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The Brains of the Operation is the tenth and final episode of the first season of Velma.
Premise[]
Diya confesses to the murders, claiming she did it to put the brain of a popular girl into Velma's head. But Velma isn't convinced and continues investigating in order to save her from death row. And the answers are all in Dr. Perdue's lab.
Synopsis[]
Velma watches her mother leave in a police car after confessing to being the serial killer - which runs over her foot, sparking an internet meme. But Velma realizes that the confession makes no sense. After quickly losing a fight to Daphne over kissing Fred she sees a video of her mother being interrogated by Sheriff Cogburn and explaining she did it because she wanted to put the brain of a popular girl into Velma's head.
Velma still isn't convinced and thinks it now makes even less sense, having first claimed amnesia and then tried to frame Velma herself. But she is told that her confession means that later that day Diya will be sentenced to death row. The Blakes also tell her that getting arrested is the only way the Sheriff will let her near her mother.
Daphne is in the office of Victoria Jones who is explaining that she is the driving force behind Jones Gentlemen's Accessories. She also explains that she needs Daphne's strategic thinking and drive to mold Fred into an effective company leader.
At Fred's house, Velma is pounding on the door, ignoring another of Norville's phone calls. She hears Fred in the garage and finds him in a rage. He is angry his mother doesn't think he can run the company. He has also bought Diya's 1960s van and has badly painted orange flowers on it. They both go back to the jail where Fred tells the Sheriff to arrest her because she is bothering him. Cogburn reluctantly agrees.
Daphne is worried about Velma, and asks Norville if he knows where she is. Norville doesn't care, though, as Velma has yet again brushed him off, and he has had enough. Daphne opens her locker to find a geode with a letter from her real mother and a necklace she grabbed escaping the serial killer.
Back at the police station, Velma is locked in a cell with her mother. Velma knows that Diya didn't really want to change her brain, but her mother robotically repeats this as her motive. Then she says it again using the exact same words. Diya knows she has been hypnotized and can only repeat those words when she tries to explain what really happened. Before Velma can act on this information the Sheriff removes Diya from the cell so she can be sentenced. As her mother is driven away, Daphne arrives to release Velma from the cell. Daphne has found the serial killer's pocketwatch, and Velma realizes that she was also hypnotized - to have nightmares when she tried to solve the mystery. The pocketwatch has an inscription - "HARRY MEETING", the General in charge of Project SCOOBI. Daphne gets a phone call, claiming it is from Fred's mother, and leaves hurriedly in a limousine - covertly watched by Fred's father. Before she goes, she, gives Velma a bottle of a new perfume to try.
In the girl's shower room a group is enjoying the steam - including the brains of Brenda, Krista and Lola. Velma arrives to join them, hoping the three murdered girls can remember the pocketwatch. But they don't. Gigi confronts Velma about how badly she has treated Norville, causing him to transfer schools. Velma leaves, saying she has no time for this.
Norville arrives at his new school, Swordstone Academy and loves what he sees. Velma, meanwhile, starts listening to Norville's voice messages which lifts her spirits. She is pleasantly surprised that he noticed her starting to wear glasses, which leads her to discover who made them, and the pocketwatch... Jones Gentlemen's Accessories! She races off to the Jones mansion to save Fred and Daphne, and sends her father to get the cops.
Velma falls down the well in the Jones estate and finds herself in the caverns - being attacked by bats. The clues in Edna Perdue's journal lead her to the serial killer's lair, where Fred and Daphne are strapped to operating tables. The killer arrives but Velma sprays them with the perfume Daphne gave her. This attracts bats that obscure the killer's vision, allowing Velma to capture them. With Daphne and Fred freed, and the killer securely tied to a chair, Velma explains the whole mystery.
While the serial killer initially tried to frame Velma for the murders, they needed a body fast when they killed Lola - to exonerate Fred and get him out of prison. That is because the serial killer was Victoria Jones! Unmasking her, Velma also reveals her maiden name was Meeting - she is the daughter of General Harry Meeting. She had married William Jones in Bali, and now wanted to replace Fred's brain - with someone who could run Jones Gentlemen's Accessories.
