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Veronica Mars never quits. When her show moved networks in 2006 and then got canceled, she endured. A movie and a Hulu revival series would follow, and there’s often talk of bringing her back to our screens in the future. Thanks to the magic of streaming, new viewers are also discovering Veronica Mars and her can-do attitude, and fans say, “the more, the merrier!”
Portrayed with confidence by Kristen Bell, Veronica may still be our favorite marshmallow detective, but boy, did she go through some wild drama in her time. Let’s take a look back at all the biggest twists she had to contend with, from Aaron to Beaver and beyond…
Abel Koontz: Fall Guy
Speaking of streaming, Abel Koontz perfected some streaming media tech for Jake Kane’s software company, and instead of making a whole ton of money out of it, he got cheated out of the patent. If that wasn’t enough, he then took the rap for Lilly Kane’s murder, and because Keith Mars wasn’t particularly suspicious of him during his official investigation into her death, he was ousted as Neptune’s sheriff after Koontz’s surprising confession.
Veronica was also never fully convinced that Koontz killed her best friend. During her own investigation, which involved several visits to death row, Keith and Veronica’s diligent detective work uncovered several key inconsistencies that eventually led to Koontz’s release from jail. But if Koontz didn’t kill Lilly, who did?
Aaron Echolls Killed Lilly Kane
As the first season of Veronica Mars came to a close, Lilly’s killer was finally revealed. This wasn’t only the season’s biggest twist but potentially the biggest in the whole series, as famous actor Aaron Echolls was exposed as Lilly’s secret lover and murderer. We knew Aaron was violent and that he abused his tearaway son, Logan Echolls, but we had no idea how dangerous he actually was until that point.
In her efforts to get justice for Lilly, Veronica also put her life on the line when Aaron decided he’d be quite happy to kill another blonde teen. Luckily, Keith was there to stop him, but it made for quite the explosive season finale, especially with Veronica romantically involved with Logan at the time and unsure how to break it to him that his own father had romanced and killed his ex.
Logan and Madison Sinclair
Logan and Veronica’s relationship was often hot and cold after Lilly’s death and Aaron’s imprisonment, but it was never colder than when Veronica discovered that Logan had slept with Madison Sinclair, the shallow, spoiled Neptune bully who roofied her with GHB by spitting in her drink at a party following Lilly’s death.
Veronica was devastated to find out that Logan had slept with one of the worst people she knew. Still, Madison also had a complex and twisty history, having been switched at birth with Veronica’s good friend Mac. Madison had grown up rich and privileged, while the sharp, intelligent Mac had to use her smarts to get anywhere in life.
Meg’s Preg
Veronica and Meg Manning were friendly for a while, until Veronica’s ex, Duncan Kane, split with her and got back with Veronica, leaving Meg heartbroken. After the bus crash at the beginning of season 2, Meg was the only survivor, but Veronica was reluctant to visit her in the hospital as she lay in a coma after the Neptune High bus crash. When she finally did, she was shocked to see that Meg was heavily pregnant—with Duncan’s baby.
Sadly, Meg would eventually die after giving birth when a blood clot traveled to her brain, but Duncan was able to become a proper father to the child, whom he named after his late sister, Lilly.
Veronica’s Rapist Is Revealed
Bullied by his older brother Dick and slighted by their father, Cassidy “Beaver” Casablancas had a chip on his shoulder from the get-go. However, Veronica was empathetic towards him. He was molested by his little league coach, Woody, and had kept it hidden for many years. He also seemed to be helpful when she was investigating Lilly’s death.
Everything changed in their dynamic at the end of season 2, when Veronica found out that Beaver killed Woody’s other victims by orchestrating the bus crash and blowing up Woody’s plane to finish him off as well. Beaver didn’t want to be known as one of his victims. Woody had also given Beaver chlamydia, which was how Veronica discovered that Beaver was her real rapist at the party where she was roofied all along: she’d contracted it from him following the assault.
When Beaver tried to kill Veronica, Logan intervened, and in a last shocking move, Beaver jumped from the roof of the Neptune Grand hotel rather than face the consequences of his actions.
Logan Dies
After 13 tumultuous years, Logan and Veronica finally tied the knot in the season finale of Hulu’s revival. It seemed like the happy ending we’d always wanted for the couple, who had been to hell and back to keep their relationship alive through so much drama. Up until that point, the season had focused on tracking a bomber who orchestrated explosions under the guise of his pizza delivery job, but Keith and Veronica had caught him and sent him to jail before they got hitched.
Yet, the pizza bomber had one last shock in store. He’d rigged Veronica’s car to blow with a previously deployed backpack bomb, and as she and Logan prepared to set out on their honeymoon, it exploded, killing him instantly.
Due to this truly upsetting turn of events, Veronica decided to leave Neptune and explore opportunities elsewhere. As she drove away from the town that broke her heart several times over, she listened to a final message that Logan sent to his therapist on their wedding day: “Is it weird to want to marry someone because you respect her? Because you want to be like her? Because you want children who will inherit her qualities? I want to marry Veronica because she’s the toughest human being I’ve ever met. Blows that would destroy most people…she always picks herself back up.”
This is the way the show ended for a second time. Perhaps one day we’ll see Veronica again, but without the love of her life in tow.
The post The Most Shocking Twists in Veronica Mars appeared first on Den of Geek.
