VMars in review: 1x01 Pilot (DVD cut)
Nov. 19th, 2005 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wisdomeagle[expect spoilers through the end of S1. Expect also incesty thoughts.]
It's been a year since my best friend Lilly Kane was murdered... crime scene. V knew something was wrong the moment she saw Duncan. I love how K.Bell plays both oldskool!V and V2.0 with that mixture of strength and vulnerability, and how the connection between the girl she used to be and is now is established.
Cinematography is weird. Lots is established visually. Lots of cue cards from v.o. followed by mostly visual scenes -- the party/rape, the night of the murder. The typical Vmars grainy green flashbacks.
Distorted shots of people in the background really caught my attention this time. The first classroom scene, where we find out V's name -- camera's tight on her and distorts all her classmates. Welcome to the point of view.
And then possibly the saddest thing in the whole show -- the scene at the beach, where Logan breaks her lights and then Weevil smashes the car, etc? There's this kid and his mother playing in the sand right nearby. And there's this sense of... this is what it means to grow up in Neptune, which is the theme of the show and embodied in all these countless ways in V's life and in the lives of her friends and in the lives of the bystanders.
V. thinks her mom's leaving was because she couldn't take the loss of status.
Veronica's dress the night of the rape reminds me of Buffy's dress in "Prophecy Girl." Obviously, similar signifiers -- white=virgin=pure=sacrifice. But still. That is the lowest night of Veronica's life. And then... she follows Lamb's advice. She gets a backbone. I really dismissed Lamb for most of S1 and it wasn't till someone on the flist (a fellow Marscester) commented on the possibilities of Veronica/Lamb and then this week's episode happened that I felt compelled to be interested in Lamb. And suddenly I'm capable of seeing him not through the lens of Veronica's camera (and okay, wow, I am dumb and just now realized that the camera-motif is entirely about the limits of V's pov) but as a more subtle character. Still obviously an asshole in many ways but also a catalyzer and is right -- he can call both Veronica and Wallace on their lack of backbone/courage.
Logan-the-woobie-of-fandom -- I still don't really see the attraction but he does make more sense as the layers grow deeper. He always feels to me like he's teetering on the brink of some terrible insanity and grief, that if he lets himself relax for just a moment he'll crash. He's so angry. It really scares me. I mean, it doesn't scare me in the way that like, horror movies scare me, but he scares me in that he's got nothing at all in his life to protect him from that pure bubbling rage just under the surface. He doesn't strike me as really witty in this episode. Just sad and angry and lashing out at everything.
One thing that's weird to me is the friendship between Duncan and Logan. It's weird this season, too, but it seems to have a certain quality to it... they can't be mad at each other. They can't be on the outs forever. I see them as almost as slashy-by-default? And I don't have a lot invested in them as either friends or romantic partners since it all centers around V(+K) for me, but they're still... weirdly affectionate.
The Kane family -- "I know them well." But she really doesn't, even though she dated Duncan and was best friends with Lilly. She really knows nothing about them, and of course as the season progresses we find out that she knows less and less.
Veronica is one clever, sneaky, manipulative bitch and doesn't even realize it. She totally makes people loyal to her, but doesn't give them enough affection to make it about love -- she lives in an economy of favors. Wallace I think is the only person (at this stage in the game) who doesn't, and that only because he keeps. on. giving. out of his generosity of spirit.
He says something about how deep down below the bad girl exterior, there's a slightly less bad girl who wants to bake him something. Oh, Wallace. I love you so much.
I am one of like, three Wallace/Veronica shippers in the world. Because he's so much healthier for her than anyone else, though only if he takes Lamb's advice and grows a backbone. Maybe because he's new. Maybe because Neptune hasn't killed his soul yet. Maybe because he manages to leave. Wallace is purity of spirit and I feel like Veronica needs that injected deeply into her.
"I've got a secret -- a good one."
On the subject of Keith.
...
Now that we've stopped guh-ing and drooling over the fact that he KISSED HER FOREHEAD and later she KISSED HIS CHEEK, let's sit back and think about it.
First off -- he lies to her. I love E.Colantoni's acting in this, the awkwardness, the way he doesn't look her in the eye, the stumbling that's just slightly off enough for us to know, with V, that he's uncomfortable. I think he can lie to her with a straight face. In some ways he has, since he's had the question of her paternity hanging over him for seventeen years. There was some of that that came across... I can't even remember how. Just moments, when I wondered if R.Thomas had told E.Colantoni that Keith didn't know he was V's biological father. Because it's definitely a question.
And he warns her away from the Kane family and from Jake in particular. Celeste hates them more and is more obviously bitter towards them, but he warns her off Jake -- of course, it was part of the nature of the case that she was following Mr. Kane not Mrs, but... I feel like there's some paternity stuff going on there. This fiercely jealous fatherly love that will not allow her to see the other, shadow father.
Leanne's alcoholism is just completely personally painful for me. End of story.
