I was disappointed in this episode. What makes VM such a good show is the interplay of the characters, not the mysteries. This episode was all mystery, and I just didn’t care all that much. 
I believe it was LBJ, speaking of another FBI agent, who said it was better to have him inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.
I don’t know…I can’t call this resolution very satisfactory. After all that, Mindy’s guilty of nothing but an affair, and being crass enough to buy a big boat with the insurance money? Or maybe it’s just a cultural thing, she being from England and all…
That’s a joke, kids. In case you were wondering.
When Landry started breaking down into a crying fit on the boat, I was assuming he was faking it because he was playing an angle. It seemed totally out of character for him to start blubbering like that, even after he sent Mindy over to feed the sharks. (I know she showed up on the beach later, but we didn’t get to see if she had a chunk or two taken out of her.)
I also didn’t like the fact that we’ve been following this mystery arc for several weeks now, but the true motive for the killing is only revealed halfway through the last episode of the arc. I didn’t really see even a hint that Tim was guilty before they played the cell phone call where Landry bagged on him.
And by the way, if Tim was pissed off at Landry…hello? Why not kill Landry? Why take out the Dean? I understand he was setting Landry up to take the rap, but that’s a little off center for someone who’s feeling snubbed. Shoot the guy you’re angry with, not a (mostly) innocent bystander.
All in all, not very satisfying on the mystery front.
In other news:
Nice having Keith as acting Sheriff. I wonder if he’ll make enough scratch from the gig to move them out of their fleabag apartment into something nicer.
Kudos to Veronica, Logan and Parker for being so adult about their situation, what with the concern for feelings and asking permission and all that. Not that it won’t get awkward anyway; should see some interesting scenes in the days ahead.
Speaking of which: May? The show will be off the air for two whole months? No wonder it has trouble building its ratings.
Last surprise: that they didn’t set up the next mystery as they solved the last, like they did with the Dean O’Dell murder. But maybe that’s a product of the aforementioned scheduling–no one would remember an incident that happened last night by the time the show returns.
So everyone just sit tight till May.
I dunno, long suffering, underappreciated Tim was a pretty common element this season.
Killing Landry wouldn’t have been clever. Plus, killing Landry casts suspicion on Tim, who is close to Landry. Killing the Dean and framing Landry, though, much less likely to end up back in Tim’s lap.
As I understand it, the last few episodes are going to be all mystery of the week.
Also, killing Landry would not allow Tim to use Veronica’s Perfect Murder paper. Landry had no reason to kill himself.
I think we established earlier that the victim in Roni’s paper was Sheriff Lamb, not Landry. Although Landry did mention in class that several previous students had made him the victim in their papers.
The thing about Tim not killing Landry is, it was something of a crime of passion (Tim being upset over the bad recommendation, but also, let’s face it, Tim’s at least a little bit gay for Landry). In such circumstances, the crime is usually a little more direct (scorned person kills scorner) rather than indirect (scornee concocts elaborate setup to frame scorner). And again, what did Tim have against Cyrus O’Dell? Nothing really. He would not have been privy to the hotel fight wherein the Dean threatened to ruin Landry (and Mindy, for that matter). I admit, the lack of connection would make it less likely the crime would find its way back to Tim, but that still seems a stretch to me.
Stuff I forgot to mention earlier:
No Mac. No Weevil. No Dick. All sorely missed. Wallace’s appearances have been so fleeting I’ve been on the verge of pulling out my season 1 DVDs just to remember what he looks like. And Pizz may as well be pulling a tour in Iraq for all we’ve seen of him lately.
And the thing I didn’t understand: so why were “Booker’s” fingerprints on the Dean’s keyboard? I’m guessing it was part of Mindy’s cover plan for Landry, but why would her ex go along with it? He was none too friendly towards her, and not likely to go along with any “cover for my boyfriend” plans. That confused me.
I thought that it was Landry covering for Mindy, but I can’t remember the details just now. And he didn’t get the ex to go along with it. He swiped the ex’s computer keyboard and swapped it for Cyrus’.
LBJ was referring to J. Edgar Hoover, the head honcho of the FBI, in response to a question as to why he didn’t fire the cross-dressing bastard.
OK. I missed that detail. I mean, I think I did. I don’t remember anything about that. And I’m not sure Mindy’s ex was the kind of guy who spent much time on the computer, unless it was for lookin’ at porn sites.
Yes I know, I was engaging in what I hoped was something of a humorous understatement.
Yes, he told Keith that during the interrogation. But what I don’t recall him saying is when he swapped the keyboards. Did he know about the Dean’s murder before Weevil found the body and reported it?
The way I understand it, Mindy did kill her husband…Landry helped cover it up and make it look like a suicide. Tim figured it out, and set about framing Landry for the murder as revenge, and to prove that he was smarter than Landry thought.
No, what I got was that Tim killed the Dean. Tim overheard the cellphone conversation between Mindy and Landry that night, so he knew that the Dean was drunk and drugged and alone in his office. He knew that Mindy and Landry were behaving suspiciously, so he took the opportunity to murder the Dean and frame Landry for it by leaving his shirt and gloves near the scene.
The Dean’s computer and keyboard were in storage for weeks after the murder. Landry could easily, after deciding to frame the ex, gotten into the storage facility and switched the keyboards.
If that’s the case, why did Mindy ask Keith to reopen the case in the first place? Was she trying to get rid of Landry?
Mindy needed to prove Cyrus was murdered because the insurance wouldn’t pay if it was suicide.
It looks like she thought Landry might have really killed Cyrus though, so she probably didn’t totally trust the guy after that.
Seems to me that all the confusion we’re seeing here about this mystery solved indicates that the plot was either not believable or not well executed. I think this is the first case where the show has really stumbled in a significant way.
Is this the first major story arc wherein Veronica’s life was not threatened in the climax?
First season, Aaron Echolls hunted her down.
Second season, she had the rooftop confrontation with Beaver.
Rape storyline, okay, Mercer didn’t intend to kill Veronica, but he for sure was going to harm her, and might have killed her by accident.
For this one, she was never menaced by Tim, despite copious time alone with her, and the big J’accuse! moment happened in a crowded classroom where she was perfectly safe.
I agree. Am I the only one who had no clue that Tim was the killer? I don’t take notes or watch more than once, so I’m curious about what everybody (the ones who say they knew it was Tim from the start) saw that I missed. We didn’t even have a motive until we heard the phone call, and that wasn’t much of a motive.
The mystery and resolution were rushed. When they were two episodes into shooting this arc, they received word that this season’s episode order had been reduced from 22 to 20. I believe this arc was meant to have seven episodes instead of six, and was plotted accordingly. When they suddenly had to cut it back to five, some details were compressed and I think it came out muddier than they might have wanted.