Did Meg's Parents Kill Her?

Sounds a little crazy, I know, but let's be honest: we were kicking this one around before we ever found out about the alternate ending for "My Mother the Fiend."

Meg's medical saga was a bit far-fetched from the beginning. First, she (and her unborn child) survived a bus explosion.  Then, she (and her unborn baby) survived the same bus plunging over a cliff and falling a very, very long way.

You may recall that everyone else on the bus died. But not Meg--she not only survived, but managed not to miscarry. Eventually, she even woke up from her coma.  And then...boom.  Dead.

Keith told Veronica that a blood clot broke loose.  But remember how just after she woke up, Meg pleaded with Veronica not to let her parents keep the baby if "anything happened" to her? And remember how Meg had survived the explosion, bus crash and months in a coma apparently without a hitch?

When Duncan and Veronica left the hospital room after talking briefly with Meg, I had what I can only describe as a Lemony Snicket moment.  You know, the reaction you have when someone says, "I'll tell you when I see you," and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the speaker isn't going to live to see that next meeting? And, just as I expected, we never saw Meg again.

(Plus, remember how they keep Meg's little sister in the closet?)

We were suspicious, but we figured a blood clot wouldn't be easy to fake. And then, long after we'd watched the series for the first third time, we ran across the alternate ending. Turns out we weren't alone.

Jake Kane?

Early in the series, we thought Jake Kane seemed like a pretty decent guy.  He was certainly nicer to his children and generally everyone around him than that heinous bitch of a wife he had, and even when he dabbled in crime or sent CW off to do some dirty work, it all seemed to be in the interest of protecting his family.

His physical appearance suited this persona. He was a clean-cut, reasonably attractive guy of the variety that you might find in any suburban country club.

Now, we understand that his daughter was murdered and his epileptic son kidnapped his own child and disappeared. And we mentioned the heinous bitch of a wife, right? Still, Jake Kane's transformation was so dramatic that we don't know what to make of it: by the end of the third season his look was more "serial killer during the disintegration phase" than suburban country club.

Was a previously stable family man breaking down before our eyes, or was his mask slipping?

Enter the Castle, and we begin to wonder whether just maybe he's a serial killer in the disintegration phase.

After all, his involvement with the secret society clearly long pre-dates the death of his daughter, his son's disappearance and those creepy portraits of his lost children on the walls. These new revelations, not to mention Kane's new look, cast a new light on his previous demeanor and the motivations behind the power plays and secrecy.

Did Kane have us fooled in the early days, is he breaking down after the tragic destruction of his family, or has he reverted to his wild hacker days now that the tragedies that befell his family have freed him from the responsibilities of a middle-class father?

Did Veronica Out the Castle?

The Castle, described as Hearst's version of the infamous Skull & Bones, had apparently been operating in secret for decades: a network of powerful men (and men only), made more powerful by their alliances and held captive by their secrets.

Enter Veronica.

After a little undercover work by the long-suffering Wallace, a little theft, a little impossible hacking by the ever-impressive Mac and a side dish of destruction of evidence from dear old dad, Veronica unearthed those secrets and a comprehensive list of the Castle's membership.

But then what?

We know that Veronica gave the membership list to Nish, and that Nish warned that she was going to make some very powerful men very unhappy...but unhappy how? Was she going to pursue the sex discrimination lawsuit she'd mentioned earlier, or blackmail members to get what she wanted? Would the lawsuit have brought the Castle into the public eye and started others peeling away the layers of secrecy?

The information in Veronica's hands could have destroyed the organization; it could also have ended in criminal charges for more than one member we know about (and presumably many others we don't). So, what happened? Did Nish sue? Did Veronica share the information with authorities? Or did the whole secret society get swept back under the rug as the Mars family attempted to recover from the fallout of Keith's cover-up of Veronica's B & E?

What Happened to Meg's Sister?

While most of the questions we ask here are a bit tongue-in-cheek or involve events that would have taken place after the series ended, this one was a real hole in the story line that bothered us from the beginning. Perhaps the whole story of the way Meg's parents treated Grace was simply foundation to ensure that we were 100% on Duncan's side when he "kidnapped" his child and left the country...but what about the victim?

For a moment, Sheriff Lam gave us the impression that he was going to do something to help Grace. We learned that he'd been an abused child himself, he discovered the secret closet in which Grace had been kept and he had his eye on the house.  But then...nothing. By the time Duncan disappeared with Faith/Lily, Lam appeared to be back in the Mannings' pocket and to have forgotten all about the haunted child they kept locked up in the dark.

