 = Hi , Infidelity = 
 
 " Hi , Infidelity " is the sixth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars , and the fiftieth episode overall . Written by John Enbom and directed by Michael Fields , the episode premiered on The CW on November 17 , 2006 . 
 The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars ( Kristen Bell ) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective . In this episode , Veronica investigates an accusation that she plagiarized a criminology paper only to find out that her teacher is having an affair with Mindy O 'Dell ( Jamie Ray Newman ) . Meanwhile , Stosh " Piz " Piznarski ( Chris Lowell ) invites Veronica to go bowling , and Wallace Fennel ( Percy Daggs III ) must choose between basketball and his studies . 
 The episode features the return of Laura San Giacomo as Harmony Chase and the introduction of the recurring character of Max ( Adam Rose ) . San Giacomo and Colantoni , who had previously co @-@ starred on the sitcom Just Shoot Me ! , lobbied for more storylines together after rekindling their friendship during production of " Charlie Don 't Surf " , her first appearance . Rose 's character had been planned to begin a later romantic relationship with Mac since the writing of this episode and went on to fulfill this role in several future episodes . At the time of its initial broadcast , the episode was watched by 2 @.@ 75 million people and received mixed to positive reviews from television critics . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 Following the events of the previous episode , Veronica confronts Claire Nordhouse ( Krista Kalmus ) for faking her rape after she publishes a story on it . Wallace Fennel and a lawyer are taken in to Dean O ’ Dell ’ s ( Ed Begley , Jr . ) office , where he is caught for cheating on a test . Veronica ’ s criminology paper is praised by her teacher , Hank ( Patrick Fabian ) leading her to praise him incessantly . Harmony Chase ( Laura San Giacomo ) , a former client who asked Keith Mars ( Enrico Colantoni ) to investigate her possibly adulterous husband , calls him and asks him on a date . Tim Foyle ( James Jordan ) , Hank 's teaching assistant , tells Veronica that she plagiarized her paper , even though she did not . Hank gives her three days to prove that she is innocent . Veronica learns that a student named Jeff Ratner accused her . Veronica goes to a computer student and ascertains the email address of the person who faked her paper . Stosh " Piz " Piznarski invites Veronica bowling , and she invites Parker ( Julie Gonzalo ) as well . 
 Veronica gets caught snooping in the Dean ’ s office , although she makes up a hasty lie that she was searching for class notes , and it diverts his attention . Wallace decides not to drop the class on whose test he cheated . Veronica proves that the essay hers was supposedly plagiarized from was posted after she turned in her paper ; nevertheless , she still wants to find who framed her . Parker Lee , Veronica , Piz , and Logan ( Jason Dohring ) bowl and have fun together . When Veronica and Logan get room service , Veronica spots Jeff Ratner and questions him . Parker is romantically interested in Piz , and she tasks Veronica with talking to him about her . After talking to Mercer Hayes ( Ryan Devlin ) , Parker informs Veronica that she remembers Mercer 's cologne from the night of her rape . Veronica goes to Sheriff Lamb ( Michael Muhney ) with this news ; Wallace drops basketball to study for the class . Veronica runs into Keith at the hotel before learning that the room that belongs to " Rory Finch " is actually Hank , who is having an affair with Mrs. O ’ Dell . 
 On their second date , Harmony suggests that they have sex , but Keith declines the proposal . On the way back , Keith ’ s becomes involved in a traffic collision , but the airbag catches him . This traumatic experience makes him go back to Harmony , and they sleep together . Veronica talks to Tim Foyle , who made her follow the trail of " Rory Finch " deliberately in order for her to discover the professor ’ s affair . Tim was the professor ’ s protégé , and he wants Veronica to discover Hank 's flaws before she becomes more involved with him . Logan runs up to Veronica and tells her that Mercer has been arrested for the rapes on campus , despite the fact that he believes that Mercer is innocent . Logan begs Veronica to defend Mercer , as he was with him the night of one of the rapes . However , he refuses to tell Veronica what they were doing . 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 " Hi , Infidelity " was written by John Enbom and directed by Michael Fields , marking Enbom 's twelfth writing credit and Fields 's sixth directing credit for the series . The episode features the second of three appearances by Laura San Giacomo as Harmony Chase . She and Enrico Colantoni had become friends when they co @-@ starred on the sitcom Just Shoot Me ! . They rekindled their friendship during production of " Charlie Don 't Surf " , San Giacomo 's first appearance , so they lobbied for more storylines together . Thomas was open to the possibility , saying , " I wouldn 't hesitate to go back to this , because I was really happy with how it played out . " 
 Adam Rose made his first appearance in this episode as a suspect ; he would make appearances later in the season as well . From the very beginning of his appearances , Rose 's character , Max , was planned to begin a romantic relationship with Mac ( Tina Majorino ) . Rose was roommates with Michael Mitchell , who played Bronson , another love interest for Mac . When Rose received the call that he would have a romantic storyline with Mac , he reportedly stated , " but I thought that 's what my roommate was doing . " 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 
 = = = Ratings = = = 
 
 At the time of its initial broadcast , " Hi , Infidelity " was viewed by 2 @.@ 75 million people , ranking 94th out of 97 in the weekly rankings . 
 
 = = = Reviews = = = 
 
 Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a 7 @.@ 8 out of 10 , indicating that it was " good " , but his review was mixed . Comparing it with the rest of the season , he opined that it suffered from some of the same problems of previous episodes . He thought that the actions of many of the characters in " Hi , Infidelity " were out of character or unrealistic . While writing that " the rape storyline is still not feeling nearly as weighty as it should , " he praised the development of the rape mystery for hinting that there were larger forces at work . Price Peterson of TV.com gave a positive review , praising the case @-@ of @-@ the @-@ week 's emotional connection to Veronica for " [ raising ] the stakes " and Piz 's increased role . He also believed that all the series regulars , excluding Wallace , had an important and interesting role to play . Television Without Pity gave the episode an " A " , which is one of its highest ratings given for the season . 
 Alan Sepinwall praised the episode compared to the first few episodes of the season , writing it balanced Veronica 's character traits well , including her jealousy and generosity . He also wrote that it showed her as a character with some " baser instincts " , giving the scene with Jeff as an example . Rowan Kaiser , writing for The A.V. Club , gave a mixed review . The reviewer was very critical of what he called the " ' radical feminist fakes her own rape ' " storyline , but he praised the episode as the first one of the third season to make the college setting feel natural . Although he thought that the case @-@ of @-@ the @-@ week contributed to his overall positive view of the episode , he thought that " it 's mostly the little things that make it work " , pointing out Piz 's increased role as an example . 
 
 