So, this episode. Some problems, yeah. I think the basic issue is that it was too ambitious, and ended up spreading itself too thin. I think the Mystery of the Week should have been dispensed with entirely. For one, rich parents conspiring to commit a felony to help their kids with athletics is a little beyond, even for Neptune. And really, Veronica hanging up her detective hat like she did only to pick it up in the first five minutes isn't compelling television. I mean, Veronica apparently didn't get involved in trying to clear her boyfriend of a murder charge that dragged on for six weeks only for the frankly somewhat tired desire for a normal life? And yet, she's back in the game five minutes into the season? It would have been a lot more interesting to me if Veronica had only been pulled back into the detective business by the bus crash. I think if the MotW had been cut, a lot of the stuff that felt emotionally unearned to me could have been developed a lot better. Where was the bikers' testimony about the murder? Where was the building tension between Logan and Veronica? Where was all the pain Logan was going through with his and his father's arrests and the media circuses surrounding them? We may see some or all of these things in flashback later in the season, which would be great, but I think the pause between season mysteries was ill-used here. On the other hand, I'd be remiss if I didn't say that I think this episode was a great one to hook new viewers, and if that's what was being shot at, I can totally understand. Also, contrivances for this one episode aside, I'm psyched for the mysteries and new plot developments it laid out. In other words, while we might have taken a somewhat better route to get here, I'm excited about where we're going.

Next time: Veronica helps the daughter of the bus driver. Lamb is back, Charisma and Logan are still sleeping together, and Kevin Smith appears.