++
Wallace can be funny and snarky, but only when he's feeling confident. He's also got an edge to him. When Veronica sits down at the lunch table and's all, "who said you could sit here?" and he gets up to leave, he's wearing that steel. And then she backs down and so does he, and goes all quippy with her, but he's still... he's got that edge. That's what makes Wallace such an awesome character. There's nothing about him that's simple.
There's nothing about any of them that's simple. They're all tied to their families and their friends and their social classes and their peoplefriends and their enemies and their biology and their wealth in such intimate and complex ways... *oh*, I love this show.
But you knew that.
"Who's your daddy?" "You are."
It's been a year since my best friend Lilly Kane was murdered... crime scene. V knew something was wrong the moment she saw Duncan. I love how K.Bell plays both oldskool!V and V2.0 with that mixture of strength and vulnerability, and how the connection between the girl she used to be and is now is established.
Cinematography is weird. Lots is established visually. Lots of cue cards from v.o. followed by mostly visual scenes -- the party/rape, the night of the murder. The typical Vmars grainy green flashbacks.
Distorted shots of people in the background really caught my attention this time. The first classroom scene, where we find out V's name -- camera's tight on her and distorts all her classmates. Welcome to the point of view.
And then possibly the saddest thing in the whole show -- the scene at the beach, where Logan breaks her lights and then Weevil smashes the car, etc? There's this kid and his mother playing in the sand right nearby. And there's this sense of... this is what it means to grow up in Neptune, which is the theme of the show and embodied in all these countless ways in V's life and in the lives of her friends and in the lives of the bystanders.
V. thinks her mom's leaving was because she couldn't take the loss of status.
Veronica's dress the night of the rape reminds me of Buffy's dress in "Prophecy Girl." Obviously, similar signifiers -- white=virgin=pure=sacrifice. But still. That is the lowest night of Veronica's life. And then... she follows Lamb's advice. She gets a backbone. I really dismissed Lamb for most of S1 and it wasn't till someone on the flist (a fellow Marscester) commented on the possibilities of Veronica/Lamb and then this week's episode happened that I felt compelled to be interested in Lamb. And suddenly I'm capable of seeing him not through the lens of Veronica's camera (and okay, wow, I am dumb and just now realized that the camera-motif is entirely about the limits of V's pov) but as a more subtle character. Still obviously an asshole in many ways but also a catalyzer and is right -- he can call both Veronica and Wallace on their lack of backbone/courage.
Logan-the-woobie-of-fandom -- I still don't really see the attraction but he does make more sense as the layers grow deeper. He always feels to me like he's teetering on the brink of some terrible insanity and grief, that if he lets himself relax for just a moment he'll crash. He's so angry. It really scares me. I mean, it doesn't scare me in the way that like, horror movies scare me, but he scares me in that he's got nothing at all in his life to protect him from that pure bubbling rage just under the surface. He doesn't strike me as really witty in this episode. Just sad and angry and lashing out at everything.
One thing that's weird to me is the friendship between Duncan and Logan. It's weird this season, too, but it seems to have a certain quality to it... they can't be mad at each other. They can't be on the outs forever. I see them as almost as slashy-by-default? And I don't have a lot invested in them as either friends or romantic partners since it all centers around V(+K) for me, but they're still... weirdly affectionate.
The Kane family -- "I know them well." But she really doesn't, even though she dated Duncan and was best friends with Lilly. She really knows nothing about them, and of course as the season progresses we find out that she knows less and less.
Veronica is one clever, sneaky, manipulative bitch and doesn't even realize it. She totally makes people loyal to her, but doesn't give them enough affection to make it about love -- she lives in an economy of favors. Wallace I think is the only person (at this stage in the game) who doesn't, and that only because he keeps. on. giving. out of his generosity of spirit.
He says something about how deep down below the bad girl exterior, there's a slightly less bad girl who wants to bake him something. Oh, Wallace. I love you so much.
I am one of like, three Wallace/Veronica shippers in the world. Because he's so much healthier for her than anyone else, though only if he takes Lamb's advice and grows a backbone. Maybe because he's new. Maybe because Neptune hasn't killed his soul yet. Maybe because he manages to leave. Wallace is purity of spirit and I feel like Veronica needs that injected deeply into her.
"I've got a secret -- a good one."
On the subject of Keith.
...
Now that we've stopped guh-ing and drooling over the fact that he KISSED HER FOREHEAD and later she KISSED HIS CHEEK, let's sit back and think about it.
First off -- he lies to her. I love E.Colantoni's acting in this, the awkwardness, the way he doesn't look her in the eye, the stumbling that's just slightly off enough for us to know, with V, that he's uncomfortable. I think he can lie to her with a straight face. In some ways he has, since he's had the question of her paternity hanging over him for seventeen years. There was some of that that came across... I can't even remember how. Just moments, when I wondered if R.Thomas had told E.Colantoni that Keith didn't know he was V's biological father. Because it's definitely a question.
