Mentalist Red Sails in the Sunset Review

Synopsis

CBI consultant Patric Jane (Simon Baker) asks powerful cult leader Brett Stiles (Malcolm McDowell) to help him get serial killer Red John’s associate, Lorelie Martins (Emanuelle Chriqui) out of the FBI prison where she’s being held. After she escapes, Jane picks her up in an attempt to get her to reveal Red John’s identity. Meanwhile Bob Kirkland (Kevin Corrigan) from homeland security informs CBI Special Agent Teresa Lisbon (Tunney) about Lorelie’s escape. He also tells her that if Jane helped Lorelie escaped then he’s in great danger. Jane races against time, trying to gain Lorelie’s trust and glean information from her before Kirkland and Lisbon find them.

Concise Verdict

Red Sails in the Sunset is a mandatory episode; a bridge between where the show is at now and where it intends to go. Its importance could cannot be overestimated or exaggerated. There were a million directions writer Daniel Cerone could have taken and I’m extremely thankful that the one chosen is character and story appropriate. The solemn tone (and events) throughout the episode makes it kind of a downer, but it is nonetheless thrilling and completely satisfying 9/10

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

Jane breaking into the prison was too ridiculous to attempt so I’m glad that wasn’t what ended up happening. Brett Stiles has been established as a powerful enough man to make it happen. But before he does, his and Jane’s conversation was quite interesting.

VIS #1: Jane asks for Brett Stiles’s Help

Jane meets Visualize cult leader Brett Stiles (Malcolm McDowell) at a movie theatre and asks him what he thinks of his request. They then have the following conversation:

Brett: “I don’t think much of it, Patrick, really I don’t.”

Jane: “Meaning you can’t accomplish it?”

Brett: “Any task can be accomplished as long as it’s broken down into manageable pieces.”

Jane: “So you’ll do it.”

-Jane is utterly fascinating. When it comes to things he wants done he only sees matters in black and white. It’s like it never occurred to him that just because a person can do something, doesn’t mean that they will. The fact that Brett owes him (which Brett acknowledges) is probably why he’s so confident here. But then there’s the fact that it’s never occurred to him one might refuse a request of his because they actually care about him…

Brett tells Jane “Let this be my favor to you: let it go. The whole idea. It’s just not worth it.” When Jane expresses surprise that Stile’s is backing away from a challenge, Brett explains that he’s gotten used to Jane’s presence.

-On the other hand, Jane is clever enough to have known Brett was looking out for him. Probably he’s just doesn’t want to deal for the inconvenience of emotions.

Brett tells Jane that if he gets caught he’ll end up in a federal prison. Jane tells Stiles that he just needs to make sure he’s not caught. Stiles bids Jane farewell, telling him it’s been a pleasure, and bids him luck.

-This clues viewers into how hopeless Brett thinks the situation is, and the unlikelihood that Jane will get away with whatever he has planned.  I’m glad that Jane’s got one more person giving him good advice, even if he, unfortunately, refuses to take it.

VIS #2: Kirkland tells Lisbon of Lorelie’s Escape

Lisbon is trying to get in touch with Jane when she spots Kirkland waiting for her in her office. Before going inside Lisbon *gasp* fluffs *Gasp* her hair *GASP*  before joining him!!!

This makes me happy on oh so many levels.

-Save for the “hot mail-room guy” (Red Badge) and Mashburn (Red Hot) Lisbon has never shown any interest in a man before.

-Lisbon has a new friend! That coffee date must have gone great.

-It gives her breathing space from always worrying about Jane.

-He might genuinely be helping her out with Vokler, which is only a good thing considering how depressed she was over him (If it Bleeds it Leeds)

-I can’t wait to see Jane’s reaction when he finds out.

-I find the possibility of Jane pining over Lisbon, when most fans argued that she’s the one in love with him, absolutely yummy.

Kirkland tells her about Lorelie’s escape then confronts Lisbon over the fact that Jane had been interviewing prison transportation officers. Lisbon admits it but defends Jane saying it doesn’t mean he helped her. She then asks why Lorelie’s escape is a Homeland issue. Kirkland tells her it is complicated before adding that if Jane is with Lorelie then he is in danger.

-I find it interesting that Lisbon never bothered asking Kirkland to explain how Lorelie (and Vokler, as far as we know) are important to his job. I think it’s because she assumes the information is classified and therefore does not want to pressure Bob into revealing it.

Later, thanks to Jane’s setting up of his “crime scene”, Kirkland concludes that Lorelie is the one who kidnapped Jane, not the other way around.

VIS # 3: Jane Gains Lorelie’s Trust

Jane goes to pick up Lorelie, knowing that she’d go along with the escape thinking that RJ was the one who was coming for her.

-Jane rescuing her instead was meant as a way to earn her trust.

He gets a car with a busted radio, and later a motel room with a broken television.

-This is so that Lorelie doesn’t figure out he’d set the situation up as if she’d kidnapped him, but also serves a double purpose of isolating her from the outside world. No distractions ensure they get to spend “quality time” together so he can get to know her.

Jane tells Lorelie to ask him wherever she wants to go. She asks for the ocean. Jane complies and later  makes a fire.

-Because what else could be more romantic? But more than that, fires are very captivating. Plus they’re warm which might be while Lorelie, in the middle of the night, decided to join Jane and sleep outside. But the fact that she snuggled up close makes me think she also felt lonely.

When Lorelie tells Jane to stop at a convenience store because she needs to change her look, he tells her that he likes her take charge attitude, that she must have taken care of someone and that she probably has a vain and controlling mother whom she managed to escape. Lorelie tells Jane to drop the act if he really wants to know her.

-I loved Lorelie calling Jane out on his act. It’s nice to see someone doing it. Though he gets plenty of that by the time the episode is over…

VIS # 4: Kirkland and Lisbon question Dana, Lorelie’s mother

Lisbon and Kirkland visit Dana, Lorelie’s mother at her house. Dana says that she knows nothing about her daughter, that they don’t have anything to do with each other. When Lisbon asks if her mother has any insight on how her daughter became the way she was, she tells her: “Lorelie only ever cared about Lorelie. What are you going to do with a kid like that?” At Lisbon’s bemused “You don’t feel at all responsible for her?”, her mother smirks cattily and says “Now there’s a question from a woman without children.”

-SNAP! That had to have hurt Lisbon. Especially if my suspicion that she’d always wanted kids has any grain of truth.

Lisbon rises above the jab, literally, as she gets up to look around the house. While Dana states that she’s satisfied her motherhood duties, citing her wealth and that Lorelie could have been anything, Lisbon figures out, based on the photos in the room, that Lorelie has daddy issues. Her (step?) father is much older than her mother and is away a lot on work.

-I wonder if Lorelie was sexually abused by him, like Rebecca was by a close relative as Jane surmised (His Right Red Hand).

When Dana tells Lisbon that she doesn’t like her tone, Lisbon replies: “Your daughter is the mistress of a psychopathic killer yet you have no information to give us about how or why she got that way. Frankly I don’t’ care if you like my tone.”

-Badass Lisbon rocks. It’s nice to see her play bad cop for a change, since that’s usually Jane’s area of expertise. But as we are shown here, it’s not because Lisbon lack for anything. But someone has to smooth ruffled feathers. In this case, it is Kirkland who thanks Dana for her time when she kicks them out.

Afterwards, Dana visits Lisbon in the office where she admits that Lorelie had a younger sister, Miranda,  whom Dana sold for cash when she was a baby. She states that it was after the girls’ father had left her, and that Lorelie held her up.

-This matches Jane’s conclusion that Lorelie was used to talking care of someone, and that she had a vain controlling mother.

Dana then tells Lisbon that Lorelie never forgave her, and that: “That day I lost two daughters. Not one.”

Lisbon’s response is a a deadpan: “Want me to get you a tissue?”

-Awesome. Considering how much Dana screwed up Lorelie, Lisbon seems to have no sympathy for the mother. Rather, based on what we now know, Lorelie and Lisbon have a lot more in common than their both being tiny brunettes.

VIS #5: Jane and Lorelie Bond over Blows

-Lorelie later tells Jane that they’re going to a cabin she and her late sister used to go to. When Jane expresses sorrow for her loss she says: “Don’t be. Her death was a gift. Sort of.” When Jane asks her to explain, Lorelie tells him: “Losing my sister brought me into my full reality. I faced my deepest fear. I have complete awareness. Nothing can hurt me.”

Jane leaves his and Lorelie’s hotel room immediately to call Lisbon and confirm what he already suspects: Red John killed Lorelie’s sister to leave her bereft, in pain and vulnerable to his manipulation. He has Lisbon fax over a photo of her sister’s crime scene where she carved the name of her assailant on the floor: Roy.

-As in Roy Tagliaferro, RJ’s alias.

Meanwhile Lorelie hears on the radio that Jane’s car was left broken into and that the police think he was kidnapped by Lorelie Martins. She proceeds to beat Jane into a pulp as soon as he comes back into their hotel room over his manipulation and lies. She tells Jane that he had her going, that for a moment she almost trusted him. When Jane tells her she should she says “Stop, just stop playing the role.” Jane then tells her that RJ, her friend, was the one who killed her sister and shows her the crime scene photo, adding that RJ made her a victim so that he could rescue her, that he preyed on her pain. Lorelie denies this and at Jane’s insistence tells him: “Just stop. God you’re just like him. Relentless manipulation.” When Jane says he’s nothing like John, Lorelie points out: “How would you know? I know.”

-I must say her words really made me feel vindicated. I’ve always said that Jane and RJ were two sides of the same coin (among many other similarities too numerous to mention here). It was nice to have it in canon. Even better, maybe now that Jane knows it too he can actively start working on lessening those similarities.

Lorelie then adds “I only wonder why the two of you didn’t become life-long friends the moment you shook hands.”

-OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

PEOPLE!! The suspect list has been narrowed down to people Jane shook hands with!!!

VIS #6: Lorelie and Jane at the Cabin

Lorelie tells Jane to go on inside. He enters the empty cabin and you can practically hear her sister’s ghost in the building. Lorelie tells Jane they used to come here to escape from the world. She then tells Jane that RJ didn’t kill her sister, that he’ll never convince her of that. Jane tells her “I’d kill for a cup of tea right now.” Lorelie offers to make him one.

-For a woman who knows she was being manipulated, Lorelie is awfully nice. I think it’s because she’s probably been spying on Jane for RJ so long that she knows needing tea= feeling distressed. Also, she probably understands Jane’s motivations and is therefore able to forgive him.

Jane tells Lorelie that they can’t stay here, that if the house is registered in Miranda’s, Lorelie’s sistere’s name then it’s only a matter of time before the police arrive. Lorelie expects Jane to run with her but he tells her that he’ll delay them: “Like you said, I’m never going to convince you that Red John killed your sister. You need to go and find out the truth for yourself. And when you do, when you find out the truth, you know where to find me. Just call me.”

-I think Lorelie felt, perhaps for the first time, that Jane was being genuine with her. Her subsequent concern for him felt genuine as well when she offers to beat him up so his kidnapping story is more believable.

Jane declines Lorelie’s offer. She kisses Jane before he tells her that she has to go.

-That kiss at the end seemed genuine gratitude on Lorelies part. Jane on the other hand seemed a bit too eager  end it. His hand was on her shoulder, almost pushing her away. It certainly wasn’t pulling her closer. I chalk it up either to his being in a hurry or him feeling uncomfortable and not wanting Lorelie to mistakenly think that he has any romantic feelings towards her. Like he told Lisbon, she’s just a means to the end that is RJ. But I think the time they spent together made him sympathize with her. By pushing her away I think Jane was actually showing her a kindness. She’s no longer just an object to be used. She’s a person.

Jane gets in his car and crashes it. When Lisbon and company show up he tells them that Lorelie ran on foot. He also demands to know “Who’s that guy?” referring to Kirkland before being shushed by Lisbon.

-Love, love LOVE, Jane’s indignant tone in reference to Kirkland. Also adored his extra moaning. I have no doubt whatsoever that he was in pain. But I also don’t doubt he was being extra vocal about it and enjoying Lisbon’s attention. Big baby 🙂

VIS #7: Lisbon confronts Jane in the attic

While I loved how Lisbon was concerned about Jane, I was worried that she wouldn’t be able to figure out what Jane did; that the best we’d get was a a replay of the scene in Red Queen where she tells Jane that whenever he’s involved she has cause for doubt. Been there, done that. Then I got worried that Lisbon simply wouldn’t speak of what she knows Jane did (i.e. Always Bet on Red ). Instead, writer Daniel Cerone thankfully shows us that Lisbon’s character has indeed grown. Let’s take it from the top.

Lisbon visits Jane in his attic and sits down with a serious, almost accusatory look on her face.

-This reminds me of when Lisbon told her shrink that cops sit quietly in front of perps, that it makes them nervous and gets them talking. It certainly works on Jane here. He starts talking and the two have the following conversation:

Jane:  “You’ll never know.” 

Lisbon: “I’ll never know what?”

-Lisbon’s question didn’t sound like it was intended as a diversion. Rather, the tone felt almost confrontational to me. Like she’s daring Jane to read her thoughts. Which Jane does….

Jane: “Whether I engineered the escape and abduction.”

Her demeanor is more assured than I’ve ever seen her when dealing with Jane:

Lisbon: “Trust me. I know.”

Jane’s confidence, on the other hand seemed more feigned than genuine:

Jane: “You don’t know. You’ll just guess.”

-Why yes Jane, but then you’d know something about that wouldn’t you. More than that, Jane’s reaction here is continuity to his ambivalent feelings when it comes to how well Lisbon knows him. We’ve seen him teach her his skills, but he’s quick to express disbelief when she uses them on him (Red Sky at Night, The Crimson Ticket). But Jane’s got more than just Lisbon’s knowledge into his ruses to worry about now:

Jane: “And you didn’t tell your new best friend Kirkland either.”

-I posit that by stating that Lisbon didn’t tell Kirkland, Jane was actually indirectly asking her if she had. He just didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t sure. More than that, the “new best friend” title Jane gave Kirkland seemed to stem from pure (I think it’s safe to say romantic, rather than platonic) jealousy. I’m sorry, but it was too pointed a statement to be anything else. Moving along…

Lisbon: I don’t have any evidence, if I did I’d put you in cuffs myself.

Jane: No you wouldn’t.

Lisbon: Try me.

At her words, Jane chuckles.

Lisbon: “What’s so funny.”

Jane:  Nothing. Sorry.

-Jane’s laugh here could be interpreted as mocking: he doesn’t believe Lisbon’s would go through with her words. Or it could have been ironic: after all these years they’re still facing the same dilemma first expressed in season one’s episode Red Flame. I choose to believe that it was actually uncomfortable laughter.

Why?

Jane: “All of it is worth it.”

-Because Jane tells Lisbon what Lorelie told him.

