Speaking of gender, there is also the question of "Does RT have as much Mother Issues as Joss has Daddy Issues?". But I think in VM, it's more like Parent Issues. The intergenerational conflict is an essential part of the show, so while you have Lianne Mars and Lynn Echolls abandoning their kids and Celeste Kane with her rampant favoritism and general bitchiness, you also have Aaron Echolls and all his horrors and Jake Kane, who may have loved his kids, but still a criminal and a terribly flawed figure. At least the show has Keith, and to a lesser extent Alicia (Wallace's mom), to counteract the whole "the parents are bad, mmkay?" thing.

When they found Duncan in Argentina (?)

Cuba.

But I think in VM, it's more like Parent Issues.

Very much. I mean, look at "Silence of the Lamb." There's an undercurrent of "Do our parents, be they biological or non-biological, make us who we are?" throughout the whole series. Obviously with Keith and Veronica, and certainly, Logan is probably afraid of becoming his father. Don't really know about Duncan's feelings, though. The Duncan/Jake dynamic isn't explored a whole lot, although we know that Jake has really big plans for Duncan, whether he likes it or not.

Cuba.

Right. I stand corrected (and slightly embarassed/shamed at having forgotten so quickly).

the whole "the parents are bad, mmkay?" thing.

This is just wandering through my brain...Could it be more of a "Rich parents are bad" thing? Veronica's Dad, Wallace's Mom, we've seen the money struggles, but these are our "good kids." Or look at Mac, raised with the "wrong" middle class family, she's great and we love her. The girl raised rich by her "real" parents? Total bitca. ie rich parents=bad parents? (Oh oh and Weevil! A Criminal, but with a "Heart of Gold." Rich parents are bad!)

Hey, Veronica Mars thread!

Well, to be fair, Madison's "parents" (the rich ones) are decent--what little we've seen of Mac's biological mother anyway, as are Mac's adopted parents, for all their shortcomings. What bothers me more about that storyline is that it argues that Nature triumphs over Nurture, and does so in a decidedly unambiguous fashion. The Veronica & Keith dynamic is a little more complex, as while Veronica is Keith's daughter, she's also Lianne's. The Echolls family horror show is a mixed-bag: while Aaron is a classic example of the abused-becoming-an-abuser, I don't think we're being led to believe that it's an inescapable fate for Logan--I mean, there are warning bells, as evidence by Logan's proclivity for violence and impulse control, but I don't think the show is as bleak and nihilistic as to suggest that Logan's beyond saving.

What bothers me more about that storyline is that it argues that Nature triumphs over Nurture, and does so in a decidedly unambiguous fashion.

I don't see this. Please explain?

I don't see this. Please explain?

Mac, despite being brought up by nachos-and-NASCAR parents, turned out like her biological falafels-and-Fellini parents.

But were her adoptive parents discouraging of her academic pursuits? I remember them as decent folk.

From an interview I read somewhere - KB had no idea who was at the door at the time that they filmed that scene.

But were her adoptive parents discouraging of her academic pursuits? I remember them as decent folk.

No, they were definitely decent folk.

So you're saying it wasn't unambiguous, but that the adoptive parents nurtured nature.