Can I just begin by saying how very happy I am to (finally) have the incomparable Veronica Mars back in my life again?

It seems as though the space between these “pods” of episodes became nearly interminable. But the wait is officially over, as of last night, as Veronica is back on the CW (until they unceremoniously yank it in a few weeks again for The Pussycat Dolls: Search for the Next Doll, that is).

In any event, I will count my blessings that we’re even getting to watch the latest goings-on in Neptune since it seems as if Dawn Ostroff and the programming execs have it in for ’09ers. But last night’s episode (“Show Me the Monkey”) was a breath of fresh air after far too many lonely Tuesday nights. While the episode’s central mystery (recovering a stolen lab monkey that, well, hadn’t really been stolen, per se) wasn’t the series’ best, what made the episode click was the snappy writing (courtesy of John Enbom and Robbie Hull) and the return of our beloved characters. (Even if Wallace was, as usual, nowhere to be seen.)

But I’ll take no Wallace (all season, even) if it means featuring Mac, who was even more adorable than I remembered. Mac’s still not entirely recovered from the events of the Season Two finale (you know, finding out your ex-boyfriend is a psychotic mass murderer and then having all of your clothes stolen from the hotel room where you tried to sleep with him) and extremely wary of getting entangled with the opposite sex. Veronica too is a little shifty following her breakup (for the umpteenth time) with Logan. So what’s a girl to do? Round up fellow down-in-the-dumps lass Parker, go undercover as an animal rights activist, and throw a Canada-themed around the world party in your dorm room.

Looks like the theory that Dean O’Dell’s killer would use Veronica’s perfect murder project as a framework for an actual murder proved correct, as whoever killed poor beloved Dean O’Dell (Ed Begley Jr.) obviously had access to Veronica’s paper (hmmm, TA Tim Foyle, I am looking right at you) but didn’t know him well enough to know about that bottle of 40-year-old Scotch he’d been saving. Seriously, Mysterious Killer, had you opened that bottle, you would have been in the clear and this whole matter would have stayed closed, as the suicide ruling would have stuck. Ah, the best laid plans. But the killer did frame it up that way, complete with a slumped-over Dean at his desk and a suicide note hastily typed on his computer screen, a trite “Goodbye, cruel world.” Followed, as Weevil put it, by a lot of what the Brits would call zeds.

Glad to know that there was no ill will from Mindy O’Dell (did Keith/Veronica’s disclosure about her infidelity lead to his demise?) and that she decided to go to Keith to uncover who really killed her erudite husband. (Can Sheriff Lamb EVER properly close a case in Neptune?)

I absolutely loved the scene between Keith and Professor Landry (Patrick Fabian) at the bar in which Keith tries to not-so-subtly grill Landry about whether he had a hand in O’Dell’s death until Landry hysterically reveals that he’s known he’s been talking to Keith for a long time. Smooth move, mister, especially since your pic is on the back of your book. Landry, on the other hand, can read people thanks to his background in profiling. Hmmm, could Landry lend a hand in solving this case? Am I the only one smelling spinoff possibilities here?

What else was great? Mac finally having a love interest for a chance that might not be homicidal. Animal rights activist Bronson Pope (Michael Mitchell from the pilot for Standoff and Invasion) and Mac were absolutely adorable together (especially when she runs back and kisses him), and I hope he sticks around for a bit. After all, he better be worth it for Mac to sell out Veronica like that and tip off Bronson that the police were coming with warrants.

Dick Casablancas and his, um, “revealing” Polaroid prank. Can we please see more of this guy in the future? Er, appearance-wise, I mean. (Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, people.)

While I can never in a million years see Veronica and Piz actually getting together, their scene last night was really sweet and touching. Piz obviously has it in for our V. in a major way, but even his heart-felt speech about waiting for the right thing didn’t seem to click in Veronica’s mind … and merely led her straight to Logan’s hotel room. Ouch, Veronica, way to hurt a guy. (And how sad did Piz look when he saw the two of them together again?)

And, yes, it was the shortest Veronica/Logan breakup in Neptune history, as our star-crossed lovers find themselves back in each others’ arms by the end of the episode. But it’s not all roses and longing looks across crowded rooms, as there’s the whole matter of Logan sleeping with that skanky girl from the beach to deal with. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Meanwhile, did anyone recognize science researcher Emi? It’s Brittany Ishibashi, who recently played waitress Cindy in the “A Benihana Christmas” episode of The Office. Eagle eyes, these.

Personally, I’m just happy that Veronica Mars is back where it belongs (namely, on the air), but I am a little worried by the fact that the who-killed-Dean-O’Dell storyline will be the last longform mystery this series sees. While the mystery o’ the week format can be fun from time to time, I’m worried that it will soon turn the series into a more fashion-forward Scooby Doo rather than the stylish noir drama that we’ve grown to love. Thoughts?

Next week on Veronica Mars (“Poughkeepsie, Tramps and Thieves”), Veronica tracks down that blonde girl Logan slept with and discovers she’s not exactly who or what she claimed to be (cough, hooker, cough), Keith continues to investigate Dean O’Dell’s death, and Veronica and Logan’s reunion might be cut short already.

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Jace is an LA-based television development and acquisitions junior exec who watches way too much television for his own good and would love a TiVo for every room in the house. (He’s halfway there.) His blog, Televisionary, can be found at televisionary.blogspot.com.