Mentalist Finale Brown Shag Carpet-White Orchids Review

‘Brown Shag Carpet’

Synopsis

Following the events of ‘Byzantium’, the team is chasing a serial killer who’s obsessed with the after-life. That leads Jane (Baker) to pull his psychic act as a bait to lure their prey in. Meanwhile, this step in the limelight leads Jane to come to terms with life-changing decisions regarding his relation with his girlfriend Lisbon (Tunney).

Concise Verdict

This ending for Season 7 comes as a two-parter, like it was for S3 (‘Strawberry and Cream’) and S4 (with the diptych ‘Red Rover, Red Rover’/‘The Crimson Hat’). It doubles as the series finale and rivals ‘Blue Bird’, the other potential ending intended for the story, for the closure and the fulfilling emotional commitment both provide. A new door opens for Jane and he accepts at long last to grab a new chance at happiness. The storyline concludes on a cheerful and moving goodbye to faithful viewers from the home-coming wayward consultant and his extended family.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (Spoilers Galore)

Right from the start, the episode is one for tests. After finding Gabriel’s body, when Lisbon asks Jane why the killer would care if he was a real psychic, Jane answers that “he wants one for some reason and Gabriel didn’t pass the test”. It echoes Jane’s own wanderings in the emotional turmoil represented by the wilderness, since it was a nod to Jesus being tested and tempted by the devil. This double episode is the final test for Jane: after crossing path with death in a way reminding of his previous failings, fate will determine the new path he’ll take from now on.

VIS#1: Jane shows his love nest cabin to Lisbon

The storyline opens with a random couple half-arguing about the possibility that the rumored serial killer –whose killings have been made public- may be sitting outside their house. They state that “serial killers don’t sit in cars, they lurk in the shadows”…. which is ironical, since the actual killer strikes when the husband goes out to check on the suspicious yet innocent bystander. The husband has put himself in danger by getting out, but it is his wife who is taken from inside the house. It draws a troubling parallel with Jane’s family, targeted in the security of their home… and the man finds the front door alarmingly open, just like Jane met his fate under the guise of a closed door. How not to be reminded that Jane fears for a repeat by having Lisbon taken from him too?

This frightening opening is in dire contrast with the cheerful serenity surrounding the isolated cabin that Jane bought and that he is eager to show to Lisbon… In response to the way he’d been drifting apart after the shock of Vega’s death, he tells his beloved: “it’s a little shack that I’m gonna renovate. Make some additions… We both knew things had to change: I couldn’t make you quit and I need something to do”. Lisbon is surprised and a little bit skeptical (“so you’re gonna build us a house…”), but the sudden decision has been building up for some time. Their increased intimacy is expressed by the endearing way he closes her eyes to surprise her and her playful question “did you buy me another horse?”, which is of course a cute reminder of the pony he gave her for her birthday when she was still his boss. Plus the fresh air he wants her to “breath in” to try and make her impressions as good as possible is a nod to his familiar love for nature (and her wariness in front of it): having a house in the middle of this kind of environment is implicitly his way to meet her in the middle, instead of making her leave in a long boat trip like he alluded to in the beginning of the season…

Yet, Lisbon’s lack of enthusiasm propels him to explain: “when I’m done, if nothing else, we have a place to live. It’s a start”. Indeed, it’s a start in more ways than one: it’s the first hint he’s given her that he’s ready to stay in a long-term commitment after freaking out, but it’s also a new start for him, given that it would be the first real home he’ll be allowing himself after the debacle at the Malibu house… He’s willing to prove himself to her again, not by talking about what’s in his head, but by showing her that he’s trying to progress and make amends… The fastest way to hint at his will to share her life and start anew is to build a house: like the teacup, the “shack” will be renovated as the visible sign of his mended self. And again, this action echoes the progress of their relationship as they’ve been playing with the idea of moving in together for a few episodes, like when they visited the killer’s house as potential buyers in ‘The Silver Briefcase’ or as hinted by Jane’s fascination with her childhood ‘Little Yellow House’…

An interesting point is that, if Jane’s ready to prove his commitment to Lisbon, it doesn’t involve staying where she wants him to be, though. When she asks him if he wants to quit the FBI, he answers “maybe, I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet”. In a way, it shows that he’s having a more adult reaction than the flying reflex that leaded him to take a break when he was emotionally distraught: he doesn’t have to have all the answers yet. He’s just showing that he’s willing to make the effort and to start thinking about what he wants from life instead of just conning his way out of difficulties or hiding behind his fears. And given the trouble he always had to let her know of his thinking process when it got too touchy, the fact that he’s understood how important it is to share this with the woman he chose as his companion is an indication that he’s grown as a person.

Lisbon is able to sense the progress, yet she’s also afraid that he might take off again without as much as a warning. She tells him that she’s “glad”, albeit understandably shocked by his new acquisition, but that she needs to make sure that he’s “committed to this, to us”, probably because she’s dealt with enough of his lies to know that his word may not be enough. In that line of logic, she dares to broach a subject she never mentioned before: “are you gonna take off your wedding ring? It just, it seems like you don’t want to let go of it…” When she sees his stress over the question, she backpedals “I understand why it’s difficult for you”, leading Jane to answer rather lamely “it’s just that I’m used to it”.

It’s interesting that Lisbon basically asked for that as a sign of commitment for him, whereas she never seemed to mind much the offending object binding him to another woman and another life. She’s been extremely understanding on this point, certainly due to her own history with this dark part of Jane’s life: as the leading officer on the investigation on his family’s murder for more than a decade, she’s also part of this past, even more so considering her nurturing nature and the concern that she felt towards the revengeful widower that she took under her wing. But it looks like having Jane give her the cold shoulder made her greedier, as it happened when Pike entered her life and Jane started hiding his jealousy. As soon as she could, she turned tables on him: before Michelle’s death, it’s been Jane pressuring her to change her life in order to protect her, while now she’s the one pressuring him into giving her more than he thinks he’s ready for… Like it was after his escapade in Vegas and the surge of feelings his two-year long hiatus provided, this last break was probably an eye opener for her. She wants something more instead of risking him not answering her calls again and she no longer feels afraid to demand it. In a way, it shows how much more secure she feels about herself and her relationship with her stubborn lover: after the debacle with Lorelei, she couldn’t bring herself to be straightforward with her feelings for him, just like she blew cold (the plane argument) and hot (the socks) on him when he got back from Venezuela, which lead to a misunderstanding on what she really wanted and Jane clinging to status quo. Now, after having admitted out loud that she loved him (‘Little Yellow House’) and what they had was good (‘Copper Bullet’), she has no claims in asking him to give her more too, in making their relationship progress. By asking him a token of his faith in them, she’s thus willing to back give her trust.

VIS#2: the plan to catch the serial killer

But Lisbon is not the only one getting bolder: the villain is too. Things get ugly when they’re called at a new crime scene: the serial killer they are after since the previous episode has made another victim, whose body he didn’t bother hiding this time. His “playful” display for the FBI to find is briefly enhanced by how the scene is shot from the dark tunnel towards the light; even though it gives the impression that the killer is creepily watching them, it also hints at Jane’s willingness to step out of the darkness and into the light. Plus, the association with the well known “light at the end of the tunnel” that some people have seen after near-death experiences brings forward the notion of death and resurrection, an important theme in the series (cf. the questions of psychics and the afterlife and the reference to Jesus Christ in ‘Byzantium’ for instance). In that same perspective, the difference in the killer’s ways gives them another clue. His pattern is roughly the same, yet since the body is not decayed, they can spot a puncture wound along with the usual missing fingernail: he’s been taking “a cup of blood” from his victim… This choice of words immediately links the murderer to a vampire. Wylie later presents the vampire theory as the most popular online, leading them to investigate a potential link with the occult; this connection is based on the murderer’s interest in Gabriel as a psychic and the fact that “he is stealing blood from a corpse; he’s got to be doing something weird with it”. Interestingly, the “vampire” aspect might also be a nod to Bret Stiles’ golden chalice filled with blood during the Visualize ceremony in ‘Fire and Brimstone’. Indeed, both the cult leader and the vampire use blood as a mean to gain immortality and/or resurrection: Bret promised “I will return” to his followers, while the vampire is an undead/immortal creature. Therefore, they hint at Jane’s fear of Lisbon dying and the Christian references involved with Jane’s wanderings in the wilderness, as well as the psychic angle used in the previous episode.

Back in the bullpen, they get another surprise in the person of Rick Tork, from the Santa Fe office. He’s going to help them on the case because they’re short-handed. Said Tork worked briefly with Jane and Cho in the SCU under the supervision of Ray Haffner in ‘Little Red Notebook’, when Lisbon was almost fired by Bertram. Tork’s memories from that time are far from good. Jane’s used his complex over his short stature to get him into a fight with a coworker in order to undermine Haffner’s new team: “he’ll never tell you what he’s up to; whatever he does, you’ll look like an idiot. And always keep your hand on your wallet”… It’s noteworthy that Tork is one of the rare secondary characters from the CBI era that doesn’t get killed off after crossing paths with the new team –unlike Ardiles, LaRoche and creepy Haibach. As such, he shows indirectly how Jane’s gotten more at peace with his past, because when he first met Tork he was trying to make up with Lisbon for the consequences of his restless actions, like he’s doing here… Both Tork and Jane get therefore an occasion to evaluate how much the consultant has changed, which is bound to give them closure. Before that, though, Jane gets his comeuppance when Tork suggests that they need to set a decoy psychic to lure their killer out. And that Jane should be the bait, of course. Jane is miffed by the idea and leaves the room (“Uh, not a psychic, dude”) and his team members get very protective of him because “the last time Jane tried something like that, it didn’t go well”. Tork only then remembers about “the wife and kid”.

Meanwhile, Lisbon follows Jane to offer some comfort. She doesn’t pry, because she knows it’s still a very sensitive topic, which hints that their couple is not yet over that part of Jane’s history. So, she only informs him that they got Gabriel’s autopsy report back: he had tiny tumors in the brain that caused seizures and delusions, which explains why he was so convinced that his gift was real. By satisfying Jane’s curiosity over the kid’s unexplainable sincerity when he tried to cold read him, Lisbon tries to reassure him by showing him that he was right again: “there’s no such thing as psychics”… It was his mantra to justify his conman ways that got his family killed, so it’s no wonder Lisbon chose this angle to offer support. When she broaches the hurtful topic again, she doesn’t mention Tork’s suggestion or which memories it brought to mind. Instead, she sidesteps by apologizing for having brought the ring up earlier at the cabin: she feels bad for pressuring him into moving on and Tork’s lack of sensibility has awakened this feeling of guilt. Jane simply tells her that he’s okay. Obviously, talking about his way of (not) dealing with the loss of family is not something Lisbon has dared to do sooner in their relationship; this makes one wonder about the status each of them gives to their love story, compared with his idealized married life with Angela.

On the other hand, this disagreement with Tork is also subtly oriented towards Jane’s future: the mention of how he provoked the demise of his loved ones echoes his fears of getting Lisbon killed on the job. Plus, when Tork was told about the investigation, a detail suggests something for Jane’s relationship with her: the buried first victims were killed “between two and nine months ago”. Nine months is the standard duration for a pregnancy. Again, life/birth and death are linked as it has been with the underlying concept of resurrection.

VIS#3: Jane’s psychic act

In spite of his reluctance, when a man is mistakenly killed by a frightened citizen, Jane is convinced that he should follow Tork’s plan to avoid more collateral victims of the panic over the serial killer. While Lisbon argues over his dangerous decision to risk the same fate as Gabriel in the hands of the murderer, Jane tells her: “I appreciate your spirited defense, but it’s not necessary”. The tables have turned, since he was before the one trying to stop his brave Teresa from playing the target… Plus the word “spirited” alludes indirectly to the psychic world Jane’s once again about to enter, another nod to the death/life theme coursing through the episode.

This aspect is discreetly hinted at when Jane is preparing to take part in a TV show. One of the news announced is that “according to state forestry officials, once the bear was tranquillized, he was relocated to a wilderness area”… The wildlife might be a nod to the RJ-related tiger, but it’s interesting that the anecdotic fate of that bear matches Jane’s: he too is more tranquil after coming to terms with his fears and he’s “relocated” himself to a “wilderness area” by buying his large cabin.

The TV show itself –with its dark red setting- is reminiscent of the act Jane pulled in the flashback from the pilot and which got his family killed. The anchorman alludes to it by mentioning Jane’s experience with shows (“oh, you’ve done this before? –Yep”) as well as the long-standing game metaphor, which was used to symbolize RJ’s interactions with the consultant: “all right, I’m gonna throw you a couple easy questions, we’ll have some fun, just keep the ball in the air”… The progression of the scene is in direct opposition with the pilot: back then, Jane showed his skills, then answered to the interview about his work with the police on RJ. Here, he’s first introduced as “a psychic who works with the FBI” –enhancing that he’s no longer a conman seeking glory and money, but part of law enforcement- then he’s asked to explain how he works: “what is a psychic? What is it you do?”

For a fleeting moment, Jane is throw back in the decisive moment of his past, looking straight at the camera with an anguished music playing. This moment reminds of his tormented performances in Karen Cross’ shows, both in ‘Red Carpet Treatment’ (another “carpet” episode where his forced to live again that fateful first interview about RJ) and ‘Blinking Red Light’ (where his drastic choice concerning Panzer lead him to his first serious occasion to approach the man… and where his staring at the camera was equally, if more sinisterly, significant). Then he comes back to the far brighter-present and starts cold-reading the host, telling Dan “your wife… just had a baby… a girl, I believe”. The choice of this particular point regarding Dan is interesting: of course, a personal and emotionally charged detail has more impact on the mark and the audience, but this description of Dan’s family situation, being the happy father of a daughter, matches the one Jane lost when he did the same interview years before. Moreover, it also hints for the second time at the presence of a baby… Jane adds about the baby girl “her name begins with a vowel, “a”…, “Alexan” “A… Alexa” right?” It echoes the encounter he had before entering the wilderness: when he was away from Lisbon in the previous episode, he guessed that the kind bartender’s name started with an “a” too. His first guess was “Angela”, his late wife’s first name, while, now, he’s got enough distance to choose another one. The fact that he accepted to start facing his fears and his grief at long last shows that he’s really moving on instead on hiding emotionally like he’s been doing for years. It’s the last step of letting go: he’s finally able to give his “congratulations” to a happy father instead of chasing guilty parents as he’s been doing since the very first case in the pilot with the abusive father.

Jane’s credibility as a psychic is further set up with another interview, in the afternoon this time. He’s facing two women who are hanging on his lips. He tells to one of them “your aunt passed away about a year ago”. It echoes his performance with a member of the audience with a deceased loved one in the interview from the flashback. Yet, back then, he told the woman that her father asked her “to forgive him”, that he was “deeply sorry”, whereas now this soul he’s supposed to be talking to doesn’t seek redemption: “she used to help people” and “she really wants you to be happy because she loves you very much”. Basically, he’s telling her what he feels like his own family would be hoping for him: that’s what his hallucinated ghost Charlotte meant to tell him and what his carnie friends/family insisted on in ‘Copper Bullet’. That also represents that he’s made peace and finally mourned them in the process of moving on.

Those TV appearances therefore contrast with the badmouthing he did against RJ in the past. Now, he’s not seen “slaughtering” another killer “in the media”, but he’s showing his skills peacefully, he’s accepted this part of him and the past it entails. Before, it just caused death –his family’s, Panzer’s, even Kristina Fry ended up in a half-death after following the same path-, yet now he does it in order to save lives. He’s putting himself at risk to protect others instead of acting in the name of greed or of a vengeful and somewhat selfish hidden agenda. That’s why the interviews follow the course of a day: he starts with Dan in ‘Austin Today’, probably in the morning; he’s in the afternoon edition later and finishes in a “Night Talk” on the radio: these interviews follow the steps of his career at the CBI. ‘Austin Today’ reminds of the pilot and a little bit of his performance to catch a shady anchorman in ‘If It Bleeds, It Leads’ in the Volker arc. The two female journalists remind of Karen Cross and the radio show is a nod to ‘Red Velvet Cupcakes’. All in all, in the course of a day, he’s experiencing again the same situations, but with a new goal and a new peace of mind which symbolizes again that he’s finished his grieving process.

The radio interview is undoubtedly the most telling. First, Jane states his position as part of a team: like he’s been doing for years, he explains that he’s not a cop. Still, unlike his previous insistence about not being “above or below” of Lisbon or the other agents, but “on the side”, now he just tells much more humbly “I’m not a detective, I don’t do police work. I’m just trying to help my colleagues understand this man”. The contrast is great with his attention-seeking behavior in the TV show from the pilot… The difference is made even more blatant when Jane describes “cautiously” the serial killer –instead of pretending to force himself to look into the “terrible cold, dark flame” of “true demonic evil” like he did back then when he used to lay it on thick with the mystical aspect of his persona… He says “I would say that he’s obviously angry, probably in a lot of pain, but I think he’s trying to get in touch with someone from the other side”, because “who isn’t?” He doesn’t insult his prey this time, there’s no “ugly, tormented little man”. He only describes the emotional state of the man, who’s “angry”, “in pain” and seeking comfort from a dead loved one: it’s a far more understanding point of view than the “lonely soul, sad, very sad” that he used for RJ. Of course, it’s intended as a bait to lure the psychic seeking murderer to him, so it makes sense Jane is subtler and kinder in his reading, even more so when his past arrogance cost him so much. Yet at the same time, it shows that Jane himself has become less angry and thus less confronting: he’s more mature than he used to be.

When Jane begins taking calls, the first woman to talk to him is an “Anna Marie” whose names come from the Bible: Mary/Marie is Jesus’ mother while Ann is her own mother, which entwines the baby/family aspect with the story of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Anna in the Old Testament is also the name of a prophetess who spoke as the redemption brought by the child to come. But of course, the caller who’s most interesting and loaded with Biblical meaning is Lazarus who “rose from the dead” as one of Jesus’ performed miracles: his name can be linked to the notion of avoiding death, just like the vampire, which already hints at the secret motives behind the killings… The mysterious man dives straight into questioning Jane’s knowledge about “the man the FBI is hunting”, in complete contrast with the previous callers’ more personal worries. When Jane starts asking questions himself about what the man might know, the other simply remarks “you’re the one who knows everything”, because “you claim to be in contact with his spirit”… Underneath the slightly ironic phrasing –given that Jane has already guessed that he’s talking with the killer-, the man can’t mask his very real interest in Jane’s supposed gift. That is meaningful, because it reminds of how Jane’s comments on RJ lead the late serial killer to make contact too, in a most gruesome way. Plus RJ’s first direct contact with vengeful Jane was also by phone: he called after killing off Renfrew/Jane’s first real lead to taunt him with his laugh in ‘Red John’s Friends’.

Jane further tests the waters by making Lazarus admit that he spoke to another psychic before: “he was a complete fake. You could practically see it written on him”. This comment is obviously dark humor: it’s a way to hint that he was the one who killed Gabriel and who “wrote” the word “fake” on his corpse… In a way, Gabriel thus reaped the same consequences than Jane did when he provoked RJ: he was labeled as fake (echoing the sarcastic letter RJ left pinned on the bedroom door) and his career ended in bloodshed… which in turn means that Jane might avoid following the same path since Lazarus wants to believe in his abilities. Unlike RJ who wanted to set himself as god or at least who presented himself as sent by him, playing on Blake references, Lazarus believes “in spirits very much, just not everybody who claims to be in touch with them”. Jane’s therefore been given a chance to put things to right. He’s rewriting his past with RJ, this time avoiding making the same mistakes, in order to gain a different ending. He’s literally facing the past that been plaguing him for years and he’s finally fully ready to deal with it, hence his statement that nobody haunts him when Lazarus asks him: even though the man remarks “there must be spirits in your life”, Jane answers “fortunately, they leave me alone”. He’s spelling out that he’s finished mourning, in case the many hints were not clear enough.

However, Jane’s strength of mind is tested when the new woman in his life is in danger, just like Angela was: Lisbon is coming back at his place and asks over the phone “did you leave the door of the Airstream open this morning?” This moment ends the long string of phone calls between them when he was afraid to have her get killed ever since S1 ‘Redwood’ (‘Strawberry and Cream’, ‘Red All Over’, ‘The Desert Rose’ for instance). It also happens to be the first phone conversation they have since he stopped ignoring her calls: he had felt the need to get away from the FBI for fear of what danger might befall her, while now he’s presented with the very same possibility that he did try to run away from. Unlike with Angela, here he can stand by Lisbon instead of letting her face danger alone; when she opens the door in the same way that he was about to open that fateful bedroom door years ago, he tells her “okay, stop, don’t go anywhere near it, don’t do anything until someone gets there”. He insists “you’re not hanging up”. Yet, like it was with the couple in the opening of the episode, it’s the apparently safest one who’s actually in danger: the killer has set his eyes on Jane. Lazarus crashes his car against the one the consultant is in. It’s what Michelle did with their suspect in ‘Copper Bullet’: the scent of death is looming closer over him. Jane’s kidnapped like he was during his ordeal with Kirkland (‘Red Listed’) and the scene has also shades of his risky encounter with Lorelei in the limo in ‘The Crimson Hat’.

Later, the team makes plans to get him back and orders are given. Interestingly, one of the agents who’s given a specific task is called Elias. This is another version of prophet Elijah’s name, whom John the Baptist –who used to preach in that wilderness that brought peace to Jane- was compared to when he announced the Day of Judgment and that the Messiah was coming… It also symbolizes how Jane is getting over his fears about death by getting committed to a new life. Nonetheless, Elias has a different attitude towards sin than Jesus: while the latter forgives the sinner, Elias is more willing to call the fire of a vengeful justice on the Samaritan who doesn’t respect him enough to be a good host (Luke, 9, 51-56). It foreshadows Jane’s own behavior towards the bad “host” that made him captive and threatens to kill him… Last amusing point: Elias is also known for having resurrected people as a miracle (King 4, 35; 17, 17-24), which again hints at the thing Lazarus is after…

The second agent mentioned by name is trickier: Merrick might or might not allude to Joseph Merrick, better known as the ‘Elephant Man’, a man whose physical deformities lead him to be exhibited in 19th century fairs. If this name is more than a simple coincidence, it might allude both to Jane’s past carny life and to his efforts to become human again –an important theme of the 1980 movie based on Merrick and directed by David Lynch: indeed, in ‘Blue Bird’, he admitted to a scornful Lisbon that he’d “forgotten how to act like a normal human being”. Now, he’s trying to go further into this form of redemption by accepting both his past and future. By forgiving himself, he’s willing to commit himself to her fully.

VIS#4: Jane and Lazarus

While Abbott is telling Lisbon how sorry he is not to have listened to her misgivings concerning this dangerous plan, Jane is held captive in Lazarus’ den. His position, tied up on a chair, reminds of all the other occurrences when he’s been kidnapped and at the mercy of a dangerous criminal (with Kirkland; when he was saved by RJ in S2 ‘Red Sky in the Morning’; in S2 ‘Bleeding Heart’). He’s forced to buy some time, study his abductor and use his wits to get out of the situation, in the vein of S3 ‘Ball of Fire’. Thus, he’s observing intensely his surroundings. He remarks “interesting place. Could do with a little update”: the decoration of the room, including the brown shag carpet, is indeed pretty old fashioned. It’s like it’s been frozen in time, without Lazarus making any change, like an echo of Jane’s empty house in Malibu used to be, with the bedroom containing only a mattress and the dreadful smiley face: Lazarus too is too caught up in his history to move on. The situation enlightens his character and way of life, because it reminds of RJ’s career in crime – a parallel enhanced by him asking Jane if he’s a liar like Gabriel was, then telling him to prove that he isn’t. It also makes him a bit similar to Jane who used to reach for darkness out of distress. Plus, the consultant stays intriguingly true to his word with the man during their talk; he said “I’m not lying” and he keeps indeed telling the truth, explaining that he doesn’t know that Lazarus has kept the room unchanged since his father’s days because of a spirit but because of the outdated furniture…

The similarities are developed when Jane cold reads Lazarus. His mother died when he was very young and he was raised by his father. As far as viewers know, that probably matches Jane’s own carny childhood even as he adds that Lazarus’ father was “strict”, mirroring how Jane’s abusive father tried to make him a conman… This detail is even more interesting since it also corresponds with what Jane deduced from Vega’s father: fatherhood has been particularly stressed on recently and those three examples give a different perspective on what those dads taught to their children. Vega’s father used to be loyal and tried to raise Vega in the respect of rules; as an adult, she had to learn how to bend them in order to become her own woman… On the other hand, Jane’s dad had taught his son how to live in the margin of society, but the consequences that befell him lead Jane to change and become less selfish and more moral, even if he doesn’t always follow the letter of the law. On the contrary, Lazarus has apparently not reached the point where he chose to make his own choices: he’s still completely under the influence of what he’s been raised to be, which proves to be very dark in his case… As such, Lazarus is the inverted reflection of what Jane could have become had he not decided to use his free will for the better. Indeed, Jane insists that Lazarus now feels that he “deserved it”: “he was right to punish you”. Again, Jane’s telling the truth: he doesn’t play the psychic yet, he just says “It’s what I’m getting from you”. This odd honesty hints that Jane’s no longer a conman: he’s seeking justice instead.

But the consultant keeps talking and progressively puts up his best performance in getting in someone’s head: “you didn’t have any friends when you were a kid. You usually ate alone, not because people wouldn’t sit with you, but because you were disgusted by the sounds they made when they ate. Sometimes, other people don’t feel real to you: they’re like robots wearing human skin.” He adds “you’re an exterminator. Yet, again, it doesn’t feel real. It’s like a movie being projected on a screen”. This “impressive” and eerily intimate description of Lazarus’ misophonia and more especially his generally distanced state of mind might be based on something that Jane could spot in the room. Even though the titles on the shelves are too small to read, one can wonder if there could be some classic science fictions novels featuring human-looking robots like ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ by Philipp K. Dick, some of Isaac Asimov’s works or even an old copy of the 1984 movie ‘The Terminator’ (the man’s work as an “ex-terminator” might be a nod). It would fit since this movie’s storyline involves an (still unborn) character who’s destined to be the savior of humanity; two possible futures await this futuristic Messiah: either his mother is killed by an human-skinned android before he’s born, or he’s saved by his father, two options that respectively hint at Lazarus’ disgust with humans and his motivations. Anyway, Jane is perceptive enough to understand the man’s detachment and loneliness; in a way, it matches Jane’s own isolation in middle of the mind games he used to play on others, before he decided to open up and let Lisbon in. Then he too probably used to see other people as somewhat different from him, given that he was the smartest in the room and others were just marks… The way he also used someone else’s story- instead of a science-fiction based metaphor- to avoid telling the truth to Dr Wagner in the pilot might have hinted at the same avoidance of reality he was tempted to hide behind.

In spite of being already half-convinced that Jane has a gift, Lazarus isn’t much into introspection and he doesn’t lose sight of his real goal for targeting him: “I don’t need to know about me: I want contact with another”. He insists to a skeptic Jane that “the spirit is here, if you don’t know that, then you’re a fraud”, “just like the other one”, “a liar and a cheat”. His obsessive eagerness is of course Jane’s clue fort snooping some more: the resourceful consultant understands that the answer to his plight is “here”, inside the place instead of inside the man’s head… Therefore, when Lazarus goes out, Jane accepts the water bottle that he was offered earlier. In addition of earning a tiny little bit of the man’s trust by asking for a small favor, like he advised Lisbon to do in ‘The Greybar Hotel’, the bottle cap can be used as a tool to pull a nail off the table. This clever way to get his freedom of movement ties back to two aspects previously hinted at in the earlier seasons. First, there’s the idea that he’s been locked down in his self-imposed obsession for years, just like he’s about to discover that Lazarus is too. Then the hammer concept was linked to his relationship with Lisbon. Back in the previous season, that tool suggested that his tendency to take her for granted by simply keeping her occupied with “nailing” bad guys, for instance in ‘The Golden Hammer’, was about to smash his chance at happiness to bits; now, the fact that he can take the nail off without an actual tool might symbolize that he has managed to get over this propensity, by listening to her wishes and trying to play more by her rules. Again, it may be an indirect sign that he’s made progress in many (if not every) aspects of his personality.

It enlightens even more clearly how Lazarus mirrors Jane’s past attitude, like RJ tended to do, only this time the emphasis is on the differences rather than the similarities. Lazarus has obviously lost someone dear and is at a different point in his mourning process (in addition to living in isolation, he shows signs of anger, denial and a willingness to bargain to bring the spirit back), whereas Jane has reached acceptance and he’s thus freed from the nastier and more destructive parts of his grieving. This is why the book he looks at in the shelf is accurately titled “Full Circle”: seeing the state Lazarus has put himself in by refusing to accept death, Jane can fully distance himself from his part of his life. By facing a situation rather comparable to the one he lived through, involving the danger of becoming a monster himself that was always lingering at the corner of his long-standing fight against RJ, he can let go of the last shreds of this phase: he’s able to gain more objectivity and detachment towards himself by studying Lazarus. Especially when he sees the length of Lazarus’ insanity: the man is keeping the two years old desiccated body of his father in a little storage area on the side of the room Jane is locked in, just like the serial killer in Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’. That was what the man hinted at when he said that “the spirit is here”. It’s also the hidden reason for the choice of “Lazarus” as his own nickname since he wants to bring the dead man back to life and he identifies with him, albeit in a smaller scale than ‘Psycho’ character Norman Bates. This is further hinted by the name “Joe” that he shares with his father “big Joe”, not to mention that it starts with the same letter as (Red) John…
When the younger Joe comes back, Jane ups his psychic act, prompted by the various bits of new knowledge he collected. He tells him that his father “says thank you for keeping him, for taking care of him. The passing over was hard, but now he’s good. His back doesn’t hurt anymore, he feels better now than he ever did when Dr Hannigan was feeding him his meds”. The words echo what Gabriel told Wylie about Vega’s spirit which wanted him to stop feeling sad over her death. Also, interestingly, big Joe’s doctor shares his name with the rough agent who first told Jane to move on by starting a new family when he met Lisbon in ‘Red Dawn’: past and future are again connected. The time she took him in is thus linked to the new start he’s willing to take now. To put Lazarus’s alleged “doubts” to rest, Jane also tells him about “a lake” called “Pickasee” and that “he didn’t catch a fish that day”, but “you caught a fish, a small one”. This reminds of course of the recurring fishing theme representing the struggle with RJ.
Lazarus then explains why he’s keeping the mummified corpse: “there’s something in me… A voice… And when it starts, I can’t ignore it… I can’t think about anything else until I go out, find someone… And then it goes away again. For a while. Is that your voice, Daddy? Is that you in me? Are you sending me out? Am I doing this for you?” Like Bates in ‘Psycho’, Joe is convinced that the serial killer part of himself is actually his dad, like he lacks so much substance himself that he’s only a receptacle to the older man’s will, because as Jane put it earlier he thinks that he deserves it. He’s again distancing himself from the world around him: himself, the “robots” that he kills and those disturbing and obsessive impulses that plague his mind. He still lives in a nightmarish dream world focused on his father.

Plus, that idea that he’s sent out to kill for his father reminds of how Jane’s been implicitly compared to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Joe’s killing rampage is brought by a “voice” that he believes to be his dad, just like the prince of Denmark was convinced to set up a murderous revenge plan by his father’s ghost, a notion used for Jane’s quest in ‘Something Rotten in Redmund’. Again, it’s a situation that Jane has gotten over with and that he managed to turn into a happy ending instead of the tragedy Joe is heading to. Lazarus then appears as a counter-model: by looking into the abyss, or rather here by listening to its darkest advices, he has been tainted. His nickname instead of being linked to the biblical idea of light and resurrection as it should, only indicates that he’s already dead inside, because evil has made him a monster too by staring for too long into the Death’s eyes. Hence the concept of haunting spirits, of undead vampires-like creatures attached to his acts. It makes him in complete opposition with Jane, whose introspective wanderings have been conductive to embrace his own mortality in order to start living again. Ironically, Jane’s taken the better part of his close encounter with death and murder: instead of following RJ’s steps through hell, he’s chosen to listen to Carter’s sarcastic and hurtful words of letting go of his pain and start anew, at the very end of ‘Strawberry and Cream’.

This contrast is also intriguing in the way both grieving men managed to handle their fate. Joe doesn’t really have answers to explain his killings, he’s full of questions, which reminds of Jane’s refusal to ask anything of RJ. Yet Jane asks him his reasons and even though he only gets an enigmatic answer from Joe and even if he doesn’t press any further (it doesn’t really matter if he’s suffering from a really bad case of undiagnosed schizophrenia or some other mental disorder), the fact remains that this time Patrick’s mind is clear and devoid of passion enough to act as an investigator instead of out of revenge like he did before. This could explain why Jane chose not to lie to him outright, but to just give an artfully presented version of the truth.

That doesn’t stop him though for trying to put an abrupt stop to Lazarus’ career by setting a mortal trap of gum on the unscrewed light bulb once he’s left alone for an hour. Jane still believes that he’s got the right to play vigilante and the fact that the guy took him as a prisoner doesn’t make him question his desire to bring justice onto his head. When his kidnapper comes back, Jane tells him “if you want answers, they’re in that room. You can go in or not. It’s up to you” This time, it’s Joe’s turn to be standing in front of a door with a dead body behind: the step he’ll choose to take will decide on his fate. And, again, true to his word, Jane is not really lying per se: ironically, by getting himself killed, Jane would have Joe reunited with his father… It is probably noteworthy too that Jane is not the one in front of the crucial door this time –given that he was not aware that it was meaningful when he opened it while snooping for information. His own significant door was opened in ‘Blue Bird’ when he decided to step in the plane to grab at his chance to happiness. Now, it’s up to Lisbon to be left to decide to open the potentially threatening door of the Airstream, or to Lazarus who’s reenacting Jane’s past actions. Jane is past that point in his life: he’s come to forgive himself. In the same manner, he’s no longer the one who’s plagued with guilt in this episode; instead, it’s Tork who’s been feeling a sense of responsibility for having hatched the plan and having failed to protect their consultant, which leads Abbott to tell him to go home and that it wasn’t his fault.

The storage room explodes just as Lisbon comes running into the scene after having tracked the address down through Joseph Keller Sr.’s file. Lazarus’ father had been indeed suspected of being a serial killer too before suddenly falling “off the map”. The last name “Keller” might be playing with that notion in association with the “J” reminding of RJ: both father and son bear their wrong-doings in their real name, whereas it was Red John’s nickname that was meaningful… The scene obviously reminds of her desperate attempt to rescue him in ‘Fire and Brimstone’ –before the explosion, which wasn’t orchestrated by Jane back then. Things come full circle here too as Lisbon concludes their adventure with the words “don’t ever do that to me again, ever”.

This ‘Brown Shag Carpet’ also brings to a close the list of episodes involving floor covering. The previous instances were ‘Red Carpet Treatment’ (in which Jane was offered a gun to achieve revenge), ‘Pink Chanel Suit’ (Jane carrying a rolled carpet in lieu of a corpse out of the judge’s house and generally messing the investigation up) and ‘Redacted’ (in which Jane asserted that the hidden treasure was actually a precious rug, but only after hiring a burglar to break into LaRoche’s home…). All of those occurrences have taken place in Season 3 and showed how far Jane’s obsessive streak had leaden him. As such, the carpets might represent Jane’s immobility, his inability to move on. Yet, here, it’s the killer who’s trapped in a fanatical quest: his father’s brown shag carpet in the room where he keeps Jane, near the mummy, symbolizes this binding and debilitating past, while the ‘White Orchids’ coming up afterwards bring a reminder of Jane’s past, but also the long-standing barely acknowledged hope for something more. Jane leaving the mortiferous carpet behind along with his despair ends the shows on a happier note than he may have had hoped for.

At the same time that Jane’s been playing mind games and getting closure, his coworkers were busy looking for him while displaying how much they’ve learnt from him. Cho and Wylie teamed up to investigate the lead involving local black magic and occult. Both were the most emotionally involved in Vega’s death, it thus stands to reason they were very eager to try something, even as weird as that something might look. And here too, the nods to the past are visible: Cho explained to his young agent what a “Grimoire” is, which both reminds viewers of his uncomfortable encounter with a witch in S1 ‘Red Rum’ as well as it is a discreet allusion to Jane’s various books and notebooks through the series. Like the letter pinned by RJ on the bedroom door in the pilot, this last “magical textbook” opens new (and happier) possibilities…

Later, Wylie showed how much their charismatic consultant has influenced him: he was able to get the reluctant shopkeeper to trust him by bargaining his protection. She accepted to give them precious information on who would look for human blood and why. Even though he had seemed so uncertain on the field in the previous episode, Wylie was able to become a better, more confident member of law enforcement due to Jane’s teaching.

But the most startling example is provided by Lisbon. Earlier episodes showed how well groomed she’s been in the art of using manipulation in order to close a case (‘The Greybar Hotel’, ‘Black Market’, ‘The Silver Briefcase’). Here, after Wylie and Cho had found a man involved in the black magic aspect of buying human blood, she dismissed Abbott’s claims that the man already requested an attorney: she insisted ruthlessly “I don’t care”, “we don’t have time for this”, “let me talk to him”. Then, she cold read him: “you’re hiding something”, “I never would have noticed something like this before, but I’ve been working for a very long time with somebody who’s good at seeing into people what they’re thinking, feeling”. She was able to guess what he was hiding, “something violent or sexual, maybe both. But judging by how freaked out you are, I’d say it’s something really bad”. She was not above threatening the man, like Jane did so many times, to her chagrin: “I don’t think you understand how important this is to me. You give me a name, you can walk out of that door right now; you don’t and I will dig up every dirty secret you have”, “I will tell everybody you know: your coworkers, your friends, your family”, “you’re not gonna be able to hide”. She even added to show her cold determination “it’s not a threat, it’s a promise” and “my boss is right back there. Tell him, get me fired, ruin my career, I don’t care. I want those names”. Her worry-induced restless lack of regard for rule contrasts with her way of handling Jane’s disappearances in their CBI days. For instance in ‘Ball of Fire’, she was careful to hide her very real worry under professionalism, whereas here, she didn’t care about façades and even used her fear and anger to frighten her prey. She’s become much more open with her emotions.

Plus, by chasing after her lover’s trail, Lisbon was already proving that she doesn’t need him anymore in her professional life: what Jane has been trying to teach her for years (more notably since ‘Blinking Red Light’) has come to fruition and, surprisingly, this implicitly gives Jane space to invest more deeply the personal side of their relation. Indeed, for years, the main thing that bounded them together was their job, to the point that Lorelei commented that he was reduced to working cases with the CBI because he was “a little bit in love” with Teresa… Now that this need for his enlightening knowledge of the human mind is no longer as needed as it used to, they are to develop a union centered on their affection alone, instead of hiding behind the long-standing half-lie of getting along because “he closes cases”. In a way, Lisbon is therefore also tacitly committing herself more completely to him as a man she loves, instead of as a coworker she happens to date…

Once again, this ties back to their shared past of darkness, since he only started grooming her in order to manipulate her more easily to his views and to prepare her for his leaving the team at the end of his quest. The expression used earlier in the investigation to describe one way of getting blood is telling: “cutting yourself open” reminds of what Jane told Lisbon that he planned to do to RJ in ‘Red Flame’ (“when I catch Red John, I’m going to cut him open and then watch him die slowly, like he did with my wife and child”). It might also be a nod to Jane’s suicidal tendencies that have been more or less hinted at in the series (‘Red John’). Yet, as it systematically happens in this finale, this painful reminder is turned into a more positive one: this time, Lisbon’s grooming no longer implies sinister purposes, but it means getting Jane back for getting their happily ever after. Plus a detail is amusing: Lisbon managed to get “eight names” out of their unwilling witness. Given how often the “seven” number was used to refer to the last season (or to the seven suspects on Jane’s list of RJ candidates), the number eight here implies that they keep going with their happier life even after the closing episode.

