Veronica Mars 1.18 'Weapons of Class Destruction'

While I wasn’t overly impressed with the case this episode explores, other factors like great scripting and wonderful character development help to make this episode anything other than a disappointment. The weakness of the major story is superseded by the strength of the smaller aspects of it and again we’re faced with a less than perfect outcome.

In ‘Weapons of Class Destruction’ the new journalism teacher, Ms Stafford (Joey Lauren Adams) encourages Veronica to investigate a seemingly strange number of fire drills at Neptune High, she uncovers a far more serious reason behind them than regular mandates. Duncan finds out about Veronica’s murder files on him.

When looking at the overall structure of the bomb threat case, where it fails is in its resolution. ‘Veronica Mars’ rarely ends each case with a perfectly happy result for those involved, but here the whole thing is wrapped up rather quickly, and we’re left without a moment of vindication for Norris and seeing that Mullet haired agent get his comeuppance. Where it succeeds is getting its overall message of "freedom of speech" across, which is a story that is wonderfully depicted with an over zealous Ms Stafford trying to bring the best out of her students.

You could see that the fans weren’t the only ones dying to finally see Veronica and Logan’s first kiss, but the writers were pretty excited to see it happen too and it’s quite a striking moment. I’m all for them together and they have oodles of chemistry, but throughout the series, particularly the third, the whole thing is given far too much attention. Though I’ll admit, the secret fangirl inside me squealed a little bit!

I’ve always thought of Veronica and Wallace as brother and sister, mostly due to the complete lack of anything sexual between the two; something I’m glad the writers didn’t force on us. Keith and Alisha’s get-together only reinforced that belief and I enjoyed seeing the episode address just how close they had become. Even though he was starting to become relegated to a bit of a non-presence, Wallace’s participation in each episode is always appreciated.

The series continues to set things up for the dramatic final 2 episodes with Duncan fleeing after his confrontation with Veronica while still giving our stand-alone stories a great amount of attention.

8/10