Veronica Mars: Pilot Episode

 Very intriguing first episode with some very dark themes. It starts out with the titular character explaining how she lives in a place where everyone who goes to her high school is either a millionaire or works for millionaires. Then the story shows a young man taped to the flagpole in his underwear with the word 
"snitch" written across his chest. Veronica cuts him down, so he joins her for lunch. Veronica tells how she used to be part of the "it" crowd because she dated the son of the rich software executive named Jake Kane who was responsible for a lot of people in his company becoming millionaires who is also beloved by the whole town. Slowly Veronica spins the story of how she fell from grace through small flashbacks and offhand comments.

It turns out the boy taped to the flagpole happened to piss off the motorcycle gang by using the emergency button when two of his gang tried to shoplift alcohol from the store where he worked. The sheriff showed up and he tried to tell them he pressed the button by accident, but they didn't believe him and took the security cam footage so they could prosecute the guys. I'm not sure if the show has given his name yet but the boy taped to the flagpole showed up on a google search as Wallace Fennel so that's how I will refer to him until the show clarifies it. Veronica decides to help Wallace by clearing the motorcycle gang. See Veronica works at a private investigating firm established by her father who used to be the sheriff until he ended up accusing Jake Kane of the murder of his daughter and Veronica's best friend. Now they've been ostracized by most of the wealthy people, even though there are still some people on his side who are willing to help Veronica on the DL.

As the back story continues, we learn that Veronica was ruffied at a party and raped by an unknown assailant and when she tried to report it the sheriff mocked her and humiliated her instead of helping. This is what I'm talking about with dark themes. I like that the show just infers what happened to her without any graphic depictions of it (although showing a graphic scene when the victim doesn't remember what happened would be difficult anyway). 

In the present, Veronica's dad gets a case involving the Kane family again when Jake's wife comes to him for help in proving her husband has been unfaithful. Mr. Mars has to leave town to track down a bail skipper so the pair can pay their bills for another month and tells Veronica that if she follows up on the case that she needs to bring back up (which she does by bringing along her pit bull). While she's on the stake out, the motorcycle gang shows up and tries to intimidate her, but she sics her dog on one and tasers another until the leader calls his boys off. He tells Veronica she has one week to clear the members of his gang's name and Veronica decides to help. She frames the boy who she calls the school's obligatory psychopath during the school's random locker search by planting a bong in his locker. She sets off a smoke bomb in the evidence room after the police bring the bong in by using a remote control, then one of the firemen called to defuse the situation switches the tape for her. 

Veronica attends the hearing for the motorcycle gang members where they try to submit the evidence tape and find that the tape shows one of a policeman hiring a prostitute instead. The judge dismisses the case. Veronica winks to the sheriff who glares back at her before walking proudly out the door. Later, at the beach, she gives the tape to Wallace who is flying a remote-control plane. As a thank you, he starts teaching her how to fly it.

The psycho boy shows up, angry about the bong incident and starts trashing her car, but the motorcycle gang shows up to defend her and he backs off.

Veronica uses her skills to pretend to be Inga (I think she's either a receptionist or a court clerk) looking up a hit and run license plate in order to find out why her father decided to drop the Kane case as soon as he saw it. She finds out its her mother's car. She hasn't seen her mother in 8 months. Now Veronica wants to know why her mother is meeting up with Jake Kane at sleazy hotels and if this has anything to do with the Kane case which she learns her father is still investigating even after someone else (a former employee of Kane's software firm) has been accused and indicted for. 

I found this pilot episode to be extremely riveting and I will definitely be checking out more of this show. I liked that the main character is a smart, capable girl who uses her wits to solve problems and that the people who know her acknowledge this (for the most part). A funny scene near the start shows Veronica's locker being picked for the random search and Veronica opening it to show it empty with a picture of the vice principal pinned to the door. She says "this is embarrassing" while it is clear that she knew ahead of time and was two steps ahead. This small scene cements her as one of my favorite female main characters of all time. I can see why this show was popular back in the day. 9/10 first episode. (took a point for the casual racism by the latino gang leader against the black Wallace).