Kendall paid Keith a shitload of cash to flake out on his daughter's graduation trip.

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Oh yeah, that's right. But that wouldn't be enough for her to go to Stanford? Or something?

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We already know that someone on the Hearst admissions committee likes her, which means she likely got mad scholarship money. Besides, like Plei said, she decided to stay in Neptune, period, when she ditched that exam to see the verdict. It wasn't about the money anymore.

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That explanation doesn't work for me at all. If she didn't have the money to go to Stanford, then how'd she have the money to go to Hearst (and get a brand new car!)?

That was planted back in One Angry Veronica, as well. Remember her fellow juror was a Hearst mucky muck, who talked to Veronica after the trial was over?

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Most serial dramas (other than 24), work on the premise that things happen the other 167 hours in the week. I don't really get what you don't get, Invisible Green. Personally, I'm thankful we never got an episode about Veronica filling out financial aid forms, and scrambling to get into another school, once she blew her chance with Stanford.

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It's not that I wanted to see Veronica filling out financial aids forms; I just think an explanation was necessary. One or two lines to quickly explain everything would have been adequate. It shouldn't be up to the fans to make up what happens [unless the show's canceled on a cliffhanger]; it's the writers' job to decide the story. Veronica Mars is a TV show, not a hypertext novel. I don't have a problem with fanwank, but I do think it shouldn't be necessary to use it for important plot points, like telling us what school Veronica attends.

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Whereas I think it was made abundantly clear in "Happy Go Lucky" that Veronica was going to Hearst, and when Veronica was at Hearst in "Welcome Wagon," that sort of sealed the deal. Everything doesn't need to be spelled out; they trust us to put 2 and 2 together.

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I was never confused at all. Let's face it, as viewers we knew Buffy wasn't going away to college, either, because the whole cast certainly wasn't going to follow, were they? Same here. In my opinion, the reason they introduced Hearst in the first place was to get us prepared for the fact that Veronica wouldn't get to go elsewhere.

I don't have a problem with fanwank, but I do think it shouldn't be necessary to use it for important plot points, like telling us what school Veronica attends.

I don't think it's a fanwank at all. The consequences of her missing that exam, and thus being eligible for the scholarship, were clear. Veronica understands (and told us, in voice-over) that Keith bought her a car out of guilt, but a car on payments is not the same thing as tuition to a big, expensive university.

I also don't think it's that important, in the scheme of things, where Veronica goes to school, because that's not the point of the show. And again, as viewers, I think the idea that she would somehow stay in/near Neptune was there along.

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I thought Veronica was already promised a scholarship at Hearst, right?

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That was the implication from her encounter with the Hearst lady in OAV, yeah. She was practically guaranteed admission, at the very least.

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