‘White Orchids’

The conclusion to the fright caused by the kidnapping and the detonation is shown 24 hours later, when Jane is signing the lease for the house, the very first real home he’s acquired since his Malibu residence, after the shabby string of motel rooms/attic/Airstream. It’s a house that needs repair, just like the Lisbon old family home that he had been looking at in ‘Yellow Little House’.
It’s a sign of freedom and it’s stressed out by the real estate agent joking “now usually this is where I hand over the keys, but there aren’t any”. It obviously refers to the bad state the cabin is in, but it may also be a nod to the many keys that appeared through the series to show how Jane had been locked up by his obsession with revenge: there is no need for that kind of “keys” for him now that he has learnt to get free from his pain…

VIS#5: Jane’s proposal

Once he’s secured this haven in dire need of remodeling, Jane takes another big step into moving forward. Lisbon has been dropping not so subtle hints that she wants him to prove his commitment so he kills two birds with one stone by talking her about his wedding ring, the taboo topic that Lisbon is feeling sorry for bring up.

When they’re admiring the antic house and bantering about how the slanting to the left might be due to an optical illusion, Teresa notices suddenly that he’s not wearing his ring. Jane answers in a deceptively easy fashion: “I’m not married”, then keeps talking about the slanting of the house (“the ground is slanty, so it makes the structure look like it’s leaning, but it is, in fact, not”). When he gathers his wits, he broaches the real matter at hand: “this ring has been with me for a very long time and it has obvious significance with my past”. The ring has been indeed a token of his lost family and a symbol of his quest for revenge: Jane’s been using it for years to fence off women willing to distract him for his self-imposed reclusion and it was precisely the object that Lisbon mentioned to try and awaken memories of his past during his fugue state. Staying symbolically “married” instead of accepting that he was a widower was Jane’s way to avoid getting emotionally involved in normal human interactions during his CBI years. He explained to Kim in ‘My Blue Heaven’ that he was still wearing it because he didn’t know how to talk about his grief and the things he did after losing his wife. Jane being a creature of habit, it stands to reason that he would be reluctant to step forward without this comforting, familiar security blanket… Like the broken teacup, that has been lovingly mended, those items no longer show the narrowed life he had in the CBI, but the stability he longs for and finally achieves by incorporating to a new life those past emotions he used to avoid.

Yet Jane takes the plunge by adding swiftly “it also represents meeting you: if I didn’t have this ring, I would never have met you. So in a sense, it has the potential to represent my future as well”. Like he did with the vest in his three-piece suit, which used to be an emotional armor, a part of the façade he put between him and the world to keep his distance, Jane has managed to turn this emblem of his inability to reach for others into something much more emotionally charged. Indeed, he got his vests back after Lisbon told him she liked them (‘The Greybar Hotel’), so they’ve become a mean to please his lover. In the same manner the ring serves now to build something that would bind them closely together: “I’m not expecting you would ever wear it, but I want to share it with you and I want it to represent our future together. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?” the meaning of this powerful moment can be summed up by the title: ‘White Orchids’ are flowers used for marriage decoration but in the course of the series they’ve echoed Jane’s hope for a new beginning, most particularly since the Lorelei arc (see among others the post about ‘TM Major Themes, Symbols and Arcs: Part 2 –Seasons 3, 4 and 5’ for further reference as well as the reviews for the corresponding episodes).

Interestingly, the ring, along with the vest and the teacup, are quite similar to the magic items given to the characters of some fairy tales. In the perspective of initiation, these objects become filled with the meaningful wisdom that the protagonists acquired on their way. Jane has learnt to live again and the talisman guiding him in his destructive mission has turned into a symbol of the love he’s earned during his progression. Just like Dorothy and her ‘Ruby Slipper’ in ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, he happened to have carried all along with him the means to going back home: his golden ring represents the capacity of loving again he’s been denying himself for too long… But here, Jane’s progress on a path of hardship is therefore no longer represented by his worn-out brown shoes, as it had been until ‘Blue Bird’; he’s no longer walking away from his deepest wishes, but instead he’s risen above his doubts by a more introspective reflection. He’s gained the power to use gold instead of shoes. Like Frost’s poem told viewers, ‘Nothing Gold Can’t Stay’ and his new-found happiness is bound to disappear at some point, but for Jane embracing its fragility also means understanding how valuable it still is to get it back.

Lisbon’s reaction is very different to her hesitation after Pike asked her the same question. She’s moved and agrees at once with enthusiasm. When Jane admits that he’s “glad” because he was “a little nervous”, she’s surprised: “oh, come on, you knew I was gonna say yes”. Jane’s next words are a confession that she’s probably been waiting for years to hear: “no, even after all these years, you’re still a mystery to me”. That closes the chapter of Jane’s attempts at “reading her like a book” as he once said he could: ever since ‘Red Flame’ in Season 1, he’s been trying to prove to her (and to himself) that he could handle her as a predictable creature, causing her alternatively to be on her guard or angered by it (she enjoyed the shock on his face when she showed him the hammer in her desk drawer in S5 ‘Panama Red’)… His truthful admission that she’s indeed the most mysterious character of them both should have felt gratifying had she not been already overwhelmed with joy, laugher and kisses.

The wedding planning: light and darkness mingled

As a consequence, whereas Joe Keller was heading towards a tragedy à la ‘Hamlet’, the end of Jane’s journey looks more like a Shakespearian comedy that parallels the romantic comedy vibe of ‘Blue Bird’. Indeed, in addition of the typical underlying threat of death intricately woven in a plot that takes place in a scenery featuring nature (the cabin), there’s a mixing of different atmospheres characteristic of the Bard’s plays. This latter point reminds of the series’ usual tone of a dark storyline interlaced with humor, while insisting for once on the more positive aspect. While Jane and Lisbon are inundated with the cheerful and funny aspect of their romance, they’re under the illusion that their latest enemy is dead. On the other hand, evil Lazarus is following their love story step by step with the prospect of ruining it: if we were for instance to compare the episode with one of the most famous of Shakespeare’s comedies, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Lazarus would be the ill-intentioned Don Pedro planning to crash their wedding and crush their happy ending… Meanwhile, here too the main couple is be too occupied by their friends’ more benevolent yet slightly annoying projects for them to notice that something is amiss.

From there, the plot follows then two directions, one laced with deadly plans, the other merrier.

1) Lazarus

The killer is lurking, quite like RJ had been for years. Like McAllister in ‘Red John’, he’s survived the explosion and he’s chasing after Jane, not stopping at killing collateral victims ruthlessly in his obsessive hunting. It might be worth remarking that, like RJ pretended to have given “purpose and meaning” to Jane’s life by killing his family (inferred by Rebecca’s words in ‘His Red Right Hand’), Jane has given its real meaning to the name “Lazarus”: what was only an impossible project involving his father has become reality for the serial killer, who’s really come back from the dead, at least from the agents’ point of view… Joe represents more clearly than ever the past that Jane has put behind. He’s linked to fire (cf. ‘Tyger, tyger burning bright”) and wears the mark of the beast under the form of fresh burnt marks instead of the three-dots Blake tattoo. As he says himself, his careful surveillance of what Jane’s up to is a “bad omen” since he threatens to force Jane back on the same tragic path he used to tread through. By playing with fire and taunting a serial killer for the second time, Jane is in danger of having again his new family ripped off from him.

2) Lisbon and Jane

The happy couple follows hastily and in quite a messy way the main points of a traditional wedding checklist. Those follow a bit more closely the bride’s steps (whereas the focus has been more on Jane so far) are presented with a humorous twist due to Lisbon’s wariness of how grand the event is getting.

The first official step is informing the team of their engagement. It also means announcing formally that they’ve been a couple for months… That doesn’t come as a great surprise for Abbott, matchmaker extraordinaire between two jobs, or for Cho who’s been more aware of his coworkers’ feelings this time (“I told you” he says, even though Abbott corrects “no you didn’t”). That leaves the role of the clueless colleague to Wylie, who later confesses to Cho that he didn’t see it coming. The couple hurries to insist that they don’t want “any wedding fuss”: “we’re just gonna slip away quietly in the next couple of days”.

The happy mood is dampened in the next scene when a determined and badly burnt Keller shows up in a shop. A song can be heard faintly as he limps his way around the store: it’s Tom Jone’s ‘It’s Not Unusual’, a 1965 hit that matches the old-fashioned setting of his dad’s house. The upbeat lyrics hint at the danger of heartbreak that might befall the lovebirds (“It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone/ It’s not unusual to have fun with anyone/ But when I see you hanging around with anyone/ It’s not unusual to see me cry, I want to die”).

Yet, oblivious to the threat, Lisbon keeps announcing the great news, this time to a more personal audience. As she contacts her brothers, they’re enthusiastic. Their first question is about their long-time estranged brother Tommy; Lisbon tells them that she left him a message but “he’s chasing a bail jumper in Alaska”. They comment simply “well, you snooze, you lose. We’re gonna miss him at the bachelor party, though”. As heartwarming as this effort to act like a family again may be, it leads to the prickly announcement: “there is no bachelor party”, “we’re getting married the day after tomorrow, just me and Jane and the Justice of the Peace: no big wedding, no guests”, “we want to get married quietly”… Stan and Jimmy are bewildered: “we’ll be quiet, but we’re gonna be there, T.” When they understand that they can’t argue with their stubborn big sister, family man Stan (sporting a cross matching Lisbon’s necklace) decides to make her feel guilty as she’s probably still feeling bad for avoiding family events for years: “if we’re not there, Mom’s gonna spin in her grave like a freaking crankshaft”, “she’ll be crying for shame”… Jimmy tries to reason him, but it only results in making Lisbon feel worse: “why would you want to be there if she doesn’t want us there?” The two overgrown kids start mock fighting: “you’re a sad, bitter man, Jimmy Lisbon”. This might or not be a moving echo to Jane’s reading of RJ as an “ugly, tormented little man, a lonely soul, sad, very sad”. Jimmy keeps fighting his bro and laughing “I smile through it”, “I smile through the sadness” (which is maybe a distant nod to the blood smiley that plagued Jane’s memories).

Jane spots immediately that Lisbon is worried because she ended up inviting them to the wedding. He just agrees that they’re family and eases the mood up by teasing her about asking how he did know what she had on her mind (“when we’re married, do you think you might stop asking that question?”). Lisbon nevertheless comments that, since her brothers are coming, “it feels funny not to invite just a couple of members from the team”. She’s torn between what feels right and their wish to “keep it small”… Jane tells her kindly “invite away, we’re gonna need a few more guests just to dilute the alcohol content”. They decide to settle on “just three or four” more guests, that promptly escalade to “just 8 or 9 close friends at the courthouse”. It is the official start of Teresa Lisbon’s ‘Doomsday of the Uncontrollable Guest List’… In spite of Jane’s misgivings, they are not fully aware that they’re tempting fate (“it’s not like we’re hiring a caterer, we don’t have a gift registry of anything…”) and they decide to head “to O’Malley’s bar afterwards. Or we could go to a restaurant”. O’Malley was the bar the team gathered at in ‘Strawberry and Cream’ to discuss their secret plan. Since this particular bar was located in Sacramento, it might be a pet peeve or a discreet allusion to their CBI days.

Then Jane takes upon himself to get her a ring. He explains that the old wedding band that served for his unusual proposal is “for us: you need one for you”. He wants to choose it alone as to not “waste time bickering” since he has “better taste”, but takes into consideration Lisbon’s plea for it not to be “too gauche”. Of course, Jane’s resourceful conman ways are a great help when he spots at the store the jeweler trying to trick the young couple before him by giving them a cheap replica instead of the genuine diamond they came with. The family theme is again explored by the lovebirds’ claim that the diamond they want to put in a necklace is a family heirloom (from a grandmother) and the maternity idea is subtly played with the second occurrence of the name “Anne”, which belongs to the Virgin’s mother in the New Testament. Jane steps in jovially, saves the day by uncovering the sleight-of-hand move called “French drop” that he witnessed and blackmails the dishonest jeweler into showing him his “very best selection, please” adding as an afterthought “nothing too gauche”.

His secrecy only heightens Lisbon’s curiosity over the ring. So, when they are busy with tedious bureaucracy at the County Clerk Office, he jokes “I could just give you the ring and we could elope” while making a show of touching the hidden box through his pocket. She playfully asks “you got a ring?”, then proceeds to poke his pocket while insisting “you gonna show it to me?” (Warning to Jane: physical teasing and poking tendencies appear to run deep in the Lisbon family. Judging by her brothers it can only get worse the more familiar she grows after marriage… Please refrain from starting any tickle fight and watch your ribs!)

Of course, Teresa can’t get over her shock when seeing his gift and readily believes that it’s too big to be real. Then when he assures her that it is real, she freaks out “oh my, are you out of your mind?”, “well, it’s gorgeous, but it’s too much, I can’t accept it”. Even though she managed before to give back the pricey emeralds that he offered her in ‘Red Handed’, this time he insists “you can accept it and you will. It’s yours, I want you to have it.” Those heartfelt words contrast with the clerk’s matter of fact statement that “we’ll need confirmation that the ceremony’s been performed within 72 hours or you will need to refile” and Jane delights sarcastically “who said romance is dead?”… The moment is laced with another allusion to their shared past: Jane’s wish for a romantic elopement followed by an honeymoon in Fiji is a nod to his island days and to his plans for running away on a boat to a no less exotic beach in Polynesia in ‘The Silver Briefcase’, only this time it’s not the temptation to escape the risks of reality that motivate him, but the eagerness to spend quality time with his beloved bride.

The rest of the planning takes place from Lisbon’s point of view and it displays how deep her relations with the people in her life have become. It’s thus easy to notice how much character development she underwent, from the workaholic loner from the pilot to the “popular” girl whose wedding everyone comments and wants to attend. The amusing part is of course her aggravated look at the orgy of wedding vocabulary and the way things are going out of hand.

1- With Abbott

Her former boss is happy to offer his house to stage the ceremony, which contrasts greatly with how harsh he’s been with Lisbon on their very first encounter in the CBI. Back then, he mistrusted Lisbon because of her supposed relation with Jane. It’s this very same involvement with a man whom he’s come to respect that he’s giving his blessing to now, putting emphasis on how a new leaf in their life has been turned. Both have earned his consideration; even though his suspicions about their mutual feelings at the CBI were well-founded, his own indulgence in Jane’s schemes has implicitly shown that he understands now how love was probably not the only reason why Lisbon followed her consultant’s lead.

Dennis has since then become protective of them. He’s pushed Jane into following his heart in the end of Season 6; he’s now offering to host the “casual wedding” and later he’s “covering the rental [of the tables] and the bartender and the caterer” as a wedding gift. All in all, Abbott is the closest they have to a nurturing parental figure who’s welcoming them into their new condition. Even if his rather fatherly role is not to guide the bride to Jane directly, his hand in sponsoring the event’s preparations financially goes far enough to both show his thankfulness for their help in ‘Copper Bullet’ and to place him as the godfather of their union.

2- With Cho

If Dennis plays the doting father, Cho acts as the friend/family member/bridesmaid/fashion consultant helping her choose her wedding dress, for Lisbon doesn’t have any real female friends in the FBI after Kim left. After all, Cho was already her fake-fiancé when they went undercover as a couple in a jewel store in ‘Black Market’. It foreboded Jane choosing the actual ring in an earlier scene. Cho is her oldest friend in the FBI team and the only available member of the SCU at hand at such short notice, but it’s nonetheless very telling that she felt comfortable enough to ask for his help in such a personal matter even more since he’s now technically her supervising agent. Her relaxed clothing when she asked him, only clad in her dark green form-fitting top with no jacket, speaks enough of how natural the question feels. In ‘Bloodstream’, when he was placed in a position of authority above her for the first time, he told her that, unlike her, he didn’t want walls between his team and him; isn’t that heartwarmingly ironic that now the only thing standing between her and this close stoic friend at a decisive moment in her womanly life is the door of a dressing room?

Of course, the fact that loafer-lover Lisbon has upgraded her wardrobe in the recent months to more feminine or even sexier outfits than her old reliable pantsuits doesn’t mean that she has any idea of what kind of gown she wants. Cho’s opinions on the different styles she tries on are as laconic as funny: “makes you look short”, “snow cone”, “slutty elf” sum up how difficult it is for petite Teresa to find her dream dress. At the end, the man decides to save time and he chooses for her, probably thinking that he has better taste just like did Jane about the ring: “you want a simple piece with clean lines, maybe something vintage and off-white”. Lisbon is relieved and simply agrees to ask the attendant for “what he said”.

Very pleased with her former second-in-command-turned-boss’s sage advice, Lisbon thanks him and tells him “I asked you along because I thought you’d be honest. I had no idea you were such a fashion expert”. This may be a nod to his seductive countenance when he rocked stylish clothes in ‘Crimson Casanova’. Kimball explains: “not me. My mom could run up a designer shop before breakfast, she cut her cloth by eye.” Emboldened and touched by this rare confidence, Lisbon discloses some personal information on her own: “my mom had a sewing machine, but it was always in hock…” Cho tells her then something very sweet: “she’d be proud of you”, even dressed in a far too revealing wedding gown. This allusion to her family ties back to her yielding to her brothers’ pressure for fear of what her mom would have wanted: like Jane, Lisbon has overcome the bad memories of her own tragedy and she’s now able to think about it with more serenity than she had showed in the pilot.

3- With Wylie

Wylie too achieved some peace of mind with his own tragedy. There’s some progress concerning how difficult he finds to accept Vega’s death. When he announced to Cho his decision to request a transfer in the Salt Lake City office, Cho familiarly smacked him over his head and told him to stop feeling sorry for himself and that making some mistakes is normal. As for his sadness about Michelle, he insists “you miss Vega. Now remember who she was: she’d never run away from a challenge like this and neither should you.” He concludes “I have to rebuild the team and I want to start with people that I know and trust, so stick around”, before adding almost fatherly “I’m asking you to stay, Wylie”. Cho already proves that he will be a stern but protective leader, just like he did with Michelle. Abbott who’s just “spinning” his “wheels here”, waiting for his new job to begin, can rest assured that the future of team looks encouraging, with or without Jane and even with the new dynamic brought by Lisbon putting more energy in her home.

Now that Wylie feels better about himself and his place in the team, his liveliness can be directed to more pressing matters… which is to say stressing Lisbon out by becoming her unofficial wedding planner. When she demands that he must keep the news to himself as to not hurt anyone’s feelings, for they want to keep is small, he starts his eager yet demoralizing mission by asking her if there is a “gift registry” or a “trousseau” (which leaves her puzzled). Later, at Abbott’s place, he’s already making arrangements: “you’d probably prefer to hold the ceremony outside and there isn’t really a room inside big enough”. Indeed, “a lot of people are talking about it” and the list has grown exponentially: from the “15 people” that Lisbon remembers inviting, they’ve reached the nerve-racking number of “mhm, more like 25, or…” He’s quick to try to reassure her: “I don’t think people are waiting for, like, a printed invitation seeing as there isn’t one. But, hey! On the plus side, you’re popular, girl!” There also a “menu” and the corresponding caterer that she didn’t ask for, of course…

4- With the most prominent members of the ever growing list of guests AKA her family

Lisbon’s wariness at being unable to stop more and more people from attending her wedding reaches a depressing peak when her brothers arrive with their whole family. Lisbon expresses her lack of gusto by those heartfelt words: “wow! You all came! So many people…” Jimmy even found himself a very giddy and annoying fiancée, who immediately launches on a distressed Lisbon exclaiming “I am so freaked out to meet you at last! We’re gonna be sisters! Yay! Yay!” Lisbon explains to her energetic relatives: “sorry, I’m freaking out right now”. Yet, despite her misgiving about what is now shaping to be a bigger wedding than she wished for, their enthusiasm at being with her shows that they’ve come a long way to become a close-knit family again.

The second family eager to share the happy event is her old team. When she announced them the good news to Grace and Wayne, they comment that “the news is spreading fast through the CBI grapevine” so they “had to call and say congratulations”. Wayne, who’s been teasing Jane about how they had always thought he and the fair agent Lisbon would end up together in ‘White as the Driven Snow’, says “so you and Jane, huh? We always knew”. Grace corrects “We always knew? I always knew!” Obviously, romantic Grace is the reason why oblivious Rigsby could have guessed a potential love story that had escaped Cho’s notice at the time…They accept gleefully the invitation (“we wouldn’t miss it for anything”) and think about how they’ll manage to get rid of their kids with “a little child-care juggling”. Rigsby even jokes “you know, worst comes to worst, we’ll just bring the little monkeys with us and keep them locked in the rental car”. It shows both how happy they are with their new life and how attached they still feel to Teresa, who remained a close friend through the years (cf. ‘My Blue Heaven’).

Their interaction implies that Lisbon is now at peace with that part of her past too. Even thought she lost her job at the CBI and had to face discredit to the point of being relegated in a small town Sheriff office, she’s gotten closure over her broken career. The professional image she worked so hard to project is somewhat restored as the “CBI grapevine” readily shares the news: people find the information interesting, which hints that she’s “popular” there too. Moreover, the fact that she’s the one who reaches for others might hint that people could be more taken in by her, because she was genuinely liked. After all, she always had good relations with others agents onscreen, even ones who had taken over her team like late Haffner (before he started getting creepy) and now Tork. In a way, one can wonder if in hindsight her care for duty and her genuine kindness may not be more fondly remembered by people who enjoyed celebrating her ten-year anniversary with the CBI (‘The Red Barn’) than her unruly and whimsical consultant who had a hand in the loss of their jobs… Anyway, the leaf is turned for the better since Teresa has been achieved her happy ending, like Grace and Wayne before her. More than the Lisbon brothers, these two represent what she wants from married life: to be able to get along merrily with her loved one and their family. This comforting domestic sight matches what she used not to want to acknowledge that she wished for in her younger years, from the horrendous pink bridesmaid dress Jane forced on her, because he guessed it was a secret desire of hers, to her discreet envy when Rigsby started being a doting dad.

Family has been a main theme of the last season. Family may often be a bad influence that holds you back (the Bittakers in ‘The White of His Eyes’; Lazarus); it may keep you stuck in neutral, overwhelmed by doubts about doing what they would approve of (Jane; Vega wondering about her actions under Jane’s guidance, until she took a decision, unlike Lazarus). But it can also be the very people who will support you (Lisbon and the team) and for whom you want to be a better person (the Stopparts in ‘The White of His Eyes’; Jane becoming again a normal human being for Lisbon). All in all, family is a way to build future with one’s past, like the young couple in the jeweler store who wants to make a necklace from a grandmother’s ring: it’s exactly what Lisbon and Jane are trying to do.

Finally the two plots of the episodes, featuring respectively evil Lazarus and the happy couple, meet when Lazarus tries to pinpoint where Jane is. As he calls Tork, pretending to be the TV show host that he just murdered, he’s been told that Jane “is pretty unfindable these days, he’s getting married in a few days”. This line contrasts with Jane’s words to Lisbon that he tries “to be more findable these days” at the end of ‘Byzantium’ after his Airstream escapade. Indeed, there’s a role reversal, for Jane is no longer the one chasing restlessly after his nemesis: this time, Lazarus is the one searching for him.

The role reversal continues when the team is alerted that Lazarus is alive and kicking his way onto warpath: in pure Jane’s fashion, they decide to keep the lovebirds in the dark because they can handle it without worrying them. They agree to lure the killer in by using their friends’ wedding as bait, just like Jane would do:”postpone the wedding? We’re the FBI!” In a way, that’s payback for all the times Jane (and Lisbon) didn’t let the team in their discoveries, especially about RJ being alive too, for example after the debacle with Carter or after Jane realized that Bertram was just a decoy for McAllister in ‘Red John’. Their main reason is not as selfish as Jane’s used to be though: they know that he and Teresa are “in a good space right now. If Lisbon found out that this case isn’t closed, it’s likely that she’ll cancel the wedding and join the hunt”. They decide therefore that “there’s plenty of time to tell them after”… which means that Abbott will probably add the names of more agents to the guest list in order be inconspicuous: “four, but now I think we should probably have more… at least ten” armed agents watching “the front and backyards and the surrounding neighborhoods”. Amusingly, Dennis’ listing for the party keeps growing, in parallel with the real guest list…

Of course, Jane is quickly able to spot that he’s been lying to when Abbott tells him that he was talking with Cho and Tork about “nothing special”. The perceptive consultant only says “I won’t pursue the point because you would tell me if it was something important”. He then lets Abbott wheedle him on a safer topic: “you know, I’ve been getting some calls about you and my bosses want to know if you’re sticking around”. There’s “no pressure” from his part (a dig at Pike’s favorite expression for planning his future…), yet he explains “if you’re going, there is some legal stuff that we need to handle to expunge that deal that we made.” Jane understands the need for talking about the deal written on “the napkin” when he left his island, but he reflects “I’m getting married tomorrow. Then I’m building a house and, beyond that, I genuinely have no idea. And I can’t do this job forever, but it’s gonna be tough to give up.” Abbott comments that “it’s hard giving up making a difference, huh?”, though Jane amends “no, everyone makes a difference. Hard to give up the chase.” Jane’s aware that the team doesn’t really need him: he’s past the need to prove that he’s the smartest in the room. Instead, he’s aware that what drives him is his tendency to focus on the man hunt provided by cornering bad guys as well as the intellectual stimulation offered by investigating a case. Lisbon remarked this very accurately when he first mentioned quitting ‘The Silver Briefcase’: “it’s not gonna be as easy to walk away as you think”, because “you enjoy the mental simulation far more than you let on”. It’s probably the secret reason why he was capable to devote himself so completely and for so many years to the pursuit of his goal in the RJ era: concentrating his clever mind on chasing down a shadow was a way to distract himself for the pain. On this point too it’s then a new beginning for him, for he should try to find some interests in life other than playing mind games on marks, may they be criminals or credulous people.

Yet, Jane is not quite over that peculiarity of him because he has no qualms in manipulating his friend into telling him what he’s trying to hide. He agrees with Dennis that “it has been very good working” with him. It’s in way as to make the other man feel guilty. He insists “I really appreciate your honesty. I love you for that” until Dennis relents and acquiesces “okay you got me: I was lying, there is something I need to talk to you about”.

Once he knows that he’s about to be targeted at the wedding, he goes to try and convince Lisbon to really avoid the risky situation by eloping. With her too, his old treacherous habits insensibly lead him to hide the ugly truth at first in order not to frighten her. He finds his grumpy dulcinea in Abbott’s garden moping in the middle of several elaborated bouquets of white roses and orchids mingled with pastel colored flowers. Jane tries to gauge the situation and tries to distract his tear-stricken fiancée by commenting cautiously: “nice flowers”. Lisbon recites “they’re centerpieces. It’s a Sylvan theme”. Seeing that she’s even more distraught by this statement, he senses that the problem is that the wedding preparations have gotten out of hand: “how many people are actually coming to this thing? –Nobody knows exactly”. Lisbon exclaims “how did this happen? This is not what I wanted. Well, I like the Sylvan theme… We should have eloped like you said”. All the while, he’s stroking her arm in a soothing motion. After she affirms that her family wouldn’t care (“I just talked to them at the hotel. They found a minibar, they’re like cavemen arguing over a dead antelope”), Jane seizes this golden opportunity to make her get her out of the killer’s way without alarming her: “let’s run, huh? We’ll tell nobody, just the judge. I’ll have her meet us at our little cabin tomorrow morning”, already planning to “get someone, a park ranger” as a witness. Lisbon is overjoyed by the perspective of giving the slip to their not-so-wanted guests, which fits the old habit for secrecy and plotting that has cemented their couple over the years: “you know what? Let’s do it!”, “it’s our life, damnit!”, “I’m gonna go get my dress and I’m gonna go to the Airstream, I’ll meet you here”. She even tells him that she loves him and kisses him by way of thanks, convinced that she is that her comforting and seemingly perfect fiancé is only trying to make her happy.

Lisbon’s candidness leads him then to spill the beans. The hastiness of his explanation makes the scene even funnier “well, there’s another very good reason why she should elope, all right? Keller is apparently still alive and he’s mad at me for some reason…” Lisbon is floored, so he keeps taking “yeah, so Cho and his people are gonna stake out of this house. When Keller shows up, they’ll nab him”. Even though Lisbon is at once assured that married life with Jane will never get dull, one may understand that this revelation fails to make her very satisfied with her groom. Yet the amusing part is that she’s not as much scared for their life as annoyed by his almost-lie: “you were gonna withhold this information from me?” She even lets slip that her main fear is still about attending to the too many guests by saying “you were gonna deprive me of a guilt-free elopement?” Jane protests “I just told you!” but that doesn’t cut it: “you almost didn’t! From now on, we need to be 100% honest with each other”, mirroring an old worry that has plagued her since the very start of the show. This claim might echoes her statement that she didn’t trust him 100% in ‘Scarlet Ribbons’ when he started being more open to her about his plans after killing Carter. Nonetheless, here he only agrees and seals this promise with a series of heartfelt sweet kisses. They decide to hurry away (“I’m gonna go get my dress, fire up the Airstream”).

This cute and comical discussion enlightens that the focus has shifted. Keller’s predatory and murderous intends are emphasized by the stone eagle at the gate when he slips into the judge’s trunk to get to the place where’s the marriage will be held, nevertheless, they’re less worried about the danger than they’re eager to enjoy their important day peacefully. They’re trying to get the wedding they want and to start their married life on the best, most thoughtful way possible; they’re already past the excitement of the chase. In that perspective, Keller is already bound to fail, all the more since the burnt mark he’s wearing makes him easy to spot. It gives the team time to prepare for his arrival.

VIS#6: the big day/ the ending

The tension is increasing as Jane is deep breathing in front of the pound in his new property. He’s contemplative, clad in his usual suit, with a satiny tie. A delicately veiled Lisbon gets out of the Airstream with her dress on, looking wonderful if slightly out of place. They promise each other “no matter what happens, from this point on”, “we will always look on the bright side”. It’s Jane’s commitment not to fall into despair again. Interestingly, the bouquet Lisbon is sporting is an arrangement of wild-looking flowers with white anemones. Anemones are traditionally associated with fading hope. This pretty dark meaning derivates from Greek mythology, because these usually dark red flowers were supposed to have sprung from the blood of Adonis, whose death had left Aphrodite inconsolable, just like Jane had once been. Yet, following Jane’s example, the flower can turn to a brighter meaning of anticipation and good luck for the couple’s plans.

They walk together through the shrubbery to the fateful door of the shack. This time, it’s not death by a serial killer that awaits them inside: when Lazarus sneaks behind them, he’s surprised (along with viewers) to see a trap set for him. The team and reinforcement are ready to arrest him. Unlike in ‘Strawberry and Cream’ with O’Laughlin’s shocking attack, they didn’t get caught unaware by the killer in the cabin… Some things will never change: Teresa looks badass as an armed bride who mutters “and see how much better things turn out when you’re honest with me?”, while Jane is hiding behind her. They’re comfortable enough in their unconventional respective roles for Jane to swiftly replace her gun by her bouquet in order to get on with the main event… There’s no place for bitterness in Jane’s heart: he tells “no hard feelings” to a shocked Keller and ushers Lisbon hastily towards the exit; even though did play vigilante by trying to kill him, he didn’t do it out of revenge or anguish, like he did with Carter, McAllister or even Panzer. The marriage takes place without a hitch, the guests gathered in front of the cabin. Grace holds the bouquet as the bridesmaid, like she once asked Lisbon to be hers. The couple kisses, they cheer and there’s much hugging.

By nightfall, the guests all dance cheerfully on a makeshift platform in the middle of the woods. The touching party shows the characters of the old team, the FBI coworkers and Lisbon’s family enjoying themselves together, which draws a tinge of nostalgia given that it’s also goodbye to viewers. Grace and Wayne are wildly dancing as the very much in love couple they are, then they take a selfie with Cho to commemorate the event. Abbott and Wylie are happily dancing alone, the latter probably trying to forget that he was reluctant to show his skills on the dance floor to Michelle not so long ago. The Lisbon brothers entertain their respective ladies.

All the while the upbeat song ‘September’ by Earth, Wind and Fire plays, its lyrics giving a glimpse of the happily ever after Patrick and Teresa are about to experience: “do you remember the 21st night of September?/ Love was changing the minds of pretenders/While chasing the clouds away”… For them too, viewers hope there won’t ever be “a cloudy day” anymore and that their future will make come true the lines “my thoughts are with you/ Holding hands with your heart to see you/ Only blue talk and love/ Remember how we knew love was here to stay?/Now December found the love that we shared in September”.

A bright and long-lasting future is indeed on its way, given that Lisbon takes the opportunity of being cuddled alone near the pond, more or less where he proposed to her, to give him her own share of good news. She places her now ring-laden hand on her belly, telling him without words that she’s pregnant. After a moment of surprise, he beams and kisses her. It’s his answers to Pike’s question about what future he could give to Teresa in the season premiere and it comes full circle with the pilot full of broken families –the victims’ ones and Jane’s- and empty houses. The soon-to-be-remodeled cabin and the baby to come are both a promise for hope, in complete opposition with the broken homes in the very first scene of the show with the deserted kitchen where Jane was wandering alone and in the end of the episode with the Malibu residence. The very last shot of the series shows their long, tight hug and his smiling face: the lengthy path leading back to home ends on this hopeful note.

Conclusion: Biblical references

Three implicit allusions to Jesus Christ can be associated with Jane and the rebirth of his happiness and hope.

1) Jane performs miracles: achieving redemption

Like Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah to the world through seven miracles, Jane proves that he’s earned his forgiveness for his past sins by achieving as many meaningful actions:

1-Jesus changed water into wine (John 2, 1-11); Jane used a water bottle to free himself when he was prisoner.

2- Jesus healed a royal official’s sick son (John, 4, 46-53); Jane started his psychic act by talking about family members on TV, healing part of the host’s grief over the loss of a loved one.

3- While Jesus healed a paralytic at Bethesda on the Sabbath (John 5, 1-29), it’s through Jane’s teachings that his team has been able to “stand” on their own two legs when he’s missing, even when they are blocked by a lack of plausible leads (Wylie insisting to follow a weird flimsy black magic connection, Lisbon threatening their only witness to get names). They’ve learnt to “walk” unorthodox paths to get results.

4- Jesus fed the multitude (John 6, 1-14), Jane manages to assuage Lisbon’s worries about the extended guest lists and finally holds a marriage with their close friends.

5- Jane was not able to walk on water like Jesus (John 6, 16-24), yet he convinces Lisbon that the house doesn’t slant when they look at it from the other side of the pond: it’s just an optical illusion that gives him the opportunity to display his ring-less finger and helps him not to fret about his proposal.

6- Jesus healed the blind (John 9, 1-17); Jane’s observation skills were a great help for the young couple who didn’t see the sleigh-of-hand of the unscrupulous jeweler.

7- Last, not least: Jesus resurrects Lazarus (John, 11, 1-45). This is part of Jane’s healing process: facing Lazarus and making him enter what he hoped will be his tomb makes Jane move forward. Plus, by surviving the explosion, Lazarus has symbolically raised from the dead, making Jane’s last miracle complete in calmly causing the man’s downfall without anymore disturbance on his own private life.

2) Back in the Garden of Eden: his past sins as a conman are forgiven and he can start anew

As Lisbon has remarked, this wedding has been graced with a Sylvan theme, may it be at Abbott’s place or as where has actually taken place at the cabin. Indeed, instead of the white centerpieces, they’re surrounded by woods and nature. In the same manner, the white roses representing purity and spirituality, the white orchids symbolizing a new beginning and the gentle colored roses, which convey an impression of joy and loveliness, are replaced with more brightly colored flowers giving a wilder aura and equally evocative anemones: they’ve manage to make their own “Sylvan theme” by including the meaning of their history to the moment.
It’s no surprise then to find some deep symbolism behind the wild setting. In ‘Byzantium’, Jane fist saw it as the Christian wilderness that tested him and helped him into starting to find answers to the doubts he was plagued with. Now, it’s the place where he’s willing to reach for happiness again, his own locus amoenus, a place where he can get joy, peace and love in the middle of nature. The trees are traditionally associated with personal growth (letting go of his pain in his case) and roots (getting married again and having a family): they bind the past and the future together.

Interestingly, Jane’s original sin was to taunt RJ and, in a deleted scene from the pilot, he added the detail to his description of the serial killer that he had a lemon tree growing near his house. This was alluded to by the many lemons associated with Jane’s quest in the first seasons: that fruit tree was the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis, 2-3) and it caused Jane to be banished from his family life, his own Garden of Eden and to suffer: “the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (all translations are from the New International Version). In the show, RJ plays God by manipulating Jane like a puppet in a game of death, then after Jane has proven to be a valuable adversary, RJ assumed the role of the serpent who was trying to tempt Jane into joining him by listening to his conception of the world, devoid of good and evil (‘The Crimson Hat’).

Now, Eden has been restored and the promise for redemption has been fulfilled. Jane follows the steps of what has been announced by an angel in the Book of Revelation (22): “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. […]. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever ». The river finds an echo in the pond: it’s really associated to life since Jane chose its bank to propose and he received the news of his paternity here too.

As such, Jane has earned the right to get back into his Garden of Eden, in his case a family life. Even though no tree is singled out during the episode, Jane’s symbolically gained access to the other tree in the garden, the Tree of Life guarded by angels (Genesis 3, 24: “After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life”). It concludes Jane’s wandering through biblical trees, from the oaks and cedars from the Lorelei arc to the now reclaimed wilderness: like the orchids, they started as a sign of his struggle between hope and obsession, until they fully became an emblem of his newfound happiness. In that perspective, they are following faithfully the general shift of meaning of the reminders of his past during this episode. Jane may not have gained faith in God and the afterlife, but he’s found hope in the future by getting into his forest of life. He’s gotten back his innocence and those plants now carry and support his world, like many primordial trees do in different mythologies.

For him, those wild woods have been a place for choosing the path he wants to follow and get to grow as a person: all in all, it’s once again very close to the symbolism of fairy tales. In a way, that kiss Jane and Lisbon exchanged as a promise of happiness definitely frees Jane from his demons: he has been like a Sleeping Beauty waiting in wilderness (as he actually did sleep there in ‘Byzantium’) for someone who will love him enough to reach for him and awaken him. And, last, not least, tree is also associated with genealogy and hints at Jane being a father again.

