"Poughkeepsie, Tramps and Thieves" was the eleventh episode of the third season of Veronica Mars.
Plot
Max, a student (previously seen as the "tutor" Wallace bought tests from in "President Evil"), hires Veronica to find a woman, Chelsea, he says he's in love with, but he doesn't know her last name or where she lives. He just knows she's getting married soon, due to a text message she sent to him. Veronica learns that the mystery woman isn't quite what Max thought - she's an escort.
Veronica discovers that Brian and Fred hired the escort to take Max's virginity. Funny enough, they didn't even have sex. Max insists on Veronica finding her because although he learned the truth, he still feels a "connection". Brian and Fred helps Veronica find her on an escort website and narrows it down to two possible women. She invites both to Logan's apartment to find out.
As they wait, Veronica asks Logan if he's ever hired an escort, but he dodges the question. The first escort arrives. Max says it's not her, but as she's leaving the second appears: Chelsea. Surprisingly, she's thrilled to see him and felt the same connection. She reintroduces herself with her real name, Wendy. They become very lovey-dovey on the couch.
Keith confronts the women of Lilith House.
Keith learns that Dean O'Dell's office was egged on the night of his alleged suicide. He visits Lilith House in his old sheriff uniform to try to intimidate the women into revealing information about the night of Dean O'Dell's death. He tells them O'Dell's case is a murder. Nish Sweeney outs him and tells the girls he's no longer a cop, but a private eye. However, she admits to egging the Dean's Volvo but not the Dean's window. The other girls tell her Keith believes O'Dell was murdered.
Max and Wendy sleep together. Wendy reveals that one of her clients was a judge, who Veronica incidentally hates. That morning, Max asks Veronica to help Wendy leave the escort service. She begrudgingly agrees until another escort shows up at Logan's apartment, bruised and bloodied. He offers her a wet towel and calls over Veronica, Max, and Wendy. The girl tells the group that Wendy has to go back to her pimp. Though Max tries everything, even giving them $1000 to buy her freedom, Wendy decides to go back to spare her friend from another beating.
After Wendy and the escort leaves, Veronica finds purple eyeshadow on the towel. The escort faked her injuries. Veronica insists that they must have duped Max out of a grand, so to get revenge, Veronica is going to blackmail the judge, Wendy's client to replace the money. However, when they go to collect the money, there's a note telling them to get into the limo parked outback or Wendy gets hurt. They get into the car, where they have a conversation with the pimp, a put-together white woman, which surprised Veronica. Though the pimp is willing to depart with Wendy, it'll cost Max $10,000. He pays, despite Veronica's warnings.
Wendy shows up outside Max's dorm room, her boxes alongside. He lets her stay in his room until she gets back on her feet. While Max, Wendy, and Veronica are eating in the dining hall, Weevil recognizes Wendy as the exotic dancer in a club he went to. Max is obviously uncomfortable. Later that night, Brian visits Wendy in Max's room to ask if she'll be the stripper at his brother's bachelor party. Max shuts him down. After he leaves, Max asks Wendy if she really gave her information to him after their first night as she claimed. She admits she didn't. Wendy leaves Max that morning with only a note, thanking him for what he's done but unable to be with him due to his attitude towards her old life. She promises to pay back the ten grand and delivers $1000 in one-dollar bills.
Madison Sinclair stuns Veronica with the shocking news that she and Logan had a fling at Aspen while Veronica and Logan were broken up. Though Logan admitted earlier to messing around during the break, he didn't say with whom.
Arc Significance
- The Dean's office being egged was not reported in one of the news articles.
- Mindy O'Dell might have been on campus the night of the murder.
- Three Lilith House girls were in the area of the Dean's office around the time of the murder.
- Madison Sinclair tells Veronica that she and Logan hooked up in Aspen when Logan and Veronica had broken up. Previously, Logan said he only had one fling with a girl on the beach, seen in the last episode while they were broken up.
Music
- "Never The Same Again" - Moonlight Towers
- "Yeah!" - The Golden Dogs
- "A Thousand Kisses Deep" - Leonard Cohen
- "Wheels" - Mark Lanegan
Feedback and ratings
The episode scored approximately 2.74 million viewers. [1]
Quotes and trivia
- Despite being credited, Piz, Mac, Wallace, and Parker do not appear in this episode.
- The episode's title is a reference to the Cher song "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves".
- Poughkeepsie is a city in New York.
- The episode contains several references to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Number Six, the Cylons, Cylon Raiders, "frak", and "so say we all" are mentioned.
- Veronica makes a reference to American Beauty mentioning the beauty of a plastic bag flying around when Max tells her about the night he spent with Chelsea and what they talked about.
References
External links
- MI.net's Roundtable Review.
- Soulful Spike Society's Open Case.
- Television Without Pity Recap.