"We Used to Be Friends" Re-Watch: "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" & "Ahoy, Mateys!"

 Veronica Mars

I always forget that season two of "Veronica Mars" swings wildly. It has lots of plates spinning and you are never sure what show you are going to get from episode to episode. Again, it's not bad. It's just clear that they just decided to do everything. Let's dive back in.

"Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner"

Keith Mars: "Guess who got an invite to the police bachelor auction?"

Veronica Mars: "Please say Veronica Mars. Please say Veronica Mars."

Veronica agrees to help Duncan when he finds out that one of the children Meg used to babysit for is being abused and Meg was trying to expose it. Kendall is doing everything she can to continue live the life she's become accustomed to when she learns that Dick Sr left her nothing when he fled, including trying to get money of Logan and seduce Duncan. Logan gets Veronica to investigate the supposed witness that has came forward.

This bitch.

I think we've talked about this in previous recaps of this season, but sometimes it feels like "Veronica Mars" season two is trying to service too many masters. There are so many plates spinning and sometimes they feel dangerously close to dropping on the ground. We have a bus crash. We have Felix's murder. Not only that, but we have all the individual stories of all the individual characters. So, why not throw one more story into the overstuffed mix. Keith may have lost the sheriff's election, but Woody Goodman still has plans to get Keith his old job back. He wants to incorporate Neptune, basically make it a town specifically for the '09'ers and if he does that then he'll make Keith the sheriff of this new town. This will definitely help heal the class divide that the town is suffering from.

Duncan Kane is wild. He has zero respect for someone's privacy. Veronica was tempted to read the things that were on Meg's computer, but she didn't. She had respect for this person. Duncan didn't. He goes through Meg's stuff like it was going out of style. And sure, he uncovers a pretty disgusting secret of the Manning's, but still. Do you lose all right to privacy when you're in a coma? Not to mention, the whole thing with Kendall. When Kendall shows up naked in Duncan's room it's all left very ambiguous. And honestly, I don't remember how it all shakes out. I don't recall if they revisit this in the next few episodes. I'm sure they do because how could Veronica Mars just leave it alone that the 25 year old fucking her ex was in her current boyfriend's room. Not very Veronica to just let that slide.

The investigation into who is being abused is kind of crazy too. It like tows the line between comedy and drama and I'm not sure if it is completely successful pulling it off. Child abuse is a pretty serious subject and interjecting these moments of like, "Neptune parents and their kids are crazy!' is kind of weird. Like, it's funny that Mr Fuller just nonchalantly drops that he's alone on his boat on Saturday's and that Veronica could come over and smoke a j and fool around. Then there is Ms Fuller's hellion of a child that freaks out for things that he is not supposed to have as soon as he leaves the room. 

Then, there is a shift when things get serious and the show reminds you that they are talking about child abuse. We get a visit to the Goodman home where Gia ambushes her with a girls nigh. Truly Veronica's worst nightmare. Things seem like they are not going great for Gia's brother, Rodney. It's established that their mom is anal to the nth degree and Rodney freaks out when he spills water on the carpet. And Veronica spies an ominous scene between the Goodman's and Rodney.

The big reveal is that the child being abused is Meg's youngest sister, Grace. When Duncan and Veronica break into the Mannings house to get a copy of one of the notebooks, they realize that the call was coming from inside the house. It's chilling when they find Grace locked in a small room in the back of her closet. This also shows that Lamb does have some sense of decency. He puts on a show of cuffing Veronica and Duncan, but listens when Veronica tells him about the room. It seems that Lamb has was abused as a child and now he's watching the Manning's. He lets Duncan and Veronica go.

Wallace is still with his dad but Veronica is still emailing him, even if she isn't getting a response. She begins her investigation into Dr. Tom Griffith, a plastic surgeon and the supposed eyewitness to Logan killing Felix, though Logan admits that he remembers that Griffith isn't the guy. Despite Griffith telling Veronica she doesn't need plastic surgery, he's definitely up to something shady. Veronica tails him to a cigar shop that is a front for a drug business. Oh and Duncan steals a sealed letter from Meg's room, because of course he does.

