Why I Don’t Think [SPOILER] Died In Veronica Mars Season 4

Veronica Mars season 4 contains a lot for us to discuss. From unraveling all the clues in the whodunnit to exploring different characters to identifying all the Easter eggs and callbacks, the revival season has a wealth of material for us to dissect for a long time to come.

But as an OG fan of Veronica Mars, I know that the immediate and most urgent topic of discussion is what happens during the final 15 minutes of the season. And now that Hulu has released the season a week in advance in honor of Kristen Bell’s birthday, that discussion is about to explode. (Sorry.) Let’s do this.

WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD 

SERIOUSLY, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE END OF SEASON 4

THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING

The final minutes of Veronica Mars season 4 are a rollercoaster of emotions. First comes dismay that Logan ditched Veronica at the metaphorical altar. Then the giddiness that it was just a technical glitch resulting in a misunderstanding. Then the sweetness of LoVe’s simple but heartfelt wedding. The joy that these two are fully committed at last.

Then the mounting dread as Veronica begins to realize her error in judgment brought on by her narrow focus and pride. Then tension is almost unbearable as she quickly follows the mental breadcrumbs to the consequences of underestimating Penn. 

But not quickly enough.

When the bomb inside the backpack Penn left in Veronica’s car explodes, her world comes crashing down around her. Again. This time the collateral damage is too extensive. The price she pays in the pursuit of justice is too high. She’s lost one of the two people she loves most in the world. A widow mere hours after the wedding.

What follows is a sober summation of life after the explosion. Of how Neptune’s beachfront is being reimagined and reborn as an exclusive utopia out of reach of the average Joe – save for the Sea Sprite. About how various residents are moving on with their lives a year after Big Dick orchestrated the original Spring Break bombing. 

About how Veronica herself is trying to turn tragedy into a path out of her trauma, finally getting the professional help Logan hoped she would get, albeit without him. 

It’s all very moving and I absolutely got teary and angry.

But then I started thinking about what I’d seen. And what I hadn’t seen. 

Namely, I never saw the bomb explode from Logan’s perspective. Our view of the explosion is Veronica’s view, inside the apartment, the window shattering a moment after she deduces Penn’s ultimate revenge strategy. He’s a Naval Intelligence Officer; surely those skills and instincts kicked in when he picked up the backpack.

We also never hear Veronica say Logan is dead. Neither does Jane, the therapist (hello, Mary McDonell and your beautiful voice!). There’s no mention of a funeral. They refer to him as someone who is gone, absent, perhaps in a long-term recovery facility? Maybe the explosion put him in a coma or he’s suffering from amnesia and is, therefore, “lost” to Veronica?

Would Rob Thomas and Co. do this to Veronica? Get her to the point where she could and would get married, only to rip Logan away from her with such finality? 

Would Rob Thomas and Co. do this to the fans? We’ve been invested in LoVe for 15 years, give or take a few weeks when one or both of them were being idiots. Does it end like this?

Sure, it can be argued that Logan’s character arc had nowhere else to go. He reformed. He found peace. But is a wedding his only reward? A few short hours of being Mr. and Mrs. Mars-Echolls? It’s awfully antiquated, fairytale-ish storytelling if so. Would Rob Thomas and Co. do him dirty like that?

Is this all a set up for season 5? 

This is Veronica Mars: no body, no death. (The most recent instance of this sleight of hand occurs earlier in the season when Tawny’s awful older brother returns after being shot and presumed dead. Foreshadowing?)

Marshmallows, I ask you, given the evidence, do you really think Logan is dead?

Because I do not.