Kane (Lisa Thornhill), a recurring character during the first season. The second season DVD includes an alternate ending to this episode, which was released around the airing of the episode as a promotional tool. The alternate ending starts the same way as the regular ending, with Veronica discovering that Meg is pregnant. But instead of the episode ending there, Meg's mom comes into the room while Veronica hides in the bathroom. When the mom leaves, Meg is dead with a pillow over her face, indicating smothering. However, Veronica takes the pillow off before a nurse comes in. Thomas commented that the alternate ending was never going to be the actual conclusion to the episode. He said: "We never seriously considered having that be the ending. There were various other endings that we did have, but they were so subtly different, it was like, 'When does Veronica enter the room?' " The idea to promote the alternate ending was a joint venture from the UPN promotions department and executive producer Joel Silver. After Thomas learned that others wanted an alternate ending, he decided to make it very different from the episode's actual conclusion. "But once we could have a [very different] alternate ending, we thought, 'Let's make it rock.' The beauty of having that alternate ending is that we don't have to play it out in the next episode." Reception Ratings In its original broadcast, "My Mother, the Fiend" received 2.82 million viewers, marking an increase from "Ahoy, Mateys!" and ranking 101st (out of 112) in the weekly rankings. Reviews The episode received mostly positive reviews. Price Peterson, of TV.com, gave the episode a positive review, writing that he "[l]oved this episode. That reveal was simultaneously shocking and heartbreaking. Plus it took one of the show's most annoying characters (Trina) and made her both sympathetic and heartbreaking." He also praised the information found on Veronica's mother: "It was nice that Veronica got to see a better side of her mother than we usually do…Heartwarming!" Maureen Ryan, of the Chicago Tribune, called the episode "engrossing" and that it is a better use of a viewer's time than Lost, which aired at the same time as Veronica Mars. Rowan Kaiser, of The A.V. Club, lauded Veronica's characterization as an antiheroine in the episode. "I've discussed times when [Veronica has] behaved in ways that I'm not certain are ethical, but this might be the