I did like the finale, although I get all your points. Maybe the problem wasn't the resolution, but the way it seemed too rushed and too many details left unexplained. Maybe a two-hour finale wouldn't have been a bad idea.

But still, Veronica Mars is too good a show to judge too harsh. Considering that in two seasons there has not been one bad episodes and only a couple of okayish ones, I can only hope it will be back. Oh, please, PLEASE!

Posted by: Jamie | May 15, 2006 02:01 AM

I also thought the finale was terrific. Part of the reason was that I figured out who the killer was and was lucky enough to post it on the Entertainment Weekly website prior to the finale being telecast.

1.) The clues were all there. It fell into place for me when the police found a bomb under Woody's car that was similar to the bomb on the bus. That meant the killer wanted Woody & certain students silenced. What would be the motive? It must be keeping the molestation quit.

Who would want to do that? It had to be the 3rd victim - the one who was edited out of that conversation VM downloaded. We were presented with evidence that Beaver was having difficulty performing normal sexual activity with Mac. We also saw that Beaver was very upset to have VM investigating his sex life. We knew Beaver was bright enough to build bombs and (thanks to the land trust stuff) devious.

We DID know that two of the boys who were molested were on the bus because Veronica told us that in the previous episode. And one of the boys was the guy who had been bragging about "the outing of all outings" before he died. I think most of us knew that he meant outing Woody long before the final epsiode aired.

2.) This was covered in the dialog between VM & Beaver on the roof. VM said Beaver was able to have sex with her because she was unconscious & helpless and Beaver was then able to fantasize any situation he needed to "get the job done." I would agree with you that this was not the strongest writing of the episode.

3.) We've had much evidence that Beaver has been the victim of relentless abuse at the hands of many - especially his older brother. It is no stretch to imagine he feared the further abuse and ostracism he would suffer if it became known that he engaged in sexual activity (even though it was unwilling) with Woody. There is also tons of evidence that victims of molestation often become the next generation of abusers. Given Beaver's home situation, that he turned out to be a sociopath should not be surprising.

4.) When Veronica saw the "not pictured" reference, she made an intuitive leap to "not included" in the downloaded conversation between the molestation victims. She had been checking the other members of the Little League team to find out who the third victim was. She hadn't found anyone else who was molested. She was down to only one possible candidate when Cassidy's name was suddenly added to the list. She already knew of Cassidy's problems with Mac and knew Cassidy had been in limo and whoever blew up the bus needed to see the bus to know when it was near the cliff. All these clues fell into place and she felt she had her killer.

To be honest, it was upon learning the title of the episode was "Not Pictured" that I, too, had my confirmation that Cassidy was the killer (the title of the episode was known for several days before it was broadcast).

5.) Lucky had been a bat boy for the adult Sharks baseball team and was also presumably molested by Woody.

Posted by: Mr. G | May 15, 2006 06:39 AM

I have never managed to get into VM... I don't know why...

Posted by: Meg | May 15, 2006 09:37 AM

I also agree that the finale was good and the clues were there. Even though I didn't know all of the details going into the finale, I knew that Beaver was involved, which I was quite proud of. And I thought it was an excellent that Logan and Veronica got back together. And how can you not watch next season, if only to find out what's in that briefcase?

Posted by: Jennifer | May 15, 2006 10:32 AM

Well, I think we all knew Beaver was involved somehow. Obviously, way back when he broke up with Mac and Woody rubbed Logan's arm, I knew that he had been molested. That was clear for a long while, I think, and only got clearer. I just don't think they gave us enough clues to figure out that he'd blown up the bus or WHY he'd blown up the bus until the final episode. And that sucks, I think.

Maybe there weren't enough clues to figure out Aaron Echolls last season, either, and I'm just remembering badly. Maybe the reason this finale bugs me is that I wasn't surprised by the ending, except for the fact that they turned Beaver into a crazy, evil, no-conscience killing machine (and that is not a good surprise; it reminds me of that Phantom of the Opera movie, where I wanted to care about the bad guy, because truly good bad guys should be sympathetic, but they made him too evil to care about any longer). That made me extremely angry.

Also, the plane was right there when Beaver blew it up? SO realistic! And I'm sorry, BEAVER TOOK MAC'S CLOTHES?! Why? And ... why?

Posted by: DeAnn | May 15, 2006 10:39 AM

Mr G, great deduction. I'd like to say that with #2, though, was pretty powerful. When Veronica was unconscious, he had the power. Any child molested has a fascination about being in power. Veronica was a "fallen angel" in the first season and Dick wanted Beaver to lose his virginity. When he was pictured as puking after he was being told what to do, he rationalized that he'd just be called a puss if he didn't do it with V. However, if he did it and no one knew about it, he had fueled his hunger for power.

Maybe the ending didn't have much impact for you because you already heard the hoopla around it and when you finally got to seeing it the suspense was lost? (Just guessing).

