Previously: Someone stabbed Aaron Echoll’s at his Christmas party and also there was a poker game or two.
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Silence of the Lamb
Lorraine: Veronica wishes Keith a good morning and gets a, “you don’t hang out at the Oceanside bars, do you?” in response. So, probably not a great morning for him. She jokes about preferring biker bars, though Keith is not in a joking mood as a 20-year-old co-ed was recently found murdered. Keith shows Veronica the newspaper, which has a big “The E-String Strangler Strikes Again” headline. I read e-string, and my mind immediately went to the Internet. This murderer is probably not strangling people with a string he bought online, though. Just to clarify.
Democracy Diva: At least it’s not a g-string strangler.
Lor: Too true.
Veronica recognizes the case as one Keith worked when he was sheriff. She thought they caught that killer in Oakland two years ago. Keith says the Oakland crimes never really lined up, but the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce were anxious to pin it on the Oakland guy, and put the whole thing to bed. Veronica looks concerned.
Sweeney: You know, unsolved murders of young girls being a bit of a trauma spot for her and all.
Lor: Excellent observation.
Neptune High School. Wallace exposits that people are really freaking out about the E-String Strangler. As they walk, a young man interrupts their conversation, because he heard Veronica does detective stuff.
Diva: Only Evil Marcia Brady would have a string quartet show up at her school to play her a birthday song. But at least it’s not a g-string quartet! #PunsRFuns
Lor: Madison basks in the attention as she hands out invitations to her party. Veronica and I Can Pay are watching the hub bub, with Veronica commenting that Madison’s party is a “rite of fall.” I once read this episode was originally intended to air before An Echoll’s Family Christmas, but UPN said it was too dark for the holidays. They switched the order of the episodes, and thus, we get this little continuity error.
Diva: I’m sorry, but WHAT?! THIS episode was too dark for the holidays, but the Christmas episode of lying, cheating, and stabbing was perfect holiday material? Does not compute. But at least that explains why this episode didn’t even mention the whole stabby situation from the Echolls’ Xmas Party of Death and Destruction.
Sweeney: There’s something gloriously meta about the network being uncomfortable with this episode, given that the killer was introduced with mention of how desperately Neptune wanted to sweep it all under the rug.
Lor: Mars Investigations. Veronica is at her desk and the Zoomy Cameraman shows us a slip of paper with I Can Pay’s parents’ names on it. For the record, I Can Pay’s name is Jackson. In walks Sheriff Lamb and a man in a trench coat. Lamb asks for Keith in the most condescending way possible, and Veronica seems ready to ignore him until the other man asks for Keith. Veronica stands and walks the three steps to Keith’s office. She informs him that “Deputy Lamb” and the mayor are there to see him. Keith excitedly waves at her, telling her to show them in. Veronica pushes his door open because, seriously. Three steps.
The Mayor and Lamb enter the office. I can’t call anyone the Mayor without thinking of beetle eating, invincible badies. Those two have a seat and Veronica hangs in the doorway, earning pointed looks from everyone in the office.
Veronica closes the door and then stands right there to listen to the conversation, but only for a second before returning to her desk. Sometime later, Keith leads the Mayor and Lamb out of his office with a bit of a swagger in his step. (S: A lot of swagger going around Traumaland this week!) The Mayor thanks him, and Lamb walks by Keith without a word. Keith says he’ll see Lamb tomorrow. Veronica asks what that was about and Keith says he’s going to go back to work at the Sheriff’s Department.
COME ON NOW SUGAR!
Post-credits, Keith says it’s a temporary deal. He’s going back to help with the E-String Strangler case, because of his history with it. The Mayor didn’t leave Sheriff Lamb much of a choice about it, because Keith notes, a killer preying on young college girls kills spring break business. (D: Welcome to the good ol’ U.S. of A. Dead 20 year olds are bad for TOURISM, not for like, the world and stuff.) Veronica scoffs at the motivation, but Keith is just happy to be involved in solving the case. Veronica tells Keith that since he’ll be working at the Sheriff’s office, he will have access to the Lilly Kane case files, specifically to the call into the anonymous hotline that lead the police to Abel Koontz. Keith lays down a big, fat no.
