Blood and Sand Review

Synopsis

A girl’s body, Talia Suarez, washes up on San Felix Island’s shore, off the coast of California. Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and her team are called in as there is evidence of attack on the victim. Consultant Patrick Jane (Baker) figures out that Talia was killed on the island, and did not drift from the mainland as the island’s inhabitants believe. Meanwhile, Agent Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) starts showing signs of post traumatic stress due to shooting her criminal fiancée.

Concise Verdict

Mentalist writers are really going all out this season. They’re making every bit of dialogue count, infusing it with back story and adding details to make the crime solving process more believable. Blood and Sand is another strong addition. Writer Eoghan Mahoney gives us a gorgeous setting, loads of character interaction, introspection, and a highly interesting case. I’d send him flowers if I had his address. The superb acting, exquisite direction, and dreamy music also contribute to make this episode another perfect 10/10.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

It is normal for a procedural show to have very little time within a single episode to spare on “normal” dialogue and character interaction. That is not the case in Blood and Sand so I organized this review to handle the generous helping of character plots. Instead of important scenes, I’ve split the discussion according to the main themes dealing with the following characters: Teresa Lisbon, Grace Van Pelt, and Patrick Jane.

Lisbon’s Character Growth

Lisbon accompanies Jane to look for the piece of wood he threw in the ocean when they first came to the crime scene. Usually, Jane prefers going on his own the better to surprise Lisbon with the results of his efforts; it’s his MO which stems at least partly from his need to show off. But that no longer seems the case. Even the simple act of having Lisbon search along with him supports the theme of increased understanding and teamwork between them (as shown in every episode so far this season). Further indication of this is how Lisbon told Jane “Good idea” when he first threw the tree limb without asking him why he did it. More and more viewers are getting signs that Lisbon just gets Jane these days, and doesn’t need to ask for explanations behind his actions.

Jane finds a translucent stone on the beach (I’m guessing a piece of quartz) and gives it to Lisbon. She says “Nice” before adding, “Not what we’re looking for.” Jane tells her she could make a necklace out of it. Lisbon agrees, albeit somewhat skeptically, that she could. Jane tells her that she should and that she “should have some kind of restful hobby”.

First of all, Lisbon*gasp* does not *GASP* throw the stone away as I thought she would (at least not on screen). She holds it in her hand for a bit, then in the next shot her hand is empty. If she was going to get rid of the stone I’d think she would have done so immediately, so I’m thinking she probably put it in her pocket. Second Lisbon does not mock Jane for his sentimental suggestion that she make a necklace out of the quartz. She doesn’t even react defensively to Jane’s statement that she could use a restful hobby Lisbon is always on the defense whenever Jane tries to help her or reach out to her in any way. Who is this woman?!

Don’t get me wrong, I love it!

Much as I adore Lisbon’s fierce personality and snappy comebacks, last season I wished she’d understand the affect her detachment has on her team (‘Bloodstream’). I also hoped she’d recognize that sometimes, Jane’s seemingly careless personal statements are in fact tentative attempts to connect emotionally with her (‘Every Rose has It’s Thorn’). I also wished that once in a while she’d respond to those attempts as it is clear Jane’s in desperate need for her to do so.

Can it be true? Have my prayers been answered?!

It seems like it. When Jane finds the piece of wood proving his theory that the girl was killed on the island, he tells Lisbon “I told you!” She doesn’t respond with an eye roll or even a sarcastic “whatever” she indulges him with a “Yes you did,” like a mother congratulating a needy child on a job well done.

First Jane is growing up, now Lisbon is becoming more emotionally available, now this is what I call exciting!! 😀 Character growth how I love thee!

Now this change is not limited to Jane, nor is it new. I mentioned this before but Lisbon seems to have a soft-spot for Rigsby in particular (Red Gold). Their interaction is very sibling-like. He’s the only team member (aside from Jane) who risks teasing her and is at times even protective of her (‘Flame Red’, ‘Russet Potatoes’, ‘Red Menace’, ‘Red Gold’). I always thought Lisbon put up with it (as much as Lisbon could, anyway) because he possibly reminds her of her younger brothers. She was especially affectionate, almost motherly with him in ‘Like a Red-Headed Stepchild’ when he came clean to her about his father being involved in the case (one of my favorite scenes ever).