3) The child to be born: hope for a better future

The baby that Lisbon carries also fits the intricate net of references to the Bible, because it reminds of the birth of Jesus. Like the holy child, the baby’s presence may have been announced by Gabriel. In Luke, 1, 19-26, the archangel first visits Zechariah to let him know that God had sent a son who would be John the Baptist to his wife Elizabeth -who shares her name with a reporter in ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’. Then, he foretells the same event to Mary (whose name is mentioned twice in this episode and who’s a character in ‘The Greybar Hotel’), wife of Joseph whom the Kellers, father and son are named after.

In the show, the same happens in hindsight: self-proclaimed psychic Gabriel told Jane “your cure will come with the number three”. Three is the number of the members of his new family after Lisbon told him: it’s the hope for this new life they’ve created that certainly definitely dissipates the remaining shadows. Plus, the idea of fatherhood has been played with for some time now. For instance, Jane wondered on which model parents should be in ‘The White of His Eyes’, whereas watching her boyfriend play with a kid triggered Lisbon’s first “I love you”.

A last parallel can thus be found in what the holy child represents, for it matches the meaning baby Jane holds for its parents. In Matthew, 1, 18, Jesus is to be called “Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’”, whereas in John, 3, 16, the child is a promise of redemption and salvation:”for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.

With so great expectations and so high a mission, we can only hope that the Jane heir/heiress won’t be as prone to get into mischief as Daddy… 😉

Here endth the final review for TM. There will be soon a last post about the themes of the 7th season, which shall serve as conclusion for the series. 🙂 Thank you for reading and for supporting the blog!

Mentalist Orange Blossom Ice Cream – Black Market Joint Review: A Study in Relationships

This is an experiment of sorts: we’ve decided to write a joint review for ‘Orange Blossom Ice Cream’ (which got delayed) and ‘Black Market’ since both episodes address the same themes: relationships and how they might evolve in the future.

 

Orange Blossom Ice Cream:
Following the events from ‘The Greybar Hotel’, Jane is called by the CIA to investigate the foreign part of the ring they’d uncovered. Problem is, their contact is in Beirut and she happens to be no other than the infamous Erica Flynn who tried to seduce Jane into submission in ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorns’ and in ‘War of the Roses’. Lisbon is pretty unsecure about the situation and as expected trouble arises and questions are asked…
Erica, the ghost from the past brings doubts to the light

The main problem posed by Erica getting near Jane is that it forces him and Lisbon to confront things and relations from his past that he kept secret (Erica, Lorelei). Lisbon has been pondering about them and Jane has flatly refused to discuss any of them at the time, either in Lorelei’s case by denying there was any feeling involved because she was just a tool, or by playing with Lisbon’s unacknowledged jealousy over Erica by letting her doubt his participation in the seductress’ escape plan. Getting to Beirut is thus a matter of dealing with trust and self-confidence issues.

Indeed, Jane didn’t tell Lisbon about the new mission beforehand. While the CIA agent starts explaining the situation, he is silent and looks down. He’s been secretive and he evades every question about his relation with Erica with a rather lame “me? Why?” When the agent reveals that Flynn insisted on working with him, Abbott looks at him and Lisbon starts muttering, but he doesn’t clarify. On the other hand, Lisbon wants an explanation on why she’s part of the operation but gets orders and Jane states that there’s “no problem”… He’s careful about his reactions and tries to play it cool.

Self-confidence is also part of the problem for Lisbon, because there’s a big difference between the two flowers blooming in Jane’s current life. She is honest and straightforward while Erica is devious and cunning. The latter has been depicted as a rose with thorns, all passion, danger and hurt, whereas Lisbon is the ‘Orange Blossom’ which gets this time to be mentioned in the title: like the flower, she represents innocence, purity, eternal love for Jane and may be linked in his mind to the idea of a possible fruitful marriage. No surprise then if this time both women’s aspirations collide more forcefully and directly than they had in the past: like it was hinted in the Limo scene in ‘War of the Roses’, Jane is still literally sitting in the middle of them both, only this time he made it clear beforehand who his heart belonged to. This is probably why the women outfits offer such a great contrast: Lisbon’s simple white blouse clashes with Erica’s sexy, form-fitting sophisticated black and gold dress. Even later, when Lisbon dresses up for dinner, her white stripped dress is more conservative than her rival’s gleaming little number.

There’s no doubt it’s a power play for Erica: when they first arrive, she’s waiting for them in their hotel room – a display for Lisbon that she’s been intimate enough with Jane to do so- and she already took the liberty to order tea. Her apparently “thoughtful” gesture of offering him his favorite drink actually hints that she’s in control of the situation as she proves later by telling her boyfriend that Lisbon is here too, admittedly to gain his trust. The same trick of flaunting power by offering a drink is later used by the criminal boyfriend after he tested Jane’s memory by making him learn a list of random words while half-drowning him in a bathtub… and a third time when Erica gauges Lisbon’s feelings by laying on the charm on her, again in her hotel room, and she orders lemonade. And after Jane and Lisbon talk more openly about the other woman, Jane gives Lisbon a glass of tea, as a sign of recovered trust and familiarity…

Erica has obviously set her eyes on Jane and every talk from her involves trying to get on his good graces or trying to determine how far Teresa has settled herself into his heart. When she explained that her current boyfriend whom she’s planning to sell info about to the CIA in order to get a deal is “very secretive over his work” and she suspected “it was unsavory”, she also reminds Lisbon of Jane’s past schemes to get revenge behind her back… Lisbon is not fooled and asks sarcastically “and that’s why you’re turning him in because he horrifies you?” Erica denies and just tells that she wants to go home. Her looking at Patrick gives a deeper meaning to her words as she tells him that when he was away, he would have given anything to get back, a notion Jane can only agree with… Meaning that they share an experience Lisbon is not privy to: in a certain way, she understands him on a level that Lisbon can’t. And that’s proof enough that she has kept tabs on him: at the end of ‘War of the Roses’, she called him to taunt him and let him know that she was looking forward to seeing him again and obviously she’s well-informed enough to have learnt about his return from Venezuela and that he was working with the FBI. Jane’s reaction to her statement is nonetheless interesting because he’s looking at Lisbon when he agrees that he wanted to come back home, hinting that he wanted to come back to her more than anything… Erica is analyzing the situation and evaluating how well her would-be marks get along.

Well-matched couple vs. happiness

Indeed, after assessing the past (i.e. that Jane was in love enough to come back to Lisbon), Erica asks about the present in order to instill doubt in both of their minds. Lisbon was implicitly his primary goal when he was on the run and he was the one who came back, yet Erica pretends that she knows they’re together because she “can tell by the way [Lisbon] looks at” him, hinting that Lisbon is the emotionally needy one in their couple. When that doesn’t work and he doesn’t take the bait, she pretends to be very happy that he found love and she brushes off his reservations by joking “thank you for suspecting me, it makes me feel very interesting”… She’s trying again to fool him by feigning human feelings, like she did to convince him to get her out of jail by pretending to be sad for her former client-turned-friend’s death, when it was in fact a cold calculation…

On the other hand, Erica tries a similar maneuver on Teresa: again she’s very happy that they found each other and, as a former matchmaker, she assures Lisbon that there’s nothing to worry about. But, unlike Jane who refused to give her more ammunition, Lisbon takes the bait and asks “why would I worry?” Erica jumps on the occasion and hits where it hurts most, in their still not completely overcome trust issues… She’s sensed that part of Lisbon’s nervousness was caused by the fact that Jane kept his kiss with her under wraps… She’s playing on her jealousy: “Patrick didn’t say anything?” “so typical, men like to pretend that the past never happened”… Meaning that something happened, big and meaningful enough for him to keep silent about in order not to upset Lisbon…

And she’s right: cracks are showing in the foundation of their relationship. It’s hinted at by the bathroom pattern they got going since ‘The Greybar Hotel’ where showers were mentioned three time as an indicator of the level of intimacy in the different characters’ couples: here, Jane is tortured in a bathtub and his first personal moment with Lisbon features her coming out of the shower in a bathrobe… and not talking to him, when he’s still fully dressed. There’s a communication crisis, while Jane is in the same wavelengths as Erica, since he was able to explain why she used Lisbon’s presence to gain her boyfriend’s trust, while Lisbon was still in the dark and seething about the betrayal. But Jane cares about Teresa: it’s her hand that he holds to seek comfort after the ordeal because he would not find any in Erica’s scheming presence.

Image by @chizuruchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain, December 2014. Not to be used without permission.

In order to make things easier for Lisbon, Jane starts a conversation over dinner. Given how good he is with people, he must guess what his simple “what’s up” will get her out of her silence. After relenting a bit, she bluntly asks him if something did happen between him and Flynn, because she made a point of letting her know that something happened. And Jane decides to drop his avoidance tactics as he finally admits that they kissed once in her hotel room when they were working together. Like he did with his fling with Lorelei, he tries to brush it off as unimportant, but Lisbon doesn’t buy it. As she pushes on, he finally confesses that it was not nothing, but it was a long time ago and it could have led to anything because “it couldn’t”… At the time, the kiss was meaningful, because Erica was the very first to melt the cold wall of indifference he had built up between him and the fair sex as after Angela’s death, he had only one date with a woman (Kristina) and even then he was obviously not ready and freaked out. Erica represented the first meaningful step he took in his rebound process to start living again… yet he’s right, it was rather safe from an emotional point of view because he didn’t trust Erica who was a black widow. He can’t really explain to Lisbon that he was not ready or willing to open up to her on this vulnerable side of his personality back then. He just tells her that upon learning about the mission, he decided not to tell her because he was worried that “it could come between them”. He was afraid she got jealous, hurt or maybe disgusted with him because he accepted the overtures of a woman he knows she despises. But Lisbon is only after honesty and transparency in her couple: she says she just wishes he’d told her first, to which he apologizes for, in the same way he did in ‘Nothing But Blue Skies’ after she told him he didn’t need to hide things to her, “not anymore”. It looks like sweet sincere Teresa will always be the truth seeker in their relationship.

But her insecurities are showing when she asks if there are “any others” she should know about, “like people we worked with”… It makes one wonder how many times Lisbon was unsure of Jane’s private life during the CBI era, given the women who kept coming on to him: except for Erica and Lorelei, the only rare and slight reaction to his success with the ladies we got from her was in ‘Blood for Blood’ when two nurses started looking at him and giggling. But, even if she wasn’t here when Dr. Montague or that scientist in ‘Red in Tooth and Claw’ tried to ask him out, she must have known he went on a date with Kristina and she heard him tell her that agent Darcy had great legs. So she’s making an effort in letting him get a glimpse into her insecurity too. In a subtle way, she’s also opening up more fully to him, for instance in bringing herself to touch the dangerous subject of Lorelei. Since the woman was both a murderer and a victim and either Jane’s coldness (like when he stated “she had it coming” in front of her corpse) or his admission to feelings could hurt and shock the whole-hearted Lisbon. Yet she admits that she always thought that something happened with them both: she probably isn’t referring to his night with her in Vegas, because she knew for sure that they were lovers. So she must be alluding to the events from “Red Sails in the Sunset’, when they run away together and further intimacies with the other woman would have meant an emotional bond. Back then, it was the lack of knowledge of what Jane was seeking in the brunette that caused Lisbon’s wrath (‘There Will Be Blood’) and Bertram had tried to take advantage of that uncertainty when he later implied that they had been involved when they spent those few days alone. But Jane finds a way to lighten the mood by offering to tell her about Lorelei if she tells him about “one Walter Mashburn” –along with the lilting tune that is associated with their banter- which makes her immediately switch topics to food. It’s okay if they do not open every can of worms right now: Jane managed to make her understand they’re allowed to keep some things private and that he might have been feeling a bit threatened by her love life too.

Nevertheless, Erica was not privy to their attempt at clearing the air and she keeps putting herself forward, both as a possible work partner and as a woman. She tries to stress out how similar they are (“I always think of you as having a plan but never admitting to it. – That’s funny, that’s how I think of you”). In her eyes, character flaws like being cunning, unscrupulous and dishonest are skills and they become assets if they are shared with the right person: that’s why she flirts with him when they run away from her boyfriend’s apartment after almost getting caught. She presses her body against his when they hide behind the door; she holds his hand when she runs after him on her shaky high heels; she embraces him while laughing, ignoring his discomfort: they make a good team and she does her best to make him see that, like she did in ‘War of the Roses’.

Jane’s reactions to her attentions are a bit ambiguous: he lets her do as she pleases and later he touches her shoulder when talking with her alone. It makes Lisbon burst in a fit of jealousy, which is probably part of a plan: Erica is eavesdropping when she states angrily that he’s looking for excuses to spend time with her rival and that whatever happened between them is not over. After Lisbon leaves in a huff, Jane reveals that he knew about Erica’s plan all along. He can guess that the boyfriend had money hiding in the room, that she was planning to get her hands on it once the CIA got the man out of the way and that the supposed cop left behind is a fake who won’t drive her to jail (just like in ‘War of the Roses’). The greedy woman then chooses to make a move on Jane, because she wants him too. It might be a matter of ego since he was one of the few men to not be fooled by her, or because she really is interested, either way she explains that in her professional opinion as a former matchmaker, he and Lisbon will not last as a couple because they’re together for all the wrong reasons: he’s attracted to her for her virtue, her honesty and her goodness, things he thinks he lacks, while “she’s interested in you for your danger, your unpredictability and your transgressions”. An attraction based on opposed personalities doesn’t make a lasting relationship, unlike “finding your soulmate, a person who sees the world the way you do, laughs at the things you laugh at, wants the things you want”… Obviously, she’s referring to herself here because she’s more like him than Lisbon. He was a former conman, he’s ruthless enough to sacrifice more than ten years of his life to get revenge, without caring about collateral damage and his best skills are based lying and reading people to deceive and manipulate them. Her words come too close to the truth for comfort since he always considered Lisbon as more honest and a better person than him. That was a clever move from Erica, who knows exactly what Jane was looking for in a woman when he did the matchmaking video in the first case they were adversaries in… Jane doesn’t have an answer ready, so he just replies that he loves Lisbon and that he’s taking her to the real police. Erica tasers him as a result and Lisbon barges in to save the day, foiling the grand escape plans and bringing literally the cold-blooded criminal to her knees.
Neither now nor in the past Jane had never really thought of falling for Erica’s venous charms and he may have sacrificed her to gain Lisbon’s trust back… that is, if really Lisbon’s move was really part of a scheme and not a last minute decision. But the fact remains that he hesitated to let Lisbon know what she was getting into at first: was he just unsure of her reaction and afraid to endanger their love? Or was he ashamed and maybe frightened to get in the same situation Erica cornered him into when she got him alone the previous time in her hotel room? More probably, the fear he is harboring might involve Lisbon realizing that what Erica said was true and thatshe had no future with him and deciding to dump him for a more stable guy like she almost did with Pike.

One way or the other, Erica raised questions about whether Jane and Lisbon are really matched, about what Jane wants in a relationship and how his personality might affect their relationship. Those are bound to make him think, especially given how taken aback he had been by Marcus’s doubts about the future he would be able to offer her.

Jane wants to make it work in spite of all: sharing a life and some orange blossom ice cream

As a reaction to get back in more comfortable grounds, Jane surprises Lisbon by inviting her to a romantic moment on the roof of the hotel, with fireworks and that orange blossom ice cream he promised her when arriving in town. Part of it is certainly a consequence of the encounter with Erica, since Lisbon is wearing a long dress similar to the one the seductress was wearing, only hers is pure white whereas Erica’s had big black flowers.
The detail of the ice cream shared reminds of the Sunday they ate together at the end of ‘The Red Shirt’ back in season 4. It’s a loving intimate action what shows how their bond has been built through years of learning to know each other, in direct opposition of what Erica claimed about their supposed short-termed attraction. Plus, as they start bantering about Lisbon’s reaction to the fireworks celebrating the end of Ramadan (her cop instincts made her believe it was a bomb) and her lack of appreciation for the taste of ice cream (“as they say, you can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can’t take the Chicago out of the girl”), they once again challenge Erica’s definition of a soulmate. Jane tries very hard to show her that he’s pleased to be with her as well as he’s eager to prove to himself that Erica was wrong: he and Lisbon might not always see the world with the same eyes but they can make laugh of their differences… Love is more than mere attraction; things such as affection and mutual support are as big a part of the deal.

Yet, back in Austen, Cho chides Vega for lying to him when they were investigating the American part of the case: she pretended that Abbott gave her clearance to go in the field because she was willing to prove her competence to Cho, whom she admires. Unfortunately she tried too hard. Cho resents that Vega betrayed his trust by telling a lie, which reinforce the ambivalence of Jane’s attitude in Beirut. Lies and trust are still a central component of his relationship with Teresa.

Conclusion:
The episode addresses some important questions from the past such as trust in the other, as a partner and as a love interest, what each of them has been attracted to in the other and implicitly what they’re expecting now from the relationship… It’s no wonder then that those thoughts influence the plot of the next episode.

 

Black Market:

As the team is investigating a diamond robbery that caused the death of two security guards, consultant Jane is forced by a bad cold to stay on the sidelines to give instructions. The resulting isolation insists again on the same questions brought by the meeting with Erica Flynn because this special situation puts under the spotlight three major interactions which might have severe repercussions in the characters’ private and professional life.

The relationship notion is stressed since the very beginning of the episode with the opening scene: Lisbon is seen gleefully buying an engagement ring with a man… who turns out to be Cho instead of her lover Jane. In addition of the funny side of the moment (Cho is smiling and kisses “Mrs. Cho”, his former boss) “Honey” and “Sweetie” are actually investigating the jeweler because the unusually colored gem he’s been selling them is part of the stolen shipment and obviously Jane couldn’t be part of the operation since he’s waiting in the car suffering from “a little tickle” in his throat. All is well between the two lovers though, as Lisbon openly shows her worry, even inviting him to go back to her place and “jump into bed” promising to come and tuck him in later, teases him a bit when he tells that doctors are “frauds in white coats” (“whatever, just don’t sneeze near me. The last thing I need is a cold”)… Yet they’re not the only “illicit couple” “easy to spot” to quote Lisbon when she gets back to the suspect at hand: indeed she colds read the jeweler, seeing that he is going through a mid-life crisis and impending divorce, plus he’s sleeping with his assistant who’s outraged at his denial… It already hints that success/failure in love are at the heart of the storyline: the characters are oscillating in the span of a few moments between engagement and divorce.

Cho has trouble adjusting to Vega

However, the first problematic interaction is professional: Cho is still sore from the stunt Vega pulled at the end of ‘Orange Blossom Ice Cream’ by pretending that Abbott gave her clearance to go to the field when he didn’t. All through the episode, Vega is trying to redeem her error: she apologizes to Cho, who answers curtly to her questions about the case. Clearly the man is pissed: his budding trust in Vega was shattered. When Abbott later pairs him with her to investigate, Kimball outright tells him that he’s rather take Lisbon, but relents when Abbott insists that he knows what she did was wrong, but Vega is still young. In the field, though, they do a rather good team: when interrogating a witness, Cho uses caustic remarks (when the other asks “you think I’m stupid?”, he answers “maybe. I don’t know you yet”) in contrast with Vega who switches to Spanish to calm the man down.

Back at headquarter, the two of them start talking. Vega is still trying to mend bridges and thanks him for taking her on the case, but Cho cuts her off by bluntly letting her know that it was Abbott’s doing. He explains that “an apology is easy. Trust is earned”: if he works with her, he needs to trust her with his life. Even later, after she’s taken down a suspect and gotten hurt, she and Cho are congratulated by Abbott and her stance copies Cho’s. Yet he doesn’t relent and briskly walks away when Wylie is talking to her fondly. Wylie notices her dejected expression and assures her that he’d come around… which he starts doing when he gets the murderer in the elevator at the same time Vega gets her own suspect out and he looks at her thoughtfully. He accepts her next overture and, while he doesn’t accept the trust fall she insists on, he offers to take her to the firing range the next day.

Their slowly growing partnership can lead to two conclusions:

1) Vega is eager to show her skills, which is why she tends to overdo it after Cho approved of her first transgression of his orders in the season premiere. The mention of the “red badge of courage” (or “tan badge” when referring to Vega’s strained forearm) might allude to the novel of the same name by Stephen Crane about a soldier who wants to get a wound in the battlefield in order to prove to himself that he’s not a coward. Her reactions to Cho’s rebuttals are emotional (she’s happy, depressed), while Cho tries to rein his anger in to follow orders… She looks up to him and wants his approval more than Wylie’s or maybe even Abbott’s. Whether she’s looking for a fatherly figure in him or a budding possible love interest is still unclear, but either way they need to get to know each other more as his initial implicit refusal to tutor her into becoming a FBI agent was probably what drove her to seek more drastic ways to try and convince him. His experience will get her to have better reflexes in the field: trust is to be built, but it works both ways.

2) She wants to prove herself to non-nonsense Cho, in pretty much the same way Jane wanted to impress Lisbon in the first seasons: she’s impulsive, reckless, she apologizes after the fact and proves untrustworthy so far. She’s showing the same behavior that Cho labeled as “crazy” to Jane in ‘The Golden Hammer’. There’s a subtle parallel with Jane and Lisbon who worked through trust issues too: the “red badge of courage” also refers to ‘Red Badge’ in season 2, which was the first time Jane started to prove his trustworthiness when she refused to trust him, while the trust fall trick was used by Jane in the early episodes. On the other hand, Cho has refused to open up to her when she outright asked for his guidance, therefore he’s keeping her at arm’s length like Lisbon used to do by putting barriers and walls between her and her team and consultant. It takes time for him to start trusting someone and caring for them; that much was hinted at when he admitted to Lisbon that he had almost quit when first joining the CBI team because of Rigsby’s antics and stayed for her steady authority.

Abbott and Lena: trouble in paradise

But Cho is not the only male agent who has to straighten up his act: when Abbott’s wife gets a prestigious job opportunity as the undersecretary for the Department of Commerce, viewers get to see the woman and how they interact.

Lenna and Dennis are happily married and after 17 years are still very romantic with the other. They call each other “baby” and Abbott is proud of his “Wonder Woman” of a wife. It explains why Abbott was so supportive of Jane finding true love again –he’s a romantic at heart and knows what it’s like to be in love. On the other hand, his skills as a leader as shown extensively as in the bullpen he gives orders to everyone and ushers Jane home.
Interestingly, his job comes into question when he later has dinner with Lenna and her contact from D.C. who’s scouting her: their private life is squeaky clean, his current record impeccable but there’s a shadow in his past, some mysterious events when he worked at Rio Bravo station in a joined task force to take down the cartels near the border and obviously something bad happened there… Later, Ackerman talks to Abbot and makes him understand that his possibly shady past might put a stop to her career: the only way is to put him out of the picture and starting a rumor about her getting through a trial separation…

This development is pretty interesting because it mirrors what Jane went through to some extent: he too had to fight a “dirty war” where it was “hard to tell the criminal from the cops sometimes”… While this might enlighten why Abbott was so harsh when he dismantled the corrupted CBI and unleashed a manhunt on Jane, it also explains why his attitude towards them changed when they started working for him and he realized they were honest cops and good people, albeit with unconventional methods. The situation also reminds that the idea that Jane’s illegal actions endangered Lisbon’s career. It’s only because he made a deal that she got out of her boring little sheriff office in Washington and had new career perspectives… Plus, the idea of a separation that Ackerman insisted on can find a parallel in the victim’s life: he was divorced, just like the jeweler at the beginning of the episode was planning to get a divorce. Implicitly, there’s a possibility that keeping his distance with his wife might end up endangering Abbott’s couple too…

Nevertheless, Dennis only thinks of Lenna’s happiness and there’s no doubt in his mind that it can only be achieved by getting the job of her dreams, which is why he outright tells her that he doesn’t want to go to D.C. because he has “a good unit here, seniority” and he doesn’t want to sacrifice his career… He’s trying to protect her by hiding his true intentions, in a similar way than Jane had been doing when Lisbon planned her own move to D.C…. Lenna doesn’t want to have a long-distance marriage and she understands immediately what it is really about: the Rio Bravo case that Dennis has kept a secret from her. Again, the situation reminds of Lisbon’s issues with Jane, including the secret, the “you can tell me anything” line (cf. Lisbon stating “You don’t need to wait until I need to know to tell me things, okay? Not anymore. » in ‘Nothing But Blue Skies’) and the talk about trust (“trust me, it needs to be this way”) and giving Lena deniability about his past (“you’re going to be asked questions and if any of those questions involve Rio Bravo, then you need to be able to say that you don’t know anything about it”… It sends up with Dennis insisting that they’ll see each other on weekend and holidays, to Lenna’s despair… In a way, Dennis is acting like Jane used to do until very recently: he’s taking decisions on her behalf, without caring about what she really wants. He doesn’t discuss the matter with her in order to get to an agreement about whether the job is more important than their love. He thinks it is okay to choose for her and step back, which might end up having repercussions.

Jane and Lisbon: is the sneezing bubble bursting?

Now it’s not by chance that the other characters underline certain aspects of the main couple’s relationship. Indeed, Jane’s illness gives a golden opportunity to show new facets of their bond.

Lisbon is caring and worried about her boyfriend; while the other coworkers just try to get him to go home and (amusingly) wipe down everything he touches, she comes to his trailer happily because he wanted to see her and brings him the soup he asked. He on the other hand is eager to reassure her, by pretending that he’s fine. He’s also wearing a vest since she told him she liked them: he’s eager to please her.

Jane is also as proud of Teresa as Abbott is of his wife and it’s together that they fill Abbott in Jane’s new plan –in a pretty unconvincing manner, since he’s wrapped in a blanket and she’s nervous in spite of Jane’s reassuring “she’s gonna be fine’: Psychic Lisbon will make her debut since the former Boy Wonder is too out of shape to get on the scene… As the couch is moved to get Jane to watch the screens and monitor his girlfriend, Lisbon appears anxious but in charge of the operation when she’s walking surrounded by towering male agents, while Jane’s vulnerability is further emphasized by the blanket covering his head when he walked in the bullpen… He guides her into her brand new psychic medium act and grins fondly at her increasingly more self-assured performance, even when he asks her to stall for a minute by asking her audience if they have questions. She gives an eerily similar show than Jane usually does, including the part about a deceased loved one’s soul coming to greet someone from the audience.

Yet, whereas Jane’s conman act involved mentioning people to get more convincing (in the pilot, in ‘Throwing Fire’, in ‘Fugue in Red’), he makes Lisbon more comfortable by choosing a dog instead of a family member, the little Roger who “wants to say hi and that he’s okay” because “all of God’s creatures can talk in the afterlife”… Under Jane’s guidance, she’s giving her own spin of things, a testimony of Jane’s awareness that she’s a better person than him as Erica pointed out in the previous episode. Same when she’s making the victim talk: “even he wants to speak directly to his killer. He says “shame on you”, he thought you were friends”… again, she’s using the moral angle, insisting even further that “he wants the killer’s mother to guess first. He wants the killer to see the shame in her eyes”. Interestingly then, the show Jane’s been preparing Lisbon for proves the huge influence he has on her, by making her able to take up his part flawlessly, thus making her an asset just like him, as way as it hints as their differences in considering people and their job, because Lisbon didn’t manipulate people in the same way Jane did countless times… And he’s proud of her: when agents are gathering behind his couch to watch the show, he tells her that “everybody is at the edge of their seat”.

Is the awareness of how different they still are or how good she’s become that had Jane thinking? Or is it the realization that much of his fun at work is trying to amuse and impress her? Either way, it looks like the question of where they’re headed is brought by many subplots: the past is alluded to by Cho’s and Abbott’s respective struggles as well as lines such as “guilty conscience is a terrible thing to use” , in reference to the last victim, Kirk. The man was left by his woman, who thought he was a “good guy, basically”, but who “could never figure out what he wanted to do”. She got tired of getting “a new scheme every month” and decided she “had to get out of the marriage” because “there’s only so many fresh starts you can take”… This point of view may also hint at what Jane fears Lisbon might come to see in him: a fraud without a goal, whom she’s not getting anywhere with. Again, doubts about not being able to change were present in the opening scene when Lisbon told the young woman the jeweler was having an affair with that “he cheated on her. He’s probably gonna cheat on you. I know that probably seems very difficult to believe right now, but it’s the way of the world”. Those doubts are probably shared both by Patrick and Teresa, as hinted by their encounter with the murderous seductress Erica whom Jane lied about, at least by omission…
Another example of relationship gone very awry is shown by the fling Kirk had with his killer: they both needed money and that was a dangerous combination. As Erica remarked, they had the same goals, wanted the same thing; that didn’t stop their relationship to end up in a blood bath. It was their love affair that primarily caused troubles because it opened a door to temptations they were not able to fight. Similarly, Lena’s relationship with Abbott and their marriage is also what is tying her career down, just like Lisbon’s partnership with Jane has changed her perspective on work for the better and the worst. Yet all three couples made the same mistake: they did not discuss their problems before acting. Like Abbott made a choice in Lena’s behalf, Kirk decided to come clean when he freaked out after the first murder and his lover told him that they needed to discuss it… but “there was no discussing”: she confessed to having sliced him with a blade as “everything I had been holding inside just came out, I couldn’t stop it”…

The same thing happens to Jane when the case is closed: all the talks about future brought upon him by Pike (alluded to by Abbott’s wavering about going to D.C. or not) and by Erica have taken their toll on him and his thoughts must have been building up since then since he asks her a big question. When they’re both in bed together in the airstream bed (fully dressed), as they start congratulating each other on how good they are and how fun it was “talking to all those people with you whispering in my ear”, Jane drops a bomb: “what if we just left? Just took off?” Lisbon doesn’t really understand that he’s not talking about a vacation, but about going away for good, so he develops “just leave. Go someplace different, move on,” “are we really gonna work for the FBI for the rest of our lives? Look at dead people, chase bad guys?” Those are pretty intriguing thoughts since 1) going to someplace different to try and move on was what he did, sans Lisbon, by hiding in his island… and 2) also part of Marcus Pike’s plans for her. Plus 3) as far as viewers know, he’s still tied to the FBI for a few years, so he might be practically offering her to run away from the law with him, which is unsettling, knowing that Jane running away was a possibility that scared her enough in the previous season to get her to keep her distance from him. And 4) it reminds of what Lorelei told him about working cases to stay close to Lisbon and of him telling Kim when meeting her that he wasn’t really interested in murder mysteries (thus in solving cases either). Is Jane selfish in asking that she changes her life for him in order to get both her and the freedom he sought in South America? Or is he being insecure now that he saw that he’s not irreplaceable in the workplace, that his brilliant mind might not be enough to get her to stay with him? Also kudos to commenter Mosquitoinuk for predicting that turn of events! 😉

Lisbon bristles at the mere suggestion of quiting her job and tells him that being a cop is who she is. He answers in a placating voice that he knows and that those were just thoughts… Which once again brings to mind Erica’s question: now that Jane and Lisbon accept that they have to think about their future even one step after the other, are they really planning to head in the same direction? By instinct, he’s a conman, while she’s a cop and both are already bending their personalities to match the other… That huge interrogation mark involves the same notions that have been played with in the course of the episode: influence over the other’s life (and personality), trust, choices for the other… and Lisbon starting to leave and sneezing after getting close to Jane and catching his cold brings them back to the beginning of the episode, when she offered to tuck him in her bed (he’s in his own and she’s leaving instead of coming to him) and asked him not to get her ill as well…

Conclusion

This episode marks a turning point in their relationship, hence the mention of an engagement ring and a divorce in the opening case. This is also probably why every relationship described in the episode is tottering between representing something new (Lena’s job opportunity, the victim’s new conquest and the “new starts” he tried with his ex-wife) or the start of taking distance (Lena goes alone, the conquest killed him and his ex left)… Jane’s wishes for something different with Lisbon might mean either a new start or the beginning of distancing, depending on their capacity to adjust to the other’s dream life.

Mentalist Nothing But Blue Skies Review

Synopsis

Two weeks after confessing their love, Lisbon and Jane decide to hide their liaison from their coworkers. When they’re called for a new case, they have to deal with the new pace in their partnership, a young agent added to their team and a surprise visit from Lisbon’s former fiancé.

Concise Verdict

This episode is pretty enjoyable because, even though the case itself is not as stimulating as it could have been, the focus is on Jane and Lisbon trying to develop their new found relationship while at the same time trying to keep it under wraps, with more or less success… The lightness brought by this new angle in Jane’s life is a nice change from the angst and drama that plagued many moments in his past. All in all, writer Tom Szentgyorgyi probably gave us what constitutes a fitting opening for the more light-hearted new season (8/10)

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (Spoilers galore)

1: Lovebirds chirping on the porch

The episode starts with Jane arriving at Lisbon’s doorstep with fresh coffee (and presumably tea for him). Since the day is beautiful, they decide to drink it on the porch. Many boxes in the back suggest that she’s moving back in her house after cancelling her departure to D.C. Indeed, the title hints that this episode bears the lovely consequences of the finale, as both “Blue Bird” and “Nothing But Blue Skies” are taken from the lyrics of Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘Blue Skies’

(“Blue skies/ Smiling at me/ Nothing but blue skies/ Do I see/ Bluebirds/ Singing a song/ Nothing but bluebirds/ All day long/ Never saw the sun shining so bright/ Never saw things going so right/ Noticing the days hurrying by/ When you’re in love, my how they fly”). They’re very much in love and everything is bright and shiny in that new light.

Yet, the way the scene is played seems to indicate that each of them is still a little bit cautious around the other: when Lisbon offers to get him a key, he hesitates slightly before admitting that “it will make things easier”. It has her making a face for a brief moment. Obviously, even though they’ve taken the step of physical intimacy, she’s afraid of being too pushy and scaring him off.

Reviewbrain: It’s interesting that you say that, Violet as I had an opposite reaction. Lisbon’s tone when she offered Jane a key felt a tad too nonchalant; almost feigned. And Jane’s acceptance of her suggestion, coupled with the low tone *he* uses when he emphasis that it would make things easier, made me read the scene as *him* not wanting to scare *her* away as opposed to the other way around. We know Lisbon is fiercely private and protective of her personal space and I think he was gently acknowledging her desire to share that space with him, in a way that wouldn’t discomfit her; hence her subsequent happy, yet slightly embarrassed smile.

Violet: Their happiness is visible in her giddiness and the low tone he uses to brush off her thanks with a husky “it’s my pleasure” with regards to helping her unpack her things. The bright smiles too leave no doubt about how well they get along and Lisbon sharing memories about her youth and opening up about a model car her grandfather gave her for her graduation shows that they’re eager to be more familiar on an emotional level too. The wavering between that new found trust and the lingering doubts about going too fast and about the other’s thoughts on the matter is hinted at by the setting: the porch was the location of one of their failed attempts at communication during her association with Pike. In ‘Il Tavolo Bianco’, Jane brought her cannoli to create an opportunity to talk to her, but his plans were thwarted by Pike’s presence in Lisbon’s home. He ended up staying on the porch and telling a teary-eyed Teresa that she should do whatever made her happy… Now, they’re trying to overcome that lack of transparency, but it needs work.

The main point of this discussion appears when Abbott –Jane’s personal matchmaker in the previous finale- calls Teresa to a crime scene. When the man asks if she knows where her new lover is, she answers “no idea where he is”. Jane is surprised and assumes she’s “embarrassed”. Even as she denies it, he tries to reassure her by telling her that “it’s okay”. Problem is: what should she be embarrassed about, from his point of view? About sharing intimate details on her workplace (something she had no qualms to do when Pike used to join her in the office)? Or to be with an uncontrollable man with a criminal past and who used to be her subordinate? Lisbon tries to explain that she wants to stay a little while more in their secret bubble: after the debacle with Marcus that everyone was privy to, thanks to her failed transfer, she just wants to keep her private life private, “just for the moment”. Jane’s reaction to her uncertain “is that okay?” is one of reassurance: “yes, sure”, “I understand”. He wants to keep her happy, albeit he might not be very satisfied with keeping the lie in front of his coworkers.

RB: Very true. Jane wouldn’t need to keep the relationship a secret, especially from Abbott. And he might be wary of Lisbon’s wish to do so, for all the possible reason’s you pointed out. I do hope that he understands what I personally feel are her actual reasons: like she said she’s a private person, always has been. And yes, it’s normal to be embarrassed, not from Jane, but of what people will think since she had been planning to move to a different state with Pike (a huge step) but two weeks later she’s in a relationship with her longtime consultant Jane.

Violet: Another aspect that has without any doubt caught many viewers’ attention is the lack of touching, hugging or kissing. Their intimacy is implicit as it is only expressed by meaningful glances and beaming faces. As usual, a great part of their bond stays off screen. This time, it may be because the characters are rather private people who would not want to get all lovey dovey outside of the house. Or more simply, it could be explained by the actors’ friendship and their admitted lack of comfort with love scenes… One way or another, the scenes featuring the couple focus more on the progress they made (and have yet to make) and on the tenderness they feel towards the other than on a newly explored physicality.

RB: This was a very clever move on part of the show, I think. Last season’s ending was perfect enough that you wouldn’t want to ruin the relationship, or what the fans’ expectations are of it, by having it shoved in their faces. It’s not like when Rigsby and Grace were on the show and they served as the canon hot couple (to be fair they ended up being so much more thanks to the clever writing and great acting). But the physical aspect was never what Jane and Lisbon are about. Yes they are both incredibly attractive (ahem *hot*) people. But that’s not *the only*) reason viewers like them. Their relationship is infinitely more profound and captivating; their intimacy goes beyond the physical and I love how the show kept that.

Violet: Anyway, that cloudless happiness doesn’t mask the fragility of the situation: those two are still quite unsure about the other’s commitment as they’re about to get back “in the real world”. They need to talk because that honeymoon stage they’re still on won’t last and they have to decide at some point what path they’ll be waking on together from now on.

RB: You can especially see Jane’s reluctance to get back to the real world. He readily agrees to “talk” but you get the feeling he’s going along with whatever Lisbon wants. It’s touching and somehow heartbreaking as well to see him fearful that this, to borrow Violet’s word, bubble will burst. It’s like he’s in awe of how happy he is.

2: At the crime scene

When they get to the crime scene, separately, Jane gently mocks Lisbon’s request for secrecy by being rather cold to her, in contrast to the exuberant affection he demonstrates towards Cho. The impassive agent –or is it actor Tim Kang?- has trouble hiding a smile when Jane hugs him cheerfully, adding “Hey Cho! Give me some sugar baby! There we are… You’re looking good!” His calm and flat voice when telling “Hey Lisbon” and “you look good too” is in direct opposition to that outburst. It gets even funnier when he almost tries to hand feed Cho some pecan nuts he’s munching on, before turning to his partner with a subdued voice and concluding “Ok, more for me!” when she declines. He’s so outrageously imitating some false indifference that Lisbon is amused. She knows he’s once again teasing her by making fun of her instructions: he’s a professional liar, yet he’s trying to make Cho realize that something is not natural in his attitude towards Lisbon. He keeps his game on when Abbott arrives, bouncing towards his boss and offering him food too. Obviously, Jane is happy and doesn’t want to hide it, even though he knows Teresa doesn’t want the others to guess the reason for his great mood.

