Lord of the Pi's

"Lord of the Pi's" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the fifty-second episode overall. Written by executive producer Diane Ruggiero and directed by Steve Gomer, the episode premiered on The CW on November 21, 2006. The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective. In this episode, Veronica and Keith (Enrico Colantoni) look into the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy heiress and college board trustee, Selma Rose (Patty Hearst). The pair eventually find her in hiding in order to avoid a complex scam in which her husband would cheat her out of money in a divorce settlement. Meanwhile, Veronica investigates and eventually finds out some startling information related to the radical feminist Lilith House—that they faked several of the rapes supposedly perpetrated by the Hearst serial rapist. In addition, Logan and Veronica's relationship becomes even more tumultuous, with Logan eventually coming to the realization that they need to break up. Patty Hearst guest stars in the episode, something that was planned since July 2006. Hearst did not know that she would be appearing on the show until after she was chosen due to a lack of communication between her and her agent. She was reluctant to appear as a character similar to herself, but she eventually agreed. In addition, Hearst's character was initially scheduled to have a lesbian kiss with Keri Lynn Pratt's character, but the scene was vetoed by the network for unknown reasons. "Lord of the Pi's" was viewed by 2.57 million viewers in its initial airing and received a polarized reaction from television critics, with commentators being divided over Kristen Bell's performance, Hearst's appearance, and the plot twist that the feminist Lilith House faked several rapes. Eric Goldman of IGN thought that it was the best episode so far of season three, while Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club thought that it was too varied tonally.