The Fourth Season of 'Veronica Mars' Doesn't Feel Right (And Not Just Because of the Ending)

As the summer lazily rolls to an end, it’s fitting that my daughters and I are also wrapping up our Veronica Mars rewatch. Truthfully, we flew through the 22 episodes in season one, season two, and the 20-episode season three (plus the movie), but it took us several weeks to finish the shorter, eight-episode fourth season. The twins had a few overnights at summer camp, and there were back-to-back weekends with Bat Mitzvah parties, but the real problem was that it took a while for the fourth season to hook them.

I get why, and it’s not just because of the terrible version of the theme song, which actually made me appreciate the not-as-terrible season three version (love Chrissie Hynde, but ugh). When the season first aired on Hulu in 2017, it had been three years since the movie and a decade since the original series. I was just so excited for more VM that I didn’t really consider what it was missing. But after binging the first three seasons (and the movie) in under six weeks, the jump to “adult” Veronica Mars feels jarring.

The tone completely shifts, Neptune is unrecognizable, and most of our favorite characters are either missing or sidelined. Wallace and Weevil have minor recurring roles, Dick Casablancas pops up early and then vanishes, and there’s no Mac, no Piz, and no one from the old Neptune PD.

The fourth season feels less intimate. Adult Veronica doesn’t have the same delightfully sarcastic bite, Logan is way too jacked, and there’s a pall over Keith because he’s using a cane and battling memory issues (we’re led to believe it’s early-stage dementia, but in the finale we learn it’s the wrong medication combo). Also, the sex scenes are far too steamy to watch with your 13-year-old daughters.

I get why Rob Thomas went this route — he was probably setting the show up as a more adult-oriented streaming series, and maybe reacting to the backlash against the movie’s fan service. But muting the colors and almost completely cutting fan service isn’t the solution. There’s a happy medium.

We get a lot of new characters at the expense of the old: Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Veronica’s new best friend; Patton Oswalt as a pizza guy who’s everywhere; Mido Hamada as a senator; and J.K. Simmons and Clifton Collins Jr. as regular presences. Plus, there’s Veronica’s protégé, Matty Ross (Izabela Vidovic), who feels like a backdoor spin-off lead.

There are no cases of the week, either — just one complicated bombing case. It’s a very good mystery once it gets going, but it takes a few episodes, and without the dognappings or philandering husbands, it’s harder to settle into.

That said, once it finds its rhythm, it’s a solid season, though it only really feels like Veronica Mars when Max Greenfield’s Leo shows up. Honestly, I don’t know why we’ve spent years debating Logan vs. Piz when Leo is clearly Veronica’s perfect match. Age gap when they met aside, he brings out the best in her, and they’re electric when they work together. He’s also a much better screen presence than sullen Logan, who mopes through most of the season because Veronica initially turned down his proposal. Leo — now an FBI agent — lights up every scene, and their banter is the closest thing to the classic VM vibe.

And then there’s that ending. I’d been looking forward to my daughters’ gobsmacked reaction to Logan’s death in a bomb explosion, but when it happened, I mostly felt bad for them. They were more angry than sad — well, livid, actually. “No wonder they cancelled the series!”

I’d also misremembered the ending. I thought the car exploded and the credits rolled, leaving his fate a mystery. I’d completely forgotten the postscript, set a year later, showing Veronica moving on. I guess my brain didn’t want to accept his death. It really was a terrible ending, even if I was done with Logan by then.

Still, I loved the mystery and seeing Keith and Veronica together all season. Matty Ross was a highlight — I’d absolutely watch a spin-off of her working with Keith. J.K. Simmons was fantastic, and Patton Oswalt was irresistibly fun.

So yes, it’s a good season. But it doesn’t always feel like Veronica Mars, and after the first three seasons, I wanted more of the same, not a complete reinvention.

Grade: B

‘Veronica Mars’ season four is streaming on Hulu.