Veronica's car has died in the school car park causing a traffic jam. She is struggling to perform emergency surgery when Dick and Beaver walk up, ready to torment. I keep wanting to call them Beavis & Butthead. Is that mean of me? They are accompanied by Logan who is holding an apple which he is cutting into with a rather deadly looking knife.
"Uh-oh, someone’s got her eye on that Miss White Trash title." Dick comments.
"Yeah, you know you got a solid effort in the talent competition, but I’d like to see that car up on some cinder blocks." Beaver chimes in.
"Guys, come on, huh." Logan says a little half-heartedly.
I know some people have condemned him for such a lame defence of Veronica but she did very clearly ask him to keep their relationship a secret so he's trying tread a fine line between respecting her wishes and defending his lady's honour.
For any doubters - take a look at Trip to the Dentist when he has no hesitation about publicly defending Veronica and calling her his girlfriend when the cat was let out of the bag anyway and there was no way she could be upset with him for revealing their "secret". If he had his way, he'd make the relationship public.
Possibly appreciating poor Logan's dilemma, Veronica takes over with her trade mark sass. "I know. Guys, come on, the talent is making a grilled cheese sandwich on the engine block." To be honest I don't really understand the insults or the retorts but to me the important thing about this scene isn't the snarkage, it's the interplay between Logan and Veronica. I notice that Veronica looks like a blonde Natalie Portman in this scene ...
I love the way she then just walks over and grabs the knife out of Logan's hand as if she has a perfect right to do so - although I had a brief moment of worry that she'd accidentally take his thumb off. Equally funny is that his expression doesn't change, he just opens his hand to relinquish the knife and keeps chewing as he watches his beloved mouth off to his loser friends.
"Guys, come on, you can’t put your car up on blocks in the yard if you don’t have a yard."
She very competently cuts the free part of the tube away and attaches it to another part of the engine. She does all this with a very cool, kick-ass air of self-assurance and confidence while addressing her rejoinders at the boys. I'm a bit scared by that knife though.
"You know, I think I can do both sides of this little act now." She starts the car, Beaver and Dick look a bit sheepish and Logan has a hint of a smile on his face which looks like amusement and pride mixed in together.
Veronica concludes her slapdown. "So, how ‘bout next time, you don’t bother. I got it covered."
She throws the knife back at Logan, who catches it and openly smirks this time. Fortunately, she had closed the knife again before she threw it back to him. I had a vision of the blooper real showing Jason Dohring being carted off to the ER with a knife protruding from his head. They exchange a fairly significant look with one another before the Clueless Couple aka Dick and Beaver walk away. Logan gives her yet another look and then follows as she closes the bonnet, a very faint smile on her face.
This scene is really gorgeous, playful and rather sweet in the way that you can tell that Logan would dearly love to say something stronger than "Guys, come on," but really doesn't want to go against what Veronica's wishes. Similarly, I love how Veronica knows exactly why Logan is acting the way he's acting not only is she not annoyed at him for not "defending her honour", she defends herself in a way that makes it unnecessary to risk disclosure of the relationship and gets him off the hook.
The little exchange of glances and faint smiles before he walks off is also extremely cute. Sigh. Not even a shadow of a Frypan of Doom at this point.
The thing is, although Logan and Veronica didn't realise it, by staying silent he was already defending her in a way. We see the way that Veronica absolutely demolishes Dick and Beaver - they're no match for her in terms of intellect, wit, sarcasm and spunk. In fact the only person at the school who is her intellectual and passionate equal is no other than Logan. This scene demonstrates that without Logan to back up the attacks, Dick and Beaver really can't take on Veronica. Take a look at the show - you'll see that Logan is the only person who can really meet and match Veronica. At times Weevil is able to keep up with the banter, but he owes her way too many favours now to be on any form of equal footing.
On a shallow note, Veronica's cute in this scene (although she looks a bit like a blonde Monica from Friends) and Logan is absolutely hot for some reason - something about the fact he has his head slightly tilted to the side and a faint smile on his mouth the whole time. Again, his eyes almost never leave Veronica.
I'm not sure it's wise for Logan to walk around carrying such a dangerous knife. With idiots like that for friends, the temptation to stab them might be too great sometimes.