But more recently this affection has been extending to the other members of the team as well. Readers may recall Lisbon in the ‘Strawberries and Cream’ calling Cho by his first name and asking him to trust her. And in this season’s premiere she told Grace as a friend to talk to the department shrink and not let what happened to her (killing her fiancée in self-defense) eat away at her.

Alternatively, the one person Lisbon never gets close to is Jane. So it was nice to see her letting him in along with the others. She even drank his tea last episode. That is not to say that Lisbon has lost her strong personality, especially when it comes to Jane. He remains the one person she has yet to refer to by his first name, a fact I (perhaps hypocritically) actually love for now. And while she trusts him more than she did, it’s not enough to always follow his lead. When Lisbon and Jane question Jed Stack and his men, she recognizes Whit (Zack Ward) as being suspicious and tells Jed that she’d like to interview him.  Jane interrupts telling her there’s no need, that he’s already interviewed Stack’s employees and that “We should leave”.

Both Lisbon and viewers know Jane enough by now to realize when he’s in the process of hatching a plan. But Lisbon still has her own way of doing things. She ignores Jane and demands to know where the workers were, staying Jane mid stride and making him double back slightly. I don’t know if this is Lisbon’s way of affirming her position as boss or if her professionalism is driving her need to cover the basics here. Either way, it’s nice to see that she’s still her own woman. The moment is also indicative and continuity to the fact that Lisbon still doesn’t trust Jane %100 (as she stated in ‘Scarlet Ribbons’). That’s in keeping with her guarded character and is therefore very gratifying to see.

In a related matter, it has come to my attention that a lot of fans are confused over Lisbon not being angrier with Jane over his shooting Timothy Carter. I feel that the writers have more than laid enough ground for this to be likely and realistic (read Red Alert ‘Blood for Blood’, ‘Every Rose Has it’s Thorn’, and ‘Redacted’ Reviews for details). But I realize that a lot of the stigma is out of fear for Lisbon’s strength of character. IMHO Lisbon has come to realize that you can’t hold people to your own standards; or like Grace put so succinctly in season one, “sometimes you have to go along to get along”. Also, in the Season three premiere Lisbon told Jane “We’re a family”. Ideally, family members should accept each other, vices and all. Jane shooting Timothy Carter may have crossed the line, or it may have not. He has always told Lisbon what his intentions were. He even straight up told the jury what his intentions were at his trial: he shot Carter because he wanted revenge for his family. And he was acquitted by the justice system which Lisbon believes in.

None of this makes what Jane did right, as I am sure even he knows by now, but perhaps it helped ease the forgiveness process. Let’s not forgot that Jane told Lisbon Carter had a gun, implying that he shot him out of self defense. That and the fact that Lisbon believes Red John is dead, makes her think everything that happened  afterwards, her getting shot, her getting suspended, was worth it. Most probably, when Red John shows up again will be when the poop hits the fan. I doubt it’ll be pretty, but I know it’s going to be riveting.

So what do you think?

Grace’s Post Traumatic Stress

Grace’s waning emotional well-being was established early this season via her concerned coworkers; mostly ex-boyfriend Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman).  In Little Red Book, he questions whether it’s a good idea for her to get her Godfather, a minister, to sign the necessary forms for her to get back to work (instead of the department shrink as protocol). In ‘Pretty Red Balloon’ he worries about her after she shot a dangerous suspect. Then in ‘Ring Around the Rosie’ he seemed disturbed that she used the story of killing her fiancée to get a Henry Tibb’s wife to cooperate with their investigation. Finally, he stops her from almost shooting Tibb’s in her zeal during the investigation.

In this episode Grace loses her temper with the victim’s social worker and knocks over her coffee cup when she and Rigsby get up to leave Social Services . Outside she vents about the worker’s careless attitude. Rigsby tries to calm her down and when she doesn’t tells her that he should drive as she’s too upset. A struggle over the car keys ensues until Wayne, realizing his and Grace’s proximity, relents his position, both physical, and within the argument.

For her part Grace seemed intrigued (pleased even) by her and Rigsby’s little moment. It is clear that she doesn’t realize that Rigsby is just looking out for her as a friend; but she finds out soon enough.

Grace loses her temper again when she and Cho go to bring in suspect Dennis Kagen (Dwain Murphy). Despite Cho telling her he’ll take lead, she grabs at Dennis who reacts by hitting her. Enraged, she punches him in the back even after she cuffs him. Later at CBI Kagen insists on having a lawyer present. The public defender’s office sends Sara Harrigan (Jillian Bach).