Victoria explains that Project SCOOBI had been successful, despite her father's incompetence running it. When he tried to take all the credit, Dr. Perdue reversed the process, and destroyed her lab and hid her journals so the experiment couldn't be recreated. The General couldn't get the information out of Perdue and the project was shut down. Victoria married the wealthy William Jones so she could build his family's business into a global brand, in doing so she refused to let Fred's incompetence ruin her life's work, so she decided to give him a better brain.
Velma continues the explanation, noting that Victoria bought the Perdue mansion hoping to find the journals, but Diya had already found them. So Victoria hypnotized her to rebuild the lab and restart the experiments. Daphne wants to know why her brain was wanted for Fred. Victoria says it was because she needed an ambitious status conscious young woman - like herself. But now she realizes the perfect brain was actually Velma's! Victoria calls for William, who enters the room holding a gun. Victoria has hypnotized him as he had worked out what she was doing. He knocks out Velma, and when she comes to she is strapped to an operating table, along with Fred.
Velma goads Fred into breaking his bonds and knocking out his father, taking the gun. Believing her plans are in ruins, Victoria runs away, starting a fire in the lab as she goes. Fred releases Velma and runs off after his mother. But she tricks Fred by telling him she has been possessed by the ghost of Edna Perdue and he drops the gun. She is about to shoot Velma and Daphne when Norville appears and descends the well. Victoria shoots at him, but he deflects the bullet with a sword. The bullet hits a stalactite directly above Victoria, which breaks off and impales her. Velma feels good now that it is all over.
For saving the town from the serial killer, the Mayor declares "Vermin Dorkley Day", and Fred, Daphne and Norville also get keys to the city. Later, Velma and Diya sit together to watch TV, with Aman, Sophie and Amanda locked outside.
Norville is distraught about events, including killing Victoria - so his father suggests he try marijuana. Daphne receives a letter with a red occult symbol on the front of the envelope. Fred puts a rose on his mother's grave and we see he has done up the van and painted "Fred Jones Spooky Stuff Hunter" on the side. But Velma notes that the real mystery is just starting.
Velma collects her notes and gives them to the Sheriff. He invites her to join the force as a detective. Later, the Sheriff files her notes away in the basement. Suddenly the lights go out, he screams and blood splatters the windows...
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains
- Serial Killer (final appearance)(Victoria Jones' disguise)
- Victoria Jones (dies)
Other characters:
- Sophie
- Gigi
- Blythe Rogers
- William Jones
- Olive
- Donna Blake
- Linda Blake
- Mayor Dave
- Earl Cogburn
- Brenda
- Krista
- Lola
- Carroll (flashback only)(cameo)
- Dandruff Tuba
- Fro Yo
- Kimmy
- General Meeting (flashback only)(no lines)
Locations[]
- Crystal Cove
- Velma's house
- Crystal Cove High School
- Crystal Cove Police Station
- Jones Gentlemen Accessories
- Swordstone Academy
- Fred's house
- Crystal Cove Town Hall
- Norville's house
- Daphne's house
- Edna Perdue's lab
- Crystal Cove Cemetery
Objects[]
- Harry Meeting's pocketwatch
- Bottle of perfume
- Gun
- Edna Perdue's journal
Vehicles[]
- Mystery Jalopy
- Diya Dinkley's car
- Norville's car
Cast[]
Notes/trivia[]
- HBO released this episode simultaneously with the preceding episode Family (Wo)man.
Miscellaneous[]
- Velma loses her glasses: When entering the lab she trips and says "I hope this doesn't keep happening".
Cultural references[]
- Norville likes Shaka Khan songs
- Velma references Angela Lansbury as being in charge of heaven.
- "The great O.J. Simpson" is referenced in Edna Perdue's journal.
- Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's "perfect" marriage is referenced in Edna Perdue's journal.
Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches[]
- None known.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]
- None known.
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