Grade: B

"Ahoy, Mateys!"

Logan Echolls: "Hey, if you could exonerate me sometime soon that would be great. I really don't want bottom bunk in Fisty McRapesalot's cell."

Veronica Mars: "If you want a top, I'm sure it's negotiable."

Logan Echolls: "Help me, Mars Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

While investigating the eyewitness to Felix's death, Veronica runs afoul of the other gang in Neptune, the Fighting Fitzpatricks and barely escapes the encounter with some help from Logan. Things aren't great within the PCH'ers either and Weevil is even more determined to figure out what happened to Felix. Keith is hired by the parents of Marcos Oliveres, who died in the bus crash. They are being tormented by someone leaving recordings of Marcos's voice, his cologne in their house. They believe this is being done by someone working for the school because the Oliveres's are holding out on a settlement. But the truth may be a bit more personal.

Duncan's psyche is fucked.

We were talking about the crazy tonal shifts in some of these season two episodes and you could get whiplash watching this episode in particular. Take that opening with Veronica at the River Stix, the bar that is the home base for the Irish gang, the Fighting Fitzpatrick's. It's extremely intense and I don't know how I feel about it. Whenever there is violence on "Veronica Mars," it always feels shocking to me. It's like when Aaron goes after Veronica in the season finale. I understand there need to be stakes and I get that Veronica is putting herself in these dangerous situations. And it isn't necessarily realistic for her to just breeze in and out of these dangerous situations with no consequences. But, I didn't need to see her choked on a pool table or threatened with a tattoo needle. It just really rubs me the wrong way every time I see it. I think that there is a way to show that Veronica is putting herself in danger without her being threatened with violence by dudes especially whens she's the main character.

Then there is the scene when Logan is picked up by the PCH'ers to be interrogated about that night on the bridge once Weevil finds out that Thumper didn't actually see Logan stab Felix. But Jesus Christ. This is too much man. Masked men threatening to shoot Logan in the hand while he's tied up. And then threatening to shoot his dick off. I think it's too much and it's unnecessary. This is a teen drama that was airing on UPN. Like get it together y'all. Logan finds out that it was Weevil that ordered this abduction and terror and I'm sure Logan will forgive and forget and not escalate this. Hahaha.

Veronica and Keith are investigating another type of terrorizing. The parents of Marcos Oliveres are being haunted by the memory of their son who died in the bus crash. His cologne is being sprayed in their home. Toy busses are being left around it. Recordings of his voice are being taped underneath their car. They believe it is someone from the school district trying to bully them into accepting a settlement offer they believe is too low. It's not crazy to believe that someone from Neptune High would stoop so low.

This is a fine subplot. It keeps the bus crash in viewer's minds. It also returns Mac to the show. I love Mac. Tina Majorino is a great foil for Kristen Bell and Veronica needs a sidekick especially since Wallace is still MIA. When Veronica's investigation into Marcos leads to a dead end, Mac introduces Veronica to a pirate radio show that Marcos was a putting on along with Vincent "Butters" Clemmons. We soon learn that Marcos's family sent him to conversion camp because they caught him getting  a shirtless massage from another boy. Because of course they did. And that boy is actually the one that has been tormenting the Oliveres's because he blames them for Marcos's death. The only reason Marcos went to the stadium was to win back his parents's approval and prove he was normal aka not gay. Look, I'm not saying what Ryan did was right, but maybe they did have it coming. I have no sympathy for anyone who'd send their kids to a conversion camp.

Duncan is still not doing great. Now he's having dreams where Meg is virginal and Veronica is a temptress clad in all black and leather. It's not a huge shock that Duncan's psyche is not subtle. Again, it's kind of surprising that Veronica is letting this slide and not confronting her boyfriend. It feels very un-Veronicalike. After another sex dream, Duncan opens the letter he stole from Meg's room and what he reads is very shocking, but we'll have to wait until next time to figure out what he learns.

Grade: B

Next up, Veronica learns some startling things about her mom's time at Neptune High and has jury duty.

What do you all think? Is there too much going on? Are the tonal shifts too much? What about the violence and threats of violence? Is that too much? Let me know in the comments.