Girls Bathroom of Undercover Dealings. Veronica hands I Can Pay a file on his parents. It includes a drug bust for his dad and some speeding tickets for his mom.
Later, Veronica is sitting outside when a girl approaches her, as she hears V can look up dirt on parents. Veronica smiles, and you can almost see the dollar signs in her eyes. This can’t possibly end well, and I’m surprised at Veronica thinking otherwise.
Keith is at the sheriff’s department filling in the deputies on the E-String Strangler. Sheriff Lamb is on hand to interrupt him with either snarky comments or corrections that aren’t really correct. Deputy Sacks has some lines, as does another cute, young deputy who speaks like he’s got cotton in his mouth. Or marbles.
Diva: I did not understand a word this guy said. His accent is like, two parts Brooklyn, one part California stoner, three parts severe head cold. Also, because this is the ultimate show for playing the “that guy from that thing” game, you might also recognize Deputy Mumbler as Schmidt from New Girl.
Sweeney: Sorry, he’s Deputy Mumbler first and forever. Except I feel that way about most of the THAT GUY appearances on this show. It’s all backwards, because I’m all, yeah “IT’S THAT GUY FROM VERONICA MARS!” Oh wait. Wait, wait, wait…
Lor: Deputy Mumbler asks what they know about the killer and Keith says that since the killings happen on the weekend, he probably has a regular job. The latest victim had an ink smudge on the palm of her hand, which the lab is analyzing now.
Diva: Also, Keith explains that even though everyone is calling this the “E-String Strangler” case, this girl was not actually strangled, but asphyxiated. But small-town sheriffs and local newspapers don’t care about little things like facts, so they just keep calling it a strangler case anyway.
Sweeney: But Keith tries to press for things like veracity anyway! Keep fighting the good fight, Keith.
Lor: Meanwhile, Veronica gives two more students information on their parents. During one of these conversations, Mac is in the bathroom, actually using the bathroom and she listens in.
We cut to Mars Investigations, where Mac comes to see Veronica. V comments on Mac’s sweet new ride, and Mac says that the purity test treated her well, but these days, she’s thinking bigger. Apparently the purity test also allowed her enough money for a nice laptop, which she now pulls out, in order to show Veronica a website she built in order to sell background checks on parents. Veronica hesitates, considering how little time she already has, but promises to think about it. Mac does have one other thing to discuss: she wants Veronica to look up her parents, based solely on the fact that she’s nothing like them. “They’re nachos and NASCAR people, and I’m more…” “...Falafels and Fellini?” Veronica asks. “Exactly,” Mac confirms. Veronica looks up Mac’s parents and notices that she just had a birthday. “One more year ’til I can leave home.” I get it, girl. I really don’t get NASCAR either. Nachos are delicious, though.
Diva: I resent the idea that one cannot be a nacho person AND a falafel person. I CONTAIN MULTITUDES, SHOW. I LIKE ALL THESE FOODS.
Lor: The only odd thing Veronica finds is a one million dollar settlement paid to the Mac Parents from Neptune Memorial Hospital. Mac thinks that’s impossible and Veronica offers to look into it. We cut to her doing just that, sifting through articles on microfilm until she finds one about Neptune Memorial sending two babies home with the wrong family.
Mac was switched at birth. Veronica Voice Over asks us how you live a normal life once you’ve found out you were switched at birth? My sister walked into my room and heard that line and then got judgey because she thought I was watching Switched at Birth. NO, SILLY. JUST WATCHING A SWITCHED AT BIRTH STORY LINE ON VERONICA MARS. Duh.
