Ladyghosts: Veronica Mars Ep. 8

Mac! This is the episode where we are introduced to Mac! After Weevil, I think Mac is my favorite Veronica Mars lackey friend. Mac is brought onto the scene because of her computer hacking skills.  Why does Veronica need a computer hacker? Because there is a “Purity Test” going around the school that all the kids are taking. They should rename it “Idiot Test” though, because seriously, who takes a test that asks questions relating to one’s so-called purity and uses their real name? Morons, that’s who. And that’s why the school is in all kinds of bedlam the next day when everyone has bought their friend’s and boyfriend’s purity test results for a cool $10 a pop and some jackass has written the scores on everyone’s lockers. But what’s this? Even Meg, whom VM describes as so good that cartoon birds probably braided her hair, scored a 48. Meg denies she even took the test, and is a promise-ring type who doesn’t even go to second base. Veronica’s detective senses tingle, and that brings us to our Mystery Of The Week. (Spoiler Alert: See Season Two for how pure Meg really is.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.)

Anyway, Veronica is trying to figure out who took the test to fake Meg’s results, as well as hers since Veronica’s score is a very impure 14%. Mac suggests Veronica try to get the handsome French IT guy to give her a friend’s password. The IT guy stands his ground, though, and Veronica makes a mental list of top suspects. The prime candidates are Meg’s “bad” sister Lizzy and Dick Casablancas, the 09er who is a bigger asshole than Logan Echolls.

For the Lilly Kane story line, Veronica met with Neptune’s Only Lawyer, Cliff, who was Abel Koontz’s lawyer, to try to get a meeting with Abel Koontz. Cliff doesn’t seem to think it will happen, so Veronica writes him herself, pretending to be a criminology student from Koontz’ hometown.

And then we’ve got the Home Front story line. This one actually involves Wallace. He lives with his mom and little brother and they rent out an attached apartment to some sleaze ball who doesn’t pay his rent and turns off the pilot light in the stove and turns on the gas. I actually have a little trouble with this story line from a feminist standpoint, because Papa Mars obviously feels that he needs to go in and save the poor single mother and when Wallace’s mom is like “thanks but no thanks, I got it” he pulls the Nice Guy (TM) routine of “I was just trying to be nice!”  Ugh. At the same time, neither Wallace or his mom are sure what to do about the situation. So, even though Wallace’s mom said she didn’t want help, Papa Mars broke into her house and the tenant’s apartment to scare the tenant into leaving. It works, though, and Wallace and his mom aren’t nearly as put off as I would be and Wallace’s mom even goes over to tell Papa Mars what a Nice Guy (TM) he is. Blech.

OK, so back to the Mystery of the Week, Mac and Veronica figure out that someone is logged on to her account that’s not her. They go to the computer after the class bell has rung, and this genius hacker has managed to fail to log out of the computer he was using illicitly. Really people? You all score a 14 on the Idiot Test. The hacker sent an email to Duncan from Veronica saying that she had VD when they were together and that she still is in love with him. VD? Do people say that, like sincerely? Is this the 70’s? I would hope that Duncan would know Veronica well enough that she would at least make some clever quip about her VD. And what’s this? The hacker was also IMing with someone named Froggy, who was apparently supplying the hacker with passwords.  (Side note: We learn that Veronica’s screen name is LifeIsABeach. I can’t decide if I think that’s totally in, or totally out of, character.)  Veronica tracks down Froggy, and if you guessed that Froggy is the nickname for the French IT guy, you were right! It turns out that the IT guy was sleeping with Kim, some girl who wants everything that Meg has and he gave her the password to fake the test for her. Some other random Veronica hater was the one who faked Veronica’s test results. And just as Veronica is pondering who created the Purity Test in the first place Mac drives through the parking lot in her new Volkswagen Beetle convertible! Enough of those morons paid for tests that our girl was able to buy herself a new car. Thus sealing her place in my heart as Number Two Favorite VM Friend.

Finally the episode ends with a Clarice/Hannibal meeting between Veronica and Abel Koontz.  Koontz stands by his claim that he killed Lilly Kane and then brings in one of my favorite tidbits of the whole series.  ” Think about it, Veronica! Look in a mirror! Are you the product of a schlubby sheriff or the king and queen of the prom?” Aaahh! Is Duncan Veronica’s half-brother! Oh yes, Veronica Mars went there! And that’s why this episode gets 4 out of 5 Weevils from me.