RB: This was an incredibly sweet scene. Along with the teasing, I thought it was also Jane being unable to contain his happiness and wanting the others to be happy for him, even if it was subconsciously done. Cho’s smile, I thought, was a recognition of a change in Jane’s status quo. Despite being in denial of the couple in last season’s finale, he knew Jane would be most affected by Lisbon leaving, hence waning Jane that it was going to happen. Whether he knows that they’re a couple now after Abbott clued him in (most likely) or he thinks Jane’s happiness is just a result if Lisbon staying isn’t crystal clear. But the smile shows he’s happy Jane is happy.  I think he even hugged him back (or was it a just a pat on the back?) Cho’s probably happy also glad that Lisbon is staying. We know he likes her.

Violet: If Jane was teasing, however, it is not mean-spirited: when the two male agents leave them alone, the consultant gets closer to her, supposedly to examine the body. He then leaves while asking her what’s in her pocket. She finds out that he’s put an origami swan in it. His thoughtfulness and light joking make her beam at him. The paper animal is a secret love message between them, as well as it obviously reminds of the origami jumping frog he gave her at the end of the pilot as an apology for basically lying to everybody.

RB: It was an ode to a fantastic moment that probably set the stage for the entire relationship. I always felt the way Baker played that pilot scene was quite telling: looking back at Lisbon without her knowledge, smiling at her surprised gasp, then getting serious all of a sudden and leaving, showed that the consultant was developing feelings for her, perhaps despite himself. And for six seasons the writers had such a great time making us guess what exactly those feelings were. So it was nice to see them play back to that moment.

Violet: This swan doesn’t leap at her like the frog did: it swims smoothly and therefore hints at a new beginning, expressed once again by a bird –this time white and not blue. And while in the pilot they didn’t share a glance, now he’s waiting for her to look at him, showing how they’ve come to an understanding.

All in all, this scene let viewers know that Jane is still the unruly consultant, but he’s gotten some peace. He’s happy, eager to let the world know, but respects Lisbon’s wishes enough not to go too far. His way of playing with the rules is now less a disregard for authority than an affectionate inside joke with the woman in his life.

RB: Jane continues to grow as a person. I always said his showman personality stemmed at least partly from his closeted insecurity and need for recognition. Now that he has Lisbon’s full attention I think her reciprocated love for him will reign him in somewhat. The more confidence he has in the relationship the less he’ll need to show off for her. Don’t think it will ever truly disappear, though or he wouldn’t be Jane 🙂 But, like Violet said, his respect and love for Lisbon seems to have tempered his ego somewhat. At least for now. It might end up being the opposite: his growing confidence in the relationship might have him start taking her for granted. We’ll have to wait and see.

Violet: Later, when they get back at the office, Lisbon is again confronted with how thinly-veiled their lie may look when Wylie cheerfully welcomes her back after those few days she took and probably spent with her lover. Indeed, the youthful agent gives her a letter left by Kim Fischer before she transferred to Seattle to get closer to her mother who just had a stroke. The woman was grateful for Lisbon’s friendship and she wrote “Lisbon, you’re the best! Thank you for everything. Good luck with Jane! Kim”. Lisbon comments “oh, that’s sweet”. Is ittoo far stretched to guess that Kim knew what the couple has been up to and that it might be why she didn’t say goodbye in person or by phone, for fear of disturbing with bad news a coming together that she’s suspected from the start?

RB: I love this. I wish that is the case. In fact I wish we saw Jane make such a deduction on screen to explain to Lisbon why Fischer left without saying goodbye in person or even via phone. The explanation for the move, while convincing, felt too short for a character that spent a good deal of time with these two and who the audience had gotten to know. I’m not sure why Emily Swallow is no longer on the show but I resent having to get used to a new character when there is just half a season left on the show. Any time left should not be wasted trying to get us to care about a new character.

Violet: Later we find out the victim’s secret identity: Geist was a FBI agent working undercover. As such, he carries on with the notion of false appearances expressed in the previous season by the string of undercover jobs scattered through the last episodes. Again, is that a hint that Jane and Lisbon are still struggling with truth and lies by trying to keep a low profile?

One way or another, from here the investigation at the bowling alley the victim was infiltrated in goes pretty much as usual. Lisbon is amused by Jane’s antics – asking for advice on the game instead of about anything related to the investigation- and Cho is still impassive, answering “great” to a long speech from a witness about not recognizing the authority of the FBI but accepting to answer to his questions voluntarily… Still, the entertaining atmosphere doesn’t please Ken Spackman, the supervising agent who worked with Geist. Soon, he tells them off, stating “I thought you guys were some innovative team that was capable of thinking outside the box, so what is it with the whining?” Jane’s “ire” gets up, as he explains later to Abbott and he gets pretty protective of Lisbon; he stresses out: “Don’t talk to her like that”. The discussion threatens to turn into a full-blown argument when Kenneth growls “hey, back off”, but Jane replies with much calm “I will back off but you don’t need to talk to her like that”… After years of bullying and tricking his way through antagonistic coworkers and witnesses, Jane now chooses to make his point in a straightforward way. He asks for respect by showing the same attitude. That’s a pretty interesting change in his way of interacting with opponents as for once he shows no resentment or cruelty. He’s angry, but he doesn’t act up on this anger. It’s only afterwards that he goes with acting childish, mocking Kenneth by mimicking his moves and he finally brushes him off to get everyone’s attention and makes a speech about micro-expressions that has their main suspect blowing her cover… before she starts running away.

RB: I think Jane’s straightforward manner here comes from his new relationship with Lisbon. Before when he would “protect” her it was many times without her knowledge (like when he talked to her new boss Hightower). I think it’s because: a) independent Lisbon could never stand him protecting her, and b) he had no justification for doing so. Even his excuse to Hightower “we work together, when she’s unhappy, I’m less happy” (episode Blood money) was quite flimsy. Madeleine at the time saw right through him even when he added “It’s human nature”. But now that he and Lisbon are a couple, he doesn’t have to hide his protectiveness, not from her nor anyone else.

3: In Abbot’s office

Violet: Jane’s blunder causes an emergency meeting at headquarters. Abbot is not very pleased and Kenneth rants about losing the woman, while having still no proof and no means to get her to talk even if they find her. Jane attempts to play the situation down but Kenneth counterattacks by stating: “no, it’s not okay, this is a disaster”. Coincidentally, things being “okay” or not were the words he and Lisbon used to test the waters when talking about the exchange of keys and then about keeping their relationship a secret…

Jane then launches at the opportunity to shift the attention from himself when a young woman comes in and introduces herself to Abbott as the new agent in the team. Michelle Vega (Josie Loren)has already caught Wylie’s interest when she arrived and Jane quickly let her guess that she’s not getting in a completely ordinary team when he casually tells her “oh, you don’t have to call me sir. In fact, don’t call me sir. Save it for him” while pointing in a rather unceremonious way at their common boss – who’s currently on the verge of berating him obviously …

RB: I loved this moment as Abbott’s reaction was very amusing.

Violet: That respite was enough to get the resourceful consultant at the top of his game again. He tells Kenneth “I’m going to make it up to you. When this is over, it’s gonna be your birthday”, adding in an alliterative cheerful tone “candles on the cake and all, Ken”. Admitting that he’s done wrong and willing to make up for it… is it me or is there a drastic change in his attitude? It looks like he has nothing to prove anymore, he’s not being a smart ass, but instead he seems emotionally fulfilled, which in turn leaves him felling less insecure towards others and more willing to be honest.

RB: Exactly, and when he later falls back on his old habits, he is quickly reminded that he had no reason not to be honest with Lisbon. But more on that later…

Violet: In the meantime, there’s no doubt Jane’s very personal approach on hierarchy unsettled the newbie. When she’s introduced to the rest of the team, she starts asking about him: “the guy in Abbot’s office with the… shirt. Is he an agent?” Like her lover did in front of Ken, Lisbon takes his defense almost automatically: “no, but he’s part of the team” Vega persists, asking “he’s err, different. Anything I should know about him?” to which Wylie timidly answers “there are probably a few things…”

RB: Props to Vega for not google-ing Jane’s name or she’d probably find out more than she wanted to know.

Violet: As the subject of their interest starts investigating new leads, he visits Jeremy’s rented room. Near the door, a copy of Van Gogh’s ‘Irises’ can be seen, similar to the one behind Lorelei when she met up with him in ‘There Will Be Blood’. He sits on the mattress lying directly on the floor where Jeremy used to sleep, which reminds painfully of his own mattress under a smiley made of blood in the pilot… This probably makes him understand that there was a terrible and shocking event in the victim’s past that he couldn’t overcome, some secret laced with fear and a bit of guilt he was still punishing himself for. Yet, Jane’s reflex here is not to identify with the guy in a spontaneous attempt at self-pity: instead, he reaches out to someone else whose suffering he could sense.

He calls Vega to get her insight about how to get more information about Jeremy and at the same time interrogates her about her past: unraveling the half-truths she’s spinning to protect herself, he gets to the core of her problem. Vega claimed to have no military past although her father was military, but she actually went at West Point but did not graduate, because her father hat cancer. Like Lisbon, Vega has thus lost her father and because of it had to leave behind part of her life and projects. Plus, while Fisher was wary of Jane’s attempts to pry into her life, Vega is probably in search of a reassuring fatherly figure, hence her confidences to him when he clearly wants to help. Furthermore, her military experience explains why she’s hierarchy oriented (obstinately calling Jane “sir” or “agent”); she maybe also be ashamed of her failure (hence the denial) and ambitious.

RB: Violet, I applaud the depth you have given to analyzing this character. While Vega is nowhere near as annoying as she could have been, I had no interest what so ever in her back story. The upside I see is that they quickly got it out of the way so that we can now hopefully focus on the older characters we already have a vested interest in. But I have to give credit where it is due, Josie Loren does well with her character so I’ll (try) to keep an open mind and ignore the fact that she was probably brought on just to appeal to younger audiences. She seems likable enough and is very cute.

 

Image by @chizuruchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain December, 2014. Not to be used without permission.

Violet: The new character then proceeds to ask about him to Cho while they’re trying to catch their escapee suspect. When she asks is he’s a psychic, the older agent answers like a well-oiled machine the line Jane used to feed them: “there is no such thing”. He explains that Jane’s “as good as he can be” at reading people among other things and how he came to work for law enforcement is “a long story”… This talk reminds of Van Pelt’s first case with the CBI: back then, the redhead rookie couldn’t hide her curiosity either and Jane had no difficulties at reading her like an open book, albeit in a more aggressive manner. Once again, this season premiere feels like a new beginning, filled with allusion to the pilot. There is also little doubt so far that Vega is eager to fit in. After arresting the fugitive, she apologizes to Cho about disobeying his orders. Cho only answers “nice job”.

RB: It was, even if the scene was identical to the one in which Lindsay aka Montana was introduced in in CSI: NY. But I digress. Here, the scene shows that while Vega is eager to follow the rules, she has the ability to make split second decisions. Good for her.

4: Lisbon sneaks out to find Jane

Violet: Armed with a file on the victim that Vega provided for him, Jane takes a break and goes out to sit on a bench and study Jeremy’s psychological profile, which informs him that the man had been witness to a kidnapping that ended in murder when he was a teen. Still, there might be another reason for him to leave the office.

Indeed, some time before, after their little meeting with “Ken” in Abbott’s office, the boss had a little talk with the unruly consultant in front of the elevator. He started by saying “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Lisbon but…” Jane opted then for a particularly ineffective avoidance tactic, obeying again more or less Lisbon’s wish for secrecy: “nothing’s going on.”

-Really, Jane? After the guy gave you his car keys to chase after her, you feed him the most unconvincing lie ever?-

As expected, Abbott is not fooled and comments that Jane is just uttering the “party line”, indicating even more clearly that he’s convinced that they’re an item and that they just agreed on what to tell others. He then warns him that Marcus Pike is in the building. Instead of telling Lisbon on the spot, Jane shares with her a clandestine glance with the doors of the elevator close. In hindsight, this moment of tacit intimacy contrasts with every other elevator scene when he’s been leaving after arguing with her (in ‘Red Rover, Red Rover’ for instance); yet, as willing to communicate with her as he is, he still kept silent about her ex, a sure sign that he’s not as certain as he would like to admit about her reaction when facing the other man. By leaving the office allegedly to study his file in peace, Jane might want to avoid his rival. Obviously, after stealing Lisbon from him, an encounter with the dumped ex-fiancé would be very uncomfortable, even more since Jane admitted he thought the other was a good man… But isn’t he avoiding Lisbon too? He clearly didn’t tell her that he was leaving.

Abbott understands that she sneaked out to look for him after she told the others that she was “going for a walk” (which is a terrible excuse if she’s really trying not to make everyone suspicious,… wouldn’t it have been far less odd for her to just tell them she was going to find Jane before he wreak havoc, as she’s been doing for years?) His stance towards the lovers is therefore amused but quite protective too. He’s keeping the same approach about this particular inter-office romance that he had in S6: obviously, he wants them to stay together, may it be because he’s a romantic at heart, because he likes them, or just because he’s aware that Jane might get even more out of control without Lisbon’s calming influence… He’s still in dire contrast with Cho.

RB: While Abbott seems to fully support the relationship we get a hint that he might be wary of it as well. He’s less than thrilled that Jane is not in the office the same time Lisbon has gone for a walk. Don’t think he had fun imagining what they were up to. His worries should be put to rest though as Lisbon comes back with information she got from her meeting with Jane. Speaking of the meeting…

Violet: When Lisbon finds her lover, she admits that she’s been looking all over for him, while he pretexts that he just needed some fresh air… In other words, it means that, even though he had been spending until then the first working day of their clandestine romance teasing her, as soon as he heard from Pike, he’s spend as much time as he could outside, either investigating Geist’s apartment or sitting on a bench. It might have been a coincidence if he had used this rare opportunity to talk to her privately and tell her about her ex…

RB: I like that possibility.

Violet: …but Jane sticks to the case and resorts to his old habits of withholding information.

RB: Maybe he got cold feet. I found Jane not telling Lisbon here about Pike to be interesting. Perhaps Lisbon not wanting their relationship out in the open affected him more than he is letting on. He’s not secure enough to let her know the man is around.

Violet: Lisbon picks up on it, even if she doesn’t realize that not opening up about the case may only be the emerging part of the iceberg. She tells him “Jane, you don’t need to wait until I need to know to tell me things, ok? Not anymore”. His lack of transparency over work had always been a sore point for her and Jane understands that and insists on apologizing. He’s willing to make an effort to stay on her good side, underlining again that he’s playing this new tune humming between them by ear.

Another detail might hint that Jane realized that he did make a mistake in the past by assuming that Lisbon would stay by his side no matter what. He brings a hammer in order to “nail” their suspect of selling illegal weapons (the case Geist had been investigating) as well as the actual killer. This tool will be used in setting a fake hiding place for Tish’s guns but it also reminds of two times when Teresa surprised Patrick: in S5 ‘Panama Red’ she smashed to pieces a box Jane playfully hid her keys in and S6 ‘The Golden Hammer’….

RB: Yes! And when he incredulously commented “You keep a hammer in your desk?!” she blithely told him that he only “thinks” he knows everything about her, but he doesn’t.

Violet: She also shook him by telling him that she had a date with Osvaldo…

RB: And he was visibly affected, enough that she quickly reassured him that Ardiles asked to talk, not really a date.

Violet: Later, when they crack the case open by tricking the murderer into revealing himself, a nice shot of Jane’s head further emphasizes that he’s moved on, since he’s shown behind a door when he’s stepping in from the other side. He’s pushed the metaphorical door of his past open and that he’s resolute to make amends. Indeed, he’s made huge progress from the pilot, where he also pretended to focus on other suspects to get Dr Wagner to lower his guard. Here, the team work together, he’s let them in the plan. He’s trying to make it up to them for a mistake he’s acknowledged. And albeit he refused to apologize to the men he got arrested under a false pretext in the pilot, here he even apologized to Tish for using her… before getting her to confess of course, by ironically playing a variation of the same trick he faked in the bar when he set her up. And this time, he doesn’t bring donuts as a back-handed apology to his team like he did in S1, but yells good-naturally to Ken “it’s your birthday!” All in all, angst has been replaced by more sincere smiles and a more relaxed stance.

5: Pike’s question

Once the case is wrapped up, Jane goes back at the office to find an unpleasant surprise as Pike is leaving a note on Lisbon’s desk… The meeting is awkward, to say the least. Jane tries to convey how sorry he is for the guy who’s basically in the situation he was two weeks before after learning that Teresa was planning to leave. The balance between the two men is inversed: Pike is now bearded, he’s doing undercover jobs, just like Jane used to. He’s moody and upset, because Jane was the other man in his romance with the petite agent, whereas now, Jane is the one who’s in a legitimate albeit secretive relationship with her.

RB: And Jane is completely honest with Pike about what’s going on. He feels appropriately bad.

Violet: Marcus’ resentment is thus directed not at Lisbon, since he’s aware that she didn’t mean to hurt him, but at Jane as he asks him directly “so you have a plan?” When Jane is taken aback and says that he doesn’t understand, he explains that he had offered her “a life, a home, a family” and “a future” and asks what the consultant is offering her, “I mean, other than Patrick Jane?”

RB: Ouch.

Violet: It’s a low blow that leaves Jane stunned, because he knows about Jane’s past and can guess that he’s still struggling with his hesitations about moving on. It’s also the truth and the biggest advantage Pike had over his rival in Lisbon’s eyes before she chose Jane over him.

RB: Not only that but it also dredges up all of Jane’s insecurities and further highlights how his flamboyant confidence was all just an act. Patrick Jane, the man who *always* has a plan, at least when it comes to cases has no idea what to do when it comes to his relationship with Lisbon.

Violet: Lisbon comes unknowingly to his rescue by barging in the office. Jane’s evasiveness to Pike about her being “around here someplace” hints that he still hasn’t told her, and further proof is in how she’s quite shocked to see him near her new lover. She asks him: “what are you doing here?”
In the background viewers can recognize the US flag and the FBI motto “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity” that was shown in a previous scene in the entrance of the office. More accurately, the red stripes of the flag and the word “Fidelity” can be seen behind her as she appears. Is it a coincidence that what’s keeping Jane from promising her a future too is a red-tinted past and his fidelity to his family’s memory? He brushes against her shoulder to show her that he’s supportive as he walks out and for a brief moment, they’re symbolically facing different directions… But then, he waits for her until she finishes with Marcus, just as the shot expends to a fuller view of the flag including the hopeful blue that characterizes their budding love story. We can also read the beginning of the word “bravery”. It pretty much hints that he’s in the right direction.

Jane doesn’t wait to prove her his goodwill: as soon as she leaves Pike, while she’s still processing how weird it was, he blurts out Pike’s question.

RB: It’s a very touching moment. Simon Baker here unleashed all of Jane’s vulnerability when he answered Lisbon honestly on what they talked about. Perhaps for the first time in their relationship, he is actively and overtly seeking her reassurance.

Violet: Stammering a little, Jane tries to explain “I think I know, that we know what feels right and that that should be our guide”.

RB: Lisbon is visibly touched at his honesty, and to his relief agrees.

Violet: He then lifts up the mood by showing her the surprise he’s been preparing for her: a vintage 1930 Cadillac, the real car instead of the model she got from her grandfather. Instead of thinking of the future like Pike had been doing while pushing Lisbon to accept to fit in his expectations for his life, Jane is still trying to make peace with the past in order to learn how to move forward step by step. In that perspective, the car holds a similar meaning than the toys from their childhood he’s given his team members in the previous season, or than the birthday pony he gotten Lisbon in the early episodes: he’s trying to bring back memories by lacing them with present joy, because he wants to express that he cares. And that old classy car reminds of many others, like the more recent vintage Cadillac he rented to entice her with in ‘Blue Bird’, his old trusty Citroen, the flashy luxury car he borrowed from Mashburn to take her to dinner or like even Ellery Queen’s distinctive Duesenberg from the same era…

RB: And once again, this car, too, is rented. Unlike the couch Jane bought for Lisbon without her approval. It hints that he might include Lisbon on future choices that he makes.

Violet: Pike’s question can also have a more ambiguous meaning instead of only involving Jane’s plans for the future. Jane’s quest for RJ has established that he has no qualms about using his talent for intricate planning in more personal matters. As it is, we can’t know for sure if Pike is aware of the extent of Jane’s planning when he tried to trick Lisbon into staying without revealing his feelings…

RB: although I don’t think Lisbon would have included Jane’s gross manipulation in her attempt to explain to Pike why she’d rather be with him XD

Violet: He’s been scheming and deceiving her for years. And Marcus is right: he actually tried to convince her to stay by playing on his charming and entertaining persona and letting her see how fun working with him was: he’d basically tried to get her a first row seat in the performance the great “Patrick Jane” was always giving. Pike’s slight gibe at his vanity is spot on: as Reviewbrain pointed out Jane is pretty insecure and his tendency to hide behind the mask of the showman is a way to cover up how much he fears he’s lacking in others aspects…

RB: But the fact is Marcus doesn’t know that. He might think he’s hit Jane where it hurts, which is true in a way but…

Violet: …the fact that Jane’s so unsettled by Marcus’s question indicates that he’s sincere.

RB: It’s actually the best proof. Lisbon knows that which is why she was so touched. Unlike Marcus, she knows Jane. And she’s had so much of Jane’s plan’s that this is probably a refreshing change for her.

Violet: He’s really helpless because he doesn’t know what is the best thing to do anymore, which is probably why he was afraid to let Lisbon talk to her ex-fiancé alone. Pike’s spiteful little barb throws him back to the beginning of the episode and to Lisbon wanting to take the next step into a serious relationship. The faint uncertainty brought by the two questions –about the key and about his plans- might be an allusion to the song used for the title:

“Skies were gray but they’re not gray anymore”,

the difference being that in the song the clouds were left behind… in the budding romance, whereas the storm ended, getting out of the honeymoon phase might bring on some grey areas they’ve yet to define… some maybe in next episode ‘The Greybar Hotel’?

Conclusion

Violet: As a conclusion, I’d say that even though their relation has evolved since the beginning of the show, its romantic aspect is still a work in progress, because for each of them learning to live with to someone who is as secretive as them and with a troubled past too is bound to cause some adjusting. In that perspective, the reference made to Jane Austen in a recent interview (thanks Rose for the information! 😉 ), as well as in ‘Days of Wine and Rose,’ is very interesting. The situation between them has been slowly progressing for years from distrust to indulgence, from manipulating to caring. Like many Austenian characters, step by step, they’ve been overcoming trust issues (born from Jane’s lies) and differences (the opposite morals of a by-the-book cop and a conman) to get to the similarities that lay deep within their hearts. But unlike Miss Austen’s protagonists, they can’t distract themselves anymore with false appearances as they did for a decade: sweet, reasonable if a bit prejudiced Lisbon has chosen at the last moment her edgy Jane over a more eligible gentleman, who had the merit of being better-matched both in his outlook on life and character but who couldn’t win her whole affections… Even if they’ve achieved forgiveness and are reaching respect and understanding, neither is foolish enough to take what they have for granted. They’re careful that the real world and its demands don’t shatter their blue-tinted loving bubble.

RB: That’s beautiful Violet. One last point I have is the fact that Jane is still wearing his wedding ring. Sunny_Girl (@_D_o_r_y_a_n_n) asked why that might be on twitter and I saved my reply for here: Jane is a creature of habit and as much of a romantic as I am I somehow don’t think it is strange. I always thought the ring was symbolic for Jane to represent that he is taken. First, it was by his wife then by his quest for Red John, and now by Lisbon. I wouldn’t be surprised if he remains wearing it for the rest of his life and somehow find it fitting. Nor do I think Lisbon would make that much of a deal over it, rather it seems to be something she gets. And if the two end up getting married he’ll need a ring anyway so why waste one he already has? It might seem a weird point of view to some but that’s just how I see it. It’s part of Jane, like Lisbon’s cross, and I think she understands that.

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The Mentalist Red Velvet Cupcakes Review

Synopsis

After nagging at his colleague and former lover Grace Van Pelt (Righetti) who was late at the crime scene, Wayne Rigsby (Yeoman) joins Cho (Kang) near the body. Since Jane (Baker) isn’t present, Rigsby proceeds to describe to him the specifics of the crime over the phone. They soon realize that the victim and her absent husband had been participating in a radio talk show for couples having problems.

Concise Verdict
Rebecca Perry Cutler gave us here a very well-written and well-though episode. When so many commenters have been complaining about the lack of progress in the relationship between the two lead characters, she answered to their pleas and even added an unexpected and audacious new turn of events in the Van Pelt/Rigsby storyline. It gives an interesting and much needed recap on personal questions before the season finale. Some deliciously sweet and addictive “Cupcakes” we got!

Detailed AKA Humongous Review (spoilers galore)
Two major arcs are entwined through the episode. They concern the two potential couples in the team: Rigsby and Van Pelt, whose relationship has been on and off in the history of the show and Jane and Lisbon, whose interaction gives off particularly ambiguous vibes here.

Lisbon and Jane: complicity/ intimacy…
VIS # 1: Jane in the attic, part I
For once, the episode doesn’t open up with the protagonist arriving at the crime scene, it’s a glimpse of Wayne and Grace’s tense relation that introduces the murder of the week. The male agent is bothered by his ex-lover’s new supposed new relationship and snaps at her for being late. As there is no sign of their consultant, Risgby calls him on the phone and discovers that the older man is –unsurprisingly- still holed up in his attic at the CBI building… In fact, Jane is studying the board and that right away reminds the viewers of the fact that Kirkland has a copy of it now.
While pacing his dusty very own headquarter, Jane accepts to help them out with the case, without leaving the room: Rigsby will be his ears and eyes. Variants of this scene have occurred thorough the seasons. For instance Jane has been blinded once and relied on the others’ eyes to unravel a mystery and even to drive a car (twice); he has also helped out Lisbon once to find a bomb on the phone, relying on her description and his prodigious memory… so this new form of investigating from afar is not completely unheard of from Jane, still it illustrates further his extensive skills and presents him again as an expert in his area, like in ‘Red in Teeth and Claws’ and in ‘Red, White and Blue’. Like fictional detective Nero Wolfe, whose books were seen in ‘Red Lacquer Nail Polish’, he acts as an “armchair detective” who lets the others do the legwork and collect the information while he takes over the task of analysing it and synthesizing it into a valid theory… Thus he’s able to deduce that the victim had couple problems; he’s focused from the start on the relationship the late Missy Roberts had with her husband. That’s why he guides Rigsby through the rooms susceptible of enlightening him: “I want to understand their relationship. Bedrooms say a lot”.
In the kitchen, Rigsby finds the ‘Red Velvet Cupcakes’ which gave its name to the episode. They are another example of Jane’s skills since he knows that Wayne has discreetly taken one of those « awesome looking cupcakes » and asks him to « put that cupcake back ». At the same time, they’re also the symbol of Missy’s unhappy marriage, since she disagreed with her husband about food as she loved to bake, whereas he was on a diet.

Right from the start, the plot seems centred on relationships. The red gerberas daisies -that are showed on the kitchen counter with insistence- confirm that impression. The red flowers link the scene to the general RJ arc; the daisies are also flowers generally connected to love. Plucking a daisy is indeed a well-known game to know if someone loves you or not and, amusingly, it matches the one Wayne will be later playing with Grace…
VIS # 2: Jane in the attic, part II
But the major goal of the scene is to present a stark contrast with the second time Jane’s called on the case. Indeed, later Lisbon comes to the attic door after the lead about the husband has been mostly discarded.
Like the first time, Jane is reluctant and tries to chalk off the clues which tend to innocent Kip Roberts as forged ones. He seems pretty eager to dismiss the case in order to concentrate in his main activity: catching RJ. Indeed, his apparent nonchalance is refuted by his awareness of his surrounding: like he did with Cho in the previous episode, he recognizes Lisbon before even hearing her voice. Same with his lake of activity: Lisbon assumes he’s working on his list, but actually he’s lounging on his makeshift bed and reading. He almost looks like a lazy and unenthusiastic teenager whose mother is knocking on his bedroom door because dinner is ready… still, that’s again an appearance because it seems that Jane just doesn’t want to leave the attic, either because he waits for Kirkland to make a move, or because he had falsified the board in order to trick him in the last episode and is now guarding the real one… Either way, the shot from above him while he’s reading reminds of the view we’d have from a camera surveillance. As commenters C Hill, Old Man and Zee pointed out for ‘Behind the Red Curtain, the filming tends to suggest that he’s being watched.
Since Jane has decided to ignore her attempts at convincing him, Lisbon then plays her last card: she tells him the magic words “I need you”… Jane pauses and abruptly comes with her, to her great surprise. He answers her plea with a heartfelt: « it’s nice to be needed. Anything for you, Lisbon »… So he refused to come for professional reasons like solving the case, yet he doesn’t hesitate when she makes the matter personal and reach out for his help. It’s the same pattern than when she asked him to help her get Volker: she told him “I need your help” and in the next episode he was all over the place trying to get the bad guy and subtly threatening him. Now, things go a notch further: Lisbon is not threatened by anyone like was by Volker and the case doesn’t involve a mass murderer. Plus, it isn’t his “help” that he requests because she has no other mean to get to the truth: it’s just him. Things are indeed getting pretty personal and they are aware of the change: they briefly look at each other and a myriad of emotions are expressed in Lisbon’s face, before settling with a mix of smugness and surprise. It’s a meaningful moment.
In fact, their complicity is in dire contrast with Rigsby’s jealousy and the couple problems the victim faced. Their closeness shines even through a later scene, when, after following her o the field and interrogating the Missy’s sister, he discovers another titbit of information about Lisbon: she knows the radio talk show the victim and her husband attended to, « Prescription for Love »… When Lisbon caught her consultant staring meaningfully at her, she tries to plays it off as something she “listened to in [her] car a few times”. Jane tells her he would go to the radio station and he’d leave her the “shady baker” Missy worked for. And then Lisbon betrays her interest in coming too, to Jane’s great delight («Ahaha, that’s ‘cause you’re a fan”). He proceeds to tease her merciless, adding “it’s fine Lisbon, we all have our guilty pleasures”. He’s very gleeful to learn something new about her…

VIS # 3: Jane and Lisbon at the radio studio
At the radio studio, Jane and Lisbon are mistaken for a couple auditioning for a session… Lisbon answers bluntly with a awkward “we’re not a couple, please” and, faced with the receptionist’s expressionless stare, Jane remarks helpfully “what she means is that our is more of a platonic love”. He’s obviously teasing her and annoying the woman at her desk since he keeps stuffing his pockets with sweets.
Still, his matter-of-fact tone might remind us viewers that he may be a bit serious: after all, he has confessed in the previous season finale that he loves her (in whatever sense that “love” has to be taken); and indeed, whatever they have is “platonic”, they haven’t been and are not sleeping together. So he’s announcing to the world that they have feelings for each other, but that they’re not acting on them (no sex, no actual relationship)… He’s acknowledging for the first time with words that there may be something going on between them, and does it as a joke… like he did somehow when he pretended not to remember what he said in ‘The Crimson Hat’, he’s making progress but still takes care of staying in the grey zone… And he deepens the impression that he’s teasing her when, after she has flashed her badge as a response, he adds for the receptionist that “she’s very excited” to see the love doctor she listens to on the radio.
Jane is very jovial in this episode, may it be because he knows he’s making progress on the RJ investigation and it cheers him up, or because Lisbon took a step towards him. Anyway, his attentions are concentrated of her.

VIS # 4: Jane and the love doctor
After provoking a bit the control freak producer, Jane becomes serious again when they interrogate Buddy Hennings, the lover doctor who had been counselling the Missy and Kip. He’s actually the second love specialist Jane has met, the first being Erica Flynn, and the atmosphere of the scene and in the studio is pretty different: there is not some much seduction there as questions being asked and answered…
Interestingly, there is a red poster behind them and there are various elements in the same color in the studio (as there ware in the reception area), therefore almost every shot features a glimpse of a reddish object behind them during the talk. Which is pretty fruitful, but not on the murder aspect.
After Lisbon leaves to answer her phone, Jane asks Buddy if it was Missy who wanted help with her marriage, not Kip. Hennings answers that “in the beginning, he was going along to get along, but he turned the corner”, explaining: “in the first few sessions he was very distant, very uncooperative, to anyone but Missy… But after a couple of sessions, he developed an attentiveness for the work I hadn’t seen before. He really changed.” Jane is sceptic and remarks: “well, you know, maybe he was covering that he felt guilty for something, like having an affair.” Henning disagrees and maintains good-naturedly that he thinks the therapy was working.
Ok, so, are they talking of the victim’s marriage or about Jane’s reaction concerning his work spouse during the events involving Lorelei? Because that’s an almost exact description of Jane’s behavior in the few lasts episodes: he’s been trying to shut Lisbon out of his interrogations of Lorelei, and very “uncooperatively” organised the woman’s escape behind his partner’s back. Then, he “turned the corner” too when Lisbon confronted him in ‘There Will Be Blood’ about the mess he created and his feelings for the other woman: since then, his “attentiveness” for keeping her on his side has increased, and there is a kind of paroxysm in this episode. Therefore, it’s rather intriguing that Jane himself pointed out that he may have acted that way because he was feeling “guilty for […] having an affair” since it was Lorelei who endangered his working/personal relation with his partner… It’s almost as if he was admitting too that he may be feeling guilty for keeping his agenda while being so close to Lisbon.
That angle is developed a bit more later, when they find at last the missing husband in a hotel room. The red corridor leads them to a jungle-themed room where Kip is restrained on the bed with a black-leather-clap dominatrix entertaining him… Jane is thrilled and comments: “jungle theme. It’s classy.” In some twisted way, Kip endangering his marriage with a SM affair in a pseudo-jungle décor and trying to cover up for it reminds a bit of Jane: he’s putting his closeness with Lisbon at risk by obsessing with his hurtful masochist struggle with RJ the tiger. The similarity also is deepened by the detail of Missy being like a second mother for her sister, a role Lisbon has assumed for her brothers during her teenage years…

VIS # 5: Jane watches the video
Back at the studio, Jane finds himself again in a room decorated with reddish elements: this time, it’s a brick wall in Buddy’s office. The wheels in his mind are already working when he sees the poster on the wall featuring two feet with different woman shoes… several details already pointed out toward the feet angle and the connection seems even more visible in his mind when he watches the video of the session Kid and Missy had with Hennings: Jane freezes the frame where it’s obvious that Hennings has been staring at the golden stilettos on Missy’s feet…
Again, that moment reminds us of the episode with Erica: Jane had been watching the video of Sarah, whose love life the pretty widow was helping to improve… And the same thing occurs here: Jane finds a clue in the manner the interview has been progressing and discovers that the so-called love specialist is flawed. In Erica’s case, she was helping people find true love, while she kept seducing men she didn’t care about and she killed her husband because he was planning to stop her business… Buddy, on the other hand, helps couple overcome their problems, whereas he compulsively loves feet and keeps staring at a “patient” in front of her husband. Worst, he was also having an affair with her, endangering his own couple. That’s a rather cynic vision of love therapy. Moreover, the episode isn’t focused on seduction like it was with Erica, but more on problematic and complicated relationships and as so it matches the evolution of his friendship with Lisbon… probably even with the sexual undertones. One may wonder if the progression from a seduction episode to a couple therapy one is a way to subtly indicate that, because of the hardships they’ve been encountering, their bond has matured into something deeper and more significant…
Anyway, Jane’s plan is motion: he offers Van Pelt an unexpected gift in a red/dark pink box (like the pink donuts box in the previous episode). Jane seems eager to give gifts to his team, may they be useful or just for fun: he bought them all something from the museum gift shop not so long ago; since we didn’t get Grace’s reaction back then, we can infer that she liked her fossil because she considers her unexpected present as a nice surprise. Jane might also have spoiled them a bit because Lisbon endearingly asks “nothing for me?” He answers: “Trust me, you won’t like it” while Van Pelt uncovers a pair of black stilettos… Like she has been in the past seasons, the gorgeous red-headed is used by her consultant as distracting candy-eye in one of his schemes… and, even though it isn’t the most appropriate of gifts from a coworker, Grace tries them on good-naturedly. To reassure her boss who is a little wary of his action, Jane then quotes Sherlock Holmes and announces to his own Watson that “the game is afoot” before comically correcting “two feet” in reference to the shoes… Again, his relation with Lisbon is indirectly put under the spotlight: she’s his Watson, his partner, she expects a gift too and he knows her well enough to infer what her tastes are in shoes. She, on the other hand, wants to know what he’s doing: she’s back to being a bit wary of him.
Later, Jane talks with the couple who was interviewed when he was at the studio. He gives advices to the boyfriend, once again next to a red wall: the young man is dominated by his girlfriend (he’s even holding her bag while talking to Jane). The consultant asks « when was the last time you were completely honest with her, the last time you disagreed with her? », adds that « she will respect » him if he holds his ground and that « women love a strong man »… are those the beliefs behind his relation with Lisbon? Is he antagonising her to earn her respect, misbehaving to prove her he’s strong? Maybe those words aren’t mean to be compared to his own attitude, but they are nonetheless a bit intriguing… Either way, we didn’t get to see if his counselling worked: either because the young man convinced his girlfriend or because they broke off, the couple cancelled the session, thus giving “Dwayne and Stace” the opportunity to pose as a couple.

Wayne and Grace: it is love
A major discussion has been building up between Van Pelt and Rigsby since the very beginning of ‘Red Velvet Cupcakes’: he was jealous when she was late because of her supposed “hot date” with Duncan the night before. During a stake-out, Grace attempted to talk it out in the car but he was reluctant to go to the bottom of things and he only said “I’ve been feeling kinda weird since you’ve been back” and explains that he’s been thinking about her before asking her if she has been thinking about him too. That Grace wanted to discuss the matter was a sign of her increased maturity since the beginning of their story: in the early stage of their relationship, she simply avoided the subject of his interest in her… Also, Van Pelt is the more prone at calmly discussing a situation with her former lover: the car conversation reminded that she was the one who instigated the talk about him moving on after their break-up just before having an accident with O’Laughlin; it was her who tried to put him at ease in the car outside a bar when he was dealing with his troublesome father in ‘Like A Red-Headed Stepchild’. On the contrary, Wayne tends to tell her what he thinks during rather abrupt outbursts: telling her he loved her when she was about to get married, asking her to have a talk with him when she’s about to leave the office in ‘Red Letter Day’…
Still, both share a past and obviously care for the other: Grace has kept on her desk the orchid he gave her in the previous episode while he still remembers her size in shoes.