At Lisbon’s expression of disbelief/disgust, Jane gestures for her to come close:

Jane: “She told me Red John and I were very much alike. That it’s a wonder we weren’t best friends from the moment we shook hands.”

Jane sharing his little secret with Lisbon is perfectly in character. He takes risks that are only worth it when they bring results. Then he shows off to Lisbon how smart he is.

But while that’s true for normal cases Jane’s rarely ever been open when it concerns RJ. So why did he clue Lisbon in this time? Besides his being generally better at sharing this season I mean (probably to make up for his 6 month long deception).

I think Jane knew Lisbon would be more forgiving if he clued her in. She’d be less doubtful of his intentions if he shared his knowledge.

Then there’s Kirkland. I wonder if his presence didn’t help spur Jane into coming clean. It certainly irked him. If he felt threatened by Kirkland, then that might have caused him to be more open.

Best Scenes

The winner: The ending: Lisbon confronts Jane in the attic.

First Runner up: Lisbon and Kirkland question Dana.

Second Runner up: Dana Confesses to Lisbon that she sold her daughter.

What were your favorite scenes?

Best lines

“Any task can be done as long as it is broken down in manageable pieces.”- Brett Stiles to Jane.

“No one ever accused you of good judgement.”- Lorelie, to Jane.

“I’d like to understand. In case you haven’t noticed, healing is not my strong suit.”-Jane, to Loreli. They say the first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging it exists…

Icings on the Cake

Cho and Rigsby staring into LIsbon’s office, then looking away as soon as she walks into the bullpen. I can just imagine them gossiping about the man in her office.

Honorable Mentions

Blake Neely once again provided glorious music to accompany a fantastic episode.

The car crash was extremely well done. Kudo’s to director Simon Baker and whoever else was in charge.

The writing was remarkably well paced. We have scenes switching back and forth from Jane and Lorelie to Lisbon and Kirkland, each revealing a little more of the puzzle that is Lorelie’s involvement with RJ. There’s also the fact that for the first time we saw the consultant and CBI agent, each without his significant other, with another woman (and man) without the scenes feeling completely off. In fact, they almost felt appropriate at times. Truly well played Mr. Cerone.

Both Baker and Tunney were phenomenal.

Gigi Rice who plays Dana Martins was absolutely perfect. She was equally convincing both when Dana was being defensive and cold, as well as when she was being repentant.

Pet Peeves

You’d think Jane and Lisbon would have contacted Lorelie’s mother before to get insight into Lorelie’s past. But as far as we know this is the first time They’d met her.

Will we ever know how Lorelie ended up in the FBI prison and what the official position on that is?

The FBI could argue that a genuine mix-up is the cause of Lorelie’s dissapearence. They could deny the fact that she’s in their prison. Except Lorelie was called by her real name. within the prison. It’s just too aggravating to sift through all the possibilites; though Violet came up with a worthy believable scenario in the last episode’s review. But I’d like something in canon.

The scene with the kid at the convenience store was creepy. I think it was meant to be amusing.

Conclusion

Why didn’t RJ rescue Lorelie? Did he know Jane would? Did he want him to? Or was he that assured that she was completely out of Jane’s reach?

Then there’s Jane himself. We’ve gotten lots of continuity with regards to his less than healthy obsession, but it’s been a while since we saw that crazy look in his eye that he was sporting when he told Lisbon that Red John is someone he knows. Seriously, he looked downright scary with that creepy grin on his face. As Baker directed the episode, I’m sure this was intentional. That, along with all the other hints we’ve gotten this season makes me wonder if Jane’s sanity is a left over theme from last year’s season. It was never quite addressed, so that could very well be possible.

Finally, In episode Red Dawn’s comments, I’d stated:

I’ve learned my lesson with writer Tom S.’s first mentalizing of us audience when he had Jane help Steiner kill himself (the Red Line) to pave the way for when Jane shoots Carter. I don’t think I’m being paranoid when I think that this episode is likewise meant, to borrow Arco’s, butter us up when it comes to Jane so we’ll forgive something terrible that he’ll do this season. Likewise, we were shown Lisbon’s motivations so that we are able to sympathize with her and forgive her when she most likely lets Jane get away with whatever he’ll do. Readers, consider yourselves warned. I’ll be holding my guard way, way up. Conversely, it might also be that they’re showing us how close Jane and Lisbon are, the better to break our hearts if a rift finally comes between them. I prefer the latter scenario as it hasn’t been done before. But I’ll need to have tissue boxes at the ready if that happens…

I think this episode walked the careful line between the two scenarios. Yes, Jane did something atrocious again. But Lisbon neither forgave him nor did a huge blow out occur. I’m glad of it, for now, as there’s still plenty of time for drama between the two later in the show, especially considering the fact that Jane immediately pegged Kirkland as a new welcome presence in Lisbon’s life, which, by definition I suspect means Kirkland will be an unwelcome presence in Jane’s life. I can’t for the life of me find nor remember which of the readers mentioned Jane being a “caveman in a suit” (please let me know who you are and for which review you said it and I’ll certainly cite you!), but I had wanted to end the review with that quote stating that we’ll see how true (probably very) that statement is the next time Jane runs into Kirkland around Lisbon. I can’t wait.

For now, let the bidding on who is RJ is begin:

Last weeks art was a collaboration of ideas between the wonderful Mary (mistress of affiliate site Robin’s Green Shades) and Chizuruchibi. This week, the wonderful mistress of The Red Blog (another affiliate and your best source for all things Mentalist related) chimed in and helped my wonderful artist come up with the following:

Image by Chizuru-chibi. Copyright Reviewbrain November, 2012. Not to be used without permission.

If I were Jane I’d invest in creating this game. Maybe he wouldn’t get bet up as much that way XD.

Don’t forget to tune in this week. Check out the next episode’s promo.

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Mentalist Ruby Slippers Review

Guest reviewed once again by Violet the life-saver. Don’t forget to vote to tell her how wonderful she is 🙂

Synopsis

CBI Agents Lisbon (Tunney), Cho (Kang) and consultant Patrick Jane (Baker) investigate the death of a man handcuffed into a car and burnt to death in a dark alley. Jane immediately links the crime to the nearby cabaret where drag queens run a show. Meanwhile, the victim’s identity is confirmed as a very young man who happened to be gay and used to be bullied in parallel by his abusive father, a homophobic coworker and a sadistic lover.

Concise Verdict

Writer Daniel Cerone keeps throwing our way excellent storylines. ‘Ruby Slippers’ offered some enjoyable funny moments, enlivening a very intense and emotional story, written with great sensibility. All in all, a highly recommendable episode.  9.5

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

‘Ruby Slippers’ shows someone who couldn’t help but stay locked in a victim status, yet manages to get help and to become someone else, someone happier and more self-assuming. There were again plenty of nice references to previous eps: Jane is seemingly thrown off his game, just like he was after the failed attempt at robbing LaRoche near the end of S3 (‘Redacted’). That discreetly underlines that the show is approaching the end of another season. Moreover, for the third time in a row, we get an episode based on spectacle; after the low run casino where we get a glimpse on Jane’s youth, the theatre enlightening his potential for tragedy, here we have a drag queen show with a very emotional aspect. Three different stages for a growing distancing with Jane’s problems that becomes almost cathartic.

Dorothy’s ‘Ruby Slippers’

VIS #1 Jane and Van Pelt visit Archie’s father

Lisbon sends Jane and Grace inform the victim’s father of his death. Archie’s father is sad, but insists that his son was nothing like him and used to be a victim. Jane senses that something is off and begins poking at the man about him not being close to his son because the boy was gay. The man then asks if they are going to write “on their files” that Archie was gay.

-I really liked Grace’s reaction to the father’s question. She simply answered that they didn’t keep tabs on people. That calm demeanour shows once again that she has mostly recovered from her trip into anger and darkness: she’s not anymore the vindictive woman who knocked over a social worker’s coffee cup because she was irritated (‘Blood and Sand’). She can stay calm in front of a man’s latent homophobia even though she’s displeased. Moreover, there’s been some time since we got to see her investigate with the consultant. She was sitting with him on his couch in last episode, but here they are on the field, where Jane has been mostly alone or with Lisbon until recently. That detail alone hints that there is more collaboration with the team.

Both Jane and Grace soon leave the father to see the boy’s room. Jane immediately points out that it’s not a normal teenager room, since the decor was obviously done by the father; the room is not personalized, not even with posters. Van Pelt comments that hers was full of them, a personal comment that also indicates that things are alright with her. Nevertheless this room serves a greater purpose than just enlightening Grace’s teen years: the lack of homey feeling is the first glimpse we have in Archie’s life, and its sobriety bordering on austerity contrasts with the glimmer of the dressing room at the cabaret. In fact, later on, the other room (or rather bed) at the shelter where the boy slept after leaving home conveys the same painful lack of comfort and privacy.

That scene indeed presents and explicates Archie’s emotional situation before dying, the same he encountered in the other aspects of his life, at work and in his love life. He had no room for his real personality, and used to be mistreated because of his weakness and/or his sexual orientation.

VIS # 2: Jane returns to the cabaret

During the investigation, Jane learns that Glenda has seen the murderer but refuses to tell anything. He then comes back to the cabaret to convince her and gets to know better the rest of the drag queens troupe. That scene is a key moment, first, investigation wise, because Glenda finally accepts to try and identify the killer because she can relate to Archie. Indeed, she had admitted before to Jane that she’s also been a target, balancing her life as a drag and a day job as Glen, a “normal” man who became cosmetologist. We also learn more about the female impersonators and Glenda’s role among them: she’s the drag mom, that’s to say a protector and a confident for each of them, as she has taught them how to dress but above all how to accept who they are. That acceptation is made even deeper since she suffered herself because of intolerance.

Jane seems very at ease with his new friends, in a way that reminds the immediate complicity he had with the nurses at the hospital in ‘Bloodstream’. He’s so comfortable in fact that he mentions in passing that he would also like to learn how to accept who he is. And for a showman as Jane, being able to confess his insecurities is something huge and this line illustrates a change of mind in our usually iron-willed consultant.

VIS # 3: Jane’s First Revelation

The truth is progressively exposed: first Glenda is unable to choose one suspect from the pick up line. When pressed by Jane, she tells that the man was slender, eliminating all three men from the suspect list. Jane really stages every step of this scene and ends up accusing the three suspects of being responsible for Archie’s despair and suicide, from the thief of a co-worker who kept bullying him, the abusive lover who hurt and threatened him, to the father who rejected him.

-That theory is credible because it explains the lack of useful information from Jane during the investigation. If he had a hunch but no proof to assert such an audacious hypothesis, he would have indeed remained silent about it in case that he were wrong. That fits his character. Moreover, this kind of downer ending is what we’re been used to in the darker episodes of the show: usually, we get a somewhat bittersweet ending in most murder cases. Besides, that also fits the criteria of classic detective stories. Desperate characters killing themselves in a way that incriminates an enemy appear in many stories, including in Sherlock Holmes’, the literary model for Jane (‘The Problem of Thor Bridge’).

VIS #4: Jane’s Second Revelation

After the case has been officially closed, Lisbon, frustrated that she can’t arrest the suspects for Archie’s murder makes do with charging them for their other crimes. Lisbon then meets Jane in the kitchen and the intimate setting makes her speak her heart. She’s saddened by Archie’s suicide. Jane then takes her to the cabaret. He has a surprise for her: Archie is alive and has become a drag queen under the name of Fifi. He’s faked his suicide and his friends helped him with his elaborate plan. Lisbon accepts to keep the secret and both investigators end up watching Fifi on stage.

-The final scene full of optimism contrasts deeply with the heart-breaking ending of the previous episode. Back then, Jane was depressed by the birth of Rigsby’s son, while now he’s pleased by Fifi’s revival. The conflict is still here, but there is healing. Besides, those two characters coming to life in two episodes in a row hint at a possible new turn of things in the show, hopefully for the better.

Furthermore, Archie’s revival is developed by the many elements that refer in a significant way to Victor Fleming’s movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939).

1) The characters:

-the most anecdotic of them is the puppy that Summer choose for Cho. In a way, it impersonates Dorothy’s little dog Toto. Not an important hint, but a cute one!

– Glenda is obviously Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, the godmother-like character who helps Dorothy in her quest. Here, she gives Archie counselling about his new image, she helps him to accept himself and to act accordingly.

– Archie/Fifi explicitly refers to Dorothy at the very end, when she sings the song ‘Over the Rainbow’ with glistering red stilettos (the red slippers) and the same hairstyle as Judy Garland in the movie.

2) The storyline is cleverly transposed:

– there is an enemy to kill; back then it was the Wicked Witch of the West, whereas for Archie, the enemy is that disliked weak image of himself that attracts hate from others. Hence the fake suicide: he symbolically killed this part of him using fire, like Dorothy used water.

-The movie storyline was built as a path towards home, since “there is no place like home”. Archie had no real home to return to: his ordeal takes him to a new kind of family, and above all to tolerance, freedom and peace of mind.

-The ruby slippers are first present under the form of the broken high heel of a red shoe, glistering like the precious stone. It’s the symbol used for drags in the episode (Fifi wears another pair of them on stage and we get a glimpse of Glenda’s black stilettos before following her legs and skirt clad figure when she comes to see Lisbon in the bullpen). In the movie they were the means used to be get away from the land of Oz. Dorothy had to tap her heels together three times. Here, as a wink, it seems that the heel was found after our travestied Dorothy has symbolically tapped her shoes and the heel has broken. Indeed, she’s already returned home when the episode begins: she found a way to both hide herself and get a new life. Like her fictional model, Fifi has understood that she doesn’t need to run away from herself anymore.

Moreover, those slippers were also the first clue for the CBI team to found the guy that the bully at work kept referring to as a “princess”. There’s also a bit of a Cinderella reference, Given that the episode reunites a lost shoe (or part of it at least) and a situation where a good godmother helps her protégé to achieve happiness. The difference is that happiness here doesn’t mean for Archie only finding a love interest, but more learning to love who he is. And in this fairy tale, the main character has worked and earned his success, he’s taken an active part in his achievement.

Jane’s path on the yellow brick road

There is a parallel between Archie’s story and Jane’s. Like him, Jane needs to confront three adversaries. First, the father: Archie’s dad used violence and certainly psychological abuse on him, he restrained him to force him to become someone he wasn’t, someone like him. Jane’s father did the same thing, he forced his son to manipulate, lie and cheat. Hence Jane’s hate for whom he’s become. Second point, unease at work: Jane’s past career is also a problem, since he feels guilty for what he’s done to people who believed him. Last, Archie knew an abusive relationship with someone he loved. For Jane, Red John represents the failure of his private life, he stole what could have been the most positive thing for him. He’s ridden with guilt and regret. For Archie, these three threats are related to aggression from someone else, that’s what makes him a victim, while for Jane they are more different sides of his own conscience. Still, Archie’s rebirth, strategically aired after an episode where the consultant was surrounded by tragedy, is full of hope for Jane too.

