet ones” who turns out to be harboring psychosis.
– We knew from his real estate dealings that he had the kind of twisty mind that could plot out clever power schemes below anyone’s radar, and that he wasn’t overly concerned with morality around those schemes.
– he felt severely threatened around sexuality, and when vulnerable he was prone to lashing out violently.
– he was totally the most obvious person to have raped Veronica, and we had only his word on it that this hadn’t happened; once you consider that he might have lied about that, it puts everything else in different perspective.
Jackie just got boring. I think her script was okay; I’m inclined to blame the actress for doing “nice girl” too saccharine and polished. It would have been better to see more of the complex Jackie who’d been through a lot of trouble but was trying to get herself down to earth, rather than “Everything’s fine! I’m all fixed now! Oh and by the way I have a kid! Okay see ya!” Jackie.
Sorry, I mean “chlamydia”, not “the clap”.
–I don’t think it was the clap stopping Beav, it was his crippling sexual anxiety making him unable to perform with a woman who’s conscious.–
His relationship with Mac is still not adding up for me. It seems to undercut the EEVILness and callousness you so skillfully catalogue.
There’s no benefit for him in pursuing that relationship if he’s so screwed up he knows he’ll freak at any sexual contact AND is the type of person who has no remorse for any of the things he’s done (apparently). And it didn’t add to his “manliness” — if anything he was mocked more for it.
Sociopaths don’t play favorites, do they?
I still can’t figure out what the significance of Beaver’s line to Kendall about the Land Trust (some time ago): “I’m counting on it.” Or something to that effect. When she says maybe she’s a genius. Maybe that’s Still To Come.
I, too, would have appreciated a second for Dick’s reaction.
I think when he got involved with Mac it was because he saw her as non-threatening, as a sort of friend/girlfriend in a relationship that wouldn’t turn sexual. I’m not saying that was realistic, but psychos are people too… he liked having a friend.
Karen – good points all (though I was really unsurprised about the rape – that was my original thought when his relationship with Mac went blooie), and though I might agree with you intellectually that you’ve made a good case, it just didn’t work for me. It seemed like too big an unsupported change of personality. I wish I liked the resolution more than I do.
For those interested, Ausiello has a little q and a with Rob Thomas about the finale — including a few minor spoilers for next season. The biggest probably regarding what’s in store for Weevil. None of these are super-huge; most are just answering obvious q’s (Did Keith stand up Veronica? etc).
Totally bought Beav, I have to say. Just because he’s cute and everyone picks on doesn’t mean he’s harmless. (Ender Wiggins, anyone?) OK, the performance wasn’t note-perfect in the flip to master villain, but I thought it was all there in the writing of the character over the course of the season. (I believe I said from the beginning of the Mac/Beav relationship that she should stay away from him. Er, not to be all “I toldya so.” :-))
Worst part of the season: Jackie and her dad, the pointless disappearance of Wallace. Neither storyline went anywhere interesting. Best surprises in the finale: Donut & CW offing Aaron, Beaver’s confession about the rape. Creepy. And for a few minutes I was convinced that Rob Thomas was an evil genius for having said he wanted Mac as a regular, because I thought she might be dead.
They did too much in too little time, and they should have trimmed some of the season subplots. But, still my favorite show.
Watched this last night. A lot to love, a lot not to love. Nothing that made me want to say “Well fuck you too, Amy Sherman-Palladino!” at the end.
The rooftop sequence was weak, yeah, but did contain a fine Logan acting moment when he was unable to answer My Name Is Cassidy’s “Why not?” question.
Speaking of his acting–the only times I don’t buy that guy are when he’s being all kajah googoo over V. during their periodic hookups. Creeps me out.
I actually liked it much better the second time around. Felt less rushed to me, for some reason. And overall, I’m okay with everything they did here.
I agree that the ending has some issues and, frankly, Cassidy being all “eevil” is a bit too cliche for me — I would have liked to have him still be the culprit but been much more human and conflicted. A smart, wounded kid treading water that was over his head. Etc.
I’ll be interested when people start dissecting the subtext of the identified victims of Woody (assuming Lucky was one) breaking down as gay and crazy psychos. That has some troubling assumptions about molestation victims hidden in it. If the show hadn’t gone out of its way to show that it’s gay-friendly, I would be more concerned by that part. But still, something about it bothers me.
Other big gripe about the season…
The first couple of episodes really made it seem like we would get the ultimate examination of class warfare in Neptune. The incoporation subplot perfectly set it up too. And yet, I feel like that took a back-seat to the focus on troubling sexual interactions between adults and children and on the experience of gay kids in high school, somewhere around the time Logan and Weevil started working together. Clearly, that was to set up the finale. But I’m not sure I wouldn’t have been more surprised by Cassidy the Villain if my mind was more on the class dynamics than sex/sexual preference stuff throughout the bulk of the season. Cassidy must have factored class warfare in as a key element of his Phoenix Land Trust plot. I wish more had been overtly done with it. Am I crazy? Was I just not seeing this?
Gwenda, you’re right. It was set up as that in the beginning, and it gradually got crowded into the background. Too much packed into 22 episodes. Maybe RT tells the writers they’re writing for HBO, and then hacks out the extra 18 minutes of story every week while cackling evilly.