FAQ: Season 1
If you are a new viewer and have a question about Season One of the show that has been driving you nuts, feel free to email us. But then again, we can't imagine why anyone would have a question about the show, since we did such a fabulous job on this site.
The Part Where We Actually Answer Questions About the Show
Q: Who killed Lilly Kane?
A: Until the end of the season, only Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars) knew. Well, Rob and his writers. Okay, maybe Rob and his writers and his crew. And his cast. And his wife. And his therapist.
[End of season update: OMG, we know, we know, we know! But if you're still asking that question, that means you don't know. Why don't you know? Didn't see our totally awesome mysteries section that gives an episode-by-episode breakdown of all the clues? Didn't you watch all 22 episodes of one of the finest seasons of television ever produced? If not, why not? You know this is the best show on TV, right? If you did watch all the episodes, then why in the world are you still asking us? We know sometimes Rob is so subtle with the clues that you either want to smack him upside his head, give him an Emmy, or better yet smack him upside his head with his well-deserved Emmy, but come on now...are you seriously saying you still don't know. Damn! We repeat, Damn! You're a little slow on the uptake, ain't you? If you really want to know, click on the question or else peruse the summary for the last episode of the season.]
Q: Who raped Veronica?
A: See the previous answer, or click on the question, or see the episode summary for the penultimate episode.
Q: Who is Veronica's father?
A: You should be getting the hang of this by now. The answer is revealed in the link and in the summary of the last episode of the season.
Q: Why did Duncan dump Veronica?
A: Because he's an idiot. How else can you explain the fact that anyone would dump someone as hot as Veronica Mars? Or...you know the drill for finding the answer, which is revealed in the penultimate episode.
Q: I'm confused. Are Duncan and Lilly supposed to be fraternal twins or just siblings who were born close together?
A: That question drove us nuts all season! Fortunately, Rob explained in one of his mass emails between Seasons One and Two that Duncan and Lilly were siblings born close together, not twins. We're certainly sleeping better at nights having that resolved.
Q: Why did Lianne leave?
A: Apparently you haven't gotten the gist of this FAQ. Anyway, why are you asking us this question here? Didn't you see our fabulous mystery page? We know Veronica had her own theories, but wyk personally thinks Lianne left town because she couldn't stand the fact that Rebecca James, Veronica's guidance counselor, is so much hotter than she is. But hey, that's just wyk.
Q: What's an 09er?
A: Finally, a question we can actually answer. The wealthy residents of Neptune all live in the prestigious 90909 zip code; the non-rich peons do not. Hence, all the rich kids at Neptune High are nicknamed 09ers. And 90909 is a fake zip code, so don't even bother trying to find it on a map. Well, actually we have no control over what you can and cannot do, so you can go and try to find it if you want, but don't come crying to us when you can't find it.
Q: How old is Veronica?
A: In Season One, taking place over the 2004/2005 school year, Veronica is 17. You didn't ask about anybody else, but we'll tell you anyway because we're really nice like that: Weevil, Mac, and Madison are also 17. Duncan is 17 or 18. Lilly was 16 when she died in October 2003. (The Kane family defy the laws of time.) The ages of the other teens have not yet been given.
Q: Veronica is only 17?!? I feel so...tawdry.
A: Fear not, you dirty old man: while Veronica is 17, Kristen Bell was actually 24 at the time. So you can lust for her all you want without fear of ending up in a jail cell between Michael Jackson and R. Kelly.
Q: Why does Veronica have long hair sometimes and short hair other times?
A: To speed up the filming process, the role of Veronica Mars is actually played by identical twins, one who has short hair and one who has long hair. While the writing on this show is fantastic, the continuity editors are unfortunately as blind as bats and they often forget to tell the long hair twin to put on the short hair wig. What, you don't believe me? Fine, then.
For those of you who are obsessed with little things like truth and honesty, the two different hairstyles are a result of Veronica's hellish sophomore year. After Duncan's mysterious breakup, Lilly's murder, Lianne's disappearance, and her rape, the formerly shy goody-two-shoes Veronica became bitter and jaded. Cutting off her hair was a sign to show the she was "no longer that girl."
Q: What's PCH?
