This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 203.118.180.204 (talk) at 05:26, 10 June 2015 (→Synopsis). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 05:26, 10 June 2015 by 203.118.180.204 (talk) (→Synopsis)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Television episode| "Plan B (Veronica Mars)" |
|---|
"Plan B" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the thirty-ninth episode overall. Written by Dayna Lynne North and directed by John T. Kretchmer, the episode premiered on UPN on April 5, 2006.
The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a high school student while moonlighting as a private detective. In this episode, Weevil (Francis Capra) asks Veronica for help in proving that Thumper (James Molina) killed Felix. Meanwhile, Wallace (Percy Daggs III) breaks up with Jane (Valorie Curry), and Mac (Tina Majorino) confronts Cassidy (Kyle Gallner) about his hesitance to engage in an intimate physical relationship with her.
Synopsis
Logan (Jason Dohring) wins Woody Goodman’s (Steve Guttenberg) essay contest with a plagiarised essay, winning an internship with Woody and the honour of pushing the plunger at Old Shark Field's demolition ceremony. Whilst sorting through mail, Logan finds a creepy video taken of a stalker inside the Goodman home; Woody enlists Keith to find out who sent it, convinced that it is a committed anti-incorporation citizen. Keith realises due to the time and lightness that the video had to have been recorded months before the incorporation plan was announced, so the grudge must be personal. When he shares this with Woody, he comes up with a story about a fired gardener with a grudge, whom he doesn't need to pursue the matter with and would like to forget the whole thing. He requests Keith return the video to destroy it, but feeling suspicious, Keith keeps a copy on his computer.
Weevil flashes back to a scene about a year ago with Felix, remembering a conversation in which Felix talked about getting married and going to trucking school. He asks Veronica for help in proving that Thumper killed Felix. Weevil tells Veronica that the night he beat up David “Curly” Moran, Thumper videoed it and has threatened to take it to the police if Weevil tells anyone he killed Felix. He believes that Felix was killed because of his relationship with Molly Fitzpatrick, niece of Liam. Veronica asks Logan about the night of Felix’s murder, and he says that he saw a San Diego seafood truck. They track down the driver of the truck, who intervened in the attack on Logan and Felix but never came forward; the says that he is stayed quiet because he is thinking of his family, who live in an area dominated by the PCHers.
Weevil finds Molly and gives her a toy truck he says he found in Felix's locker, but in reality has a listening device in it. He yells at her because she accepts the untrue version of events and thinks that her family has nothing to do with it. This spurs her thoughts, and later whilst at the River Stix she mentions it to Liam, who is angered by this. He screams that Felix was bragging about having sex with her and didn't care about her at all, and that if her father wasn't in prison, he would have done it himself. This exchanged is recorded by Veronica and Weevil's toy truck. They take it to Lamb, who refuses to reopen the investigation, due to the fact that it would be more work for him to obtain legal evidence. Disheartened, Weevil sets about taking his own form of justice.
Wallace and Jackie continue to bond, despite him still dating Jane, whom he is taking to the Sadie Hawkins dance. Jackie appears to have changed and asks a socially awkward, bullied boy to be her date. Wallace follows Jackie into the hall and kisses her, but she rejects him. Jane's friend tells her about it and she attempts to leave, but Wallace convinces her it was a weak moment. Later, Jane makes a comment believing it to be Jackie's fault. Wallace corrects her and admits that he still has feelings for her, and that the kiss was all him. He breaks up with her and tries to get back together with Jackie. However, Jackie rejects him a second time, stating that she is trying to be a good person, and stealing him from a sweet girl with Jane is not right.
Mac and Beaver attend the dance together as well, but Mac is feeling his reluctance to become physically intimate with her. After talking to Veronica about her confusion, seeing as he is a high school boy and after four months, have not moved past kissing, she comes to the conclusion that he is probably inexperienced. When she tries to explain that she is also inexperienced and okay with it, Beaver becomes defensive and angry, especially when he learns that she has spoken to Veronica about it. He breaks up with her.
Weevil mugs Thumper of the money owing to the Fitzpatricks from their drug business, and sets it up so that it appears Thumper is trying to rip them off. The Fitzpatricks chain him and his bike inside Old Shark Stadium, killing him when it is demolished that day as part of it's scheduled demolition. This comes after Veronica successfully convinces the truck driver to come forward with his testimony via his wife's influence, and Lamb is forced to issue a warrant for Thumper's arrest, although he is already dead.
Cultural references
The following cultural references are made in the episode:
- Veronica and Logan watched Easy Rider the previous summer.
- Veronica tries to make the Shocker, but ends up making the scout's honor sign.
