Entertainment

What If Logan & Lilly Had Stayed Together?

by Kadeen Griffiths

When Veronica Mars aired its first episode, there was one driving event, one driving mystery, that defined both Veronica and the show itself: who killed Lilly Kane? Lilly had been Veronica's best friend, back when she was popular and still dating Duncan, and her murder was a turning point for the budding teen detective that turned her into the opportunistic, sarcastic loner we all know and love. In an ironic twist, Lilly was also the girlfriend of Veronica's eventual love interest, Logan Echolls, and her memory was one of the first things that Logan and Veronica bonded over after their friendship went sour. Thus, it can be a little hard to imagine a world in which Logan Echolls and Lilly Kane had stayed together. A world in which Lilly Kane never died? Would we even be watching the same show?

The answer to that is a pretty obvious no. The Veronica that existed with Lilly as her best friend, and the Veronica that headlined the show, were practically two completely different people. In fact, I don't think our Veronica even knew how to be that person. And, as cute as Lilly and Logan were in flashbacks, they had absolutely nothing on the passionate intensity that was Logan and Veronica's relationship. But, for just a moment, let's try and imagine it. What things would change in a world where Lilly Kane lived?

1. Veronica And Wallace Wouldn't Be Friends

In the pilot episode, poor Wallace moves to Neptune and is promptly strapped to the flagpole by Weevil and his buddies. Veronica, who has no friends but a strong sense of justice not present in her classmates, promptly cuts him down with a switchblade. If Logan and Lilly were still together, they would have been Veronica's ride to school, and she might have thus missed the whole Wallace thing entirely. Even worse, the Veronica that was friends with Lilly might have been a bit too timid to cut him down in front of all those people — let alone carry a switchblade — and thus Lilly would have been the one to cut the new kid down and then flounce off.

2. Veronica Would Still Have Her Mother

One of the unforeseen consequences of Lilly's murder was that Veronica's mother took off after one too many fights with Veronica's father. If Lilly were still alive for her and Logan to still be dating, Veronica would still have her mom. And I'm willing to bet that Veronica's mom loves Lilly. Especially considering she was almost Lilly's mom.

3. Logan's Mom Would Still Disappear

Aaron Echolls was hardly a nice guy, so Logan's mother would probably still disappear halfway through the season. Instead of Logan going to Veronica, he would have confided his feels in Lilly, who would then go to Veronica and her father for help. Lilly and Veronica would look into Logan's mother's disappearance, do the stake outs, and give people the runaround in their investigation... and, when they discovered the bad news, Lilly would break it to Logan and then comfort him.

4. Say Goodbye To That Bathroom Office

With all of the social events that Lilly would drag Veronica to, I doubt she'd have the time to run a private investigation business from the girls' bathroom. Instead, she and Lilly would probably spend their time in the bathroom talking about boys, and working through all the horrible tribulations that come along with dating two knuckleheads like Logan and Duncan.

5. Veronica And Weevil Would Still Be Friends

Eli "Weevil" Navarro was, after all, one of Lilly's secret boyfriends. (See below.) Eventually, Lilly would confide in Veronica about that and, though Weevil would put her off at first, eventually they would become weird friends. And Veronica would feel super guilty about that because she likes Logan. But, at the same time, it's nice to see Lilly happy. Or something.

6. Veronica Would Be Popular

The biggest change of all would be the fact that Veronica's name wouldn't be mud among the Neptune populace. When Lilly and Logan were together, Veronica was a member of the Neptune High royalty by association. With or without Duncan in her life, as long as she was best friends with Lilly, Veronica Mars was beloved. Which would totally kill her loner edge, but, hey, at least she'd be able to third wheel on Lilly and Logan's dates.

7. Logan And Veronica Would Probably Still Get Together

I'm sorry, but you just can't deny the LoVe. To be fair, Lilly had two boyfriends who weren't Logan at the time of her death: Weevil, and Logan's father, Aaron. (Yeaaaah.) At some point, Logan would have discovered her infidelity — leading to an especially vicious fight considering Veronica had told Lilly that Logan had cheated on her with a new transfer student, which had caused Lilly to ream him out — and Logan and Lilly might have called it quits for good. With Lilly moving on to date Weevil openly, and Duncan and Veronica breaking up due to taking two different sides in the fight, Logan and Veronica would probably find their way to one another. I mean, they're soul mates.

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