The similarities go even further. In season 2, when the Red John case was given to Bosco, Minelli called out Jane’s lack of realism by telling him « you’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy». And another analogy with “The Wizard of Oz” is developed, starring Jane as a new Dorothy on his path towards revenge, Red John as the Wicked Witch he needed to kill before getting peace, and Glinda/Lisbon as a tutelary figure who protected and helped him out. It’s interesting to note that ‘Ruby Slippers’ showed a kind of complicity between Glenda and Lisbon. They talk together with ease and Lisbon is even dragged on stage by Glenda the drag queen.

The episode resumes a dynamic that we haven’t seen in some time but that was characteristic for past seasons: Jane investigates alone, manages to hide the truth until the end. The team gets to do the leg work, while Lisbon is relegated to her boss function, she deals with angry attorneys, demands results and chastises Jane for his lack of efficiency.

Nevertheless, the analogy now is in fact more nuanced than it was in season 2. There has been a shift in Jane’s goal meanwhile, so the conflict is more interiorized.

– He helps his Glinda in this ep, he shows her what really happened backstage. Somehow he’s become a kind of tutelary figure for her too, meaning that he’s grown up.

– He’s closer to accept who he is. There’s been an insistence in showing since S2 that he has the capacity to heal. When we compare with the shameful and self-deprecating image he probably has of himself, we can notice that he’s proven he has the same three qualities looked-for in the movie. He is a coward, who flies away from danger, yet he confronted it more than once. The brain he used to manipulate as a psychic is now a tool to serve justice. His cold heart that needed « someone better than (him) » has been proven capable of empathy. All that contrasts with Paddy from ‘Fugue in Red’, who is certainly close to the representation he has of himself (except maybe for the womanizing part): manipulative, selfish and ready to play with emotions, afraid to face the truth of his own life.

– Unlike in season 2, the coming back home part is more related to the craving for a new life than to Red John’s death. Like Fifi, he wants to live, not to die. Therefore, between he lines, this episode synthesizes that longing to live again that has been fermenting this whole season. Things are crystallized before the finale.

As a conclusion, the comparison with the old movie shows at the same time that Jane’s character has evolved and how a door has been opened. There is a possibility for him to come to reconciliation with himself and to repair the deep insecurity he still feels.

Cho and Summer

Yet, hope isn’t everywhere and Cho’s love life isn’t as sunny as it could be. Is his summertime coming to an end? Either way, the usually impassive Cho begins to have problems with his bubbly girlfriend.

Troubles begin when Summer calls him to ask his advice on a cute but irrelevant question since he’s out investigating. She wants to give him a puppy that reminds her of him. This reason for disturbing him is absolutely endearing but the woman seems not to take his job very seriously, while he does. That was already hinted with the alarm clock incident in ‘Ruddy Cheeks’, when she turned it off and he got to work late. She’s thoughtful and eager to please him, but she risks also appearing a bit clingy and immature.

Later on she barges in the bullpen to bring him lunch and collect her pay check as an informant, even though he explicitly asked her to wait until the evening. He’s not very pleased by her display of affection but his mild irritation goes further when his informant/secret girlfriend casually greets his boss, with who she’s on first name basis (the girl seems very familiar with the team indeed…). He’s afraid to be discovered and takes her into an interrogation room to have a little privacy and discuss the problem at hand: they need to be discreet or she needs to quit being his informant. That only highlights how ambiguous and uncomfortable Cho’s status is in this situation. He doesn’t want Lisbon to find out, because his career or Summer’s job are somewhat at stake, but above all because he is certainly afraid to lose her respect. He’s proven so with the painkillers incident. After all, he already told Rigsby that he was seeing the former hooker, so the problem really seems related to Lisbon. Except for Jane, she’s always the person people want to hide from. She has been given this role too at first during the romance between Wayne and Grace, only for slightly different reasons. Still, both couples wanted to stay under Lisbon’s radar not to lose the chance to keep working together.

There seems to be a problem of communication in our contrasted couple. Cho needs a bit of distance and tries to be professional and thus, keeps their relationship a secret. On the other hand, Summer doesn’t respect enough his boundaries, maybe because she’s feeling insecure, since she asked him in this episode if he was ashamed of her and she has already admitted before that it unsettled her not to know what he thinks. It’s becoming obvious that they will soon need to find a solution about the mixing of their professional and personal status.

Best Scenes

The winner: the ending. That soft and delicate singing was one of the most uplifting moments of the show. Lisbon’s emotion and the gentle teasing about it were an added bonus.

1st Runner up: Jane and Lisbon in the kitchen- going backstage at the cabaret. That scene showed how the friendship between those two has progressed. First, Jane genuinely tried to keep her out of his scheme, so we can guess he decided to tell her when she admitted to being upset with Archie’s fate. He didn’t refuse her a choice in the matter like he used to do, he didn’t hide the truth to manipulate her or to test her reactions like he did in S3 ‘Blood for Blood’. And the big difference in Jane’s motive opens the possibility of redemption and a new hope. The trust between them was also quite touching: she was not afraid to tell him her inner turmoil, he trusted her to keep his secret and probably did it out of affection for her.

2nd Runner up: Lisbon and Glenda in the bullpen. The interaction between those two were very natural and non judgmental. That was very refreshing and nice.

Best Lines

– “In this dress, darling?” Glennda, clad in a form-fitting sparkly blue gown, to Lisbon asking her why she didn’t pick up her broken heel. Female bonding all the way…

– “Whenever I get dressed, I try to conceal where I’m going, who I’m going to see and who I’m going to blow on my way.” Glenda responding to Lisbon about her drag day outfit. Seductive? Yes. Witty? Definitely.

– « Ouh ! Don’t let them know that you said that » Jane to Lisbon after she states that that nothing stood out with the drag queens… when she searched their background.

– “He’s just like you Kimball. He’s so fierce on the outside and a softie on the inside. And he’s got this squished up face” Summer to Cho. About the puppy. Yes, that’s the lamest attempt ever at convincing a hardcore cop to adopt a dog.

– “Oh my. He stops my heart every time.” Glennda when Jane pops up at the rehearsal. Ooooh, seems like someone has a soft spot for Patrick…

– “Fifi Nex… Phoenix. Risen from the ashes.” Jane to Lisbon, when he explains her that Archie has become Fifi. Pay attention, people, clues may be everywhere!

– “Is that a tear I see?” Jane to a moved Lisbon while listening to Fifi’s song. The man can’t help but tease her at any time…

– “Yeah, keep watching” Lisbon to the above. Always so human and self conscious; that’s one of her most winning traits.

Honorable Mentions

– Daniel Cerone managed to give us a hopeful episode and that alone is quite rare in the show. And the fact that the storyline was also very well built was the cherry on top.

– Carlon Wilborn did a great job in impersonating Glenda as an eccentric, charming and rather admirable character. I’d also like to point out that writer, stylists and actors managed to give a real personality to each one of the drags, from the chubby and endearing dentist to the gorgeous slender brunette in that stunning green dress. That’s rather impressive, given that we get to see them a few seconds at best.

– They also managed to personalize the team’s reactions to Glenda’s appearance. Rigsby is very amusing in his awkward but polite way; he clearly doesn’t really know how to deal with her: he calls her a “nice guy” but acts gentlemanly as if she was a woman (in front of the men bathroom of all places!). Jane is very at ease and Grace simply accepts the situation in her open-minded way, while Saint Teresa shows empathy.

Pet Peeves

– As much as I enjoyed this episode, I can’t help but think the representation of the gay community is maybe a bit reductive. The characters were either targets or drag queens when they assumed their sexual orientation. That lack of perspective is explained by the fact that the episode dealt with one specific destiny. Still, the general effect would have been better balanced if they introduced another gay character from outside that glittering world. A witness or an investigator; someone who would have showed a different take on things; who had maybe a supporting family or friends (other than just two saddened female acquaintances) or who had at least encountered more than violence or a rather awkward tolerance.

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Mentalist Fugue in Red Review

Synopsis

CBI serious crimes unit is called to a crime scene near Rancho Murieta Fire Station where hero firefighter Paul Satterfield has been found in the woods nearby with his throat cut. Consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) goes searching for the murder weapon when he is attacked by the perp and drowned in a nearby pond. Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Tunney) finds him and paramedics manage to revive him. But when Jane comes to, it turns out that he suffers Dissociative fugue: temporary loss of personal identity.

Concise Verdict

I had tried avoiding as many spoilers as possible over this episode but a few pieces of knowledge managed to make their way into my twitter feed. The first was that Jane would lose his memory, reverting to his old self, and the second was that this episode contained Simon Baker’s favorite Jane/Lisbon scene so far this season.

I gave an inward groan at the first. Regulars know I have little patience with so called “thrilling” Jane-based plot lines and have been begging we go back to more case-based episodes. I was fully prepared to launch into my usual, “enough, we still have over three seasons to go and SLOW THE HECK DOWN ALREADY!” rant. Also, we’ve seen enough of the old Jane this season (via fake psychic reads) to know how he used to be. I didn’t see the necessity for more reminders of “look how much he’s grown” and started despairing that my inner Cynic might have permanently taken over. Fueled largely by the increasingly dramatic episodes this season, he pointed out that nothing screams desperation and a need to impress than excessive drama.

Then I watched this episode.

Due to the generous dose of character moments (I’m a sucker for those)  I had to re-watch Fugue in Red several times to make sure my judgment was not being compromised by how much I enjoyed those scenes.

I’m glad to report writer Daniel Cerone had Cynic effectively put a sock in it.

MY GOD WHAT AN AMAZING EPISODE!

Despite the “Jane in distress” plot this was a team episode. We got to learn a lot about how the members of the Serious Crimes unit view Jane and his existence in their lives. Was it gratuitous with all the Jane/Lisbon moments? Sure. Did those moments overshadow the case?  *gasp* No!  Because those moments were woven so intricately within the episode. The drama was not out of place and most importantly wasn’t used to distract from an otherwise weak episode (a major peeve of mine and a sure way to get a low rating on this blog). Not only was the writing excellent (including a new setting and clever set up) but so much attention was paid to the details. The direction, production and music were all outstanding and the acting was superb. This was a perfect episode in the same vein of ‘Blood and Sand’ and ‘Blinking Red Light’. I’m still concerned that all the thrilling plots are a bit too much for a relatively young show but if Heller et. al. are going to continue with these home runs, who am I to argue? But let it be known that I’m going to be holding this show to the great heights it has achieved. There was, however, a major cop out at the end (we needed about 30 more seconds) so:  9.8/10.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

Before I get into the discussion (the bulk of which will revolve around Jane’s interactions with the team) here are a few interesting facts about Dissociative Fugue:

-It occurs after trauma.

-The person suffering the episode may acquire an entirely new personality, and a new life, disappearing from the places/people/life he or she knows.

-Once the person “wakes up” from their amnesia he/she will not remember anything that happened while they were in the fugue state.

-Dissociative fugue can be recurring if the underlying trauma is not dealt with.

So contrary to what I originally thought, Jane in this episode did not necessarily revert to who he was prior to Red John killing his family; he just as likely could have acquired new personality traits to supplement those he did not remember having.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually appreciate this ambiguity. Whether Jane reverted to his conman self  or became a new person didn’t matter to me because the way he acted while under the fugue presented me with two equally pleasant possibilities: Jane always was a good person or at least wanted to become a good person OR Jane’s friendship to Lisbon was so strong he sensed it even while under his fugue. I’ll explain this more later but first let’s see how the team dealt with Jane’s loss of identity.

WAYNE RIGSBY (Owain Yeoman)

Despite being the victim of many of the mentalist’s antics, Wayne Rigsby likes Jane and has spoken up on his behalf more than once.  When Jane is forced to quit to investigate a Red John lead on his own (Red John’s Friends) Rigsby tells Lisbon”  “It’s not that we need him, he needs us!” In a later episode where Jane again leaves the CBI, this time out of anger because the Red John case was taken away from him, Rigsby uses the opposite approach. He tells Lisbon “No disrespect, but I think we need Jane,” tacitly urging her to bring the consultant back.

So Rigsby’s loyalty and occasional sensitivity has already been established. While there were a few instances where Rigsby was interpreted to not be a team player, his reluctance was explainable either by his inherent respect for rules and/or fear of losing his job.

Rigsby’s regard for Jane is further built upon in this episode. When Lisbon tells the team that Jane is coming back to work, Rigsby, concerned, states “This is crazy he should still be in the hospital” but goes with Lisbon’s instructions when she says that they should act normally around Jane; that he needs to be surrounded by familiarity until he gets his memory back.

But when Jane appears to show an interest in Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) , Rigsby faces a new challenge to dealing with the mentalist that has nothing to do with his dilemma of breaking rules.

Jane shows up in the bullpen and when Van Pelt tells him he gave them a scare, he leans in close and tells her it wasn’t his intention.

It’s interesting that Rigsby immediately glances at Lisbon here (maybe hoping she’d intervene, or just checking to see if she sees what’s happening) before he chimes in to say he’s glad Jane is okay. Jane (intentionally?) calls Wayne “Pigsby” (perhaps to undermine him). Wayne corrects him and Lisbon then turns the discussion back onto the case.

Later Lisbon tells Jane and Rigsby to interview the firemen at the station. When Jane complains that he doubts he’d be useful Rigsby tells him he’s pretty good at picking out suspects mostly by “causing trouble.” Jane asks if Rigsby doesn’t mind the trouble and he replies “We’re a team, we help each other out.”

For his amiability, Rigsby has to then endure Jane’s asking him to help him out with the “luscious redhead” Van Pelt. Jane says since Rigsby and Grace obviously dated and she dumped him maybe Wayne can give him tips on how to “open the cookie jar” to get some “tasty ginger snaps”. Rigsby’s tip is a terse “back off”.

I don’t know what was funnier here, Rigsby’s reaction or Jane’s godawful lewdness but I was laughing so hard in this scene. For the record, I think that, perhaps more than being attracted to Grace, Jane was enjoying messing with Rigsby. I found his subsequent “I thought we were a team” very telling. It could also be that Jane was multi-tasking.

But despite Fugue Jane’s play at Van Pelt, Rigsby remains professional and the two work very well together; Jane ruffling feathers and Rigsby smoothing them over. I have to say watching Baker and Yeoman together was a great treat and I hope to get more scenes in the course of the season.

 GRACE VAN PELT (Amanda Righetti)

Grace’s reaction to learning that Jane was coming back to work and that they should behave normally is “I’m not sure how to be normal around Jane.”

