Spoilers for “Mars, Bars” below:

Things that happened

Oh man. Terrible terrible things. I’m just going to throw it out there right now: Lamb is dead. That is profoundly disappointing and goddamned tragic. He was a terrible sheriff and he died after mistakenly shooting at himself in a mirror and then getting hit with a baseball bat, which is a fitting end if there ever was one, but I will miss him so.

It’s a bizarre chain of events that lead to Lamb’s death, and it all adds up to a really great episode. We start from where we left off last week, with Veronica in jail. She’s giving herself tattoos and generally being hilarious, which is nice to see after so much sad Veronica in recent weeks. Logan even comes to visit her and they are pals!

Thankfully, Lamb’s got nothing on Veronica and can’t charge her. He’s just holding her because he’s a dick. A magnificent dick who I miss so much. When she does get out, the Josh mystery takes some rather awesome twists. After a bunch of fake outs, it turns out Josh’s dad had terminal cancer and had his assistant coach help him commit suicide in order to spare his family the emotional and financial hardship of a prolonged illness. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out exactly like he planned, and in order to get the insurance money Josh’ll need to take the hit and run off to Mexico for a few years. Sad!

But not as Sad as Lamb dying, dammit. In this episode, he was finally coming around on the Dean O’Dell suicide actually being a murder. He even interrogates Mindy O’Dell after Keith reveals to him that Mindy filled the Dean’s Xanax prescription the night he died. Unfortunately, a mix-up over the time Space Ghost airs causes Veronica and Keith to conclude that Mindy probably didn’t pull the trigger. Instead, they shift their blame to Steve Botando, whose fingerprints are found on the Dean’s keyboard. He claims innocence, but he’s a jerk, so who knows! I’d never trust Richard Greico!

No one ever should. After he gets released on a technicality, Steve breaks into the O’Dell house and then hits an investigating Lamb in the head a bunch of times with a baseball bat.

The worst is confirmed in the last five minutes: Lamb is dead. Keith is the interim sheriff of Neptune. And the prime suspect in the O’Dell case has just become Mindy again, as Weevil and another janitor find bloody clothes belonging to Landry in the school furnace. Intriguing!

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough plot for you, Logan, Parker, Mac (Mac!) and Mac’s new boyfriend go on a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt.

Things that were good

• So so much. This second mystery arc is way better than the first, and I’m not one of those people who hated the first. I liked it just fine! But the Dean O’Dell thing is awesome in a variety of different ways. I really can’t wait to see how they conclude this one.
• Veronica in jail was really really funny.
• We had more of the cast in one episode than ever before! They really went all out! They even got Vinnie!
• I’m glad Mac had sex. I was really worried that she wouldn’t ever get over that whole dating-a-deranged-rapist-sociopath thing. I guess all it takes to get over something like that is four months of no screen time.
• Lamb’s death is sad because I loved the character, but it gives this mystery a lot more weight. It’s personal now.

Things that were not so good

• Logan and Parker? Really? Can’t say I am a fan.

Worth Watching If…

This was a phenomenal episode, made even better because it looks like it will lead into even more good episodes. They balanced their stories perfectly, delivering a satisfying little two-part mystery and a bunch of clues on the larger Dean O’Dell thing. It’s episodes like this that make me want to tell everyone to watch this goddamn show. Whatever you think it is, it’s not. It’s better.

In Five Words

I Miss You Sheriff Lamb

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