"Rat Saw God" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the twenty-eighth episode overall. Written by Phil Klemmer and John Enbom and directed by Kevin Bray, the episode premiered on UPN on November 9, 2005.
In this episode, Abel Koontz (Christian Clemenson) returns and requests Veronica's help in finding his daughter. Meanwhile, Logan (Jason Dohring) is arrested for his supposed stabbing of a biker gang member, and Keith (Enrico Colantoni) loses the Sheriff's election.
Plot[]
Veronica waits with Keith at an election party, where tensions are high due to the results being extremely close. Sheriff Lamb is nosing ahead when a man walks up to Lamb and says he made the anonymous call from the bridge where Felix Toombs was stabbed. Keith loses the election by a margin of 51% to 49%. After, we learn that Woody Goodman has been elected mayor. Dick Casablancas confronts Logan about sleeping with Kendall, and then hits on Gia Goodman by bragging about how he is the "man of the house" now that his father is hiding overseas. Officers show up at the party and re-arrest Logan for the murder of Felix Toombs.
Veronica finds Abel Koontz
Veronica leaves the party and finds Abel Koontz, who is in the end-stage of stomach cancer, outside the door of Mars Investigation. He asks Veronica to help him find his daughter, Amelia, who has disappeared, and Veronica agrees. Veronica talks to Amelia's old boyfriend, who has not seen her for a while. He tells Veronica that Amelia ditched him while in Europe, and he hasn't seen her since.
Aaron and Logan in Jail
Logan hires Cliff McCormack to be his lawyer. Cliff tells Logan he knows Logan hiring him a stunt, and he should hire a different lawyer. Veronica asks Cliff to call the numbers on the phone cards that Amelia stole from her ex-boyfriend. Veronica finds out that Amelia used one of the calling cards to place an outgoing call from Neptune the previous week. Logan is placed in a cell with his father, Aaron, who is temporarily being held there before his trial for the murder of Lilly Kane. Logan is released on bail, which angers Weevil and his friends, who discuss how their motorcycle club is getting a reputation for being "soft". Veronica breaks into Clarence Wiedman's office to confront him, but he denies any knowledge of where Amelia might be.
Veronica speaks to Amelia's ex-boyfriend, who admits Amelia had a fake ID in the name of her cousin, Margot Schnell. After Logan is released on bail Don Lamb drives him back to the Echolls estate. He and Logan arrive to find that Logan's house is on fire. Veronica fakes being a distressed businesswoman in order to track the car that Amelia rented two days prior using her fake ID. Keith confronts Sheriff Lamb about recovering the wreckage of the bus. Sheriff Lamb retaliates by telling Keith about Veronica being taken in for questioning. Veronica tracks Amelia's last known location, which turns out to be a run-down motel. Keith calls Veronica to confront her about withholding information and Veronica tells him about David "Curly" Moran and her suspicions about the bus crash. Veronica's computer picks up a signal from Amelia's device, leading to her finding Amelia dead in an icebox. Before Veronica can call 911, Clarence Wiedman suddenly appears. He admits that Amelia contacted him asking for more money, which he gave her on the condition she leave town. However, he knew Amelia had not actually left. Veronica and Clarence confront the man at the front desk of the motel, who tells them Amelia came in with a man, and Veronica says she knows who it is.
Keith arranges to meet Aaron, and threatens that if anything happens to Veronica, Keith will go after Aaron personally. Veronica and Clarence go to Amelia's boyfriend's room and Clarence dangles him off a window ledge, but he insists he knows nothing, and they leave. Weevil and Logan get into a fight at school, partly because Weevil is upset Logan got bail and partly because Logan has just bought Weevil's grandmother's house and evicted her. Veronica is contacted by a friend of Amelia's, who tells her Amelia after leaving her boyfriend, she started dating a man named Carlos. Clarence decides to track down Carlos, despite the fact that he is a diplomat's son. Veronica visits Abel Koontz in the hospital, and is told he has only a couple of days left to live. She lies to Abel about Amelia's fate to spare his feelings before his death. Keith breaks into the warehouse where the wreckage of the bus is being stored and finds the remains of a rat taped to the bottom of the bus.
Arc significance[]
- Woody Goodman is elected to the Balboa County Board of Supervisors. The town of Neptune, being unincorporated, has no officers of its own; the Supervisor whose district includes Neptune is unofficially known as "mayor" of Neptune.
- Keith again loses the Sheriff's race to Don Lamb.
- A witness turns up for Felix's murder, so Logan is arrested again.
