cordelianne (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cordelianne) wrote2006-05-10 06:11 pm
cordelianne) wrote2006-05-10 06:11 pm
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"Surprise!" "That pretty much sums it up." (btvs 2:13)
Holy Crap!! That was pretty much my reaction last night. Oh, and I was shaking.
It was such an intense tv night, I was only able to watch Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls. I noticed an interesting – and unspoilery – similar theme in both episodes. Both shows’ season finales featured the motif of waking up from dreams/sleep.
Veronica Mars ‘Not Pictured’ 2:22
”My name is Cassidy”
I like my television shows to surprise me and, quite frankly, it’s only rare occasions when they accomplish that. I’m very good at picking up on the clues throughout episodes so even the biggest “twists” aren’t so big to me. Part of why I love VM is because it can surprise me. Last year I did not expect the killer to be Aaron Echolls. And this year I had not expected it to be Cassidy. Now I will say that I have not been thinking about it too much to help heighten the surprise. Weirdly I had figured out, many episodes ago, that Cassidy had been molested by Woody but had not connected that with him being behind the bus crash.
I have to admit that when Veronica started frantically calling Mac telling her that Cassidy was a killer, I was completely confused, or maybe just in denial. It didn’t make that much sense to me. The – admittedly lengthy – exposition did clarify some of that confusion. I didn’t have the “OMG of course” feeling that I had about Aaron Echolls, but the notion of Cassidy isn’t ridiculous. He is very smart and good at planning (the whole Phoenix Land Trust), he had connections (Curly Moran, the war movie kid, knowledge of the Fitzpatricks), and we’ve seen that he has issues (his interactions with Mac because of his molestation). Also, he does not have a very healthy family environment: Dick is the family member he spends the most time with.
I have to give props to my co-writer who suggested that Cassidy was planning something devious when the Pheonix Land Trust was first introduced – clearly he was more alert to Cassidy’s scheming and devious personality than I was. Also, my co-writer and I weird anticipated this in our spec script for VM: In it Cassidy is suspected of bombing Dick’s car by using a remote detonation device on his cell phone (we came up the method of detonation before the show revealed that this was how the bus was blown up). In our spec script Cassidy didn’t do it, but it’s still a weirdly freaky coincidence!
”Meet me on the roof”
It was disappointing that Veronica fell for the trap so easily, but I suppose it’s nice that she does screw up, and she was clearly VERY upset and worried about Mac. (I was too.)
As mentioned previously, I felt the exposition scene was a bit too long. It would have been more effective if part of that explanation played out in her head while she was looking for Mac (and also would have explained why she made that leap from “Not Pictured: Cassidy Casablancas” to “Cassidy is a killer”). I also don’t think that someone who’s capable of murder is going to wait too long before hurting you. Sure they won’t mind you telling them some of the things they’re proud of, but probably not for that long.
However, that didn’t really ruin the scene for me because Kyle Gallagher and Kristin Bell gave phenomenal performances. Kyle succeeded at making Cassidy likable in previous episodes, and I’m impressed at how he was able to still be Cassidy but a much darker and scary version of him in this episode. And Kristin Bell’s mixture of fear, rage and anguish is stunning (she totally deserves an Emmy, but will likely be overlooked). When she thinks that her dad died in the plane, I was crying along with her (even though I couldn’t believe they’d kill Keith).
I liked that it was less violent and more emotional this season finale. When Veronica says “You raped me” to Cassidy, I get chills (it’s such an amazing line delivery). I’ve been thinking about how they changed/revised the rape story, and determined that it still fits with what we know from last season: that Cassidy left the room and threw up on some girl’s shoes which now makes even more sense considering his issues with sex. Oh, and how creepy was it when he said: And Dick still thinks I’m a virgin.
"You’re not a killer, Veronica"
Ah Logan, how I adore you. This was a very satisfying episode if you’re a fan of the Veronica/Logan pairing (like me!!). First of all, I love how she immediately grabbed him at the party when she was looking for Mac, and Logan clearly noticed something was up.
Of course I adore that he came to her rescue, and that Veronica did some rescuing as well. My favourite part was when he talked her down from killing Cassidy. Not that I cared about Cassidy, but like Logan, I knew it would be a devastating thing for Veronica to do. This was definitely the scene that had me shaking and sobbing.
There’s something so sad about Cassidy killing himself. I know he’s done these horrible things, and obviously is VERY disturbed but this is someone who’s deeply scarred from sexual abuse and is clearly really fucked up because of that. I should say that these factors don’t excuse rape and murder. I actually think what’s sad is more the entire situation and that Logan can’t provide a reason for Cassidy to live. (I don’t think I could think of a reason for him to live either.) I continue to be impressed that VM is willing to portray some characters as so irredeemable.
