REVIEW: Veronica Mars could have been epic

In the spring of 2007, television executives at the newly minted CW network decided to pull the plug on the noir teen drama, “Veronica Mars.” After three seasons as one of the worst-performing shows on network television, the teen P.I.  seemingly solved her last case.

The show originally centered on Kristen Bell portraying the titular character,  a high school outcast who sought to discover the real murderer of her best friend, Lily Kane, all while trying to get through high school relatively unscathed. Throughout the three seasons, the Nancy Drew-esque lead solved various robberies, rapes, and murders. 

Even though the show had abysmal ratings, the small fan base was loyal and critics praised the entirety of the show. While set in high school, the show was about more mature themes and the wit of an Aaron Sorkin drama. 

The show went off the air quietly, but through word-of-mouth and popularity of streaming sites, “Veronica Mars” never truly stayed gone. As Bell’s popularity surged, so did fans pleas for more “Veronica Mars.”

The show ended on an emotional cliff hanger with an enormity of angst surrounding the three main characters, Veronica, her love interest, Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) and her father, Keith Mars. It was unfinished and the ending did a massive disservice to fans who had loved the series.

On March 13, 2013, Bell and “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas announced that if the fans could raise enough money on Kickstarter, there would be a “Veronica Mars” film. The fans broke records and the film was made. It was satisfying but lacked the essence of the television show. The fans were pleased, but they still wanted more.

Fast-forward to September 2018 Hulu announced “Veronica Mars” would return for an eight-episode season four in summer 2019. A few months later, it was confirmed the show would be premiering on July 26. However, during their Comic-Con panel on July 19, Hulu announced the show would drop that day.

While there have been 12 years in between the third and fourth seasons, it feels like no time has changed. The show is sharper and deadlier, but the characters are more mature in their actions and relationships and the show seems more natural.

There is a hidden easter egg for fans of Bell’s other show, “The Good Place.” Hulu would not allow “Mars” to use the f-word, so Thomas took a forking clue from the other show and every time Veronica or Keith would go to say the f-word, they simply would say “cussing” and worked well. This is just one of the ways the show catered to newer audiences.

One of the issues fans had with the film was that it was simply fan service and it relied too heavily on outside characters. The same can be said of the reboot, however, it feels more natural, but still lacks the spark of the first three series.

Minor characters like Leo D’Amato, played by Max Greenfield and Richard “Big Dick” Casablancas, played by David Starzyk, feature heavily, while major characters like Percy Daggs III and Francis Capra’s characters Wallace Fennel and Eli “Weevil” Navarro, respectively, are relegated to the show’s C and D storylines. There is an overemphasis on two new characters Patton Oswald’s Penn Epner and Kirby Howell-Babtiste’s Nicole Malloy that could have been scaled back in order to focus on the characters the fans love.

Moreover, new characters like J.K. Simmons’ Clyde Pickett were underused and the two side storylines about a Mexican drug cartel and someone threatening a congressman were too complex to be given a satisfying arc.

Like the original three seasons, the show focuses on a mystery, but it is more about an overarching theme. Instead of the wealth disparities between the one-percent and lower middle class, season four highlights the dangers of adults with childhood trauma. Characters who embrace the trauma, like Logan and Richard “Dick” Casablancas, iconically portrayed by Ryan Hansen, are seemingly okay, whereas Veronica can barely leave her house without some kind of emotional incident taking place.

The show deals with childhood abuse and trauma in a respectful way but imports the benefits of therapy and the dangers of relying too much on others to define you. It is a lesson the viewers learn alongside Veronica and it hurts the viewer just as much as Veronica when she is forced to learn the lesson at the end of the season.

The season’s ending is harsh and painful, in only a way “Veronica Mars” can be. It is the ending that was promised to Veronica at the end of season two, except there is (probably) no way around the pain. 

While there are rumors of a season five and a promise from Bell and Thomas that “Veronica Mars” will never be done, “Years, Continents, Bloodshed” is an amazing and heartbreaking episode to end on. However, the show does allow room for the world of “Mars” to continue, even if it is no longer set in the problematic favorite Neptune, California and cannot feature the fans’ favorite character.