"Of Vice and Men" was the seventh episode of the third season of Veronica Mars.
Plot[]
Increasingly frustrated by what she sees as the deceits of Keith, Logan, and Professor Landry, Veronica withdraws from her support network.
While staying at Wallace and Piz's dorm room, she meets a girl trying to locate her missing boyfriend. Their search leads Veronica to some old adversaries.
Vinnie Van Lowe puts the squeeze on Keith Mars over his affair with Harmony Chase.
Mercer Hayes is cleared of the serial rapes. After being drugged at the food court, Veronica has a frightening encounter with the culprit.
Arc significance[]
- Mercer Hayes is shown to have an alibi for at least three of the rapes. At least two of them occurred while he was on shift for his live call-in radio show, while a third occurred while he was in Tijuana and accidentally set a motel in Mexico on fire.
- Professor Landry offers to get Veronica an internship with the FBI.
- Keith breaks up with Harmony Chase after being blackmailed by Vinnie Van Lowe.
- Vinnie Van Lowe saves Veronica's life when she is being threatened by the Fitzpatricks at The River Styx.
- Veronica is slipped some GHB in the food court and passes out in front of her car.
- Veronica has a spot of hair shaved by a figure we assume to be the rapist--a Caucasian wearing latex gloves. Logan comes to Veronica's rescue before anything worse happens.
Music[]
- "Silver Girl" - Mere Mortals
- "A Pair of Brown Eyes" - The Pogues
- "Captain" - Shapes of Race Cars
Quotes and trivia[]
- This episode had an estimated audience of 2.69 million viewers on its initial airing. [1]
- The episode title is a reference to the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck.
- Sheriff Lamb's line "No Touching!" may be a reference to the show Arrested Development.
- Michael Cera, who appeared in "The Rapes of Graff" (whose title is also a pun on that of a Steinbeck novel), was originally going to be the serial rapist until scheduling conflicts prevented him from returning to the show.
- When Veronica wakes up in the dorm and steps over Piz, who's sleeping on the floor, he asks her for an egg sandwich. She looks at him and Meryl and says "Orange Whip?" This is a reference to John Candy's character in The Blues Brothers when he does the same thing at the concert.
- Meryl's theory about Sully accidentally inventing a "laser that can kill people from space" is a reference to the 1985 movie Real Genius starring Val Kilmer.
References[]
External links[]
- MI.net's Roundtable Review.
- Soulful Spike Society's Open Case.
- Television Without Pity Recap.