What is it about girls who save the world (or at least their small towns and high schools) and lackluster love lives? High school detective Veronica Mars has never wanted for admirers of the boy variety, but no matter which one she opts for, heartbreak seems close around the bend. Veronica seems doomed in the dating department, whether it’s Duncan Kane, who took his baby (not Veronica’s) and ran from the law to Mexico, effectively ending their romance before it had much chance to begin, or bad-boy, rich-kid Logan Echolls, who waxed eloquent (and drunkenly) about a love for Veronica that’s “epic” two episodes back–only to then sleep with evil Kendall Casablancas moments later.

The worst part is, somehow the show has me rooting for a Veronica-Logan reunion. Why? Because its writers have offered no interesting boy alternatives, and seem recently to be trying to redeem Logan’s character enough to re-ignite the tension that turned Veronica and Logan into star-crossed lovers (well–not lovers, but close) last year. As the season comes to a close this evening, I’m wondering if Veronica will be left with more than the satisfaction of the bus-crash mystery resolved, or if the Veronica-Logan redemption project will be dropped cold until season three.

Not to harp on the Buffy Summers comparison again, but, alas, I will, as with my earlier post, “Veronica Mars”: It’s No “Buffy”–At Least Not Yet. As I watch Veronica’s love life fall flat again and again, I can’t help be reminded of Buffy’s constant struggle to fulfill her role as “The Chosen One”–saving the world against vampires, demons, and apocalyptic plots–while at the same time trying somehow to manage a relationship. It never really happened for Buffy. Yet again, the difference between Veronica and Buffy in both vocation and love is similar: While Veronica’s best options are slick-talking but generally vapid spoiled high school boys, Buffy’s suitors had big hearts, a good dash of romantic sensibility, a desire to make the world a better place, and the knowledge that Buffy was worth whatever hardships a relationship with a Vampire Slayer might entail. Granted, they may have been vampires (most of them), but they still had souls.

Logan Echolls on the other hand–human definitely. Soulful, not so much.