PODCAST S02.E09 Go Pirates!: Maternal Instincts

[Primetimer]

Veronica Mars continues to search for truths about Lianne, but the case of the week is merely one bump in the road in S02.E09.

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[Primetimer]

This and other not especially maternal reaction shots from S02.E09, 'My Mother The Fiend.'

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[WhosThatGirl]

Senior year of high school we had a elective class called Parenthood Ed and mid semester we had to carry around sacks of flour as babies. I think mostly because  eggs were clearly something they tried in the past and didn’t work and also flour was easy to provide for students because the home ec classroom could provide it. We didn’t pair up or anything,  unlike here where they paired up and the btvs episode with the eggs everyone was a solo parent and we had to keep a journal and write a paper on it. Two people in the class randomly had to carry two sets of flour as if they were parents of baby twins.

The class did have one electric baby(it didn’t record progress it just cried and all that) and you had to sign it out and stuff. I remember when a classmate of mine brought it to a rehearsal for a play and it just cried and I remember thinking “so I won’t be signing up for THAT!”

[Flamingo]

We did nothing with a baby in my high school.  No animatronic baby, no sacks of flour, no eggs, nothing of that sort.  Our sex education was included in a "Health" class and equated to don't have sex or you'll get VD (the term at the time because I'm that old) and have a baby that will ruin your life. This same class told us all drugs and alcohol no matter which ones and no matter what quantities lead to a terrible life on the streets or death if you are lucky.   This includes the very heavy handed pot as a gateway drug lesson.  This was public school in, shockingly, North Carolina in the early/mid '80s.  To be fair, they did tell us birth control exists but that was only to be used by married people.  By the time I was a senior, they were begrudgingly telling students about the necessity of condoms if you have sex given that we were deep in the HIV/AIDS crisis at the time it was a given death sentence (graduated 1986).

"Rode hard meet put away wet" has to be one of my favorite lines in the entire series.  The Trina and Kendall scene never fails to make me laugh.

[WhosThatGirl]

Yeah. I mean the Parenthood Ed was class was only for seniors and it was an elective so you could choose to take it. For the most part, it was a fairly easy class and it was fun. In the spring semester we were daycare teachers. Our class period became a daycare class and we taught them lessons and had to create lesson plans and turn them in to our teacher and teach the lesson that day.

But I hated the flour week and I didn’t think it would be as annoying as it was. 

My health classes were not as extreme as “all drugs and sex are bad okay!” But maybe it’s because of the times? I feel like they were pretty progressive for the most part in what they were telling us. Except for maybe freshmen year health..? I feel like that year and the junior high/ middle school years they were unsure of what to say and what’s appropriate for the age at that time.

[veronicamers]

I too love this episode for the "rode hard, meet put away wet" line. It's second in the Kendall-Logan exchanges only to "I'm sorry, did I hurt your feeling?"

And oh man, the reunification hug between Trina and Mary really did me in this watching. So. many. tears. 

We never had any animatronic babies or other stand-in in high school. Like Jon, our sex ed was just part of a general "health and hygiene" class taught by the gym teacher and it was pretty abysmal. My mom was like "This ain't cutting it" so she sent me to some teen sexuality classes at a local family wellness center/clinic (pretty progressive place) so I would get some expert advice.

Edited February 2, 2018 by veronicamers

[helent]

Our sex ed (Australian public school) was part of science class. Year 7 it was the biology basics, Year 10 we got the complete human sexuality/contraception etc. Don't think drugs etc really came into it - I think that got covered in assemblies, usually by some kind of educational theatre troupe. My main memory of the Year 10 classes was that, during one class, it was a school open day, and at one point the vice principal came in with a group of parents - 'This is Mr Mason's Year 10 Science class - please, Mr Mason, don't let us interrupt - go on with your lesson'. 

I actually think Veronica's behaviour in this, when she manipulates Trina, is one of the worst things she has done. It's slightly personal for me, because my mum was adopted, and I know what finding out about her mother meant to her, but it's just really low. Trina's not the greatest but is basically harmless, and it feels like a real line has been crossed - the show only gets away with it by having Veronica pull back at the last minute, and Trina appear unbothered.

[Lela]

My high school had 2 of animatronic babies that were charmingly called "Baby Think It Over." We all hated them, but one of my classmates trumped us all by bringing in her baby sister instead of using the doll.  They ended up getting rid of them, since the next year they were carrying around bags of flour again. Because nothing prepares you for parenting like carrying around pastry ingredients.

[Affogato]

My father ate my egg for breakfast, kidnapping it from its crib in the refrigerator. It was considered lazy, if not eggizidal, to boil them. Would you boil your child? No, I’d roast him and eat him accompanied by fava beans and a nice Chianti!

This is like a musical theme recurring every season.  Logan and Duncan are her two oldest living friends but both keep their involvement with Veronica secret at some point and Logan does in season three as well. Nice. Classism? Or are they just not that into her? Has to sting though.

Another theme, mars always suspect the Kane’s first  

this is a show of catching up with secondary characters. Trina and Kendall are great. Logan seems to feel a bit proprietary about kendall, which is a mistake.

They needed to show us Cassidy is a planner at some point. In passing.