A: It's this totally wicked drug that causes some really awesome hallucinations. Yeah, baby! Wait, that's PCP, never mind. PCH is the Pacific Coast Highway, a combination of US1 and US101, that runs all along the West Coast from the San Diego area to Washington State. Weevil's gang rides that mean road, hence the bikers being called PCHers.
Q: What are Pirate Points?
A: A long time ago, in a land far, far away, there was a high school ruled by the wealthy kids from the prestigious 90909 zip code. In this magical land, the 09er minority ruled over all the important school activities, such as student council, sports, and cheerleading (which is, apparently, a sport). The 09er-controlled student council instituted a system that gave points to students who participated in certain activities. If students collected enough Pirate Points, they would get special privileges such as having their lunches delivered. The powerless peon majority often bitterly complained that the Pirate Points were unfair and elitist because the points were only given for certain 09er-controlled activities. Luckily, these insurgents had no voice in the student government, so peace and order was maintained.
But then one day, a dark prince took over and turned this utopian world upside down. During the reign of Kane, the treacherous Duncan Kane extended the Pirate Points system to include students who participated in band, school plays, the newspaper, and even vocational trade. The aftershocks from this insane proclamation were felt throughout the entire 09erdom. The question remains: what other crazy, harebrained, "everyone is created equal" schemes does Duncan have in store?
Q: Why are all the 09ers at Neptune High spreading such mean lies about Veronica's supposed sluttiness? She seems like such a cool person.
A: Tell us about it. Veronica is cute, smart, funny, and a pretty good singer. Any of us would totally want her as our BFF if it weren't for the fact that she's only a fictional TV character and that Kristen Bell has restraining orders against us.
If you want a real answer, see answers 1 to 4. During most of the first season, we didn't know if Veronica's coronation as Trampy McBitch occurred before or after Shelly Pomroy's party. Mr. Rob "I'll give you enough hints so you become VM addicts, but I won't give any answers until the end of the season because I'm evil like that" Thomas didn't say a freaking word about the rape for nineteen episodes after the pilot. But when he finally revealed what happened that night...[sniffle].
Q: What does BFF mean?
A: OMG U don't know what BFF means? U R so not KEWL.
For those of you who insist on using petty things like vowels and consonants, BFF is slang for Best Friends Forever.
Q: If Logan's rich, why is he always wearing the same T-shirts/wearing that puka shell necklace?
A: We can only speculate that the ultra-rich Logan wants to fit in with his peers, so he doesn't dress in Armani suits all the time. Or, possibly, this isn't an incredibly high-budget show, so the costume designers have to reuse outfits. Plus there was a theory that less than observant viewers needed clues to tell Duncan and Logan apart. Choose whichever answer you'd prefer to believe.
Q: What do Veronica's necklaces mean?
A: They are a symbol of her continued struggle against the oppressive 09ers. Or maybe we don't know.
Q: So you don't know what the choker and star pendant necklaces mean?
A: Kristen Bell revealed she got the idea for the necklaces from a friend. Kristen liked the contrast between the toughness of the choker and the girly, unicorn-loving nature of the star pendant.
Q: If Logan's a surfer, how come we never see him on a surf board?
A: Ummmmmm....You got us on that one.
Q: Who's at the door?
A: No. You don't get that for free. We had a whole summer of agonizing over that one. You'll have to explore the FAQ for Season Two for that. You can, however, check out our inspired guesswork.
Q: You guys seem to talk about Rob Thomas a lot. Who is he?
A: He's that singer who was in Matchbox 20... oops, wrong Rob Thomas. Rob Thomas is the creator and executive producer of Veronica Mars. He previously created/executive produced Cupid, which webmistress wyk loved, and wrote a bunch of young adult novels. His production company is called Slaverats.
Now that we're done answering your questions, we have a question for all you readers. WHY DIDN'T MORE PEOPLE WATCH THIS SHOW? Seriously dude, we know it was on UPN, and during its first season it was in the same timeslot as the Amazing Race, Scrubs, and House, but come on now. Even One Tree Hill had better ratings than this show. This was one of the best shows this season, yet the ratings are terrible.
Q: So what do you expect me to do about it?
A: We expect you to buy the Season One DVDs. And the Season Two DVDs. And to find a way to hack into the Nielsen ratings databases and make Veronica Mars the number one show. But if that's too "criminal" and "unethical" for you, we guess you can remind your friends and family members on a regular monthly weekly daily hourly basis to watch this show.