I'll keep this short: I think this death was totally lame. It's not that I don't respect a show that's willing to kill off a main character in an unexpected way, because I do. That's the sort of stuff that can keep television fresh. And I think integrating Lamb into the college setting hasn't really worked all that well, so for that reason alone I can get behind the decision to get rid of him. It's just that the way the death occurred was totally pointless. Sure, officers of the law die like this all the time. That's completely irrelevant: as this and other programming demonstrates to us all the time, just because it happens in real life doesn't automatically make it good drama. As much as this show strives for continuity, it isn't vérité. I doubt there's going to be any fallout from Lamb's death, I don't think any character is going to be the slightest bit affected by it after this episode, and I don't think there's any lesson the show wants us to learn here. I mean, Landry seems to be pushing the idea that Veronica's too good for the PI game, which could be interesting. But rather than force her to make that decision herself, the show's giving her an easy way out by breaking up Mars Investigations. So beyond a little shock value, what do we get out of this, other than Keith becoming sheriff, which frankly I don't see the need for? Very little, and I think it's a shame to give a popular and hardworking regular such a crappy sendoff. It feels rushed and lacking in intention. I mean, I had no problem with the show giving Teddy Dunn such a nice sendoff, but would it have been too much to ask to do something decent for Muhney, who's ten times the actor? It makes you think the writers never really knew what they had there, which is quite a shame.

Josh is waiting for Veronica outside her complex when she appears with her laptop. They play the CD: Josh's dad tells him that if he's watching this, Josh is twenty-one and his dad is long gone. You know what's worse than being dead? Being dead and wrong. We see that the recording was filmed in a locker room as Josh's dad goes on to say that the statute of limitations on their insurance policy has run out (wrong again, Dead Dad), so he can tell Josh the truth: he was responsible for his own death, since he had a terminal disease that would have robbed him of his mental faculties and crippled their family financially. He says that the person who "helped" him is a dear friend who knew everything. Also, he's sorry he was tough on Josh, but he was preparing him to be the man of the house. He says he's real proud of Josh, and has no doubt that he's taken good care of his mother and brother, causing Josh to cry. Up in heaven, his dad's all, "It's like he didn't hear a word I said!" Veronica, however, notices the reflection of someone else in the room -- someone who looks like Josh. Josh recognizes him as the assistant coach, who played for his dad at Army. Veronica realizes that that's who Mason saw. It's left unstated that the guy would also have had a Colt .45 from his stint in the service. Just to temper my earlier negativity, I have to say that this two-part mystery was totally engaging and exceptionally well-plotted. Kudos.