Veronica and Logan are in the girl's toilets - kissing passionately. I think I have to jump in here and comment that although I think the scene is hot and cute as hell, I will never be able to understand why people like making out in the toilets. I know that for this series, it's because the girl's toilets are pretty much Veronica's office, but still, it's gross and although the girls' toilets are usually not as smelly as the boys' toilets - it's still a toilet. Hence, I'm going to pretend that the toilets at Veronica's school are as clean and as pristine as the toilets of the firm where I used to work in Sydney. Rant over. For the record, part of my trauma stems from the fact that I'm currently in Beijing, China and public toilets here in China are a form of hell. I am not exaggerating. So I have bad associations. I may need to go into therapy ;)
Anyway, back to the scene where Logan and Veronica are kissing each other senseless. Their bodies are really close to one another, they're grabbing at each other with even more fervour than the First Kiss (if that's possible!). While standing, they kind of turn around, all the while still kissing and then Logan lifts Veronica up to sit on the counter. Her arms around his neck, his hands go up to tangle in her hair briefly and it's all very well done. All I can say is, it's hard to believe they are acting and I feel sorry for Jason Dohring's wife!
Logan kisses Veronica's neck in a way that is incredibly sexy, thereby proving that he is soooooooooo not a high school kid unless he and Lilly spent their time together reading the Kama Sutra and reciting The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam to one another.
Logan pulls back suddenly, dropping his head down and sighing at the same time he's staring down at the ground.
Veronica looks up at him very mischievously, a questioning expression in her eyes. "What?" she demands of him. "I blockaded the door. I hung an “Out of Order” sign." she reassures him as if that is all that matters.
Logan has a big, slightly goofy grin on his face as he looks at her. He breaks the gaze and shakes his head.
"No, this is wrong," he says with a note of seriousness in his voice. Veronica's looking at him with a big smile on her face and gives him a mock reproachful look at his tone so he scales back on the seriousness of his voice. He looks around and says,"I mean a boy in a girl’s bathroom, it’s just ...."
"So wrong, it’s right?" Veronica interjects playfully.
"Yes." Logan answers. They kiss again but Logan pulls back again and gives another sigh, his face very serious this time.
"I’m sorry about Dick and those guys." he says, a rueful and apologetic smile on his face.
"Dick and those guys don’t bother me." she tells him. She grabs Logan’s shirt as he gives a short laugh. Her eyes flick down from his eyes to his mouth and then back up to his eyes again. "Besides, you and I have to keep up appearances because Duncan is gonna come home some day and I don’t want him to hear about us, this, from someone else."
At her words, Logan's face changes perceptibly (at least in my opinion). All the playfulness vanishes from his expression and he nods and then looks at his watch. It's almost as if Veronica's words broke the spell of the moment. He breathes out again and says: "I am beyond tardy for my physics class."
He leans forward, kissing her quickly and moves away from her to get his books from the other sink counter.
"If I remember right, time travel is not yet possible." Logan then gives a very girly little skip in the air and walks to the door. Veronica jumps down and follows him to the door.
"So try petty corruption."
As Logan peers out of the bathroom, Veronica reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pad of slips.
"Hm?" he asks, looking at her inquiringly.
"Tardy excuse slips. Date-stamped. Untraceable. I know people."
Veronica opens the door and looks out. Logan moves behind her to look out as well. Veronica puts on a shocked face but then makes it go normal again as she turns around to face Logan and then leans back against the wall next to the door.
"It’s clear." she tells him.
Logan stands in front of her, his hand on the door just above her head, possibly waiting for what comes next. He's in luck.
"Good luck in physics," she tells him and then reaches for his shirt, grabs it and pulls him in for a kiss. Just as they are about to kiss, she says:"Remember ..." Logan laughs and so does Veronica. They kiss.
"...force equals mass times acceleration.." Logan kisses her again.
"Mmm," he says with interest - in the kiss or in the explanation.
"...light is a particle that can exhibit properties of a wave..." Veronica recites as Logan continues kissing her. He presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, smiling down at her with indulgent tenderness. He gives her one final kiss, straightens up and looks down at her with a happy smile on his face.
"I’d learn more staying here with you." Veronica's also smiling back at him. They're both very light-hearted and happy in this moment.
He leans in again and just as he is about to kiss her again, she puts her hand against his chest and pushes him away saying: "I have things to do." She looks away with a huge teasing smile on her face.
