Weekend Review: Veronica Mars Season 4

My love affair with the Veronica Mars tv show started about a decade or so ago. The Hudson’s Treasure Hunt near my house had gotten a shipment from Best Buy and Veronica Mars season three was among the DVDs. I usually wouldn’t watch a tv series out of order, but there was something about the box art that drew me in. I loved teen shows, but this one looked grittier, so I decided to check it out. I instantly fell in love with the characters and hunted down the other two seasons on eBay. I spent the next week binge watching and found myself disappointed when it was finally over. Season three even had a teaser for the scraped season four. I wanted more, but there was no more to be found. It felt incomplete, raw, and unfinished. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t release whatever they had filmed. I was thrilled when I heard they were making a movie, but less than thrilled when I finally saw it. While I was grateful to see all my favorite characters back, I didn’t feel like the story was compelling. In fact, the movie was forgettable, and the books couldn’t hold my interest. I was excited when I heard Hulu was working on new episodes. That excitement only grew with the release of the trailer. I wish I could say that the show lived up to the hype, but it just left me feeling disappointed. The first thing that I noticed was use of sexual language to make the show appear more ‘grown up’. While I know she’s not a teenager anymore, it feels as if they just threw sex in to remind us of that. Another complaint I have is the way beloved characters are treated. Wallace is reduced to furniture, only there when we need reminding that he’s still Veronica’s friend. I would have preferred to see a story line where they came back into each other’s lives after not speaking for a long period of time. Perhaps Veronica could have finally asked him for a favor that pushed them apart? Weevil underwent a similar treatment, only his purpose was to show up and save Veronica. I know something happened to their relationship in the books, but I didn’t read the books. The explanation given on the show is that he took a settlement to provide for his family, but he went behind Keith’s back to do so. I know she felt betrayed, but she had to understand that he was only taking the money to take care of his wife and child. Other characters had cameos just to show us that they still existed. The storyline itself is the weakest of the series. There’s a bomber in Neptune who doesn’t like Spring break. It doesn’t sound boring, but it could have been wrapped up more quickly than it was. None of the new characters were really that interesting either. I’ve read articles saying that Matty is just like Veronica was when she was younger, but I didn’t think so. I think the show went out of its way to tell us she was, but whenever they tried to show us it was always through other characters. Wallace’s knowing smile when she was talking to the hacker is one example. We never needed these cues with Veronica herself. I want to say something about the ending, because I feel that it was not only a slap in the face but a kick in the face. Logan is killed by a bomb after right after he and Veronica finally tie the knot. A beloved character was killed off because Rob Thomas wants the show to go a more noir route. Well, I don’t know if he’s noticed but the show is called Veronica Mars and not Mars Investigations. A big part of the show has always been Veronica’s personal life and now it seems like she’s starting over. After all the characters have gone through, they deserved a happy ending or at least a happy beginning. Whenever I loaded up a new episode I was greeted with Kristen Bell’s voice welcoming me back to the ‘magical world’ of Veronica Mars. Well I think there’s no magic left in Veronica Mars, in fact, season four felt like a pilot for a spin off that I don’t want to watch.