Reception
"Leave It to Beaver" was watched by 2.99 million American viewers on its original airing, ranking number 98 out of 112 in the weekly charts. This was an increase over the pilot, which was viewed by 2.49 million American viewers. The first season averaged 2.5 million viewers per episode.
Jesse Hassenger of PopMatters found the finale to be "breathlessly paced". However, the writer was also dissatisfied with the cliffhanger, and hoped that the second season would not increase the series' focus on Veronica's relationships. Hassenger wrote, "so far, the series has eschewed the relationship angst so common in other teen-centric shows; Neptune hearts get broken, yes, but the show never stoops to that will-they-or-won't-they dynamic. Veronica is that rare television character who's too interesting for love triangles." Filip Vukcevic of IGN thought that while the resolution of the murder was satisfying, it could have been better; "I liked the way everything played out, but I didn't get the Sixth Sense moment I was hoping for. I wanted the season finale to blow my mind, instead all it got out of me was, 'Ah, I see. That's cool.'" Vukcevic wrote that the pace of the season increased exponentially, and was at its best during the final episode. Both reviewers praised Rob Thomas's use of red herrings. Vukcevic felt that "as the finale approaches you are led to believe that the murderer could be any one of several different people - not any easy thing to pull off convincingly. What makes good TV is audience participation. If you feel for a character or are puzzling out a mystery, you're involved. And when you're involved, you're having a good time." Hassenger cited Lianne, Duncan and Logan as the main red herrings.
Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press included the episode on his list of "12 season finales you won't want to miss", citing "great writing, a merrily dark sense of humor and Bell's self-assured smart-girl charm" as the main reasons to watch. Screenwriter and director Kevin Smith praised the "seat-of-your-pants" season finale, writing that it managed to "thread the needle with the Lilly Kane murder so well, it never feels marginalized or played out over 22 episodes". Smith compared the year-long murder mystery to that of Twin Peaks, stating that "unlike Peaks, when the murderer is revealed and the storyline wrapped up in the final, it doesn't feel like the show's outlived its relevance; thanks to the crisp writing, the deft fleshing-out of the Mars universe and the endearing cast, you’re left wanting Veronica's story to continue."
Read more about this topic: Leave It To Beaver (Veronica Mars)
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)