The Quick and the Wed

Synopsis

Keith (Enrico Colantoni) questions Veronica about the explosives found in Terrence’s garage. That day, Keith talks to Sheriff Lamb (Michael Muhney) about this fact, but he resists Keith. A TV special about Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin) airs on TV, and Logan, Hannah, and Veronica watch it. Veronica serves a bachelorette party and notices the bride, Heidi with a huge ring on her finger. Lamb searches Terrence’s hangar but refuses to tell Keith about his findings. The bride-to-be’s sister, who is also Wallace’s girlfriend, comes up to Veronica and says that Heidi is missing. Sheriff Lamb reports that he is about to arrest Terrence. Veronica jealously confronts Logan about his relationship with Hannah. Veronica questions some of the other bachelorettes. Beaver talks to Kendall about their company, the Phoenix Land Trust. Cliff McCormack talks to Logan about his upcoming trial. While scoping out some leads on Heidi, they find her car abandoned.

Keith interrogates Terrence’s car mechanic, who says that he knows the cabinet where the explosives were found, and they were empty the day before. Veronica talks to Jane about her findings, and she points out a particular man. Kendall visits Aaron in prison and goads him to investing in the company, and Aaron agrees if she will visit Logan. A couple bikers spit on Logan. On a date with Hannah, her mother cautions her against dating him. Logan types an email to Dr. Griffith from her mother’s account about their relationship. Veronica tracks down the suspect in the case-of-the-week, and it is Vinnie Van Lowe. Veronica talks to Vinnie, but he reveals nothing. Logan and Hannah agree to have sex. Keith presents his evidence for Terrence’s innocence, but Sheriff Lamb reveals that Terrence is in surgery. Ms. Dumas’s father shot him after he broke into her house. The FBLA teacher talks about the possible downsides of Woody’s plan for incorporation. Beaver has increased his lead in the stock market contest.

Veronica tries to call Heidi, and the call goes directly to her fax. Veronica prints out the faxes that were in the machine, and one of them is a flyer from the band of Heidi’s old boyfriend, Nick. Veronica successfully tracks down Heidi. Heidi says that Paul was the cheating one. However, Nick did not send the fax, implying that someone was trying to prevent Heidi from going to the wedding. The whole family waits at the wedding for Heidi. Heidi and her fiancé fight and eventually break up at the altar. Kendall visits Logan before Tom Griffith comes in angrily. Dr. Griffith threatens Logan and proposes a deal—that he will drop the testimony if Logan breaks up with Hannah. At Java the Hut, Logan suddenly walks up to Veronica and says “I think I’ve done something horrible.”

Arc significance

Music

The following music can be heard in the episode:

Production

The episode was written by John Serge and directed by Rick Rosenthal, marking Serge's first and only writing credit for the series (and only professional writing credit) and Rosenthal's first and only directing credit for the show. The episode features a cameo appearance by Michael Ausiello, then a senior writer at TV Guide, who played "Blushing Guy", a man at Java the Hut whom one of the bachelorettes pointed out and said that she talked him into giving her his underwear. Ausiello, who taped his scenes on January 20, had his own trailer for the shoot. Ausiello recalled Kristen Bell and him getting "a chance to bond between takes." After Ausiello was done filming his scene, the cast and crew gave him a standing ovation and nicknamed him "Two-take Mike." Ausiello claimed that Bell was in tears after his performance.

The episode was originally scheduled to air on February 22, a month before its eventual air date. The episode's title is a joking reference to The Quick and the Dead.

Ratings

In its original broadcast, "The Quick and the Wed" received 2.34 million viewers, marking a decrease from the previous episode, "Versatile Toppings".

Reviews

The episode received mixed reviews, with criticism centering on the case-of-the-week. Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club gave a mixed review, praising the character development but criticizing the case-of-the-week. "The cases of the week are becoming more and more important to each episode. Which is not to say they're getting good—I'd say both of these episodes are a little weaker than normal, to be honest, though not terrible…" His praise focused on Aaron, Logan, Cassidy, and Kendall. Television Without Pity gave the episode a "B+".

Price Peterson, writing for TV.com, wrote "As I mentioned earlier, I kind of lost the thread on the whole runaway bride stuff. Not a particularly thrilling plot line, but the rest of the main plot moved along enough to make things interesting."