- Wallace compares himself to Superman.
- Logan playfully tweaks a famous quote from the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy.
- Logan also references the Big Stick ideology.
- Veronica calls Logan Deputy Dawg.
- Logan quotes a line from The Breakfast Club.
- When Weevil tells Veronica about Felix's relationship with Molly Fitzpatrick, Veronica responds, "Good Golly, Miss Molly".
- Liam Fitzpatrick sarcastically uses the lyrics to "On the Good Ship Lollipop" to insult Molly.
- Veronica calls Weevil Dirty Harry.
- After Weevil objects to this remark, Veronica calls him Dirty Sanchez.
Arc significance
- The PCHers got an anonymous call saying that "Curly" Moran was responsible for the bus crash. Weevil claims that he beat Curly to save his life—otherwise, the rest of the PCHers would have thrown him off a cliff.
- Woody Goodman receives a video of the inside of his own home. He and Keith figure that it was sent by someone against incorporation, but it turns out that the video was shot in November, months before Woody announced his incorporation plan. Woody says that an angry former gardener is responsible, and asks Keith to stop working on finding the stalker.
- Veronica and Logan contact the real 911 caller from the bridge, but he is reluctant to talk, citing fear that the PCHers will come after his wife and child.
- Weevil thinks the Fitzpatricks ordered the hit on Felix because they found out about Felix's relationship with Molly Fitzpatrick. Weevil thinks Thumper was the one who carried it out.
- Logan takes a piece of paper stamped with Woody Goodman's signature from Woody's office while he's there as Woody's assistant.
- Weevil sabotages Thumper's meeting with the Fitzpatricks, making it look like Thumper tried to cheat the Fitzpatricks out of the money he owed them from dealing for them.
- Veronica talks to the 911 caller's wife to get him to talk to Lamb about what he saw on the bridge. The caller tells Lamb he saw Thumper kill Felix.
- Liam and his cronies beat Thumper and handcuff him to a urinal inside Shark Stadium. A construction worker discovers Thumper's bike there before detonation, but insists that no one is inside. Woody gives the order to detonate, and the stadium subsequently implodes—with Thumper inside.
Music
The following music can be heard in the episode:
- "If I Were A Storm" by the Wild Seeds
- "Lost Art" by Mere Mortals
- "Sway" by The Perishers
- "Gravity/Falling Down Again" by Alejandro Escovedo
Production
The episode was written by Dayna Lynne North and directed by John T. Kretchmer, marking North's sixth and final writing credit and Kretchmer's eighth writing credit for the show. The episode features appearances by many of the important recurring characters of the season, including Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie (Tina Majorino), Gia Goodman (Krysten Ritter), Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg), and Liam Fitzpatrick (Rod Rowland). In addition, "Plan B" features the final appearance of Eduardo "Thumper" Orozco (James Molina) after the character is locked in Shark Stadium just before it explodes. The episode features a cameo by Furonda Brasfield, a contestant on the sixth cycle of America's Next Top Model. She won the role as a prize for winning a small competition within one of the episodes.
Reception
Ratings
In its original broadcast, "Plan B" received 2.85 million viewers, marking an increase from the previous episode, "The Rapes of Graff".
Reviews
Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A". Price Peterson, writing for TV.com, praised the closure of the Felix-stabbing mystery, stating that "I don't know about you, but I was really ready to be finished with the Felix-stabbing plot line, so this episode was deeply satisfying. I'm definitely ready for a fresh set of mysteries for Veronica to solve.
Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club gave a more mixed review, writing that "It’s amusing that last week I was complaining that Veronica Mars wasn’t ramping up its tension as it headed towards the end of the season. Clearly I jumped the gun slightly, since both of these episodes did exactly that. “Plan B” was a little contrived—you could see the strings being pulled with Logan’s memory and Wallace’s breakup—but strong enough to take us into the home stretch."
References
- "Plan B Cultural References". Mars Investigations: The (In)Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- "The Music Of Veronica Mars: Episode 2-17: Plan B". Mars Investigations: The (In)Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- "Dayna North". TV.com. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- "John T. Kretchmer". TV.com. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
- ^ Peterson, Price (August 5, 2012). "The Veronica Mars Season 2 Dossier: Episodes 17-19". TV.com. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
- "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. April 11, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
- "Veronica Mars Plan B Recap". Television Without Pity. April 4, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
- Kaiser, Rowan (January 13, 2012). "Review: Veronica Mars: "The Rapes of Graff" / "Plan B"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
External links
- "Plan B (Veronica Mars)" at IMDb
- "Plan B" at Mars Investigations