-I was very surprised at this line especially since Grace always seemed to be the person who acts most naturally around Jane. She’s the only one who ever bothers arguing with him over non-work related matters, and they seem to have a nice sibling dynamic going on. Jane butts into her business (like he does with Wayne) and she seems to enjoy working with him; willingly going along with his cons. So, yeah, I find Grace’s reaction that she doesn’t know how to act around Jane a bit strange, but it could also be that despite how well they seem to get along, on some level she is wary of him.

Grace (unlike Rigsby) doesn’t notice anything strange about Jane’s attention to her (further support that Jane was indeed just being his normal friendly self with her). She does however seem flattered when Rigsby later mentions that the only reason Jane didn’t con her is because he wants to date her.

-I found her reaction to be realistic and quite amusing, especially coupled with Lisbon’s hilarious facial expression and darting eyes between Rigsby and Van Pelt. It was almost like she’s saying “God, please no more drama between these two.”

But Grace’s pleasure at the idea of Jane’s interest quickly turns into disgust when she sees him in action, conning a woman at a bar, saying that he’s in touch with her dead mother. She tells Lisbon “I hate him”.

-Given the fact that Grace knows Jane is suffering a Fugue state, her intolerance here could be more continuity to her PTSD after having to kill her murderous fiancee Craig. Or that trauma could have nothing to do with her annoyance here as Grace hasn’t always been the most patient woman. As it is, I’m glad that her behavior in this episode was mostly normal; that she seems recovered from her tragedy and has only become slightly tougher from it (i.e. her questioning of the victim’s wife).

KIMBALL CHO (Tim Kang)

Jane is teamed up with Cho to check out Wlicox’s house, the last fire the victim helped put out. When Jane balks at going door to door talking to the neighbors “like a salesman” Cho tells him “You do it all the time. You say it’s one of the more interesting things about being a consultant.” Jane laughs, then tells Cho he’s a clever one, indirectly calling Cho out on trying to manipulate him.

-Cho’s approach to dealing with Fugue Jane is exactly opposite of Rigsby’s. While Rigsby (who usually tries to limit Jane’s chaotic methods) was up front about those methods as part of Jane’s crime solving techniques (despite his disapproval of them) Cho lies to Jane despite his usually being more willing than Rigsby to go along with Jane’s indiscretions.

So Cho’s nonchalance at using Jane’s Fugue state to make his job easier here is very interesting. Perhaps he doesn’t believe that Jane is indeed suffering from memory loss and wanted to test him. Or maybe inwardly Cho always disapproved of Jane’s antics but had been going along with them all this time out of necessity; given the chance to avoid them, he didn’t refuse it. Or maybe the reason had more to do with control as hinted at by Jane’s semantics since he tells Cho “I’ll do your bidding.” We get more clues later.

When Jane goes to Wilcox’s home under the guise of searching for his daughter’s doll, Cho asks Jane what his play is. Jane says it’s to  “Bring a ray of hope to a family, I suppose and help my friends solve a crime.”

Cho tells him that he doesn’t buy it, that Jane doesn’t help them because he likes them.

Jane is taken aback by this statement: “I don’t like you?” he asks, confused and perhaps even disturbed.

-This reaction is not surprising as everyone else on the team has been more than friendly with Jane despite his annoying some of them. Cho’s comment on the other hand was blunt, perhaps cruelly so considering Jane’s memory lossand the fact that Jane hadn’t done anything to warrant it with him (up to that point anyway).

Cho elaborates. “You don’t not like us, but you have deeper reasons for helping people. Without those reasons you’re a hustler.”

-And there we have it. The reason Cho had no qualms conning Fugue Jane is because he doesn’t trust him. While Jane had obviously retained his mentalist abilities, in Cho’s opinion, he is bereft of the motivation to use those abilities for good.

Jane tells Cho that he’s wrong about him; he does like them and he wants to find the girl’s doll. When he does Jane takes the opportunity to manipulate Cho. First he fakes regaining part of his memory, getting Cho to reveal that Jane had a family. Jane runs with it “how can I forget my family” garnering enough of Cho’s pity so that he’ll leave him alone (i.e. to collect himself). Once alone, Jane tries cracking the safe in the house before he takes off.

-Personally I think Jane’s flight was a reaction to Cho’s negative assumptions of his character. Perhaps it was Jane’s way of getting back at Cho. Or, Jane could have become fearful of whatever little Cho revealed about his past. This theory is supported by his later telling Lisbon that he wants to leave, start a new life.

In the bullpen, when the team is fretting over losing Jane, Cho tells Lisbon “Look, don’t take this the wrong way but the death of Jane’s family made him a better person.”

-I’d say Cho’s statement was made out of anger at Jane’s actions except it isn’t in his character to do that. When we consider this along with Cho’s earlier remark that Jane without his tragedy is just a hustler, I think it’s safe to assume that Cho doesn’t think much of Jane as a person.

But what isn’t very clear is whether Cho thinks Jane’s quest for revenge is his reason for helping the CBI, or his quest for redemption. As far as we know the only person Jane told for a fact that he will kill RJ is Lisbon. He’d stated to the team that he’s seeking personal revenge but that could have been equated with his catching RJ, not necessarily killing him.

Regardless, even if what Cho said is true, it’s not necessarily relevant in this case. While Jane has retained some aspects of his character, ”Fugue Jane” does not necessarily equal “Jane before Red John”. But Cho isn’t exactly the most sympathetic person so it’s no wonder he didn’t bother with this distinction.

LISBON/JANE

There were oh so many good scenes between Fugue Jane and Lisbon, but for the sake of brevity I’ll only elaborate on the more telling moments.

Intro..

When Jane wakes up in the hospital, in reply to Lisbon’s “It’s good to see you breathing.” He replies “It’s good to see you period,” taking her in. He then asks her if they are sleeping together, explaining at her indignation that it’s the only reason a cop would come to his bedside. Poor Lisbon hopes that he’s putting her on. When it’s clear he’s not she starts telling him about himself, but stops short of explaining why he stopped pretending to be a psychic; that his wife and daughter were murdered.

Lisbon tells the team that Jane needs to be surrounded by a familiar environment and that he needs something to hold onto so they are going to give him that. But despite Lisbon’s contention, instead of having Jane accompany her during the case as is their norm, she lets him go along with the others.

Jane/Lisbon Bench Scene

When Lisbon tells Jane to check the Wilcox home with Cho he tells her “So it’s his turn to babysit me now.” Lisbon answers “Well somebody has to.”

-Notwithstanding the reasonableness of Lisbon’s statement, Jane’s comment does beg the question why Lisbon isn’t the one watching over him. It’s probably just a plot-based decision; a chance to show all the characters reactions to Fugue Jane. It also gives the actors more or less a fair share of screen time (something I’m forever grateful for and wish a continuous effort would be made to do so). But if readers think there is even the slightest chance that Lisbon was actively avoiding Fugue Jane for whatever reason, I’d be very interested in hearing why. I have my own theory, but more on that later…

After Jane recites some of the things he does remember Lisbon remarks that his memory palace is still intact. Jane’s reaction to this statement is one of my favorite this entire season: “I told you about the memory palace?”

-Fugue Jane’s tone and facial expression with this line says it all: he is surprised and intrigued that he apparently trusts this woman enough to share one of his mentalist secrets with her.

For his benefit Lisbon explains: “We’re friends.”

-Again, Jane’s facial expression is that of amiable wonder.

When Lisbon asks him what he remembers about his wedding ring, Jane interprets it as being the best way to gain a woman’s trust. Lisbon is incredulous over this explanation: “So you wear a wedding ring to get over on women.” Jane answers: “worked on you.”

-At this point I think Fugue Jane was trying to lure Lisbon into revealing more about his identity by insinuating that his wedding ring deceived her into trusting him. Or maybe it was his roundabout way of poking to see if his apparent trust for Lisbon is reciprocated. Either way, Jane was fishing for more information regarding their relationship. But Lisbon doesn’t bite, instead turning the conversation onto the case.

Later in response to Cho saying Jane’s loss of his family made him a better person, Lisbon responds that this person was always inside of Jane; that his family’s murder just brought him out. It’s nice to see that Lisbon knows Jane enough to think that he always was a good person. And I’m saying know because in my opinion this became fact ever since episode Throwing Fire when a young Jane was shown crying over having to deceive a dying girl (doing his father’s bidding).

Later, Lisbon defends Jane again, this time from Van Pelt, when the two women find him doing the fake psychic reading in a bar. At Grace’s “I hate him” Lisbon is quick to point out “that’s not him”.

Now, remember when I said I had a theory over why Lisbon was shuffling Jane off onto the others? A possible reason could be that Fugue Jane is such an incorrigible flirt. The man even dared to cop a feel of Lisbon’s behind as they leave the bar. I had a hard time picking my jaw up off the floor after that, though I’m not sure if it was due to his audacity or to the fact that Lisbon didn’t kill him for it. I do have a possible explanation for her patience other than the fact that Jane is obviously not himself. Perhaps she thinks that after being celibate for eight years, and without normal Jane’s inhibitions and issues, Fugue Jane might be finding it a little hard to reign in his libido.

Jane/Lisbon (2^nd) Hospital Scene

Lisbon escorts Jane to the hospital. When she tells him she’ll see him in the morning, he tells her not to bother, that he’s done with the detective work. Lisbon is understanding and tells Jane he can stay in the hospital till her recovers his memory, but Fugue Jane has no interest in that. He gleefully tells Lisbon that he plans on calling one of the many women he met to check him out. Frustrated Lisbon states that that she can compel Jane to stay as a witness. At her threat, his mood sobers:

“Why would you do that? You think I can’t see what’s going on here. You people, you’re tiptoeing, you’re dancing around some forgotten tragedy. I’m happy now. Just, just let me be happy.”

Talking about hitting where it hurts. Lisbon, selfless friend that she is, acquiesces to Jane’s request:  “Fair enough. Look I’ll miss you but I’ll leave you alone, okay?”

Tunney totally broke my heart here. Lisbon is such a sweetheart, but then that’s nothing new and it seems that Fugue Jane sensed as much.

I have three theories here:  Jane, sensing that Lisbon cares about him used that to get her to leave him alone. Or, Jane said the above statement to gauge Lisbon’s feelings for him, to see if she cares enough about him to let him go, either out of curiosity or to indirectly piece the puzzle of his life back together. Or, Jane, wanted to gauge how tragic his life truly by testing Lisbon. If his past is as horrible as he suspects then Lisbon will probably choose to leave him alone rather than risk dredging it up again.

So which is it?

But despite Jane’s request to be left in peace, when Lisbon asks him for parting advice on the case, he angles around to get her to ask him to finish it. First, he tells her he found out who the killer is, asking her if she needs him to spell it out. When she says she does, he then states “I suppose you need me to gift out the killer too”. At this point, Lisbon seems to realize what he’s doing and answers with a smile “You usually do.”

Jane responds that he’ll give her the killer as a parting gift the next morning, bidding her goodnight. Lisbon, pleased, settles in to spend the night in a chair in Jane’s hospital room. To her dismay, Jane points out that there’s room in his bed. Lisbon warily rolls her eyes but doesn’t budge from her seat.

Have I mentioned how much I adore Lisbon?

Jane/Lisbon bullpen goodbye scene

After the case is solved Jane comes to bid the team goodbye brandishing his “responsible adult”: an attractive young woman, Tamarra, on his arm. Lisbon congratulates him on solving the case even though some of the cash was missing. At Jane’s query she elaborates that Wilcox said Jane took the money but that Wilcox probably just hid it. Jane tells her “I’d look for an accomplice that’s a big job to pull off alone.”

-By this statement Jane is once again fishing for an invitation to stick around.

But Lisbon doesn’t seem to get it. She tells Jane that they’ll look for an accomplice and gives him his last paycheck. Jane then bids them farewell and starts to leave but not fast enough to keep Lisbon from noticing a diamond bracelet on his friend’s arm. “That looks real,” she comments in dismay. At this statement Tamarra gives Jane a smooch on the lips, saying that he wasn’t lying (presumably about the bracelet being genuine). Here Lisbon and the others realize that Jane did in fact steal the missing money.

A few points: Jane did not need to come back to CBI and he’s certainly not stupid enough to parade bling bought by the cash he stole there. I posit that Jane wanted to be caught, that he wanted to stay even though he didn’t have his memory back.

Further proof of this is that when Lisbon calls him out on running away, dares him to take a ride with her before he takes off, Jane agrees.

I think Jane wanted Lisbon to help him get his memory back. That he on some level realized she cared about him and that he trusted her enough to want to stick around, to dare face whatever it was she would get him to face because at least she’d be around for when he regains his memory and that it was better to have someone who knows him, that he seemingly trusts than some random stranger.

As to Lisbon, it’s ironic that after telling everyone that Jane needs to regain his memory on his own she is the one who actively forced him to regain it. The scene in the end where she leaves Jane to open the door to his room of terror, the crime scene of his wife and daughter’s murder was heartbreaking. Lisbon’s “I’m sorry” was heartfelt, yet resolute.  I can’t help but wonder if her actions here are a result of being affected by Jane’s “greater good” creed, or if this is all her. I imagine she thought it better in the long run. Firstly, so that Jane not be alone when he regains his memory, and perhaps more importantly that she keep this potentially harmful  (to himself and others) Jane from being let loose.

I so wish the episode lasted a bit longer so we can see what (if any) other comfort Lisbon would have offered Jane. But as Jane shouldn’t remember anything that happened during his fugue state, I can only assume (hope) that aside from being confused for a while, he’ll be fine (once Lisbon fills him in on what happened).

Best Scenes

Seriously, how can I be expected to choose? The entire episode was one best scene. I will venture a guess as to what was Simon Baker’s favorite Jane/Lisbon interaction: the scene in the hospital in which he tells her to let him be happy. It was my favorite scene, along with the intro, Lisbon crying over Jane, then his regaining consciousness. Other favorites include the hilarious (first) hospital scene, Cho confronting Jane, Rigsby and Jane in the fire station, the ending…see my dilemma? I am curious as to fans’ favorite moments so please let me know in the comments.

Honorable mentions

Karl Sonnenberg: those who do not know him, he is the technical/medical advisor on the show. He’s the one responsible for how realistic Jane’s revival scene was and probably for Simon Baker’s safety as he was acting the drowning scene.

Director Randy Zisk: Aside from the flawless thrilling intro, there were many lovely takes in the episode. The sweeping angled shot of the fire station showing us so much of this great setting was much appreciated. Other shots include moments where Jane is seen from Lisbon’s vantage, especially the last scene of the episode. It conveyed the conflicting idea that while Lisbon is more than willing to look out for Jane, he is ultimately alone in his tragedy; she can only look upon him from afar.

The entire cast was phenomenal. Kang as usual brings a quiet intensity to Cho while Rigsby’s reactions to Jane’s antics were delightful comic relief. Righetti gave a strong performance as well. But by default (due to the nature of the plot) Tunney and Baker stole the show.

