"Hot Dogs" was the nineteenth episode of the first season of Veronica Mars.
In this episode, a student named Mandy hires Veronica to help find her lost dog. Meanwhile, the Echolls family deal's with Trina's domestic abuse, and Weevil (Francis Capra) gets arrested for breaking into the Kane home.
Synopsis[]
Veronica is tutoring Weevil in math when he tells her that rumor is spreading that Duncan ran off because she told Duncan that he killed Lilly. Meanwhile, a girl, Mandy, loses her dog, Chester. The next day at school Logan tells Veronica that he has no idea where Duncan went, choosing to ignore their kiss from the previous episode.
Mandy talks to Veronica about her dog, and she agrees to help find Chester. Wallace tells Veronica that Weevil broke into the Kane house the previous night and was arrested after being found in Lilly's bedroom. Veronica visits Weevil in holding, who says that he broke in to steal back a ring he gave to Lilly.
Trina Echolls talks to Aaron before Logan comes in and makes sarcastic comments. A lawyer appears and says that Lynn Echolls did not include Aaron and Trina in her will, while she gives Logan $115,000, and other assets. Veronica and Mandy visit the pound, but according to a classmate who works at the pound, Hans, the pound hasn't found Chester. The pound contacts Veronica the next day and inform Veronica that Chester had been hit by a car on the highway. The next day, Veronica notices that the bulletin board near the beach is now covered with lost dog notices and deducts that dog wanted-posters with expensive rewards got their dogs back, while the others did not.
Celeste Kane walks into Mars Investigations and blames Veronica for Duncan running off, demanding to know where Duncan went. Veronica tells Celeste that she'll tell her what happened with Duncan (even though she doesn't know) if the Kanes drop the charges against Weevil. Keith secretly collects a strand of Veronica's hair to submit for a DNA test, similar to what Veronica did earlier in the season.
Veronica posts a fake lost dog notice on the bulletin board as bait. Logan finds out that Trina is a victim of domestic violence. Veronica gets a lead on the lost dog notice, and she sends Wallace to collect the stolen dog. Wallace meets a Spanish-speaking man and Veronica secretly places a tracker on the man. Veronica tracks the man and learns that the man receive the stolen dog from a "dog man." Veronica realizes that the dog man is Hans, who denies any involvement.
Weevil sees Veronica at school, indicating that he was released under Celeste's orders. Logan asks Veronica for help in tracking down Trina's boyfriend, Dylan Goran. Aaron, seemingly oblivious, asks Trina to bring her boyfriend over that night. Veronica finds out that Dylan Goran has been put under two restraining orders recently by ex-girlfriends. Dylan comes over to the house, where he is beaten up by Aaron. We learn that Aaron new Trina had been abused by Dylan because her behavior was similar to that of Aaron's mom after his dad beat her. Eventually, Dylan is helpless on the ground before Logan and Veronica arrive. Logan and Veronica escort Dylan to his car and he drives off the premises. Logan and Veronica talk about Lilly and Weevil. Veronica doesn't know who Lily actually cared about more, but she does know that Lilly loved Logan. After talking some more, Veronica and Logan kiss again and decide to start secretly dating.
Veronica breaks up with Leo and reveals that she kissed Logan, but they remain on good terms. Leo helps Veronica conduct an official search of the pound. After opening a locked door discovered by Wallace, they find all the "lost" dogs. After Mandy tases Hans, he reveals that Chester is not dead—he was sold when they couldn't get a reward for him. Mandy eventually retrieves Chester from the woman who bought him.
Later, Veronica finds out from Leo that Weevil was not just looking for a ring—he was stalking Lilly. Keith tells Veronica that he already knew this, but had been ruled out due to an airtight alibi. Veronica confronts Weevil about breaking into Lilly's room; he wasn't looking for a ring, he was looking for a "secret message pen" Lilly used to have. He gives the pen to Veronica, but the pen is empty and he is evasive when Veronica asks if the pen had a message in it when Weevil found it.
Arc significance[]
- Weevil breaks into Lilly's room and steals a pink "spy pen" that Lilly used to hold secret messages. He gives it to Veronica, but it's empty.
- Keith discreetly takes hair samples from Veronica and sends in for a DNA test.
- Aaron's violent nature is highlighted.
- Logan's claims of being abused by his father as a child are made more likely by Aaron's behavior. Also, Aaron himself remembers being beaten and abused by his own father during childhood.
Cultural references[]
A variety of cultural references are made in the episode:
- Mandy is reading Forever by Judy Blume.
- Aaron Echolls says that Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson gave him the novel Siddhartha to read.
- Logan imitates Yoda.
- Hans references One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
- Weevil mentions Get Out of Jail Free cards from the board game Monopoly.
- Trina Echolls compares Aaron's would-be role in Dylan's film to John Travolta's character in Pulp Fiction.
- After watching Aaron beat up Dylan Goran, Logan says "Father knows best," a reference to the radio and television show of the same name.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars
- Percy Daggs III as Wallace Fennel
- Teddy Dunn as Duncan Kane
- Jason Dohring as Logan Echolls
- Francis Capra as Eli "Weevil" Navarro
- Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars
Guest Stars[]
- Alyson Hannigan as Trina Echolls
- Lisa Thornhill as Celeste Kane
- Amanda Seyfried as Lilly Kane
- Max Greenfield as Leo D'Amato
- Claire Titelman as Mandy
- Matthew Carey as Hans
- Jeff Parise as Dylan Goran
- Harry Hamlin as Aaron Echolls
Music[]
- "Marc" - Louis XIV
- "That's Amore" - Dean Martin
Quotes[]
- Veronica: I'll be at home. With the only sane member of the Mars family.
- Keith: The one who eats from the garbage and keeps bringing me dead birds?
- Veronica: That's the one.
- Trina: Good morning, bro. Pop-Tart?
- Logan: Hmm, a tart from a tart.
- Trina: He of the sickle wit. Can I ask you something?
- Logan: Hmm. Will you look at that? There was a string attached to my Pop-Tart.
- Veronica: And it's time for the international language of…
- [She blows an air horn.]
- Veronica: How old are you?
- Hans: Eighteen, why?
- Veronica: Community soap.
Trivia[]
- Veronica looks at the kidnapped dogs and reads their names off as she goes along. Two of the kidnapped dogs, the ones named Shakes and Lola, are Kristen Bell's real-life dogs. Those are their actual names.
- Veronica says to Mandy that "lost dogs aren't really my specialty". In real life, Kristen Bell is known for taking care of stray dogs and helping them find their owners.
Goofs[]
- The screen of the tracking device which Veronica placed in "Kanes and Abel's" and "Hot Dogs" is the same in both episodes, despite being different vehicles.
- The girl's grip on her Judy Blume book changes between shots.