1x10 An Echolls Family Christmas

Quality episode. I like the A-story of Veronica hunting down who stole the money in the poker game. It's a classic Marsian whodunnit, and it led to a lot of fun little character moments. Weevil in particular was an absolute hoot with all of lines ("Where's Weevil?"), but Logan was no slouch either in the comedy department. ("Annoy like the wind!"). And the resoltuion had the sort of Aesop's Fable twist to it that made the reveal interesting.

Logan and Duncan's little friend break up didn't do much for me, though maybe it doesn't mean as much watching this episode in isolation, outside the context of the larger season arc. Similarly, Veronica confronting Jake Kane at the party didn't have the same impact it did when I was waiting for breadcrumbs as to the story of why Veronica's mom left.

As for the major B-story, Keith hunting down Aaron Echolls's stalker, it's another fun detective story. Again, there's a class warfare element that was sewn into the fabric of this show, and it pops up in interesting ways in both the A story and the B-story. Neptune's upper crust turning to former associate Keith to handle their dirty work is an interesting dynamic. And the final scene, with crosscuts between Aaron being stabbed and the carolers singing was a little cheap as a juxtaposition, but still effective. Barely a X-mas episode, but still very solid.