Veronica Mars "Not Pictured" Review (2x22)

“My name is Cassidy.”

Veronica Mars and Cassidy Casablancas aren’t all that different from each other. What the former has, however–a strong support system–is what the latter lacks, and it’s a big part of why the two are sent on divergent paths after similar pasts. Whereas season one set up a murder that revolved around love lives and cover-ups, season two tackles Neptune’s corruption head on, highlighting just how easily you can be swallowed whole by the ugly nature of your environment. It’s a transformative and oftentimes traumatic experience to go through, and it’s this idea that brings it all together in the season finale.

The interesting thing about this finale and this season is that while everything seems to fit together nicely at the end, there’s a very haphazard approach to it all. The clues are certainly dropped throughout the twenty-two episodes, so you can understand why seeing the name “Cassidy Casablancas” would be the final piece of the puzzle for Veronica; at the same time, her figuring out the murderer in that split second is pretty representative of this entire season, one with certain pacing issues and one that loses sight of its target quite often. It makes perfect sense, but something feels a bit off.

The same idea can be applied to the character of Cassidy Casablancas. It makes sense from a character standpoint, but it’s jarring. For example, it makes sense why he’d become a killer–high school becomes life or death, another nod at Neptune’s corruption–and looking back on the last two seasons, every little jab at him becomes re-contextualized. Even Veronica’s rape is revisited, and while there may be concerns about cheapening “A Trip to the Dentist” a bit, it’s still another insight into Cassidy’s lingering history; he feels like he has to prove his masculinity in some way, and this is the way he does it. He’s a killer and a rapist and deserves to go down for it, but it’s difficult not to feel for him.

Which makes it really interesting to see how the writers treat his character in the rooftop confrontation with Veronica. I feel like the time spent trying to deflect suspicion from Cassidy makes this finale shift incredibly jarring, and the whole “evil mastermind” characterization is a bit much; sure, I can see him turning it up a notch due to the thrill of being in power for once–due to his plan all falling into place–but it’s a tonal shift that I just can’t buy. This doesn’t work with Cassidy like it works with Aaron Echolls. Of course, it’s still a tense sequence, and Bell, Dohring, and Gallner all do a fantastic job of selling it.

The most effective moment of that sequence is Cassidy’s “My name is Cassidy”. It’s all the shit he’s taken encapsulated in one line, and he doesn’t go out in a blaze of glory or anything; he simply steps off the roof, and he’s dead. Logan can’t even come up with a reason why he shouldn’t. It’s one of the most chilling scenes of the show thus far, and it’s a fantastic ending to a flawed, yet compelling, storyline.

At the end of it all, it comes back around to the similarities and differences between Cassidy and Veronica. An early dream sequence portrays what would’ve happened had Lilly Kane not been murdered: Veronica and Wallace would do no more than exchange caps and gowns, Lilly would be fooling around at college, and Veronica would not have been pushed aside by the 09ers. As awful as the murder was, it without a doubt changed Veronica. It allowed her to meet someone like Wallace, to learn about who she is, to learn how to survive in a world that kicks her when she’s down. Cassidy was never given the opportunities to grow and develop that Veronica had, and it’s heartbreaking to witness.

GRADE: A-

SEASON GRADE: B+

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-I like the contrast to the season premiere: instead of Logan lying across Veronica’s lap, it’s the other way around.

-The elevator scene between Aaron and Veronica is wonderfully played by Harry Hamlin, and it’s a nice final moment for him before Clarence Wiedman–hired by Duncan–puts a bullet into his head.

-As a plot point, the plane explosion is pretty unnecessary–I never felt like Keith was in any danger–but as a character moment for Veronica, it’s extremely effective. After all, she’s had to live through a ton of shit as well–most recently, the Aaron Echolls acquittal and the loss of the Kane scholarship–and it makes sense that all she’d want to do is somehow make things right. I also love the moment afterward in which she rushes to the kitchen and finds Logan instead.

-I honestly don’t have anything to say about Jackie and her son and her stupid New York/Paris stuff. I really, really don’t care.

– “Anything I should know in case I get another one like you someday?” “Don’t keep all your passwords taped to the bottom of your stapler.” I love the graduation scene. I wonder how next year’s college stuff is going to turn out.

– “For you, on this momentous occasion.” “….a pony?!?”

– “CW?” “It’s a done deal.”

-Overall? I liked season one better, but I respect what they were trying to do this season. It was still very entertaining.

-One more season.