Stacy Haiduk I recognized her instantly (its hard not to with those eyes) and was pleased that she was as intense as I expected.

Music: Blake Neely really outdid himself this time. The teaser music of the episode was exciting and blended flawlessly with the intro. The ending was a also real tearjerker. But then there were also tunes in between, especially when the victim’s wife was being questioned. Moody and lovely.

Icings on the Cake

Lisbon and Grace tag teaming to question the victim’s wife.

Finally getting an inkling of how Cho feels about Jane.

Jane’s awkward kiss with Tamarra. It conveyed his inner conflict and how unused he is to exhibiting this particular display of affection, especially to someone he barely knows.

 Teach me Please: This is a new category where I’ll place the fun (mostly mentalist) facts we learn on this show. In this episode, aside from the phenomenon of dissociative fugue, we learn how Jane uses anagrams to remember things:  Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach is an anagram which represents the order of taxonomy in biology:(Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species). And an  anagram on how to spell the word because is: Big elephants can always understand small elephants.

Best Lines

The entire episode was full of great lines, from beginning to end. I mentioned many above but here are some I may have missed.

“It’s good to see you, period.”-Jane to Lisbon.

“Are we sleeping together?” Jane to Lisbon.

“Excuse me?!” Lisbon in response to the above.

“Well you’re a cop, that’s obvious. But you’re not treating me like a suspect and I can’t see any other reason for a police officer to come to my bedside unless we’re, unless we’re sleeping together.” Jane to Lisbon.

“ No. We. Are. Not sleeping…together.” Lisbon’s reading of this line was priceless.

“We’re working towards it though right, so I haven’t missed anything.” Jane!

“Are you putting me on?” Lisbon.

“Jane, I’m not impressed. I told you my mother died when I was a girl.” Lisbon. Wow. Really? I wonder when that happened. My bet is in episode Red Tide, off screen.

“The closest a man should come to touching a fitted sweater is helping a woman out of one.” Jane on fashion.

“Causing trouble mostly.” Rigsby, in answer to Jane on how he recognizes suspects.

“In Atlanta a woman credits her dog Floyd Henry for pulling a cancerous tumor which saved her life. Why do I remember that?” Jane in an aside to Rigsby as he interviews the firemen.

“You said I caused trouble.” Jane, to Rigsby when he receives glares for getting a dog to point to a paramedic as a suspect.

“Yeah, to help the investigation that guys the paramedic that saved your life.” Rigsby, in response to the above.

“We’re friends.” I melted at Lisbon’s simple explanation. Yes they are.

“Adrenaline. Couldn’t get enough of it. Drinking in all that glory, dancing in the fire. How do you compete with the high of being a hero? Everyday, a rush towards a big cliff. I bet getting stabbed was the biggest rush in his life.” Victim’s wife to Lisbon and Grace. Stacy Haiduk was so good. I love how she made her voice break a bit towards the end; belying she did care about her husband despite her bitterness.

“You don’t help us because you like us.” Cho to Jane. Major revelation.

“You don’t not like us. But you have deeper reasons for helping people. Without those reasons you’re a hustler.” See the above.

“Not me.” Grace on not being conned by Jane. Not much to be proud of when he didn’t even try, Grace.

“Really?” in answer to Rigsby saying Jane didn’t con her because he wants to date her. But what I loved about her statement is Tunney’s reaction to it, looking warily between her and Rigsby. So funny.

“Are you gonna make me call back up to get you out of this bar because I will do that, Paddy” Lisbon, to Jane. Awesome Lisbon is back!

“Let me know if you change your mind, or you know, get it back.” See the above.

“Put your game face on cockroach, for the dignity of your family.” Jane to Wilcox.

Conclusion

The responsibility of stating this episode’s possible moral fell on blunt Cho: Jane is a much better due to losing his family (i.e. good can come out of tragedy). This fact is quite true but let us be aware of the limits of this idea. Avid fans may remember Rebecca ( Red John’s lackey and Sam Bosco’s killer) said as much to Jane when she justified Red John’s actions to him; that he was creating light out of darkness (or something to that effect) in episode ‘His Right Red Hand’. Personally, I’m more inclined to go with Lisbon’s statement. That Jane always was a good person. Aside from the evidence in ‘Throwing fire’ we’ve had more support in this episode:

-Jane told Rigsby that he owed him 60 bucks. True, he wasn’t honest about the amount but perhaps he was just rounding down. What’s important is he admitted to owing him money.

-Jane did get the doll for the perp’s daughter.

-Jane called the perp a cockroach, showing his derision at the man for throwing away his life with his family.

-My theory that Jane only stole the cash from Wilcox because he wanted Lisbon to catch him with the money; to keep him from going anywhere.

That laughing you hear is Cynic; please ignore him.

And speaking of morals, Chizuruchibi has another very important moral from this episode:

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

 

Not only that, but if I were Lisbon, I’d be paranoid to ever let Jane out of my sight from now on…

 

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Mentalist Ring Around the Rosie Review

Synopsis

Lisbon and her team are on standby at a protest rally the mayor is attending when a dead body is found. Lisbon calls Jane to the scene and as he approaches he identifies a man he feels is suspicious. He shares his concerns with Lisbon. She has the man, Henry Tibbs (Christian Camargo) searched and a gun is found on him.  As Tibbs is licensed to carry his piece, the new CBI head Luther Wainwright (Michael Rady) thinks he should be released. Jane asks that Tibbs be kept under watch as he suspects he will ultimately be harmful. Later, a viable suspect is identified for the dead body found at the rally. Willie Shubert (Henry G. Sanders), a homeless man who used to be Lisbon’s favorite musician, confesses to the homicide. But Lisbon refuses to believe his guilt and pursues her own investigation despite Luther telling her he’s taking the case to the DA.

Concise Verdict

Like in ‘Jolly Red Elf’ which introduced J.J. Laroche (Pruitt Taylor Vince), the task of bringing in a new pivotal character to the show once again fell on  Daniel Cerone. This time it’s the new CBI boss Luther Wainwright. But more than personifying memorable new players, Cerone excels in making the most of dialogue and giving characters a fair share of screen time.  The excellent direction by Chris Long also served to make ‘Ring Around the Rosie’ a well rounded and tight episode even as it differs from the usual format. 10/10

Detailed AKA Humungous Analysis (spoilers galore)

I analyzed Very Important Scenes (VIS) where necessary and combined others where convenient. I apologize in advance if I missed anything.

VIS #1: Jane/ Lisbon at the Rally

When Lisbon calls Jane to the scene, he tells her she needs to speak up (he’s drinking tea a place surrounded by protesters).  Lisbon asks if he’s nearby. Jane states that depends on if she and her team are still “crowd-watching”. When she tells him there’s a dead body he affirms his proximity.

-Last season Jane made a habit of arriving late to crime scenes. This season, he’s apparently on standby even during boring police work. Oh joy. It seems we won’t be seeing emotionally/physically distant Jane any time soon. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised since we have yet to see him in the blasted CBI attic. But further reassurance is always welcome. Also, the simple exchange between Jane and Lisbon tacitly hints at what may have happened off screen before the episode started. I can just see Lisbon at CBI earlier asking Jane to come along to help, he refuses, but follows the team anyway. For some reason this makes me think that off-screen, following episode ‘Pretty Red Balloon’, Jane attended the mandatory seminar despite his telling Lisbon that he wouldn’t. It just seems like something he’d do now; riling Lisbon up by saying he won’t go (to tease her and assert his control) only to show up anyway.

Jane tells Lisbon that he saw a suspicious looking man with “haunted eyes, nervous energy, and an overcoat on a hot day”. She tells him his deduction is based on particularly thin hunch. He tells her she’s probably right, but when he points out that “It’s only the mayor’s life at stake” Lisbon sends Cho and Van Pelt to check out the suspect. They find the man is armed with a fully loaded gun and lead him off while Jane watches.

-I adored this. There was something just so classic about the ending of the scene, Jane standing with his hands in his pockets watching the agents cart off the suspect. Also nice was how quickly Lisbon acted on Jane’s observation. You just know tension between the two is bound to show up later this season; no doubt when Red John makes his reappearance. And while I’m admittedly looking forward to what will be great material, I plan on fully enjoying their established congeniality while it lasts here.

VIS #2: New Boss Luther Wainwright shows up

I like how no one realized Wainwright was boss when he first enters the bullpen. He looks as old as Van Pelt. Now the opening scene established Rigsby and Cho’s respective feeling regarding Luther. Rigsby is annoyed that “he barely qualifies” while Cho approach is “you get used to it”; a comment which had me wondering what other bosses or people Cho thinks don’t qualify; was he speaking in general or did he mean heads of other teams?

This scene allows viewers to gauge the rest of the team’s reactions. Lisbon, characteristically professional quickly regroups once she realizes who Luther is by introducing herself and welcoming the man. Sweet Grace smiles nicely at him, seeming pleased with his amiability. As to Jane, he observes Luther shake hands with the rest of the members of the team. Now we’ve seen Jane with Hightower and LaRoche and he’s always careful around new bosses. But he seems to have no problem revealing how vaguely unimpressed he (initially) is with Luther. When the boss tells Jane he’s still working his way through his file. Jane remarks: “Do me a favor, don’t tell me how it ends”. Luther gives him a bemused smile. When Wainwright says he prides himself on trust and transparency, Jane interrupts to ask him how old he is adding that Rigsby’s running a pool.

Perhaps Jane’s slights are his way of testing Wainwright, wanting to see his reactions. Or maybe they are Jane’s way of establishing his being the alpha male of the group. To Wainwright’s credit, he doesn’t react to Jane’s jabs and instead focuses his attention on the case. Luther points out that the victim might have been a photographer based on an observation; Jane’s forte, to which the mentalist replies “Sharp”.

I think Jane maybe initially resented Luther’s presence and couldn’t have been bothered to hide it as he’s going through a rough time (he recently found out that Red John is still alive and that he killed a man in vain). If even respectful Rigsby is smarting from having a kid be his new boss it’s only natural that egomaniac Jane would as well. But after Luther’s keen observation perhaps Jane decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Note: I was ecstatic that Wainwright’s age was mentioned so many times as it was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw him in the promo.

VIS#3: Jane and Lisbon plead their cases to Wainwright

This scene sets the stage for the two major plots of the episode that will be discussed in further detail below:  Jane/Tibbs and Lisbon/Willie plots

Jane:

Jane tells Luther that Tibbs is “a man on autopilot, set to kill”.

I guess it takes one to know one.

Jane adds that Tibbs he adds that he’s about to commit murder , maybe even mass murder, and “Who wouldn’t want to try and stop that kind of nightmare?” When Luther tells Jane that theoretical criminology has no practical value, Jane replies: “No practical value, I guess the same could be said for middle management bureaucrats.”

It’s subtle, but Jane’s passion followed by his annoyance hints at a more personal motivation for wanting to stop Tibbs. I think his zeal here is due to an inner desire for redemption. While this theme is in no way new to the show (it’s been there since the pilot) in season three especially it was personified by Jane’s desire to kill Red John rather than putting his efforts into solving cases/catching other murderers. Not so here. Old Jane is back; the one who completely immerses himself in all his cases and doesn’t treat them as mere distractions from his ultimate goal.

I wonder what brought on this change. Perhaps it’s because now Jane has something new to redeem himself for. Or maybe now that Jane realized that murder isn’t as satisfying as he thought it would be he has a new found reason to prevent it.

Lisbon:

Lisbon tells Wainwright that Tibbs might have actually killed their victim as she doesn’t believe that Willie Shubert is the killer, despite his confession. When Luther asks how she can tell, Lisbon states “You kind of have to hear him play the saxophone.”

Tunney’s reading of this line was awesome. It’s like Lisbon knew her argument wasn’t very logical but was giving it her best shot. Jane is charmed by her efforts as he states: “I love it Lisbon, the beautiful soul defense.”

What I love? Lisbon’s response to this. She tilts her head ironically like she’s saying “Worth a shot”.

Unfortunately Luther is unimpressed. He agrees to give Jane time to trap Tibbs, saying that he likes to reward passion, but tells Lisbon he’s taking Willie’s confession to the DA. Lisbon asks “What about my passion?”

I love this line too because for once, it shows Lisbon fighting back the unfairness of having her worth/skill being questioned by the higher ups (Hightower, Bertram) while Jane gets an automatic carte blanche to do what he wants. In fact, is it me or was Minelli the only boss who ever trusted Lisbon’s instincts over Jane’s? And not because he favors her but because he knew both of the them equally well and knew exactly how Jane gets around Red John cases. Can we please please have him back and out of retirement once Luther is out of the picture? It’s not that I don’t like Luther but it as none of the bosses lasted over two years I’m assuming he’ll eventually be gone as well.

A Plot: Jane and Tibbs

It is hinted at that Jane sees Henry Tibbs as a kindred spirit when he instantly recognizes the man’s desire to kill. But just in case it wasn’t clear enough, the final scene where Tibbs is captured makes it obvious.  Jane anticipates where Tibbs is going; an event where the mayor is at. Having replaced all the bullets in the man’s house with blanks, the Serious Crimes unit members are in place when Tibbs shows up. Jane attempts to talk the man out of his thirst for blood: “You don’t want to pull that trigger. You think you do you think it will switch off that vacancy sign in your soul but the truth is, taking a life is just going to make things a whole lot more complicated. Believe me. “

-Pretty self explanatory, right? Jane is speaking from his own experience killing someone in cold blood. I love clarity.

Tibbs replies: “I don’t expect to live past today.”

-Another similarity between the two men. Previously, Jane didn’t care if he lived after Red John is caught (Season one ‘Red John’s Footsteps’). Thankfully, that is not the case anymore as he told Timothy Carter (whom he thought was RJ) that he’d move on (get married, have a family) once he’s dead.

And like how Lisbon tried to get Jane to see past his desire for revenge in the season one finale, Jane tries to get Tibbs to see past his desire to kill. He tells him “But you haven’t hurt anyone yet. You put that gun away now and we will get you the help that you need.” But to no avail. Tibbs is already over the edge. But at least the team was able to stop him from hurting anyone.

What I’m wondering now is whether Jane would appreciate if someone did the same for him next time he’s trigger-happy.

B Plot: Lisbon and Willie Shubert

Lisbon tells Willie she checked into his history and found out that he lost his wife in a car accident; that he was driving and that’s why he stopped playing. She then asks him to explain his false confession and finds out he wants to stay in jail to stave off the winter cold.

I loved Lisbon’s plot. Her interference on Willie’s behalf makes sense considering her vested interest; Willie was her favorite musician in college. I’m not saying Lisbon is not compassionate, it’s just a side of her we don’t often see. Also, Lisbon is usually by the book (unless circumstance mandate she be otherwise). She probably wouldn’t have looked into Willie’s history if she hadn’t known him, if she wasn’t grateful for the comfort she found in his music when she moved away from her family. I think that along with his downfall being caused by his guilt and grief over his wife’s death was her impetus to help him. Maybe, on some level, Willie is serving as a surrogate for Jane. Personally, seeing Lisbon interact with this man, I felt like I finally understood the depths of Lisbon’s compassion for Jane’s tragedy, even if she rarely ever shows it. If she’s this kind towards I complete stranger, you can only imagine how much she cares for Jane.

