Veronica Mars/Characters
Veronica Mars
"You know what they say. 'Veronica Mars: she's a marshmallow.'"—1x01 Pilot
Veronica Mars had it all - her dad was sheriff, her parents were in love, she had a loving boyfriend, fabulous best friend, and lived the fairytale life. Then it all fell apart with her boyfriend dumping her, best friend's murder, her father accusing a town hero of the crime and losing his job, Veronica being ostracized, her mother leaving, and Veronica being drugged and raped at an 09er party. Who knows what really happened? Well, she will. Soon.
- Action Girl: While she's not as handy in a fight as most of the other characters, she can definitely hold her own. Helps that she has a taser.
- All of the Other Reindeer
- Anti-Hero: Type IV
- Born Detective
- Broken Bird
- The Cassandra
- The Chessmaster
- Consummate Liar
- Daddy's Girl
- Deadpan Snarker
- Determinator
- Expository Hairstyle Change (flashbacks)
- Fallen Princess
- First-Person Smartass
- Guile Hero
- Hero with Bad Publicity
- High School Hustler
- Iron Woobie
- Lovable Rogue
- Meaningful Name (means "true image." Ties into her seeking the full picture.)
- Missing Mom
- Narrator
- Plucky Girl
- Rape as Backstory
- Sesquipedalian Smith
- The Snark Knight
- Stepford Snarker (Veronica much prefers to snark than show her feelings, though it isn't the only reason she snarks).
- Took a Level in Jerkass (arguably in season 3)
Keith Mars
"Who's your daddy?"—1x01 Pilot/1x22 Leave It To Beaver
The former sheriff and Veronica's father, who lost his job and the town's respect after accusing Jake Kane, the most loved man in Neptune, of murdering his daughter Lilly. While the Lilly Kane murder case is officially closed, Keith, like Veronica, is dedicated to finding out the truth... and protecting his own daughter.
- Bald of Awesome
- Cassandra Truth (No-one will believe Abel Koontz didn't kill Lily)
- Disney Death
- Papa Wolf
- Perpetual Poverty (for a while, at least)
- Private Detective
Wallace Fennel
Veronica: Can you do me a weird favor without asking any questions?
Wallace: Is that not the bedrock upon which our friendship was founded?—1x16 Betty and Veronica
Veronica's living best friend, the new kid who she cut down from the flagpole after he was duct taped there by the PCHers. Steadfastly loyal, and always doing Veronica favours.
Duncan Kane
Veronica: One day, he just dumped me, with no warning...—1x01 Pilot
Veronica's aloof ex-boyfriend, Logan's best friend, and Lilly's brother. Stays distant from Veronica, yet is more civil to her than most 09ers. It is clearly shown he's hiding things from everyone... but what?
- Beardness Protection Program: Near the end of the season 1.
- Dead Little Sister - Big sister, actually.
- Die for Our Ship
- Love Interest
- My God, What Have I Done? (subverted - he didn't do it. Twice.)
- Parental Favoritism (they preferred him over Lily)
- Put on a Bus
- Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?
Logan Echolls
Veronica: Every school has an obligatory psychotic jackass. He's ours.—'1x01 Pilot
Lilly's boyfriend when she died, Duncan's best friend, and ringleader of the "Treat Veronica Like Crap" brigade, whom he blames for Lilly's death. Suffers under the thumb of his famous, abusive father, gains respect and love for Veronica over the course of the series.
- Abusive Parents
- All Girls Want Bad Boys
- Badass Decay
- Break the Haughty
- Clear My Name
- Deadpan Snarker
- Femme Fatale: Gender Flipped, most Egregious with Hannah.
- Freudian Excuse (he's not exactly a villain, but the trope fits)
- Heel Face Turn (over the course of season 1)
- Jerk Jock: He isn't actually dumb, which season 3 attests to, but otherwise fits pretty well.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Jerkass Woobie
- Lovable Rogue
- Love Interest
- Parental Abandonment
- Really Gets Around
- Troubled but Cute
- The Woobie
Eli "Weevil" Navarro
Weevil: So, who owes who now?
Veronica: I'm not quite sure.—3x19 Weevils Wobble But They Don't Fall Down
The leader of the PCH bike club, starts off as an antagonist (duct-taping Wallace to a flagpole), but quickly becomes close with Veronica. More affected by the Lilly Kane murder case than he lets on.
Sheriff Don Lamb
"Why don't you go see the Wizard? Ask him for a little backbone."—1x01 Pilot
Keith Mars' incompetent, cruel successor, famous for "catching" Lilly Kane's murderer. Quickly won Veronica's anger and distrust, given how he laughed her off when she tried to report her rape. He spends most of the series acting like a slimy bastard, and getting in the way of Keith and Veronica's investigations.
- Abusive Parents
- Draco in Leather Pants
- Faux Affably Evil
- Freudian Excuse
- Ignored Epiphany
- Jerkass | Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be a real dick. But at his core, he really does try to be a good cop.
- Killed Off for Real
- Promotion to Opening Titles
Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie
"Crime pays. Technologically assisted mystery-solving? Costs."—2x08 Ahoy, Mateys!
Veronica's quirky, highly-skilled hacker friend, who she met trying to find out who posted false results on an internet "Purity Test" - a test Mac herself had designed. She has tendencies toward being slightly amoral, but cutely so.
Dick Casablancas
Logan: You're not real complicated, are you Dick?
Dick: Try not to be.—2x11 Donut Run
One of Logan's rich "friends", Dick's life revolves around sex, alcohol, food and surfing, likely in that order. And he is stupid. Very. Stupid.
- Ascended Extra
- Break the Cutie - somewhere between this and...