Logan gives another little laugh and kisses her on the cheek before opening the door, walking out and tapping the “Out of Order” sign as if to remind her. Veronica sighs.
"....Like cool down".
I really liked this scene. Aside from the absolutely adorable tone of the scene, there are a few interesting elements. Again, it's Veronica that wants to keep the relationship secret. It makes you think that despite all Logan's tormenting of Veronica before, he never really believed it. He wouldn't be so eager to show off someone he thought was a skanky slut. It's very clear that if he had his way, he would make the relationship public.
Another thing I find interesting about this is that given he has spend the last year and a half openly tormenting her, you would think he would display some hesitation about simply suddenly announcing that he was going out with Veronica. Similarly for Veronica, she must really like Logan because any other girl would be wanting to rub his face in it publicly that he's fallen for the object of teasing. Don't forget that Logan is essentially a private person. He has lived his life in the public eye so cherishes his privacy. He hates the press, he hates the members of the public who come and peer at his house. Remember his reaction in Return of the Kane to Aaron's fans? Ordinarily you would expect that he would be the one who wants to keep the relationship under wraps but he's not ashamed of it and he's fine for everyone to know - even though he knows that he will receive a lot of flak from his peers for appearing to perform a volte face in terms of his feelings for Veronica.
I'm also intrigued by the look that Logan gets on his face when Veronica specifically mentions that she doesn't want Duncan to know about their relationship. The playfulness vanishes out of Logan's face at that moment. Is it because he is also worried about what Duncan will think? Is he worried Duncan will be upset? We know that Logan is a loyal friend and is very fond of Duncan. Could the expression also be because he's a little jealous that Veronica specifically singles out Duncan for mention. Her reference to Duncan means that she's not over him. The thing is, it sounds cheesy but I don't think Logan was jealous about Duncan. He never asks Veronica about him. I think it's because he knew that although they were together and fond of each other, Duncan and Veronica's relationship lacked a certain spark and depth that Logan and Veronica possess. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
I had a few other thoughts and musings. I would really love to have known how this scene started. A few possible scenarios ...
Scenario 1
Logan was walking down the corridor towards physics class when the door of the girl's toilets opened and a hand reached out and dragged him by the arm through the door.
"Not so tough when you're not with your buddies" Veronica teased him and a slow smile curved Logan's mouth.
"Dear God, I'm trapped in the bathroom with Veronica Mars!" Logan pretended to exclaim.
Laughter vanished as without hesitation and they moved into each other's arms.
"You know, you looked ridiculously cute fixing that piece of junk you call a car .... now if you'd only been wearing overalls ...." Logan breathed teasingly as his mouth covered hers ......
Scenario 2
Veronica walked down the corridor encountering the occasional jibe for the traffic jam Le Baron had caused in the school car park earlier that day. When she saw Logan walked towards her, a nonchalant expression on his face, she bit her lip to hide the twitch that threatened to become a smile.
"Come to steal my humble apple knife again, Veronica Mars?" Logan jibed although his dark eyes were very caressing.
"Only if I get to pull it out of the place where your heart's supposed to be," she retorted sweetly. As they passed one another, Veronica lowered her voice: "Girl's bathroom in three minutes ..."
Playing it cool, the two of them pretended to walk casually down the corridor. A casual onlooker would have been bemused to observe that when they approached the girl's bathroom, both accelerated and then bolted inside.
Said onlooker would have also found herself unable to enter the bathroom which now had an "out of order" sign on the door. The same onlooker would have heard sounds of muffled laughter and a shriek that sounded an awful lot like: "Logan!!!!"
Scenario 3
Logan looked down at his cell phone and realised that Veronica had sent him an SMS. My office (girl's bathroom) in five minutes. Don't be late.
His mouth curved into a smile.
[Note: Alternatively, Logan could have sms'd her first. I'm debating whether when he entered they had a brief chat or whether they went straight to it.]
"Glad to see you know the meaning of punctuality, Mr Echolls," Veronica said archly as Logan walked through the door, exactly five minutes after receiving her message. He grinned, his eyes following her as she went to the door, draped an "Out of Order" sign on the door and then proceeded to slide the door jam under the door with a very practised motion.
