TV on DVD: Veronica Mars (The Complete Second Season)

Creator: Rob Thomas
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Teddy Dunn, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Tessa Thompson, Ryan Hansen, Kyle Gallner
Original Airdate: 2005-2006


★★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

After watching and reviewing the first season of Veronica Mars I told myself it would be a long time before I reviewed another full season of television. Honestly, when it ended I had a tough time even watching television again. After that experience I've discovered that every movie and TV show I watch now looks a little…WORSE. Looking back at my film reviews since then I noticed that I hardly had a positive word to say about anything and I don't think that's a coincidence. I've been spoiled, and as a result, everything's a little less fun now. The worst episode of this show is better than just about any movie I've seen in the past year.

The first season finale of Veronica Mars was one of the very few times I can remember watching a form of entertainment where my pulse was racing, my heart was pounding, my palms were sweating and I felt legitimate fear for the characters. I didn't know what would happen next and I was almost afraid to find out. It contained a twist so shocking I'm surprised I made it through the episode in one piece. But beyond just being shocking it made complete sense and the clues were there all along. Every piece of the puzzle we were given throughout the entire season started to fit into place and the momentum the show built episode by episode exploded like a powder keg. As a result, nothing was held back and, in a rare television anomaly, we weren't left with a frustrating cliffhanger.

Creator Rob Thomas put it all out there in that episode and as I watched I realized something I hadn't the entire season: How attached you become to the character of Veronica. While everything she did was dangerous there wasn't a single time during that first season, outside of the finale, where she was in immediate physical danger, even if in many instances you'd think she would be. She inched closer and closer to it but when it did come the tension was absolutely unbearable. Just the possibility of anything happening to this character that I grew to really care about over the span of 22 episodes was enough to have me screaming at the television. It's a testament to Bell's performance and the A+ quality writing that supports the show.

Everyone I know has grown tired of me ranting and raving like a lunatic about this show for the past month but they'll have to put up with it a while longer. I also have a feeling it didn't go over too well at Thanksgiving dinner when we had to each say what we were thankful for this year and my immediate response was "Veronica Mars." With my addiction in full swing there was no way I could NOT watch the polarizing second season, but the main reason I decided to review it is because it sure makes for an interesting case study: How do you follow-up the greatest season of American television ever produced?

Let's put something in perspective immediately: The second season of Veronica Mars isn't nearly as strong as the first. Now let's put something else in perspective: Neither is any other season of any show that's ever aired. The question now becomes whether you judge its sophomore season on its own terms or in comparison to the towering masterpiece that was season one. Looking at the star rating above you could probably guess which I chose. The second season has been the subject of great debate amongst even the most diehard Mars fans. Some absolutely despise it and see no reason why the show should have continued past Season 1, while I've spoken to others who actually prefer it over the first. After watching it I can understand exactly where both sides are coming from, even if I don't necessarily agree with either.

There is great value to be found in this season but to truly be able to wrap your head around it requires you to readjust your view of the show and examine it from a "big picture" perspective. The second season can't be viewed as a stand-alone entity or even in direct comparison to the first but rather as a chapter in a continuing saga not unlike, say, something like Star Wars. Whereas the first season focused entirely on Veronica and her battle as an outsider, the second opens up the town of Neptune and fleshes out all of the supporting characters, widening the scope of the story.

If someone told me that they thought the heart and soul of the series resided in its second year I'd have a tough time arguing with them. If they also claimed that, while obviously sloppier than the preceding season, it provided more pure fun I'd have trouble shooting them down on that as well. First seasons are called first seasons precisely for that reason: THEY COME FIRST. Second seasons can't be first seasons. The characters have to move on, as much as we may not want them to.

Watching the second season opener ("Normal is the Watchword") can be best described as coming down from a huge high and landing back on Earth. It was a shaky start and my immediate reaction to the first few episodes was bewilderment as they try to cram a lot in as far as introducing new characters and setting up what will become the big story arc of the season.

I could be wrong here but it almost appeared that there was a little pressure by the network to make the show more mainstream and bring in the teen viewers immediately by focusing more on Veronica's romantic entanglements early on rather than actual mystery solving. She even tackles a real part-time job as a barista at a coffee shop at the insistence of her father before we move on to this season's rather convoluted big mystery, a school bus crash that may or may not be related to the now solved Lilly Kane murder case.