Getting back to the V/L fabulousness. I loved that Logan was so there for Veronica, not just up on the roof but there for her emotionally and for support afterwards. And how completely adorable were they when they were saying good-bye?! They have such a great chemistry together.
"Just let me graduate!"
My heart broke for Weevil and his grandma (who I think was played by a different actress, thus the sunglasses). Most of the time I adore Lamb being a jackass, but this time I just hated him. But of course, the one thing that the VM world has is consequences for ones actions. You may not get convicted but don’t think you won’t get punished (thanks to the surprise return of Clarence Weidman). If you molest kids, you get blown up in a plane. And Weevil may not have killed Thumper but he’s involved in the death (but obviously shouldn’t be charged with it). I was just reflecting that on VM bad things happen to good people; so the bad may get their karma but the good people also go through hell.
Other random thoughts
- Loved the contrast of the dream sequences with Veronica’s real life. Her interaction with Wallace was so sad. I LOVED seeing Lilly again! It’s interesting that Logan replaced Duncan as Veronica’s love interest in the dream, and I’m not complaining about that!
- I wished they’d tied up the Jackie storyline in a previous episode because it took away from the way more interesting stuff that was happening and was kind of a distraction.
- Yay for all the returning characters, even if they were in dreams!! Alicia Fennel, Corny, Vinnie (the detective), Duncan (who I enjoyed, clearly absence makes him less boring), Lily, and Lianne Mars.
- Liked that the exchange between Duncan and Clarence Weidman was basically a hint that the CW should pick up the show! And it better be picked up so we can watch them at Hurst next year (which Mac and Wallace are definitely going to, and most likely Veronica as well. Maybe Logan?).
- I don’t believe that Lamb is dead, I re-watched Keith’s explanation and it implies that Lamb called and requested Keith be removed from the plane and that Lamb wasn’t actually there.
- I’m hoping that Logan and Veronica will help Weevil with his murder charges.
The CW better pick up Veronica Mars!!!!!!!!
Gilmore Girls ‘Partings’ 6:22
This was a brutal episode. I’m very distressed that the Luke and Lorelai relationship has been left in such a bad condition with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino leaving the show. I can only hope that they’ll tell Daniel Rosenthal (who’s taking over as show runner) how they were planning on fixing this!! Because I want Luke and Lorelai together, and no more of this stupid Christopher business.
I really liked how the episode began and ended with Lorelai waking up and lying there unhappily. Very sad, but well done. And I’m delighted that Logan has gone, and am hoping it’s for good!
I really enjoyed all the troubadours. Because I’m not hip about music, I didn’t know who any of them were. Fortunately a co-worker told me:
- Sonic Youth (actually Kim Gordon, Thustron Moore and their son): They were playing by the band stand.
- Yo La Tengo: They were the other trio.
- Sam Phillips: The woman singing with the violinist after Lorelai walked away from Luke.
- Sparks: The duo with the keyboard.
- Joe Pernice: The solo guy on the guitar (but not the long haired guy who’s been on the show before and was also on Freaks and Geeks).
- Grant Lee Phillips: The regular troubadour in Stars Hollow.
- Mary Lynn Rajskub (aka Chloe on 24) was the very cranky Pheobe-like singer (this one I knew - obviously!).
Since this post is heavy in spoilers, I thought I’d include a couple of fun things for those who don’t watch the shows or haven’t seen the episodes yet.
- Check out this hysterical vid (that I found out about from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
femmenerd and kittyzams): James Marsters - Pretty Fly For a White Guy. It confirmed for me that I’m more of a JM fangirl than I’d realized because I’ve seen basically every one of those clips.
- If any of you missed Stephen Colbert’s speech at the White House Correspondent’s Diner, you must see it NOW!
In between watching VM and GG, I called one of my BFFs (in a state of shock and excitement) and we had a ridiculously cracked out conversation in which we planned two different vacations to take together: 1.Travel in England & Scotland, and 2. Take a road trip through the U.S. The second idea got really insane as we started imagining all the people we’d bring with us (our plan started to sound like The Muppet Movie).
My friend also told me how she discovered these kids who’d started a fire in one of Toronto’s ravines, so she called the police. After waiting for a bit, she got worried about the fire because she knows how easily these kinds of fires can spread, so grabbed her red bucket and headed back to the ravine (there’s a stream in the ravine). She found the firefighters who were still searching for the fire, and directed them to it. Because they were in the ravine, the firefighters didn’t have their fire equipment so they asked to borrow her red bucket!!! That image totally cracks me up.
