We watch... so you don't have to.
Definitely Not Disappointed
I disagree with Monty about season two of Veronica Mars.
I've been a fan of Veronica Mars since day one-- or actually a bit before it since I did get to see the pilot a couple of months before anyone else (save for other TV critics and for other folks in the biz). When it did premiere on the same night as a little show called Lost, I featured Veronica Mars more prominently as I felt it would end up the better of the two shows. I'm pleased that I felt the same way at the end of last season-- I really enjoyed both shows, but would rank Veronica Mars as my favorite show of the 2004-05 season.
While Monty thinks season two has lost momentum, I think this season may be even better than season one (though it's still too soon to tell). Last season Veronica lost her best friend, her mother, her boyfriend, her virginity, and her social status. This season she's lost another best friend (Wallace), another boyfriend (Logan), her Mom (again at the end of last season), and even another friend or two (Meg and Weevil). All of Neptune is more divided than ever before along class lines.
We don't have so many flashbacks these season because after season one, we're pretty well caught up on Veronica's story. Sure, some mystery may seem gone, but I think they've more than made up for that by the huge number of new mysteries we've got going on this season.
Monty may think this season has less angst than season one, but I just think Veronica is carrying the weight of it all better (which stands to reason given all she went through last season). Veronica fears she was the target of the bus crash which means she feels guilty about Meg being in the condition she's in and over all the others who died. Her breakup with Logan wasn't the easiest thing in the world and I doubt she's happy about where things stand with Weevil either. And of course she's missing Wallace like crazy (and feeling bad that she wasn't there for him as much as he would've been there-- and has been-- for her). And she feels doubly guilty about Meg because of Duncan.
I'm not bothered by the guest appearances because if I didn't know who the people were, the characters would still work. Kevin Smith made a reasonable convenience store clerk, Joss Whedon did just fine as a rental car guy, and I didn't even notice the top models.
Monty thinks this season is meandering all over the place, I'm just thrilled there are so many developments in every episode. Last season we were dying to get the answers to the big mysteries, but I felt there were too many episodes that had a "Mystery of the Week" plot for most of the episode, with one little possible clue about the Big Mystery at the very end of each episode. This season, it just seems like there's a lot more going on throughout every episode and I like that. I'm trusting Rob Thomas and company to tie a lot of this together somehow or at least to give satisfactory resolution to a bunch of things by the end of the season.
As for Steve Guttenberg . . . well, I'm not wild about his character, but I don't feel he's doing a bad job with the role. In fact, I'm guessing this is how we're supposed to feel about the character. Is he some villainous mastermind? I hope not, but you never know. He may just be what he seems to be.
I've really enjoyed the show so far this season, even though I'm still not sold on some of the new characters. I still look forward to every episode and I've seen today's episode already (one of the perks of being a TV critic) and it's stellar (even leaving aside the Hannigan/Carpenter reunion).