VIS # 6: Grace and Wayne have their long overdue talk… on air
That may explain how things got out of end during their fake session with Buddy Hennings. First, the couple follows the plan and simply states that they have “communication problems”. When Buddy asks them to elaborate, Rigsby helpfully and comically explains that they have “problems talking to each other”. But half-truths don’t do the trick and they are soon forced to share a bit more of their real history… Making Lisbon quite uncomfortable when Buddy asks them how the sex was. Indeed, the scene is laced with snippets of Jane and Lisbon listening to the talk show in the car: at first, they shared an amused glance at their friend’s situation. But after the sex question, Lisbon is obviously embarrassed and remarks “we shouldn’t be listening to this, really.” But Jane doesn’t share her scruples about listening on colleagues (“Oh, come on, Lisbon, don’t be such a prude!,”). Their opposed views on the question of privacy show there and it reflect a sensible tension in the car.
Wayne and Grace resume their “rocky history”: Rigsby attacks first and lets his anger surface when he evoked their break up because she thought the job was more important. He then adds that she “got engaged to a maniac”. It’s obvious that Rigsby has absolutely not moved on about those parts of their past that he resented as betrayals, given how eager he is to confront his former lover about them. But soon, tables are turned and he has to give explanations about the baby he had with Sarah, when he and Grace were “totally off”. That’s the pivotal moment when Van Pelt shows how much more mature she has become over the years and after the tragedies brought in her life. She calmly explains: “For the record, I’m not angry about the baby. I just found weird that you had a baby with someone you barely knew”. She tells him that she loved him and we get that wonderful insight in her mind: “when we were together, we were kids. I was a young naïve girl. I wasn’t ready to commit to you. It wasn’t about the job, it was an outlet […] We’re not the same, but that’s ok. I like who I am now. I like who you are. You’re a man.” Rigsby only answers that his feelings for her haven’t changed.
It’s really amusing that all the drama between those two could be summed up in one scene; it makes a great show indeed as Buddy and Jane pointed out… Beside, that incredibly straightforward and thorough talk enlightens how different those two are: even though he tried to built a life without her with Sarah and Ben, Wayne hasn’t moved on. It seems Sarah was right in refusing his proposal: he’s not in touch with his feelings, pines after a past he hasn’t been able to renounce to. Meanwhile, Grace has learnt to distance herself from her mistakes and has grown up: contrary to Rigsby, she’s aware of his progress as well as her own and respects him and herself for that. What a character development since her difficult grief in the past season!
All the while, Jane and Lisbon are in the car, listening. Jane is amused and Lisbon embarrassedly looks through the window, but she’s interested in what is happening. Both share an occasional glance which betrays their complicity, but the fact that they’re looking at the other quite often when he/she isn’t looking and their lack of verbal comments also indicate that they’re pretty tense. The question is why: are they overwhelmed by those details about their co-workers? Or, given how close Jane’s actions appeared to be to Kip’s in the recap Buddy gave him of his session, is that very personal talk making them think about their own past and the mistakes they have done?
VIS # 7: both arcs get a conclusion
After the real killer is arrested, she is interrogated back in the CBI building. She fits under the category of the unrepentant murderers we have been acquainted to recently: her words that « it felt good » remind of those the killer in ‘Red Letter Day’ uttered to Jane. Same with the creepy murderers in ‘Red, White and Blue’ and in ‘Red Lacquer Polish’: they were all unremorseful and blamed others for their acts. Is that a way to suggest that Jane’s revenge is getting close and that it will “feel good” too? That may explain the cheerfulness he showed in this episode and maybe, maybe his willingness to get even closer to Lisbon, since he might be hoping that his quest will be over soon…
Either way, after the case is closed, Lisbon is lingering in the kitchen and seems to be seeking Jane’s company. The woman seems pretty dejected –she was probably more a fan of Buddy than she was willing to let on. Jane picks up on her thoughtfulness right away and understands it has something to do with the foot fetish that was bothering her in the car. Since he’s not prone to let her get away such a titillating subject, he tells her: “your brows are furrowed and you have that squinty look in your eye. You want to talk to me about that foot fetish, but the Catholic schoolgirl in you tells you it’s not appropriate.” Her answer is honest and things get oddly personal: “you’re right. I don’t get it. I can’t wrap my mind around it”. Jane only answers that “everyone has that thing, that’s just…that’s human nature.” Alas, poor Lisbon didn’t realize where this conversation was heading and that her nosy consultant is eager to know more about her than just her preferences in radio stations; she fells right in the trap and lets slip “I don’t”. Jane begins to prod her: “oh, come on, Lisbon, don’t deny yourself that freedom. There is definitely something out there that works for you, that flukes your switch… Like turtlenecks” That makes Lisbon clamp up at once: “you’re right: it isn’t appropriate.” As she exits the room, Jane gleefully repeats that it’s turtlenecks, very happy to have made her angry after needling his very professional team leader into a sex talk.
That “turtleneck” thing is pretty ambiguous: is Jane just fishing for information? Or is he alluding to the man Lisbon has been most interested in so far in the show, Walter Mashburn, who coincidently was wearing a red turtleneck in ‘Red Hot’ when he managed to seduce her? If the comment was indeed referring to good old Mash, one may wonder if Jane was purposely trying to provoke Lisbon… or, if he was evoking the past of his relationship with Teresa too: given how both Grace and Rigsby have expressed repressed jealousy about the other’s affairs, are we to consider that Jane is slyly doing the same in bringing on her fling with Mashburn? Or is that talk only yet another way to tease the shippers by linking Lisbon’s sexual preferences with another man? It’s not the first time that Jane would have been interested in her love life and her relations with other men (Mashburn, Bosco, her former fiancé…), but here things seem to get more personal: he’s asking her something very private about her, not trying to grasp how her past love stories worked… And, whatever the reason, that scene hints once more that Jane is the one willing to make them make progress towards a still unexplored “something more”: he is the once who keeps trying to get her to loosen up with him, calling her “prude” and “Catholic schoolgirl”, like he was the one who used the love word, who asked her to call him Patrick (‘Devil’s Cherry’). In this episode, he admitted that he would do anything for her; while she’s the one who keep being hesitant and wary, of this plans, but probably of his true intentions too. She never asks him to elaborate: she didn’t push the matter further when he said he didn’t remember what he had told her in ‘The Crimson Hat’; she didn’t comment either on Lorelei’s words that he was “a little bit in love with her’ (except for yelling that she was not his girlfriend, that is…). Here, she doesn’t verbally react to anything he’s blurting: neither to the “anything for you” nor to the “platonic love” part. She also lets slide the “prude” comment and his interest for her possible fetish… She only stops talking to him and gives their interaction in this episode an interesting conclusion: she leaves the room angry, unlike in the beginning when he came to her. There is metaphorically as well as visually a push and pull movement between them… and that is a way to sum up their level of intimacy for the season finale…
Also, it’s pretty funny that the episode enlightens various sorts of sexual quirks/ “guilty pleasures”… A physical one (the foot fetish), a reaction to a particular touch (“when she hits me, it turns me on”), a cloth that turns on (turtlenecks)… That may makes one wonder what Jane’s “switch” is as other categories are left without explicit examples… Indeed, since the beginning of the season, Jane has been hinting that he likes commanding women: he told Lisbon “I like it when you get all authoritarian on me” (‘Not One Red Cent’); he commented that Lisbon’s determination to get Volker was giving him goosebumps; he even told Lorelei that he admired strong women (‘Red Sails in the Sunset’). Still, it seems that the real thing that works as a switch and makes him change his course of actions are three magic words: “I need you”…
Meanwhile, Grace decided to take the matter with Wayne in her own hands: after putting on some other sexy shoes, she goes to Rigsby’s home and kisses him. Both enter the house in a passionate embrace… Therefore, it seems that the scenes between both potential couples are responding to the other, like they did when the former lovers were in a session and their colleagues were listening to them in the car. When Rigsby and Grace are tensed around each other and need to talk it out, Jane comes as Lisbon calls him and teases her merciless. Then, when Lisbon is aggravated and walks away from her irreverent consultant, Grace joins her lover and kisses him senseless. Both couples complete each other.

Honorable Mentions: Everyone was awesome, from the cast to the wonderful writer. Director David Barrett did a remarkable job, especially with that striking shot from bellow when the killer put on bullet in Missy’s foot. And not to mention Blake Neely’s inspiring music: his melody in the kitchen at the end when Jane starts getting more personal does a lot to give its atmosphere to the scene.
Best Lines:
-« it’s nice to be needed. Anything for you, Lisbon » Jane to Lisbon. Seriously, how sweeter can the man get?
– “What she means is that ours is more of a platonic love”. Jane, to the receptionist was had mistaken him and Lisbon for a couple seeking help. Again, seriously? How much more of a tease for Lisbon (and for shippers) can the man get?
– “Yes, that is something that does exist…” Jane on the radio, when citing the California Bureau of Investigation.
– “First person to call will receive 10 000$ cash money. Yes, folks, we’re talking… Ah, I just got word from my producer that this is *not* the amount of the prize. It’s actually 20$. And the chance to guest DJ for the radio station for a day. A day of your choosing, that’s right, folks. DJ spot during drive time.” Jane asking for a witness on air. Completed with a velvety voice (‘Red Velvet’ too…) and some pretty hilarious reactions in the background, particularly the producer freaking out and frenetically taping on the glass, which of course doesn’t faze one bit Smooth Talking Jane…
– “It’s a webcast, not Steven Spielperg”, the irritated producer to Jane, upon hearing his complains about the video of the victim’s session.
– “They’re not sexy and they’re beige” blunt Cho to Rigsby who is helplessly searching for a sexy pair of golden shoes in the victim’s wardrobe.
– “It didn’t work out” Grace to Buddy, about her engagement to O’Laughlin. Understatement of the year…
– “Yes, because he was a homicidal maniac”, Rigsby to Grace, in response to the above.
– “Amazing foot. And an amazing shoe” Buddy to Grace, while massaging her foot. Creepy compliment.
– “It’s kind of an obvious thing.” Jane to Lisbon asking him how he knew about Buddy’s foot fetish.
-“I wouldn’t be asking if it was” Lisbon to the above. I love when Lisbon doesn’t like that Jane is feeling patronizing…
-“It was an unexpected act” Jane, upon realising that the real killer was threatening to shoot Buddy and Grace. Because he hadn’t planned to let his colleague be alone with a dangerous murderer in the first place, of course…
Best Scenes:
The Winner: the talk between Van Pelt and Rigbsy. Really powerful. Kinda reconciles you with on and off couples and drama…
First Runner Up: Jane trying to get Lisbon to open up about her fetish of all things. The idea is too hilarious and titillating to pass up.
Second Runner Up: Jane trying to gather witnesses by talking on the radio. I admit that scene is one of my all times favorites, it really cracked me up! The mixing between Jane’s playful fake seriousness and the producer freaking out behind his window is typically what makes Jane such a great and endearing character.

Conclusion: in the comments for the previous episode, Estatica pointed out that the book that Jane was reading in VIS#2 was “A Tale of Two Cities” by Dickens. I chose to include a part about in the review in guise of a side-note/conclusion, since it doesn’t entirely belong with the plot… Thanks to Estatica, Rose UK and Suzjazz for their precious input!

1) The book storyline takes place during the troubled times of the French Revolution and we can determine a similarity with the current season in TM, since the characters met a paroxysm in the quest for RJ and in terms of personal relationships. The intervention of Kirkland, the FBI team, Lorelei as well as the ambiguous actions of Bertram create an atmosphere of general suspicion which finds some intriguing echoes in the book: “The Dover mail was in its usual genial position that the guard suspected the passengers, the passengers suspected one another and the guard, they all suspected everybody else, and the coachman was sure of nothing but the horses”… almost everyone is potentially a suspect with Jane’s list and the viewers are forced to consider how little they know about the show characters: “ a wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other”, to borrow Dickens’ words…

2) Various details from the “Tale” make a curious appearance during season 5. For instance, to continue the theme of troubled times, Dickens mentions to two personifications: the “Woodman” (who is Fate) and the “Farmer” (an image of Death)… death and farm, that reminds of ‘The Red Barn’ where RJ made his debuts… Another detail is that a major part of the storyline of the English book takes place in France; Jane is known to fancy French expressions, but recently he has used two which weren’t part of his repertory so far: “bon voyage” in ‘Red Lacquer Nail Polish’ (an episode which included various references to this country, from the Impressionist art gallery to the mention of Monaco), and “bon point” to Buddy Hennings in ‘Red Velvet Cupcakes’ where the book is seen.

In the previous episode, Jane had a toothpick in his mouth and used it to set a trap for Kirkland’s men; Mme Defarge, the antagonist, who was seeking revenge for the death of her family, was using a toothpick for her very first appearance in the book.
Same with a detail concerning Lisbon: her fainting in ‘Red in Teeth and Claws’ in front of flesh-eating bugs is reminiscent of Lucie Manette fainting during the trial of Charles Darnay (whom she would marry afterwards), while the audience at the Old Bailey made sounds which made the author compare them to flies.
On the other hand, Dr Manette, who had been put in jail for many years because he had refused to caution the rape and murder of a young girl, suffered from PTS disorder and freaked out when he wasn’t locked up in the garret where he spent his days afterwards… like Jane took recently the habit to lock himself in his dusty attic with a padlock (we can see that he has to remove the padlock in order to exit the attic in VIS#2)… Manette’s making shoes obsessively; we saw Jane pretty upset about losing temporarily his old brown shoes and visited a cobbler who was pretty distraught by the bank robbery in the neighborhood (there was also a bank which makes a brief appearance in the book). And of course, the love doctor in here is obsessed with shoes.

3) That’s why similar plots are discernible too. About the Dr Manette, for example, Rose UK pointed out there was elements of comparison. At the beginning of the book, Lucie meets her damaged long lost father: her words when learning that he’s alive are “I’m going to see his ghost! It will be his ghost… not him!” and, when they meet, the old man progressively recognize his now grown up daughter while asking her “who are you”… Those aspects (the ghost-hallucination, of the daughter this time, the increasing doubts about her identity) are present too in ‘Devil’s Cherry’ when “Charlotte” meets Jane again. Again, Miss Manette tries to bring him back from his obsession: he’s “recalled to life”, a bit like Charlotte tried to shake her father out of his obsession by opening him to the possibility of a new life. As Rose UK remarked there is a major theme common to both stories: “the idea of imprisonment, or being trapped by yourself, your past, your circumstances, your superiors or authorities, and by things beyond your control, etc. And ultimately breaking free, of course. Bringing down the old order to usher in a new one.”

Another important theme is the duality: Darnay was falsely accused of being a traitor (like Jane’s intention were suspected since the RJ investigation was handled to Darcy), by his resemblance with his darker alter ego Carton is what saved him from being sentenced to death and ultimately to being executed since Carton willingly took his place at the end of the book. Many details (like the Bloody Mary in the previous episode or both assuming the role of partner for Lisbon at some point) trace a parallel between Jane and the mysterious Kirkland. Even more since both men have showed an interest in Lisbon (albeit the latter certainly had an hidden intention) like Darnay and Carton were both in love with Lucie. That might open many possibilities, like Estatica pointed out: « I’m tempted to think Jane and Kirkland share many similarities with Darnay and Carton. Is this a way of the writers letting us know that Kirkland may end sacrificing himself to that Jane has a chance to rebuild a new life? Or that Jane will end up sacrificing himself for Lisbon and the team?”
The different themes concerning family matters are also evoked: we have instances in the book of tragedy-causing/murderous families, whom many examples have been shown in recent episodes. Darnay’s father raped a girl and covered up her death by destroying her family, thus imprisoning Dr Manette who was a troublesome witness… years later, that revelation causes the innocent Darnay (who has become the doctor’s beloved son-in-law) to be trialed and sentenced to death.
Darnay is then also an example of a man who has rejected his cold blood-related family to the point of changing his name in order to find solace in a new chosen family, the Manettes. Same with Carton, who is a close family friend. That’s an important theme in the show.
We also have examples of estranged/ long lost family members: Dr Manette and Lucie bonded after not seeing the other for many years, like many characters did in TM (that mother and her daughter in ‘Behind the Red Curtain’) and that ended up in tragedy. The theme is also laced with revenge both for Manette and Madame Defarge, whose family was destroyed by Darnay’s father and who was seeking revenge on him and his family. Both characters show the two possible endings offered to Jane so far: to become a monster by killing the man who murdered his loved ones, at the risk of losing his own life in the process (like Madame Defarge), or as Estatica put it “to forgive” “and find happiness”.
And, of course, last but not least redemption is a major aspect of both stories: Carton redeems himself by sacrificing his life and that’s what Jane has been seeking all along.
On a side note, it is probably nothing more than an amusing detail for classic murder mysteries lovers but Madame Defarge has been alluded to in one of Agatha Christie’s book (“They came to Bahgdad”). Since two other literary works, Blake’s poems and Macbeth were quoted directly in the show and also featured prominently in her books, respectively in “Endless Night” and in “The Pale Horse”, we can guess TM writers share the same tastes in books than The Queen of Crime… 😉

Image by Chizuruchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain, April, 2013. Not to be used without permission.

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The Mentalist Red Letter Day Review

Synopsis

CBI Agent Cho (Kang) comes fetch consultant Patrick Jane (Baker) from his attic as they were called for a new case: Hollis Percy, the owner of the town named after a Wild West town for tourists has been murdered. Before following his stoic coworker, Jane sets a little trap for possible intruders. Meanwhile, Lisbon (Tunney) meets Bob Kirkland (Kevin Corrigan) for coffee and a friendly chat.

Concise Verdict

The episode was a good surprise: not only did it deal with the events of ‘Behind the Red Curtain’ -or rather with their consequences-, but it also laced the dramatic moments with funnier ones and gave some well-used screen time to everyone on the team. Writer Michael Weiss managed to produce an intriguing combination between an old-school TM episode and a new step leading to the impatiently awaited season finale: a tragic love story as the murder case, a hint of mischievousness and a good deal of serious matters, those are the ingredients used for this well-written addition to a startling season. 10/10.

Detailed AKA Humongous Review (spoilers galore)

Kirkland/Jane: the attic mystery battle

VIS #1: Jane in the attic

Jane is scribbling away in his little notebook when Cho comes to get him. From the get go, the consultant appears hyper aware of his surroundings: he recognizes Cho before hearing his voice and is defiant enough not to let him enter his inner sanctum. The attic seems off-limits for everyone except Lisbon and he is getting a step further in transforming it in a safe place: until recently we didn’t see him bother trying to lock the door; then he put a padlock. Now, he adds a way to verify if his privacy has been violated and he does so when no one is watching: he sticks a toothpick between the door and its frame to be able to tell if someone enters …

This opening featuring someone calling Jane in his attic to go to a crime scene is by no way unusual, but the setting puts further emphasis on the fact that the episode has a deeper meaning. More details add to this sentiment. Jane later refuses to shake the medical examiner’s hand because there is blood on her glove. It recalls the raison d’être for Jane’s secrecy: he knows he has shaken RJ’s hand, a hand covered with his family’s blood… And when the consultant states that the victim knew his killer and argued with them, the woman asks him details and Jane elaborates the usual reasons for arguing:  “money, power, love, jealousy…” and she adds “revenge”, the very motivation for Jane’s quest.

VIS #2: Lisbon and Kirkland at the rooftop café

Meanwhile, ffollowing what had been suggested since their very first meeting and in spite (or rather because) of Lorelei’s demise, Lisbon and Kirkland meet up for coffee. The scene shows them settled at a table. Lisbon makes some small talk about her youth, giving some details about herself. It’s particularly intriguing since Lisbon is known not to share willingly any part of her past and the team (read: Jane) had to lure systematically any titbit of information from her. Whereas, Lisbon soon comes to realise that her companion is not as open about himself since when she asks him specifics, he eludes a direct response and avoids telling her where he comes from or what kind of family raised him; he mentions a father and a mother, but doesn’t even mention what kind of job they did: no names, no location, no social status… He concludes by “I like to say I grew up in America” to cover up for his lack of information about his origin.

It’s even weirder since their meeting is pretty date-like: they aren’t here to talk business like they were with Haffner in ‘The Red Barn’. Their meeting up is informal and they’re supposed to share something about them given that they are in a first name basis and they compliment the other (« this is nice, you’re really easy to talk to, Teresa »). Kirkland’s reluctance doesn’t make much sense if he is really here to get to know Lisbon as a woman: instead, it takes a worrying significance if we assume he is following a plan like he was when he killed Lennon in the previous episode. Indeed, Kirkland gives the impression to feign normalcy: he listens, talks, compliments, still everything seems off, as if he was hiding his true colors under a “normal” appearance. It reminds of the nurse’s comment about him wearing a mask in ‘Behind the Red Curtain’. And his real goal is revealed when they part ways: he interrogates her about Jane’s opinion about RJ and asks her to keep him on the loop. Meaning that he wants to confirm how much Jane knows and certainly also if her consultant suspects what really happened in the hospital room. It seems that every guy asking her out this season is more interested in Jane than in her: first Haffner scouting her for a company owned by Visualize, then Bob testing the waters through her…

Anyway, Lisbon is no fool and she realized right away that something is amiss. She doesn’t hesitate to ask him things about himself when he doesn’t tell anything spontaneously, then she cuts things short under the pretence of having a case when her men have already returned from the crime scene.  Another hint is that she is cold when he comes back to the bullpen and even comments on it; even if the guys confirm that it is indeed cold, her dismissive “so I’m not crazy” might indicate that her encountering with Bob had a chilling effect…

Later, she makes a report of the meeting to Jane and states that « everything about Bob Kirkland is odd ». Her bluntness and her refusal to defend Kirkland’s investigation and authority like she did in ‘Behind the Red Curtain’ show that she is aware that something is wrong. Jane must have talked to her about Lennon and Bob’s presence at the hospital: anyway, the Homeland Security agent is no more her “new best friend”, instead it’s Jane who has assumed again his role as a confident. In insight, the coffee break the two of them shared reminds a bit of the dinner Darcy and Jane never had but planned to eat in ‘Cheap Burgundy’: both times, the characters had a hidden agenda and tried to lure the other in a false sense of security before getting information out of them; and both times, they failed.

VIS #3: The Attic is Broken Into

Bob’s true goal is further enlightened when two men pass the CBI building security and secretly break into the attic. The first thing that comes to mind is that they must have been observing him or at least have inside information of some sort since they know where to search, given that they didn’t bother searching Jane’s almost unused desk in the bullpen for instance. They also seem to also know what they would find. They carefully take photos of every note, list and picture on Jane’s suspects board before leaving the place like they found it… well, almost, since Jane’s simple trick worked and they didn’t see the little white stick falling down on the floor.

Later, back at the Homeland Security headquarter, they give the loot to their boss, none other that the mysterious Kirkland who decides to “take it from here”, to his employees’ surprise. So in other words, he uses the resources provided by his position, but doesn’t want to let his men learn more than needed about what he’s looking for. Jane’s research board was too huge and complex to understand without a bit of time to analyse it -the synthetically briefer list is on his notebook-, so there is little that they can gather from it without spending some time to understand the connections Jane made. Kirkland’s reluctance points towards a personal motivation, as indicated by his rapt interest when he looks at the pictures taken in the attic. After his odd question to Lennon about recognizing him, that furthers the impression that he must be personally involved with Jane’s quest.

This manoeuvre enlightens even more the ambiguity of the character: he uses a somewhat official investigation for a personal initiative, like he probably did before when Jane first arrived at the CBI in ‘Red Dawn’. He’s definitely sneaky: listening in on Lisbon’s conversation with Bertram in ‘There Will Be Blood’, killing Jason Lennon in the previous episode before he had a chance to speak to Jane, trying to discreetly obtain insight on Jane’s ideas through Lisbon and know stealing information from him. Bob’s interest is focused on Jane and his investigation and, every time, he’s taking a more active part in wanting to know what he discovered.

VIS #4: Kirkland studies Jane’s notes

To add even more mystery to the man, he’s seen studying his prize late at night. He’s alone in a rather big room containing things like a printer, a desk and a couch: he’s either at home or in a pretty comfy office, but either way the place seems quite private. He’s reconstituting the puzzle of Jane’s clues board and his deep concentration, the loneliness and the dark atmosphere gives a rather spooky vibe.

Besides, the man is drinking a Bloody Mary: this is the cocktail Jane drank at the anniversary of his family’s death in ‘Red Rover, Red Rover’ and the red color reminds of the RJ arc. Both details allude to the fact that Kirkland makes a very plausible accomplice for RJ (or even RJ himself, although it’s quite unlikely since they only met after Lorelei was sent to jail) and that he may be trying to decipher how close Jane is getting… On the other hand, the moment is still ambiguous since his fascination with the investigation and the fact that it was Jane’s drink might indicate that he’s hunting down the serial killer too. His dedication, his solitude and the haven provided by a large office-looking room with a huge widow reminds of Jane’s own obsessive musings in the attic at night. Still, a question remains: if Kirkland is a better guy than he seems and if he is chasing after RJ too, how come the serial killer didn’t try to get into the attic himself, given that he must know that there is a possibility that Lorelei had revealed something about him?

VIS #5: the ending

After closing the case, Jane comes back to his attic and finds the stick on the floor. His reaction: a smile and a contented look around when he enters the place… His smile is the only indication that he must have been planning the outcome all along; he had the same (albeit even more gleeful) reaction after his night with Lorelei and back then it also revealed that he in the middle of a scheme. He was tricking Kirkland in showing his true intentions, thus set the trap and waited for a reaction. He was waiting for him to tip his hand; that’s why he didn’t come back to the attic during the whole investigation, he lounged on the couch in the bullpen or stayed at the tourist town: he knew that he was offering a golden opportunity for Kirkland to sneak in. The gloomy look he flowed the man with at the end of last episode showed that he was suspecting him of having a hand in Lennon’s death, and we can guess that he deduced that his antagonist would be willing to evaluate the situation by trying to know what he thinks.  Is it therefore too far-stretched to assume that Jane also kept with him the true conclusions he came to about RJ? After all, he didn’t leave his notepad behind and didn’t seem bothered that someone had a look at his place and had probably taken some pictures given the complex presentation of his work… He may as well have planted false information on the board or, at the very least, he knows that the information it provided is useless and/or incomplete.

The moment is echoed by the very last scene where we see that Kirkland has finished reconstituting Jane’s board on the floor of his office. He looks at it, satisfied; it is night time and the light coming from outside projects shadows of the paper sheets: his big and dark figure is looming over them in a threatening way and the blinds on the window imitate some bars and add to the hostile atmosphere.

That ending emphasis the importance of the event. It’s a pivotal episode, a true ‘Red Letter Day’: a moment which is noted as having a very particular significance. The title may also allude at Jane’s trick to get the murderer to confess with his envelopes (a envelope contains a letter), but above all it underlines that it is the day when Kirkland reveals himself to Jane as being more than simply interested in the official part of the RJ investigation.

Rigsby and Van Pelt: orchids and drama…

The second arc of the episode features the drama-loving and eternally indecisive couple formed by Rigsby and Van Pelt. Indeed, the evolution of their relationship is synthesised in four moments which amusingly reflect the steps they took in the past.

1) Rigsby holds a torch for Grace: he has offered her an orchid that stands proudly on her desk when Lisbon comes back from her coffee-break with Bob. The choice of gift shows that Wayne knows Grace well, since there was a white orchid on her desk in ‘My Bloody Valentine’ (she put Craig’s necklace on it after making peace with his death) and we can see in a later scene that she has another potted flower behind the orchid. He knows what she likes and tries to be rather unobtrusive with his gift, since it can be constructed as a welcome back gift while still having subtly romantic undertones. And, like they did in season 1 and 2, everyone knows who has given the flower, seeing that Lisbon and later Jane immediately assume it’s from him: everyone is aware that he’s still interested.

2) Rigsby needs to take a decision: in the break room, Cho finds Rigsby mooning over a box full of donuts. The man can’t make his mind over which one he should eat. His blunt friend tells him he needs to “make a choice”. He’s talking about the food, of course, but also about Van Pelt. Cho is telling him that he has to stop being a coward and face the situation, like he already stated in ‘Red In Tooth And Claw’. That reminds of the times when he and Jane advised the younger agent when he was longing for his redhead coworker in the beginning of the show.

3) Meanwhile, Grace is also reminded of her past when she interrogated the victim’s wife. The woman was explaining the problems he had with faithfulness and that he was “terrified of change”, before asking Grace if she is married. The agent answers that she is not and adds ironically that married life “sounds like fun”, secretly commenting on her own disastrous engagement with Craig O’Laughlin. It seems that Wayne is not the only one who has been thinking about the past and who is about to make an important step forward on their personal life…

4) Rigsby confronts Grace in front of the elevator when the case is closed. He starts dancing around the matter stating that the week was good and that he’s been “moving with the wind”, before suddenly telling that they need to talk. Van Pelt is understandably surprised so he gets more precise: “about you and me”. She starts saying that there is something she needs to tell him… and, as if on cue, Duncan, Van Pelt’s new boyfriend, barges in. We’re back on the old drama that seems to define their relation: one has regrets/the other has already moved on with someone else. It looks like Van Pelt is decided to write a new page of her life: a few weeks in another city, a new professional experience, a new man on her life; still things might not be as straightforward as they seem, since she already knew what he meant when her former lover asked for a discussion about them and she felt like she ought to tell him about Duncan, meaning that she isn’t oblivious of his feelings. And later, when he awkwardly excused himself, she cast a look at his crestfallen retreating figure instead of focusing of the newcomer. Argh! those two definitely have some overly complicated love lives…

Icings on the Cake

It’s rather rare that we get in a serious episode some glimpses of Jane’s usual mischievous and playful personality. Jane’s funny cowardice, his glee when the cowboys were fighting in the saloon and the scenes with the not very gifted magician added a nice lightness to the plot. In fact, his relative politeness when asking the magician for “a couple of minutes of [his] stage time” in exchange of his help with the tricks was indicative of a progress: even if Jane was awfully offending and patronizing, he didn’t just con him out of stage like he would have usually done (like with the kid in ‘Something Rotten In Redmund’). Is Jane (very) slowly starting to acquire a bit of respect for others? And calling him a “magician and mental mystic” was the cherry on top…

Pet Peeve

Is that really believable that Kirkland’s men didn’t see the stick between the door and the frame? It’s a pretty basic trick and I guess men careful enough to put everything in place afterwards should have noticed it right away…

Conclusion:

The whole episode is filled with reminders of the recurrent themes woven through the entire season. Many elements are concentrated in here and it conveys the impression that things are speeding up for the season finale in subtler ways than meets the eye…

1) As if in an answer to our discussion on whether flowers on this show have significance, the orchid theme makes yet another appearance and is even commented upon by Jane with the rather ironic in insight “well-chosen, Rigsby”. It’s a not so discreet follow up of the other orchids this season, from the ones in ‘Devil’s Cherry’ to the meeting with Lorelei in Orchid Lane: this time, it doesn’t appear directly in associated with the RJ plot, but it seen right after Lisbon’s meeting with the mysterious and murderous Kirkland who is linked to that story-line. Beside, Lisbon connected it playfully to something more sinister when she commented that she knew Rigsby offered the flower because she’s « a homicide detective »… Also, I don’t know if it’s a mere coincidence, but the orchid is related to Wayne’s hope for a love which is meant to encounter obstacles, like it was for Jane in ‘Devil’s Cherry’ when he was talking to “Charlotte”.

2) The fish: as it has been stated in the wonderful comments for ‘Behind the Red Curtain’, the marine theme has been quite present in season 4. There is a big fish as a decorative trophy near the surveillance camera the waitress pointed out at the saloon. That element reminds the viewers that Lorelei, the deadly tempting siren who liked to skin-dip in the sea, may be dead, but the consequences of her revelation have not disappeared with her: Jane is hot on RJ’s trail… And the sea theme might have also a deeper double meaning in this episode: Kirkland has been “fishing” for information and Jane has “baited” him with the attic… Who is the fish and who is the fisherman?

3) The family theme is declined in different aspects:

– the already well-illustrated theme that “family” –blood-related or chosen- is something that can turn into a danger or a threat: the recent episode have showed many killers being part of the victim’s “family” (‘Red Lacquer Nail Polish’), or team-members (‘Red, White and Blue’, ‘Red in Tooth and Claw’, …). Here, the father hurt his wife by being unfaithful and his son by not revealing he had a sister; the woman the son fell in love with. As a consequence the son killed the father. This tragedy tangled more inextricably the family relations as both Ian’s chosen family (his lover) and natural one were the same since he was unknowingly in an incestuous relationship. Beside, Ian confides to Jane after confessing that killing his father felt good for one second because “the old bastard finally understood. When he was dying, he finally understood what he’d done to all of us”… a guilt-laden father whose lies and past mistakes caused great grief to his child, no way that would remind us of Jane, of course…

– Still, this aspect of a family’s negative influence is somehow tempered by the recurrence of people bonding with estranged family members. First, Lorelei found her sister, after the girl was sold by their mother; in the previous episode, a mother and the daughter she left met again, here it’s a brother meeting and falling for his unknown sister. In those three cases, the characters feel a very deep love for the long lost family member and have a meaningful relation with them, but things go south and everything ends in disaster… Does this suggest that, after meeting again his daughter in his belladonna induced hallucinations and bonding with her, Jane’s inability to let go is bound to have terrible consequences?

– The incest is an interesting part of the storyline. Many interpretations are possible for the bigger picture it draws: first, the love between siblings might be a teasing for shippers, a wink and a way to acknowledge how the closeness between Jane and Lisbon has evolved. It was labelled as a form of complicity between brother and sister by the writers during the first seasons, while now both characters have shown that what they feel is deeper and more complicated. Second possible meaning, if Ian killed to protect a forbidden relationship, that might be compared to Jane’s unstated but logical new motivation for finding RJ: his closeness to Lisbon has started to become a danger for her. Lorelei asked for her head and many suspicious characters are beginning to approach her for dark reasons (Haffner, Kirkland). Thus, killing RJ is a way to ensure her safety and to protect their bond, which he is seemingly not allowed to discuss in the meantime (forbidden relationship). Last but certainly not least, the lovely Windsparrow had a very intriguing idea: she remarked that this is the second case that involved incest as a plot device, the first one being Renfrew’s liaison in season 1 ‘Red John’s Friends’. It’s interesting that in both episodes RJ’s presence is looming over them: Renfrew was about to spill the beans about the serial killer but he was killed before, whereas in this episode, Jane seems to gain control of the situation by (probably) playing Kirkland and keeping his notebook to himself… It’s almost as if the incest emphasised the contrast between the moment when Jane realized for the first time what force he was up against and the episode where he might be slowly gaining the upper hand.

 4) Spectacles have been pretty present recently, first with the show-conference Jane provided the student with in ‘Red in Tooth and Claw’, and more importantly with the musical in ‘Behind the Red Curtain’. Both in the latter and in this episode, the show is a metaphor for a bigger secret hidden behind inoffensive appearances: in the previous episode the killer chose to play a parting real-life in order to hide that the musical had no investor, while here the tourist town faces serious difficulties and the owner hided the secret daughter he had with a former lover. Both secretive men pulled strings around them and that enlightens how the characters are surrounded by false appearances (Kirkland’s secret true goal; RJ hiding behind the mask of a acquaintance), but those appearances are about to crumble down, like both shows were, due to Jane’s progress towards the truth…

5) There is no allusion to poker in this plot, but there are cards in the context of a magic trick and it might be meaningful that Jane takes possession of them. It is a reminder of the poker play with Bertram again in ‘Red in Tooth and Claw’, before he was revealed as an ally of Bob… and it suggests the power play between Kirkland and Jane with the usual artifices used in poker, like hiding one’s hand and bluffing.

Reviewbrain: Violet didn’t  have time to add any best scenes or best lines, and I had an hour or two free so I added some of mine. As always, thank you for hard work! Readers, please also feel free to share in the comments your favorites moments in the episodes and best quotes ^_^

Best Scenes

The end

Having Jane return to his attic, seeing that his bait had been taken, then having the scene cleverly transition into Kirkland in his apartment was fantastic. Blake Neely’s powerful tunes helped express the urgency and suspense of the fact that Jane might *gasp*  be making some real progress in the Red John case. Read Violet’s analysis of VIS #5 above for more reasons.

Jane Catches the Killer

A similar sense of urgency prevailed when Jane hooked Ian in his trap and forced him to confess to killing his father. Jane threatens the secret to be revealed to his “assistant” Lily was very effective. Jane’s sympathetic demeanor even as he is threatening Ian to reveal his motive to the unsuspecting girl was quite revealing. It hinted to viewers that unlike the selfish motives we’ve been getting from unrepentant psychos we’ve been getting most of this season, this crime was more tragic than it twas senseless. Jane leaving an empty envelope in her hand was might seem like a cruel act but the deception was actually a kindness.The later scene revealing the sordid and terrible situation of the brother and sister was a great reveal.

Kirkland Examine’s Jane’s Evidence

This choice shouldn’t come as a surprise; Violet already explained how wonderfully riveting it was to see Kirkland in his natural habitat as he went over Jane’s evidence. I’m also sure I wasn’t the only one who went into hysterics when I saw him drinking a Bloody Mary. Who the heck is this guy ?!

Honorable Mentions

Writing : This was truly a classically engaging, perfectly written and balanced episode. Thank you Michael Weiss.

Music : Blake Neely’s music is as perfect as ever. Whimsical, then powerful where necessary.

Production by all (quite a few of the writing staff, I’m happy to see) and the direction by Guy Ferland was flawless. As was the editing.

Hair/Make Up: The men are as strapping as ever but the women have never looked more naturally beautiful.

Acting: There were quite a few talented guest actors and actresses: The Percy family members, Lily, Francisco, Kevin (the Wild West show actors), the Sherriff: they all fit their roles perfectly. Are regulars were also in top form.

Best Quotes

“We’re gonna hold here. They’ve got this covered. ” Jane, to the coroner after shots were fired. Continuity on coward Jane = love.

“Very thoughtful, Wayne “. –Lisbon, to Rigsby on Grace’s gift.

“How’d you know it was me ?” Rigsby in answer to the above.

“I’m a homicide detective. ” Lisbon’s reply.

*I loved this entire exchange. Any hint of the sibling-like relationship between Lisbon and Rigsby makes me ridiculously happy. Here, her tone when she called him out on giving Grace the gift, his guilty expression like a caught child, and her knowing reply…sigh. I had hearts in my eyes the entire time.

“Bro! That thing is real!” Kevin, the magician to Jane. LOL !! This kid was an awesome actor. Loved his tone and expression here, dropping his western act after Jane took his gold nugget.

“You’re still in love with her but instead of telling her you bought her a plant.”- Cho to Wayne.

“But that’s pretty zen though, right?” Wayne, in response to the above.

“Not yet. Sounds like fun.” Grace’s deadpan to victim’s wife after she asked if she was married. Lol. Snarky Grace is cool.

“Candy-ass pickpocket trying to bust my chops. Nobody handles me.” Kevin grumbling out loud after he quits. Really loved this guy’s reading of all his line. Hilarious.

“That you two were in love ? That was easy.” -Jane, to Ian, on how he knew about his secret relationship with Lily Soto. It could be wishful thinking but might the writers be reassuring (teasing ?) us to trust the (obvious ?) hints that Jane and Lisbon are in love?

“Sometimes it’s best just to be relaxed about this stuff. ” Lisbon to Rigsby about not knowing what Jane’s performance is about.

Image by Chixuruchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain 2013. Not to be used without permission.

 

Now, Suzjazz suggested a poll to see what percentage of fans want J/L to live happily ever after as a couple. I’m feeling indulgent (i.e. have some time one my hands) so here it is

Note:  Tunney fans head over to affiliate website Robin’s Green Shades to see what the fantastic actress did. Congratulations to webmistress Novella and everyone else. You deserve it!

*All material posted in this blog is the intellectual property of reviewbrain (unless otherwise stated). Readers are free to make use of the information provided they cite the source (this blog) either by name (reviewbrain’s blog) or by linking to it. Please extend the same courtesy to the authors of the comments as well (by mentioning their names) to ensure that credit is given where credit is due.