"I hope you checked for occupants," he said, indicating the cubicles. "In fact, what do you do when there are people in your office before you get here? Haul them out and toss them into the corridor?"
"Not funny," she said smiling at him but keeping her distance. "And why do you always have to do that oh so cool drawl? Who do you think you are, the Rufus Wainright of Neptune?"
He didn't reply to her insult. "So Veronica Mars," Logan drawled casually, putting his books down on the counter. "When I received your summons, I really had no idea what on earth you could possibly want with me." As he spoke, he approached Veronica who was standing by the door.
As he reached out for her, she grinned wickedly and ducked under his arm, sliding out of his reach. A wry smile twisted his mouth as he tilted his head to one side and watched her indulgently.
"Catch me if you can ...." she said challengingly.
He did.
Scenario 4
Logan's mouth curved into a smile when he saw Veronica entering her "office" again. She was on her own which made for a change. He'd lost track of the number of times he'd seen Veronica drag some poor kid by the scruff of his neck into the girls' bathroom, slamming the door after her.
He pushed open the door and walked inside, raising his eyebrows when Veronica calmly put up an "out of order" sign on the door and slid the door jam under the door without saying a word.
"I'm sorry, I thought this was the little boys' room," Logan said insincerely spreading his hands before him.
Veronica grinned. "I saw you behind me. If you hadn't followed me, it would have been over."
Logan looked at her quizzically. "Veronica Mars, hasn't anyone ever told you that for an ultimatum to be effective, you need to communicate it to the other party first? No, no snappy sassy rejoinder please," he told her with a grin and found an effective way to stop her mouth.
Dropping the car off for repairs
Lots of people like this scene and so did I. Veronica's dropping her car off at the junkyard. She walks away from Weevil, calling her father with the information. Logan's yellow Nissan pulls up and Veronica opens the door and clambers in without even saying hello, almost as if she's done it a dozen times before. All the while she continues talking on the phone and Logan gives her that slightly exasperated but very tender look: "It's always business with you," he commented as he drives off.
I also wonder how this scene came about. Did Veronica ask him or did he volunteer? It's possible that before they launched into their "physics" lesson, a conversation took place.
"At last I get to see the inside of your Other Office, Veronica Mars," Logan commented as he walked in and glanced around with interest. "This is the first time I've been here."
"So what did you want to see me about?" she asked him lightly, her lips quirking in a slight smile.
"What are you doing after school today?" he asked her with mock casualness. "Wanna park and neck somewhere?"
"Well unless I want to cause another traffic jam and risk attracting the needle wit of your buddies Dick and Beaver, I'm going to drop off my car at Weevil's uncle's place for repairs."
"Repair? Why don't you just trade that terminal case in? You might be able to get your supermarket coupons back." He grinned when she gave him a sharp, warning glare.
"It's a good car. It's possible that it just never recovered from a beating given to it by a certain jackass with a crowbar." she said with extreme sweetness in her voice.
"Oh ouch," Logan exclaimed, pretending to recoil in pain at her words. He collided into the wall, pretending to bounce and exclaiming: "Bong! Bong! Bong!" with each bounce.
"You are so not cute." she said, laughing despite herself and he grinned and approached her, putting his arms around her as if was the most natural thing in the world. He rested his forehead against hers, smoothing her hair back from her face.
"You on the other hand are frighteningly cute. Deceptively cute, you should come with a health warning. How are you getting back from the car yard?"
She shrugged, reaching up to trail a fingertip down his jaw. "I don't know .... bus .... cab ...."
"You won't let me give you a lift?"
She slanted a smile up at him. "I thought you'd be at the beach surfing and ogling scantily clad women with your buddies."
He made a dismissive gesture. "I can do that any old time." he told her. His eyes widened questioningly when she seized his shirt and pulled him down to her.
"Did you just come here to talk?"
Hee hee. Whatever the back story to the scene, the way it played out on screen was very cute. These two get along so well. Well that is when Veronica isn't accusing him of drug trafficking, credit card fraud, rape, murder and that sort of thing ......
Alone at last .... or not ....
I like this scene. There's not a lot to say about the kissing except that it's very sexy. The looks and the dialogue are very nice in here.
Veronica and Logan are at the Echolls house, kissing madly as they go into the room.
