episode of the series directed by Marcos Siega, after "Drinking the Kool-Aid" and "Mars vs. Mars". In addition, the episode marks regular writer Diane Ruggiero's sixth writing credit for the show. After the episode aired, Rob Thomas called the episode "our high-water mark". Commenting on Ruggiero writing the episode, he stated, "She was really my right hand writing the series, and it felt good to have someone who knew the voices as well as I did. We were both in a comfort zone, both writing this show and writing with each other." In one scene of "A Trip to the Dentist", Weevil (Francis Capra) accuses Logan (Jason Dohring) of having hit Lilly during their relationship. The series' writers were planning to develop that plot strand into a storyline, with it eventually being revealed that Duncan had hit Lilly during an epileptic seizure. However, the storyline was abandoned in order to make time for other story arcs. Thomas commented, "At the end of the day, I don't want people thinking that Logan hit Lilly. I did, however, want Weevil to believe it." Although Veronica concludes in this episode that she had consensual sex with Duncan while they were both under the influence of roofies, more information about the night is later revealed in the show's second-season finale, "Not Pictured", in which it is revealed that Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas raped her. When asked whether the writers knew that Beaver would be eventually revealed as the rapist when writing "A Trip to the Dentist", Thomas responded, "I wish I could claim that we were that clever." The writers realized that there was a moment in the episode's script where Beaver could have raped Veronica roughly a month after its airing. Themes The episode, and particularly its treatment of rape, has been discussed in books of essays on Veronica Mars and elsewhere. Victoria E. Thomas, writing for In Media Res, opined that Veronica frequently distances herself from her rape, noting a scene in the pilot in which she states, "I'm no longer that girl." She regarded "A Trip to the Dentist" as a way for Veronica to heal from her rape, writing "Her healing is tied to finding out who raped her; a simple solution to a complex issue. This choice could mirror our present day stigma and lack of support for survivors of sexual assault, or it could simply allow the producers to