 

The Mentalist Red, White and Blue Review

Synopsis

Lisbon (Tunney) and Jane (Baker) are called at a crime scene where the body of a young woman from the army has been found near a military basis. After a brief struggle with the soldiers to determine who will investigate the case, the CBI takes charge and Jane and Lisbon are informed that the victim worked with soldiers with PTSD, such as memory impairment.

Concise Verdict

After the tension filled encounter with Lorelei in last episode, ‘Red, White and Blue’ worked as a much needed stress reliever. There has been some time since we had a themed episode such as this one, centered on the army, and the situation is used to infuse lots of humor into the characters’ investigation. All in all a nice and hopeful little episode.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

VIS#1: Lisbon is singing

Soon after Lisbon and Jane’s arrival, Lieutenant Lewis argues that the case should belong to the army since Lucy Greene was an army medic. The local cop who called the CBI doesn’t seem impressed either by the duo formed the team leader and her consultant, to the extent that Lisbon has to tell him drily that “our staff is on its way” to confirm that they are more than only the two of them… Fortunately (or not), Jane decides to step in and prove that quality is better than quantity in his own peculiar way. To show off his attention to details and his superior detective skills, he asks Lisbon to examine the tattoo around the body’s ankle: “Huh, Lisbon, you used to play clarinet, is that right? Can you read that tune?” Lisbon, dutiful as ever, tells him it’s the song “Kansas City” and, seeing Jane’s lack of recognition helpfully begins humming the melody, then, encouraged by Jane’s glee, she sings the lyrics… and stops abruptly when she notices the incredulous look on the soldier and the cop’s faces. Ouch, talk about credibility… Finally, her facetious consultant effectively manages to convince them that they’re more professional than they look by deducing that the victim was at a bar before being murdered, which ends up winning them the case.

This scene is really funny and Lisbon is particularly cute when she’s lead on by Jane. It’s also quite intriguing that neither actually cared to label Jane to the other men: Lisbon simply introduced him by his name to the cop (without adding “my associate” this time, or even “our consultant” for that matter), while Jane answers Lewis’ inquiry with a very precise “Me? I’m with her”…

The moment has various purposes. First, plot wise, the scene obviously presents the victim and her working environment (the army). The brief struggle between the military authorities and the CBI also aspires to explain why the team is in charge of a case when it normally would belong to the soldiers. A number of viewers would immediately associate NCIS with the violent death of an army medic: that scene at least acknowledges a bit the question, even if the given explanation remains quite unsatisfactory…

Second point, it illustrates Jane’s usual modus operandi in crime solving. First step, to poke at any authority figure at hand who isn’t Lisbon; then, when he has undermined them by ridiculing and/or insulting them, he baffles everybody with his abilities. He likes to play his public. As an example, he did it in ‘Red Gold’ too when he hugged the sheriff out of the blue and admired the landscape enthusiastically before analysing the victim’s car. But here, his mocking of the rules involves Lisbon: he makes her lose credibility, while he stays relatively normal in front of the others. She passes for the oddest while he just shows his mastery both in gently manipulating her and in investigating.
But this also adds some interesting layers of subtext concerning his relation with Lisbon. Indeed, things are almost back to normal: teasing, smiling, joking… The “clarinet” references the episode ‘Rose Colored Glasses’, where Jane asked her to dance at that high school reunion. Back then, he discovered that she used to play an instrument and kept trying to guess which one. He mentioned the clarinet and she denied it: so, either he is teasing her here by talking about an instrument he well knows she didn’t play, or they had a talk offscreen where he realized that she had been lying and that she really used to play it. Either way, this allusion reminds us viewers of a sweet moment in the early times of their partnership and gives some perspective: they share a past. That fact adds a deeper meaning to their complicity during the song and to Jane’s teasing, along with his willingness to keep the case. It hints that things have been mostly mended both professionally and personally since the previous episode. Even Lisbon’s “stop that” afterwards when he begins imitating her by singing gives some measure of normalcy.

Plus, the song itself might be telling: “… Kansas City, Kansas City here I come/ They got a crazy way of loving there/ And I’m gonna get me some…” Really, Lisbon? You’re singing to Jane, your slightly insane consultant, that you’re gonna get some of that “crazy way of loving”? No, they’re totally not teasing the shippers with this one… And if we read the rest of the lyrics, things get really intriguing at the end of the song (which Lisbon doesn’t get to): “Nobody will know where I’ve gone/ Cause if I stay in town/ I know I’m gonna die./ Gotta find a friendly city/ And that’s the reason why/ I’m going to Kansas City/ , Kansas City here I come/ They got a crazy way of loving there/ and I’m gonna get me some.” Basically, two choices are offered to the character in the song: to die if he stays where he is or to leave secretly to a “friendly city” with the hope of love. Those symbolise pretty accurately the choices offered to Jane in ‘There Will Be Blood’: to keep going on his vengeful path towards revenge (which is getting even more dangerous with Lorelei’s death), or to move on and to choose a new life full of redemption and affection (represented by Lisbon). This might be again a discreet hint that Jane is beginning to seriously question his quest, a theme started after him killing Carter and enhanced by his meeting with “Charlotte”. Back ‘The Devil’s Cherry’ he showed only lassitude due to his lack of progress in the RJ case; now he might also feel a renewed sense of danger born from Lorelei’s fate…. The thread is even more pressing.

Last, amusingly, there seem to be two little reminders of the two arcs carrying hope: “Alice in Wonderland” from ‘Devil’s Cherry’ (Lt Lewis/ Lewis Carroll) and “The Wizard of Oz” from S4 ‘Ruby Slippers’ (the song Kansas City/ “You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy” was what Minelli told Jane long ago). Those are very probably only coincidences but the detail is rather entertaining.

VIS#2: Jane and Lisbon at the hospital

Later, both investigate Lucy’s workplace and interrogate the doctor who worked with her. This time, it’s Jane who is put in an uncomfortable situation when he mentions in passing that the doctor recently divorced. The man is surprised and asks how he knows that. Instead of backing her partner up, Lisbon turns to him and acts the same way he did at the crime scene: she only shows incomprehension and it forces Jane to elaborate further, explaining that he uses way too much cologne… Lisbon slightly nods at that. Dr Bowman seems ok with the remark, yet he ironically adds that “it’s been a little over one year and (he’s) doing quite fine actually, thanks for asking”. Since neither asked about how he was doing, they both answer with an uneasy smile and an awkward “great”. They seem quite in sync both in the timing of their line and in the uneasy feeling the situation provoked.

That funny scene (Jane even clears the air with his hand after the smelling doctor has left) shows again their complicity and humor, two aspects lacking in ‘There Will Be Blood’: the air has been cleared between them as well, or so it seems.

VIS#3: Lisbon and Jane interrogate Pete

While at the hospital, they discover that someone witnessed the murder and called the police before abruptly leaving the crime scene. The interrogation reveals that Pete, their only witness, suffers from memory impairment due to his traumatic past as a soldier. All his friends in the army have been killed in an attack and the shock has affected his short term memory… meaning that he doesn’t remember anything from the night of the murder. He even forgot about the crime right when he was talking to the police on the phone that night, which is why he simply walked away in the middle on the conversation. His impairment is further showed by a detail: at some time, someone walked in on the interrogation by mistake and the distraction erased every memory of the talk they were having from Pete’s mind, forcing Lisbon to tell him again that Lucy had been murdered and making him sad and shocked by the news all over. The poor guy just suffers from a never ending memory loss that makes him live over and again every terrible event he may encounter.

This unusual situation gives some background to the character and makes him very pitiful and sympathetic as he’s moved both by the death of his friends and by Lucy’s. It’s pretty poignant and it explains Jane’s empathy and his later bonding with Pete. It may have also helped that Jane himself had his memory damaged in ‘Fugue In Red’ and may then understand how impotent and frustrated with himself Pete must feel.

VIS#4: Jane triggers Pete’s memory

After telling Lisbon that he wants a taco, Jane takes off again to the crime scene. Here, he peacefully enjoys a gardenia’s delicate scent before lounging on a bench for a nap. Such a serene moment, who would have though the man was actively investigating?

Image by Chizurubchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain March, 2013. Not to be used without permission.

Indeed, it appears that he was doing a field reconnaissance for an experiment of his. When Lisbon and Pete later join him, he buys a taco for their witness, makes him smell the gardenia, all the while explaining his plan: he wants to boost his memory by using his senses since the best tools are smell, hearing and taste. He recreates that way with external reminders the exact conditions Pete encountered before walking in the murderer seeing as he was eating a taco then and passing by the flowers. The trick works when the last element, the church bells, is added.

Of course, that clever scheme worked because his memory loss was due to more to traumatism than to a head injury, but what’s interesting here is that Jane took the time to explain what he was doing to Pete. He describes the theory for trigging his memory while he was using it; he didn’t manipulate Pete, he made sure he understood what was about to happen. That way the guy could comprehend and work with him. The moment is comparable to the lecture Jane has given at the university about his memory palace and his mnemotechnic method in ‘Red in Teeth And Claws’, but this time he doesn’t use parlor tricks to impress his public. More, those scenes almost complete each other: he told Dr Hill that “it’s easy to remember when you never forget” and he demonstrated how he could “remember” an extended list with his extraordinary memory; now he works with a young man who could only “forget” and he shows him how not to. Those scenes set Jane as a specialist in memory: he doesn’t just show off his skills, he can theorize about it and use his knowledge to help people, not just as entertainment or for an investigation.

Explaining in detail what he’s doing to Pete also sets the ground for a form of trust between the two men. That part is deepened and twisted later when Jane puts Pete in a slight trance to help him sleep. He has used his skills before to help people in order to gain their trust (like with that dying mafia boss he gave advice to help him sleep in ‘Bloody Valentine’) or out of kindness (those two times he planted a suggestion in people’s mind to make them stop smoking in ‘Blood for Blood’ and in ‘Something Rotten in Redmunds’). But those instances were just fleeting moments: here Jane goes out of his way to help Pete, he seems to care. Even if he uses this to plant a false memory in the notes Pete has been writing to try to remember things, he really tried to create a peculiar kind of trust with the young soldier. In a way, by explaining his method and helping him overcome his problems (memory impairment and insomnia), Jane almost acts as a therapist. Even the detail of Pete lying on a couch while Jane hypnotises him belongs to iconic scenes for psychologists.

VIS#5: Jane apologies to Pete

Jane apologizes (*gasp!*) for using him that way at the end. The scene echoes the other: this time it’s Jane who is napping on his couch and Pete awakes him. The soldier thanks him for finding Lucy’s killer; he understands that Jane only abused his trust for a noble reason and both show respect for the other. This moment between the two men also enhances their similarities: before, during his interrogation, Pete said that he couldn’t sleep and was “angry and sad and no idea why” due to his lack of memories and the loss of his friends while Jane is admittedly an insomniac (napping on his couch during the day), who is also often angry and sad because of grief. And, although he does know why he feels that way, the incertitude in his case lies more on his real motives for going on, as his imaginary daughter pointed out.

Jane then proceeds to help him overcome his memory impairment at least partially. By writing his fake note, he has indeed enlightened the limits of Pete’s usual system of writing down everything he can to supply information in lieu of his lost memories. This routine of relying on notes might also refer to one of Jane’s own habit: his list of possible suspects for RJ. Jane has been racking his brain and writing down their name like Pete was obsessively taking notes about what was happening around him (he did so at the crime scene after Jane’s experiment). For Jane too, his scribbling is the only way left to unearth the truth after he lost the lead provided by Lorelei since Jason is out of reach at the moment.

This scene shows once more Jane as an expert: he teaches the memory palace technique to the younger man to help him fix his memory. Pete chooses his late army friends as his own palace: by associating systematically everyday little things to one of his lost friends, Jane plays again the part of a therapist for Pete since he is helping him overcome his impairment and the traumatic event that caused it. Thus, with Jane’s help, Pete can be able to heal and grieve at the same time, he has been given a tool that can fix progressively his short term memory problem and deal with its root as well in the long term. Given the parallels between them, one can wonder is there is a hope for Jane too to start accepting his traumatic past and to overcome it, to start grieving his family instead of staying fixated on his loss. Lorelei’s demise might have been a catalyst and might have given Jane perspective on the path he can choose and on what he is willing to risk (aka Lisbon, and the question is not anymore just about protecting her either physically or by not telling her the whole truth, but about losing her affection beyond repair).

Also, it may be a bit far stretched but one might wonder if the memory theme that has been developed lately isn’t a circumvallated way to allude to Jane’s greatest memory loss so far: his confession to Lisbon in the heat of the moment before he shot her in last season finale. Since feelings have been addressed this season, first by Lorelei’s comment in ‘The Crimson Ticket’, then recently with Lisbon’s anger and hurt, can viewers start hoping that this odd “memory loss” will be fixed as well?…

Conclusion

In spite of being openly funny and quite heart warming, this episode unobtrusively deals with the aftermath of the dark events of the dramatic ‘There Will Be Blood’. Indeed, various hints have been given all along and it may prove useful to recapitulate them:

1) Rigsby is fine: contrary to Cho’s accident last season, there have been no apparent consequences of his brutal encounter with the fierce former minion. He only seems to have been assigned to desk duty for the most part of the episode, except when they’ve been tricking the murderer. Which may be why Cho was in charge of the sexual harassment aspect of their investigation.

2) Jane and Lisbon seem to be on good terms again but if we squint hard enough, we can see that there are some elements that indicate that things may not be as smooth as they first appear. First, Jane is particularly eager, both in the investigation and in enjoying little things: he’s drinking (tea?) in a paper cup at the hospital; he tells Lisbon he wants a taco, passes the time until the moment he can set his plan in action by lying on a bench and is enthusiastic about that fragrant gardenia. Is he just showing resignation and making the best of it while bidding his time until he manages to make a breakthrough in the RJ case? Or is he relieved to some extend that Lorelei is out of the picture, hence the almost cheerful vibe? Either way, his jovial behavior contrasts with his depressed attitude after he lost tracks on the woman, in ‘Devil’s Cherry’. Of course, his relief may concern Lisbon and the fact that he fixed his relation with her, since he seems to go out of his way to mend things completely… Still, the guy is overdoing it a bit, like when he thanked profusely the therapy group (“thank you. All of you. Very much.”), although the group members keep just staring at him with a blank expression… On the other hand, Lisbon’s attitude is quite contradictory: she goes along with him and takes part in the funniest moments, still her good disposition seems sometimes a little strained. When Jane asks her to follow him at the hospital, she doesn’t move and asks drily “Why? Where?” When she takes his call, she greets him with a rather cold “what is it, Jane?” And she gets impatient when he asks her if she has a padlock and tries to joke about it. She’s just a bit harsher than usual and she accepts less easily that he may not tell her everything. Is that a reaction to his previous statement that he only tells her 30% of what he does?

3) There is a pretty classic transposition of the RJ plot into the current situation. Indeed, many bright red objects in the background allude to him: the fireman truck when Hawkins is accused of harassment, the fire extinguisher Bowman grabs to try and break the padlock, the red car behind Jane at the crime scene, the whole red alert thing… But the characters themselves also offer some intriguing similarities:

– Jane and Pete: the common past, the contrast between the states of their memory… One of them forgets, the other remembers, still both seem to spend their time getting back at the start after every failure: until they met, they seemed condemned to be frozen in time in a never ending quest, starting again at the beginning every time. But the promise of recovery from one of them gives hope for the other. Still, it’s interesting that Pete was the only witness of the murder, just like Jane seems to be the only real threat remaining toward RJ. Which leads us to…

– … Dr Bowman reminds of RJ by some aspects. He’s a cold-blooded murderer who just divorced – like RJ has interrupted his relationship with Lorelei. And Lucy too might be an allusion to the late siren since she was killed with a blade when she was about to threaten her killer: she too was the one who knew too much and she was helping Pete like Lorelei had almost been an ally for Jane. Both women were killed to preserve the lifestyle of their killer.

– Those parallels make one wonder where Lisbon stands in this connection between the episode and the main plot. Is she the one alluded to by the victim instead of Lorelei? They share a taste for music (she sings the song Lucy loved to the point of having its melody tattooed on her body), they are both OCD about the rules (at least that what Jane accuses Lisbon of) and are overall helpful and well intentioned women. Lisbon cares about Jane, Lucy helped Pete. Since Lucy was killed because she was trying to do the right thing, the possibility that Lisbon might be targeted too only adds to the still vague shadow that seems to grow over her.

Best Scenes
The winner: Jane tricking Lisbon into singing in front of soldiers and a cop (and a corpse). So much for professionalism. It was so cute and, at least, Jane managed to make one woman “sing like a bird”…

First Runner Up: Pretty much every interaction between Jane and Pete. The young soldier brought the best out of him.

Second Runner Up: Jane and Lisbon tricking and arresting the murderer. Classic Jane technique for solving a case and funny moment.

Icings on the Cake: Cho saluting after Sgt Hawkins has been arrested. A nice reminder of his military past. Also, Pete was a convincing, pretty moving and likeable character.

Pet Peeves
– The CBI taking charge in an army related case seems a bit odd. See VIS#1 above.

– The army uniform seemed a bit… off. A little too baggy and the soldiers’ general attitude lacked of rigor.

– Is that me, or isn’t it a bit strange that Pete was able to recognize his own voice immediately and without any hesitation? I mean, one doesn’t often actually hear it: for a lot of people, hearing their voice feels a little strange, it doesn’t sound exactly like they think it would be. It might have been more natural if someone else recognized it first or if he showed a little more hesitation. Or I’m just being awfully picky…

Mentalist Panama Red

Synopsis

The California Bureau of Investigations new case is the murder of Jeremy Reese, a botanist, in Clearlake. Suspicion first falls on his boss, whom CBI consultant Patrick Jane (Baker) and Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Tunney) learn he’d had an argument with. But the case is complicated by the fact that Reese was working two jobs: one at an organic marijuana farm owned by Matthew Gold (Troy Ruptash), and another coming up with a new strain of marijuana at a high tech lab. Meanwhile, Cho’s first time helping out Agent Tamsin Wade (Monique Gabriela Curnen) in the newly established Rapid Response Team at CBI has him running into an old flame.

Concise Verdict

Panama Red is one of my new favorite episodes this season. The case was interesting and had lots of good old fashioned Mentalist humor. The guest stars are great, including not one, but *three* recurring characters. The direction is perfection and there is plenty of continuity. The music is sublime at times, playfully flirty at others.  And the performances…well, let’s just say the actors gave us a subtext party in this one. And it is all thanks to the script. Like Grossenbacher before him (who sadly has criminally only given one entry to this show so far) Michael Weiss’s foray into the Mentalist world was such that, by the time it was over, I was literally breathless with happiness. Welcome, Mr. Weiss. You’ve officially been brained. Which hopefully isn’t as painful as it sounds. At least, not this time: 9.5/10.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

Some pretty heavy flailing is about to commence. You’ve been warned.

Jane SMILES!

LISBON IS BADASS!

Both Cho AND Rigsby get a prominent role in this episode!

It’s back. My favorite show is back!!!

;_;

This has been a stellar season thus far, but also, an increasingly dark one. Just to be clear, I love the RJ plot as much as any other fan (or at least, I used to) but I completely and humbly disagree that the show should end with him getting caught (as seems to be where the show is headed). Episodes like this flaunt one of the show’s greatest assets: it’s freaking fun! Sure, it’s nice to have a run in with the Big Red every once in a while but Jane’s obsession doesn’t exactly make for easy viewing. And The Mentalist has always been a humorous show despite its dark premise. I’ve really missed it. Too much Red made me blue and I actually felt my heart break a little one episode at a time. Even Lisbon’s new plot with Vokler, while exciting, is depressing. An all powerful billionaire who wiped out an entire village and mercilessly watched as the only lead against him was choked to death? Ugh. Not even Black Cherry written by the comic genius Erica Green Swafford could bring me out of my funk. But getting two subsequent stand alone episodes seems to have done the trick. That, and the fact that Lisbon’s character remains successful not only in getting Jane more involved in the cases, but in regaining some of her long abandoned authority.

Teaser

Take the beginning of this episode. Jane doesn’t show up for work. And when Lisbon calls him telling him he shouldn’t obsess like this, Jane tells her “I know I met Red John now, shook his hand.”

-Now I know the moment was graciously included to recap for viewers who may have missed an episode and subsequently where Jane’s at with his hunt for his family’s killer. But for us regulars, I found myself taking a page out of Charlotte’s book and thinking “I’m so over Red John”. Seriously, it’s more than I can handle not going back and re-watching all the episodes from the beginning to see which characters Jane shook hands with without being constantly tortured with this new clue. Thank god for the fact that the act didn’t necessarily have to have happened on screen, or us viewers would all probably become as obsessed as Jane is.

Lisbon tells Jane that they have a new case. And when he tries to distract her saying that she’s the one obsessing, she says she’ll text him the address and hangs up.

-Lisbon, acting like Jane’s boss, which she is, might be the best way to help him. If not for his sake, then for hers. It’s not like the Serious Crimes Unit can focus only on one case. And getting Jane out of his black perch can only be healthy.

Jane and the Victim Jeremy

We get to see the victim Jeremy through the eyes of his college professor Alice Burns (Susan Gibney) and very quickly a parallel is drawn between the two, the least of which being that both their names (that people called them with anyway) start with a J. Some were obviously intentional, others not so much, but I included all for fun.

First, Alice tells Jane and Lisbon that while Jeremy worked in a pot farm, he didn’t smoke. It was simply an exciting research opportunity and a “good use for his skills”.

-This is kind of like Jane, who doesn’t always (if ever) believe in the law, but working at the CBI is a good way to apply his own talents.

We then learn that Jeremy had an argument with his boss but that he didn’t tell Alice what it was about, which she explains by saying “Jeremy could be secretive.”

-Baker is in top form here and makes interesting choices with his character which we’re able to witness due to director Guy Ferland’s generous direction. You see Jane’s eyes dart to Lisbon whom we are shown in the next shot. I guess it could be possible that Jane couldn’t help staring at Lisbon’s beautiful profile, but it’s more likely that Jane wanted to see her reaction at Alice’s words since secretive is (used to be?) such a perfect description of his own personality. But there’s nothing to see there. Lisbon doesn’t react to the statement.

When Lisbon asks if Jeremy had any enemies Alice says no adding “He was kind and generous to a fault.”

-Again, these words are perfect descriptions of Jane as well, although sadly it’s been a while since we’ve been treated to those traits; they’ve either been too fleeting or he’s been too busy chasing RJ.

Alice then explains her relationship with Jeremy to Jane saying that they were “pretend family” since his mother died a few years ago and her son lives in Texas.

-Here, the comparison goes further to encompass Jane’s relationships as well: His family is dead while Lisbon’s lives in another state. It’s been established since season three that she considers him family and the theme was also alluded to several times this season.

Rigsby the Green-Eyed Monster

Looks like we have a new love triangle on the show to replace the Grace-Craig -Rigsby one. And once again, poor Rigsby is the victim.

When Agent Tamsin Wade (Monique Gabriela Curnen) comes into the Serious Crimes to tell Cho (newest member of her Rapid Response team) that they’re up to bust a counterfeiting operation, Rigsby chimes in to tell her that they have work to do. The woman snarks “I’ll have him back in a few hours, dad” to which Rigsby responds: “If you’re the rapid response team, shouldn’t you be sliding down fire poles not hanging around here for thirty minutes?”

Snap!

Someone doesn’t like Wade very much. The question is why?

It could be her general playful demeanor, which by some might be taken as haughty. When she walks in she calls them “Ladies”. But we know that it was a joke and Cho didn’t seem upset, so why should Rigsby be?

I think that, as close as the CBI team is, Rigsby resents the fact that Tamsin insinuated herself so easily within them. Especially considering how reserved Cho usually is. Or it could be Rigsby fears she’s angling to have Cho join her team. Or maybe he’s just jealous she didn’t ask him to join the team. Whatever it is, as much as I thought I might like Wade in the previous episode, I don’t blame Rigsby for not being more open to her. Yes, she seems very cool. But she seems to be very aware of the fact too.  Then there’s something about the way she tells Cho “I squared it with your cute boss.”

I’m all for mentioning how adorable Lisbon is. Heck, Jane, too. It’s just not realistic to not have more people point out how attractive they are (although, writers are getting better at pointing this out i.e. If it Bleeds, it Leads). But something about the way Tamsin said that line didn’t sit right with me. I wasn’t sure what until a later scene helped me out…

Cho, Summer and Tamsin Wade

During the bust, Cho runs into his former confidential informant (and secret lover) Summer Edgecombe. Pregnant, and in town for her wedding, she tells Cho she had nothing to do with the operation; was just going on a ride with her friend.

As much as I liked Summer I always questioned if she and Cho were really good together. It’s hard to know what to make of her at times. Like in this episode. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was lying or not when she told Cho that she had no idea what her counterfeiting friend Chuck (James Jordan) was up to when he asked her to come along with him. I mean, seriously? Then there’s the fact that Summer seemed oblivious to Cho’s ambivalence (pain?) at seeing her pregnant and engaged.  Rigsby’s words to Cho, that he dodged a bullet when he let her get away, represent what some viewers might think. Tougher viewers might even agree with Tamsin’s decision to charge Summer, despite Cho insisting that she should let her go and that she’s innocent; not the accomplice of the counterfeiters.

I have to disagree at least with the last. Even if by that point I wasn’t sure that I completely bought Summer’s story (she’s lied before), I felt Wade was being unnecessarily hard on her. Simply put, there was no evidence against Summer. She was standing outside a garage where a crime was being committed? So what?

Wade telling Cho she heard Summer was a lot more than just his CI made my earlier reservation with her comment kick in again. Could it be that Tamsin was jealous? That she arrested Summer to flex her muscles against Cho’s former CI and see what his reaction would be?

Maybe. She’s obviously into Cho for reasons beyond needing him in her new unit. If that’s true then maybe her mentioning Cho’s boss was cute earlier was also meant as a test. She wants to see how available he is.

Cho knows Summer enough to fight for her freedom. When Wade refuses to listen to him, Cho takes matters into his own hands. He finds Chuck, the perpetrator who escaped the bust, and gets him to make a deal with, of all people, ADA Osvaldo Ardiles (David Norona).

Regular viewers will remember the charismatic Osvaldo and Cho’s last run in didn’t go too well. But it seems like the air got cleared completely since then. Chuck agrees to testify for Osvaldo in exchange for immunity and Summer’s freedom.

This doesn’t go over well with the over zealous Agent Wade. She admonishes Cho for going behind her back and when he apologizes and says it won’t happen again, she replies “You got that right”.

I wonder if her statement was referring to Cho’s role in her team (was she dis-inviting his services?), or if it was her way of throwing water on any sparks that might be between them, or both.  At her displeasure, you can’t help but wonder if Cho thinks he did the right thing; if Summer had been worth it.

Thankfully, he doesn’t wonder for long. While the former call-girl had been known to lie in the past, she wasn’t in this episode. Summer drives up in her wedding limousine with her fiance to introduce him to Cho, thank him, and say good bye.

It’s a very, very sweet scene that I think explains a lot of Summer’s character. The way she was able to quickly move on from Cho (So Long and Thanks for all the Red Snapper was only 12 episodes ago, and she’s eight months pregnant) isn’t so much due to lack of feeling as much as it is due to her innocent nature. I’m glad we got to meet her husband (to be) as it shows us what kind of man she needed: stable, patient, grounded. Cho’s own hidden well of passionate emotion (displayed in the altercation which led to their separation) shows that he’s perhaps not as well equipped to handle her. But her husband, whom Summer won’t kiss Cho on account that he gets “crazy-jealous” (hyperbole I believe/hope), seems to have been able to temper her somewhat, in a good way. Seeing her so happy, seeing Cho smile, obviously happy for her, just melted my old cynical heart.

Sigh. What an awesome episode.

But we get one last treat before it ended.

Lisbon Rebels

Lisbon, about to leave her office, is looking for her keys when Jane shows up and tells her they’re on her desk. Lisbon spots the puzzle box which the victim had made and only Jane knows how to open. The man gives her a barely contained grin, obviously looking forward to Lisbon’s inability to open the box and him sweeping in and “rescuing” her by opening the box for her. To Jane’s dismay, Lisbon takes a hammer from inside her desk and smashes the box open. Jane is shocked and disturbed. “You keep a hammer in your desk?!”

Lisbon then utters the best line of the entire episode:

“You only think you know everything about me.”

Seriously, how beautiful was that? You go, girl. And Jane’s reaction was awesome.

Best Scenes

This was so hard to decide this time around. The entire episode was crazy enjoyable, start to finish, but these were my favorites; please share yours in the comments.

The winner: Lisbon and Jane question Alice Burns

I chose this one because of its beautifully moving music, the riveting acting of guest star Susan Gibney (she almost made me cry when she stops to collect herself in one scene) and the reactions to her that Jane was allowed to have. One example is when Jane surmises that Alice is ill and asks her “What are you sick with?”

Simon Baker killed me with his tone here. Remember the Jane that used to care about things besides Red John? He still exists. His gentle, soft, CARING questioning (like in the pilot with Juniper) is what makes him a fantastic mentalist, and (in my humble opinion) an especially likable and special character. Cause otherwise, he’s just House. Who is a total jerk. And while Jane can be an even bigger jerk, it is not the only aspect of his personality.

It could be that Jane’s demeanor with Alice here is due to the fact that she didn’t make the mistake of pushing his buttons. Or that he was behaving himself in an attempt to get back on Lisbon’s good side. Or that Alice was already cooperating so he didn’t need to rile her up. Regardless of the reason, we desperately need more of ‘kind’ Jane as opposed to Jane the jerk. It is just not realistic for all the people Jane questions to be idiots or sleazes who deserve (in his opinion anyway) to be played. It really is okay if some, like Alice here, actually bring out the best side of him. More than okay. It’s gold.

Speaking of gold, I just want to add how much I appreciated the scene ending on Jane’s face as he strokes the trick box. Baker’s face is wonderfully expressive; you can just see him thinking about all the methods he’ll enjoy using trying to open it. Sensitive, inquisitive, amused…I love this Jane. I miss this Jane, dammit.

First Runner Up: Cho and Summer say goodbye…again. 

Again, this was such a sweet, hopeful, scene that I couldn’t help but love it. Summer looks absolutely adorable in her little white wedding dress. And Cho looks very happy for her. His dimple actually shows as he smiles at her and tells her goodbye and good luck. Then, as the couple is driven off, his smile falls, you can’t help but wonder if he doesn’t feels a tiny bit of regret too. The lovely music is wonderfully appropriate to the emotions: simultaneously uplifting and bittersweet.

Second Runner Up: Rigsby Gets High

First of all I loved the continuity of Rigsby being a great sport and going undercover. This scene was reminiscent of one of this shows best episodes, the classic Red Hair and Silver Tape. Once again, Jane and Lisbon sit in a hotel room watching Rigsby on camera. In the aforementioned episode, it was doubly amusing since he was obviously crushing on his acting partner of the time, Grace. In Panama Red, the laughs come from the fact that Rigsby has to smoke some weed to pull off his act. The results are hilarious. Yeoman was fantastic as were Tunney and Baker.

Honorable Mentions

Casting was really great in this one. From Nicole Bilderback and Jack Laufer to Micheal Whaley as Elwood and James Jordan as Chuck. They were all perfect for their roles and helped keep the interest level high in scenes that might have been boring with lesser talent.

I particular enjoyed the delivery of Micheal Whaley. He was impressive as the no-nonsense security guard and had good comedic timing as well.

Susan Gibney stood out the most, however. With an easy, beautiful, ironic smile that lights up her whole face and a wry delivery that made her character exceedingly likable, she was an absolute delight.

Samaire Armstrong (who really is pregnant!) was charming as well. She was very convincing as the misunderstood, free-spirited Summer finally settling down once she found the love of her life.

David Norona’s Osvaldo Ardiles continues to be a welcome presence on this show. I just hope he doesn’t disappear like that other ADA Nicki; Mozhan Marno’s character.

Tim Kang as the strong, mostly silent Cho never fails to impress. But he is equally riveting when he lets his character’s emotions show every once in a while; his smile is especially powerful. It’s like unleashing a secret weapon on viewers; you keep forgetting he has one.

As talented a director as Baker might be, he truly shines as an actor and this episode gave us so much Baker-candy in the form of his acting prowess. It has been so long since we saw him play something other than manipulative and/or obsessed (see….well, entire review for more details) and I was completely riveted to his every expression. It doesn’t hurt that he never looked better too.

Like Baker, Yeoman’s comedic talent has also been in hiding for a while now. I loved seeing it emerge so beautifully in this episode. I literally laughed out loud in the scene he got high.

Guy Ferland’s direction makes the most out of the fantastically talented (and beautiful) cast and catches their best moments. We were given many reaction shots, but deftly so without them being shoved in our faces. At times it almost felt like I was standing right next to team. Grace’s screen time was  understandably limited- the actress’s pregnancy is getting harder to hide but the shots she was in were very well done.

Blake Neely’s beautiful tunes are, as always, the perfect accompaniment to this show. It’s been a while since an episode made me tear up both in sadness (Jane questioning Alice), and happiness (Cho/Summer end scene) and the music had a lot to do with that. As we say on twitter: #gratitude

Last, but certainly not least, is writer Michael Weiss. If I knew his address I’d send him a basket of flowers. His interesting and fun script truly made my day.

Icings on the Cake

–  Rigsby eating is one of my favorite things in the world.

– Jane trying to get Lisbon to eat is another.

– I liked Cho pulling Lisbon from where blood was dripping; mostly cause I heart their friendship but also because it almost felt symbolic.

– Jane is on his couch again. My favorite canon pairing ever.

-Jane asks Matthew Gold how he can get weed. When Gold tells Jane he gets in their co-op if he has a condition they can help with, Lisbon nods at Gold, glancing at Jane, with an “Oh, yeah he does” expression on her face. The moment is priceless. Now I doubt Jane would dull his mind with weed, but the mere thought is hilarious.

-Like guest reviewer P said, I too find the recurring characters fascinating and love seeing them, or just hearing about them from time to time. I won’t even pretend the fact that this episode had so many of didn’t have me flailing.

-It was nice seeing Lisbon in action questioning Elwood. Her “cop to cop” line established common ground between them which allowed the man to share some information. But it’s not enough as as he later tells her she needs a court order “cop to cop”. Michael Whaley’s reading of the line was really great, as was Tunney’s “busted” expression afterwards.

-Rigsby helps Cho find and arrest Chuck, to help Summer, even if he never approved of their relationship. Bro-love anyone? Seriously, who doesn’t love Chigsby.

Best Lines

“I have what you coppers call ‘a lead’.” -Jane, to Lisbon.

“Hanging some buds.” -Lisbon repeating what Gold said, clearly unimpressed with marijuana farming. Tunney’s reading was awesome.

“Well, someone’s gotta do it.” – Jane, in reply to the above. Baker’s little hitch was fantastic too.

“Patrick Jane, a consultant. This isn’t my boss.” Jane, introducing himself and Lisbon.  I’m willing to bet Jane just said this to rile Lisbon up, and/or see if she takes the bait.

“I’m Teresa Lisbon and I am his boss.”-Lisbon, giving her own introduction in response to Jane. She does take his bait, but I’m glad of it. It’s nice to know she remembers her place.

“Wow.” -Rigsby’s repeated response to seeing Summer, pregnant and engaged.

“You said that.” -Cho, in response to the above.

“It’s not yours is it?” Rigsby, to Cho, about Summer’s fetus.

“Police brutality! I’m not resisting!” Chuck when Cho takes him down. Hilarious. Especially since moments before the guy beat up Cho with a heavy wooden stick when he tried to arrest him.

“It’s always something with you guys. I wasn’t looking forward to prosecuting a pregnant woman anyway.” – Osvaldo Ardiles, when he realized why Cho wants Summer freed. Love the continuity on Ardiles’s wariness when it comes to the SCU.

“Could you pass the cheese, this is getting good.”-Jane.

“Say what you will about hippies. They throw a good funeral.” -Alice, to Jane.

“Boss is it okay if I sit down?” Rigsby, on weed, to Lisbon.

“You are sitting down Rigsby.” -Lisbon, in response to the above.

“Thank you Kimball. I promise I won’t bug you anymore. I’m going to be good.” -Summer. Aw! :’-)

“You keep a hammer in your desk?!” Jane, to Lisbon. Baker’s reading of this line was priceless. As are his facial expressions. Seeing Jane look disappointing, flummoxed, maybe even a little scared (of Lisbon) was just such a treat to watch.

Image by Chizuruchib. Copyright Reviewbrain Dec. 2012. Not to be used without permission.

Awww!! XD

Pet Peeves

The botany/marijuana lingo was just a wee bit confusing as was the switch in the end. Also, I’d pegged Gold as the killer all along, though, for the life of me, I can’t tell why.

Conclusion

I’ve talked about how enjoyable this episode was ad-infinitum. Now it’s time to talk about how important it was.

Trust continues to prevail as a popular theme in this show. Tamsin Wade says she needs to know that she can trust Cho, which she can’t because he went behind her back to the DA. The thing is, while she trusted him enough to add him to her Rapid Response team, she still wouldn’t to take his word that Summer wasn’t involved.

Meanwhile, Cho trusts Rigsby enough to go with him and find Chuck, the guy that escaped the Rapid Response team’s raid, even though Rigsby isn’t involved in the case.

Summer loves her fiancee Marshall but doesn’t trust the knowledge that she was a call girl won’t ruin their relationship. It’s not unlike Jane who (still?) keeps things he feels might affect his relationship with Lisbon hidden from her. But while Summer changed her life, Jane has been actively trying to change Lisbon. While Jane needing someone to understand him has previously been noted as a possible reason for his “grooming” of Lisbon, we now have more information that might further support this theory

In this episode, at the victim’s service, when Jane tells Alice that he managed to open the victim’s puzzle box, she tells him, “He would have loved that you figured that out. He didn’t have a lot of people that could play at his level.” To which Jane replies, “Yeah, well it’s a curse some people live with.”

I’ve said it about Jane before: genius is a lonely place. But by grooming Lisbon, maybe it won’t be.

Jane also seems to want Lisbon to trust that everything will be all right in the end.

Lest people think this episode was a random stand alone, the writer had Jane say the following:

“You seem very obsessed with evaluating our status. Good, bad. We’re alive. The guy that made this (puzzle box) is dead. By comparison I think we’re doing very well.”

Whoa, mama! What a loaded sentence. Anyone else think that just maybe Jane is talking about more than just the case here? Lisbon sure thinks so, if her withering look to Jane is anything to go by.

Methinks Jane knows how much Lisbon is worrying about his RJ obsession, hence his use of the word, and is annoyed that this worry is manifesting itself in her being more strict with him.

Of course, Lisbon has other reasons for her changed demeanor. Season four saw Lisbon, overjoyed at Jane not being convicted, appreciating him, indulging him, and basically going along with whatever he did. But giving Jane all the leeway he wanted still didn’t get him to share his plans with Lisbon before he did his disappearing act. Nor did he tell her about his “relationship” with Lorelei, so it’s only realistic for her to revert to her no-nonsense boss-lady methods. If this is true, then it establishes a new theme for this season: Lisbon rebelling against Jane’s influence over her. This is symbolized by her breaking open the trick box instead of asking Jane to open it for her, as he obviously wanted her too. Like Jane’s earlier speech to Lisbon, it was a humorous moment but is also laced with some pretty serious subtext which reveals itself when Lisbon tells Jane he only thinks he knows everything about her.

