On 'Veronica,' Hamlin did a bad, bad thing (spoilers)

[Still Dirrty]

Harry Hamlin did it! Sorry. I meant to write "spoiler ahead" for those of you on a TiVo delay, but the watercooler can't wait.

As Tuesday's ***1/2 season finale of UPN's "Veronica Mars" revealed, the bad guy all along was Hamlin. Which means that we should have applied the old "Law & Order" method to solving this crime: The most famous guest star is always the killer.

Technically, it was Hamlin playing Aaron Echolls, a fictional movie actor and the father of love interest Logan. But "Veronica Mars" had a bit of fun blurring the line, at one point even showing Hamlin's classic "Clash of the Titans" on a background television. That's why fans refer to him as "Haaron" on the show's online message boards.

We learned Tuesday that Veronica's best friend, Lilly, was having an affair with Logan's dad. (Register shock here.) They would meet in Aaron's guest house -- until the day that Lilly discovered he was videotaping their trysts. She impishly stole the tapes. Aaron confronted Lilly at the pool, but she refused to hand them over. He smacked her, she hit her head on the concrete, and cult ratings ensued.

It was a satisfying end to a gripping mystery. Fans have suspected that Aaron may have done it, but they also suspected Weevil, Lianne and Veronica's attack dog Backup. I, for one, didn't see it coming.

Neither did Lilly Kane.

So, what will happen next season?

There are still a lot of loose ends to tie up, with Aaron arrested, Lilly's father arrested for obstruction of justice, and Veronica's mom on the lam with Veronica's college fund. (Who leaves a $50,000 check just lying around?)

But disappointingly, no new, compelling mysteries were introduced. The episode ended with Veronica opening her door to an unseen visitor and saying, "I was hoping it would be you."

Will it be first love Duncan? Bad boy Logan?

As cliff-hangers go, it's a bit too "Dawson's Creek" for my taste.

But I'll be watching anyway.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/telev...tr-mars11.html