Interesting comparison. But from what little I saw of The Mentalist, to me the most striking comparison is the contrast between the two: that Beckett eventually put her tragedy behind her and moved on. And didn't *want* it to get dredged back up and drag her back down. That said, when it did? I think she managed to kick start her determination to find the killer *without* falling back into that pattern of obsession. And that's awesome.

Honestly, I think The Mentalist lost me when Jane went home to sleep on a mattress in the room where his family was murdered with the bloody smile still there on the wall. I can understand *why* the character would torture himself like that if he felt responsible, but that still didn't mean I wanted to torture *myself* with it. :-(