Veronica Mars - The Complete Third Season Details

The End

First things first; this season is the worst of the bunch and continues the decline in quality that pervaded the second season - those expecting anything more will likely be a little disappointed at first. This season also marks the end, with Veronica Mars now cancelled.

Veronica has graduated and she attends the very same college we got a glimpse of last season. She is studying criminology in a class with an imposing, intelligent professor and is looked upon enviously by his eccentric assistant. The main source of intrigue initially relates to the spate of campus rapes she was tasked with solving in Season Two, and this drags on for much of the season before another crime involving the charismatic principle and his wife takes over. The sheriff job also comes under contention and I don't think I'll be spoiling anything if I suggest Keith Mars might have a part to play.

It's not that these stories and situations aren't intriguing because the potential is certainly there, but I personally don't think the fragmented approach they took was particularly successful. There are far too many filler episodes for a start, and whilst I've read that this was intentional I personally fail to see the payoff - made all the more evident by rushed storylines which should have been developed more carefully.

Secondly some of the new faces, the two room mates in particular, take a long time to develop beyond cartoon character stage - whilst conversely some of the more interesting individuals aren't given enough screen time and their development as a result is far more constrained. It's this lack of consistency and the number of missed beats that cement the feeling of missed opportunity. The show could also have done without the musical chairs like romance, as it merely added to the sense of bewilderment as the narrative chops and changes one minute to the next.

If my negatives outweigh the positives it's only because of the standards set in season 1 and my position as a biased fan of the show. I watched and enjoyed every episode. So in conclusion whilst I would recommend this to existing Veronica Mars fans wholeheartedly, those new to the series should give it a wide berth and instead go and start from the beginning - this being one of those rare occasions in television where the original eclipses both the end and the middle of it's tenure. I give it 4 stars.