"You Think You Know Somebody" was the fifth episode of the first season of Veronica Mars.
In this episode, Veronica goes on the case when her boyfriend Troy Vandegraff's car goes missing and finds out some unpleasant information in the process.
Synopsis[]
The episode opens in Tijuana, Mexico. Luke, Troy, and Logan go in a car and cross the U.S.-Mexico border. After stopping at a diner, they notice that their car is missing, which is actually Troy's father's car. However, Veronica pulls up and takes them back home. After returning home, Logan and Luke leave, while, Veronica offers to help Troy find his father's car, an offer which he eventually accepts. While Veronica searches for Troy's car, she playfully teases Wallace and talks to him about potential birthday presents for Keith. Later, Veronica checks her dad's voicemail and hears a message from school guidance counselor Rebecca James, with whom Keith had been dating. Meanwhile, Luke is being interrogated and threatened by Hank Zigman. He tells them that he will have their "package," which is in Troy's car, tomorrow.
Veronica tells Keith that she's figured out about his relationship with Rebecca, and he says that he is enjoying it. The next day, Luke tells Veronica that there was a piñata of steroids in the backseat of the car and he needs to get it to Hank Zigman or he will punish Luke severely. Veronica reluctantly agrees to help him. Veronica goes to a bank and tells the teller about the safety deposit box key she found in her mom's old stuff. In it, Veronica finds many secret photos of herself. Later, Rebecca shows up to talk to Veronica "outside of school", and Veronica treats the idea with sarcasm. Luke is chased by the drug dealers. The next day, Veronica confronts Logan about his steroid plan. Veronica finds Rebecca in their kitchen, but Veronica says that she has to leave before Rebecca can actually make dinner. At the junkyard, Weevil talks to a worker, Angel, who says that Troy's car has already come and went.
Veronica confronts Luke in the women's bathroom, and she tells him that he needs to collect $8,000 himself to pay Zigman back. Veronica sends disposable cell phones to Lianne's friends and family in an effort to let her know that it is okay to call her. Later, Veronica requests her dad's help in finding Troy's car. He agrees if Veronica will be nice to Rebecca. The next day, Keith goes to the car tracking company and poses as a high-ranking executive. The boss reluctantly does a scan. Veronica hands her dad a background check she did on Rebecca, and she has a criminal record. This leads to an increasingly heated debate in which Veronica eventually brings up her mother. Veronica sobs after the argument settles down.
Later, Veronica and Troy track the car, which they find is actually a tracker attached to a dog. The next day, Keith hands Veronica a background check he did on Troy. In addition, Keith tells Rebecca that they need to break up for Veronica's sake. Veronica confronts Troy about his past, which includes expulsion from two schools due to drug trafficking and possession. She also believes that he has something to do with the steroids. Troy says that he would have told her about his crimes when they got to know each other better, and he storms off, leaving Veronica to look after in despair. Veronica confronts Hank Zigman and hands him the $8,000, but he still says they are not "even." Veronica claims that he will eventually regret that moment. She then uses an image of Zigman she took with her phone for an unknown purpose.
Troy's father sends Troy off in a cab angrily. Troy's taxi stops at the restaurant in Tijuana where they originally "lost" the car. Troy is then seen pulling out in the stolen car. He talks with a girl named Shauna (with whom he had previously conspired), and she tells him that Veronica called and she accidentally revealed their whole plan to Veronica. It turns out that Veronica replaced the steroids with candy and left a sarcastically angry letter for Troy. Zigman is arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border using the photo Veronica took. That night, Veronica receives a call from her mother, who says that she misses her but that Veronica cannot (and will not) find her.
Arc significance[]
- Troy is revealed as a drug dealer and leaves town to meet his girlfriend, who is also in on the drug scheme. However, Veronica figures everything out before he realizes it and flushes his stash down a toilet.
- Veronica finds a safe deposit box key which leads to some of her mother's belongings. When she opens the safe deposit box, she finds pictures of herself in gun sights.
- Veronica's mother calls her at the end of the episode and lets her know that she is okay and that 'everything will make sense when the time is right'. The call goes directly to Veronica's voicemail.
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
- Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Mallory Dent
- Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars
Guest Stars[]
- Aaron Ashmore as Troy Vandegraff
- Sam Huntington as Luke Haldeman
- Corinne Bohrer as Lianne Mars
- Paula Marshall as Rebecca James
Music[]
- "Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service
- "Put Your Lights On" - Santana featuring Everlast
- "The New Kid" - Old 97's
Quotes and trivia[]
- Veronica: Your monkey's gonna have to ride in the back.
- Logan: Ha ha. Nice car. Must have been a huge cereal box.
- Weevil: Baby, I'll buy you a piñata.
- Veronica: Will you buy me a piñata full of steroids?
- Veronica: We need to talk.
- Luke: All right, well does it have to be next to the feminine hygiene machine?
Trivia[]
- Both Sam Huntington (Luke) and Aaron Ashmore (Troy) went on to play the character "Jimmy Olsen" in different adaptations of the Superman comics. Huntington portrayed Olsen in the feature film Superman Returns while Ashmore took over the role of Olsen on the small screen in Smallville.
Goofs[]
- When Troy is talking to Shauna on the phone in his dad's car, you can see the boom mic bouncing in the upper right hand corner.
- Near the end, when Hank Zigman approaches the border, the border guard holds the sheet faxed earlier by Veronica. Under this page we see an information sheet on a certain "Raphael Bruno", which was intended to be written in Spanish. However, under the word "Atencion", we can clearly see: "All this stuff is suppose to be in Spanish, however the person who usually translates for us is on vacation, so just act like this is in Spanish."
- When Veronica confronts Troy by the lockers, he slams his locker shut and in the next shot it is open, then shut again.
External links[]
- MI.net's Roundtable Review.
- Soulful Spike Society's Open Case.
- Television Without Pity Recap.