Keith and Lamb walk into a guitar shop, and Keith makes a reference to This is Spinal Tap that Lamb doesn’t get. Given Keith’s, “FIGURES” reaction, I’m reluctant to admit that I too have not ever see that movie.
Diva: Me neither, but I still would have gotten a “turn it up to eleven!” reference if Keith had made it, because I watched too much VH1 as a kid.
Sweeney: I’m sad for both of you and know what my #snarkathon nominee is going to be. But also, “Turn it up to eleven!” is one of those references that should transcend actually seeing the film.
Lor: We will see it one day, DD.
There are a bunch of dudes playing guitar in a back room. One of them notices Keith, but doesn’t make any move toward them. “He’s waiting for you to throw your panties,” Keith tells Lamb. A massive wedgie would explain Lamb’s disposition. After a bit, the Rude Guitar Man comes out, but doesn’t actually stop playing until Keith yells at him. Keith shows him the guitar string used in the murders and Rude Guitar Man says it’s a super rare string only one person buys. Then he laughs and laughs because he’s lying and it’s a normal guitar string. He says guitar players are to busy nailing girls to strangle them, and he and Lamb trade some barbs.
Sweeney: I wonder if he has business cards for that? “I give good creep.”
Lor: A+ Sweeney. Our business card business is going strong.
Veronica goes to Mac’s house. Mac leads Veronica to her room, and they are lightly terrorized by Mac’s little blond brother. Mac’s room is full of artwork and books. Mac’s mother comes in with a tray full of treats, and she’s also blonde because they’ve color coded the families for us, like they did on Game of Thrones. Mac is living with a bunch of Lannisters and wants out STAT. (D: As would we all. Unless it was just Tyrion.) Mac shoo’s her mom away because it’s so awful that she’s being nice and offering food and thinks her vegan ways are freakish. GOSH MOM.
Diva: Also, Mac mentions that her dad builds her more shelves in her bedroom whenever she runs out of space for her books. This is maybe the sweetest thing in the world, and should be vastly more appreciated by Mac, who really doesn’t know how good she has it.
Sweeney: That’s a good point. The fact that her mom called her a freakball made it harder for me to feel like Mac was being all that bratty, but yeah, the shelf building is legit. LOOK AT ALL THIS INVOLVED PARENTING. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
Lor: Mac knows that Veronica must have big news since she came in person. Veronica sits and asks if Mac is really, really sure she wants to hear it, because it’s life changing. Mac is sure. Veronica leads her slowly through the “switched at birth” news and Mac connects the final dot: she was switched at birth with Madison Marcia Brady.
Interrogation Room. Keith is questioning the bartender at the bar where the latest victim was last seen. Bartender Guy says that college girls all look the same to him, and there were a ton of them there that night. He doesn’t remember the victim. Veronica taps on the room window and holds up a bag. She brought Keith dinner. Bartender Guy says he’d remember a girl like Veronica, and he wouldn’t mind her calling him daddy. Keith gets pissed and pushes Bartender Guy off his chair. This episode is lining up jerks to confuse us as to who could be the murderer.
Diva: But it’s clear on the fact that Keith is awesome and a badass. I wanted him to punch Bartender Guy in the face, but this was probably a wiser move.
Lor: Veronica finds Deputy Mumbler in the station and introduces herself as Keith’s daughter. He is actually Deputy Leo. I’ll call him that but his strange delivery will not be forgotten. Leo offers to put Keith’s food in the fridge and Veronica takes this chance to like, look behind her on a shelf, like the one piece of evidence she needs might just be waiting for her there. Nice try, girl! Leo comes back and flirts some more, promising not to eat Keith’s food himself if Veronica will come back and visit him. She does, and as she leaves, VVO says, “Oh, Deputy Leo. You might as well leave me a key and a map.”
Diva: He smiles too much. HE IS TOTALLY THE KILLER.