And he warns her away from the Kane family and from Jake in particular. Celeste hates them more and is more obviously bitter towards them, but he warns her off Jake -- of course, it was part of the nature of the case that she was following Mr. Kane not Mrs, but... I feel like there's some paternity stuff going on there. This fiercely jealous fatherly love that will not allow her to see the other, shadow father.
Leanne's alcoholism is just completely personally painful for me. End of story.
++
Wallace can be funny and snarky, but only when he's feeling confident. He's also got an edge to him. When Veronica sits down at the lunch table and's all, "who said you could sit here?" and he gets up to leave, he's wearing that steel. And then she backs down and so does he, and goes all quippy with her, but he's still... he's got that edge. That's what makes Wallace such an awesome character. There's nothing about him that's simple.
There's nothing about any of them that's simple. They're all tied to their families and their friends and their social classes and their peoplefriends and their enemies and their biology and their wealth in such intimate and complex ways... *oh*, I love this show.
But you knew that.
"Who's your daddy?" "You are."
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-20 04:46 am (UTC)And now you've got me really wanting to watch it.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-20 05:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-20 05:21 am (UTC)Re: the whole woobie factor. As someone who loves Logan kind of an insane amount - he's woobiefied an INSANE amount in fandom and it kind of bothers me. Logan is a total bitch, and that's why I like him - it's fun to watch him be that person. I think he has the capacity to be a good person, and at times he is, but mostly no, he's not - not that he really has any reason to be 'good'... I totally agree with all your comments. He's very angry, very unpredictable. People woobie-fy him and whitewash all that stuff and it's sad, because that stuff makes him a more interesting character, IMO.
I realize that's kind of veering off-topic. I just saw the word 'woobie' and something in my brain clicked. ;)
Also, yes, Duncan and Logan's friendship is super-weird. They are like an old married couple in the way they fight and make up.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-20 06:01 pm (UTC)I got into VMars after "Weapons of Class Destruction" had aired and um, yeah. I knew that fandom loved Logan crazy amounts, so I really expected that I would too, and kept on waiting for the moment when he would become sympathetic and um, for me it never happened (though I can sort of see where other people's love comes from, and obviously ymmv, etc!)
Duncan and Logan are so weird together! I don't know why I never noticed this before. It's awesome.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-21 02:15 am (UTC)Cool. Obviously I do find him sympathetic to a certain extent, but I can see where you're coming from. I kind of feel like they've made his life suck SO MUCH that we're almost forced to feel that way towards him, which is strange.
Re: Duncan and Logan. I wish we had a bit more Duncan/Logan time. Despite the fact that they are supposed BFF's, we really don't know much about their friendship. More flashbacks, please. Flashbacks are pretty. ;)
OT: SGA Commentary
Date: 2005-11-20 06:37 am (UTC)Re: OT: SGA Commentary
Date: 2005-11-20 06:03 pm (UTC)Thanks so much for listening for me. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-21 12:05 am (UTC)Yeah, the Duncan/Logan friendship has it's oddities. Although I think that's perhaps they've been good friends their whole life that in the end, after a long fight, they can still forgive each other. Strange as it may seem, I think that's healthy. Especially for Logan whose life is completely screwed up (and not in that literally sense with Kendall). I find Logan a woobie because in the beginning you expect him to be a jackass, but once looking at his life you have sympathy for him. At least, that's how I feel. I like Logan, and I think the Veronica/Logan relationship was hot UST -- although I do love Duncan/Veronica as well. It's a tossup. I like both pairings.
Keith/Veronica-ness. Hee! And Veronica is manipulative, and that is why I love her so much. Snarky, clever, backbone and kicks some major ass and taking names while doing so.
I love Wallace. In the beginning I just saw him as her best friend, but Wallace/Veronica is too cute. Perhaps that is why Jackie is such a mega bitch, she can sense it too. I love Innocent!Wallace and his not corrupted by Neptune. Even in this season he isn't too corrupted, though his choice in Jackie is slightly meh-ish. What happened to that other girl he liked in "Wrath of a Con"? I'll take her over Jackie ANYDAY.
"Who's your daddy?" "You are." LOVE!! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-21 01:31 am (UTC)I think you're right about Duncan+Logan -- it's the whole life things. They're like Willow+Xander in that way -- they just aren't going to throw away that lifelong friendship.
And yeah, I can sort of see where the Logan-love comes from? But I still don't really feel it.
Veronica *is* so manipulative. It's fabulous.
Wallace to me will always be Veronica's best friend -- but that doesn't mean they couldn't be personfriends too. I kind of feel like the Veronica-Jackie animosity at the start of this season was playing up the strength and possible romantic nature of that friendship -- Veronica's mad hate-on for Jackie makes more sense (to me) if she wants Wallace all to herself. And Jackie certainly thinks Wallace loves V too much for them to be just friends.
Then, I like V with just about all the menfolk in her life -- even Logan, to some extent. And with Mac. Or Meg. Or Lilly.
Veronica/everyone. OTP. :p