"So the place is ours. Dad’s at class." He kisses her forehead,"...and Trina’s at an extremely important purse store opening in Beverley Hills". He kisses her cheek. Again, soooo not your average high school boy. No uncouth devouring of the girl - yes there's passionate kissing but the little kisses to the brow and cheek are very tender, sweet touches.
"Your Dad is taking classes?"
Logan moves away from her. Yeah, exploring the world outside himself," he gestures with his arms in an exaggerated and mocking fashion, ending with a clap of his hands.
He walks towards the mantle piece."All part of the ..." he give a kind of odd throw and kick as he walks,"....new Aaron Echolls. Spanish, ceramics, Tae Kwan Doe and today ..." he leans against the mantle piece, hand on his forehead in an exaggerated fashion,"glass blowing with Silvio Pirelli, master of Old World crystal." Veronica stares at the glassware with him.
"Nice, huh? Just two lessons," he says with mockery still colouring every word. The way he says this line makes me giggle for some reason.
"And he made a bong?" Hee hee. Veronica's delivery is an absolute classic.
"An urn for my mom. You know since there was no body and thus no ashes, he filled it with sea water, ‘cause she jumped into the ocean, get it?" He comes up to Veronica, and puts his hands on her waist. "At least it gets him out of the house."
They kiss and turn again. I can't whether this is a Jason Dohring quirk or a Logan Echolls (Rob Thomas) quirk. As they reach the middle of the room, Veronica laughs and they move towards the couch, pausing as Veronica asks: "Hey, do you think this thing…will ever get more normal?"
Logan kisses her on the cheek again and leads her to the couch. Veronica drops her bag on the ground and they both sink onto the sofa, facing each other. I agree with other fans who have commented that the "fall" onto the couch is a little awkward but how would you do it?
Also, it is funny that when Kristen Bell sits down and rests her head on her hand, she automatically puts her hand to the side so that the camera can still have a clear shot of her face. Jason Dohing on the other hand at first rests his hand on his cheek, immediately seems to realise that it's blocking his face so moves it to the back of his head.
"What, like will we ever hang at the mall and hold hands and buy each other teddy bears with hearts that say "I wuv you bear-y much"?" Logan asks her.
"Yes, exactly that. Except I want my bear won through some sort of demonstration of ring tossing ability." she tells him archly.
"Well, secrets are kinda hot, too." Logan says in a soft voice. He leads towards her to kiss her, they go down on the out of sight ....
Then we hear the sound of Aaron clearing his throat. They both look up, Veronica gives a little gasp of horror and Logan pretty much leaps off the couch and off Veronica as she sits up, a look of "I can't believe this is happening" on her face.
Aaron is carrying a bag of groceries and looking slightly disconcerted himself, but not disapproving in any way. "Oh, I’m sorry. Well, I didn’t realise you had company. Hello, Veronica."
Veronica gives a very embarrassed and wordless little wave. Logan who has his hands in his pockets gives his own embarrassed, wry little smile. "I thought you were out." He rubs his forehead in an: "I can't believe this is happening," gesture while shooting a quick glance of apology at Veronica.
"Yeah, well, Silvio cancelled so I I grabbed some swordfish, I thought I’d try that Lime Tequila Marinade." He pauses. "You know, uh, I think I’ll get out of your guy’s hair, uh, there’s chips if you’re hungry. Blue corn, really good."
To his credit, Aaron looks and sounds genuinely regretful for interrupting them and backs out the door. Logan leans over the back an armchair, puts his head on his arms and says:
"Oh my God. Did I just get caught by my dad making out on the couch?"
"Yeah," Veronica says with a somewhat severe and irritated expression on her face. "You got caught by your dad. I got caught by the star of “Breaking Point” and “Beyond the Breaking Point”. That's weird." She feels her teeth with her lips and says brittlely,"Um, and I have lipstick on my teeth."
Veronica gets up to go to the bathroom to remove the lipstick and regain her composure. Logan watches her go with a not very happy expression on his face. He exhales audibly as if to say: "Sheesh".
In the bathroom as Veronica examines her face in the mirror and leaves the room, she hears the doorbell ring. She pauses when she hears Aaron speaking and then sees Aaron entering the room with Dick and Beaver.
"Logan! Look who showed up. Dick and, um…"
"Uh, Cass," Beaver says.
