‘Broken Fandom: Veronica Mars’ documentary premieres here
Kristen Bell will always be our Veronica Mars. When we heard the news that Kristen would return as the iconic Veronica Mars, we were more than ready for the revival. However, the joy was short-lived when Ms. Mars returned and we were left dumbfounded.
After Marshmallows everywhere fought for twelve years, they were left very much burnt. Seems the writers forgot exactly why Veronica Mars was so special during the intervening years. What fans watched on Hulu was a pale imitation of the glory days of S1/S2 Veronica Mars.
Marshmallows were outraged with what writers had done to their beloved show. Veronica Mars never shied away from divisive topics like class division, racial profiling, police brutality, and of course powerful men using their status to sexually abuse young women and men. Yet S4 left us with something else entirely.
In an era so defined by movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, during which many are louder than ever about perceived injustice, we needed Veronica’s relentless savvy on our TV boxes – or so we thought. Marshmallows have gone as far as creating a documentary titled Broken Fandom: Veronica Mars.
Watch it here:
What happened to Veronica Mars’s characters?
The characterization of Veronica Mars during S4 was a massive letdown. Fans flocked to Twitter to express their dismay at the appalling representation of their beloved favorites.
Burnt Marshmallow Laura captures exactly what went wrong with both Veronica and Logan during S4.
“What makes Veronica a “marshmallow” is her relationships with the other characters- the human connections and interactions that keep her grounded from the darkness. Taking away those characters, isolating Veronica from happiness, takes away what makes her character interesting.
“Logan is at the epicenter of that. Aside from the misguided notion that women can’t be interesting if they’re happy and in a committed relationship (which this ending promotes), the fact she and Logan have gone through the same suffering makes them two sides of the same coin.
“You take away Logan (arguably the most beloved character on the show), you take away Veronica’s main route for healing. For knowing her own flaws, for growth. You also take away the relationship that humanizes her to viewers. For what? More tragedy?
“Veronica’s story is compelling enough without another lazy tragedy lumped in. You’re minimalizing the trauma of her past by giving her ANOTHER tragedy now. It’s lazy writing- all because the showrunner doesn’t know how to write a badass woman in a committed relationship.”
What really went wrong?
Spoiler alert: Logan dies. If that isn’t bad enough, the whole mystery of S4 is so lackluster. Everything missed the mark, and Marshmallows were quick to point out the flaws. Hopes and dreams of Veronica Mars leading the way for younger generations were shattered. Cynthia Wilson describes perfectly what really went wrong with Veronica Mars S4.
“1. V was no longer a marshmallow. In the prior seasons and movies, she had this hard exterior but deep inside she was always moved by the people she loved and cared S4 should have been a progression and it was a regression to not showing much connection.
“2. Character development: you start to get to know the new characters but after only 8 seasons you don’t really care to watch any of them. The existing characters were barely in it. We’ve invested in these characters so it was hard to invest in the season
“3. Mystery: it wasn’t as complex and twisted and interesting as the ones in the past. You didn’t sit on the edge of your seat playing detective trying to figure it out before V does. it was obviously heading in a particular direction and pretty much figured out by ep 5. And all the reasoning behind it just felt not fully thought out and rushed.
“4. Clear holes: Logan, in AA drinking doing drugs. Mac missing, Weevil trying to save his family and losing it. The list goes on and on
“5. The pointlessness is the death. IF it HAD to be done…Maybe Logan dying ep1 and V solving it working through it or something. But after 15 years a mystery show that’s always tied personality to the crimes. Just oops death to the most loved character.”
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We find ourselves among the Burnt Marshmallows who feel we have lost an icon. With the strides being made on TV, we hope future show revivals won’t let us down as much as S4 of Veronica Mars did. Make sure to check out Broken Fandom: Veronica Mars!
