no shit. that's great.

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Veronica checked the dates for Stacy, Nancy, and Parker. Nancy was August 13, the Mexico alibi, and thus had to be faked.

When? The only dates I remember her checking were September 30th and March 24 (which would have been Stacy's).

I'm glad the SPE had consequences

What's the SPE? I know I should probably know, but I don't.

I disagree, as his alibi has been scrutinized multiple times and held up, despite suspicions. I love the layers of his fake alibi. I love that he was both arrested and cleared. I love that I said, "So we know Mercer's not the rapist, right?" when all the fingers were pointing to him so early.

I don't think it was bad, P-C. I like the layers and everything you like, too. I just think the execution was cheap to an extent I think is beneath this show, and the continuity error (which was very small, and Rick Pickett's fault probably, not the writers') made it all so confusing, it was too opaque to revisit.

Let me try another way to explain. I would have been impressed (rather than insulted) by Tijuana alibi, if it had occured in real time. That the serial rapist committed a rape (fake rape) on August 13th, is the reason Logan put Veronica's trust issues/their relationship on the line, to clear Mercer for a September 30th rape: Parker's. And really, the only evidence I have, that leads me to conclude Nancy's rape is fake, is because of the Tijuana alibi.

I think they could have made more of Mercer's Mexican alibi. Since none of the girls who were raped knew who the culprit was, faking a rape was really dangerous -- the one suspect with the most evidence against him was cleared because his alibi proved that he wasn't responsible for one of the rapes. Of course, that was a rape that never happened.

I agree with your overall point, Amy, but either I'm not reading correctly or you've got some devil in your details.

Mercer had two fake alibis. Veronica, Logan, Mercer, and Moe knew both. Lamb (and everyone else) only knew about the alibi for the September 30th rape: the actually-happened rape of Parker.

The Tijuana alibi was for the fake-August-rape of (by default we must assume--Nancy), because the first two rapes happened in February and March of 2006, Parker's happened September 30th, and Claire faked her rape a couple of episodes after Parker was actually raped. Dawn and Stacy were raped in February and March.

The I-was-on-the-air alibi was for the actual September 30th rape of Parker. Parker's rape is the one for which they had the most evidence. Mac's exposition indicates she knew there was a boy in the room with Parker, when Veronica first showed up to get her for their outing to the movies.

Veronica went into the room to get the tickets, and could tell there were two bodies in Parker's bed, and heard the clippers. Lamb had the GHB, recovered in the stolen cash box. Parker had a visceral reaction to her sense-memory of Mercer's cologne. Mercer knew her name, even though they'd "just met" and nobody said her name in their scene, together.

I would have liked (or would still like) the women responsible for the faking idea to understand how much harder they made it to actually catch Mercer (and, um, Moe).

Yes! This pinpoints what disappoints me about the construction of the fake Tijuana alibi. There should have been something with or even just about Nancy in the episode. And I don't want to hear "There wasn't time," when I had to watch yet another scene telling me how adorkable Piz is.

Now Claire has already been expelled, and gotten a verbal confrontation/comeuppance from Veronica in the last episode too, so I don't care that they didn't revisit that. But Nancy matters, because the Logan/Tijuana alibi is the one that spurred Veronica to buy into the fake-live-call-in-show alibi.

Nancy also matters, because she is the person who gave Veronica the information that eventually led Veronica to the evidence that proved Claire was faking. Giving that evidence made Nancy appear an unlikely rape (continued...)

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( continues...) faker, which is fine in and of itself, but itches when it's a pretty bigass loose end, that wasn't sewn up for lack of time.

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I agree with your overall point, Amy, but either I'm not reading correctly or you've got some devil in your details.

This is why I need you to watch shows for me. And submit detailed reports! I can't keep track of half of this stuff.

So, yeah, girls should know fake rape = badness. Please to be keeping me straight on details from now on! (I swear I should start taking notes.)

Another prediction: Weevil will be arrested in the cold open.

