What was on TV? Tues, May 10, 2005

20 years ago, someone in Georgia (the country, not the state) threw a grenade at George W. Bush. And we thought the shoe was bad. Let's see what was on TV.

9:00 Veronica Mars on UPN

1x22 "Leave it to Beaver" (record House on Fox and Deadliest Catch on Discovery)

In the best mystery stories, the solution is at once more mundane and more complex than you imagined. It's a tricky balance, and Veronica Mars nails it in its first season.

On the one hand, no shit Aaron Echolls killed Lilly Kane! He's been reckless, violent, cruel, and selfish the entire season. Once Lilly threatened his precious reputation, his impulsiveness, disregard for other people, and fondness for violence led him to murder. It's not subversive, it's obvious. But obvious isn't a bad thing. Earlier in the season, I discussed how what we call "subversive" ultimately just supports existing power structures:

TV loves to say that the husband actually didn't do it, that the do-gooder activist is actually dangerous or selfish, that people of color can be racist too. That's the kind of subversion that TV loves. The kind that supports the people in power. So it's not really subversive at all.

There is value in being obvious. In reminding us that abusive assholes rarely stop with one victim. That when we let rich and famous and powerful get away with literal and metaphorical murder all the time.

But an obvious solution isn't satisfying for the viewer. Not to mention Aaron Echolls is no criminal mastermind. He accidentally killed the underage girl he was sleeping with and threw the murder weapon into a nearby water feature! Aaron Echolls could not have kept Veronica busy for 22 episodes all by himself. He needed the Kanes's help. And that's where the complexity comes in.

Because the truth behind the Kanes' cover-up is thorny and sad and complex. Yet we don't need it explained to us. We know that the Kanes saw Lilly as the bad seed and Duncan as the golden child. But they were also ashamed of Duncan's illness. They feared it, hated it, and refused to understand it, and Duncan internalized all that. So when they saw Duncan cradling his sister's body, consumed by grief, they assumed the worst. It was their worst nightmare: their daughter was gone, and their perfect son wasn't perfect. And Duncan blocked all of it out. Not just Lilly's murder, but the way his parents believed the worst of him. Their all-too-conditional love. It's a classic wasp tragedy, full of shame and repression, and it gives us the complexity we crave.

10:00 House (recorded)

1x20 "Love Hurts"

On this episode of House, John Cho is super sick, and he needs his dominatrix by his side while House figures out what's wrong. It's weird to think about in a post-50 Shades world, but this episode was a lot of people's first exposure to BDSM. House introduced a lot of people to weird diseases and subcultures.

If I had to choose a TV to introduce my subculture to the American public, I would not choose House. The show actually does a decent job explaining the nature of BDSM. It just believes that the people who practice it are stupid. But I suppose it's nothing personal. According to the show, all of House's patients are fools, liars, or both.

What Else Was On

• Special Sweeps Guest Stars: Blythe Danner on Will and Grace, Stacy Keach on Will and Grace AND George Lopez
• Critical punching bag According to Jim celebrated its 100th episode. I'll paraphrase Alan Sepinwall here, Jim doesn't require you to watch it with your full attention. If anyone is watching it with their full attention, that's cause for concern. And probably mandatory therapy. (Read more here)
• Fan favorite underdogs Uchenna and Joyce triumphed over Survivor villains/real-life lovebirds Boston Rob and Amber in the Amazing Race finale.

Late Night

They should let someone do this every time a game goes into extra innings.

TiVo Status

2 episodes of Mystery! 2 hours.

Music, 20 years ago

It's not enough to write a satisfying ending to your mystery. You have to make us care. And Veronica Mars never had a problem with that. We always care about Lilly Kane. It helpds that she's played by one of the greatest actors of her generation. In Amanda Seyfried's hands, Lilly never feels like a plot point or a victim. And the writers gave her plenty to work with. Lilly is not one of those perfect victims we get in so many crime stories. She feels like a full person, cruelly ripped away from the world and the people who loved her.

Veronica Mars's first season is great not just because it sticks the landing. It's not just the great setting, the incredible ensemble, or the surprise romantic sub-plot that set teen girls' hearts aflame. It's the way it never loses sight of Lilly and the tragedy of her death. The season ends not with catharsis, but with Veronica processing the loss of her best friend. She imagines them floating in the Kanes' pool, next to where she died, surrounded by golden flowers. They talk, and then Lilly is gone. Veronica accepts it, but we also understand that it will never be okay. It will always be wrong, it will always hurt, and Veronica will always miss her.

"Lily Dreams On" is from Cotton Mather's obscure 1997 album "Kon-Tiki." It was not well-remembered, and in 2005, it was hard to even find it. But Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas was among its fans, and "Lily Dreams On" lives on thanks to that final scene between Veronica and Lilly.