'She's still got a lot to work through and I hope we'll get to see it onscreen again if people forgive us,' the actress tells ET.
Kristen Bell is speaking out about the shocking Veronica Mars death at the end of the fourth season that has left fans in an uproar.
In the final minutes of the season four finale, ominously titled "Years, Continents, Bloodshed," Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), the once arrogant 09er-turned-responsible military man and Veronica's soulmate, dies unexpectedly after a car bomb left in the backseat of Veronica's car detonates, killing the fan-favorite character in an explosive and devastating fashion.
The reasoning behind the dramatic move to kill off Logan, which creator Rob Thomas acknowledged was a huge creative "gamble" (an online fan petition calling to undo the death has been making the rounds), was to "save" the show and to serve as a "bridge" for potential future seasons of Veronica Mars 2.0, where Veronica would be single and solving mysteries Agatha Christie-style. Dohring said his "heart fell" after learning Logan's fate; Thomas later called the "raw," passionate fan reaction to Logan's death "great."
"I know it's a heartbreak and I know that maybe Veronica didn't make your favorite decisions this season, but you have to understand, if everything was perfect and there was no conflict, you wouldn't have a show. There would be nothing to watch," Bell told ET of the fan backlash on the NBC red carpet at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Thursday, where she was promoting the final season of The Good Place.
Bell, who is an executive producer on Veronica Mars, also addressed one major decision Veronica made in the first episode of season four, when she rejected Logan's marriage proposal, which didn't sit well with some fans.
"A lot of people were upset when Veronica did not accept a marriage proposal from Logan, and I was a little bit shocked at that, because I'm very happily married, and I'm the first person to be like, 'I love my kids and I'm Susie Homemaker!' But I also know that's not the right decision for everyone, because everyone's heart is different," Bell said. "And I don't think Veronica's story has to end in a happy marriage. Like, we're over this ideal of John Cusack holding a boom box outside our window [in Say Anything]."
"Some women don't want to get married and some men don't want to get married, and that's OK. Veronica didn't have good examples of marriage, and she isn't ready to commit, and I, for one, playing her, was like, I respect that decision," she continued. "So I think it would have been too easily tied up in a beautiful bow if she had said, 'Sure, I accept your marriage proposal. Now my life is great because I have the love of my life.'"
Thankfully, Veronica and Logan did make it down the aisle by way of a low-key ceremony at the Neptune, California, courthouse with Veronica's father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni), and Veronica's best friend, Wallace (Percy Daggs III), as witnesses. But Veronica and Logan's nuptials would end tragically.
"She's still got a lot to work through and I hope we'll get to see it onscreen again if people forgive us," Bell concluded.
The chances of Hulu ordering a fifth season remains up in the air, though Thomas seemed very optimistic that another installment of Veronica Mars was all but a done deal. Bell was asked about her thoughts on if fans should expect more, "I hope so!" she told ET.
Following the Good Place panel, Bell told a handful of reporters that knowing there is the possibility for more Veronica Mars makes saying goodbye to the critically beloved comedy easier of a transition. While Bell confessed she didn't know when they could that happen, she remains hopeful.
"It's not really how I would want... so much as holes in everyone's schedules. The reality is that [The Good Place] ending opens me up a little bit but Rob has other pilots he's doing and so do the other cast members," she said. "It's sort of a big game of -- it's kind of like a puzzle you have to put together to find the timeframe. That's the truth. It's all logistics."
All eight episodes of Veronica Mars season four are now streaming on Hulu.
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