I liked it and I didn't think the ending was a copout. If there was any mystery I wanted resolved was what and who was Alicia Wallace. What's with the name change? Why did Wallace come back and why was the plot dropped?

I'd still watch next season. If there was anything wrong with this season, it can be blamed that there were too many mysteries going on, a long hiatus and an ending that came too fast too soon.

Posted by: M | May 15, 2006 10:46 AM

Deann:

I thought Beaver was still sympathetic. Think of his last scene with Logan when he shouts; "My name is Cassidy!" That line summed up the agony he felt every day. He was saddled with a nickname that he despised. He lacked that essential sense of self we all take for granted.

He asks Logan & Veronica what does he have to live for - and neither of them can think of one good reason for him to go on living. Very sad, very sympathetic.

Beaver took Mac's clothes so she would have to stay behind in the hotel room and not try to follow him (thereby screwing up his plan to kill Veronica).

I agree that the plane being conveniently located in the sky when it blew up was very contrived, but it is a TV show, after all.

Posted by: Mr. G | May 15, 2006 10:55 AM

I have nothing new to add except to say that I was disappointed - the ending felt very rushed and contrived.

STILL, I will be watching next season, if it should get renewed ohpleaseohpleaseohplease.......... There are enough loose ends to keep the show going. Also, did anyone notice throughout this season how they kept bringing up the fact that Logan's mother was never found?

Posted by: cagey | May 15, 2006 12:47 PM

I agree with Jamie, I think two hours would have been better, but it was still a VERY good finale, that show is one of the top 5 shows on . . . .

Posted by: Glenn | May 15, 2006 12:57 PM

Here's a question that is left unanswered. Was Sheriff Lamb on the plane that blew up? Surely he had to be... right? Or no? There had to be some kind of police escort with Woody. Why not Lamb? Or did Lamb even go there in person? I don't know. But if Lamb isn't sheriff then that means that Keith can be sheriff again. Yay! I think that Meg's dad offered up the reward because of Meg. She died because of the bus blowing up. Now granted, they were horrible parents, but definately the kind to seek out revenge and blame. So when they offered the reward, it kinda made sense. What doesn't make sense is how they knew Lucky and why they bailed him out. Maybe they knew Woody was bad because they all went to Bad Parents School together... I dunno.

I did feel like it was all to simple to just see Cassidy's name and VM just knows he's the one to blame. But dammit! What's in the effing case already?

Posted by: Carrisa | May 15, 2006 01:17 PM

Sheriff Lamb was back in Neptune the whole time. Rob Thomas has already said he's negotiating with the actor who plays Lamb to become a regular cast member next season (ditto for the actress who plays Mac) - so we should see a lot more of Lamb.

Meg's parents had been trying to hook up Meg with Lucky before the crash. They were friends from church according to Meg. Why they liked Lucky enough to bail him out is a mystery and the reward did seem to be unusual. Perhaps there's more there.

After all, some things from Season One weren't really settled until this year. And we already know the mystery of the college rapist will be back next season.

As to our girl's "Beaver fever," Veronica had narrowed her list of suspects down to an unknown kid from the Little League team. She's thought there was only one more kid to find - then she saw Cassidy's name and the little tumblers all fell into place.

Posted by: Mr. G | May 15, 2006 01:33 PM

No, TVG, you're not the only one who didn't like it. But we're a minority fighting a very large and VERY vocal majority. I pegged Beav as the bus-crasher a couple episodes ago, and I would have been okay with it, except that instead of a tortured soul who made a lethal mistake in the desperation of trying to keep his molestation a secret, he turned into a mustache-twirling sadist. Just rang false in my book. Also, I thought the rape reveal was stupid, invalidating last season's fascinatingly complicated take on fate and chance. I'll still watch the show, but I didn't like the episode at all.

Also, I am apparently one of the VERY few people who still think Logan Echolls is an "epic" asshole and totally unworthy of Veronica.

Posted by: Jack | May 15, 2006 04:10 PM

I am a Weevil lover myself... and Troy lover. I thought, if it weren't for the drugs, Troy would've made V happier than Duncan and Logan combined.

Posted by: M | May 16, 2006 09:15 PM

I loved reading your post and the other comments.

I still liked the episode. And Beav was always a little creepy to me, so I was fine with all of it.

I assumed that Lamb was on the plane. Maybe I am wrong.

And I'm such a 12 year old girl...mostly happy about Veronica and Logan. Epic asshole or not, the have onscreen chemistry that has no rival.

Can't wait for next season.

Posted by: Isabel | May 18, 2006 09:33 AM

I watched the show right before the finale and then the finale itself and am so completly hooked now. Still confused because I had been reading transcripts and then watching the show and I had no clue that Kendall was played by Charisma Carpenter. I love her! How did I not know this?

Yeah, they have to bring this back. I will cry if they do not.

And why isn't anyone freaked out about Weevil being arrested? He didn't kill Thumper. He just set him up.

Posted by: DM | May 24, 2006 12:14 PM