Lor: Bartender Guy is more helpful now, suggesting to Keith that they should talk to “the Worm,” some other probably-a-jerk guy who video tapes girls and sells the footage to Girls Gone Bad. We cut to Keith and Lamb arriving at a motel. Outside a room, they hear the sounds of a woman moaning, but Keith quickly deduces that it’s porn. He knocks, we hear the video pause, and Jesse Pinkman answers the front door! What do you think he was doing before the whole meth thing, huh?
Diva: You DON’T EVEN UNDERSTAND how loudly I squealed when, after the build-up of this guy being such a sleazy scumbag, and hearing the porn sounds coming from the apartment, the door opens to reveal AARON PAUL. I may have paused the episode for a 30-second giggle break, and then referred to this character as “Beta Jesse Pinkman” for the remainder of my notes. Also, both Jesse Pinkman and Mac were on Big Love with Amanda Seyfried (playing her boyfriend and best friend, respectively), so I’m now blacked out on the floor from the “that guy from that thing” drinking game. Hope you’re all keeping up with me.
Lor: We’re at least trying to.
Keith shows Beta Jesse a picture of the victim, who he claims not to recognize. There is a guitar behind Beta Jesse in the shot, but Keith is all, “thanks for your time! Bye!” As they are walking away, Lamb gets huffy because this guy is skeevy and a guitar player, so obviously the murderer! Keith says that if they let him think something is up, he’ll destroy the evidence before they get a warrant. Lamb huffs and puffs, like he’s never given much thought to evidence or warrants.
Neptune High. Mac hands Veronica an invitation to Madison’s party and in a nice bit of continuity, it’s in 09-er code. Mac wants to crash the party.
Wallace joins them, and they do just that.
For a shmancy party, that is a cheap birthday banner hanging on the front door.
Diva: The girl who can afford a string quartet to play at her high school cafeteria could at least spring for some metallic streamers.
Lor: Anyway, Madison is horrified to see them, and they go through a whole bit about trying to remember who invited them. VVO reminds us that last time she crashed an 09er party, she was raped.
Mac goes off to explore the house, and discovers a study. (D: We get a great moment of Mac looking around the room in wonder, exactly how I’d look if I had just discovered that I could have grown up in a house with a whole room just for books. #libraryfeels) Inside a little brunette! girl is reading! A BROWN HAIRED READER. But also, the little girl does actually look related to Mac. (S: Legit. Less so with Mac’s family to Madison, but the Sinclair family does look super related to Mac.) They chat for a bit until Madison comes over to bitch some more. Mac looks agitated, but Veronica is there to pull her away and out of the party.
Veronica drives Mac home, thinking about how when she had the chance to learn her true parentage, she chose ignorance. Mac wonders why they wouldn’t just switch the kids back. Veronica guesses that the parents probably grew attached to the kids they brought home. Mac asks Veronica to look more into where the million dollars went.
Keith and Lamb apparently got their warrant as they are now in possession of Beta Jessie’s video tapes. Deputy Leo stops in to tell them that Beta Jesse’s generic guitar strings match the murderer’s generic guitar strings.
Diva: But I thought we already determined that these were generic guitar strings that everybody uses, so how does that get us anywhere at all?
Lor: Yeah, it doesn’t.
Later that night, Veronica brings Deputy Leo pizza. VVO tells us that she knows she’s using Leo, but she tries to just remind herself about her dead best friend. Those two eat pizza and have flirty banter until Weevil shows up to make a noise complaint. He does so in a loud, over the top way and it gives Veronica the chance to sneak back into the evidence room. I dislike that we only see little flashes of Weevil, but I like the idea that V was all, “hey wanna come yell at the police station?” and Weevil was all, “okay, sure. Be there in 10.” Weevil leaves with a message for Sheriff Lamb (“He shouldn’t expect Eli Navarro Esquire’s vote this year!“) and when Leo turns back to his desk, Veronica is sitting there, innocently.