After Lisbon tells Willie about the deal she cut with the DA on his behalf, she gives him a saxophone, encouraging him to play again when he gets out of jail. After she leaves the room, Willie start to play and Lisbon stops to listen for a while in obvious pleasure.

Lisbon is so sweet.

VIS #4: Jane/Luther,  Jane/Lisbon end Scene

Jane enters the bullpen with tea to find Luther on his couch. He tells Luther (not disrespectfully) “that’s kind of my spot” and thanks Luther when he gets up. Luther then calls Jane out on setting him up; that he knew Luther would stress Tibbs into committing murder. Jane tells Luther that there’s no way of ever really knowing and adds: “To be honest I was rooting for you. I find your brand of youthful earnestness quite refreshing.”

While Jane was being sarcastic to Lisbon when he told her that Luther might be able to save Tibbs, I don’t think he was being sarcastic here. In fact I think the above statement, while a bit patronizing, was the nicest thing Jane said to Luther throughout the entire case. Perhaps Jane being right about Tibbs and effectively putting Luther in his place; showing him what little experience he ha, put Jane in a magnanimous mood. Or maybe Jane was too preoccupied with brooding over the case to give Luther more thinly (and not so thinly) veiled insults. Or maybe, Jane decided against further mocking his new boss after he’d just used him in a scheme.

Whatever the reason, at this point, I think Jane was trying to smooth things over with Luther, even if he hadn’t really been rooting for him.

Unfortunately, Luther does not realize or does not appreciate Jane’s sentiment.  He tells Jane he did a psychopathy test on him. Jane, amused, states, “Oh, you haven’t.” Luther starts reading off some of the criteria: “Glibness and superficial charm, check.” Jane tells Luther: “You flatter me.”

Jane said the same to LaRoche when he did his own mini-analysis of him in ‘Jolly Red Elf‘. But while LaRoche’s analysis was flattering, Luther’s is anything but. So I’m inclined to think, more than a reply to Luther’s statement, Jane’s “you flatter me here” is referring to the fact that Luther felt he needed to evaluate Jane’s personality.  Wainwright continues naming facets he feels apply to Jane’s character: a grandiose sense of self-worth, cunning, manipulating, poor behavioral control, failure to accept responsibility for own actions. Jane just continues smiling and drinking his tea. While he shakes his head at one point, it’s doesn’t necessarily mean that he disagrees with the traits being ascribed to him.

Luther then tells Jane: “I cross referenced all my observations with your history as a thief and con-artist. And uh, congratulations Jane. According to the score, you are a clinical psychopath.”

Jane’s reaction: “Wow. Well, certainly explains a lot.”

Despite Jane’s flippant demeanor, he was actually waiting to hear Luther’s verdict. And despite his glib remark, Luther’s conclusion seemed to disturb him. I don’t think it’s because Jane cares about what Luther thinks of him; rather because Jane himself seems to be questioning his own character and trying to redeem it (as shown in this season’s premiere, and Pretty Red Balloon). So Luther’s psychoanalysis came while Jane is in a particular vulnerable state; though Luther doesn’t know that.

The new boss then tells Jane that now that he knows what he’s dealing with, he’ll adjust accordingly.” Jane replies: “as you should”.

It’s very in character for Jane to not bother defending himself. He could easily point out that by applying the test now Luther is contradicting himself. Wainwright said it himself: such tests only give accurate results when one has spent enough time with the subject. Wainwright doesn’t know Jane, not the way Lisbon or the audience of the show does. Luther hasn’t seen Jane’s kindness and his empathy, he hasn’t seen Jane purposely shy away from gratitude; no doubt because he feels himself unworthy of it. He hasn’t witnessed Jane’s deep disturbed breaths as he saw Timothy Carter’s body on a slab in the morgue, or his remaining by Lisbon’s side when she had a bomb strapped to her, or heard him tell Lisbon that he’ll take the consequences of shooting Red John.

What Wainwright sees is the Jane that manipulates people (usually Lisbon) into breaking the rules; the pied piper, the puppet master who loves to make people dangle on his strings. But the bitter irony is that this Jane is no longer as predominant as he used to be. In fact, he barely even exists.

I hope Luther’s psychoanalysis does not cause Jane to regress. Jane’s dejected manner seems like he thinks he agrees with Wainwright’s need to “adjust” if his telling Lisbon that he likes the new boss is any indication. It’s almost like Jane is relieved he finally has a boss who sees him for what he once was; like he deserves to be abhorred.

And yet…

Jane asks Lisbon if she’d like some tea. She tells him she’s tired and is going home. Jane tells her that he made a pot. Lisbon agrees to take one to go. As they walk to the break room Jane asks her if she thinks he’s an antisocial personality. Lisbon answers, “Yeah sure, who isn’t?”

Am I the only one who sees Jane’s earnest desire to connect with Lisbon? It’s been there since season one, and she’s been fighting him every step of the way (see Jane/Lisbon moments). But in spite of that Jane is comfortable enough with Lisbon to ask her opinion on his character. I think it’s very brave and shows the amount of trust he has in Lisbon; especially considering how he knows that she doesn’t approve of many aspects of his personality. It’s like he knows she’ll make him feel better. I was also overjoyed that Lisbon, for once, refrained from giving him a flippant answer or a snappy comeback as was her norm whenever Jane attempts a personal discussion. I don’t know if she understood his need for comfort or if her increased regard towards him prevented her from being her usual aloof self.

Either way I hope her frank reply goes towards making Jane feel better about himself. Whether she knows it or not, her opinion is one of the few which actually matters to Jane. It’s nice that she’s allowing him to vent to her, even if she doesn’t realize that’s what he’s doing.

Finally, now that Luther analyzed Jane, I am very interested to know where he thinks Lisbon fits in all this. He refused to accept her hand up after he falls to the ground when Tibbs fired his rounds. That along with his terse “Lisbon” before he left the bullpen makes it seem that perhaps (like Hightower before him) the obvious friendship between the two irritates him. Or maybe he was just annoyed that she didn’t fill him in on her and Jane’s plan. Maybe he thinks she’s as fooled by Jane as his psychic clients were. Maybe he thinks less of her for working so well with Jane. I have no idea, but I’m dying to find out.

Best Scenes:

End Scene. It was nice to see Jane and Lisbon spend time together at the end of the day, his congratulating her on catching her man and vice versa. Plus future conflict between Jane/Lisbon/Luther was also nicely set up. See VIS #4 for details.

1^st runner up: Jane and Lisbon plead their cases to Wainwright

In keeping with the role reversal we’ve been shown of Jane and Lisbon this season, her arguing out of instinct is something rare and more like something Jane would do. But what makes this scene truly great is how Jane and Lisbon were perfectly supportive of each other. Usually in the boss’s office, they are at odds. It’s more continuity to how in tune they are this season. Despite Jane telling Lisbon that his and her minds’ are in sync, I think this is the first season we’ve seen this truly be the case. See VIS #3 for details.

2^nd runner up:  All Lisbon’s scenes with Willie

Everyone knows Lisbon has a heart of gold. It’s so great to see it from time to time. And Tunney was so warm and empathetic here. I’m so glad her character is starting to get some more focus.

Icings on the Cake

– It’s truly rare when we get an episode where all the characters seem to get a fair amount of screen time. In this episode, Cho gets to be all awesome showing off his perfect shooting skills. Rigsby gets to keep Van Pelt from rashly shooting Tibbs, and Grace gets to bond with Tibbs’s wife. And while the format of the episode was a bit different, it was also perfectly balanced and ended full circle on our favorite crime-fighting duo, Jane and Lisbon.

-Having Jane and Lisbon work separate cases allowed Jane to lead the group (butt heads with Wainwright) without Lisbon being caught in the middle. This is nice as it gives her a break from having to pay for Jane’s decisions. It also made me ridiculously happy as it is a pet peeve of mine when Jane acts as the boss of Lisbon. Her not being around during this case made that unnecessary.

-Lisbon solving her case on her personal time allows her to assert her herself without breaking the rules. I love how, unlike Jane, she is able to do what she wants without ruffling feathers.

-I’m always tickled when we get recurring extras (usually CBI Ron or CBI Karl) on the set. It gives a touch of realism to the show as back-up officers are a necessary requirement.  In this episode, Karl (from Strawberries and Cream) helps the team clear a building. Played by the show’s technical advisor Karl Sonnenberg, he certainly has the build and gait of a cop. I look forward to seeing him again.

Honorable mention

Whoever is in charge of wardrobe. Everyone was looking sharp in this episode. I especially I like Lisbon’s hair. The serviceable bun hints that she was going for a more professional look now that there’s a new boss. Nice detail. Also, Tunney’s make-up artist deserves kudos as well. I think her freckles were actually visible at one point in the episode. I miss Lisbon’s freckles.

Best Lines

“You two want me to believe that a man who confessed to murder did nothing and a man who did nothing is a murderer. “-Luther Wainwright to Jane and Lisbon.

“You may even be smarter than you look.”-Jane in response to the above.

“You’ll be fine, just don’t be yourself.”-Jane to Rigsby.

“Yeah, my dad liked his westerns”-Rigsby to Tibbs in response to his namesake. It’s great to have some back-story on the characters even if it is just the origin of their names.

“Observe Agent Rigsby, as neurotic as a border collie, he can’t stop touching his face.”-poor Rigsby!

“See, you’re normal. That man has the conscience of a mollusk.” –Jane to Luther on Tibbs.

“Nice”-Lisbon on Tibbs’s home.

“Well, it’s a choice. Lacks a woman’s touch.”-Jane on Tibb’s home.

“Well, at least you didn’t shoot this one.” –Rigsby to Grace. Could this line suggest that Wayne is uncomfortable with Grace’s speedy recovery over shooting Craig? Or was he concerned that she was so quick to draw her weapon in their current situation? Hmm.

“Or he could save Tibbs”-Jane’s sarcastic reply to Lisbon’s musing that the boss might be in over his head, that Tibbs could kill him.

“We are with the government. We’ve been watching you.” LOL!!!!!! Luther couldn’t have added to Tibbs’s anxiety more if he had been trying.

“Hey, how’re you doing. You’re under arrest for the attempted murder of…everybody”-Cho to Tibbs.

Mentalist Red Queen Review

Synopsis

The episode starts with Agent Lisbon (Tunney), her team, and Professional Standard’s Unit’s Head J.J. Laroche (guest start Pruitt Vince Taylor) hurrying into the Serious Crimes Unit to ask a woman when she last saw the “suspect”. The woman tells them the “suspect” was seen heading upstairs to the roof. Lisbon remarks that that’s where Jane (Baker) works and asks if anyone has seen him. No one has. They all go upstairs to the attic, guns drawn, to find the door locked. Lisbon yells for Jane, asking if he’s inside. He responds that he’s coming out, and to please lower their weapons. He opens the door, arms up. Behind him is “the suspect”:  Special Agent Madeline Hightower (Aunjanue Ellis) with a shotgun in her hand. She has the barrel of her weapon taped to the back of Jane’s neck and her hand taped to the other end, her finger on the trigger. She tells Lisbon and company that if they make a move, she’ll kill Jane.

We are taken back 36 hours in time where the team is investigating a murder at a museum. The victim is Professor Manuel Montero, an archeologist. He uses the museum to show off artifacts he excavated from South America to sell to potential buyers. He was stabbed in the back and one of his pieces, a golden pendent is missing. Meanwhile, Head of the PSU Head Laroche has zoned in on special Agent Hightower as his newest suspect in the Todd Johnson murder. There’s a rumor which states that Hightower had an affair with one of Johnson’s victims, CHP Officer Rance Howard so Laroche suspects her of killing Johnson as revenge for her lover. Madeline refuses to comment on the rumor and tells Laroche that his entire case hinges on something he read on a bathroom wall. Later, Jane notices Hightower is upset. He guesses she’s been “Laroched” and advises her to come clean to Laroche, that he’ll find out the truth eventually.

Concise verdict

I’m tempted to give this one a rating into the ground simply for shaving about ten years off my life, and for having Patrick Jane, in one sentence, manage to send me into a fury as well as confuse me. But that wouldn’t be fair. It was an excellent, exciting, well written episode:  9.5/10. (The missing .5 marks are for the confusion and the riling, and hey, ten years from my life is a lot, Mr. Cerone).

Detailed AKA humongous review (spoilers galore)

Wow. First of all, those who’ve read my “Pre-Red Queen” Ramblings know that I managed to build a pretty good case against Hightower. Those who’ve read my Red Queen Preview know I was dreading her being set up only to get killed tragically.

I love it when my fears turn out to be wrong. Hightower is innocent (good thing too, because I like the character) and she doesn’t get killed tragically. She was, in fact set up by Red John’s Agent at CBI to take the fall for Todd Johnson’s murder.

Now like Daniel Cerone’s last episode, Jolly Red Elf, this one has a lot of layers (an onion) and I had fun digging into it (I also have a splitting headache but that’s nothing a little Tylenol and caffeine won’t fix).

VIS (Very Important Scenes)#1: Laroche’s questioning of Hightower in her office.

When Laroche shows Hightower officer Howard’s photo and asks her if she knows him, she nods saying: “CHP officer Rance Howard. Very popular, a lot of our agents were close to him”.

Now the first mention we got of officer Howard was in “Red Moon” when the team makes a connection between the gun used to kill the officers in Vineland, California (the Keeley Farlow case) and officer shootings from two months ago (at the time of the episode). Howard was one of the officers shot and we learn that the San Francisco PD was on the case. Lisbon tells Jane: “Howard used to work here before your time, good guy.”

I would have been very skeptical as to when Madeline had a chance to meet Howard since even Jane doesn’t know him, and he’s been at CBI longer than she has. But I then realized that a lot of emphasis was placed on Howard’s title as a “CHP officer”.  The internet tells me it stands for “California Highway Patrol Officer” so I guess due to the nature of his job he must get around a lot. He and Madeline could have gotten together when she came to CBI, maybe while he was visiting his old friends there. Or they could even have met each other when she was she was still in Fresno; Madeline was running intelligence there before she came to CBI ( episode ‘Red Box’, season 2).

So, kudos goes to Mr. Heller for setting this up in “Red Moon” and for writer Daniel Cerone for running with it.

Second VIS: Cho, Lisbon, Van Pelt, and Rigsby at the Bullpen

Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) looks up Monetero’s blog where she finds out that an anonymous potential buyer had e-mailed him to ask for a private viewing of the pendant which was stolen from the museum.  When Lisbon asks if Grace put a trace on the e-mail, Grace answers that the FBI Computer Forensics Lab did. To which Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) responds “one of the perks of having a fiancée with the feds.”

