Kendall Lacey Casablancas (née Shiflett), born Priscilla Banks, was Dick and Cassidy's gold-digging stepmother.
Biography[]
Kendall Casablancas first appeared in the episode Normal is the Watchword. A former Laker Girl, she is a trophy wife in every sense of the word, having seemingly married real estate magnate Richard Casablancas for his vast wealth.
Now stepmother to two high school boys, Dick and Cassidy, she begins having an affair with their friend, Logan Echolls. Cassidy hired Veronica Mars to investigate his stepmother. Veronica discovered that Kendall was helping Richard commit real estate fraud. Veronica reported the affair to Cassidy but also turned the information on Richard over to the S.E.C. Before he could be arrested, Richard fled the country.
Richard's lawyers told Kendall that while the boys both had trust funds, essentially she had nothing. It was at this point Kendall became desperate. She began selling Richard's belongings for money, including his Maserati. She turned to Logan in an attempt to fix her financial situation, but he gave her the brush-off. She even tried going to Logan's roommate, Duncan Kane, but to no avail. Eventually, Cassidy approached her with an offer. He was starting a real estate company called Phoenix Land Trust, and because of his underage status, he needed Kendall to be his CEO for business purposes. Although Kendall and Cassidy admitted their mutual dislike of each other, the prospect of the salary eventually made Kendall come around.
The business continued, though most people assumed Richard was behind Phoenix Land Trust, not Cassidy. When Cassidy informs Kendall they need to acquire more land, she goes and visits the incarcerated Aaron Echolls. She makes a deal with him: he will buy into Phoenix Land Trust if she goes to Duncan and Logan's suite and gets something for him. Kendall goes to the suite, and while she asks Logan if she can freshen up, goes into Duncan's room and removes some of his hair from the shower drain. Aaron later used that to plant false evidence implying Duncan committed the crime for which he was on trial. Later, Aaron was acquitted.
When Keith Mars discovered Kendall is the beneficiary of the life insurance policies on her stepsons, who could have been killed in the bus crash that claimed the lives of several people, he began investigating. He and Veronica discovered that everything they know about Kendall was a lie. She was not a dumb trophy wife. Her real name was Priscilla Banks, and she was really a con artist. She had been working with the Fitzpatrick crime family. Eventually, Keith broke into Kendall's home, which led to a dangerous confrontation with Kendall and Liam Fitzpatrick.
At the beginning of Season 3, Kendall's former lover and accomplice, Cormac Fitzpatrick, is released from prison. Keith Mars reunites the two, who are trying to escape from Liam Fitzpatrick with the money Kendall received from Phoenix Land Trust. As Keith leaves the two, Cormac shoots and kills Kendall and tries to shoot Keith.
Keith felt responsible for Kendall's death, and extremely guilty, especially since he and Kendall had formed a cordial relationship while he was working for her. He went back with police, but no body was found, presumably because Liam Fitzpatrick, after murdering Cormac for not telling Liam where Kendall's money was, had come back to clean up the crime site. As police searched the cabin, they found blood on a framed painting. Keith recognized it as Kendall's proof of her wealth: an original van Gogh. Keith took the painting and donated the money to charity.
Quotes[]
- Logan Echolls: "Can Dick and Beaver come out and play?"
Kendall: "Let's see if we can find them. (Drops her robe) Coming?" - I have worked very hard over the years to avoid working.
- Welcome home, children. How was school? Who wants a Rice Krispie treat?
- You wanna go back to playing grab-ass with cheerleaders that have just mastered missionary?
- Do they, like, chemically castrate you boys over at that school? You don't need Sex Ed; I am Sex Ed.
- (after Cassidy asks her what will happen if she thinks) That it makes my breasts smaller?
- (While she and Logan are having sex) Kendall: "Yeah, school in general, not very hot. Unless I'm wearing a naughty school girl uniform. Then it's very hot."
Logan: "I'm sure it would be, for the three seconds you had it on."