- Break the Haughty
- Calling the Old Man Out
- Dumb Blonde
- Faux Affably Evil
- Dead Little Brother
- The Ditz
- Draco in Leather Pants
- It's All My Fault
- Jerkass -> Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Character Development makes him a better person.
- Jerkass Woobie (in parts of season 3)
- Kavorka Man
- Surfer Dude
- Upper Class Twit
Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas
"My name is Cassidy!"—2x22 Not Pictured
Dick's quiet, nervous, secretive younger brother, domineered by his brother and neglected by his father - but what else is he hiding?
- Abusive Parents
- Alas, Poor Villain
- Alliterative Name
- All of the Other Reindeer
- Ambiguously Gay
- Ax Crazy: (somewhat)
- Badass Bookworm
- Big Bad: In Season 2
- The Chessmaster
- Cute and Psycho
- Driven to Suicide
- Embarrassing Nickname
- Evil All Along
- Evil Counterpart (arguably)
- Freudian Excuse
- Insistent Terminology (he hates being called "Beaver.")
- Killed Off for Real
- Lone Dalek
- Magnificent Bastard
- Puppy Dog Eyes
- Rape as Backstory
- The Unfavorite
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
Stosh "Piz" Piznarski
"I think that's half of life, just knowing the difference."—3x10 Show Me The Monkey
Wallace's new roommate at Hearst, deeply into music, and has a blant crush on Veronica - which she takes forever to notice.
- Adorkable
- Die for Our Ship
- Hollywood Nerd
- Informed Ability: In the first episode of season 3, he walks into his dorm with a lacrosse stick, gloves, and helmet. This is never mentioned again.
- Only Known by Their Nickname
- Pitbull Dates Puppy
- Shallow Love Interest
Parker Lee
"Oh my god! Are you one of Mac's friends? Well come on in, sister! Mac's friends are my friends!"—3x01 Welcome Wagon
Mac's beaming bubbly blonde roommate, who's perk quickly turns to fury after being drugged and raped in the season premiere.
- Break the Cutie (she gets better, however)
- Die for Our Ship
- Genki Girl
- Really Gets Around (or, as Mac put it, "One Woman Red Light District")
Jackie Cook
"That was pretty fatherly. Almost like you've been saying my name in exasperation for years."—2x02 Driver Ed
Wallace's Rich Bitch love interest, daughter of famous baseball star Terrence Cook. When her father is accused of the bus crash, she grows ostracized, yet she and her father grow closer... for a time.
Meg Manning
"You have friends, Veronica."—1x08 Like A Virgin
An 09er girl who actually remained friendly to her after the Lilly Kane case, and needs her help occasionally. Meg's kindness earns Veronica's hard-to-win trust, to the extent Veronica would believe cartoon birds braided Meg's hair.
- Abusive Parents
- Alliterative Name
- Angst? What Angst? - about her parents. How is she not a mess?
- Clear My Name (in a mild example, she has to clear a reputation of "The School Slut" in her first episode)
- Convenient Coma
- The Gwen Stacy
- Killed Off for Real
Kendall Casablancas
Logan: You ever think about just getting a job?
Kendall: This is my job.—2x07 Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner
Dick and Beaver's gold-digging stepmother, who spends time by seducing teenage boys such as Logan. She's smarter than she lets on though, and has mysterious ties to the "Fighting Fitzpatricks" - this girl's got a massive secret identity.
- Dead Person Impersonation
- The Gwen Stacy - To Keith.
- Gold Digger
- Hey, It's That Guy! (Hi Cordelia!)
- Never Found the Body
- Really Gets Around
- Rich Bitch
- The Vamp
- Wicked Stepmother (subverted. This was theorized as a motive for the bus crash, but it was disproven)
Aaron Echolls
Aaron: We told your mom that we were all gonna get dressed up in costume as our favourite animal. You remember her animal?
Logan: Yeah, I remember that day. On the way home I spilled a milkshake in the Beamer and you gave me a nosebleed.
Logan: Yeah, it was a mermaid.
Aaron: When she realized we played a trick on her, no one else had gotten dressed up… [fondly] she wore that costume around for the rest of the day anyway.—1x13 Lord of The Bling
Logan's father, a famous actor, with an image as a wonderful family man - hiding the man who beats his son and cheats on his wife. Shows love for his family, but his extreme violence and cruelty overpowers it.
Trina Echolls
"The play is my master and I am its whore!"—2x09 My Mother The Fiend
Aaron's adopted daughter, an emotionally void aspiring actress with a serious case of Daddy-worship, who's main goal is to further her career without actually working.
- Bitch With A Heart Of Gold - evidenced in "My Mother The Fiend."
- Daddy's Girl
- Hey, It's That Guy!: (Hi Willow!)
- Parental Favoritism: (Her father prefers her to her brother)
- Prom Baby
- Stepford Smiler: ("empty inside" version)
Vinnie Van Lowe
Veronica: Know what's most disturbing about you? Apart from... everything? You're actually a half-decent Private Investigator.—2x15 The Quick and the Wed
Keith's rival PI, rather corrupt and incompetent, yet can be crafty and dangerous when needed.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
- Friendly Enemy (to Keith)
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold (buried deep, but it's there)
- Let's Get Dangerous
- Private Detective
Lilly Kane
"My soul is doomed to walk the Earth until justice has been served... and as kind of a side project, I dispense fashion advice."—1x06 Return Of The Kane
Veronica's dead best friend, who's murder starts the circumstances that start the show. Despite being dead, she often appears from Veronica's subconscious to offer advice on her murder.
- Bi the Way: Or would have been in Vassar with her boyfriend's ex if she weren't murdered.
- Captain Ersatz: (Laura Palmer)
- Fille Fatale
- Posthumous Character
- Really Got Around
- Spirit Advisor
- The Unfavorite
- Back to Veronica Mars