"Beaver," Dick corrects.
"Beav," Logan says with faux enthusiasm as he stands up from where he was sitting on the couch, probably trying to think up what he was going to say to Veronica when she returned - "Do you like swordfish?" or something like that.
Dick stares at him. "This is why you couldn’t surf? You had something to do on the couch?"
Dick and Beaver sit down, making themselves at home as Veronica sidles away.
"I’m sorry, dude," Logan mutters, gazing in Veronica's direction,"I just ...."
Dick sees Veronica’s bag on the ground.
"Dude, you got a chick here?"
"No, that's Trina's," Logan lies. No Logan, honey. It's Duncan who makes out with his sister not you. Aaron
realises what Logan's saying and glances over at Veronica who darts away behind a corner. Logan continues: "She's without her lip gloss. It's possible she's suffering out there." Hee hee. Nice to see that even when he's disconcerted, Logan can come up with the quips.
"Oh, right, and, uh, I’m supposed to take that to her," Aaron says reaching for the bag. Logan looks at him, leans down to pick up the bag. He hands the bag to his father and they exchange a look. Logan almost looks like he's saying thank you, Aaron's expression borders on a cross between understanding and sympathy and slight disapproval at Logan's conduct.
"Yeah. Actually I was ... I was going to go with you." Logan begins to say.
Dick interrupts him. "Dude, no way! You already blew us off in the water." Logan stares very longingly after Aaron. It's so cute but he forces himself to turn his attention back to what Dick is saying.
Dude, I'd want to leave too if someone as annoying as Dick came to my place.
"We got business to discuss. This weekend. Mexico. Annual surf and chick fest."
Veronica is in another room listening in with a look of discomfort on her face. "Beav talked to these cheerleaders…"
Beaver interjects: "Yeah, it turns out they have a retreat outside Rosarito and they just got second in this regional contest." Logan gives a very unconvincing smile and looks longingly towards where Veronica is hiding again.
"Beers, waves and weak-willed cheerleaders right next door," Dick says enthusiastically, making Veronica make an: "Oh my god, dude could he be any more pathetic" face.
"Sweet," Logan says quietly without any enthusiasm in his voice.
Aaron approaches Veronica, carrying her bag. "Looks like Logan is gonna be stuck for a while," he offers her her bag and asks,"Ride home?"
Veronica nods. I won't recap the ride home with Aaron except to say that Kristen Bell gives a really funny portrayal of someone who is just dying of embarrassment (although she still really looks like Christina Applegate in this scene). I have to admit that Aaron almost suckered me in and won me over in this scene - he just seemed so nice, sincere and genuine. The thing is, I haven't forgotten The Return of the Kane, beating poor Logan with a belt and cheating on She of the Large Lips - so I wasn't tooooooo charmed.
Why was the whole interrupted make out scene good? Veronica and Logan were just really cute. The beginning of the scene was conversation, talking, being normal. I don't think that Logan "talks" to many people. He's usually performing or pretending but he seems very genuine and honest around Veronica. He also seems much more light-hearted and happy. For once, you have happy Logan without that "undercurrent of angry rebellious psychotic jerk" lurking beneath the surface. Jason Dohring said in an interview that Logan plays that he's having a good time but he's not really. When he's with Veronica he's happy.
The same goes for Veronica. You can tell that she really likes Logan. It's not just a mad lust sex thing although happily for LoVe supporters that's there too. When she talks, Logan likes to listen not just interrupt her with snogging although there's that too :)
"I love you beary much" is cute beyond words and I will probably squeal, swoon and die if he ever does give her such a t-shirt.
When Aaron interrupts, as I mentioned above, he does appear to be genuinely chagrined and he does seem to genuinely want Logan to be happy. It might be a selfish thing, a happy Logan means a Logan that will not cause him trouble and embarrassment. Whatever his motivations, I like the layer of complexity the writers have given Aaron. He's not just a caricature of a bastardly, two timing husband, abusive father. It's hard to read him - he's smooth, he's violent, he's unpredictable .... and he's a gourmet chef and glass blower...... For my final take on Aaron, you'll have to read my comments in A trip to the dentist. Honestly, the writers of this show are fantastic. Everytime I think I'm going to get a tired old television cliche, they turn it on its head and I'm surprised and impressed.