It was such an intense tv night, I was only able to watch Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls. I noticed an interesting – and unspoilery – similar theme in both episodes. Both shows’ season finales featured the motif of waking up from dreams/sleep.
Veronica Mars ‘Not Pictured’ 2:22
”My name is Cassidy”
I like my television shows to surprise me and, quite frankly, it’s only rare occasions when they accomplish that. I’m very good at picking up on the clues throughout episodes so even the biggest “twists” aren’t so big to me. Part of why I love VM is because it can surprise me. Last year I did not expect the killer to be Aaron Echolls. And this year I had not expected it to be Cassidy. Now I will say that I have not been thinking about it too much to help heighten the surprise. Weirdly I had figured out, many episodes ago, that Cassidy had been molested by Woody but had not connected that with him being behind the bus crash.
I have to admit that when Veronica started frantically calling Mac telling her that Cassidy was a killer, I was completely confused, or maybe just in denial. It didn’t make that much sense to me. The – admittedly lengthy – exposition did clarify some of that confusion. I didn’t have the “OMG of course” feeling that I had about Aaron Echolls, but the notion of Cassidy isn’t ridiculous. He is very smart and good at planning (the whole Phoenix Land Trust), he had connections (Curly Moran, the war movie kid, knowledge of the Fitzpatricks), and we’ve seen that he has issues (his interactions with Mac because of his molestation). Also, he does not have a very healthy family environment: Dick is the family member he spends the most time with.
I have to give props to my co-writer who suggested that Cassidy was planning something devious when the Pheonix Land Trust was first introduced – clearly he was more alert to Cassidy’s scheming and devious personality than I was. Also, my co-writer and I weird anticipated this in our spec script for VM: In it Cassidy is suspected of bombing Dick’s car by using a remote detonation device on his cell phone (we came up the method of detonation before the show revealed that this was how the bus was blown up). In our spec script Cassidy didn’t do it, but it’s still a weirdly freaky coincidence!
”Meet me on the roof”
It was disappointing that Veronica fell for the trap so easily, but I suppose it’s nice that she does screw up, and she was clearly VERY upset and worried about Mac. (I was too.)
As mentioned previously, I felt the exposition scene was a bit too long. It would have been more effective if part of that explanation played out in her head while she was looking for Mac (and also would have explained why she made that leap from “Not Pictured: Cassidy Casablancas” to “Cassidy is a killer”). I also don’t think that someone who’s capable of murder is going to wait too long before hurting you. Sure they won’t mind you telling them some of the things they’re proud of, but probably not for that long.
However, that didn’t really ruin the scene for me because Kyle Gallagher and Kristin Bell gave phenomenal performances. Kyle succeeded at making Cassidy likable in previous episodes, and I’m impressed at how he was able to still be Cassidy but a much darker and scary version of him in this episode. And Kristin Bell’s mixture of fear, rage and anguish is stunning (she totally deserves an Emmy, but will likely be overlooked). When she thinks that her dad died in the plane, I was crying along with her (even though I couldn’t believe they’d kill Keith).
I liked that it was less violent and more emotional this season finale. When Veronica says “You raped me” to Cassidy, I get chills (it’s such an amazing line delivery). I’ve been thinking about how they changed/revised the rape story, and determined that it still fits with what we know from last season: that Cassidy left the room and threw up on some girl’s shoes which now makes even more sense considering his issues with sex. Oh, and how creepy was it when he said: And Dick still thinks I’m a virgin.
"You’re not a killer, Veronica"
Ah Logan, how I adore you. This was a very satisfying episode if you’re a fan of the Veronica/Logan pairing (like me!!). First of all, I love how she immediately grabbed him at the party when she was looking for Mac, and Logan clearly noticed something was up.
Of course I adore that he came to her rescue, and that Veronica did some rescuing as well. My favourite part was when he talked her down from killing Cassidy. Not that I cared about Cassidy, but like Logan, I knew it would be a devastating thing for Veronica to do. This was definitely the scene that had me shaking and sobbing.
There’s something so sad about Cassidy killing himself. I know he’s done these horrible things, and obviously is VERY disturbed but this is someone who’s deeply scarred from sexual abuse and is clearly really fucked up because of that. I should say that these factors don’t excuse rape and murder. I actually think what’s sad is more the entire situation and that Logan can’t provide a reason for Cassidy to live. (I don’t think I could think of a reason for him to live either.) I continue to be impressed that VM is willing to portray some characters as so irredeemable.