Wrapping around that is a secondary storyline involving a fatal stabbing that could also be directly connected to the crash. While this doesn't carry nearly the same emotional weight as the murder case of the previous season and Veronica doesn't have the same immediate connection to it, the closer she gets the more we realize that could change. Really, the entire town of Neptune is deeply connected to it and the underlying theme that was touched on earlier in the series, but fully exploited here is the class struggle between the haves and the have-nots of Neptune. Tensions are higher than they've ever been as a battle rages between the 09ers and the PCHers, with Veronica sandwiched right in the middle as she enters her senior year. After the events that transpired last season Veronica isn't the outsider she once was but it makes little difference because she still feels like one.

This bus crash mystery covers so much ground and is so far-reaching you'd probably need a diagram to chart all the season's characters and their potential involvement in it. It also marks the first time we're introduced to some supporting characters that are unlikable and really take a while to warm up to. But that's the beauty of this show. It has a master plan and characters we rolled are eyes at in early episodes as useless poor additions to the show end up playing a bigger role than anticipated. Everything and everyone is important it just takes a little longer to fully present itself, which may have been the cause of some criticisms labeled against this season when it aired. On DVD however, it's much more obvious how each episode links together and the continuity is pretty much seamless.

After the creative euphoria that was the first season many actors and actresses were probably knocking down the door to just so much as earn a guest spot on the show so it's no surprise this season is fully loaded. There are a ton of cameo appearances from the likes of Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, Lucy Lawless, Kristin Cavallari, and Arrested Development's Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat. But the two biggest additions this season are Steve Guttenberg as a suspiciously upbeat Mayoral candidate harboring a dark secret and Charisma Carpenter as the scheming trophy stepmother to obnoxious rich boy Dick Casablancas (Ryan Hansen) and his little brother Cassidy a.k.a. "Beaver" (Kyle Gallner). Dick and "Beaver," who both played a small but pivotal role in the first season finale, are given a promotion here to full-fledged supporting characters who get a ton of face time.
Fans of Veronica's sidekick and best friend Wallace Fennell (Percy Daggs III) will be happy to know that he steps out from the sidelines this season and plays a major role in key episodes. He even gets a girlfriend, new student Jackie Cook (Tessa Thompson) and of all the characters it takes a while to warm up to, hers arguably takes the longest. Eli "Weevil" Navarro (Francis Capra), might get the biggest bump as he's a key figure in the two big mysteries while Teddy Dunn's Duncan Kane kind of gets the shaft, as he admittedly isn't given nearly as much to do this season. I don't have much of a problem with that though since his sister's murder was solved and Dunn is easily the weakest actor on the show.

The two most important relationships in Veronica's life are deepened further this season. The first, which has always been the beating heart of the show, is her seemingly unbreakable bond with her father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni). While it's still unbreakable it does suffer some growing pains as Veronica's lies and deception (as well intentioned as they may seem sometimes) put an emotional strain on Keith and in a landmark terrific episode (Episode 11-"Donut Run") she goes too far, basically using him and putting them both in danger.

With everything that goes on in this show as far as plot, without these brilliantly realized characters none of it would hold together and it would seem like a jumbled mess. We're reminded of that every time there's an apartment or office scene with Veronica and Keith. It's those real father-daughter moments, whether it be loud, quiet, or funny ones, that make the human aspect of this show so special. Despite all the craziness that unfolds in Neptune the show is never winking at us and is always has its foot planted firmly in reality when it comes to thoughts and behaviors.

The love-hate relationship between Veronica and 09er bad boy Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), which went through a roller-coaster ride last season, is always still simmering just below the surface in this one. At one point it's described as "epic" and I couldn't possibly think of a more accurate description. Looking back at the series it occurred to me that the episodes that prominently featured Dohring were noticeably stronger than those that didn't. I've already talked about what a travesty it is that Bell was never recognized with an Emmy, but that Colantoni and Dohring never received supporting actor nominations is just as unfair. They're the backbone of this series.

Once this season gets going it really hits the ground running, delivering some episodes that actually do match the first in entertainment value if not writing quality. We're treated to Veronica's investigations into the corporate corruption, the Irish mob, child abuse, rape, adultery, pirate radio and blackmail, many of which intertwine the big story arc and deliver the satisfying, unpredictable twists we've become accustomed to.