Please god please let them keep up the good work for Season 2 and please god please don't let all the fan bleatings for a LoVe-ship piss off Rob Thomas and make him do a Louisa May Alcott and marry off Jo to the fusty old professor instead of the spunky Laurie just because all the fan demands annoyed the hell out of her.
When Beaver and Dick come in, it's just a whole: "oh my god could this get any worse". Veronica's really put Logan in a jam by making him take the vow of secrecy (not celibacy!). If you didn't know any better, you would think he was ashamed of her and whisking her out of the house, which is certainly what a disapproving Aaron thinks. Aaron very nicely conveys disapproval for what he thinks is Logan hiding his relationship from the world. He doesn't realise that Logan's protecting Veronica and honouring her wishes.
Logan's constant glances to where he knows Veronica is hiding are really, really sweet. His failed attempt at going with Aaron to Veronica is also very funny along with the "It's possible she's suffering out there".
One thing the episode was missing is that the next time these two meet, it's in the car park and there's no mention of this scene. I also am not clear how Logan gets Veronica's car keys to pick up Le Baron from Weevil's uncle's car yard. Here is my possible suggestion to address these two issues:
Veronica lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling, a number of thoughts chasing around in her head.
Would Carmen have the strength to go through with the charade with creepy Tad? Had Logan's dad really meant what he said? Why on earth would someone as nice as Carmen ever go out with someone as horrible and fashion-challenged as Tad? Was she ever going to be able to erase the humiliating image of being busted making out with Logan on the Echolls' sofa .....Who eats swordfish anyway?
The phone rang. Veronica's mouth twisted into a slight smile. A glance at caller ID confirmed her suspicions and she picked up the phone.
The number you have dialed is no longer in service as the owner of this number has died in embarrassment. Veronica said in a convincing monotone.
There was a slightly embarrassed laugh at the other end of the line. "Not bad - you almost had me fooled. Ummm ... I wanted to phone earlier, but I just managed to get rid of those two."
"I'm sure the conversation was sparkling and lively," Veronica said perkily.
"Veronica, I ...."
"Don't say sorry." she said with a laugh.
"I had no idea my dad was going to walk in like that."
"I know you didn't! He was pretty good about it though..... and it was nice of him not to give the game away ... and also to take the time to drive me home."
"Yeah ..... I really wanted to go to you ..errr.... go with you," he amended, realising how lame his first statement had sounded. "Be in the general vicinity of you?" he suggested.
There was a long silence as Veronica found herself blushing slightly.
"You still there?"
"Yes." she whispered.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey, your car keys fell out of your bag. I found them on the floor. I'll give them to you tomorrow, sometime."
"Yeah all right. I'd better go, homework calls with its alluring siren song....."
"Yeah ... what I wouldn't give now for a physics refresher in your office." Logan smiled when he heard Veronica give a choke of laughter. After they hung up, Veronica lay on her bed, still staring at the ceiling.
"Well thinking about physics is kind of like doing homework....." she told herself.
Another cute scene between my favourite couple. Veronica, her car being repaired by Weevil's relatives is queuing for the bus when she hears Logan speak.
"Ah, mass transit."
Veronica looks up to see Logan sitting on the hood of her car swinging its keys in his hand.
"But why take the bus when you can drive your very own rustbucket? I had my dad's driver pick it up." He raps on the car - some people say he's rapping on the headlights as a shout-out to the Pilot where he smashed them in but I don't know about that. I'm obsessed but I don't see that.
He continues: "Full of fresh stolen parts, ready to go." Hee hee. Oh Logan, you're so funny.
Logan throws her the keys and she catches them, walking towards him to also sit on the hood. I guess she's not that concerned about keeping their relationship a secret after all ....
"Wow, I'll just try to keep this little gesture in mind this weekend when you and Dick and the Beaver are off getting blasted and scamming cheerleaders." I love the hint of jealousy she betrays here. Veronica looks a lot like Christina Applegate through this entire scene.
Logan doesn't look at her when he replies. "Yeah...yeah. Actually, I had to tell Dick I'm not available, 'cause I have other plans." Logan's very hesitant and sincere and we are supposed to be going: "Ohhhhh she's reformed a bastardly rake *squeal* *squeal* *squeal*!" and of course we are doing that until Veronica interjects with a quip:
"There are cheerleaders with low self-esteem available domestically?" Hee hee.
