Veronica Mars (character)

Infobox character | colour = #7DC622
name = Veronica Mars
other_names =


caption = Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars in the episode "Un-American Graffiti".
portrayer = Kristen Bell
creator = Rob Thomas
gender = Female
first = Pilot
last = The Bitch Is Back
cause = Show cancellation
age = 20
born = August 1987
occupation = Student
Journalist for the Hearst Free Press
Private Detective
FBI Intern
title =
family = Keith Mars (father)
Lianne Mars (mother)
spouse = None
relatives =
footnotes =

Veronica Mars is a fictional character in the television series, "Veronica Mars", which aired on the UPN and CW networks from 2004 to 2007. She is portrayed by Kristen Bell.

Character history

Background and details of plot

At the beginning of the series, Veronica is a 17-year-old junior at Neptune High in her hometown of Neptune, California. Although she is quite witty, she is also cynical for her age. She works for her father, private detective Keith Mars, the former sheriff of Balboa County, California. She does not have any friends until she meets and helps Wallace Fennel, who quickly becomes her best friend.

A year earlier, sophomore year, Veronica led a carefree life as one of the popular teens at Neptune High. Her best friend was popular junior Lilly Kane, and she was dating Lilly's brother, Duncan Kane. Along with Lilly's boyfriend Logan Echolls, the four were at the forefront of the school's wealthy and popular "09er" clique (named after the 90909 zip code, a wealthy area of Neptune) that ruled Neptune High's social scene. Though Veronica did not meet the economic status of the other 09ers, she was accepted into the clique because she was dating Duncan, and her father's influence as sheriff.

However, this carefree world would not last for Veronica. One day, out of the blue, Duncan stopped talking to Veronica and broke up with her with no explanation. Soon after Veronica and Duncan's breakup, Lilly was found dead at the side of her family's pool. Sheriff Keith Mars accused Lilly's father, software mogul Jake Kane, of the murder. The citizens of Neptune were horrified and Keith quickly found himself voted out of office and turned into a pariah by the wealthy 09er community. Keith's credibility took another blow when his replacement as Sheriff, former Deputy Sheriff Don Lamb, arrested disgruntled former Kane employee Abel Koontz, who confessed to Lilly's murder.

The shock and loss of income destroyed the Mars family; Veronica's mother abandoned the family several months later. Veronica further sealed her fate as an outsider when she refused to denounce her father. Logan stopped speaking to Veronica, and the rest of the 09ers followed suit. Veronica found herself banished from the exclusive 09er social scene and all of her former friends.

Two months after Lilly's death, Veronica crashed an 09er party to prove to her former friends that she did not care what they said about her. At the party, Veronica is handed a drink which she later finds out is a "rum, coke, and roofie." The next morning, Veronica woke up without any recollection of the night before; to her heartbroken humiliation, she realized she had been raped when she found her underwear on the floor. When she reported the crime to Sheriff Lamb, he called her a liar and threw her out of his office.

Veronica later discovers that her drink laced with GHB had been meant for Veronica's longtime enemy, Madison Sinclair; Madison had spat in her drink and handed it to Veronica as a prank. Veronica believes that Duncan had raped her, but discovers that Duncan had also been drugged with GHB, and that she had consented while under GHB's influence. At the end of Season Two, Veronica puts more pieces together: Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas had actually raped her that same night, and gave her chlamydia.

These events left Veronica changed forever; she became a cynic, filled with contempt and disgust towards her classmates and Neptune's wealthy elite. A pariah like her father, she funneled her time and energy into helping her father in his own detective agency. But when a chance encounter with a new transfer student Wallace Fennel led to her gaining a new friend, she began to use her investigation talents and energy to help her fellow students and to go head to head with her former friends and their corrupt ways.

Veronica slowly begins to outgrow her cynicism, with the help of new friends like Wallace Fennel, Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Manning, and Stosh "Piz" Piznarski, whom she meets while attending Hearst College (season 3). Veronica begins to accept that everyone is not out to get her. However, when a video of her and Piz in a compromising situation is sent around Hearst's campus, it becomes apparent that Veronica's Biblical sense of justice is still intact.

Detective

Since her dad became a private investigator after being ousted from the Sheriff's Department, Veronica has had an after-school job as a secretary at Mars Investigations, her father's PI business. Though she is often forbidden to handle certain cases, she often oversteps her boundaries and sometimes even completely solves the case before her father. On top of that, she is the small-time private investigator for Neptune High: tracking down computer crackers, digging up dirt on parents, finding out who stole the school's mascot, and the like. She keeps one step ahead of her father and Vice-Principal Clemmons through the occasional help of her best friend Wallace – Watson to her Holmes – and classmate Eli “Weevil” Navarro, the leader of the PCH Biker Gang.

While Veronica's activities have put her at odds with the 09er social clique, it has helped Veronica make new friends and allies at Neptune High. She has also undeniably committed many illegal and duplicitous acts in the course of doing her detective work, leading many to openly question the moral consequences of her vendetta against the Neptune High status quo.

Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), once a close friend, had helped organize the blacklisting of Veronica from the 09er clique. The two crossed swords on several occasions before Logan sought Veronica's help in finding out if his mother, Lynn Echolls, might have faked her death when she jumped into the ocean. Still reeling from the abandonment of her own mother shortly after Lilly's death, Veronica empathized with Logan's pain, and the two reconciled most of their differences.

Toward the close of the third season of the series, Veronica successfully completes her California state examination to receive official licensure as a detective in her own right.

Love life

Duncan Kane

Veronica dated Duncan Kane until approximately September 2003. Both Veronica's mother Lianne Mars and Duncan's mother Celeste Kane were against their relationship, though Veronica never knew why. Celeste revealed to Duncan that his father Jake had had an affair with Lianne, and that Veronica may in fact be his half-sister. Duncan broke up with Veronica because of this, not telling her his reasons for doing so. Keith Mars had a paternity test done near the end of season one which proved without a doubt that he is her father, not Jake Kane.

Veronica did not speak to Duncan on a regular basis for nearly two years. She did confront him, however, when she believed he had raped her. The issue was eventually resolved when the fact that both parties were under the influence of GHB came to light.

In the summer between the first and second seasons Veronica and Duncan got back together on her 18th birthday. They stayed together until roughly the middle of the second season. Unbeknownst to Duncan, his previous girlfriend Meg Manning was pregnant before they broke up. Meg was on the bus that crashed at the beginning of the season and she died of her injuries shortly after coming out of a coma. Duncan's daughter was born just before she died. In order to prevent Meg's abusive parents from getting custody of his baby, Duncan decided to kidnap her and run away. Veronica helped him to do so, bidding him a tearful farewell before he left.

Troy Vandegraff

Troy Vandegraff was a childhood friend of Duncan Kane who attended Neptune High for a short period early in the first season. Despite the bad rumors about Veronica circulating around the school, Troy took a liking to her. Veronica was reluctant to date him at first, but warmed to him when she realized his good intentions toward her. In the fifth episode though, Troy deceives her into unwittingly helping him escape being sent to boarding school so he can run away with an old girlfriend. Veronica realizes his plan and double-crosses him.

Veronica does not meet Troy again until the second season episode "The Rapes of Graff" when they both go to visit Hearst College. Though she is at first cold toward him, Troy insists that he's changed. He also tells her that his feelings toward her were real when they dated and that he's sorry for how he treated her. When he is suspected of raping and shaving a girl's head after a party, Veronica helps to prove his innocence and they part amicably afterward.

Leo D'Amato

Leo D’Amato is a deputy at the Neptune Sheriff Department whom Veronica dated for a short time in the middle of the first season. At first, Veronica merely went to him for help in getting access to classified evidence or files in the police station, but Leo soon fell for her and asked her out. Veronica broke up with Leo after she and Logan Echolls kissed and she realized that she had stronger feelings for Logan than she did for Leo.

Logan Echolls

Veronica began to date Logan Echolls at the end of the first season. While she was going out with Leo D’Amato, she kissed Logan in thanks for saving her from a would-be kidnapper, who actually turned out to be an ATF agent. Their kiss turned into something more when Logan pulled her into a passionate embrace. Neither could ignore their undeniable chemistry and they began to secretly date under the noses of Logan's 09er friends.

Their relationship quickly ran into trouble when it was revealed Logan was the one who supplied the GHB that would end up leading to Veronica being drugged and raped at Shelly Pomroy's party. For a time, Veronica even suspected that Logan was her rapist. When she discovered that he wasn’t, she resolved everything with him. Their relationship was revealed to Logan's 09er friends at a party. At the same party, Veronica discovered cameras trained on the bed in Logan's pool house and stormed out. Soon after, Veronica found out that Logan had no alibi the day Lilly was murdered and feared that he had killed her.

Veronica found out that the cameras in the pool house had been set up by Logan's father Aaron Echolls and discovered that he was the one who killed Lilly after she stole the tapes he made of them having sex. The night Aaron was arrested for Lilly's murder, Logan turned up at Veronica's house having been severely beaten by the PCHers. Veronica stood by him when he was accused of murdering one of them, Felix Toombs. Though he was acquitted, Logan's behavior became erratic that summer, both because of his trial and because of the revelation that his father had been having an affair with Lilly and had killed her.

He and the 09ers began a vicious turf war with the PCHers, and Veronica feared for Logan's life. She broke up with him in an effort to bring him to his senses, but Logan merely became violent and had to be physically removed from her house by her father. Logan harbored animosity toward Veronica for much of the second season, especially when she got back together with Duncan. Late in the season though, he drunkenly revealed to Veronica that he still had deep feelings for her and thought that their love was ‘epic’. Veronica returned to him the next morning to tell him that she felt the same, only to find out that he had no memory of what he’d said and had in fact slept with old flame Kendall Casablancas the night before. During her stand-off with Cassidy Casablancas on the roof of the Neptune Grand, it is Logan that Veronica phones for help.