Getting back to the V/L fabulousness. I loved that Logan was so there for Veronica, not just up on the roof but there for her emotionally and for support afterwards. And how completely adorable were they when they were saying good-bye?! They have such a great chemistry together.
"Just let me graduate!"
My heart broke for Weevil and his grandma (who I think was played by a different actress, thus the sunglasses). Most of the time I adore Lamb being a jackass, but this time I just hated him. But of course, the one thing that the VM world has is consequences for ones actions. You may not get convicted but don’t think you won’t get punished (thanks to the surprise return of Clarence Weidman). If you molest kids, you get blown up in a plane. And Weevil may not have killed Thumper but he’s involved in the death (but obviously shouldn’t be charged with it). I was just reflecting that on VM bad things happen to good people; so the bad may get their karma but the good people also go through hell.
Other random thoughts
- Loved the contrast of the dream sequences with Veronica’s real life. Her interaction with Wallace was so sad. I LOVED seeing Lilly again! It’s interesting that Logan replaced Duncan as Veronica’s love interest in the dream, and I’m not complaining about that!
- I wished they’d tied up the Jackie storyline in a previous episode because it took away from the way more interesting stuff that was happening and was kind of a distraction.
- Yay for all the returning characters, even if they were in dreams!! Alicia Fennel, Corny, Vinnie (the detective), Duncan (who I enjoyed, clearly absence makes him less boring), Lily, and Lianne Mars.
- Liked that the exchange between Duncan and Clarence Weidman was basically a hint that the CW should pick up the show! And it better be picked up so we can watch them at Hurst next year (which Mac and Wallace are definitely going to, and most likely Veronica as well. Maybe Logan?).
- I don’t believe that Lamb is dead, I re-watched Keith’s explanation and it implies that Lamb called and requested Keith be removed from the plane and that Lamb wasn’t actually there.
- I’m hoping that Logan and Veronica will help Weevil with his murder charges.
The CW better pick up Veronica Mars!!!!!!!!
Gilmore Girls ‘Partings’ 6:22
This was a brutal episode. I’m very distressed that the Luke and Lorelai relationship has been left in such a bad condition with Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino leaving the show. I can only hope that they’ll tell Daniel Rosenthal (who’s taking over as show runner) how they were planning on fixing this!! Because I want Luke and Lorelai together, and no more of this stupid Christopher business.
I really liked how the episode began and ended with Lorelai waking up and lying there unhappily. Very sad, but well done. And I’m delighted that Logan has gone, and am hoping it’s for good!
I really enjoyed all the troubadours. Because I’m not hip about music, I didn’t know who any of them were. Fortunately a co-worker told me:
- Sonic Youth (actually Kim Gordon, Thustron Moore and their son): They were playing by the band stand.
- Yo La Tengo: They were the other trio.
- Sam Phillips: The woman singing with the violinist after Lorelai walked away from Luke.
- Sparks: The duo with the keyboard.
- Joe Pernice: The solo guy on the guitar (but not the long haired guy who’s been on the show before and was also on Freaks and Geeks).
- Grant Lee Phillips: The regular troubadour in Stars Hollow.
- Mary Lynn Rajskub (aka Chloe on 24) was the very cranky Pheobe-like singer (this one I knew - obviously!).
Since this post is heavy in spoilers, I thought I’d include a couple of fun things for those who don’t watch the shows or haven’t seen the episodes yet.
- Check out this hysterical vid (that I found out about from
femmenerd and kittyzams): James Marsters - Pretty Fly For a White Guy. It confirmed for me that I’m more of a JM fangirl than I’d realized because I’ve seen basically every one of those clips.- If any of you missed Stephen Colbert’s speech at the White House Correspondent’s Diner, you must see it NOW!
In between watching VM and GG, I called one of my BFFs (in a state of shock and excitement) and we had a ridiculously cracked out conversation in which we planned two different vacations to take together: 1.Travel in England & Scotland, and 2. Take a road trip through the U.S. The second idea got really insane as we started imagining all the people we’d bring with us (our plan started to sound like The Muppet Movie).
My friend also told me how she discovered these kids who’d started a fire in one of Toronto’s ravines, so she called the police. After waiting for a bit, she got worried about the fire because she knows how easily these kinds of fires can spread, so grabbed her red bucket and headed back to the ravine (there’s a stream in the ravine). She found the firefighters who were still searching for the fire, and directed them to it. Because they were in the ravine, the firefighters didn’t have their fire equipment so they asked to borrow her red bucket!!! That image totally cracks me up.