VM 2x22 - Not Pictured

[tiggz]

i'm finally rewatching Not Pictured. i had to watch the first five episodes from this season of The Office before i could jump in.

so here goes.

this finale, for me, was so much better than LitB. don't get me wrong. i loved LitB, but i did not like that they made Aaron the killer. i had what i thought was a pretty solid theory that Celeste was the murderer and i was pretty bummed that it wasn't the case. i've pretty much gotten over that because they've sold me on what a creepy mofo Aaron is. i just wanted to throw this out there.

Cassidy being the killer is pretty much the only speculation that i'd seen on my flist for weeks. so him being the killer wasn't that much of a surprise. i do agree that he went from mopey to crazy in .01 seconds. i really wish RT had taken a page from eirefaerie's awesome spec and not made him batshit crazy, but tortured and remorseful instead. however, i'm extremely forgiving when the acting is as good as it was on that rooftop scene. Kristen Bell, Jason (Fucking) Dohring and Kyle Gallner were all phenomenal and i could watch that scene on a loop. seriously, every time i hear KB say "daddy" i want to die.

i think i'm probably the only person who doesn't have a problem with them revisiting the rape storyline. i had a feeling when the doctor specifically asked Veronica if she'd been sexually active in the past one or two years in Look Who's Stalking that they were possibly going to. it just jumped out at me for some reason. so i suppose i wasn't all that surprised to see it mentioned and re-worked a bit. actually, it sort of made me happy in a "i-like-to-see-my-favorite-characters-angsty" way. not to mention that if we get a third season and V's going to Hearst there will be more incentive for her to find the serial rapist.

i fully admit that i'm a bit of a masochistic person when it comes to my favorite tv shows. i want schmoop, but i want angst even more. so if i had a favorite scene from this episode, it would be of Logan/Veronica on the roof or when V wakes up looking for her dad and Logan comforts her once again. yes, the spinny kisses are nice and Veronica and Logan definitely deserve that carefree spinning after the past couple of years, but let's face it. there will come a time in fandom when the spinny kisses just don't thrill us anymore. banish the thought! i know! it's true though. problem free relationships on tv are boring. give me angst with schmoop, please! find a happy medium!

let's do a rundown, shall we?

the bad
- no resolution of the Grace/Mannings/Lamb storyline
- Wallace in Veronica's dream sequence (so sad!)
- the god-awful wig they put Amanda Seyfried in
- not getting to see Logan graduate
- Weevil not getting to graduate
- Corny being extremely one note and not amusing me at all
- Logan not following V right then and there
- Veronica sending a blatant text message that could have been read by anyone (you're smarter than me, remember?!)
- Beav going from mopey to insane-o in .01 seconds
- Aaron's speech in the elevator
- V going to the rooftop...alone
- Aaron/Kendall *gag*
- precious minutes wasted on the Wallace/Jackie storyline (though it at least means she's gone next year)
- that couch scene looks so freaking uncomfortable for V
- Keith standing up Veronica after the week(hell, two years!) she just had

the good
- Vinnie Van Lowe
- the beautiful colors used in the dream sequence
- seeing Lilly again
- Logan being Veronica's boyfriend of choice in the dream
- the Lilly Kane memorial fountain!
- John Enbom and Phil Klemmer graduating
- V realizing that she's no longer a social pariah at Neptune when she's cheered at graduation (except JP! bad JP not clapping for our girl!)
- the final(!) scene between V and Clemmons (i'm really going to miss him next year)
- KB's "a pony?!" exclamation
- Dick's asslap and dance
- Veronica Mars is smarter than...Jackie Cook
- the green lighting in Woody's restaraunt
- Dick continuing to have amusing shirts
- Logan realizing right away when V pulls him aside that there's something wrong
- the entire rooftop scene
- specifically? "daddy" *texts* "he killed my father!!" "he raped me!" "you're not a killer, Veronica." *comforts* "Beaver, don't!" "my name is Cassidy!" *comfort*
- Tina Majorino (her little sob hiccup breaks me)
- Clarence Wiedman! Duncan! ("CW?" "it's a done deal." let's fucking hope so, RT. let's fucking hope...)
- the couch scene symmetry (even with uncomfortableness)
- baby!Veronica and Keith being adorable
- Keith's alive!!!
- Logan/Veronica reconciliation complete with spinny kisses

obviously the good far outweighs the bad for me. it makes me sad to see people who weren't satisfied with the ep. i honestly don't understand where the hate comes from. i guess that's where that saying comes in, "different strokes for different folks".

