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S01.E11: Silence of the Lamb


Lisin
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From IMDB: "After setting up a new business helping classmates dig up dirt on their parents, Veronica uncovers a huge revelation about her friend Mac, which leaves her wondering if some things about your family are best left unknown. Meanwhile, Keith must team up with Sheriff Lamb to track down a serial killer in Neptune."

Another episode with Mac! And it's so heartbreaking for her, but I love that she does the "right" thing and doesn't reveal the secret to anyone in her family. Veronica is finally starting to act like a friend to people too! Hooray for character development! 

 

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This one always kind of makes me nuts because of the holes in the baby switch story.

1) There is no way this would have been kept secret in Neptune. I just think someone (hospital, courts, media) would have leaked the names and word would have gotten out. Or, some other family members or friends (grandparents, aunts/uncles, parents' friends) would have slipped up. 

2) The timing is confusing, and I'm about to get really crazy on this. Veronica graduated in 2006 (sidenote: does that mean the movie takes place two years in the future?), so that means they were all probably born in 1987 or 1988, right? This episode was supposed to air before An Echolls Family Christmas, which would have indicated a Nov/Dec 1987 birthday, but it ended up airing in January. Then in Season 3, Veronica sees Madison getting a new car for her birthday in an episode that aired in February and definitely took place after winter break. So let's put their birthdays as somewhere between Nov 87-Feb 88.

Veronica says they got the $1M settlement in May 1992, then the article she reads about the case says that the settlement came after five years of bitter legal battles. Ignoring the bad math on the part of the journalist, I think we should assume the families figured it out fairly soon after bringing the girls home. Maybe I'm really callous, but if I'd found out that early on, I'd probably be devastated but also want to switch back for my biological child? Or at the very least, I think some visitation would have been worked out. So....

3) Why didn't they work out some sort of visitation? Before and after the settlement. I can understand the non-biological parents retaining custody of the children they raised, but the Sinclairs and Mackenzies both seem like loving people, and I can't imagine either of them being OK with never acknowledging their biological daughters. Especially when they live in the same small town! And the secret could actually become a problem someday for medical issues, etc. It just seems like a resolution that was reached for plot reasons only, which bugs.

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First of all THANK YOU because I had been making myself crazy about the specifics of this. I've noticed upon this, my second full re-watch (but third re-watch of S1 and 2) that the specifics of a LOT of the episodes are driving me crazy. I don't know if it's because I'm in my 30s now and more informed from working in the legal field for the past 12 years or if I'm just paying closer attention to the actual specifics because I already know what's going to happen but whatever it is there are some holes that make my head spin (see ).

So, to get back to your post:

1) I kind of think the writers meant to imply that people in Neptune did know about this but that the scandal had dropped off the radar because it was so long ago? Maybe? Me doing a fanwank is definitely a possibility here.

2) Yes the movie sort of takes place in the future. They decided to flub the dates to make a reunion the setting because it makes for a better story and it makes more characters available.

2.5) Yeah, I never thought about the math on their birthdays but you're right. They would have had to figure out when the babies were infants, like only a few months old in order for them to receive a settlement in 92 after "five" years of battle... So yeah, to me it's "Why not switch back and THEN sue?" I mean court cases can take forever yes, but there's lots of stuff leading up to a settlement and it's confusing that they wouldn't have worked some sort of arrangement out. I'm with you, I don't see why they wouldn't have switched back. They could have still kept the secret that way. This makes for a better story though. I hate it when that's the answer but I believe that is where we land on this one.

3) I'm fanwanking again, but it seems like the deal was that everyone involved decided it would be better "for the kids" if they just never found out rather than have to live with knowing they were ever switched. Making a visitation thing impossible. So the parents know and just ignore it I guess.

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During this rewatch, I've found so much to complain internally about, and it makes me crazy - like how could people NOT know that Sean was the butler's son? Seriously? He just shows up in a limo and lives in a big house, and they ASSUME he's rich?  And Leo is a 20-year old deputy, left in charge of the entire station? And I could go on and on...

But on a side note...

AARON PAUL! I RECOGNIZED HIM! TOTALLY AARON PAUL

And now we resume our regular fanwanking...

 

 

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LOL I forgot to mention Aaron Paul! How could I!? I'm the WORST!

Yeah, so I'm still firmly in the "This was the BEST SHOW EVER" camp but... on this my third (second for s. 3) rewatch I am catching some glaring plotholes that I'm deciding to just go "lalalalalalalalala I can't hear you!!" about. This is also how I watch all lawyer shows. And the movie Primal Fear (don't even get me started). I still say that this show is better than most that are around now. I suppose most of that has to do with the chemistry of most of the cast (sorry Duncan, you're boring and kind of awful) and the dialogue writing.

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Yeah, the baby-switch makes no sense, though it's still heartbreaking for Mac. And, if you haven't heard this: http://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/360/switched-at-birth.

My other main takeaway: that's some pretty serious soundproofing on the glass door in that bar.

I've been way behind on this because work was crazy the last couple weeks, but will hopefully be able to make some headway now. But: up until this point, I had been enjoying the episodes but always kind of wanted to watch Buffy instead, since I'm on my first watchthrough there (and the similarities are, uh, pretty pronounced). The end, though, reminded me that oh yeah, though none of the case-of-the-weeks are THAT great, the season arc gets really exciting soonish. On to the next one....

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As I've been going through the show again, I'm reminded of the thing that most impressed me about the episode originally:  they managed to find actresses to play Mac's biological mother and sister that looked astonishingly like Tina Majorino.  They didn't just get two brunettes; I would have fully believed that girl actually was Tina's sister.

 

VM always had great casting, as in the first season alone we get Jane Lynch, Aaron Paul, Adam Scott, and future Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain, but it's really those two that impress me the most.

 

I always wish Mac had gotten more resolution on this story.  Oh well.

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Yes, my first thought was nice, Aaron Paul pre-BB.  Agreed that the timeline is kindof wonky and frankly, I couldn't handle not having my biological child knowing she's out there.  I would have thought the parents would have switched back as soon as they found it out.  With living in the same town, how could they resist seeing how their bio-daughter grew up?  And these days, with genetics and health issues, you'd think its even more important to tell children about their biological family.

 

Agreed that they did a great job of finding actresses that looked like the girls for mother/sister.

 

Interesting that Mac is very much like her bio-family, but not sure I see how Madison was like her bio fam.

 

Weevil is so good and fun how he helps out Veronica.  Poor Leo though.  I would have thought Veronica would have locked up the evidence room, how did ass-sheriff know someone took the audio file of a supposedly closed case?

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