 " Welcome Wagon " is the season premiere of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars , and the forty @-@ fifth episode overall . Written by series creator Rob Thomas and directed by John T. Kretchmer , the episode premiered on The CW on October 3 , 2006 . The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars ( Kristen Bell ) as she deals with life as a high school student while moonlighting as a private investigator under the employ of her father . In the episode, Veronica is recruited by the PCHS Welcome Wagon Committee to help solve the mystery of a missing student .
The episode received mixed reviews