'Veronica' Shocks the Monkey-Napper

Welcome back old friend. Oh, how I've missed your sarcastic, witty remarks, ace detective skills, and clever stories. Veronica Mars is back, and she brought a little moral dilemma with her. I'm an animal lover myself, so the thought of Hearst's researchers killing the monkey and other research animals after their study is over (to perform a necropsy - animal autopsy - to get conclusive results on their tests) killed me too. On the other hand, without the important research, will we ever find a cure for horrible diseases such as cancer, AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer's, etc.? Perhaps, it's a necessary evil, but one that is still hard to swallow when you're looking into the test subject's eyes. Like Veronica, I wouldn't have been able to turn the monkey-napper in, and I would have shown the same disappointed look when I learned that the researchers were just going to continue their research on another monkey. And yet, I understand the importance, so we're left with a genuine moral dilemma. Last night's outing was a great way to start off the second half of the season. We had a well-done self-contained case (get used to those -- CW President Dawn Ostroff announced at the Winter Press Tour that the last five episodes of the season would contain no overarching mystery, just self-contained "mysteries-of-the-week" ala your favorite procedurals), interesting developments in the Dean O'Dell murder case, and some great personal stuff.


Mac, who is still suffering from the effects of Beaver's craziness, found someone to trust again. And thanks to Parker's nosiness, we now know that Amy is just his sister. I like Bronson, and I think that he could be good for Mac. We all know that Piz has a thing for Veronica, and that she is clueless about it. But, I thought that last night was finally going to be the point when she realized it. Their little heart-to-heart about knowing what you want only convinced her that she should go running back to Logan. I have nothing against Veronica and Logan (in fact, I want them together in the end), but I think that Veronica would be a lot happier if she allowed Logan to mature on his own. He's not nearly ready for her, and she deserves someone who is more to her maturity level. We'll just have wait and see what happens with this story. Finally, Keith discovered what we suspected all along -- Dean O'Dell did not kill himself. And how can he be so sure? The Dean's best Scotch was still sitting unopened in his office. Why would he kill himself without drinking that first? Further more, why would he kill himself in the exact same manner as Veronica's "perfect murder" paper? "Goodbye cruel world" indeed.

If you missed last night's excellent hour ("Show Me the Monkey"), watch it for free at cwtv.com or download it for $1.99 from iTunes. All of the pictures in this edition are courtesy of vm-caps.com.


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