Episode 1.09: Drinking the Kool-Aid

[yellowqueen22]

In this episode Veronica's own impressions are tested. This episode is an oddity because we see such a soft side of Veronica... yes, she is trying to infiltrate the "cult"... but the lies she tells are very true. Once again we are shown that Veronica's rough exterior is not always the best answer... the "cult" leader recognizes Veronica's use of outsider protection... but also recognizes that she is not really that person... and her soul is being starved. And that is one of Season One's main themes... that you can never truly be alone... that your soul will be starved if you shut people out and refuse to deal with your issues.

The opening scene is always painful to watch as Veronica drives home crying from her visit with Abel Koontz... most painful is her realization that Duncan may be her brother... as she pulls over to the side of the road and throws up.

Casey's transformation is also terribly painful to watch... seeing him transform back into the jackass he once was is heartwrenching... and reminds us that change and growth are terribly difficult. Casey seems to be living proof of the nature/nurture debate... stuck back in his parents grips he succumbs to the evil 09er lifestyle.


Best Quotes:
Veronica: What is your deal? You're jacked up like some hillbilly kid who just stumbled into daddy's meth lab.
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Keith: This is so endearing. My badass action-figure daughter is afraid to draw a teensy little drop of blood.
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Veronica: He joined a cult? What do they worship? Wedgies? Keggers? Their parents' platinum cards?
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Wallace: Hacky-sack. The final arena of unquestioned white domination.
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Veronica Voiceover: Enough, already with this mellow "Incense and Peppermints" vibe. Let's break out the mushrooms and dance naked! Strap on the goat skull headgear, sacrifice a few infants. Come on, people, you're cultists. Start acting like it.
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Veronica Voiceover: Wow. It's Bizarro world. Out here I'm Miss Popular.
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Veronica Voiceover: Do not roll your eyes, Veronica. You're undercover.
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Veronica Voiceover: You're saying you
don't want my money, you don't want my body, you don't want me working
in your ganja fields, you just want me to be happy. Strange.
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Wallace: Sounds to me, Veronica, like you've been drinking the Kool-Aid.
Veronica: I have not.
Wallace: You better recognize.
Veronica: Thank you for being my own personal Springer audience. Should I check myself before I wreck myself.
Wallace: All I'm saying is, is you may be getting a little soft.
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Josh: You've built this fortress around yourself... It does offer a limited amount of protection... but it also keeps other people and all they have to offer at bay... starving your soul...

[HRTVALWAYS]

I like and dislike this episode at the same time. The spin is "not all cults are bad" but I really wanted Casey to stay transformed. I liked that V was liked and accepted-she needed that at the time. I am surprised with as sucked in as V got that she never returned to the blissfull cult life. Strange side bar type episode.

[randijeanw]

I think "Drinking the Kool-Aid" was more development in the line Wallace says to Veronica at the end of the first episode; "You're a marshmallow Veronica Mars, a twinkie! I know underneath that angry girl exterior you're just itching to bake me something." (if i screwed that up a bit - dont mind me, I'm paraphrasing)

Up til now, Veronica has a very black/white view of the world. 09'ers evil, her mom a tardface, her dad an angel, etc. etc. This is part of her development as a character in the first half of the season, showing of her marshmallow interior. This, her friendship with Meg, and her soft spot for Duncan (and even her opening up to Troy) are all leading up the crux of this transformation, until finally, she bakes somthing for Wallace (the Snickerdoodles in Betty and Veronica)

I love Rob Thomas, not only for his amazing writing skills, but his awesome continuty genious <3

[yellowqueen22]

Couldn't agree with you more!!!

One of the hardest things to stomach is both Casey & Veronica's inability to stay transformed under the positive love of the compound. Casey returns to being a shallow, superficial, 09er. Veronica returns to being hard, cold, mistrusting, and an outsider. But it was interesting to see both of them open up and be a softer version of themselves... to the outside world and to each other.