Velma Review - Episodes 7 & 8: Fog Fest & A Velma in the Woods

Velma transforms into "Manny," and finally gets some R-E-S-P-E-C-T at Fog Fest, and the gang discovers the HSK’s secret lair

Kinda like everyone stopped taking as many precautions with COVID based on mental fatigue/overload, same goes for the Crystal Cove townspeoples’ attitudes towards the curfew mandated to keep them safe from the Crystal Cove Hotties Serial Killer or HSK when they take the night off to attend a carnival for the sake of fun in episode 7 of Velma. To hell with the danger!

Curfew has been lifted for the Fog Fest event, an annual money maker, which everyone goes to, and even the police are in on a running conspiracy that HSK is a actually a ghost named Edna Perdue, Norville’s grandmother (and dubbed “the mad scientist), all for the sake of having the event take place, or they genuinely believe it. Hard to tell.

But, there are complications…

“As a guy everyone thinks my worst qualities as a girl are awesome” Velma aptly describes the sad, nagging truth of every female ever. As Manny, she/he is crowned “Fog King,” kisses the hot girl, Daphne, is pursued by another hot girl named Olive, and even does the Worm dance and gets applauded for lame dancing skills.

The first scare comes by way of Sophie, Aman’s Instafluencer girlfriend and baby mama, who pretends to be murdered as part of an elaborate “fog-posal.” I’m still unclear the why of this is, apart from it making for compelling Instagram content for Sophie. Velma learns from Sophie that females can only attend the Fog Fest event if they are escorted by a male, because this is the one and only precaution the police are taking to protect girls from the HSK now that the curfew has been lifted.

“Wait, girls have to have a date? Great, so Fog Fest is not only dangerous but it’s sexist too.” Velma tells Sophie and her dad. Velma doesn’t plan on going until the serial killer calls her and she hears carnival sounds in the background and quickly deduces the the serial killer is at Fog Fest. Velma hatches plan to dress up as a man named “Manny,” to gain entrance to the event and prevent another attack.

Thanks to Manny’s effective work, the HSK doesn’t strike again, at least at Fog Fest and leaves behind a token, his/her cell phone.

When Gigi goes MIA solo into the fog with the HSK lurking ominously behind her, during the crowning of Fog King & Queen, there are a few minutes where you think she’s the next HSK victim, but alas she’s not. She’s wearing the coach drivers’ clothes when Norville and the gang find her in the fog, but she’s otherwise, OK.

Episode 8 breaks format of the previous episodes’ standard linear storytelling. There are flashbacks! And this works well for the show.

We learn there is an event in the forest that leaves Velma and Daphne stranded in a ravine out in the middle of nowhere. And then we learn they are joined by Norville and Gigi. The diverse gang isn’t rescued when the rescue helicopter comes because the rescue team is told to divert their resources to find a rich, white male, Fred. (Basically this show’s words, not mine)

From there, more drama in the form of flashbacks.

Norville is clueless at all the romantic and sexual overtures Gigi makes and ends up at Gigi’s cabin to help Daphne and Velma find the HSK who is wandering the woods. Velma is freaking out over Daphne texting with another girl and gets jealous.

Velma discovers that there was an incident in which Daphne hacked someone’s phone a while ago whom she was obsessed with. Turns out this person was Gigi.

The HSK’s secret lair is discovered first by Fred who bides his time talking to the brain jars of HSK victims Brenda, Lola, and Krista. Yes, that’s right. The HSK victims’ brains are being held captive inside the lair, their bodies long gone and Fred is having an out-of-body experience courting each of the women’s brains as he’s now discovered the “brain is the hottest part of a woman” since his reawakening at the hands of Betty Friedan a few episodes back. Running from the collapse of the mines, Velma and Daphne join Fred. Velma nearly dies, but her mom, Diya, saves her.

Yes, Diya is alive and clueless as to why she is in the mines or who put her there (i.e. the identity of the HSK). But for now, the kids have safely gotten out of the mine thanks to Diya’s flooring a white Mystery Machine van which Diya calls a “jalopy” as the mines collapse.

There’s a cute mother and daughter reunion between Velma and Diya and ambulances are in the picture at the end of the episode setting us up for the finale next week.

Wonder how Aman (Velma’s dad) will feel about Diya’s return, especially now that Sophie (Aman’s GF) is firmly in the picture. Or do we care?

For now, enjoy the trailer of these episodes:

Highlights of Episodes 7 & 8

• By far, episode 7 was a better watch than any of the others up until that point.

  In letting Velma inhabit the role of the male Manny, Kaling is able to thoughtfully explore the often heavy handed patriarchy hyperbole in a way that feels less forced, more truthful, authentic and enjoyable.

• The last few minutes of episode 7 pays respect to the original Scooby Doo series in an amazingly witty way. The HSK is chasing Velma and Daphne around the carnival, when Daphne recommends they quickly run into a costume shop to disguise themselves as a diversion - a device used in the original series so many times to deceive the villain and Velma says, “It would take us at least five minutes to change. That’s stupid. Who would ever stop in the middle of a chase to change into a costumer?” A secondary scene involves Fred and Norville chasing one another in and out of fun house doors before doing an about-face to one another and to the camera, to question if it’s physically and mentally even possible to do what they are doing. Again, another artifact from the original series. It worked beautifully.

  See for yourself:

• Episode 8 opens to Velma and Daphne’s elementary school friendship early days, “We had other friends but they were like granola bars - only there for emergencies.” Fast forward to present day trauma (missing parents, serial killer on the loose) and the two of them are close again or are they?

• Fred’s funhouse mirror moment (at the end of episode 7) be like:

  

• Fred to the brains stored in the brain jars of HSK victims Brenda, Lola, and Krista specifically to Brenda’s brain: “The hottest part of a woman is her brain. Yes Brenda. Or should I call you ‘Brain-da’”

• “So maybe it’s time we tried being girlfriends.” - Velma to Daphne, after admitting how their friendship isn’t working anymore. Um, yeah.

• “The woods belong to everyone. Thank you very much Teddy Roosevelt.” - Norville / But seriously, thank you Teddy, our “conservation president” who doubled the # of parks in the NPS while he was president.

• “Your weight? Please. Legally you should both be in car seats.” - Velma to hot girls Gigi and Daphne after the ground cracks underneath them. Ok. Still laughing here.