I am all over this line, first, because it gives us continuity regarding Grace’s engagement and how Rigsby’s holding up about it. Second, and most important reason, this increases my suspicions towards Craig (Eric Winters), Grace’s fiancé. I am now almost certain that he’s involved with Red John and/or Visualize. We first met this guy when, according to him, the FBI was conducting an investigation into Visualize. He had been following Wayne and Grace claiming that his boss suspected people in law enforcement of their involvement in the cult. Then, he starts dating Grace. A couple of episodes ago, he encourages her to spy on her team mates.  Now he’s engaged to her and he’s kindly helping out in the investigation which eventually leads to Hightower taking the blame for Todd Johnson’s murder. Coincidence? I think not.

At the time of episode “Blood For Blood” I considered that Craig might be working together with Laroche when he advised Grace to accept Laroche’s offer of helping him search for Todd’s killer. Now that we know Hightower was whom Laroche suspected, and that she’s been set up, I’m starting to think if maybe Craig, as a RJ operative, wanted Grace to work with Laroche so that Hightower will be suspected quicker.

Also, we know that Red John is somehow involved in Visualize. How else would Brett Stiles ( episode ‘Blood on His Hands’) know so much about him? He’s either a member, or one of his lackey’s is. How ingenious would it be for Craig to be Red John’s operative whose simultaneously keeping an eye on both Visualize and Jane’s team for him?

We’ll find out if he’s innocent or not when and if the subject of that e-mail trace ever comes up again. I suspect, that due to the hard evidence against Hightower (the pendent being found in her), that Craig will conveniently forget the trace the FBI lab was supposed to run on that e-mail. If, however, Craig does bring it up in the future, and points out that the trace led to someone other than Hightower, then, that will clear him of suspicion. Until then, he’s high on my suspect list of people working with Red John.

Also high on my suspect list? Director Bertram. Why?

VIS#3: Last scene with Bertram, Laroche, and Lisbon

Director Gale Bertram ( Michael Gaston) states that while the turn of events is “tragic” there are “worse things that could happen” that they have “an open and shut case”, that “it’s a blemish, to be sure, but at least we can close the book on this ugly chapter at CBI”. He then goes on to quote a poem which Laroche informs Lisbon is by William Blake. Now, this could be a red herring, but I don’t think it is. Because this is in fact only one of the many clues we have been given. The first:

In the season premier, Jane takes an instant dislike to Bertram. Now at the time I though Jane was just being sulky, but then in this episode, we find out from J.J Laroche that Bertram is the one who told him about Hightower’s affair with Howard. Why would he do that? More importantly, how did he know? I doubt Hightower is the type to flaunt her personal life, especially with how powerfully she defended her right to privacy in this episode. So he, or someone he knows, must have been watching her very closely. And when he found out, the only reason to tell Laroche is to cast a shadow of suspicion on her.

For her part, Lisbon really seems to resent Bertram’s behavior in this episode. First, when she learns that he’s the one who told Laroche (and probably spread the rumor) about Hightower’s affair with Howard:  “Now you’re into her sex life? Wow when you boys decide to destroy a woman’s reputation you really go all out!” Then, she seemed a bit suspicious of how eager was to brush off the matter.

Personally, Bertram’s “we can now put this behind us” speech reminded me of another big shot who turned out to be a criminal; the CEO of a major conglomerate in season one (episode ‘Carenlian Inc.) who was also overly eager to erase suspicious deaths in his company; one of the facts which tipped Jane off that he was in fact the killer.

I know, as they say, this is all circumstantial evidence, but I’m actually starting to think the writers want us to know as opposed to think that Bertram is the RJ mole. Why? To keep us in suspense regarding the vital clue Lisbon now unknowingly has against him; his love of William Blake.

VIS #4: End scene

I’m going to split it into two parts:

Jane with Laroche

Jane goes to visit Laroche under the guise of wanting to thank him for allowing him and Hightower to walk out of the building instead of risking shooting her, and killing Jane in the process. Laroche greets him at the door holding his dog. Jane, who peeks into Laroche’s home is also able to see that J.J. has a collection of Hummel figurines. Jane gives Laroche a bottle of scotch as a thank you, and the two have a discussion regarding the likelihood of Hightower ever being caught. Laroche insists they will, Jane says he knows they won’t to which Laroche replies: “Just like you knew I was wrong about Hightower’s capacity for murder?”

Now Jane and Laroche were not shown to be discussing Hightower as a suspect in this episode. But the above quote tips us off that they had. This is the only clue we’ve ever gotten that Laroche took up Jane’s offer from “Jolly Red Elf” to discuss the Todd Johnson case with him. This is huge. If Laroche really is consulting with Jane on the Todd Johnson murder, then maybe he doesn’t have anything to hide. I guess he could be deceiving Jane, making him think he has nothing to hide. But the fact that Jane encouraged Hightower to come clean to Laroche makes me think that Jane no longer suspects him. It could also be why Jane himself ended up suspecting Hightower, because Laroche did.

Now Jane obviously went to Laroche’s to get Hightower out of the trunk of the man’s car where he had hidden her, but Jane is very good at multitasking. He uses the opportunity to observe Laroche in his ‘natural habitat’ as it. Jane is very surprised (and amused) with what he sees.

Pruitt Taylor Vince’s reading of his lines here was done in such a normal, un-menacing tone.  From a writer’s perspective, the purpose of the scene was obviously to humanize Laroche to Jane and the viewers. that I dare say it worked on Jane, and it did on this viewer at least.

The fact that Laroche owns one of the cutest dogs ever (and I hate dogs-don’t judge, they scare me), the Hummel figurines, and Jane’s back and forth with him over whether they’ll find Hightower or not, well, somehow, I just don’t find Laroche as intimidating as I did.

I guess this could just be a clever plan to lull viewers into a false sense of security regarding the man, but I don’t think it is.

Jane with Hightower

Jane tells Hightower that she has to disappear or Red John will come after her. She tells him she and her family will hide out in her sister’s cabin in Saratoga. This pleases Jane who says that will make Red John feel like he won this round, and make whoever his operative is in CBI careless. He then stresses that no one can know about this; it has to stay between the two of them. Hightower states that he should at least tell Lisbon to which Jane replies: “Nobody. He’s too smart that way he’ll sense a trap. I’m better off alone.” Hightower, disturbed, replies: “Nobody is better off alone.”

Someone needs to tell Jane that the phrase ‘Knowledge is Power’ is a popular misconception. Yes, some information is too sensitive to share. Most times, however, information only gains more value once it is shared. It can be built on, becomes richer, better, and more useful.

For example, if Jane had shared RJ’s propensity for Blake with Lisbon, than Bertram quoting the poet would have had special significance to Lisbon. She would have told Jane that Bertram was a suspect. And yes, I know that Jane suspects everyone, and that many people love Blake, but it would have been an additional clue.

I guess our boy still hasn’t grown up after all. I suspected, when Jane fished out Montague’s report from the trash in ‘Bloodhounds’ that he was starting to let go of his ego enough  to consider other people’s views; that he started realizing that other people’s insight might be just as important as his own.

I also thought that given Jane’s recent efforts to let Lisbon let go of her hang ups with the law (Red Alert’, ‘Blood for Blood’), and his recent invasion of her personal space (the couch in ‘Bloodhounds’, the flirting in ‘Red Gold’) that he might be gearing towards opening up to her more, sharing some of his findings with her.

Unfortunately, neither expectations have been fulfilled, nor does it look like they will. Despite the fact that Lisbon is the one who found the connection between their victim in this case and Todd Johnson; she’s the one who cracked the case, Jane still can’t be bothered to share information with her.

It’s like all the positive possibilities that have been raised in the previous episodes regarding Jane’s manipulative behavior were thrown out and we have to go back to the plain likelihood of him being a selfish SOB looking out for number one; or in this case, number one’s number one goal; revenge, without any consideration for the people who care about him. I don’t mean to be cruel or a pessimist but really, we are given so little to work with here. The assumption that Jane truly fears for Lisbon’s safety seems unrealistically optimistic. On the other hand, the idea that his deception is because he doesn’t want Lisbon to get in the way of his efforts to catch Red John also seems unlikely; especially after all they’ve been through now.

The truth is probably somewhere between the two extremes.

Now Jane’s caution might, might be justified. Here’s how: perhaps the reason Bertram quoted Blake was to see Lisbon’s reaction to it; to see how much, if anything, Jane has told her. If Lisbon had known that Red John quoted Blake to Jane, she might have read up on the poet; she might have recognized the poem Bertram quoted and therefore might have revealed a reaction on her face (lizard brain and all that) when she realized that Bertram is actually a suspect.

Hmm. I love it when I manage to talk myself into Jane’s irrational behavior seeming very rational. But, and I must stress this, this remains complete conjecture until I’m given proof positive that Jane is hiding from Lisbon because he truly fears for her, not for self-serving reasons.

Writers, feel free to get right on that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not looking for a romance (though I certainly wouldn’t mind one if done right) I’m looking for proof that Jane sees Lisbon as more than just a means to an end. Is that too much to ask?

Perhaps, mind you perhaps, the look on Jane’s face at the end of the episode was meant to be the proof I’m looking for. When Hightower tells Jane that no one is better off alone and kisses him on the cheek, Jane’s expression is a mixture of sorrow, regret, and wistfulness. Almost like he actually wishes he could tell Lisbon; that he wants to tell Lisbon, but that something is holding him back; something other than his fear for his safety, because if that were the case then he would have told Hightower as such. So what is it that’s stopping him?

I’m going to borrow some lyrics from Matchbox 20’s song Push, which I think fits the Lisbon/Jane dynamic in so many ways. But for the sake of this review:

She said “I don’t know why you ever would lie to me.”

“Like, I’m a little untrusting when I think the truth is gonna hurt ya, and I don’t know why couldn’t just stay with me, you couldn’t stand to be near me when my face don’t seem to wanna shine, cause it’s a little bit dirty.”

Great song; but that’s not the point. Going by these lyrics, perhaps the reason Jane lies to Lisbon/won’t open up to her, is that he fears she won’t like/respect him anymore if he does. This theory seems true especially when we consider Jane’s dark side which he wont’ allow anyone to see (‘Red Moon‘).

Personally, this is my favorite theory because it takes into account so many aspects of Jane’s personality, namely his insecurity, and his secretive nature when it comes to Lisbon.

Yes, maybe Jane fears she’ll get in his way, yes, he probably also fears some for her safety, but I think what he fears the most is her reaction; how the knowledge he shares with her will affect their partnership and friendship.

Or, looking at it from a more general perspective: what if Jane is not intentionally being secretive? What if it’s just a habit?

This brings me to an issue I’ve been contemplating for a while now:

In episode Jolly Red Elf when Jane goes undercover to the AA group and talks about his addiction, he states that it destroyed his family.

Now since in that episode Minelli tells him that Red John turned him into a paranoid conspiracy freak, I assumed that the addiction Jane was referring to was Red John.

But more recently, I’ve been thinking about Jane’s need to be the smartest person in the room (‘Bloodhounds’), to know more than everyone else.

That’s when I was struck with an epiphany: maybe the addiction Jane was referring to wasn’t Red John; he was talking about his vanity. Perhaps Jane meant his showing off is what destroyed his family- that is his addiction.

Now Jane’s obsession with being in the spotlight is probably a result of him making a living by pretending to be psychic; he had to always seem like he knows what he’s talking about. And living in a carnival, you’re probably only as important as your act is. I also think Jane was an insecure person long before his family ever got killed. From what we saw in episode Shooting Fire (season 2), his father only cared about him as a money making tool. Also, genius is a very lonely place. I suspect the only reason his wife ever got close to him was because they (probably) grew up together. He didn’t need to open up to her; she already knew all there was to know.

Now if we go with the theory that the reason Jane isn’t sharing information with Lisbon because he’s just not used to doing so, then the positive explanations/ conclusions regarding Jane’s behavior from the previous episodes might still be true: Jane does want Lisbon to change a bit, he has been trying (either consciously or subconsciously) to bring her views a bit closer to his; to bring her to that place where she could understand him better. He does want to share things with her.

He just can’t.

I do think, however, that the writers are setting Jane up for a wake- up call; the fact that both Minelli and Hightower told him to tell Lisbon seem to hint at that. I just hope it’s not too ugly. More importantly, I hope that it doesn’t end up with him having more to feel guilty about. On second thought, I hope it is a little ugly (nothing that will get anyone killed, mind you) if that will help Jane learn that he has to trust people.

Best Scenes

The winner:  Hightower and Jane’s face off in the attic.

I loved, loved, LOVED, this scene. The dialogue was off the charts amazing and Baker and Ellis rocked it out of this world.

Jane was perfect blend of crazily motivated/scared out of his pants:

“Are you a killer? Not that I’m judging. Seeking revenge on men that are responsible for the deaths of someone you love it’s a hobby I like to dabble in myself,” all said in a low, somewhat shaky voice filled with adrenaline.

Aujanue Ellis takes her character through a myriad of emotions: First, she’s in disbelief regarding Jane’ suspicion of her. Then she’s indignant and threatening:

“If you don’t point that shotgun away from me, I swear I will use it to beat you like a rented mule.”

Then she’s downright terrified and pleading:

“You know what I am Jane, I’m a single mom with two innocent children at home. There is nothing in the world I would do to compromise their safety or their future.”

Then when Jane lowers his weapon and she snaps it from him, she’s horrifyingly calm and cold. She had me going from believing he innocent to believing her guilty in a matter of seconds. Can the woman act or what?

Also, continuity!?  Why did Jane choose a shotgun in threatening Madeline? It could be because he had it worked better in his plan to have it duct taped to himself and Hightower, but I’d like to think it’s because he only ever fired a shotgun (when he killed Hardy); that it’s the only weapon he knows how to use and that he wouldn’t risk using the gun. Most likely, it’s the former reason, and, or that Jane doesn’t want anyone to know about the gun that he has, even if he’s learned how to use it.

1^st runner up: Laroche with Hightower and the project board.

Laroche approaches Madeline and shows her his visual reconstruction of CBI which accounts for everyone’s whereabouts at the time of Todd Johnson’s murder.  Hightower admires the project board, and  jokes that Laroche must have won a few science fairs. He responds with a smile, then turns deadly serious and states in a terrifyingly menacing voice: “I won all of them!”

Watching Pruitt Taylor Vince in this scene is like watching a horror movie. You’re scared out of your wits, but fans of the genre enjoy the feeling. I don’t like horror movies, but I do love Mr. Vince here.  Hightower’s fear is also very real in this scene. Again, Ms. Ellis is beyond amazing. Her depiction of Hightower’s strong façade crumbling in the face of the staggering evidence was phenomenal.

