Veronica Mars

Season 1 – 85% – A long time ago we used to be friends. My perpetually elusive fata morgana. I find it ironic that I ultimately caught up with her after the age of thirty, because I know other teen phenomena that are maybe a bit older (Dawson's Creek, Roswell) but much better, and even One Tree Hill, which debuted only a year earlier, I still consider the pinnacle of the genre. If Veronica Mars had reached me at the right time, it could easily have been the best series of my life, but I still enjoyed the first introduction incredibly. It behaves surprisingly 90s given when it was created, and at the same time fascinates by rising above the era. It effortlessly combines inventive and ordinary plots with long-term storylines, some of which can easily sleep for half a season – only for it to return triumphantly to them in the end. Rob Thomas was simply an innovator and I appreciate now, after years, how it is possible that Kristen Bell has such a powerful fan club. With a good ten years of removal, I also begin to understand why, at the time, the name Jason Dohring resonated across fandoms and TV forums, despite the fact that he did not win me over as an actor and just lets everything play out naturally with his charisma and mischievous expression. In terms of the actors, this is an absolutely adorable ensemble cast, because even the more important characters (Duncan, Wallace) are played with a smile at best in the beginning, but I enjoy the enthusiasm of everyone involved and the casting of the supporting roles. So far I have yet to see an episode where there isn't a guest appearance by someone I know from another TV production who is simply crossing paths with Veronica Mars. The most pleasing in a small role was my favorite rogue, Theo Rossi, or that matador Alyson Hannigan. And when I look at the whole series over and over again, it devastates me that there are only three cases left. Season 2 – 85% – I thought our story was epic, you know, you and me. Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. EPIC. When I said how much it saddened me that I would only get three regular seasons and therefore three cases, I didn't know how many storylines the writing team could cram into a single year. Buses, comas, rats, children, Jackie, Terrence, Woody, Gia, chlamydia, financial fraud, cover-ups, gangs, the FBI, escapes across the border, podcasts, plot twists in court rulings, adoptive parents, real parents, and a lot of hormones in just twenty-two episodes? The "previously on" is like gold, because I would otherwise have gotten lost right at the beginning in the dozens of plotlines that sometimes lead to a dead end and other times triumphantly merge into a fitting explanation. I can only admire the combination of mystery, sarcasm, and timely melodrama, even though some of the supporting characters and storylines, which take up a lot of space (Wallace going from being almost a loner to being an omnipresent ladies' man), are a bit too much for me. Season 3 – 85% – Why bother with something not good just because it's something? It looked for a long time like the change of scenery also brought a seemingly inevitable step down in quality, but fortunately, that was only the first story arc. The campus rapist may seem like a welcome topic, but perhaps because of the strong influx of new characters among whom the original characters can only fumble for their place, it felt somewhat forced. Symbolically, with a nerve-wracking resolution of the case and the beginning of a (murderous) new case, the old good Veronica is back, but when it comes to tension, Kristen Bell's acting performances, or perfect sarcasm (Logan, Mac) and dialogue (Veronica and Keith), I was surprised that it was the obvious high point of the series. It's a shame that this overly complicated knot was not untangled until the last episode, and so while the last mystery is solved, it seems almost inappropriate in such a small space. Last but not least, I have to say that when I refused to watch Veronica for many years because she never got a proper ending, I was right. The finale is filled with events and a somewhat unexpected (but not unwelcome) nostalgia for the beginnings, but at the same time, it does not lead to any complete resolution or even take so much as a step towards it. The melancholic mood naturally suits the subgenre of SoCal noir, but to stay hanging in the long years of summer rain would for me as a viewer be a kind of purgatory. Veronica Mars (2014) – 80% – People say I'm a marshmallow. And when I see how many people boast in their reviews that they never followed the series but eagerly jumped on the movie and then had no idea what was going on, so they give it a low rating, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the (lack of) intelligence of the individual reviewers. But let sleeping dogs lie. The film, which was originally supposed to be a slipshod gift for the fans, is an ode to one of the most adored teenage series and an unbelievably precise work. The decision to develop the case around the high school reunion, though unfortunate because it revolves around characters that nobody really remembers – and the real players Wallace, Mac, and Weevil have (as in any great plot) only a symbolic role, but works perfectly on the personal level. Despite the surprisingly abundant involvement of Piz, who never grew close to my heart. Perhaps that's why it is so obvious who was always the right one for Veronica and who the overwhelming majority of viewers will always want to see her with, even though the analogy with another dose of drugs surprisingly lands. As Jason Dohring himself said, "higher highs, lower lows". All of this would probably work even better in the form of a miniseries, but I believe that seven years after the series was cancelled, such a morsel had to feel like fresh water for all Marshmallows everywhere. Season 4 – 70% – Appealingly teetering between the light-hearted whodunit from the days of the classic series and the adult mood of the film, thankfully most of the time in the former case thanks to new additions (Matty is gold) or glimpses into the past. But even though I marathoned the third series just a few dozen hours before the unexpectedly early release of new episodes, some of those who cut cameo roles had aged so much that it wasn't until some time later that I could smack my forehead and understand the context. But I'm all the more grateful for so many (often genuinely unexpected) comebacks. It's a shame, though, that this is happening in a story that has had to borrow even such hackneyed tropes as Mexican cartels or political candidates, which have regularly appeared in perhaps every procedural of the last few decades. It undermines (and unfortunately unjustifiably) the awesome feeling that Neptune, as a place both beautiful and dangerous, still exudes in full force. A big thank you, therefore, for focusing on the three most popular characters. Indeed, the banter between Veronica and Keith is perhaps even more pure comedic gold, and the relationship with Logan has again reached the point where the issues being addressed are serious problems and not just melodrama. The calm Logan with Jason Dohring's mature face is the gem I was expecting and got in even more ways than imaginable. So it's a comeback almost with full force, even if Rob Thomas has lost that ease with which he pulled off individual plots and twists over the years, and that's part of the reason why the revival is a step weaker than the school seasons. As for the final (and really perfectly effective in terms of the emotional stakes) episode, I am still shaking my head helplessly even several days after watching it. Even after the initial excitement has worn off and the explanation of why what happened had to happen has been given, I don't buy or understand the reasons given. As sympathetic as I have always been to the intentions of the main filmmaker, I lost touch with him at the last second. (2019.01.03) (kevesebbet) (több)