Afterwards, they resume their relationship and become closer over the summer. At the beginning of the third season, they begin attendending Hearst College together. Their relationship is as heated and loving as before, but Veronica has developed severe trust issues over the last few years and finds she can’t bring herself to trust Logan. Though she spurns him when he reveals that he and Mercer left a motel in Tijuana in flames without helping people to escape, she realizes her feelings for him when he comes to her aid after she is drugged by the Hearst rapist.

Logan, unable to deal with Veronica being in constant danger, tries to convince her to drop her investigation into the rapes on the Hearst campus and even has a bodyguard tail her without her knowledge. Though they fight out their problems and both admit that they love one another, Logan breaks up with Veronica in the ninth episode. He says that they can both see that they aren’t working out because they both can't change their ways (Veronica with her trust issues and Logan with his need to protect her despite her wishes) and that he would rather a little pain now than a lot later. He tells her he will always be there for her. Veronica is deeply upset afterwards and breaks down when she gets home. However, when Logan learned that Mercer was the one that attacked Veronica, he purposely got himself in jail so that he could be in the same cell as him — for revenge.

They spent the next six weeks apart. During the break-up, Dick tried to help Logan move on by bringing him to the beach, later meeting up with a group of girls. Later, Veronica showed up at Logan's place and they shared a passionate kiss, realizing that they had missed each other, and became a couple again. In the next episode, Logan told Veronica that he had hooked up with someone else who "meant less than nothing to him" over their 6 week break, but didn't elaborate on who it was. It turns out that Logan had slept with Madison Sinclair in Aspen, which infuriated Veronica. This time, sexual jealousy and an unwillingness to forgive and forget ended their relationship.

Logan moved on to Parker Lee, while Veronica did the same with Stosh "Piz" Piznarski. Veronica vows never to speak to Logan again after he beats Piz up because he believes Veronica had been wronged. However, the series ended with Logan and Veronica sharing one last ambiguous look, leaving their relationship unresolved.

Stosh "Piz" Piznarski

Veronica first met Piz on her first day of Hearst College when Wallace (Piz's roommate) requested her help to find Piz's missing things in 'Welcome Wagon." When they first meet Piz seems momentarily surprised of Veronica, and starts to like her which she doesn't return at the time because of her boyfriend Logan Echolls. Since then she has ignored his feelings but has made a steady friendship with him, sharing her thoughts with him during her problems with Logan, and has temporarily solved them after getting back together with Logan after Piz unknowingly gave her the advice she needed

After her breakup with Logan, she unwittingly toys with Piz's emotions at Parker's birthday party. Wallace tells Veronica he knows that she knows how Piz feels about her, although she tries to deny it. She later chats to Piz about their friendship, and he kisses her (on Wallace's advice). He walks away when Veronica's kisses him and the elevator doors open to find Logan staring momentarily surprised at them.

Piz and Veronica seem quite happy together, and stand by each other when a racy video of them is emailed around Hearst. Logan believes Piz made the video and beats him up; Veronica vows never to speak to him again and returns to Piz.

Veronica finds out who sent out the video, and whilst sitting at a lunch table Piz and Veronica see the guy. After Piz advising Veronica to drop it and walk away, Logan appears, and beats the culprit up with much passion. Veronica then glances at Piz, and at Logan with a look of desire. The outcome is never resolved.

Notable skills

As a junior detective Veronica possesses certain sleuth skills which include:
* Expert liar and lie detector
* Photography
* Computer savvy (mainly tracking through the Internet)
* Proficient Adobe Photoshop editor
* Tailing cars
* Operating bugging/surveillance equipment
* Creating false documents
* Imitating the voices of others
* Counterfeiting

Trivia

* According to series creator Rob Thomas, Veronica's birthday is in August.
* Amanda Seyfried (Lilly Kane) and Alona Tal (Meg Manning) auditioned for the role of Veronica.
* Veronica's favorite movies are "The Big Lebowski", "The Virgin Suicides", "The Outsiders", "Say Anything...", "", "Chinatown" and "Blazing Saddles". Her favorite TV shows are "The Office", "The Simpsons", "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" and "Scooby Doo".
* At College, Veronica takes criminology and sociology classes.
* Veronica got a 95 on her private investigator test.
* Veronica occasionally uses the word 'frak' (also spelled 'frack') taken from the show "Battlestar Galactica" from episode 1 of season 3 when she is talking to Moe Slater (Andrew McClain). He uses the word and then explains the meaning.
* It remains unknown if her father was aware of her rape, as they never discuss it, and she never mentions it in his presence.
* She is 5 feet 1 inches tall

References

* "Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season", Warner Home Video, 2005, UPC 01256972774.
* [http://www.myspace.com/veronicamarscw Official character MySpace]