Diva: The “Eli Navarro Esquire” line KILLED me. I want more Weevil too, but if they’re only going to use him once per episode, this is the way to do it.
Sweeney: AGREED. This scene was perfect.
Lor: We cut to Leo’s reaction when he discovers that Veronica is 17. Mmmhmm. He tells her about her usual line of inviting girls to watch his band play, but it won’t work if the girl can’t get into the bar. Despite her ulterior motives, it really looks like these two are hitting it off.
Diva: Leo is the same age as the dead girl, and plays in a band. YOU GUYS HE’S SO THE KILLER I’M STILL CALLING IT.
Sweeney: Watching this scene in which Deputy Leo hits on a 17 year old high school junior, after all my Pretty Little Liars rage, was the first of several “Reevaluating everything I felt when I was watching this show at 17/18/19” moments. I have such a soft spot for Deputy Leo, but also: gross.
Lor: I know, girl. After how much noise we make about age inappropriate relationships elsewhere, this was a, “NO SAY IT AIN’T SO” moment for me too.
Later, Veronica plays the CD she stole from evidence, listening to lots of tips called into the anonymous hotline before she finds the call that tipped the police off about Abel Koontz.
Keith finds Lamb to tell him that he found one of the victims on Beta Jesse’s video tapes. Lamb gloats that he found it first, and Jesse is already interrogation. Keith asks how they should proceed and Lamb simply says that they should play to their strengths. Keith: So I’m good cop? Lamb smiles.
Cut to the interrogation. Jesse is sweating profusely as Lamb and Keith really commit to their good/bad cop performances. Do cops really do this? I mean, God forbid, but if I’m ever being interrogated, and there isn’t a good and bad cop, I’m going to feel hella cheated. Jesse seems like he’s starting to break, so Lamb gives him a pad of paper to write his confession. Keith asks to speak to Lamb privately.
Diva: There was no actual reason to have feelings for this character, but since it really felt like a scene Jesse Pinkman would end up in, it gave me all of the feels.
Lor: Hilarious.
Outside of the interrogation room, Keith says he doesn’t think Jesse did it. Lamb was being borderline okay there for a moment, but he does a full reverse as he asks Keith if this case is too easy, and if maybe he thinks Jake Kane did it. Lamb dismisses Keith, saying he can handle the rest. When he goes back into the interrogation room, he finds that Jesse has written “I want a lawyer” on his notepad. (D: +1, 1430, and a standing ovation from Diva Snow, Esquire.)
Veronica calls Mac and asks her if she can work on a sound file for her. Also, she tells Mac that her blonde father invested the one million dollars in a business that went bad. WHUT. YOU DIDN’T EVEN SAVE THAT SHIT FOR MY COLLEGE? Freakin’ Lannisters. Mac assures Veronica that she won’t do anything bad, so of course she’s actually parked outside of her biological parent’s house. Mac knocks on the door and the brunette mom answers. It seems clear that she knows who Mac is. Mac claims to have left her purse there. Brunette Mom is all, “would you like to stay for snacks? OR FOREVER?” The last part is implied, especially when Madison appears to bitch for a minute or two. Mac seems to think better of her decision to come to this place and leaves quickly.
At the sheriff’s office, Keith is packing up his stuff when a woman comes in, panicking because her daughter is missing. Deputy Sacks comes in and says the writing on the victim’s hand was the Bartender’s phone number. Remembering that the Bartender made gross comments about Veronica, Keith starts to freak. But in a Keith Mars way, which means he calls her repeatedly and then tracks her phone, all the way to a warehouse looking place. Keith busts into the warehouse with his gun drawn, and it turns out that this is just where Deputy Leo’s band practices.
Diva: I thought Keith was tracking the killer, not Veronica, and so when it turned out Leo was there, I was all, LOOK YOU GUYS HE REALLY IS THE KILLER. DON’T TRUST DEPUTY MUMBLER.
