| "Papa's Cabin" | |
|---|---|
| Veronica Mars episode | |
 Keith finds murder suspect Hank Landry alone on a boat. What appears to be a blue tarpaulin in the background was actually a blue screen initially intended to show the ocean. However, due to budgetary concerns, the crew decided to leave it unused. | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Michael Fields |
| Written by | John Enbom |
| Production code | 3T5815 |
| Original air date | February 27, 2007 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Papa's Cabin" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the fifty-ninth episode overall. Written by John Enbom and directed by Michael Fields, the episode premiered on The CW on February 27, 2007. The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective.
In this episode, Veronica and her father Keith (Enrico Colantoni) investigate more suspects in the murder of Dean O'Dell (Ed Begley, Jr.), particularly his wife Mindy (Jaime Ray Newman) and her lover Hank Landry (Patrick Fabian). Both of them become particularly suspicious when they disappear, and Hank is implied as the killer when Mindy's dead body washes onshore. However, Veronica later deduces that teaching assistant Tim Foyle (James Jordan) committed the murder to frame Hank.
"Papa's Cabin", the final episode of the Dean O'Dell story arc, marks the final appearances of Fabian, Newman, and Jordan in their respective roles. Series creator Rob Thomas enjoyed Fabian and Jordan's performances in the episode, while filming of scenes on the ocean contained some production troubles. Upon its initial airing, the episode received 2.66 million viewers and mixed reviews from television critics; many considered this episode to be a solid conclusion to the story arc but one that was less exciting than previous mystery-ending episodes. Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club believed that the episode was intellectually satisfying,[1] while Jon Lachonis of BuddyTV opined that the decision to make Tim the murderer was not appropriate.[2]