We'll Always Have Comic Con: "Veronica Mars" Gets Up to Some New Tricks

Okay, last night's episode of Veronica Mars was, quite frankly, one of the single best hours of TV these past few weeks.

Am I just still reeling from Veronica withdrawal, sure. But whenever Diane Ruggiero writes an episode, I always know we're in for a treat and last night's geek shout-out laden installment ("Poughkeepsie, Tramps and Thieves") was no exception, as Ruggiero managed to turn in a hysterical (and touching) one-off mystery that also managed to advance the overarching Dean O'Dell murder mystery storyline. (And to think the CW is doing away with the multiple-episode mysteries.)

So what was up last night? Veronica was hired by Hearst College nerd-in-residence Max (Adam Rose, last seen in the episode "Hi, Infidelity") to track down Chelsea, the love of his life, who claims to be getting married and of whom he knows nothing about save her first name. Seems the two of them shared a night of deep connections and meaningful dialogues about how the Batwing looks like the Cylon raiders. At Comic Con. And when Max drove his mystery woman to the airport, she claimed to have left behind her contact info at the hotel, but Max found nothing in his room. And it's been completely silent save for this mysterious text he just received. Hmmm, what is a adorably hot blonde detective-in-training to do?

First off, I love the fact that Ruggiero used Comic Con as a locale for Max's heartfelt connection, especially as both Veronica Mars and Battlestar Galactica participated at the 2006 Comic Con. Love the shout-out to the epitome of television/comics/film/pop culture sexytime explosion that is the 'Con. The little details peppered throughout, like Chelsea's "So Say We All" t-shirt, the Batman/BSG conversation, and the Number Six references, were the icing on the cake.

Chelsea is of course a hooker and may not be Max's dream girl after all. Or is she? Max's ne'er-do-well roomies chip in to pay $1000 for a girlfriend-like experience from Chelsea and feed her info on Max's Battlestar obsession and the little Batwing comparison in order to seal the deal for erstwhile virgin Max. But it turns out that the connection he felt between himself and Chelsea (a.k.a Fiona, nee Wendy) wasn't the result of a cash transaction and an Eliza Doolittle transformation; these two are genuinely cute together.

I'm actually a little sad that Wendy didn't stick around at Hearst. Sure, it would have been totally unrealistic for this sex worker to quit her jobs and move into the dorm room of her former client/new nerd-tacular boyfriend, but I did really like Wendy (played by Brianne Davis). Poor Max. He really did seem to fall for her. And, yes, paid $10K to buy her out of prostitution. (Loved that she payed him back $1000 in singles. Nice touch.) But I don't think that Max, or his friends (or hell, Wendy), could ever forget how exactly they met or what she did for a living.

Not entirely sure that I could stomach Veronica actually attempting to blackmail a federal judge for cash, even if he was a degenerate with a shoe fetish; it felt very out of character for Veronica to break, rather than bend, the law. I'm sure that she could have come up with the $1000 another way (in fact, I thought she was suckering Max with the noir-style blackmail scheme) and I just don't see her doing something quite so low-handed. Nor do I think V. would have gotten in the back of that limo, with or without Max. That's how snooping private eyes tend to meet their maker, after all.

Speaking of breaking the law, I couldn't believe that Keith went to the extreme of posing as a police officer (a seriously jailable offense, if I ever heard one) in order to question the girls of Lilith House about the night of Dean O'Dell's alleged suicide. I AM glad that the writers brought back the egging incident (as it seemed more or less forgotten last week), but my jaw hit the floor when I saw Keith dressed as a legit member of the Neptune sheriff's department. Not quite on the level, guys. (Though I did love Lamb's reaction, which was priceless.)

Sure, Fern and Claire admitted that they were the ones who egged the various locations around campus the night of the suicide/murder, but before Keith could get more information, Nish showed up. And, unlike her Lilith sisters, Nish actually watches the news and recognizes Papa Keith. She claims that while Fern and Claire egged the dean's windows (aha!) she went around back and egged his beloved Volvo. Only problem: O'Dell had taken the minivan and wifey Mindy had the Volvo. So just what was Mindy doing at the dean's office the night of the murder? And why hasn't she come clean about the fact that she paid him a visit (or that O'Dell caught her in flagrante delico with Landry)? Curious...

LOVED that the film that Veronica and Logan (and Max) were watching was, of all possible things, Ang Lee's 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Too classic. And Veronica's hysterical Hi-Honey-I'm-home routine with Papa Keith? Just may have made my week.

No Mac this week (but, fortunately, no excuse for her absence), or Wallace, who seems to have virtually disappeared from V's life lately. But it was nice to see Weevil for a change.

We knew Logan slept with that blonde skank on the beach (I assumed she was the girl who meant less than nothing to him) before getting back together with our beloved Ms. Mars, but why in god's name did he fool around with the loathsome Madison Sinclair? Loved the reveal that it was Logan she was dropping in on and not Dick Casablancas. And, boy, did Veronica look shocked when she learned that little fact. Just when things seemed to be going so well for her and Logan again... The course of true love, as they say.

Next week on Veronica Mars ("There's Got to Be a Morning After Pill"), Veronica confronts Logan about his tryst with Madison during their break-up and investigates the curious case of a promiscuous classmate who claims she was slipped a morning-after pill and miscarried. Plus, could Veronica be pregnant? (Doubtful, that, but it does make for good promo material.)

What's On Tonight

8 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Friday Night Lights (NBC); Beauty & the Geek (CW); George Lopez/Knights of Prosperity (ABC); Bones (FOX); Wicked Wicked Games (MyNet)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Deal or No Deal (ABC); One Tree Hill (CW); According to Jim/In Case of Emergency (ABC); American Idol (FOX); Watch Over Me (MyNet)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Medium (NBC); Primetime: Basic Instinct (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Beauty & the Geek.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for Beauty & the Geek. It might not be the most original or thought-provoking reality TV series on the air, but this "social experiment" from "Ashton Kutcher" always makes me chuckle. On tonight's episode, the remaining teams each get a new member (before you get outraged, it's a teammate of the four-legged kind), the geeks are forced to try to get women's phone numbers at a dogpark, while the girls have to build doghouses. Plus, that spark between Jennylee and Nate turns into a full on fire...

10 pm: Top Chef on Bravo.

On tonight's episode, it's Part Two of the two-part season finale, where it's V for vendetta as adversaries Ilan and Marcel face off in the final culinary challenge, with one of them walking away the victory. Who will be crowned Top Chef and who will go home with some newly minted anger management issues? Find out tonight.