It took us a while, but Courtney and I finally finished the second season of Veronica Mars.  Raf, you mentioned that this season would get a little more complicated, and you weren’t kidding.  There were a lot of times along the way that we had to pause the DVD and say, “Wait.  Which Fitzpatrick did what to who?”  And we polished the season off in a few months - I’d imagine that it could have been really tough watching it over a regulation nine-month season.  Also, when you think about it, the main mystery of Season One was pretty straight-forward.  This season however had multiple long-haul arcs going on at once: Aaron Echolls’ murder trial, Logan’s arrest for murder, as well as the main mystery of who caused the bus crash.  And not only were there more stories, but they were all pretty complex.But despite the complicated nature of the season, there was still plenty of Veronica Mars, and the gal remains awesome.  She had some really vulnerable moments, her usual I’m-smarter-than-you moments, as well as a couple of times when she used some questionable logic, like when she lied to her dad about Duncan.  The show added a few cast members this year, and that along with the more complicated mysteries led to the show feeling like it had less Veronica over-saturation than last year, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing on paper, but the fact remains that she is the most interesting character, and so the fact that there were times when she felt like a supporting player was a little frustrating.I wasn’t too sad to see Duncan go halfway through the year, as he had gotten pretty stale.  He loved Veronica, and she loved him, but their story had definitely runs its course.   I missed Wallace a lot more when he left, but that was only temporary.  His story with Jackie was mildly interesting, but I wasn’t crazy about how quickly she went from nemesis to friend.  I guess Miss Mars is just awfully forgiving like that for her boy Wallace.  The Casablancas brothers could have stayed as recurring characters as far as I’m concerned, but at the same time they didn’t feel overly shoe-horned into a lot of unnecessary plots, so it wasn’t so terrible that the actors got some pay bumps.  But Logan, man - that guy is just great.  Everything he says is hysterical, his insults are cutting, and despite the fact that I hated him at first, he has quickly become my favorite non-Mars on the show..

I was pretty disappointed that Keith wasn’t elected Sheriff, and I totally agreed with Veronica that he should have fought harder to make the town of Neptune a safer place where mysteries get solved by the actual police.  But it was realistic that if he refused to fight back against Lamb’s low shots, Keith would lose.  Also based on reality is the fact that Aaron would have smooth talking lawyers who would do everything in their power to get their celebrity client off scot free.  It sucks, but it’s true.  At least he got the justice that he deserved in the end.

As a side note, the guest stars this year were all pretty amazing.  Kendal aka Cordelia aka Charisma Carpenter is just a babe, plain and simple, and its great to have her around.  Steve Gutenberg also did a great job as the not totally trustworthy Mayor, and it’s kind of too bad they can’t have him back next year after his ride back to Neptune got blowed-up real good.  The cameos by Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith, and Alyson Hannigan were also nice touches.

So despite some being a lot more confused than I was in Season One, the show is still highly enjoyable.  The class-warfare theme were explored a lot more this year, and while they could have gone over the top with their points about the battles between the haves and the have-nots, the drama always felt genuine.  Veronica was a little less of an outcast this year, but not totally, and she still had to do a lot all by her lonesome.  Despite the semi-weak cliffhanger that ended the season, I’m still looking forward to Season Three, to see what happens when Veronica goes off to college.  Something tells me she won’t be your average sorority girl…

Oh, and the theme song?  Still super catchy.