Aside from the acting, this scene is also significant because it lets us know that Laroche’s has narrowed the suspects to 5 people. Now we know Hightower is innocent so that leaves 4. Perhaps the reason why Red John set Hightower up is because Laroche came very close to uncovering the real killer. The only question is: was Hightower chosen because she was most convenient (her affair with Howard simply bad luck on her part which Red John used)? Or, was Howard killed intentionally as part of the plan to set Hightower up?

I’m not sure, but I’m very interested to see who replaces her.

2^nd runner up:

Rigsby’s (Owain Yeoman) questioning Professor Papadakis (Dakin Matthews) was hilarious. The professor’s accent gave Rigsby a hard time (and me, to be honest; I was as confused as he was at first). On the run apparently means always traveling, his career was in ruins means, literally, in ruins as in ancient ruins, not that his career was in trouble:

Rigsby: “So Monetero was a trader, he traded antiquities excavated from South American ruins.”

Poor Rigsby just wants to make sure he’s got everything right, and this is what he gets for his trouble:

Papadakis: “Are you really professional police officer?”

I love Rigsby.

Pet Peeve

-Who the heck was that biker in the basement parking lot?!  A blooper or a suspect?! Did he/she see Jane hide Hightower in Laroche’s car?!

-Enough with the thrillers! If I wanted thrilling I’d watch 24, or break out some Prison Break DVD’s! (see what I did there J).

Icing (s) on the cake:

-It’s been so long since we’ve seen Jane’s interest piqued. His decision to stay at the museum is a nice continuity from season one when he remained behind to play at the beach and when he stayed at a high school reunion to people watch.

-Also nice? Jane giving the Guard Jim a replica of a tooth for his son; it’s always a treat to see Jane being nice and interacting with people.

-Jane got a haircut. And a shave. What could this mean? (Joke. Kinda.)

Honorable Mentions (as if readers can’t guess in this episode)

Simon Baker, Aunjanue Ellis, Pruitt Taylor Vince.

Best Lines

“Well if you can read it on my face, then you’re mentalizing me, so you stop. Oh, on second thought, keep going, what am I thinking?” – Jane to Hightower, when she tells him to stop reading her.

“You’re the one thinking it.”- Hightower to Jane, in response to his surprise to the rumor of her affair with Howard.

“I feel naked.”-Jane to Hightower. Jane loves flirting with Hightower, and the look on her face when he says this line is fabulous, she like; don’t be cute with me.

“There’s only one person who has this singular effect on people. You’ve been Laroched haven’t you?”-Jane to Hightower.

“Someone should stay up researching yours”-Jane to Lisbon, about her personal life.

“Don’t beat yourself up Teresa, there’s nothing you could have done to prevent this.” Hightower to Lisbon, as she held the rifle to Jane; this was a great line because it refers to the closeness the two women developed the previous episode.

“I honestly don’t know what to believe but whenever you’re in the middle of something I have reason to doubt. And I like Hightower.” I love how Lisbon added that last bit, almost with a pout. I like how she admits that, other than the fact that she doubts Jane, she’d rather believe he’s lying to her if it means that Hightower’s innocent; poor Lisbon.

“Laroche. You have a fluffy white dog, an entire house… are those Hummel Figurines?” –Jane to Laroche.

“I just didn’t picture you living in an actual house.”-Jane to Laroche. Why yes, Jane. Normal people live in houses, not attics. You might want to think about getting one of your own. Or the writers might want to show us that you do have a place other than your “perch”.

“Where did you think I lived?” Laroche to Jane. Good question.

“In a borough in a river bank. Somewhere like that.”- Jane to Laroche, in response to the above.

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Red Queen Preview (spoilers)

OH MY GOD.

If you haven’t seen the preview, catch it here.

First of all, Jane is in trouble once more?! That’s gotta be a record. Give the guy a break!

Now for some reason, I’m not buying Hightower as Red John’s operative. Surely they wouldn’t have included her in the promos unless it was a red herring, right? I’m betting RJ’s got her kids hostage unless she hands over Jane; something like that.

That doesn’t mean I’m not worried. I’m very, very, worried. I’m worried Hightower will end up dying tragically, because, of course, why else would they have an episode featuring her last week where we all got to see her humane side, and she got to bond with both Lisbon and Jane, unless it’s to get her killed and create angst for our heros?

Of course, if she is RJ’s operative, there’s just as much angst for Team Lisbon so I guess it’s a win-win situation for the writers and a lose-lose situation for viewers and Jane.

On the upside, the episode’s writer is Daniel Cerone, who brought us two of the season’s best episodes (“Red Carpet Treatment” and “Jolly Red Elf”. So…I am excited. I am also afraid. Very afraid.

I guess I should have known better than to hope for two consecutive happy episodes. Sigh.

Mentalist Jolly Red Elf Review

Synopsis

It’s Christmas season. A Santa Claus falls from a building in Old Town Sacramento and CBI Agent Teresa Lisbon (Tunney) and Patrick Jane (Baker) arrive at a scene. The victim is Benjamin Ripple whom Jane quickly denounces is the real Santa because he smells of alcohol. Jane also insists that the death wasn’t a suicide despite finding a suicide note in the victim’s pocket. The victim was part of the National Society of Authentic Santa’s, so Lisbon sends Rigsby and Van Pelt to investigate. Ben was also an AA member so Jane pays them a visit. Once there he goes undercover and gets Ben’s sponsor May Walters (Meghan Ghallager) to become his that he can investigate her. Meanwhile, the new head of the professional standards unit J.J. Laroche (Pruitt Taylor Vince ) is investigating the murder of Todd Johnson’s death while in lockup at CBI.

Concise Verdict

Mentalist writers are really raising the bar this season. Daniel Cerone wrote this one and gave us continuity, sincere Patrick, more continuity and…ok I’ll move the rest of the list below cause it contains spoilers. I’m gonna give this one a 9/10.

Detailed (aka humongous) Review (spoilers galore):

I’m not going to discuss the Santa killer mystery because it merely served as a backdrop for the more interesting B plot; the one which earned the episode its high rating. CONTINUITY, PEOPLE! Viewers were given a major Red John clue last episode, and rather than stringing us along (like so many shows do), the Mentalist people graciously pick up where they left off.  I was so happy when Lisbon mentioned that Hightower was giving a briefing on the murder of Todd, but I never expected that we’d actually get to see it. Or that it would serve to introduce a new character that will be a major player in the Red John arc.

Playing on last year’s highly successful Sam Bosco storyline, Jane is once more set up against a CBI employee with possible information on Red John: this time PSU Head  J.J Laroche. But there are significant differences. This time, only Jane knows that Todd’s death is linked to Red John’s investigation (well, him and the person that killed Todd, and Red John of course). Also unlike Sam Bosco whom viewers knew was a good guy, Laroche is introduced while a haze of suspicion is upon every character who isn’t in the opening credits (at least we hope they’re in the clear).  Laroche could very well be Red John’s operative; a fact that Jane obviously hasn’t ruled out. When Laroche asks Jane what he thought Todd wanted to tell him, Jane fakes disinterest; saying that the cop killer was probably just looking for sympathy from the only non-cop in the building he knew.

The casting of the talented Pruitt Taylor Vince (whose lost quite a bit of weight since his stint on House-good for him) is inspired. The scenes between Jane and the calm cold “Robocop” (as Jane describes him) were very entertaining; a match between equals.

Another extremely wise decision was bringing the beloved ex- CBI head Virgil Minelli back into the plot.

I had stated in my ‘Red Moon’ review that:

“It’s been established that Jane’s keeping information from Lisbon: Red John’s “Tiger, tiger” message, and the gun he got as a gift from another bereaved husband …..”

and that:

“Jane’s past excuse for keeping things from Lisbon has always been the same; to protect her. But now a more obvious possibility presents itself: so she won’t get in his way.”

and

“I just hope he shares it with Lisbon before her life is endangered.”

Minelli’s presence in the episode allowed these concerns to be acknowledged in the episode’s first VIS ( very important scene).

The first VIS is when Jane finds Virgil Minelli and tells him that Todd Johnson was part of Red John’s network, killed in CBI by another man in RJ’s network to silence him. Jane asks Minelli to use his influence to procure Laroche’s suspect list for him. The significance of this scene is threefold. First, the fact that Jane confides in Minelli is a huge relief. It makes up for his not confiding in Lisbon. As long as Jane is talking to someone, anyone that he trusts, viewers can assume he’s not too far gone into the darkness. Second, when Minelli asks Jane what Lisbon thinks of his theory, Jane states: “I can’t tell her, that’d put her at risk.” So we have it in canon that the reason Jane is keeping information from Lisbon is to protect her. On the other hand Minelli’s response to Jane is a very telling, scornful: “Of course”. Minelli knows Jane very well and writer Cereone uses Minelli’s knowledge to keep viewers in suspense – that despite what Jane says, he might have a more self-serving reason for keeping his theory from Lisbon; which is, of course, killing Red John.

This is good writing people. Pure genius. I just have one request: PLEASE DON’T KILL MINELLI OFF. Really, I can see how the writers might be tempted to do so, and setting him up as Jane’s ally could mean that’s why Minelli was brought back. But, killing off guest stars can get real old real fast. After Bosco, it will most likely be redundant; “sophomoric” even. Don’t deprive viewers of another wonderful character. Please?

Now, the third significance of this scene is when Minelli tells Jane that Red John is making him crazy. This statement ties into and leads up to the second VIS so I’ll discuss it there.

The second VIS is Jane’s undercover scene at the AA group, first denying that he’s an addict (of alcohol) then admitting that he does have an addiction.

Jane’s addiction was first mentioned in canon in season two by Sam Bosco. The agent had told Jane that he was addicted (to Red John) and that he needs help. At the time Jane was unconcerned. In this episode, however, when Minelli tell him that he needs help, that Red John is turning him into a “paranoid conspiracy freak”, Jane loses his cool and retaliates: “This from a guy on a pier with two 40’s under his chair and no fish in his bucket?” He also calls him a “drunken fish-killer”. Jane is a master at controlling his emotions so it is safe to assume that Minelli’s words got to him. Of course Jane could have just been reacting to Minelli’s refusal to help him.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Viewers may not initially realize the significance of Jane going undercover to the AA group. Personally I had thought that he went there with the intention of doing his usual ‘rile-observe-question routine’ and that his confession was an unforeseeable result of him going with the flow when the group assumed he was a member. But the fact that  the team makes such a big deal out of it: “You went undercover”, “You never go undercover”, tipped me off that he wanted to be seen as a new member. That maybe Minelli’s statement worried him so much that Jane chose to go undercover because it gave him a safe opportunity and place to express his fears for being addicted to the Red John case.

Good stuff.

But this begs the question: Why now? After all these years, why is Jane now acknowledging his addiction?  Is he thinking about moving on? Have recent events made the weight of revenge extra heavy? Hmm.

Icing on the cake:

One of my pet peeves from the last episode was answered in Jolly Red Elf. I had thought it was out of character for Lisbon to push Jane to talk to Todd. But I now know that it was a plot device to set Jane up as a suspect in Todd’s murder. Laroche suspects Jane because he was the last person to see Todd alive. But Lisbon then clears him by saying that Jane hadn’t wanted to go, that she asked him to because Todd wanted to see him. Of course, that then leads to Laroche wanting to know why Jane specifically, which in turn makes us suspect him as Red Johns operative, which in turn…no I think it stops there. Anyway, Lisbon insisting Jane go see Todd turned out to be a necessary plot device and is therefore no longer a pet peeve. Isn’t clarification wonderful?

Best scenes

The winner:

The scene where Laroche questions Jane is really interesting. Jane, who had been avoiding Laroche all day, agrees to let him question him when he’s drunk. Obviously Jane he wants Laroche to think he has him at a disadvantage, to make Laroche feel that whatever Jane tells him is the truth. Turns out even when drunk, Jane is a very convincing liar.  Jane plays the PSU head, using his drunken state to his advantage, calling  Laroche “La Rouge”, obviously wanting to gauge his reaction (hint, La rouge means “the red” in french). Then, when Laroche asks him why Jane thought Todd wanted to see him, Jane says Todd probably just wanted to gain his sympathy. Jane’s nonchalance is so convincing, Laroche doesn’t even suspect him when he asks to be kept in the loop regarding the case. Laroche just asks him why he’s interested, to which Jane replies that he likes the mystery. Laroche is so convinced of Jane’s act that he doesn’t even resent Jane’s nosiness. Simon Baker is truly a joy to watch in this scene.

1^st runner up:

Jane and Minelli’s final scene at the end. Minelli meets with Jane and thanks him for his rather biting remarks, said that he opened up his eyes and gives him the list of suspects he wanted. Jane then hugs him (aww!!!) and asks him have lunch with May (the AA sponsor) whom he had brought along. I’m thinking it’s his way of apologizing for earlier, and for helping Minelli out; both with his loneliness and with his alcohol addiction.  Virgil is more than happy to join the woman (their attraction is apparent)  and even asks Jane for advice, to which Jane replies that he should grow a beard. In my last review I stated that I wished for a lighter episode, and this one delivered. A beautiful, happy ending. Welcome back my friend: I’ve missed you.

2^nd runner up:

Jane and Lisbon’s discussion on Santa. Tunney was delightful here, saying that the finding out Santa didn’t exist crushed her heart like a cigarette. To which Jane responds that this explains why Lisbon is looking for magic in her life. I confess his statement confused me at first. Lisbon is as realistic and grounded as they come. Then it occurred to me that Jane might be referring to what he called her “naive optimism” in Red Moon and equating that with magic. CONTINUITY, PEOPLE!

Best Lines:

“I do have an addiction. It destroyed my family. But I can’t talk about, it’s not that I don’t want to it’s just that I have so many bad things in my head that I’d like to throw out I just…if I start talking about it, just don’t know that I’ll be able to stop.”- Jane

“Yeah, okay, zip it if you know what’s good for you.”-Lisbon to Cho, on his careless attitude towards Johnson murder. Tough Lisbon- I’ve missed you too.

“You’re a brave old man with nothing to lose”-Jane to Minelli, on the risk of helping him.

“Not so brave, not so old!” -Minelli.

“Easy cowboy, you just met her.” Jane to Minelli.

Pet Peeves (yes, I always have them):

1- At the end of the episode, Jane asks Lisbon to drive him home (he’s drunk), but where is home? His Malibu home, his attic at CBI, or does he have a place in Sacramento (in Season two’s premiere he mentioned that he’s thinking of moving to the city Sacramento but it might have just been part of a ruse).  So, again, where’s home?

2- The Santa fights weren’t nearly as funny as they seemed in the promo.

3-  Drunk Jane is funny! Why didn’t we get to see more of him?

So, onto the polls. Also, feel free to leave comments. I’d appreciate help in digging into the many layers of the Mentalist.