Viewers will recall Sarah and Rigsby met when he questioned her during a case involving the owner of a matchmaking service (Every Rose has its Thorn). At the time she bashfully asked Rigsby if he was seeing anyone, he replied no, and later took the hint and asked her out.

I am so happy to see her again. In the ‘Like a Red-Headed Stepchild” review I expressed concern in the comments that Rigsby telling Grace he was still in love with her constituted as a vow to of celibacy, or something. I felt that it wasn’t fair to have him pine for her while she lives happily ever after (or was supposed to anyway). Guest reviewer Violet pointed out that, on the contrary, Rigsby expressing himself opened the door for him to finally be able to move on from loving Grace.

Thankfully, it looks like Violet was right. It looks like Rigsby and Sarah have been dating for a while now. It also seems like he’s told her about his previous relationship with Grace; as made obvious by the recognition on Sarah’s face and her moment of awkwardness when Van Pelt introduces herself. Speaking of which, at that point Grace doesn’t even know Wayne and Sarah are dating, but is nevertheless not her usual friendly self when she greets Sarah. Her “Do we know each other” was very reserved, almost to the point of being rude which might have added to Sarah’s discomfort.

Rigsby, hearing Sarah’s voice quickly intervenes and offers to take her to her client. His abruptness has Grace pondering what’s up with them, to which Cho helpfully explains that Wayne and Sarah are obviously dating, to which Van Pelt get’s a partly bemused, partly derisive look on her face.

Her day doesn’t get much better. Lisbon tells her that not only did she have to release Dennis due to Grace’s excessive force with him, but that she also got a complaint from Social Services about the coffee Grace spilled on the social worker. Grace denies having done anything wrong and is heavily defensive, almost abrasive, even as Lisbon explains that their unit is under a lot of scrutiny and that it is vital they make a good impression on the new boss. Lisbon then asks her kindly,  “As your friend, should I be worried about you?”

This is the second and perhaps the last time Lisbon will reach out for Grace, since, apparently Grace is in complete denial that anything is wrong with her. Lisbon then puts on her boss’s hat: “Any more of this and we will have a serious problem.”

It seems that “more of this” will be happening sooner rather than later, if Grace’s  heated and vindictive interrogation of the killer at the end of the episode is any indication. But more on that later.

After Rigsby and Grace get a confession out of Whit, Rigsby starts talking to explain his behavior at the office with Sarah. Grace interrupts to say flatly “Oh yeah, congratulations, she seems nice.” Rigsby goes on to tell Grace that he doesn’t want things to be awkward between them, she tells him that she’s the least of his problems, hinting quite meanly that Sarah is a problem. When Rigsby asks her to explain, Grace states that Sarah is a public defender adding “Good luck, but be careful”.

Grace looks like she’s picked up some techniques from Jane, but is not necessarily using that knowledge for good. Her comments about Rigsby’s girlfriend were to deflect from the fact that she may have a problem with him seeing other people.  It’s a bit underhanded considering he is being so nice about the issue and is taking her feelings into consideration. On the other hand, Grace is clearly in a highly fragile emotional state. Her mood swings and temper are a clear sign of post traumatic stress. In episode Little Red Book I stated that I respected Grace’s decision to talk to her Godfather priest about what happened with her fiancée. Now I’m starting to think that she just got him to sign off on her papers, that she didn’t discuss the issue at all, and that Rigsby at the time sensed she’d do that hence his asking her if she thought it was a good idea.

It’s really sad to see what Grace is going through. However, it seems that emotional trauma and the effort one must make to overcome it is going to be a running theme this season, and not just for Grace. More on this in the conclusion..

Jane’s New Found Tranquility

In seasons one and two, Jane had a peaceful aura about him (to balance his darkness) that all but disappeared after Kristina Frye was kidnapped by Red John. Last season saw a more intense, impatient, and preoccupied Jane. This season, Jane still seems preoccupied, but also more at peace; as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders despite his insistence that Red John is still at large. As a result, a lot of the fun, positive aspects of his personality are starting to shine through once more. His dedication to his job (which had been almost non-existent for most of season three) is already back (see Ring Around the Rosie). In this episode, we get his love of nature. So much has happened since Jane’s attack of Stendhal syndrome (Red Gold) so it was really nice to see him once again positively delighted by his surroundings. He repeatedly comments on the beauty of the island, is enchanted by having a butterfly rest on his hand, and finds and gives Lisbon a pretty stone. I missed this Jane so much. I’m so happy and relieved to have him back:

Image by Chizuru-chibi. Copyright Reviewbrain October, 2011. Not to be used without permission.

