received positive reviews. Rowan Kaiser, writing for The A.V. Club, gave a glowing review, saying that it had all the components that a season premiere should have. After praising many aspects of the episode, the reviewer wrote, "What ties it all together, though, is a storytelling form that indicates complete confidence from the show about what its viewers can deal with. It's half present-day, half-flashback. But the two different halves, combined with Veronica's voiceover, combine to present the information in pleasantly deceptive fashion." Price Peterson of TV.com also gave a positive review, writing in his episode verdict that "It's frankly amazing how much information this episode packed into 42 minutes while still feeling breezy and funny…The episode also ended with that breathtakingly horrifying ending, a multiple-death shocker that served to remind me just how murder-lite Season 1 was." Television Without Pity gave the episode a "B+". Alan Sepinwall wrote that the season premiere was "a little heavy on the exposition" while also commenting that the same could be said about the pilot episode. Sepinwall went on to state, "I'm really enjoying all the new storylines and characters." Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters, gave a positive review, noting the various new storylines and how the characters, especially Veronica, handled this new set of events. "Like most adolescents, Veronica understands and anticipates this mix, even if she doesn't always deal with it in the most effective way. Even if you don't want to pick sides, you're bound to be assessed as having done so. And once you're labeled—09er or not—you can either spend your time fighting rumors or finding alternative measures. Veronica, so precociously and brilliantly aware of alternatives, makes this familiar process seem worth pondering one more time." BuzzFeed ranked the episode 23rd on its ranking of Veronica Mars episodes, writing "take a close look at this episode; all the answers are right there." On a similar list, TVLine ranked the episode 18th, writing that it was notable for its introduction of characters and the bus crash plot line. Accolades For his work on the episode, Rob Thomas received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Episodic Drama. However, Thomas lost at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2005 to Lawrence Kaplow for the House episode "Autopsy". References External links "Normal Is the Watchword" at Mars Investigations 2005 American television episodes Veronica Mars (season 2) episodes