Charisma Carpenter

“Veronica Mars.” Season finale tonight at 9 on WSBK (Ch. 38). Grade: A

A show like “Veronica Mars” is perfectly poised to disappoint loyal fans.

The series, which airs its finale tonight at 9 on WSBK (Ch. 38), is built each season on an overarching mystery. The season opened with a fatal bus crash that killed eight Neptune High students.Since that tragedy, our spunky heroine Veronica (Kristen Bell) and her ever-understanding dad (Enrico Colantoni) have been trying to figure out who done it.

That means the payoff for viewers, who have stuck with the show for 21 hours, better be good. The good news is the season finale is a fantastic thrill ride. The bad news is the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged series has yet to secure its spot on the new CW fall schedule.

So who crashed the bus? Was it Neptune’s depraved mayor Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg)? Or how about last year’s bad guy, Aaron Echolls (Harry Hamlin)? Or perhaps gold digger Kendall Casablancas (Charisma Carpenter)?

When the culprit is revealed, he/she is absolutely astounding yet perfectly possible. The strong performances from Bell and this season’s baddie prevent their final showdown from turning into horror movie camp.

The hour is an emotional roller coaster, and Bell helps navigate viewers through the tricky landscape. A series such as “Veronica Mars” doesn’t work unless we believe in the scrappy title character battling the forces of evil. And you can’t help but believe in Bell, who easily moves between the flippant and the grave moments.

“Veronica Mars” is the real thing. Let’s hope the powers that be on the new CW network know that, too. Because the final moments of the finale will leave viewers anxiously anticipating a well-deserved third season.