Jane’s quiet, introspective non-revenge based discussions with people are something else I sorely missed. In this episode he visits islander Lydia Bibb (Debra Mooney) at her tea house. She brings him his favorite beverage and cake while Jane asks her about Jed Stack (Steve Rankin). She tells Jane the man seems nice enough. Then she sits down and admits to Jane that she felt guilty after he told them about the victim being killed on the island. Lydia states that she threw a flower in the ocean for the girl, explaining that it’s an old island custom to “send a message to your people who have passed over.” She adds that although Talia Suarez isn’t “her people” it might still work. Jane not unkindly tells her “It can’t hurt.” Lydia says that while Jane must think she’s “a foolish old woman” the gesture nevertheless made her feel better, like she helped give that girl peace.

At the time of the conversation I admired Jane for not making fun of the nice old woman. I was undecided as to whether his newly peaceful mindset was responsible for his tolerance and restraint , or if Lydia just got lucky that their conversation was interrupted by a phone call.

I was flabbergasted, astounded, and gutted when, at the end of the episode, Jane himself puts a flower in the ocean. This small tiny act shows that not only did Jane respect the sentiment behind Lydia’s gesture, he himself is either starting to believe in such things or wants to. Jane who a little over three years ago stated that there is no afterlife is now going through the motions of attempting to communicate with his wife and daughter.

No words. I am speechless, I am tearing up as I write this review. I am overwhelmed by look of utter hope on Jane’s face, during this scene and the phenomenal music that didn’t just tug on my heartstrings, it practically ripped them apart.

Thanks. Thanks a lot, Mentalist people. Even proving my theory right that Jane may in fact be starting to believe in something holy does not excuse you turning me into a blubbering mess, an inarticulate lump of sucky poetry, disastrous imagery and drama-ism. I can’t even make sense anymore and it’s all your fault.

*sigh*

It’s a good think I love this show so much and that I don’t have much common sense else I’d take whatever is left of my poor fried muse and run for dear life.

Best Scenes

The winner: You have to ask? See the paragraph above where I ramble on how the episode’s final scene…you get the picture. Just one thing to add. As I was writing this review, I had an image of Simon Baker’s face watching the flower Jane set in the ocean float away on my monitor. My kid bro passed by my computer, saw the image, and said the following: “You know the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words? His face is worth an entire review.”

Pretty accurate, don’t you think?

1st runner up: Jane and Lisbon on the beach.  See Lisbon’s part of the analysis to refresh your memory on why.

2nd runner up:Whit’s Confession

One of the Mentalist’s strong points is the excellent casting and ability to create profound characters viewers will react to; not just recurring characters, but those in the stand alone episodes as well. One I always found very intriguing was the cook in ‘Red Herring’. A passionate woman, she didn’t mind having the flesh off her fingers cut as she helped her chef create his vision, but his betrayal in taking away her dream of opening her own restaurant made her kill him. I doubt I’ll ever forget her eerily unrepentant demeanor.

In this episode we get an equally profound character/ killer in Whit, played with perfect intensity by  Zack Ward.

Rigsby, sensing Whit’s guilt and shame plays ‘good cop’ feigning sympathy for the man in an effort to get him to confess. Wayne begins the stable hand’s morbid tale of living life with predatory sexual urges; ones he attempted to control by moving to San Felix Island and working on a ranch devoid of women. Grace, whose mental state has her only too happy to play ‘bad cop’ conveys what most viewers will undoubtedly feel: outrage at the mere idea of Whit’s claim that he is not to blame for his actions. She tells him that he gets no pity, neither in this life nor the next.

Righetti, Yeoman, and guest star Zack Ward were all outstanding in this scene.  Ward manages to make Whit sympathetic, like he really did his best to stop from hurting anyone. His anguished scream “you think I want to be like this!” was very convincing. As to Grace, seeing the caring, usually compassionate woman be so cold towards a man who seems genuinely afflicted was jarring. It’s one of Righetti’s strongest scenes on this show, and she’s had several (usually with Simon Baker’s character). Yeoman is just as good, Rigsby acts as a buffer, a reprieve from Grace’s disgust, offering Whit a friendly ear to confess. He was so good, I’m wondering if, perhaps on some level, Rigsby truly does sympathize with Whit; that perhaps Rigsby knows what it’s like to have violent urges…

Hmm. That could very well be the case. Jane stated once that Rigsby has a brutal streak, and we saw it in action in episode Russet Potatoes.

