Synopsis
Logan (Jason Dohring) finds a mob of paparazzi waiting for him in the morning one day. He makes snide remarks, telling them to leave, but his movie star father, Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin), arrives and welcomes them. Meanwhile, Duncan (Teddy Dunn) talks to his father Jake (Kyle Secor) about running for school president. In addition, a cheerleader sees another girl, Wanda (Rachel Roth), get her food delivered, and she confronts journalism teacher Mallory Dent (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) about the problem. Eventually, a fight ensues between the two. Veronica says she used to be in pep squad with Wanda. At dinner that day, Keith and Veronica see on the news that the convicted murderer of Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried), Abel Koontz, has fired his legal defense counsel. In newspaper class the next day, Veronica is tasked with covering the school election just as she sees that Wanda is running. Logan tells Duncan he should run.
Later, Veronica interviews Wanda. She gives some politically charged responses, speaking out against the rich students and status quo. Duncan sees an ad for his presidential run on the school TV. The video is voiced by Logan's father and seems to have been created by Logan without Duncan's knowledge. Veronica decides to research more into Lilly's murder. She starts with listing all the suspects: Abel Koontz, Celeste Kane (Lisa Thornhill), Jake, and Duncan. She opens her father's safe and begins to look for clues. That night, Logan runs an illegal boxing ring. The next day, it is announced that Duncan has actually won the presidency, to the shock of the entire school. Veronica announces that "now [she's] got a story," implying that she believes it was rigged.
Later, Veronica talks with another faculty member, Mrs. Donaldson (Jane Lynch), who says that one adult must sign a request for the votes to be recounted. Veronica recruits the journalism teacher, and she accepts. Veronica runs through the ballots with Wallace and Wanda, but they still show a victory for Duncan. However, Veronica finds a ballot of a student who wrote "Wanda Rulez" on his form, but voted for Duncan. Veronica soon finds that the voting instructions for the ballots were different in different rooms. She confronts the principal about this, but he doubts her. It turns out that Madison Sinclair, an 09er girl, made the ballot orders, and Veronica considers the mystery solved. The principal gives in and a run-off is scheduled for that Thursday. That night, Veronica calls an adult reporter to ask him for his copy of a piece he did a few days ago on Abel Koontz.
Jake pressures Duncan to win the election, though their interaction is more tender than other instances. Duncan asks, "What if I find happiness living in a grass hut, carving drift wood figurines for tourists?" Jake responds: "[...] if you're happy and committed to drift woods carving, be the best driftwood carver you can be... After you've graduated from Stanford... Law school... summa cum laude." Duncan laughs and the tension is eased for a moment. The next day, Veronica sees defaced Wanda posters and clean new Duncan posters. Veronica and Wanda decide to hang out and make new posters. In newspaper class, Veronica confronts Duncan about his role in the election, but he doesn't respond. That night, Logan finds his father, who cannot sleep due to the recent press about Logan's homeless boxing ring. On the day of the election, Veronica tries to give Weevil (Francis Capra) a Wanda bumper sticker. Weevil refuses, saying his friend Felix got in trouble for stealing traffic signs after sleeping with Wanda. Soon after, Veronica proposes they go to a rave in the desert, win or lose. Wanda asks if they'll need "provisions," referring to ecstasy, and Veronica lies, saying she knows a dealer. Aaron Echolls tells Logan that he is going to force him to volunteer at a soup kitchen as a publicity response. It starts to go well, but Logan states that Aaron is donating $500,000 to the Neptune Food Bank, a promise Aaron never made. Later that day, Aaron whips Logan with a belt while Logan's mother sits in another room.
Veronica is subject to an emergency locker check, after which she hears that Duncan won the presidency. Veronica realizes Wanda is ratting out other students to clear her record of a drug charge. When Veronica confronts her, Wanda admits to reporting other students because it's her only hope of maintaining a clear record and getting into college. Veronica replies that there are no hard feelings since she didn't vote for Wanda. Later that day, Veronica receives her package from the reporter and starts to lie to Keith about its contents before telling her dad the truth and pleading with him to reopen the case. She shows the footage of Abel Koontz's arrests and the shoes decorated by Veronica that one of the images contains. Keith asks what she thinks those shoes were doing with Abel Koontz, and Veronica responds, "Good question."