I’ve always said Lisbon is more mysterious than Jane which is a particularly clever move on Heller’s part. If we are to remain suspenseful as to what will happen when RJ is ever found, we, like Jane, have to remain in the dark as to how she’ll act. How both of them will act, really. Either Jane will give in and let Lisbon arrest RJ, or Lisbon will help Jane get his revenge. Either way, having Lisbon, once again, be more than just Jane’s side-kick helps achieve that. The fact that genius Jane is still in the dark about aspects of Lisbon’s character keeps the show fresh and interesting.

Author’s Note: As always, thanks for reading. Please don’t forget to rate the review and share your own opinions in the comments. As we approach the end of another year I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this fantastic community of fans we’ve been blessed with. You are all fantastic and I love you. Be sure to come back on the 25th as Violet has a Christmas present for you all which I’ll post here. Or, simply “follow’ the blog to get an email the moment it is posted. Happy holidays!

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Mentalist Black Cherry Review

This review is brought to you by P, a commenter of this blog who agreed to write the post since neither Violet or I were able to. I must say I’m feeling quite humbled by my guest reviewers; first Violet, now P 🙂 Be sure to rate to express how fantastic the review is. -Reviewbrain

Synopsis

Lem McVie (Brandon Claybon), a young real estate agent, is found beaten to death on a country club golf course.   The team discovers that he is an ex-gang member who had turned his life around and reinvented himself two years earlier to set a better example for his younger siblings.  Was his death the result of his old gang ties, or somehow related to his new, seemingly respectable life?  Meanwhile, Jane continues his search for Red John based on his new belief that they have met.

Concise Verdict

I found this episode a welcome break after the very intense episodes we have been given recently.  Jane seemed the happiest and most engaged he’s been in quite a while, the classic Lisbon-Jane banter that has been absent lately was back in full force, and we even got a few Cho centric scenes thrown in for good measure.   The case itself was interesting and well developed, and the writers managed to slip in references to the larger Red John arc without distracting from the current investigation. There were even nods to some recurring themes, such as the conflict between the law and justice.  What else can you really ask for?  9/10

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

I loved this episode.  Banter, Cho, clever lines, and continuity.  We were given playful, involved, nice and sane Jane instead of the secretive, dark, moody and disturbed Jane we have seen so much of this season.  It seems that he truly believes that his new lead has gotten him closer than ever before to Red John.  I don’t really agree with him that the information is that surprising or valuable, but I’ll remain silent and allow him his optimism for now.

He let Lisbon and the entire team in on his plan to catch the killer, and I love how seamlessly they all worked together.  The scene where Rigsby interviewed Wintergrove employees after Jane left Lem’s car with the blackmail note illustrates this. After Rigsby gives Dilmer the false impression that the CBI has no idea where Lem was killed, Rigsby reports in and says: “OK, the hook has been baited.”  Jane and Lisbon wait at the murder scene to catch the killer, and Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt all participate in the interrogations.  The entire team worked together like a well-oiled crime solving machine.

While Jane seemed to give the case the attention it deserved, it is clear Red John is never far from his mind.  When Jane meets Nathan Dilmer and shakes his hand, Jane gets an odd look on his face as he glances down at their linked hands.  You can almost see him thinking of Lorelei’s assertion that he and Red John met and shook hands at some point.

And that brings us to…

VIS #1: The teaser:  Lisbon and Jane and “The List”

As Lisbon and Jane arrive at the crime scene, Lisbon comments on Jane’s preoccupation with the little book in which he is recording the names of the people he has shaken hands with.   After helping him remember the name of the redhead from the bio facility, Dean Harken, she points out something that I hope Jane at least considered:

“I hate to be a buzzkill, Jane, but even if you could remember everybody you’ve ever met, what if Lorelei Martins is lying?  What if you’ve never actually met Red John?”

This is a valid question, but Jane is adamant when he states that:

“I haven’t just met him I’ve shaken hands with him.  And she wasn’t lying.  She didn’t realize what she told me.”

I suspect Jane is right, and Lorelei wasn’t lying.  She seemed genuinely enraged at the time and my best guess is that she was being honest.  Jane is taking her words as absolute gospel, including taking her literally when she said they shook hands.  I hope for everybody’s sake this isn’t a case of him seeing what he wants to see, like he believed Red John would in the Crimson Hat.  Presumably, the answer to this question will be revealed as the season progresses and we learn more.  For now, Lisbon doesn’t seem nearly as confident as Jane that Lorelei isn’t playing him.

Lisbon’s “Am I in that book?” was absolutely adorable and said with just the right combination of curiosity and uncertainty.   Jane in turn seemed absolutely genuine when he replied:

“She said it’s a wonder Red John and I didn’t become friends.  Now what we have I consider a friendship, so my friend, you are free and clear.”

Lisbon was relieved, and frankly, so was I.  At least we can confirm that Jane hasn’t become so dark and paranoid that he even suspects Lisbon.  I would be shocked if he did doubt her, but it’s nice to have the verbal reassurance since his continued secrecy does make me wonder at times.   I must admit I am much less certain and more curious about whether Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt are also given the friend exemption.

After starting out with a short but serious Red John conversation, they switched gears and lightened it up with some cute Jane antics.  Jane pretending to be the agent in charge and doing his best Lisbon imitation as he says “Rigsby, what have we got?” seemed to amuse even Lisbon.  She is barely able to hold back her smile when Jane asks the obviously well-heeled country club member who found the body if he is a member of a street gang.

Lisbon finally says:  “You know what?  You can write my name down in that book” and the two continue to bicker.  This dynamic is a big part of why I love the show, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it the past couple of weeks until I saw it back again.

VIS #2:  Lisbon and Jane with Juliana and Noah

I thought the way this scene was filmed very effectively drew a number of parallels between Jane and Lisbon.  Their shared sense of empathy and compassion for others (which Jane often hides), their own tragic losses, and even their fine investigative skills.  We’ve seen many times how Jane has influenced Lisbon’s behavior (more on that later), but this scene highlights some of the more positive effects that Lisbon has had on Jane, such as giving him a way to use his skills to help people instead of con them.  I like to think she has been a good influence on him, even if it doesn’t always show and is often overwhelmed by his obsession with vengeance.

The scene cuts back and forth repeatedly between Lisbon and Juliana and Jane and Noah.  Both Lisbon and Jane clearly reflect on their own tragic backgrounds as they talk with Juliana and Noah.  Lisbon realizes that with their parents and Lem gone and a younger brother to care for, Juliana is now in a position similar to her own when her father died.  She tells Juliana: “I knows what it’s like to be the one to keep the family together.  It’s a tough job.  Don’t make it tougher.  If you know who did this, tell me.” Juliana claims no knowledge.

Jane draws on his own personal history of loss, telling Noah: “It’s tough when you lose somebody but you still carry them with you.  I mean your memories and the choices you make in life.”  Clearly Jane is still dealing with his guilt over his role in his family’s deaths.  You can’t help but wonder if Jane is also questioning any of the choices he’s made since his family was killed.

VIS #3: Cho and Tamsin Wade

It was love at first sight.  Cho took one look at the CornerShot assault rifle in Tamsin Wade’s office and was drawn to it like a man lost in the desert is drawn to an oasis.  After watching him play for a few minutes, Tamsin teases Cho, saying:  “Better put that thing down before you shoot someone, doggy.” Cho actually almost smiled! Tamsin reveals that Lem has had no contact with the Ghouls in the past few years, so there doesn’t seem to be a gang related motive for his murder.  But it wasn’t a wasted visit on Cho’s part.  Turns out the CBI is creating a new Rapid Response team which will be the CBI’s version of a SWAT team.

I really like the dynamic between the two ex-military types and the badass attitude that Tamsin demonstrates (I could imagine she and Lisbon being friends, hanging out, cleaning their guns.)  Later, after Cho works with Tamsin’s team to enter the Ghouls stash house and bring in Shade, he accepts a spot on the Rapid Response team.  She invites Cho out to the shooting range after work to meet the team.  I loved the chemistry between Cho and Tamsin.   I hope we see more of her as the season progresses.

This brings me to a small, or maybe not so small, concern of mine.  The show has introduced several new recurring characters:  Tamsin, Mancini, Kirkland, Alexa.  I find all of them fascinating and compelling, but I wonder how frequently they will really appear.  We haven’t seen Mancini in weeks and we were just left hanging after that poker game.  I realize there is only so much screen time available, but I really wish they would find a way to work more of these characters in even a bit more often.  They did a great job this week doing that with Sarah.  Even a quick verbal mention of them, such as they frequently do with Lorelei, would really help keep these storylines in mind.

VIS #4:  Jane asks Lisbon to let Juliana go

Before Lisbon can explain to Noah that he will be going with child services, Jane drags her out saying he has a brilliant idea.  He then admits that he has no brilliant idea, he just doesn’t want her to send Noah to a foster home.  Jane tells her that there are always choices.  She can just let them go home, she doesn’t have to charge his sister.  When Lisbon responds that she broke the law, Jane draws in a breath and glances away as if he is frustrated by Lisbon’s insistence on the letter of the law.  He just replies “Just let them go home” and watches Lisbon walk away.

A bit later when Lisbon asks where Jane is going, he says “Back to Wintergrove.  I have an appointment to take a look at a model home.  Do you wanna come with, or do you wanna stick around and do the right thing?”

Lisbon, exasperated, just replies “Jane” before he says “I trust you’ll make the right choice Lisbon.”

Considering Jane’s history of caring for children, I don’t doubt that he was eager to keep Noah out of foster care.  However, as I watched this scene there was a nagging voice inside my head insisting that Jane was testing Lisbon to see how easily she would set aside the law in favor Jane’s version of justice.   This isn’t the first time he has convinced her to let a guilty party go.  Now that he believes he is closer than ever to finding his nemesis, he might be trying to gage where Lisbon stands after years of Jane’s influenced.  Have her views changed enough for his purposes? Will she let Jane get away with murder, or will she try to stop him or arrest him when the final showdown comes?  Will his evaluation of where she now stands influence how much or how little he tells her of his discoveries and plans going forward?

VIS #5:  Lisbon and Sarah

Both Lisbon / Sarah scenes were compelling.  They demonstrated Lisbon’s growing ambivalence toward always obeying the letter of the law, Jane’s influence on her, and the ongoing theme of the law versus justice.  When Lisbon tells Sarah they’d like to hold off on charging Juliana McVie because they would like to have leverage to try to use her to catch bigger fish, Sarah readily agrees but tells Lisbon she read the file and it’s a slam dunk.  She goes on to say:

“Don’t give her a pass because she is sympathetic.  She broke the law.  You have statutory duties.”

Thank you, Sarah!  I’m glad somebody reminded Lisbon of this.  Her guilty “I hear you” to me sounded like she is very conscious of all the things she has let Jane get away with, or convince her to let other people get away with.  Not that I disagree with her decision in this particular case.  The police and DA do have broad discretion on whether or not to press charges and Juliana is clearly not a threat to society.  At least Lisbon did it the right way in this case, getting agreement from the DA, and not hiding or fabricating evidence or letting a dangerous criminal escape *cough* Jane *cough*.

Sarah reminding Lisbon of her responsibilities wasn’t the only thing I liked about this scene.  I thought this was a great way to bring Sarah back and remind us she’s still out there and still in Ben’s life without building an entire episode around her. Please refer to my earlier comment about more continuity with recurring characters.  This is a great example of the right way to do it.

The second Sarah / Lisbon scene was even more interesting.  Lisbon introducing her to Juliana and Noah and explaining, in front of them, how Lem was a hero who died because he wanted to do the right thing, and then suggesting that perhaps the DA’s office would consider dropping the charges against Juliana “because it’s the right thing to do” was extremely manipulative.  Sarah’s “nicely played, Theresa.  You owe me one” was spot on.

Not even Jane could have played this situation better. Lisbon manipulated Sarah in much the same way Jane manipulated Lisbon. Lisbon has been learning at the knee of the master.   Maybe Jane should put Lisbon in his book after all. 😉

I love the very end when Lisbon gives Juliana and Noah Lem’s keys and cufflinks. Juliana understood how Lisbon managed the situation, and was very appreciative.  The big hug Noah gives her was very sweet.   We are once again reminded how awesome Lisbon is.

VIS #6:  Jane and Lisbon catch the bad guys

There was a lot to like here.  Humor, Jane and Lisbon working flawlessly together to get the guilty to incriminate themselves, and a mysterious murmur as Lisbon talks in her sleep.

When Jane and Lisbon go back to the crime scene, Jane jumps over fence assuming that it is locked.  Lisbon calmly opens the gate and walks through.  Jane is obviously surprised and a bit defensive as he explains “that was locked this morning”.  Seeing the normally self-assured and in control Jane feeling a little foolish was amusing.

Jane knows it’s a Wintergrove employee, but not which one.  They sit out of sight on the kitchen floor and wait to see who walks through the door.  Lisbon eventually falls asleep and we hear her voice saying something just about unintelligible.  Jane hesitates before reaching out to wake her.  He tells her she was talking in her sleep and drooling (what a gentleman!) She asks what she said, but before he can answer her, the door opens.  I had a hard time hearing what she said.  My best guess is “lies, I know”, but I realize this is probably wrong.  However, I suspect this is a bit of a Rorschach test.  Is it meant to be anything significant, or is it just a cute moment letting us know that Lisbon talks in her sleep?  Hard to tell, but the look on Jane’s face, instead of being amused as I would expect if she was babbling nonsense, seemed rather serious.

When Bosh, Phipps and Dilmer enter the house, Jane and Lisbon eventually make themselves known.  I love how Jane turned them against each other by pretending that Bosh had been cooperating with them and sold the other two out.  Lisbon played right along when she realized what Jane was doing (so maybe her acting skills are a little better than Jane gives her credit for.)  Lisbon can improvise along with Jane, demonstrating how well she now understands his methods.

VIS #7: Jane in his attic

Once again we are reminded that the hunt for Red John is Jane’s top priority and favorite pastime.  The episode ends with Jane in his attic looking through his book.  We were given a clear view of the final page he looks at.  The names shown were Brett Partridge, Ellis Mars, Dean Harken, Jason Cooper (Stiles’ second in command at Visualize), Walter Mashburn, Vint Molinari (FBI Missing Persons, led Kristina Frye search), Dr. Linus Wagner, Virgil Minelli, Dr. Towlen Morning (who is deceased), and Osvaldo Ardiles.  I’m not sure why Morning would even make the list.  Not only is he dead, but Jane never met him while he was alive or shook his hand.  Sadly, there was no love shown for Laroche, Bertram, Kirkland or CBI Ron.  L  Either they are on pages we weren’t shown (most likely the case), or Jane doesn’t consider them suspects.

It’s like the writers threw in every pet theory of every Mentalist fan anywhere.  While Red John could conceivably be on the page we were shown (although I would not bet on it), you cannot conclude that he must be.  I think of it as a way for the writers to play with the fans and keep the interest level, and the conspiracy theory generation, running high.   And just so you don’t put too much faith in “The List”, keep in mind that four other names are briefly visible as Jane looks through the pages.  They are:  Sammy Corrado, Anthony Astrino, Jannie Penvari, and Briana Morini.  All four are staffers on The Mentalist, writers production assistants and the like.  It’s good to see that the writers have a sense of humor, but unless you truly think one of The Mentalist staffers is Red John, you might want to take Jane’s list with a grain of salt.

Best Scenes

The winner: When Lisbon manipulates Sarah into letting Juliana go.  It demonstrated not only how much Jane’s influence has impacted Lisbon thinking, but also how well Lisbon has learned and can now apply Jane’s techniques.  Bonus for the sweet interaction with Noah at the end.

First Runner up: Jane asking Lisbon to let Juliana go.  The tension could be cut with a knife, and I do believe it was a very obvious test.

Second Runner up:   The opening scene when Jane expresses his confidence that Red John is someone he knows.  It is obvious he now views it as a simple matter of going through all the names in his book.  And it’s a bonus to see him clearly acknowledge his friendship with and trust of Lisbon.

Best lines

“Hey, you found our victim’s car.  Well done” – Cho to Shade as he cuffs Shade after tackling him next to Lem’s car.

“You know what?  You can write my name down in that book.”- Lisbon to Jane.

“I’m pretty handy with a kettle.  You should trust me.” – Jane to Noah.

“He wrote the letter you idiot.” – Phipps to Bosh when Bosh doesn’t realize Jane had set them up.

“I think I need to be alone with the house for a moment.  Just to check out its aura.  Well I’m not gonna buy a house unless we have compatible auras.” – Jane to Bosh.

“But next time you come across a dead body, Chip, show a little respect.  Thank you” – Jane to Chip McGavin.

“Better put that thing down before you shoot someone, doggy.” –  Tamsin Wade to Cho.

Honorable Mentions

Bryce Clyde Jenkins did an excellent job as Noah McVie.  I’m always impressed when child actors give a strong and believable performance.

Jillian Bach was perfect as Sarah, as always.  Sarah is such an unusual mixture of cute and hard.  I’m glad she was back, if only for a couple of scenes.

Monique Gabriela Curnen is a great addition as Agent Tamsin Wade.  I really like how she manages to be tough and playful at the same time.

Pet Peeves

If some elements of the plot seemed a little familiar to you, that’s because you’ve seen it before. Multiple perpetrators killing the victim together to ensure they all share blame in order to prevent the victim from revealing their role in an accidental death – was done before in Red Tide way back in season one.   In that case it was four teenagers drowning their friend on the beach to keep her from telling the police about the accidental death of a security guard.   Despite the obvious recycling, this episode was well done and I didn’t guess that the three men were in on it together until the very end.

Is it really realistic that Cho’s Rapid Response duties would not interfere with his full time Serious Crimes duties?  I suppose if the unit was very infrequently used it might be, but I would think that type of unit would see frequent action.

Conclusion

Overall Black Cherry was well done and both a very good standalone episode and an effective vehicle for slowly moving forward other ongoing storylines.  It harkened back to simpler times before Jane became quite so dark, and really highlighted the excellent chemistry Jane and Lisbon as well as the rest of the team share.  After spending most of this season watching Jane become a less and less likable character, we got to see him, at least temporarily, redeem himself by being responsive to his team, showing compassion, and being less of the creepy obsessed loner that he seemed to be turning into.

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Mentalist Cherry Picked Review

I’ve recently signed on to a new production and will therefore be unable to write reviews as regularly as I have been. Thankfully, Violet has once again generously agreed to help out. I’ll put it in my two cents whenever possible, as in this review, but until further notice, when it comes to The Mentalist, she will be taking the lead. The show and the blog are precious to me and I am absolutely grateful to leave it in hands I trust as much as, if not more, than my own. Violet, I thank you for your continuous and invaluable support and insight.-RB

Synopsis                                                                                                    

Consultant Patrick Jane (Baker) is busy interrogating a prison guard about Lorelei Martins’ disappearance when Lisbon (Tunney) calls him at a crime scene, a security guard has been killed. Jane soon discovers that the case is more complicated than they first thought: a couple in the neighborhood has been kidnapped and a ransom is 3demanded to the husband’s brother, Isaac Goodwin (Neil Hopkins). Jane starts then to tease the truth out of him until he realizes that the kidnapper may have made taken the wrong couple, his brother’s best friends who were house sitting, Gary (Michael Petrone) and Sloan (Anne Dudek) Dietz.

Concise Verdict

‘Cherry Picked’ is a funny and entertaining episode, with an original type of case and Jane in top form. Without being a flat filler episode, it serves more as a stage for more crucial developments. It has the advantage of giving us some answers that we were expecting since the beginning of the season. Nevertheless, it ends on a rather frustrating note, since it opens more questions than it actually resolves and seems to take a step back in the trust department. Still, it’s a great addition to a thus far stellar season. 9/10

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (Spoilers Galore)

Jane

VIS #1: Jane Interviews a Prisoner Guard About Lorelei

The episode begins with a timeline; we’re told Lorelei has been missing for nineteen days, and this rare precision certainly means that the episode marks a milestone. Jane is showing a picture of Lorelei to an officer and asking if she knows her. Indeed, he has deduced that someone must have driven their prisoner out of jail; therefore a cop must be involved. That’s confirmation for distrustful viewers that he had nothing to do with her disappearance and is actively searching for her. The whole scene is packed with meaning: the monotone tone that he uses indicates immediately that it’s not the first time he’s doing such an interrogation; he’s got a notebook with picture of his suspects and meticulously written annotations. He’s doing boring police work, the type he normally leaves to others.  This is actually the first time that we see Jane operate in his personal investigation: even when he was trying to get his hands on La Roche’s list, we did see him take the big steps (talk to Minelli and to Culpepper), but not check the possibilities in a systematic fashion. That fact alone proves his dedication. When compared to how he acted when another woman involved to RJ has vanished, the difference is even more striking: with the Kristina Frye case, he was concerned but passive, he was letting the cops do their job, while here, he’s taking matters in his own hands.

Reviewbrain: I think this is continuity with regards to Jane’s increased lack of trust when it comes to RJ matters. He’s already lost Brenda and Todd so it makes sense he doesn’t want to lose Lorelie the same way.

Another detail later shows how he’s focused in finding Lorelei: in the Goodwin’s house, he enjoys listening to opera until Lisbon complains and make him stop the music. Jane’s partiality for classic has already been stated, but he’s listening to « La donna è mobile » from « Rigoletto » by Verdi is pretty interesting. In this song, the Duke of Mantua states how much women are untrustworthy, deceptive and are “flighty like a feather in the wind” (“La donna è mobile/ Qual piuma al vento”). In the opera, ironically, he’s singing this while the girl he’s waiting for is plotting his death with her accomplice. That’s obviously an allusion to Lorelei and the reference to her as another “donna” makes a perfect counterpoint to Jane calling Lisbon “bella donna” in the other “Cherry” episode.

Moreover, he seems to be investigating officially since the interrogation takes place at the CBI headquarters. He has access to the officer’s personal files and Lisbon is aware of what he’s doing, at least to a point. Does that thus mean that he has finally decided to come clean and tell her everything about his plans? That’s still very dubious…

VIS #2 : Consultant vs Kidnapper, Rounds One and Two

When Jane gets to the crime scene and starts dealing with Isaac Goodwin, it soon becomes very clear that he is being quite confrontational, first with Isaac by playing a phone prank on the man to force him to confess that his brother and sister-in-law have been kidnapped, then with the kidnapper himself. Indeed, when the bad guy calls Isaac, Jane uses the opportunity to reveal that he premeditated to take the Dietz instead of the Goodwin in order to use their guilt. Then, in one of the funniest moments of the episode, he process to negotiate a lower ransom for the hostages in almost the same way he would bargain before buying something. Curt, peremptory and to the point. And he doesn’t stop here. The next call from the kidnapper is even worse: after the guy insults Lisbon, Jane snaps and shouts at him, ordering him to release one of the hostages or the deal is off; he goes to the extent of ending the communication himself. His instinct to defend his friend is touching and the scene is really amusing, still the truth is that it was the worst thing to do as a negotiator, even more since he knew the perpetrator had already killed someone.

The logical explanation is that Jane’s eager to close the case and go back to serious business, the investigation on Lorelei’s whereabouts. He’s not rushing it as much as he was when Culpepper was in custody in season 3, but he tries to speed things up in a cavalier manner and is taking a huge risk with Dietz’ life. If it had been a real kidnapping and not just a way to try and cover Gary Dietz’ murder and fly with the Goodwin’s money, the most probable outcome would have been that one of the hostages would have ended wounded or dead, just to prove that the bad guy was serious about it. Indeed some details tended to indicate that there was a mastermind behind the guy and that it was a close friend to the Goodwin, but it could have been someone else. Or Sloan and her lover could have chosen to execute Gary and keep pretending that she was his prisoner. It was an awful risk to take, even if he was right… He has become more and more reckless with his cases: he goes farther every time in taking risks that he estimates worth of a try. It’s not the first time he knowingly puts someone in danger (Grace in ‘The Red Ponies’ for instance), but there is a definite progression in his carelessness.

Reviewbrain: While I agree with everything you said, I just want to say that I was actually impressed with Jane’s efforts to solve the case here. He didn’t seem as hasty as he was in season two’s premiere Redemption (in which he caused a shoot out in his hurry to solve a case). In fact, when the victim’s brother told Lisbon he wouldn’t let her talk to the kidnappers, because he didn’t want his brother’s blood on their hands, Jane had actually agreed saying: Hard to argue with that. He only got involved after he was positive that one of the victim’s was actually an accomplice. And while that doesn’t excuse his methods…well, it’s not the worst thing he’s ever done

VIS # 3: Jane and Lisbon in Front of the Elevator

When Jane gets eventually a promising lead about one of the jail driver on the Lorelei’s case, he omits to mention it to Lisbon. She follows him to the elevator and asks him about it. He deflects her questions and she insists by blocking the doors with her hand. And we have almost a exact repeat of the final scene in ‘Red Rover, Red Rover’: Lisbon tells him “let me help you” and he rejects her offer with a somewhat semi-apologetic “thank you” (for letting go of the doors) – instead of the nicer “you’re sweet” from last season. The whole exchange is completed by a good serving of meaningful glances, this time more along the lines of a warning than a supplication. And, like that time unruly Jane embarks for a dangerous scheme (breaking in the deputy’s house). But, in spite of the similarities, it’s obvious that Jane doesn’t hide anymore the fact that he don’t want to tell her the entire truth: he trusts her enough to keep her in the loop about the general direction he’s taking, but he doesn’t want to share the most important elements. It seems that he still hasn’t learned his lesson…

Reviewbrain: I know this scene annoyed a lot of people but I actually had a positive reaction to it. I felt the “Thank you” much more meaningful, and less patronizing (if not as nice) as the “You’re sweet” in Red Rover, Red Rover. The “you’re sweet” had felt like a clandestine rejection, while the “thank you” here seemed to denote genuine gratitude. We’ve seen Lisbon (finally) hold her own when it comes to Jane’s investigations into Red John. In episode The Crimson Ticket, she’d threatened to put a stop to Jane’s actions by going to Bertram, and only gave in after Jane pleaded with her to not to. Here, her hand stopping the elevator, coupled with her “Let me help you” seemed a quiet assertion of her authority. So I think Jane’s thanks here him expressing gratitude and acknowledgment for the leeway she’s giving him. There might have been another meaning to his thanks. His non-reply to Lisbon’s offer to help him seemed to speak pretty loud: “I don’t want your help because I’ll probably do something which might get you in trouble so can you let me go please.” Jane’s (canon) reason for not including in on his plans is always the same; either protecting her from Red John or from getting her in trouble. I think that, for once, Lisbon got that and decided she was better off having Jane fill her in later. I’m not sure I blame her. And while I don’t think its the best choice it didn’t send me into a fit of rage, either. Considering the fact that Jane was going to break into the officer’s house, I’m very grateful she didn’t go along. Her character wasn’t ruined as a result and I was subsequently saved from going into a fit of rage.

Violet: This moment between them also constitutes another occurrence in a growing string of intriguingly similar scenes. Indeed, there seems to be plenty of more or less decisive moments in front of our CBI elevator recently: Jane interrogating the bank robber in ‘Not One Red Cent’, meeting a vengeful Rigsby in ‘Blood Feud’; Jane’s very first steps in headquarters in ‘Red Dawn’ and being punched in the nose in front of said elevator minutes later… In almost every episode, there seems to be a reminder of the first and more powerful of those examples: the one where Lorelei was taken by the FBI in ‘The Crimson Ticket’, as if the elevator scenes were a symbolical thread running through the beginning of this season and representing Jane’s fixation on the problem caused by Lorelei’s vanishing.

Reviewbrain: Thank you so much for pointing this out. I never would have thought of it but now that you brought it up I can’t help but wonder if might not be an indicator of how easily people can disappear from each others lives. Jane himself had disappeared via the elevator after his (fake) breakdown and went missing for six months. More foreshadowing of someone else leaving?

Lisbon

Jane isn’t the only one in a belligerent mood. It looks like our usually sweet Lisbon has been contaminated too. First, she’s amused by Jane’s funny prank on Isaac, even though it’s rather cruel; she also snaps at Jane twice for listening to very loud opera. Later, when Isaac eventually locks himself up with the phone, she starts banging on the door and threatens to break it down. Isaac is characterized by Jane as « arrogant », « insensitive » and he’s indeed very reluctant and difficult to deal with, but he also comes across as scared to make a bad move and to cause his family’s death (and we discover afterwards that he’s even more afraid because he doesn’t have the money to pay the ransom). How come our usually very empathic Lisbon isn’t more understanding with him? Then it’s Brenda’s turn. The woman from Public Relations warns Lisbon that the case is highly sensitive because Marcus Goodwin has connections in the Pentagon, to what Lisbon answers dryly: “you’ve got your problems, I’ve got mines.” Brenda finally wins when she pressures the agent by threatening to call director Bertram. Both women make up in the end, but where is the Lisbon who accepted to drag along a TV reporter and cameraman in the field for the sake of good publicity?

Reviewbrain: Thanks for bringing this up. This out of character Lisbon, while amusing, felt a bit annoying considering her usual kind and patient way of dealing with members of victim’s families. The scene here was almost a complete role reversal with Lisbon behaving childishly and Jane being the cooler head.

Violent: Many explanations are plausible: she couldn’t afford to lose time if she wanted to save the hostages and she didn’t want to be bothered by trivial things, for one. She may also be suffering from burn-down, as Reviewbrain has been pointing out for some time, have lost her last ounce of trust in authority and thus wouldn’t care anymore about good appearance and the annoying politics inherent to her charge as long as she keeps doing her job well. Or Jane’s influence may have become so overwhelming that she begins to truly act like him, doing things her way without caring about consequence: after all, she went as far as trying to play with Isaac’s emotions, lying about feeling “bad that (he’s) in here”, just like she would if she was dealing with a kid. Jane has taught her well. And that’s a scary thought.

Reviewbrain: The loss of trust in authority was actually first brought up by Windsparrow, just to be clear 😉 As to her impatient reactions, I think it’s more of a case of after being together for so long Lisbon has picked up on some aspects of Jane’s character. And while I agree Lisbon was cajoling Isaac like a mother would a child, I wouldn’t go as far as she was playing with his emotions. She just needed to get him out. And I think, rather than it being anything Jane had taught her, it was something she was used to dealing with considering she’d raised three “nearly feral” brothers, as she’d once said (Red Gold).

The usual suspects

VIS #4: The Ending, aka Jane Faces the Guilty Officer Walter DeMunn (Michael Shamus Wiles)

When the case is closed, Jane breaks again in deputy DeMunn’s house and confronts him about helping get Lorelei out of jail. After resisting a while, DeMunn finally admits that he’s been blackmailed by an “Agent Nemo” from FBI, who knew the deputy had raped an inmate. He agrees to give Jane the address where he took Lorelei. Jane knows his classics and remarks that “Nemo” means “Nobody”. This is actually a double allusion that’s quite interesting. Ulysses in Homer’s “Odyssey’” used the Greek word for nobody as a name to trick the Cyclops Polyphemus who took him and his companions prisoners. Ulysses blinded him and escaped, therefore the monster kept telling that “Nobody” has attacked him. That’s exactly what our unknown agent did here. Also, Jules Verne made a reference to this incident in “20.000 Leagues under the Sea” by naming one of his most important characters Captain Nemo (“nobody” in Latin): he’s a very smart and dark man who chose to exclude himself from society by living with his crew in the submarine Nautilus, sinking ships. So, while Ulysses gave us the storyline, Captain Nemo represents the instigator of an invisible power, the master of a crew that stays unknown to the population, always simmering under the sea like a dangerous force, just like good old RJ.  Nevertheless, both references also indicate the ambiguity of Jane’s new enemy. Indeed, neither Ulysses nor Nemo are really bad guys per se: Ulysses is cunning and Nemo is dark and mysterious, but they aren’t cruel cold-blooded killers like Red John. Does that mean that the mole isn’t behind this, that the genuine FBI chose an intricate and illegal way to keep Lorelei for themselves, without involving RJ?

In addition, DeMunn’s home also points subtly to another character, Bertram: we got a glance of a framed picture of the deputy and Bertram, just like we saw one of La Roche holding his dog when Culpepper broke in his house. Symbolically we’re reminded that Bertram is a plausible suspect, he’s not “out of the picture” yet. Speaking of Bertram, I’ve been wondering recently if his name wasn’t inspired by Agatha Christie’s “At Bertram’s Hotel”. In this novel, Miss (Jane) Marple discovers that a cosy old-fashioned hotel where she likes to stay has been used as a façade for a well organized criminal ring, orchestrated by a well-known and connected lady mastermind. Maybe it hints that Bertram is also orchestrating a law enforcement smokescreen to cover up sinister activities… Or, since there is no actual “Bertram” in the novel, his name only serves for pointing out that there is a façade, without implying that he’s involved… And, just to confuse us a little more, Christie’s lady mastermind (Bess Segdwick) has been played in 2007 in the British TV show “Miss Marple” by no other than… Polly Walker, aka our FBI agent Alexa Schultz. Mentalist recipe for Ambiguity cocktail: stir a bit of every possible suspect together, add a dash of confusion and shake before serving.

Best Scenes

The winner: The ending. A creepy guy, a mysterious blackmailer, a new lead and Jane on top of his game, what more could we ask for?

First runner up: Cho and Rigsby playing the sea lion in the middle of the bullpen. It was both a hilarious and cute scene and probably a sign that the guy doesn’t suffer from PTSD after the events in ‘Blood Feud’. Cho even cracked a smile!

Second Runner up: Every scene with Jane playing negotiator. Outrageous as they were, they were also very funny and the shocked looks on everyone’s face afterwards was priceless.

Best Lines

“Tell me, what are you wearing?” Jane to Isaac on the phone. Cruel but still hilarious.

Reviewbrain: this moment was so classic Jane I didn’t care how cruel it was. I’m a hypocrite like that :p

“You’re selling beer here, not Champagne” Jane again, to the kidnapper who demands too high a price for Marcus’ friends. Talk about negotiation skills…

“Then why do you look worried?” Lisbon, answering to Jane assuring her that the kidnapper would call back. Seeing her reading his impassive expression is always enjoyable. Even more when the man tries to deny it.

“You don’t criticize his performance? Just mine?” Lisbon, to Jane about Rigsby.

“He was good. You? *gestures so-so with his hands*” Aw, Lisbon! I think she tries too hard when she acts in front of Jane (see the “Bite me!” in episode Red Scare) as opposed to her flawless performance in front of Brenda in Season three’s finale Strawberries and Cream.

Icings on the Cake

Even though a overly snappy and insensitive Lisbon is somewhat worrying, it was still nice to see her at last angered with Jane about something… even if that something is him listening to opera too loudly… A Lisbon giving her misbehaving consultant a piece of her mind is always a good thing!

Lisbon (whom we’ve never seen seeking the spotlight before) offering to do interviews with reporters instead of Jane whom wase nowhere to be found, only to get shot down by Brenda was very cute. She looked like a hurt puppy!

Reviewbrain: The case touched on two of this season’s possible continuous themes:

-Gary Dietz (Michael Petrone) was closer to Isaac Goodwin than his own brother, Marcus. When Isaac and his wife Pella went out of town, they asked Gary and Sloan to take care of their dog rather than Isaac. The couple were also willing to fork over all their money to save their friends life. And at the end of episode, the hug they gave him when he returned to them safely shows they don’t just consider him their friend. He’s family. I’d stated in an earlier review that there’s the family you are born with (Rigsby and his father) and the family you choose (Lisbon and her team). I like to think that this is a throwback to this theme.

-Sloan’s character seemed to allude to another of this season’s themes: love.  Specifically, the unconditional (though not necessarily romantic) love Lisbon has for Jane. They have gone through so much together. She has taken so much grief in her professional (and probably personal) life too due to his larger than life personality and general disregard for everything non-RJ related. But we’ve rarely seen her complain. Despite all, she enjoys his company and presence and is unwavering loyal. Contrast this with Sloan who is a complete opposite. As far as we can tell the only thing her poor husband Gary is guilty of is not being rich. When he begs her to spare him, asking what he ever did to her, she responds that he wasted ten years of her life; brought her down with him. I found the contrast too polar to be a coincidence. I think it is either further evidence to indicate how strong Lisbon and Jane’s (and by proximity the team’s) bond is, as All-I-Need suggested, or dark foreshadowing that Lisbon’s patience might also come to an end.

Honorable Mentions

It was quite intriguing to see Anne Dudek as the traitorous Sloan Dietz. I wonder if, given her ambivalent part in “House” some years ago, seeing her as one of the hostages has tipped off some viewers about Sloan…

Blake Neely’s tunes at the end scene was fantastic. Quietly moody during the interrogation, then swelling into Jane’s familiar theme, only more bad-ass with the addition of I think a new instrument (I think) as Jane swaggered out of the house and told the awaiting police “He’s all yours”?

Michael Shamus Wiles was fantastic, offering a multitude of depth to a man we’ve never met before and managing to humanize a man we’re told is a rapist.

The direction by John F. Showalter was quite superb, holding together a pretty complicated story.

Pet Peeves

–  Jane did the right thing by calling the police to arrest the rapist deputy at the end. But won’t that warn whoever took Lorelei that Jane is getting closer? That seemed awfully imprudent for someone as cautious as Jane.

Reviewbrain: I know! I was shocked! And happy! Could it be our man is starting to respect the law? I can almost imagine Lisbon’s reaction:

Lisbon: So I heard you turned in Walter for rape.

Jane: I did. He also told me where he took Lorelie.

Lisbon: Wow. All this without breaking the law. So how’d you get him to confess?

Jane: ….

Lisbon: Jane?

Jane: I broke into his house, snooped until I learned enough to cold read him into confessing.

Lisbon: ……Of course you did. Silly me.

Sorry. I couldn’t help it XD

Conclusion: The primary goal of this episode was certainly to announce grand and dark things to come from Jane. It made me wonder about its title: what is this “Cherry Picked” referring to? One of the meanings of the expression “cherry picking” is to select data in order confirm a particular theory or position, while putting aside any other evidence that might infirm it. So is Jane cherry picking? Selecting evidence that confirms his opinion, while ignoring the other evidence that doesn’t fit with his theory? He actually did just that with the case, he’s taken the risk to put a couple in mortal danger because he didn’t take the situation seriously: he’s been focusing on the indications that one of the hostage may be involved, but neglecting that a man had already been killed. And there were no consequences for him, therefore we can be sure he will do it again. Does that also mean he’s doing the same thing about Lorelei’s disappearance, by focusing on the FBI? Will he endanger someone else because he’ll be underestimating the risks once more? On another hand, the second “cherry” that appears in a title may also allude to the questions that were dropped by Charlotte in ‘Devil’s Cherry’, about his motivations and the infutility of chasing RJ. Here, Jane metaphorically picks the cherry up by choosing his answer to his imaginary daughter’s query: he picks up the game and chooses to continue hunting RJ.