- Abel Koontz succumbs to stomach cancer.
- Amelia DeLongpre was in Neptune, outside Kane Software, a week prior. Her boyfriend wanted her to get more money out of them and Clarence Wiedman complied. Veronica tracks Amelia to a motel in rural California, and finds her body in the ice machine, just as Wiedman shows up; they investigate together. Amelia's boyfriend starts using the (marked) money in Las Vegas, so Weidman goes there, presumably to kill him.
- Keith visits Aaron Echolls and tells him that if one hair is hurt on Veronica's head, Aaron will pay for it.
- Keith breaks into the area where the wrecked bus is stored and finds a rat duct taped under one of the seats.
Music[]
- "Girl on the Bus" - Kissinger
Quotes[]
- Deputy Sacks: The Sheriff would like to have a word with you.
- Logan: And I’d like to be the cream filling of an Olsen Twins sandwich, but — [shrugs]
- Sacks: Will you come with me please?
- Logan: If I’m under arrest, then do me the courtesy of making it all official-like.
- Dick: Wait, did I miss a state proposition or something? Is it now a crime to kill a Mexican?
- Logan: [ To his father ] I just need a little time to work through how you bashed my girlfriend's skull in.
- Keith: Honey, it's over. Go on to your boyfriend's party. I've got Cliff to keep me company, right Cliff?
- Cliff: Right. I promise to hold his hair back if he has to make sick in the toilet.
- Logan: So, my tax dollars at work. Where were you, getting thirds at the Crazy Girls lunch buffet?
- Cliff: Actually, they discontinued the buffet. Some health code thing. Okay, my name is Cliff, I'll be your if-you-cannot-afford-an-attorney attorney. So. What are you trying to prove?
- Logan: Um ... my innocence?
- Veronica: Cliff, come on, you owe me.
- Cliff: I owe you? Who un-confiscated all your fake college IDs?
- Veronica: Who got the Lincoln out of your ex's name?
- Cliff: Well, who helped put that lien against Lee's Walk-In Donut?
- Veronica: And who proved that stripper was color-blind?
- Cliff: Okay, who am I calling and what am I giving them?
- Keith: I'm here because of my daughter.
- Aaron: Oh that's funny, so am I.
- Aaron: If they give you enough press, you'd find a way to put me on the grassy knoll.
- Veronica: Actually I'm looking for someone.
- Motel Clerk: Well, if it's me, congratulations. Otherwise, unless you get lucky at the Gas 'n' Sip, your options are pretty limited around here.
Trivia[]
- This episode had an estimated audience size of 3.01 million US viewers on its first airing.[1]
- Rats Saw God is the name of Rob Thomas's first novel (1996).
- The car rental agency in this episode is called "Lariat." While there is no real rental car business named Lariat, it is the name used for the fictional chain from which Agents Mulder and Scully rented nearly all of their cars on The X-Files.
- Kim Stolz won her role of the female assistant at the Lariat Rental Car, Stacy, as a weekly challenge winner on America's Next Top Model (Cycle 5).
- Despite being credited Percy Daggs III (Wallace), Tessa Thompson (Jackie Cook), and Kyle Gallner (Beaver) do not appear in this episode.
- Veronica's e-mail address is identified as vmars@aol.com
- Joss Whedon--who plays as the obnoxious Lariat Rental car manager, Douglas--is best known as the director of The Avengers; as a screenwriter (Roseanne, Toy Story; Alien Resurrection, Much Ado About Nothing); and as the creator of cult-hit TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Before netting this cameo, Whedon expressed his admiration for Veronica Mars in posts written at whedonesque.com (including such praise as "Best. Show. Ever."),[2] and in the October, 2005 issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine.[3] Whedon also managed to produce a feature film (Serenity) based on a canceled TV show (Firefly)--in large part do to fanatical fan support.
Goofs[]
- During Veronica's conversation with Mike at 8:30, the level in her water bottle jumps up and down from shot to shot.
- When Keith goes to visit Aaron Echolls, the guard brings Aaron in & can be seen standing, reflected in the two-way mirror. When Keith is done threatening Aaron, he has to knock to be let out because the guard is no longer in the room--he was never shown or heard exiting.
- Veronica works out that Amelia must have had a fake ID to be able to drink during her Europe trip, as she was only 20 at the time. There are no countries in Europe in which 20 is below legal drinking age.
References[]
External links[]
- MI.net's Roundtable Review.
- Soulful Spike Society's Open Case.
- Television Without Pity Recap.