So Duncan rescued his child and ran away to Australia, and that was great.  But so far as we know, Grace is still locked in the closet.  Lam knew about it. Duncan knew about it. Veronica knew about it. Veronica belatedly told her father about it. And, it appears, they all left her there and went on with their lives.

Maybe the title of this post should have been "What the hell is wrong with the people of Neptune?"

I kind of hope Grace comes back and kills everyone at the reunion or something.

Did Keith Go to Jail?

When we left the Mars family, they'd been through a rough few days. During those few days, while Veronica was trying to take on the Russian mafia and a secret society led by Jake Kane alone so that her father wouldn't find out she'd made out with (but not had sex with) Piz, Keith popped into the evidence room and saved Veronica by destroying the only evidence that she'd broken into Kane's house.

The only problem was that he wasn't exactly the only person who knew about the evidence.  For example, Jake Kane knew. And the prosecuting attorney who'd come to Keith's office looking for that very evidence earlier the same day knew. And the local reporter who just happened to have been in Keith's office when he refused to turn the evidence over to the prosecutor knew.

In short, Veronica's dad appeared to have committed a felony in full view of pretty much everyone in town, in hopes of getting his little girl off the hook for burglary. Presumably, it worked, since he erased the only hard evidence.  However, he didn't exactly do it surreptitiously.  So, what came next? In the real world, it would undoubtedly have been an indictment--particularly in view of the fact that he was going toe to toe with some very powerful men.

The information that's been released about the movie suggests that Veronica hasn't played detective since the case that created all this trouble, and having caused life-altering trouble for her father would certainly explain that change.

What Ever Happened to Steve Batando?

No, I'm just kidding.

I know that Mindy O'Dell's possibly crazy ex-husband (but hey, wouldn't you be a little crazy if someone kidnapped you and stole your bone marrow?) got shot after attacking Don Lam with a baseball bat.  I just wanted an excuse to link to my Richard Grieco blog, since he did make a brief appearance on the show.

Why Do We Like Dick?

Dick Casablancas is rich, spoiled, stupid, sexist, racist, annoying, self-centered, rude, abusive and frequently nonsensical--not a redeeming characteristic in sight.  When he got a video of Veronica getting naked with Piz via email, he forwarded it to everyone in his address book. Oh, and the way he treated his younger brother almost certainly helped turn the boy into a serial killer.

And we kind of love the guy.

So, what's up with that?  Why is that?  We just don't understand!

We kind of doubt, though, that Rob Thomas can help us with this one.

Is Lilly Kane Secretly Alive?

No.

Was Logan Killed by the Russian Mafia?

Apparently not, since he's in the movie.  But why?  Even Logan Echolls can't survive a hit from the Russian mob. Except apparently he did.  'Cause he's in the movie.

At the end of Season 3, Logan learns that it was Gorya Sorokin who videotaped Veronica and Piz together and then circulated that tape.  Even the usually-fearless Veronica has sense enough to keep her mouth shut when Sorokin taunts her in the food court, but not Logan. He defended Veronica's honor with no regard for his personal safety, and we loved him for it.  But also, we were pretty sure he was going to die.

The Russian guy even said so, from the ground, under the food Logan had dumped on him.  "Whoever you are, you're going to die."

When Logan responded, "Someday," we of course admired his ability to remain flip in the face of death.  But also, we were pretty sure he was going to die.  Probably the following Tuesday.

We were unhappy for many reasons when the show was canceled, but this was the worst.  They had, it seemed, doomed us NEVER TO KNOW whether Logan had been killed by the Russian mob.  Then, after the cancelation, Rob Thomas pitched a new show set a little further in the future and entirely glossed over Logan's life and possible death.

Five year passed.  During those years, someone in my house may have periodically snapped in annoyance, "So...is Logan dead or not?"

I'm not naming names.

Enter Kickstarter and fan outcry, and we may never know whether Logan Echolls was dead.  Rob Thomas is starting over...and Logan is in the movie.  I'm glad he's back, to be honest--but I really hope someone explains how he survived.

Since it became clear that Logan is, in fact, alive, we've brainstormed a bit and come up with a few possible reasons he might not have been killed, but frankly none of them seems especially strong:

• Gorya's behavior was pretty bad and unprofessional--it's possible that his murderous family decided not to back him up.
• Gorya told The Castle about his family's business--it's possible that his murderous family killed him off.
• Logan may be a super hero.