Veronica Mars: Only the Good Shows Die Young

It's over. The sassy show about a tiny blonde junior detective armed with a sharp wit and a taser has reached the end of the line, entirely too soon. Even its worst episodes had better writing and acting than some shows that have run twice as long. The TV landscape will be a lot duller without my favorite female superhero. (Sorry, Claire.)

So, okay, let's just forget about the first hour of the finale. Except for Veronica's obvious glee in whipping out her PI shield, the most screen time Weevil has gotten since maybe season one, and the line "Rob Thomas is a whore" (no, the other one), there's nothing to report. Just a case about ID fraud, nothing that you really want to remember this show for. The fireworks start in the second hour, when a tape of Veronica and Piz fooling around goes public, and Veronica gets her vengeance on to track down the guys who made it. Said vengeance is truly a wonder to behold, and something I will miss very, very much. The video is traced to a secret society, interested in Wallace, called The Castle. Think Skull & Bones at Yale, or The Tritons at Neptune High. I could complain about recycling plots, but I'll give them a pass because a) it's the last episode, and b) it's just a backdrop for much bigger things. To wit: Veronica tracks The Castle to the Kane house where, to get a list of Castle members, she steals Jake Kane's hard drive, but leaves behind fiber and video evidence. And Keith – aw, Keith – tampers with the evidence for her. He ends up with charges filed against him, so in the fictional town of Neptune that will live on in my imagination even if it won't on the CW, he's probably not going to be sheriff anymore. On the plus side, he's just cemented his status as the best protect-his-daughter-at-all-costs dad on TV since Jack Bristow. And that is an exclusive, and awesome, club.

But it's not only Keith and Weevil who get appropriate send-offs. Veronica Mars has a talented ensemble cast, and almost all of them get their due. Yes, there could have been more Mac, but Wallace, who has seriously dropped off the best-friend radar recently, resurfaces and acquits himself well, spying on The Castle for Veronica and offering to throw down with Logan. And why would he make such an offer? Because Logan is not only the world's worst boyfriend, but the world's worst ex-boyfriend. He acts like a dink to Veronica's current boyfriend for no reason, and then beats the hell out of Piz for the tape he thinks Piz made. Oh, Logan, I think I'll miss you least of all! Thank the good Rob Thomas that Parker finally sees the light and dumps his worthless ass.

So that's it. The talented cast and crew they've assembled here will go on to other things, and the sooner, the better. Of course we'll get to see Chris Lowell in Private Practice, and Kristen Bell is using her mad voiceover skillz on Gossip Girl, and Tina Majorino's got Big Love, but it's not enough. Please, please, please, showrunners, one of you has to snap up Enrico Colantoni. There is nothing not to love in his performance as Keith Mars, and I will miss him terribly. Put him back on my TV as soon as you can. (NOT in a Celine Dion biopic. That is NOT what I meant!)

And to the non-whore Rob Thomas: Thank you for three good seasons. Whatever you're doing next, I want to know about it.