semi-unrelated, but why have no good icon makers made an icon out of this cap?

for those avoiding negative posts about the ep, this isn't one of them. i loved it. very much so.

Comments

[cindywrites.livejournal.com]

i think i'm probably the only person who doesn't have a problem with them revisiting the rape storyline.

Oh, no. Not at all. Put me in the corner with faithx5. I thought it was brilliant, and really, it made season 1 work all the better for me. In every speculative conversation I saw, about Cassidy being the bus crash culprit, someone pointed to the fact that he didn't harm Veronica at Shelly's party as some sort of proof of his character. That objection was undercut perfectly by the episode; just that simple thing made the whole thing work. Really, really brilliant. I'm sad for him, and for poor, poor Mac, but I think it was perfect.

i had a feeling when the doctor specifically asked Veronica if she'd been sexually active in the past one or two years in Look Who's Stalking that they were possibly going to. it just jumped out at me for some reason. so i suppose i wasn't all that surprised to see it mentioned and re-worked a bit. .

Great catch, tiggy.

actually, it sort of made me happy in a "i-like-to-see-my-favorite-characters-angsty" way. not to mention that if we get a third season and V's going to Hearst there will be more incentive for her to find the serial rapist.

Another great point.

i fully admit that i'm a bit of a masochistic person when it comes to my favorite tv shows. i want schmoop, but i want angst even more. so if i had a favorite scene from this episode, it would be of Logan/Veronica on the roof or when V wakes up looking for her dad and Logan comforts her once again. yes, the spinny kisses are nice and Veronica and Logan definitely deserve that carefree spinning after the past couple of years, but let's face it. there will come a time in fandom when the spinny kisses just don't thrill us anymore. banish the thought! i know! it's true though. problem free relationships on tv are boring. give me angst with schmoop, please! find a happy medium!

Amen. I thought Logan talking Veronica down from killing Cassidy, and then the way they clung to each other on the roof before and after Cassidy jumped, and then the couch pieta (although the should have used a less uncomfortable pose) and the "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," the next morning in the kitchen were far more romantic than the spinny kisses (although I won't give up the spinny kisses, either; I want it all). If you hadn't made your bad and good lists, I'd say I was with you, completely. I'm not with you on some of your bads though, like:

- Wallace in Veronica's dream sequence (so sad!)
- Weevil not getting to graduate
- Logan not following V right then and there
- Beav going from mopey to insane-o in .01 seconds
- Aaron's speech in the elevator
- V going to the rooftop...alone
- Aaron/Kendall *gag

I started to explain why these things worked for me, but it was taking up too much space. I'll just note here that although Weevil not graduating broke my heart, I think it was the perfect touch, and so in character for both Lamb and life on the hellmouth in Neptune.

(Unrelated to the list) From the first time I saw the finale, I've been in the "I love this story, but I have issues with the telling of it," camp. Everything worked for me, but the telling of it in the final hour was rushed and choppy. Until the last couple of episodes, I was inclined to write off most of the pacing problems of this season to the unplanned pre-emption during the Olympics/February sweeps. The week before last, I started rewriting the season in my head, and after the rush-job that was the finale, I realized I can't write it all off to scheduling troubles. That said, each time I've rewatched the episode, I've like the storytelling better, as well. It's grown on me for its own sake, as well as the sake of the overall arc.

I had no idea people were unhappy the way you've described in your post. Is it people in the vm communities, TWoP, or where? Maybe if I read some of the negativity, I'll be able to write my own post. Between VM, and The Office, I'm still too far into my swoon.