This episode is one that’s bailed out by the in-between parts. It’s been one of my biggest worries since this show started, that the fuel would run out on its tactful storytelling and it might turn to standard material to fluff things out. Wichita Linebacker focuses on one of the show’s weakest premises by a mile, and it takes the introduction of a ‘Mars newbie and a Neptune heavyweight to steer the episode away from a one way trip to boring.
Ever since Weevil was kicked out of the PCH’ers, and refused to accept their invitation back, he was inevitably going to face a bit of an identity crisis. Without anything major to keep him around he became almost inconsequential. Not only did I love seeing him take his turn as a rough-around-the-edges Barnaby Jones, but it was so great to see him play a part in this show again. Though his participation this season is minimal, he’s always been one of the show’s strongest supporting players, and that doesn’t change even when his time in the limelight is over.
Even when it’s tanking the stand-alone stuff, the series can always rely on the general appeal of both Veronica and Bell too keep the viewer invested on whatever’s going on. Little things like Veronica’s near miss with the football coach are where the series writers show how well they can play around with this show’s sense of humour.
It was around this time that the Veronica and Logan love-train was in over-drive. Don’t get me wrong, it’s giving me some serious fan boy happy’s seeing them together like this, but fan-worship can sometimes over power a series that takes its viewers’ opinions seriously. In some cases that’s a blessing, but in others it can hamper some well liked aspects, almost to the point where they become over-wrought and difficult to watch.
Dean O’Dell, like Cliff and Lamb, is one of those background characters that lights up whatever scene he’s in. Ed Begely Jr. falls into the series like he’s been there for years, easily sparking up banter with Bell like he’s been hiding his passwords underneath his staplers for years. It’s nice to see smaller characters that are just as appealing as those who drive the show.
Season 3 had a stronger start than I expected, but Wichita Linebacker was the first episode to bring Veronica Mars down. At a time when the show was undergoing a radical change, it doesn’t bode well to bore the show down with writing that’s standard and lacklustre.
6/10
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