Logan, bless his perky hair is not daunted by her teasing. "Are you free Friday? Maybe we could go out." he asks her diffidently. Veronica's being all flip and casual and Logan's just trying so hard to get her to say yes to go on a date.
Veronica looks stunned but she tries to act laid back about it. "Here? In Neptune? What about our little secret?"
"Well," Logan replies, sliding off the car. "I thought we’d try a practice run in Catalina Island. So what do you think about us skipping school on Friday for a little ride on Dad’s boat? Dinner and a movie?"
"I'll pencil you in." Veronica says with a smile which looks like it wants to become a huge grin.
"So it's, uh...what is the word? A date?" he suggests. The scene then kind of goes downhill from here due as it turns a bit serious. Not quite Frypan of Doom territory yet, but I think I saw a shadow of at least an eggflip.
"Nice of your dad to let us use his boat," Veronica comments.
"Yeah, yeah, I think he actually likes you. When he heard that stuff about your parents, I think he felt ..."
"What? What stuff?" Veronica demands as Dick calls Logan's name. Logan and Veronica look over towards Logan’s parked car where Dick and Beaver are waiting. I'm wondering whether they're wondering why Logan's hanging around with Veronica .....
"What the hell, man?" Dick demands. I wonder what they ask him in the car and how he responds.
"Just, uh, there was something in the paper he saw, I don’t know." Logan replies to Veronica, fumbling his words as he realises that she didn't know and he's put his foot into it.
Logan walks towards his car, he turns and walks backwards smiling at her. "So tennish, Albacore Club, slip five."
He walks away as Veronica smiles. What does slip five mean? I was born in the seventies, if this is Young People Speak, I don't understand.[Note: Thank you to Friendly Anonymous Fan who sent me this helpful note: You asked what Logan meant by "slip five" in "Weapons of Class Destruction". It's not slang, a slip is a mooring slot for a boat at a marina. He was just telling Veronica where to find his father's boat. How embarrassing, I'm so dopey :) ]
The last part of the scene unfortunately took away from the general cuteness of it all. Logan screws up by alluding to something about Veronica's parents and the whole flirtatious banter is eclipsed by what on earth was in the paper. Still, until that moment - it was very sweet and funny. Veronica and Logan are really fun when they're laughing and joking together. Logan's also very endearing when he's a bit uncertain of himself. I would have preferred it myself if Logan had gone to pick up the car himself instead of sending his dad's driver, but that's just me. Veronica probably should have slapped him down for calling her car a rustbucket, but I guess she knew he was just kidding around and doesn't really care.
This episode ends very badly for any fans of the Logan/Veronica relationship. After setting up a beautiful, grinny, romantic, sweet little byplay between Veronica and Logan, Rob Thomas promptly stomps all over my hopes, stabs a knife in my back, gives me a papercut to the eye and gonks me on the head once with his Frypan of Doom by implicating Logan in the drugging and subsequent rape of Veronica at Shelly Pomroy's party.
Bloody hell, I think they were allowed to have almost 3 happy episodes together before Rob Thomas ripped them away from me. Seriously, when Tad tells Veronica that Logan Echolls supplied the drugs at the party, I literally felt like I had been clobbered with Rob Thomas' Frypan of Doom.
Then that awful, awful final scene with Logan on his own on the boat. My god, that was just too sad and too cruel. Part of me wishes Veronica could have just talked to him about it instead of just not showing up. He had clearly been waiting there for ages and ages.
On a shallow note, I really did not like his clothes in that scene. Poor Logan, no Veronica, bad clothes and warm champagne. *sob*
I did take comfort from a very wise observation by arabian who points out:
However, on the bright side, the set-up of that scene actually gave me hope that things will turn out just fine for our erstwhile heroine and her rogue-ish semi-bad boy. Why? Because that scene was SO over the top in trying to drum up the response of "poor Logan." I mean, how could you not watch that scene and not feel for him? You can't. Unless you have a heart of stone. And so, Rob Thomas is NOT going to take such care in building up sympathy for a guy that Veronica, his show's heroine, is done with, over with, kaput, finished, the end. So the pain actually gave me hope.
But still. Poor Logan.
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