Lor: Veronica is embarrassed, but Keith explains that they suspect the murderer has a thing for Veronica and hates Keith. Just then, Keith notices the sound proof padding and this sparks an idea in him. (D: THAT LEO IS THE KILLER. Right?!) He asks a band person to take Veronica back to the sheriff’s office and asks Leo to grab his gun.
We cut to Rude Guitar Man’s shop. Keith goes inside, crashing into a cymbal as he goes, and hears the voice of a woman crying for help. It’s coming from a tiny refrigerator. Keith breaks into it with a crowbar, and doesn’t notice that Rude Guitar Mar is sneaking up on him. The girl Keith frees from a fridge screams ash she see Rude Guitar Man approaching. Deputy Leo is there, though, and tackles Rude Guitar Man. Keith draws his gun and it’s done. All the other men in this episode were just jerks.
Diva: Dammit. So Mumbles is a good guy after all. #badatTV
Sweeney: Everybody gets a case of Spencer Hastings Loud & Wrong Syndrome now and then.
Lor: All to the amusement of the small masses.
Back at the sheriff’s office, Deputy Leo is packing his stuff. Veronica says it was smooth, saving her father, but Leo isn’t in the mood for flirty fun times because he’s been suspended for a week. It seems that someone left the evidence locker open during his shift. Veronica has the good grace to look very ashamed.
Mac’s done with the audio file, and invites Veronica over to hear it, though it has to be early in the morning because she’s going camping with her family. We cut to that meeting, and Mac plays the audio file at different speeds, until Veronica recognizes the voice.
Outside, Mac sees the brunette mom parked across the street. She walks up to the car and places her hand on the car window, and her brunette mom does the same. (D: SO DRAMATIC. Sigh. Mac needed to emote more for this to actually work.) Her Lannister mom calls out for her, and Mac turns away from the car, allowing brunette mom to drive away. Which is kind of a weird thing to do. I guess seeing her mom just drive away helps Mac accept her Lannister parents, because she gets into the camper with them, in a relatively upbeat mood.
Veronica grabs her camera and tells us that what she’s about to do isn’t her smartest move. Who did Veronica recognize from the anonymous hotline? Clarence Weidman, head of security at Kane Software, and the man who took photos of Veronica and sent them to Lianne. A receptionist gives Clarence an envelope. He opens his mail and finds photos of himself, including one with his child. Clarence tells the receptionist to track down who paid to have the photos delivered and with that, the episode is over.
Diva: The voice sounded more like Darth Vader to me than anything else, so, let’s pin Lilly’s murder on him! #crossovermagic
Lor: This episode was pretty entertaining, but not outstanding to me. Keith’s portion of the episode were more straight detective work, sort of like you’d see on any other detective show, and that was mixed in with Veronica’s more quirky investigation. It made for a good balance. Not a ton of forward movement for either the plots or characters here either. Being switched at birth is kind of a heavy plot point and since it was a B-plot here, it had kind of a weird feeling to it. It was seemed all to obvious and clean cut. I mean, they were color coded for our convenience, you know?
There were moments here that I didn’t hate Don Lamb with the white hot heat of a thousand suns. Maybe just like nine hundred ninety nine suns.
So that was cool.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
Nicole is the co-captain of Snark Squad and these days she spends most of her time editing podcasts. She spends too much time on Twitter and very occasionally vlogs and blogs. In her day job she's a producer, editor, director, and sometimes host of educational YouTube channels. She loves travel, maps, panda gifs, and semicolons. Writing biographies stresses her out; she crowd sourced this one years ago and has been using a version of it ever since. She would like to thank Twitter for their help.
I'm a J.D. by day/blogger by night who directs her snark and judgment primarily towards celebrities and their many red carpet mishaps. Blogging from the style capital of the world (just kidding - I live in DC), I rant and rave over the best and worst in fashion and pop culture.