This makes Rigsby’s later statement to Grace “We sure had him fooled” all the more intriguing…perhaps Grace isn’t the only one who wasn’t pretending during that interrogation. Or it could be that Rigsby was trying to ease Grace’s obvious tension; paving the way for his attempt to talk to her about his new girlfriend, I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, the confession was a powerful, powerful scene.

Icing (s) on the cake:

-The exchange between Cho and Lisbon: Cho’s position as Lisbon’s second in command seems to be reinforced lately. He’s been more autonomous, sending Rigsby and Van Pelt to jobs he knows Lisbon needs, been running the team from the office while Lisbon is otherwise occupied, etc. I don’t know if this is intentional or not (i.e. if ground is being set up to give him a relevant storyline), but I like it anyway. I also like Kang’s tone when Cho asks Lisbon “Where are you going?” partly demanding, partly curious. I know I’m going to get flamed for this but it’s almost like he doesn’t want her to leave.

For the record readers can blame All-I-Need for this theory. She’s the one who commented that Cho was looking at Lisbon with puppy-dog eyes when she was chastising the team for going behind Haffner’s back to save her job (Little Red Book). I think Lisbon’s team is starting to appreciate her more and worrying about her more after she got shot, hence Cho’s demanding to know where she’s headed. That’s not too far-fetched is it?

Unless…what if the team is starting to resent the amount of trust Lisbon has for Jane, especially since it got them into so much trouble? What if Cho’s “right” was ironic?

Hmm.

-Sarah Harrigan

I really liked Sarah last season and I think I still do. It was very interesting to see that while she respected Rigsby’s desire to keep their relationship hidden from Grace (most likely to spare both their feelings) she had no problem ousting him to Lisbon. I like what it says about her character; she refuses to be kept like some sort of dirty secret, and she knows enough about Rigsby and Lisbon’s relationship (I suspect he talks about his boss) to know that there’s no need to keep Lisbon from knowing about them.

I also like her “I try” when Lisbon tells her “You’re meaner than you look.”  It hints at a strong personality. Now, it remains to be seen if this strong personality will be a good fit for Rigsby, he seemed a bit disturbed when he agreed with Lisbon’s statement that Sarah is meaner than she looks. Personally, I respect her for owning up to it. Plus, she’s really cute and its hilarious that she’s about half of Rigsby’s size.

-Simplicity of Jane’s explanation to the islanders: I appreciated the use of a blackboard with a drawing of the island to ease Jane’s explanation on how unlikely it is that the victim’s body came from the mainland. It was all very logical.

-The islanders: I don’t know if it’s the beautiful setting or the detailed writing or the convincing guest actors, but the island community felt very real. Alex Hyde-White as fussy Peter, Steve Rankin as grouchy rancher Stack, Debra Mooney as the sweet Lydia Johnathon Shmock as “Butterfly Man” and Wade Williams as Fisherman Jack were rounded enough to not be stereotypical. The community set up was so well done it was like being transported into an Agatha Christie novel.

-Extras: Lisbon sends Jane some muscle via my favorite extra’s, CBI officers Ron and Karl, played respectively by the highly telegenic John Troy Donovan and Karl Sonnenberg. I love these guys 🙂

Honorable mentions

Styling: Whoever is dressing/styling Robin Tunney. Her tuxedo style jacket looked very much like Jane’s suit jackets; very stylish. She had me drooling for most of the episode, mostly over her silky white blouse. So feminine and pretty *_*. The side swept bangs are also lovely. It seems like Lisbon’s getting a softer style to match her softening personality. I wonder if this was a coincidence or if it was an intentional decision by the stylist. And if it was intentional could that be the reason for Righetti’s ever thinning eyebrows; to match her new-found character’s edginess? They are quite severe and make her look older.

Director John Polson: It’s rare to have the opener end on a character other than Jane, but to have this one end on both Jane and Lisbon further contributes to the feeling of solidarity they’re experiencing this season. And yes, the crime scene is very, very beautiful, and director John Polson really makes the most of it, giving plenty of bird’s eye views of the island, shots of the beach, as well as the docks.

