Veronica Mars 1.20 'M.A.D.'

Almost all of the people Veronica helps possess some sort of trait that seems to parallel Veronica in some way. Last week it was Mandy’s lack of authority, this week its Carmen’s diminished appetite for revenge, something Veronica constantly seeks out. Like last week, this episode is all about the set-up; Veronica is given her big clue to kick off her big inquiry into who was responsible for what happened to her a year previously; Keith starts to search for Duncan, whose return allows for his presence during the next episodes big revelation; and Veronica learns some truths about Logan who will become a major suspect next week.

In ‘M.A.D.’ a fellow student asks Veronica to help her stop her ex-boyfriend from putting out a damaging video of her. Keith continues to search for Duncan. Logan and Veronica decide to keep their new romance a secret so Duncan can find out from them about their relationship.

God, I was itching for Veronica to take Tad down. What kind of a sicko blackmails someone out of breaking up with them? The series’ intelligent writing comes into play here as we see Carmen’s softer more subtle approach to Tad’s actions contrast severely with Veronica’s who is intent on seeing him suffer. This happens time and time again with all the people Veronica comes into contact with throughout the series, and it’s one more reason to see the series for the underrated masterpiece it really is.

[Highlight for spoilers through 1.22] It seems that the writers wanted to contrast the disturbing image we got of Aaron Echolls last week with a more considerate, kind father that we saw here. While it works as a deterrence to keep us from figuring out the truth before it’s revealed, it’s also a subtle way of keeping him in play, so when we do see Veronica crack the case, it isn’t an anti-climax; it would be really disappointing to learn that the true murderer is someone we barely got to see; another solid episode.

8.5/10