Veronica Mars Season 1: A Retrospective

Based on much prompting from Good Grief, I decided to give Veronica Mars a chance. I was reluctant at first, not because I had any kind of reservations about the show, but because I didn't want to become addicted to another show. But I ultimately decided to give it a shot, mostly because it was either watch Veronica Mars or read for my communications class. And boy am I glad that I did, because even though I am now most definitely obsessed and my school work is suffering for it, it was all worth it.

gangs all here

Beware. There be spoilers ahead.

I think that Veronica Mars season 1 is one of the greatest seasons of television I've ever seen. I always knew that it was considered a "good" show, but I never knew how good it really was until watching the entire season in less than a month. So what makes it so good?

First and foremost, the mysteries. All starting with the main overarching mystery of the first season: Who killed Lilly Kane? It seems amazing that this show could sustain an entire murder mystery for the whole season, but they were able to do it because of all the smaller mysteries connected to the murder. Whether it was about Abel Koontz and his daughter, Clarence Wiedman's spying, Veronica's paternity doubts, Duncan's illness, Weevil's relationship with Lilly, Veronica's mom disappearing, Lilly's secret, etc. You have to piece together all of these mysteries in order to figure out the big one. It's a little unfortunate that I was spoiled ahead of time as to the identity of Lilly's killer, but I found that even though I knew, the season was extremely enjoyable anyways. Especially because all of the stuff with the Kane's and the coverup and Duncan wasn't actually the red herring it was made out to be. I like how Aaron killing Lilly was really shocking and surprising and kind of came out of nowhere, yet all that other stuff Veronica had been investigating all season was actually the truth as well (minus the Duncan killing Lilly part of course). The show also added some longer standing mysteries that weren't exactly connected to the murder, but ended up being some of my favorite parts of the show as well. Such as who raped Veronica (the answer to which resulted in one of my favorite episodes of television ever, "A Trip to the Dentist") and Logan's mom's suicide (which I liked because it brought Logan and Veronica closer together). But above all, I think what this show does so well is handling the smaller, contained mysteries that happen every episode. Along with Veronica Mars, I've been trying to catch up on Buffy and am currently in the middle of season 2. And while I like the show and think the overreaching myth-arcs are good, some of the "monster of the week" story lines every episode can be a little weak and cheesy (Smallville and Supernatural have this problem too). Veronica Mars however, is able to have creative, interesting cases every week whose smaller story lines reflect the bigger themes of the show.

is it LoVe?

The second reason this show is so good: the characters. Veronica Mars has some of the most interesting, complex, and well developed characters on any show I've ever seen. You can't make a Veronica Mars post about the characters without first talking about Veronica, but I actually have to make a point about the actors first. While the show creates and reveals these wonderful characters, the actors are really the ones that bring them to life. This show has one of the greatest casts I've ever seen before in a show, and they make it so fun to watch. First, Kristin Bell. I had only ever seen Kristin Bell acting on Heroes and I didn't really like her character (I didn't really like anything about Heroes season 2 so I don't know if that's saying much). But I absolutely ADORE her on Veronica Mars. Veronica is cute and spunky and snarky, but Kristin and the writers give her so many other layers that turn her into one of the most interesting characters on television. On the outside, Veronica seems to be totally put together, but deep down, the girl has a lot of issues and vulnerabilities. I was reading an interview with the creator of the show, Rob Thomas, who said that he hates writing "emotional exposition". He's very into the "show, don't tell" aspect of writing. So we don't always have to have it spelled out for us what the characters are thinking, we should figure it out for ourselves from the situation or what the actor is giving us. It's something that Veronica Mars does extremely well and it's one of the reasons that the show is of such high quality. The characters are well developed, but in a subtle, progressive way that makes sense.

No character demonstrates this better than Logan Echolls. I admit, I'm a little biased when it comes to him, because Logan is my favorite character on this show. But I really think that his character's arc and journey so far on the show demonstrates just how well this show does at developing its characters. Because Logan really did start off as the show's "obligatory psychotic jackass", and when he's introduced, it's as an antagonist, not a romantic lead. Yet as the season progresses, we see different sides to Logan and realize he's not all what he seems. I love how in the beginning of season 1 we start to see little glimpses of Logan as not just a selfish jerk. Like in "Wrath of Con" when he makes Lilly's memorial video or in "The Girl Next Door" when he gets Weevil un-suspended. It's in "Return of the Kane" however, when we begin to understand him more with the reveal that his dad abuses him, and I always feel like the episode, "Clash of the Tritons", was the first one of many that strove to explore Logan's motivations for why he acts the way he does. But when we really start to learn about that is in the episodes involving his mother's suicide and him asking Veronica for her help. And while Logan breaking down and crying on Veronica's shoulder in "Ruskie Business" is something we never thought we'd see based on his actions in the pilot, in that episode it makes perfect sense, because the show has slowly and surely revealed to us the real Logan Echolls. His closeness to Veronica at the end of the first season is believable because this show (and Jason Dohring, who I think is amazing) has led us there in ways that make sense without being too heavy handed. I remember watching their kiss in "Weapons of Class Destruction" and being totally satisfied, because I felt that this was the progression they were building for the Logan character since those early season one episodes (yes, I've been a Logan/Veronica shipper since day 1. Does that make me a bad person?). I find that the character of Logan is one of the most compelling parts of this show, because I think he wants to come across as a tough guy who lets nothing bother him, yet he's one of the most openly emotional characters on this show: he yells, he fights, he jokes, he cries. And it's always just so fascinating to me to see how he's going to react to a situation. I love Logan because he can be a total jackass, but he's also just a sad, messed up guy, who needs someone to understand him and help him. It's my opinion that that person is Veronica, but I'm a shipper at heart so I'm a bit biased, heh. I should probably stop gushing about Logan now. It's getting a little embarrassing. :)

There are other little things that I love about this show such as the music (the soundtrack is amazing! I listen to it all the time), the continuity (this show is the best at bringing back old characters and minor plot points), and the setting and lighting of the show, which really adds to the noir feel it's trying to create.

Wow. Long post is long. Ok, I'll try and finish this up. I've already started watching season 2 of this show, and while I really like it so far and can't wait to figure out the mystery of the season, I'll always have a nostalgic soft spot for season 1. Season 1 of Veronica Mars is the perfect example of a television season done right. I think I can only hope to experience something this great again.

For Good Grief: Something-Happens.com