If you’re a marshmallow, you’ve undoubtedly been looking forward to this day since you last saw Veronica leaving the polling station at the rainy end of season three...in 2007. Since then, fans of the television series and the star of the show herself, Kristen Bell, have been pushing for a resolution to the finale of Veronica Mars in a movie format. After having been teased with it for several years, Bell, creator Rob Thomas, and fans are finally seeing their efforts come to fruition with the release of the Veronica Mars movie in theaters today.
The movie did have numerous set backs: though the series was widely acclaimed, it continually suffered from low ratings; studio execs worried that Bell, now 33, was getting too old to play a college-aged Veronica; and they were unwilling to fund it. Regardless, Bell and Thomas were steady in their pursuit of getting the movie made - in a promo video for their impressive Kickstarter campaign, the duo (plus co-stars Enrico Colantoni, Ryan Hansen, and Jason Dohring) made sure to stress that helping fund the movie was more than handing money over to famous people; it was about showing their studio that the fans really did want to see this movie made and were willing to help fund it if that was necessary. They started out with a simple $2 million goal; within eleven hours, the project had already been funded over halfway. By the end of the 31-day deadline, the film had more than doubled it’s goal line.
It’s now eleven months after the campaign that started it all and the film has been officially released both digitally and in theaters. Since it’s been off the air for almost seven years, TheCelebrityCafe.com has you covered with a quick recap of the cult show’s three dramatic seasons.
Be aware: the following recap will contain spoilers from all three aired seasons of the show and the ten minute teaser clip from season four.
[new page = Season One]
Veronica Mars is introduced as your typical outsider: she’s snarky, too smart for her own good, and consistently annoyed (and occasionally harassed) by the members of the popular clique of her high school, the ‘09ers, a detail that seems almost obvious for her character until you realize one small detail: those people used to be her friends.
The pilot starts off with a heavy load: in the roughly 45 minutes of the first episode, you’re introduced to the two major plotlines of the first couple seasons; as Veronica helps her father on the side with his PI business, she’s also trying to find out who really killed her best friend and who raped her. Though they have the suspected killer behind bars, Veronica and her father, Keith, are not convinced that this is the man that committed the cruel murder of Lilly Kane.
Throughout the first season, Veronica finds unlikely alliances - including one with ‘09er Logan Echolls, the bad boy of Neptune High and Lilly’s exboyfriend. Though the two are clearly not fans of each other, they manage to come together over a case trying to find Logan’s missing mother. Eventually, the two become romantically involved but the relationship falls apart by the end of the first season.
In the dramatic final episode of season one, Veronica has finally found out who killed her best friend - though she was initially sure that it was Logan, she and Duncan, Lilly’s brother and Veronica’s ex, find several tapes that show Lilly having an affair with Logan’s father, Aaron. Veronica then knows that it was an angry and irrational Aaron that killed Lilly, a fact she calls her father with. After a dramatic climax, Veronica is finally able to say goodbye to her friend in a peaceful way.
[new page = Season Two]
In season two, Veronica is still unsure of who raped her though the case takes a back seat when a bus carrying numerous classmates and a faculty member mysterious takes a nose dive off a cliff in the first episode. The only survivor, nice girl Meg, is in a coma and it’s revealed that she is pregnant with Duncan’s baby. Though Meg dies shortly after giving birth to baby Lilly, Duncan takes the girl and flees the country to avoid Meg’s parents.
However, the death of Meg just fuels Veronica’s desire to find out who’s responsible for the bus crash. After finding a voicemail from one of the victims right before the bus went overboard, she finds out there was actually an explosion from inside the bus right before the crash. This sends Veronica into a frantic mood after other evidence suggests that the bus crash was meant for her.
Logan, however, is dealing with his own impending fate: after a gang member is murdered, a witness comes forward accusing Logan of being there and potentially committing the crime. Though he manages to find out that the witness is lying, he falls for the witness’ daughter in the process, hurting her and himself when he has to end the relationship. At a party however, Logan confronts Veronica in what is possibly the most memorable speech from the entire series and confesses that he’s still in love with her. Veronica flees before he kisses her.
In the final episode, two of the mysteries are cleared up: when Veronica finally figures out who really caused the bus crash, she warns her friend Mac to stay away from Cassidy (nicknamed Beaver) but the warning gets intercepted and she’s tricked into meeting him up on the roof. There, he confesses to blowing up the bus to silence a couple boys about to come forward about also being molested by the “Mayor of Neptune,” a fact Cassidy doesn’t want to get out. He also confesses to raping Veronica and threatens to shoot her. Logan, however, comes to the rescue and the two watch as a troubled Cassidy kills himself.
[new page = Season Three]
Season three begins with Veronica and Logan, finally back together, beginning their lives as college freshman. However, the happiness fades in and out as their relationship’s foundation is on rocky ground. This season also introduces us to Parker, Veronica’s roommate, and Piz, Wallace’s roommate and the only other man who has ever rivaled her relationship with Logan. In this season, Veronica is trying to find a serial rapist - a desire fueled by the fact that her roommate, Parker, becomes his next victim.
However, after Veronica finds the two men responsible for the crime, another murder mystery catches her eye as the dean gets murdered. Though shaky alibis are given, Veronica and her father finally catch the murderer - but not after one of Neptune’s finest, Sheriff Don Lamb, goes down.
However, the peak of every fan’s desire for the movie comes after the series finale - in which we get absolutely no resolution. A make-up between Veronica and Logan seems impending after a sex tape of she and Piz leak, the election for sheriff leaves Keith with the opportunity to return to his former post, and Veronica seems to be back on top of the game. However, the series ends with Veronica walking out in the rain after voting for her pick for sheriff, with none of those questions answered.
The producers did tease a little bit of season four, with Veronica finally being a part of the FBI. Though the trailer is twelve minutes long, the show was unfortunately cancelled before the series could go through the possibility of Veronica being part of the FBI.
Fortunately, fans of the show can finally get the closure they want with the movie. After months of teasing, the first two minutes of the film have been released, a surefire teaser to get fans old and new into seats without being lost on the events of the past three seasons.
Veronica Mars is now playing in theaters worldwide.