Music: Very stirring musical score by Blake Neely. It invoked just the right amount of sadness, apprehension, bitter-sweetness,  nostalgia, and hope. The score for the final scenes (Whit’s confession, Jane’s end scene) was especially moving.

Best Lines

“I’m just poking at you. It’s often instructive”- Jane to Jed Stack

“Mass Vanishment.”-Jane to Lisbon on the missing community.

“That’s not even a word.” Lisbon to Jane, in response to above.

“I can picture them gathered together in a dimly lit room plotting their mysterious island purpose.”-Jane on the missing islanders.

“Point of order, Chair, I have the floor.” Peter to Lydia. I kept laughing every time this guy complained.

“You’re meaner than you look.” Lisbon to Sarah.

“Yeah, you are.” Rigsby to his girlfriend, agreeing with Lisbon.

“I try.”-Sarah, in response to the above.

“As your friend should I be concerned?”-Lisbon to Grace. Caring Lisbon is sweet.

“Well as your boss any more of this and we’ve got a serious problem.”- Hard ball Lisbon is awesome!

Pet Peeve

The note Jane finds in Talia’s diary stated “San Felix Fish”. I thought the name referred to Le Fleur’s fishery as I suspect was the intention. Having Cho then figure out Fish was the name of the man Talia suspected killed her dad shows how smart he is. But it seemed too unlikely that the killer’s name was Fish, yet he has nothing to do with the fishery. On the other hand the link was explained very nicely later on that I can’t really call it a pet peeve. I’m just picking; the episode was way too good I guess I just have to find fault somewhere 😛

Another non-pet peeve is how Jane had CBI collect the islander’s coffee cups to analyze them for DNA. I say this is a non-pet peeve because both he obviously knows he can’t use that DNA to ID the killer, he just pretended it’ll be used to have the suspect identify himself by running. And it worked beautifully. Later, when Jane figures out that while Gardner killed Talia’s father, Whit is the one who killed and raped Talia, it was necessary to get Whit’s confession as any lawyer would argue his DNA was acquired without his permission. And that’s one of the things that makes Grace and Wayne’s scene, getting Whit’s confession, so important.

Conclusion

The mentalist is a show which explores some of the darker aspects of the human psyche. There’s the intrigue of how Red John was able to recruit so many people to his evil cause, how he brainwashed Kristina into thinking she was dead, etc. We have also been given many examples of criminally ill perps including the killer couple in ‘Red Hair, Silver tape’, the other criminal couple in ‘Scarlet Ribbons’, and Red John’s’ posse (Rebecca, Todd Johnson, Craig O’Laughlin), among others.

Psychological themes abound in Season four as well. In Little Red Book the victim was an amoral personality (quite similar to Jane). In episode Ring Around the Rosie, Jane tried to stop a psychopath from putting himself in a position of going to jail for attempted murder. He didn’t succeed.

In this episode we have another mentally disturbed perp. But I think Whit is one of the few (if not only) killer we came across to show actual attempts to quell his darker side. The fact that his crime was one of opportunity, not planned, was very cleverly set up by Mahoney in several scenes early on in the episode. First by Whit’s employer Stack when he said that he employees no women, and second, by Whit’s co-worker who said that Whit was furious over having to go to the mainland to get his broken arm set. This was done to ingrain the fact that Whit, aware of his uncontrollable impulses, never wanted to leave the island, never wanted to encounter any woman he might hurt.

I don’t know if these issues are being raised as a set up for a future plot line, but it seems very likely.Last season Jane identified with many bereaved husbands. This year the emotional turmoil seems to stem from the killers themselves, and is almost coinciding with the main characters as well. We have Jane possibly healing after getting shooting Red John out of his system (granted, it wasn’t actually Red John, but the affect is undeniable). Conversely, we have Grace (who it has been hinted has her own dark past hidden) unraveling before our eyes.

I wonder what role the new boss Luther “Master’s degree in psychology” Wainwright will play within this theme. His bookishness but lack of experience seems to have struck out (or in, depending on your perspective) so far with Jane. I wonder if he’ll be able to do any good, or if he’ll be like an amateur with a gun; a bad combination.

Some issues raised, and I hope will continue being explored include: what people have to do to survive, where the line between victim stops and that of perpetrator begins, as well as how close the serious crimes unit has become and how far these people will go to help each other.

I love this show.

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