One of the coolest things about the show is how rewards diehard viewers by tying up loose ends as details from season's past keep springing up. It barely occurred to me that although Lilly Kane's murder was solved last season, the perpetrator (who I wouldn't dare reveal) still actually has to be convicted of the crime.
Even the most minor characters, who barely stopped in for a cup of coffee in season one return, but are expanded upon and developed so much more this time around that they could star in a spin-off of their own. The smarmy Sheriff Don Lamb (Michael Muhney) is a busy man this season and Ken Marino's goofball private eye Vinnie Van Lowe (whose Hall and Oates serenade to Veronica was one of last season's funniest moments) pops in again in a more important role. Guest star Harry Hamlin, who gave the performance of his life last season as Aaron Echolls is back as is his bitchy, D-level actress daughter Trina (Alyson Hannigan) in one memorable episode.

Not just knowledge, but intricate, detailed knowledge of the first season is mandatory in order to appreciate the second at all, which couldn't have helped the show any in the ratings department. Ironically, the highest rated episode in the series' history (Episode 10-"One Angry Veronica") is the one most reviled by hardcore fans, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that it was the most accessible to casual viewers and didn't require any past knowledge of the show's mythology to appreciate. It also (along with Episode 16-"The Rapes of Graff") helps set up what everyone tells me is the problematic third and final season of the series, where Rob Thomas supposedly buckled under the pressure to gain more viewers and made sacrifices creatively. I'll soon find out if that's really the case.

While Veronica may not be as central a focus as she was in the first season, Kristen Bell's performance is just as important, if not more so since there are a few chinks in the show's armor she has the task of covering up this season with her innate charm and likeability. And does she ever. Her character, as well as all the others, were so well developed initially that I'm convinced everyone could have walked onscreen to just do laundry for Season 2 and it would have still been fascinating. Fortunately, they do a lot more than that.

In a later episode I noticed a small detail that tipped me off as to just smart the writing in this series really is. Two characters were forced to work together and all of the sudden it hit me that they haven't even shared screen time since the pilot episode. This despite the fact they're two of the biggest characters on the show! I can't understand how they could even pull something like that off and it goes to show you just how broad in scope the story arc is. When episodes ended I often found myself scratching my head wondering how anyone could have possibly had the creativity to come up with this stuff. Supposedly Thomas knew exactly where Season 2 was going to go before Season 1 even aired and I believe it. You can really tell that this is a show with a big plan already in place and the writers just work backwords from there.

The season finale (Episode 22-"Not Pictured") contains the most memorable flashback in the show's history as well as a huge twist that, while not quite as shocking or tightly plotted as the previous season's, is still an absolute jaw dropper. It's also a little more far-fetched. I think the key for the viewer to figure out who was behind the "big mystery" each season is to look at ALL THE CLUES sprinkled about in every episode, not just the ones directly related to the case. You have to watch all the characters' behaviors…carefully.
The finale is a stretch but when it ended I could honestly say that it holds up to logical scrutiny and makes sense. It likely plays even better on repeated viewings once you know the resolution. It's a funny thing when you love a show so much that it can almost do no wrong in your eyes and you become blind to any flaws it may have. Or you see those flaws, but simply don't care and embrace them. You're having too good a time to do otherwise. It's strange that I've now become of those geeky hardcore Veronica Mars fans I used to laugh at a couple of years ago when I didn't even want to bother watching a "stupid show" about a teen detective. What the hell was I thinking?

Unlike the Season 1 DVD set that didn't contain a single special feature outside of a few deleted scenes, this does have some, but it's still a shameful, disappointing amount considering the quality of this series. In addition to some deleted scenes there's a short feature entitled "A Day On the Set of Veronica Mars" as Kristen Bell lets us tag along with her during a day of shooting. For anyone who's as taken with Bell as I am, any extra minutes spent with her is nothing to take for granted. After viewing it that fuzzy line separating the character and the actress playing her suddenly becomes even fuzzier. There's also a gag reel full of bloopers and outtakes that's surprisingly quite funny.

We hear the term "sophomore slump" a lot in television and I've found myself earlier in the year defending lackluster second seasons of current TV dramas like Friday Night Lights and Heroes, which in comparison to this look completely incompetent to me now. I've all but stopped watching one and you could probably guess the only reason I still watch Heroes. When she leaves, so do I. Since we've already lost Veronica Mars, I can't think of any future cancellation that could possibly bother me.

It's nearly impossible writing an effective second season when expectations are so high but when it was over I couldn't think of anything that could have been done better and it did seem like a natural progression. The first season established Veronica Mars as one of the best and smartest television dramas around. Season 2 just seals the deal.