A long time ago, we used to be friends

I just finished the third season of Veronica Mars. What follows will be somewhat of a review, but mostly a dumping of my feelings. There may be spoilers. Peruse at your own risk.

I like watching the entirety of a show in what feels like one sitting. Say what you will about binge watching, but I believe there is no greater way to get an intense and slightly obsessive attachment to a collection of fictional characters. It also helps when the show in question has amazing actors with delicious on screen chemistry, sharp, clever writing, and inventive, intriguing plot points.

Season one is by far my favorite. The mystery of who killed Lily Kane is the strongest of the three seasons. Also it begins the budding of my favorite relationship on the show (surprise!) that of Veronica and Logan. Seriously. That first kiss? Can I watch it over and over and over and over again? It does not help that their relationship follows my favorite development: from mortal enemies to obvious lovers. Oh, the line between love and hate. It is so thin!

All of the characters are interesting, for the most part. Keith Mars may be one of the best TV dads I have ever seen. His devotion and dedication to his daughter is unparalleled (I mean, basically giving up being sheriff in season 3 so V Mars doesn’t get in trouble? And oh yeah, saving her life on several occasions?). He is such a good dad! Weevil is devious but in such an endearing way. Mac is dependable and adorable. Dick is… well a dick. But he works it. Wallace is a fab best friend. I even like Piz, though his introduction is annoying because it gets in the way of the clear destined romance of Veronica and Logan (TEAM LOGAN FOREVER). The only main character I ever found lacking was Duncan. He was just always so blah. Even with the mysterious mental/depressive condition, he was still too perfect. He was your typical nice guy.

All right. Season one. So good. I did not see any of the final moments coming AT ALL. The way they used the sex taping room and the episode where Aaron beats up Trina’s abusive boyfriend as foreshadowing was excellent. Then Aaron stuffed Veronica into a fridge and lit it on fire. And Mr. Mars saved the day! It was all very compelling and shocking and just down right wonderful writing and television.

Season two was basically oh this is all very good and interesting, but I am mostly distracted by whether or not Veronica and Logan are going to get back together. Should that have been my main take away from the season? Probably not. There was  a lot of really great episodes in season two. Also, the bus mystery, while not as compelling as the Lily Kane murder, was still very interesting to follow. I would also argue that the Cassidy reveal was even more explosive than Aaron Echoll’s because I was rooting for him. I liked Beaver. He seemed sweet. It made his darkness even more disturbing. I can safely say I never saw that coming.

The third season was definitely the weakest of the three. I think the network urged break from the overarching whole season mystery format was a mistake. Keeping that big mystery in the background was part of what V Mars did best. The season to season episodes are always good, but the overarching whodunnit gave it  a bigger bang at the end. I also think it was something no other TV shows were doing at the time. Maybe it was just too risky then. I found the first mini arch interesting but dragged out a little too long. The final episode in the rape mystery was just as electric and captivating as any Veronica Mars finale. I groaned when I realized the RA was in on it and cheered when the bad guys got caught. The who killed the Dean mystery was a little more interesting because I really liked the Dean. Also the motive for Tim to do it was kind of crazy. Did not see that coming until the end.

The end of the third season was good (despite my dislike of the Veronica/Piz relationship. So much cuddling, not enough brooding).  The season finale was probably one of the best episodes of the whole final season. I got to see Veronica do what she does best (destroy anyone who opposes her/is a terrible person). Logan showed he pretty much is still super in love with Veronica (DUH). Also, seeing him beat the crap out of Piz probably shouldn’t have been that satisfying. Piz definitely did not deserve it. BUT STILL. And finally the Kanes are sort of brought back into things with the involvement of the Castle in the Veronica/Piz sex tape scandal! I was sad that Keith will likely lose the election because of his attempt to protect his daughter, but I like that we don’t know for sure which way it goes. The ending was certainly unresolved, but it was a hell of a good episode.

Now, there is the movie (which I will be seeing very soon). My hopes are that it will resolve several of these loose ends. First off, there is my most pressing concern: when are Veronica and Logan getting back together? I realize they are kind of terrible for each other, but it doesn’t make me love them any less. If they can both grow a little as people, maybe than can make it work. Maybe. In my dreams.

Second, what the hell happened with the Fitzpatricks? They are still the general big bad, but nothing really gets taken care of with that. There’s just a lot of threats.

Third, what happens to Mr. Mars? Does he return to his PI ways, fighting the good fight through his noir lifestyle? I love Keith Mars. He is just so cool. SO COOL.

I am very interested in seeing where all my beloved characters end up and I’m glad I got a chance to watch the show now. I very much channeled my inner middle schooler. I think I was just obsessed now as I would have been should I have watched it when it was on the air. I had to make up for ten years lost time!

Until next time.

xx

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