I doubt it. They already did that at graduation, which was so. heart. breaking.

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SPN = Stanford Prison Experiment.

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SPN = Stanford Prison Experiment.

Thanks, sumi. I'm laughing because you made a typo, and put "SPN" when I was asking about bon bon's "SPE," and of course the whole reason I couldn't interpret bon bon's use of "SPE" in the first place, is because it I kept thinking, "SPN."

And I don't even watch that show.

I doubt it. They already did that at graduation, which was so. heart. breaking.

Weevil will come under suspicion, at least, I bet. So will Keith. So will the wife. So will Landry. So will Tim (Not!Lucky). It'll probably end up being the assistant's husband, who we'll learn is having a gay adulterous four-way, with the Dean's wife's co-worker, Bud Rose's gay assistant, and Harmony Chase's husband.

Off screen, because that's where all the good stuff on Veronica Mars happens.

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When? The only dates I remember her checking were September 30th and March 24 (which would have been Stacy's).

Okay, maybe she didn't check the August 13 date, but why would she? Mercer was in Mexico at the time.

I think I see what your quibbles are, but to me, the good far outweighed the bad.

Off screen, because that's where all the good stuff on Veronica Mars happens.

Argh. It pains me to see you like this.

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Okay, maybe she didn't check the August 13 date, but why would she? Mercer was in Mexico at the time.

She didn't know that yet.

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Thanks, sumi. I'm laughing because you made a typo, and put "SPN" when I was asking about bon bon's "SPE," and of course the whole reason I couldn't interpret bon bon's use of "SPE" in the first place, is because it I kept thinking, "SPN."

Ah well. Typing is so hard.

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Okay, maybe she didn't check the August 13 date, but why would she? Mercer was in Mexico at the time.

She didn't know that yet.

Exactly. All she knew is that he had an alibi from Logan, one Logan was (at the time) refusing to share with her—one which made her extremely suspicious.

Argh. It pains me to see you like this.

Okay, well first of all, I cheered, when I read your post about last night's ratings.

Secondly, during the episode, I was extremely engaged (talking-back-to-the-TV levels of engagement). When Mercer told Veronica he was going to do his show, I knew it was him, and knew I'd figure out all the alibi tomfoolery (I never completely bought what Piz said about the call-in show being hard to pre-record), later.

When Veronica faked out Mercer (hiding the drugged girl in in the closet, and hiding in the drugged girl's bed) I was so proud of her. When she stabbed Mercer with the Unicorn, I was pleased on 45 different levels.

Then, when the shoes were revealed to be Moe's (which I knew from the promo, because please, they were brown Hush Puppies), I was so surprised Moe wasn't guilty. And as soon as he handed Veronica the tea, I realized, "Oh, no, he really is guilty. What I thought was going to happen with him and Tim, is what's been happening with him and Mercer." Then I spent a lot of time yelling at Veronica to put down the frakking tea.

Then he locked her in the dormroom. Locked her. In a dorm room. In.

And the whole thing started to go to hell for me. Having to assume Nancy faked her rape, which was so key to Mercer's guilt and alibis, was sort of the last straw.

It wasn't until after the episode finished, that the full force of my disappointment hit me, though. I was so psyched that Parker heard the whistle, mostly for Parker's sake, but also because Veronica didn't have faith that anyone would ever care if someone was being raped. But again, it was mostly good because of Parker, who couldn't fight for herself, but she could and did fight for Veronica. It would have been better (for me) though, if after she hollered, "Rape!" the hallway had filled with women, including angry feminist icons, rather than with men. At least the men believed and sided with Parker over Mercer/Moe though.

If the episode was 44 minutes long, I enjoyed the hell out of 38. The other six left me feeling cheap.

Logan smashing the cop car window and getting put in the same jail cell almost redeemed it, though. The break-up couldn't have been more poignant. And I am excited for the second mystery. I think this rape one could have been told in six episodes, though.

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