Rat makes no sense, also unsanitary and how would you use that as evidence?  After he removed it it is just a dead rat. Stupid. Definitely don’t eat the corn dogs  

Yeah keith and lianes relationship is never cleared up. 

If meg was knocked up in May and it is November she’d be seven months pregnant. Or six anyway. Bus crash in September, three months, she could not know or hide it. 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Affogato

[absnow54]

The coma baby was so soapy and off tone for this series. I think this is the episode that had a couple of alternative endings, which included Meg's mother smothering her with a pillow and Veronica getting caught by a nurse with the pillow. Where were they possibly going to go with that story thread in an already bloated season?

[MostlyC]

"Rode hard and put away wet" was added to my lexicon because of this show.

My sex ed class was in our biology class.  We had classes, etc, and then culminated with a two hour scientific movie (how they got cameras in places I will never know).  When it was all over, there was dead silence.  I suspect that film caused major abstinence and/or use of safer sex amongst my high school.  

I don't like season two so far; not enough Logan and Veronica. Way too much Duncan.

[unlfan03]

I went to school in Middle of no where New Jersey in the late '90s and as part of the mandatory health class (part of the 4 years of health/gym) senior year the students got to carry around bags of flour for a week or so. The "baby think it over" was part of my elective child development class where you could have it over night for extra credit. I was stupid enough to do this and after a horrendous night where the baby didn't stop crying (much like a real newborn), I had a crying jag of my own after the sub wouldn't take the robot from hell even though I had a math exam and I had already gotten permission from my teacher to do so. (No I am still not bitter 20 years later and I might still remind my folks of this experience when they ask if I want kids.) And it was really a creepy doll.

[WhosThatGirl]

Even though I posted about this episode a few times already- I always forget how late this episode comes in the season.  I always think this episode happens early on but it’s pretty late.. and  considering the way this season brought up plots and dropped them is why I think this episode  happens earlier then it does. 

Also.. seriously this season Duncan/Teddy and his mannerisms are so strange?  In the scene before Celeste arrives at the hotel and Veronica is dropping or picking up the robot baby, Duncan makes an off handed comment about how his mother should have gotten a robot baby to scare Lily because she was always afraid Lily would get pregnant.. I always think this is an odd line now on rewatch because I always assume that the letter meg wrote Duncan was her writing him she was pregnant? Am I wrong in thinking this? A part of me feels like he knew before we as viewers find out? 

20 minutes ago, unlfan03 said:

I went to school in Middle of no where New Jersey in the late '90s and as part of the mandatory health class (part of the 4 years of health/gym) senior year the students got to carry around bags of flour for a week or so. The "baby think it over" was part of my elective child development class where you could have it over night for extra credit. I was stupid enough to do this and after a horrendous night where the baby didn't stop crying (much like a real newborn), I had a crying jag of my own after the sub wouldn't take the robot from hell even though I had a math exam and I had already gotten permission from my teacher to do so. (No I am still not bitter 20 years later and I might still remind my folks of this experience when they ask if I want kids.) And it was really a creepy doll.

That’s why if you read my post, I never took the robot baby doll! Also in my post we carried bags of flour too!!!

[Affogato]

8 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

 

Also.. seriously this season Duncan/Teddy and his mannerisms are so strange?  In the scene before Celeste arrives at the hotel and Veronica is dropping or picking up the robot baby, Duncan makes an off handed comment about how his mother should have gotten a robot baby to scare Lily because she was always afraid Lily would get pregnant.. I always think this is an odd line now on rewatch because I always assume that the letter meg wrote Duncan was her writing him she was pregnant? Am I wrong in thinking this? A part of me feels like he knew before we as viewers find out? 

Duncan is passive aggressive. Meg being pregnant is a passive aggressive win for Duncan against his mother and maybe against Lilly. 

[John Potts]

Same age as Sarah and I never had any Sex Ed (beyond "Don't"), but I went to a private single sex Catholic school. Similar approach to STDs - "If you don't have sex, can't get them." I  do remember (the late) Cardinal Hume saying publicly that, while obviously you shouldn't be  contracting AIDS (this was the mid 80s) because you should be celibate before marriage, if you were, for God's sake, use a condom, which was pretty progressive for a Cardinal (given the church's views on condoms).

On ‎08‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 4:36 AM, WhosThatGirl said:

I always assume that the letter meg wrote Duncan was her writing him she was pregnant? Am I wrong in thinking this?

That was my assumption (though it only struck me on rewatch).

I do recall thinking that V leaps to the conclusion that Celeste was the mother rather quickly, which just goes to show her inability to be objective where she is concerned. The CotW was predicated on V being stupid (or at least, blinkered) - who uses the word "fiend"? - but at least that's consistent with how V (now) sees her mother (and not without justification). All the lesser players really sold their roles, too, from lunch lady Doris, to (Vice) Principal Clemmons to Weevil to the Buffy alumnae. I haven't seen the episode in ages and I still remember Alyson Hannigan's tripping on the skull!

We even get (some) progress on both the Season long plots, even if the Pregnant! Meg was a bit much. And love Beaver (Cassidy!) showing his hidden depths AND being sweet with Mac (yes, I know where that goes, but it was nice to see while it lasted).