One of the many reasons I love this episode is because it manages to fit an otherworldly amount of story into it, and not once does it let it affect the episodes quality, keeping the normal banter and fascinating character development front and centre. The noir element of the series is in full swing, and this week’s cases feature more than one twist even in their short episodic format.
In ‘Ruskie Business’ Veronica helps a woman track down a man she left, but has since changed her mind about how she feels about him. Meg finds out she has a secret admirer and Veronica decides to find out who it is. When Logan’s mother’s credit card is used, he and Veronica travel to LA to find out for sure if she really faked her death.
A lot of the time, when a series tries to cram a lot into an episode it usually results in a disaster, overshadowing the characters and just becoming messy. ‘Ruskie Business’ succeeds in not only creating some fascinating stories, but in keeping the characters in the forefront while skilfully progressing a multitude of pivotal stories forward.
Veronica helping Meg out should be a regular thing, because just like ‘Like a Virgin’, this episode’s High School shenanigans are pretty engaging. It must be especially heart-breaking for Veronica to bring Meg and Duncan together, especially as it’s fairly obvious that there are still more than one stone left unturned with regards their previous relationship.
Veronica’s friends all seem to bring something different out of her. Wallace was always the grounded, honest good guy who helps keep her in line; Mac is the cool edgy computer whiz who usually encourages Veronica’s inner detective; and Meg is almost the ‘new age’ Lilly. Seeing her and Meg together is kind of refreshing since it’s pretty rare we see Veronica getting to do anything even remotely considered to be ‘girly’.
What I loved about Veronica helping Catherine during this episode is that it really helped the series to show off the noir detective work that it does so well. Sometimes the way that they handle it overshadows the teen drama that is usually prevalent in the series (and vice versa), but this episode balanced both aspects masterfully. The Russian mafia twist was pretty cool too.
The Veronica/Logan scenes here are essentially what ‘LoVe’ shippers have been waiting for since the start. All of the drama in the hotel lobby is superbly done, and I really love the weak side that the writers having been giving Logan during the past few episodes. I love Aly Hannigan and her performance in Buffy is pretty spectacular, but her role as Triona didn’t really allow her the best material to show that off, but I think her Buffy alum status is enough to keep it fun.
The series really shines from here on out, and that final scene with Lianne, however short, is filled with emotion, and intrigue and sets up the brilliant scenes that feature in the following ‘Betty and Veronica’.
9.5/10
I really need to watch this show again! Reading your reviews I suddenly remember bits and pieces about how much I loved Meg, and all the high school detective drama. I remember liking the Duncan story, too, even though he wasn't hugely popular.
ReplyDeleteYou should most definitely watch it again, especially since you've not seen it in years, it'll feel quite fresh.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Duncan story, the only problem was he was a bit dull. I liked seeing with with V though.