Reviewbrain: I think the title refers to how the victim was chosen to compel the ransom, as well as Jane picking the right man out of the many who transported inmates from the prison. But your theory that the title might refer to information Jane is choosing to believe fits something I thought of the other day upon reading comments to my Red Dawn Review. I had shared my crazy, crazy, theory that Minelli might be Red John. Thankfully most of you (mock glares at Windsparrow) disagreed but another thought then crossed my mind. Red John told Jane he had a friend in the FBI. Jane saw it as a double bluff, not that RJ was lying to mislead him as Lisbon thought. Now RJ probably does have a friend in the FBI but why would he share that with Jane? Jane had said because he would have found out eventually. I agree, but I don’t think that’s why RJ told Jane. Rather, I think RJ shared this information as a mislead; to hide the fact that he has a friend in the CBI. Now both CBI Ron and CBI Karl have been making more regular appearances. Is it really just for the sake of realism (which I appreciate very much) or could it simply be a coincidence? We’ll see.

Once again thank you so much Violet for your help! Please don’t forget to rate the review to show your appreciation of her 🙂

Image by Chizuruchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain November 2012. Not to be used without permission.

 

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Mentalist The Crimson Hat Review

Six months after he was fired from his job by CBI Head Luther Wainwright (Michael Rady), Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) has fallen into hard times and has reverted back to living the life of a con-man, performing fake psychic reads on people in Las Vegas. There, he meets cocktail waitress Lorelei (Emmanuelle Chriqui) who bails him out when a scuffle with a disgruntled customer lands him in jail. Meanwhile Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and her team work the death of an anonymous male gun-shot victim.

Concise Verdict

A while back on twitter, I mentioned that the massive spoilers leaking had been done strategically to prepare fans for something. I never expected that something to be a sucker punch of awesomeness. With The Crimson Hat, Bruno Heller delivers about 43 minutes of epic excellence, beautifully directed by Chris Long and fantastically scored by Blake Neely (who incidentally has done phenomenal work this season). Then we have the acting, or more appropriately THE ACTING!!!! Sigh. Please, for the love of god, PLEASE let there be director’s commentary on this episode. Mr. Heller has been far too modest to deprive us of his genius so I’m taking this opportunity to give everyone a chance to voice their opinion:

Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)

Mentalist fans have been off-the-charts amazing this season and I really wanted to cater this particular review to their needs. So I asked if they have any particular questions about the episode and got a flood of replies. Thank you to everyone who participated. Those who couldn’t, you were there in spirit. Also helping me along is the one and only Windsparrow giving her two cents with this one.

Now with regards to the organization of the review, I split according to themes, and the relative questions will be answered where appropriate. But first, a message from our guest reviewer:

Windsparrow:

Dear People in Charge of Releasing End of Season Mentalist Spoilers:

Thank you so much for all the misdirection!

I do not usually indulge in spoilers – half the time I will not even watch Doctor Who trailers with the Man – but somehow I got caught up in them this time. They were all over my Twitter feed, and I did not know how to escape.  Wave after wave of spoilers rolled through and the furor they caused kept crashing over my head. At some point I started thinking some of that stuff had to be taken with a grain – no, make that a space shuttle payload – of salt. Then I started hoping that there was a hefty dose of mentalism in those spoons full of spoilers. And there was, so there were plenty of surprises left for me in “The Crimson Hat”.

I have never been so grateful for being willfully misled before. Thanks again.

Lots of love,

Me (Windsparrow)

Reviewbrain: I suspect many fans feel this way too, especially die hard J/L shippers who went off the rails at the suggestion that Jane might get a new romantic interest.

Speaking of the lovely Lorelei, let’s get on with the our first question for this review…

Raven ‏@Raven__Claw: After first meeting Lorelei in the bar did Jane suspected her to be RJ’s girl and tested her reaction with his comments like “I’m a conman, I steal from people” and later when she didn’t shrink back “I killed a man last year … now when I recall shooting him dead it still feels good”? or the moment she showed up on his door or was it after he found out she was the one who paid the bail or was it really after she talked about RJ which I don’t believe?

Another question, quite related to this one:

Didi ‏@RFewTimeT: Do you think Jane knew that Lorelei works for RJ before he slept with her, Because J. Gadd & A. Gable haven’t the same opinion.

As I understand it, Ashley Gable (writer/executive producer) thinks Jane had Lorelei pegged the whole time while Jimmy Gadd (an editor) doesn’t. I’m not entirely convinced they didn’t agree to have opposing arguments just to keep the answer ambiguous. Evil geniuses.

The popular opinion seems to be that Jane has been pulling a long con since episode Red Rover, Red Rover. Jane himself tells this to Lisbon when he meets her after sixth months of being away. Now we could just take him for his word, but where’s the fun in that? I’d rather examine all possible evidence the episode has to offer starting with their first meeting.

VIS #1: Jane and Lorelei’s first Meeting

Windisparrow: So there was Patrick Jane sitting at that bar, looking kind of rough, chatting up a pretty girl. The way he talked, it reminded me of the Man saying he figured Jane was playing a long game with another pretty girl, earlier in this season.

Reviewbrain: It reminded me of the pilot. For some reason Jane’s no right or wrong contention and the tone he used brought to my mind his “There is no afterlife” speech in the pilot. I liked it and the insinuation that Jane might have regressed. He wasn’t talking about the same subject, but the general negativity was similar. One difference, however, is that his manner here is much more resigned then it was in the pilot.

The scene introduces Jane’s “romantic interest”. If you’re part of team “long-con” you might have already decided Jane had suspected Lorelei of working for RJ from the very beginning. Let’s see the supporting evidence…

To start, Jane knew Lorelei’s name, he said he’d seen her before. And his whole approach with Lorelei from the very beginning of the episode was of someone who was filtering out the people he meets.  He tells her he’s a con man. He tells her he killed a man, and still relishes the memory, even if he knows it was the wrong man. He intentionally appears as someone of questionable morality.

-The simplest explanation is that Jane’s words could have been due to what he tells Lisbon later, he was laying a trap to get RJ to contact him. But another possibility could be that Jane was just being careful about making sure it looked like he really had quit; like he told Luther, as opposed to simply pretending to quit. And if that’s true, then Jane would naturally suspect anyone who contacts him of being one of RJ’s spies, checking on him to make sure he’s really not looking for RJ anymore. A third possibility is that Red John might have nothing to do with it Jane’s conversation with Lorelei. Jane simply decided to spare himself and any woman who approaches him (and I suspect there have been many) time and grief by getting all his bad qualities out there, to get rid of anyone who tries to get close to him, letting them know he’s not relationship material. But then we have the fact that Jane usually gets rid of interested women by showing them his wedding ring. So here, Jane could be multi-tasking by telling people about himself to spread the word to RJ that he’s back to conning people, and that killing Carter satisfied him enough that he no longer cares about killing RJ. Again, either because this information is genuinely true or because he’s pulling a long-con.

Still yet, another possibility is that Jane and Lorelei were just two people having a genuine discussion (as far as Jane knew, anyway). It certainly seemed that way. And Jane’s never had problems talking about personal things with random people (Scarlett Fever, Jolly Red Elf), or sharing his controversial views with others, even when it might work against him (to Darcy in “Always Bet on Red). Jane’s particular question to Lorelei about happiness: “You seem like a happy soul, are you happy?” especially seemed like honest to God curiosity. His follow up question “What’s your secret?” and ironic reply “Oh, yes. Yes, I’ve heard that,” when she replies that faith keeps her happy seem just as real.

Their next meeting, after Jane gets in a fight and subsequently arrested, provides more clues…

But first, a question from a fellow fan:

lyn walker ‏@lyn42: Jane was arrested for NARCOTICS. What was that? To be sure of being jailed?

It could be that the drugs were for medicinal use that Jane didn’t bother getting prescriptions for:

“In current usage, “narcotic” can refer to an opiate, to every addictive substance, and even to every psychoactive substance.” -sleepdex.org/

Or, Jane could have started using drugs the better to show RJ he’d hit rock bottom and needs his help; like Lynn suggested, to ensure his arrest. The same goes for the fact that Jane punched one of the cops (who at that point thought they were helping him).

On the other hand, Jane punching the cop could have been because he was truly trying to run away. His arrest was inevitable once Oscar told his side of the story (hence the fraud charge). If Jane had the drugs on him at the time of the scuffle, then he had more reason to fear an arrest.

There’s also a third possibility, which I’ll come back to later…

VIS#2: Lorelei Visits Jane at his Motel

Jane seems to have forgotten Lorelei’s name, “he calls her Laurie” when he opens the door.

-If Jane was pulling a long-con then this mistake was probably intentional to hide his interest in the suspicious woman. Or, he could have just been drunk as he’d polished off a small bottle of liquor (usually the hard stuff) as soon as he’d arrived at his room, and may have had more, leaving his memory clumsy.

Lorelei says her visiting Jane was a mistake and turns to leave, but Jane calls her back and invites her in when he learns she brought him chicken soup.

-I think at this point the fact that Jane’s previous brutal honesty didn’t scare her off certainly might have had Jane suspicious of the woman. It shows especially when he asks her a whole line of questions: how did she know where he lived (she asked the bail bondsman), then how she knows the bondsman (she’s the one who bailed Jane) then why did that for him (Lorelei thinks he’s a good man who lost his way). Finally, Jane asks why she chose to go for him, for this particular good man. He asks this with an almost cheeky grin, to which Lorelei tells him, “wow, you’re going to make me say it out loud?” incredulously. She then adds that she felt that they had got along great, and that there seemed to be a connection, and thought maybe he did too. When she asks if she was wrong, Jane tells her she wasn’t.

-So Jane was wary of the woman at the beginning. But I personally don’t think he slept with her knowing she was RJ’s girl. Why? Well, besides the fact that I find the situation much more interesting had he not known; there have been some hints to suggest it…

-After she answers all his questions, Jane tells Lorelei that he’s not the catch she might think he is by first appearances. I don’t he would have done that unless he honestly believed her to be real. There’s no reason for a Jane “pretending” to hit rock bottom for RJ’s sake, who wants to appear like he doesn’t believe in right or wrong, to be so courteous. He might have been testing the waters at this point, letting the woman know what she’s getting into by wanting a relationship with him because he was genuinely interested in her, truly felt the connection she talked about.

-At the beginning of the scene, Jane appeared nervous when he saw Lorelei look through the peephole when she knocks his door. When it concerns RJ, Jane’s only ever acted excited, never nervous. Here, I was reminded of his demeanor around Kristina, his first date. Which could mean Jane knew a “first” something else might have been in the cards. This is true even if Jane thought she came from RJ’s end, I just don’t think so.

Which answers the next question…

Raven ‏@Raven__Claw: Could it be that Jane has slept with other women who approached him in the last six months? It doesn’t look like it would be his first time after nine years (judging by his little reaction we saw).

This is a very good question, but I don’t think this was an issue. Other women would have been put off when they saw Jane’s wedding ring. If not, then by his first statement of “I’m a conman, I steal from people.” And if that didn’t do the trick then “I killed a man” certainly would have.

As to how easily Jane and Lorelei got together, we should take into consideration that Jane has been away from his team, his surrogate family and his best friends for the past sixth months. He must have felt very lonely. He’d also been celibate for nine years before that, and was probably a little drunk (the liquor he had earlier, as soon as he entered his room).

But I also don’t want to belittle Jane’s agreement that he felt a connection to Lorelei. If he was telling the truth, then perhaps, after feeling reassured that she was innocent of being RJ’s pawn, Jane was touched by the fact that she thought he was a good man even after he’d told her all his flaws. It doesn’t hurt that Lorelei is a very beautiful woman. And helping Jane out, despite everything she knows about him…he probably thought he’d found his ideal woman, the one who knows the worst side of him and still loves him (a criterion uttered by Jane in Every Rose Has its Thorn).

There’s also another issue that could have indirectly contributed to Jane’s night with Lorelei,- this is where I’ll mention the third possible reason for Jane using drugs, and punching the cop when he got arrested. It concerns the following question…

Fiona Henderson ‏@ginger_ninja24: What did you make of Jane’s sure-fire confidence that it was Lisbon who paid his bail?

Jane was absolutely positive Lisbon was the one who bailed him out. I’m taking a page out of his book here and saying he believed it because it’s what he wanted to believe. Perhaps Jane assumed Lisbon heard about the drugs and his punching a cop and came running to his rescue. Heck, maybe he punched a cop because he wanted to make sure word got to her of his downward spiral. Maybe he thought that despite everything, despite his ignoring her calls, Lisbon was still looking out for him. The fact that Lisbon didn’t bail him out could have made Jane think that he had truly lost her friendship. This might have contributed to feelings of vulnerability which in turn might have made him more receptive to Lorelei; he thought had no one else.

Again, this is provided we go along with the theory that Jane hadn’t known Lorelei was RJ’s disciple. If he had known then his sleeping with her was part of his long con; something he did because he thought he had to- like (trying) seducing Erica (War of the Roses), taking Sam off his morphine drip (His Right Red Hand) , watching a man kill himself (The Red Mile), etc.

Windsparrow: What we saw in “Fugue in Red” – Jane casually inviting Lisbon to join him in his hospital bed and grabbing her butt, the woman he hugged during his performance (sorry, but that was not about her comfort), having Tamarra clinging to him, and now with Lorelei – the Patrick Jane who is comfortable jumping right in to a physical relationship is a Patrick Jane running a scam.

Reviewbrain: I’m just jumping in to remind people that that *wasn’t* Patrick Jane. But the point still stands.

If Jane was running a scam here, then perhaps his punching the cop in the teaser was him wanting to ensure he’d get arrested. He knew Lisbon would hear about it, and hoped she’d pick him up so he could tell her his plan without risking blowing his cover by calling her himself.

But if that were true, if Jane really was waiting for Red John to reach out to him, he wouldn’t have expected Lisbon to bail him out, he would have expected RJ to have done that. I’ll take it even further: why would Jane sabotage “the plan” by asking if Teresa Lisbon was the one who posted his bail? If Jane thought RJ was watching his every move, If Jane had purposely stayed away from Lisbon to trap the man, he wouldn’t have brought up the possibility that, after six months of being away, he thinks Lisbon might still be there for him, would bail him out, as that would have given away the depth of their friendship to RJ.

This hints that Jane’s “plan” to Lisbon might have been one of opportunity, and not as perfectly constructed as he wants her to believe. But more on that later…

I’d said, I didn’t think Jane knew Lorelei was RJ’s girl when he slept with her. That he might have suspected her until after she answered all his questions and told him she felt a connection with him. After that, he actually could have thought she was someone he can have a relationship with. More reasons for this opinion:

-When Jane asks Lorelei how she knew he loved eggs, his tone wasn’t suspicious like it was before when he asked her all the other questions (how’d you know where to find me, why’d you bail me out, etc.). Rather, he seemed genuinely amused, happy that she guessed he liked eggs. Of course, this could have been an act Jane was putting on for her benefit. As could have been how shocked he looked when she told him RJ was the one who sent her. It will probably forever go into the “we’ll never know” category of this show (along with Jane’s meltdown at CBI, his horror after kissing Erica the first time, etc).

But I don’t think so. Jane’s honest reactions, one’s that Lorelei wasn’t privy to give him away.

-The morning after, when Jane looks at his lover cooking for him he smiles a smile that looks quite content. Happy, even.

-Then Lorelei tells him who she is. Horrified, Jane kicks her out. Again, act or real? Jane’s state afterwards, his unsteady breathing, and how serious his face is before a smile gradually started forming on his face, seemed to me like his mind was quickly recovering from his shock and catching up with the opportunity he was just given. If Jane had suspected who Lorelei was all along, I suspect he would have been doing cartwheels the instant she left, happy that his plan finally panned out.

There’s one more piece of evidence but as it occurs in a later scene, I’ll be discussing it there.

For now, which possibility do you think most likely?

VIS #3 Jane and Lisbon at Church

 Earlier in the episode, Lisbon seemed to have taken a hard line with Jane, telling the others that if he needs them, he’ll call them and that if Jane wants to get better he has to hit rock bottom and know it. But later, we see Lisbon looking at Jane’s number on her phone, debating with herself on whether to call him. She doesn’t and at the end of the day takes a long walk home alone, obviously troubled and saddened by Jane’s situation. She also tells Grace that she’s taking some “personal time” off.

Apparently, that time off was so that she could go to church, where Jane meets her.

Windsparrow: By the way, Lisbon’s Catholic, so it is highly unlikely that Jane could crawl under the pews, what with the kneelers and all. Even in a Baptist church to get under the pews he would have had to do a meltable-green-army-man infantry crawl. On his hands and knees, he would have to crawl up the far aisle and over to her between the pews. Of course, in conversation no one is going to explain all that.

Reviewbrain: Of course. Now I absolutely loved this scene. The entire exchange was fantastic. But for some reason I felt it a bit ambiguous. Jane was apparently following Lisbon waiting for an opportunity to talk to her. But somehow it felt like the meeting was arranged before hand, although nothing in the dialogue suggests that.  Note, if the meeting had been pre-arranged, it would have been off screen,  after Jane he finds out Lorelei’s is RJ’s girl. But again, nothing suggests that that was the case.

I do know part of the reason I felt that way was due to how easily Jane and Lisbon fell into their same banter. It seemed a bit too quick considering they haven’t seen each other for six months; almost surreal. On the other hand, character-wise, it makes sense. Neither of them is big on drama. And it’s not like they didn’t talk about the emotional strain of Jane’s ruse. At least, Lisbon did anyway.

When she expresses doubt that RJ will fall into Jane’s trap, he tells her “Fooled you, I can fool him.”

This was a particularly jerky thing to say considering the circumstances. Jane seems to realizes it even before Lisbon’s rueful, “Yeah, you fooled me alright, well done,” because he readily apologizes. Lisbon goes on to say that she tried calling Jane “hundreds of times” and he never replied.

-The statement clarifies her stance at the beginning of the episode (not wanting to reach out to Jane when she heard his arrest). At some point, Lisbon must have decided that enough was enough; if Jane needed her he’d call her himself and that she had to try to move on.

Try, of course being the operative word as she goes on to state that she’s been so worried she hasn’t been able to sleep well. Jane lets Lisbon vent her frustrations before asking her “But you will help me?” to which she replies “What am I supposed to say, no? God you’re despicable.”

-I stated before that Jane has fallen into the category of people Lisbon will stick up for no matter what (her family). Her loyalty here cinches it. I do wish she would have pummeled him a bit before giving in so easily. But it wouldn’t really have made a difference.

Jane gives Lisbon a clean phone to enable their secure communication. When Lisbon goes on to berate him, Jane takes off. Her statement “I can’t believe you couldn’t trust me with something like this, we’re supposed to be partners” and “what you did, frankly, was a betrayal” recall a previous conversation, season three’s premiere when she call him out on pulling away from the team. Here, however, her questioning demand served to provide some insight on why Jane didn’t tell Lisbon his plans. This becomes clearer in the next VIS…

VIS  #4 Wainwright Wants Jane Back

Luther tells Lisbon that he wants to give Jane a call that “it’s the humane thing to do” especially since he was “a big part of the CBI family”. He adds that if they get him into rehab, he might get a lighter sentence; community service perhaps and eventually get his job back “come back and work for us eventually, God knows we need him.”

-Luther’s timing seems awfully coincidental; he reaches out to Jane the same time that RJ does. It’s possible that he’s RJ’s man; wanting to check and see if Jane has no intention of coming back to the CBI, even if he got offered his job back. But I don’t think so. He seemed genuine.

That said, this scene is quite important. First, it lets us know the state of affairs at CBI after Jane left; not as many cases have been closed. Second, it gives us insight on Luther’s character; he’s a pragmatist. Third, it cleverly explains that Jane will be able to get his job back at CBI; this saves on having to explain the process in next season’s premiere. But most importantly, it offers an explanation why Jane didn’t include Lisbon in on his plans…

Lisbon, not wanting Luther to mess with Jane’s plan, tells her boss she doesn’t think she can work with Jane again, that she needs someone she can rely on. When Luther says “I’m surprised, I thought you would want to help him,” Lisbon automatically replies “I do,” before realizing she’s about to give Jane away. She then goes on to say “It’s not how it looks,” and adds that she thinks Jane is better off alone right now.

-Lisbon awkwardness here goes a long way to show why Jane didn’t include her in on his ruse. It’s continuity to the fact that Lisbon is a terrible liar. Bosco once told her she has “honest eyes” and Jane flat out told her that she a bad liar. This was a very important reminder and explains Jane’s lack of contact with her.

Finally, Lisbon’s small give away sets up Luther and Darcy’s conversation later on in the episode.

VIS #5 Lorelei tells Jane to kill Lisbon

Lorelei tells Jane all he needs to do to start a new life, with Red John’s help, is accept his friendship by bringing him a gift “Teresa Lisbon’s dead body.” Jane laughs and tells her “That’s absurd,” followed by an emphatic “There has to be another way.” At his distress, Lorelei holds kindly tells him: “I understand you’re not there yet. But look at it from his point of view. How else will he know you’ve truly had a change of heart?”

I thought it quite interesting that Jane couldn’t even pretend that this request horrified him. It also compels an interesting question:

Raven‏@Raven__Claw: Now that RJ/L wanted Lisbon’s body as a gift do you think Lisbon will be his next target as revenge for trying to fool him?

Hmm. Red John has never before made any outright suggestion that he wanted Lisbon dead. I did have my suspicions in season three that RJ having Todd Johnson kill cops was a message to Jane. But that was pure conjecture. Lisbon-in-peril would make for a great plot line, but I don’t think it’ll be used this soon in the show, so I’m inclined to say no. I think it was just a test to see whether Jane turned or not. Then there’s the added bonus that it gives Jane one more thing to worry about; just something else to screw with Jane’s head.

VIS #5 Jane Shoots Lisbon/ “I Love You” moment

This scene had the most hits, question-wise:

Didi ‏@RFewTimeT  How do you interpret the “Love you”? I have my idea about it but I would like others opinion.

Maggie B. ‏@FragmentedShard: I’d like to hear your thoughts on why he said what he did right before he shot her and why the deflection of her asking him why he said it later?

 Raven ‏@Raven__Claw asked: I would want to know if Jane said the L word because he thought that Lisbon’s office might be bugged and if so why he avoided her question later. It would have make sense to say “I love you” if he knew there was a bug but no camera hidden. No one would have actually “seen” him shoot her… but why the hug? Or did he do this because he thought it could go wrong?

Fiona Henderson ‏@ginger_ninja24 Why do you think Lisbon asked Jane for clarification of what he said just before he ‘shot’ her? And why did Jane say those words?

Niro Rahu@NiroRahu And the most important scene I want to ask you about or discuss, the part where Lisbon questions Jane about ‘the last thing you said before shooting me’. Here I think my theory about Lisbon has fallen for Jane is proven and Jane’s nonchalant shrug just exasperated me. Can’t for once they not beat around the bush and talk about their feelings. I don’t know where Jane’s head was at that moment but the shipper in me wanted him to believe he meant it.

Collective Answer:

Jane definitely meant it. There was absolutely no reason for him to say it otherwise. I don’t think a bug could have caused Jane to say that he loved Lisbon. On the contrary. If he thought RJ bugged her office he wouldn’t have said “Good Luck Teresa” either, as it would give away the fact that they have something planned. If John heard either statements he’d probably get very suspicious.

So I’m with the answer that Jane was fearful things would go wrong, (like they might have gotten hurt trying to leave the CBI) so he wanted to get his feelings off his chest first.  Jane might have also been worried about having to “shoot” Lisbon. The gun could have been filled with blanks, but if not, he might have been worried that he’d hurt her even if she was wearing a Kevlar (or two, I’d like to think for my peace of mind). Then again, Bruno Heller could have just been throwing fans a candy filled bone. To be completely honest, the moment was a bit random.  But these two were due for a profession of some sort and if it had taken place at the church, it would have ruined an otherwise mostly light-hearted scene.

As to the deflection, we have several possibilities. Jane said he was “hyped up” when he said he loved Lisbon, hinting that it had come out unwittingly. But that’s a lie. Just like Lisbon asking Jane what he meant most likely was. I’m pretty sure she knew what Jane meant, but she needed added assurance. So does Jane, probably. After making the first move, he leaves the ball in Lisbon’s court. He wants to see how she’d react if she’s given an out. It’s an interesting decision from him, especially after Lisbon managed to raise the subject.

At this point, it seems that both realize that they’re harboring more than just feelings of friendship towards each other, but are tentative of taking matters further. It could have been an issue of timing. They were in the middle of a plan to catch RJ.

Mind you, Jane loving Lisbon doesn’t necessarily mean he is “in” love with her (don’t shoot the messenger) hence Lisbon’s question “What did you mean?” Might also be that Jane himself isn’t aware of what his feelings are and so dodged the question. Not likely though. I’d even venture to say that Jane’s attraction to Lisbon started at the pilot (that smile after the jumping paper frog). So perhaps Jane simply doesn’t think Lisbon is quite ready for the answer to her question.

Nor is the show. Writer’s have been blessedly very careful with these two (Good Wife people can take tips here; unless they intend to end Will/Alicia) and I think that’s very wise. We still have three years left on The Mentalist; plenty of time for Jane and Lisbon drama. We’ve seen their friendship gradually evolve and once again, like all the finales before it, this one takes the relationship to a new level, and gives us plenty of set-up for next season. Them having had this conversation would be premature. But by having Jane say the words means his feelings are in canon. Gratifying, considering teaser a la Ashley Gable in Strawberries and Cream.

VIS #6: Jane Thanks the Team

The team helps Jane and Lisbon entrap RJ. But their disgruntled reactions when Jane apologizes for deceiving them, and thanks them for helping him now, were very interesting. Grace’s resigned “whatever” seemed like she was sorry for all the energy she spent worrying about Jane (i.e. how upset she got when she heard about his arrest). Then there was Cho’s terse “We’re helping the boss.”

Windsparrow: I wonder about Cho being so hard on Jane. Not that he does not deserve it, but is it all resentment for Jane’s betrayal of the team, going off without explanation, or is it that Cho sees how Jane’s absence has hurt Lisbon, and is cutting Jane for her sake?

Reviewbrain: That’s quite an interesting take that hadn’t crossed my mind. It’s quite plausible. We’ve had plenty of evidence that Cho hearts his boss (Blood Stream, Little Red Book) and might be upset for her sake, knowing how worried she’s been. But it might be that Cho’s is angry because he himself was worried about Jane, especially considering his statement to Lisbon in the previous episode that he thinks Jane is in trouble. Viewers might remember Cho’s body language, arms crossed tightly as he (nervously!) rocked on his feet as Jane and Luther’s fight played out in Red Rover, Red Rover. Either way, his reaction is perfectly in character.

 As to Rigsby, he was quick to concur with Cho’s sentiment that he was going with the plan for Lisbon’s sake:  “Yeah. She’s helping you, we’re helping her.”

Poor Wayne. Rigsby was always devoted to Jane (i.e. “it’s not that we need him, he needs us”). But it seems like his hurt here is proportionate to how much he cared, and how sweet a character he is.

Most importantly thought, his and Cho’s statements reinforce a very important idea: this is Lisbon’s team.

VIS #7 Crimson Hat Revealed

Robin’s Green Shades ‏@RobinTunneyBlog Who is RJ’s mole in the FBI now? Not Darcy? And interesting what Jane was reading.. 😉

Jane was reading “Modern Man in Search of a Soul” from C. G. Jung (via RobinTunneyBlog, via Raven__Claw). I won’t comment cause I haven’t read the book myself, but it’s quite an intriguing title. As to RJ’s mole, when Jane meets up with Lorelei (with a melon substituting for Lisbon’s head), he learns that RJ had already figured out his ruse due to an informant he has in the FBI “I found out when they found out.” FBI found out when the hard- nosed Agent Darcy (Catherine Dent) investigates the death of Rigsby. She had visited Wainwright earlier to offer her condolences on Lisbon and Rigsby. There, upon her bewilderment at the events, Luther shares what Lisbon had told him, “it’s not what it seems”. This sets Susan’s mind to work trying to figure out what was going on until she find the CBI team, apprehends them, before going on to help them.

So who is RJ’s mole? My money’s either on a member of Darcy’s team, or one of her bosses, since RJ was so quick to hear about what is going on. Darcy’s helping the CBI at the end probably means that she’s in the clear. If she was working for Red John, then Lorelei wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to cut off Jane’s fingers and leave before Lisbon explains matters to Darcy. If the FBI agent was working for RJ, then time wouldn’t have been an issue; she could have just pretended that she didn’t believe Lisbon’s story. Also, I doubt she would have allowed Lorelei to fall into CBI’s hands, not without killing her first.

Then there’s her earlier visit to Wainwright at CBI, and the rhetoric between them also seemed like a conversation between two people who seemed to like and respect each other. If she’s innocent, then the fact that her bullets are what probably killed Wainwright when she shot RJ’s limo at the end really sucks for her, as depicted by her horrified reaction.

Speaking of which, Luther Wainwright revealed as being the man in the limousine was a huge shocker. There were plenty of questions regarding that, both from us reviewers and the readers. But first, let’s get one thing out of the way:

x_Vintage_x ‏@x_Vintage_x: Red John’s voice was SB’s. RJ IS NOT Jane. Why use him and not another actor? For the sake of not giving any identity?!

Reviewbrain: Luckily, MInTheSky ‏@bmoon_sky saw Simon Baker when he was filming in London. She shared on twitter:

“During a short photo session w/ fans, I asked: Did you do Red John’s voice? Simon Baker :”No, I didn’t.” http://pic.twitter.com/PMDntwxT

I’m going to go all mentalist on Simon Baker here and say that he used a contracted denial. It was great to have an answer to the question as I know a lot of people were bothered by the similarity. I would like to point out that a couple of years ago fans swore RJ’s voice in the season two finale was identical to Brett Partrige’s (crime scene tech from the pilot), even though at that time, RJ was pretty much whispering. A linguist would tell you that you can’t identify voices from whispers. In this episode, RJ was probably speaking through a voice altering device, so I wouldn’t worry too much about his voice.

Windisparrow The title “The Crimson Hat” is that Wainwright’s head wound, or is a reference to something I don’t get?

Reviewbrain: Great guess. When I first heard the title my mind immediately went to the hat as a magician’s hat. If that’s the case , then Luther here was the proverbial bunny pulled out of Red John’s hat.

Domenic Pugliano ‏@FLICKSTER77  I wonder if RJ was ever actually in the limo (BUT he does say to Loralie “We should get going” was he ever in there? Where did he go?

Reviewbrain: Red John was never there. He just said “we” so Jane wouldn’t suspect he wasn’t. My question is, why the heck was Wainwright in that limo in the first place?

According to Lorelei, RJ had wanted to meet with Jane. RJ said that Jane had strung him along quite a while until his friend with the FBI let him know something was up. This entails that the serial killer only used Luther to fill in for him after he discovered Jane’s ruse; presumably, the  better to horrify Jane and the others and show off his prowess. I assume that if Lorelei and company had managed to get away, they had planned to kill Luther and leave him for CBI to find (i.e. the coroner in episode Red is the New Black).

But then why Luther? It might be that Red John wanted Wainwright dead as punishment if he thought Luther had been in on Jane’s ruse. Then again, if RJ knew that the CBI head had been willing to give Jane his job back, he could have killed him to keep that from happening. It might be far-fetched but RJ had Rebecca kill an entire CBI team so Jane would get the RJ case back (Season two’s His Right Red Hand); so Jane could get RJ back. Here we have the opposite situation: Jane, going back to CBI, stops him from turning into RJ’s accomplice.

That is, of course, all supposing Luther is innocent of being an RJ lackey-something fans probably won’t take on faith. On the other hand…

Domenic Pugliano ‏@FLICKSTER77 If Wainwright was a mole, why was his mouth taped up?

Maybe RJ was worried that he’ll turn on him (like Todd Johnson almost did before he got killed in ‘Red Moon‘). Most likely, Luther was completely innocent and the tape was to keep him quiet. I’m also guessing that he was given some sort of sedative too, he was sitting way too still in his seat for a conscious hostage.

Domenic Pugliano ‏@FLICKSTER77 When Jane is talking to RJ in limo, Jane is not actually looking directly at him.. He is talking to his reflection. Jane is facing the front -whereas RJ is in the back.

I think this decision was made by the director as it would have probably not been as stylistically attractive/suspenseful if Jane turned to look around at RJ. Let’s not forget Lorelei was sitting right beside Jane and probably wouldn’t have allowed him to do that as he would have found out it wasn’t really Red John sitting behind him.

Domenic Pugliano ‏@FLICKSTER77: Why does RJ ask Loralie to cut 2 fingers from Jane’s hand??

It’s Jane’s punishment for trying to deceive RJ. What I found more interesting was the fact that he let Lorelei chose the fingers, and that she went right for the ring finger. Methinks Lorelei has a thing for Jane. And not just because she wants to make it impossible for him to wear his wedding ring…

VIS #8 End Scene: Lorelei, Jane, Lisbon

When Lisbon tells Lorelei she’s very happy to meet her, that it’s rare they get to talk with someone who knows Red John so well, Lorelei responds “Good to meet you two. I heard so much about you.”

-This sentence threw me and is the final possible clue on whether Jane knew who Lorelei was before he slept with her. Where did the woman hear so much about Lisbon? The obvious answer is from Red John. But the camera, shifting to Jane in the shadows at that moment, made the idea pop into my head, that maybe, just maybe, Jane had talked to Lorelei about Lisbon, during their night together. And he wouldn’t have done that if he had suspected her of being RJ’s girl.

Of course, this is all conjecture. Camera on Jane could have just been to show that Lorelei was trying to freak him out that RJ talks a lot about Lisbon.

What is certain is how Lorelei tried to rile both Jane and Lisbon up by telling Lisbon about their tryst, conveniently wording it as if they spent more time together than they actually had: “We were lovers, him and me. Did he tell you that?”

Lorelei was obviously trying to sabotage Jane’s friendship with Lisbon. Chriqui was fantastically evil here.  I absolutely loved her delivery: “No? Why not lover? Are you ashamed of me? Did we do something bad?”

Then there was Jane’s response to her riling. He comes out of the shadows where he had been hiding to tell Lorelei in no uncertain terms that she will talk to him. When she denies it, Patrick reiterates his conviction, kissing the woman on her head.

Victoria-lynn ‏@Totorsg: I was wondering what could mean the kiss Jane gave to Lorelei at the end of the episode. This scene disturbed me (lol).

NiroRahu@NiroRahu: Jane hiding his indiscretion with Lorelei. Obviously, Lisbon and Jane do not share any anecdotes on their sex life but kissing Lorelei’s head in front of Lisbon must mean what? Or did he just do that to show Lorelei he cares about, a way persuading her to tell them about Red John?

Reviewbrain: I absolutely loved that kiss and Jane’s hands (upside down) cupping the sides of Lorelei’s face when he gave it to her. She’s his precious witness, probably the most important person in his life right now (save for Lisbon) and he went through a lot of trouble to get her.

Windisparrow: At the end the way Jane walked behind Lorelei, put his hands on her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head looked to me like a statement of intent: Lorelei has given enough of herself away, and Jane plans to use what she has given him as ruthlessly as he used that baby monitor in the previous episode. He intends to crack her open and scoop out the insides. There was an air of dominance and ownership to it. She had belonged to Red John, who used her to get to Jane; now Jane is going to return the favor.

Reviewbrain: That’s an awesome analysis and totally fitting for that alpha male vibe Jane was exhibiting in that room after Lorelei’s attempt at rattling him by telling Lisbon about their night. It seemed like a challenge: “I’m so cool that I’m going to kiss you intimately on the head right in front of Lisbon. That’s how in control I am.”  The kiss, coupled with his grand exit was Jane flaunting his power.

Interestingly, Lorelei’s taunts worked against her. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Jane’s got nothing to hide, hence both his symbolic and physical walk out of the shadows in that scene. Her revelation actually empowered him. Otherwise, I’m not sure Jane would have told Lisbon what happened between the siren and himself. I mean, why the heck would he? If he hadn’t known who Lorelie was then he risks appearing like a mark in front of Lisbon. If he had known the siren was RJ’s girl and slept with her anyway, he risks Lisbon thinking he’s a cold bastard, getting into bed with his family’s killer’s affiliate. Either way, the knowledge risks sabotaging their friendship and/or possibility of a future romantic relationship.

Now that Lisbon knows, however, I wonder if she will be bothered at all by the revelation. Each season we expect a confrontation between two based on the strain Jane’s quest for RJ puts on their friendship. And every season we’re shown that their bond (and Lisbon’s patience) is stronger than anyone can ever imagine. So viewers’ (and perhaps Jane’s, if it exists) concern might be once again be unfounded . But I’d be disappointed if a plot with so much potential was ignored; that would be such a waste.

Niro Rahu @NiroRahu: One more thing..I know Lorelie will be hanging around next season…but Jane wont continue his liaison with her still, will he? It’s Red John’s girl, he said it himself.

I wouldn’t worry about that, given the fact that Lorelie will most likely be in jail. On the other hand, this is Jane we’re talking about. He’s done stupider things in the past. But a prolonged relationship with RJ’s girl? We’ll have to wait and see now, won’t we.

Best Scenes

The Winner: Lisbon, Jane, and Lorelei

This scene was off the charts fantastic. The music, the acting! And so many undercurrents between Jane and Lorelei that the latter was only too happy to bring Lisbon into. The kiss, and the expression on Lisbon’s face makes that scene even better. The woman obviously has no idea what to think especially given what Lorelei told her that she and Jane were lovers. The whole thing just builds up so much anticipation for season five. Which is exactly what a finale is supposed to do.

1st Runner Up: Jane and Lisbon in Church.

Baker and Tunney were phenomenal here. I adored the tone behind every word out of Lisbon’s perfectly shaped mouth from “You scared the crap out of me” to “You son of bitch,” stated twice, the better to convey how aghast she was at Jane’s behavior. Then there was her delightfully wry “Brilliant, you did that part well, now what?” regarding the part of Jane’s plan in which he sinks into depression. As to Baker, Jane’s “Okay, we are in a church” when Lisbon cusses him was hilarious. The self-proclaimed agnostic  using the sanctity of the church to  hide from the devout woman’s wrath; talk about desperate. Finally, him sneaking out of Lisbon’s rant, banging his head on the pew first, was priceless.

2nd Runner Up: Jane and Lorelei at the bar. The dialogue, the ambiance, it was all so perfect.

Icings on the Cake

Continuity

Windisparrow: Did you notice parallel in the nature show Jane & L-lie watched with the one J watched in s1 in the motel?

Reviewbrain: Oh, yes, how can I not? The theme of tigers runs rampart within this show. It was done as an homage to one of this show’s main running themes: Blake’s Tiger Poem. The documentary was in Season one pilot, the verses were stated in Season two’s finale, Cho explained them in Season three, and now we have an allusion in season four.

windisparrow: In the pilot episode, while Jane was unable to sleep in his hotel room, he watched a nature documentary, featuring zebras being attacked by a cheetah. This time, they are being chased by lions. So the question is, who is the zebra and who is the big cat?

Honorable Mentions

Acting

I’m really running out of things to say to do justice to our regular players; Baker, Tunney, Kang, Yeoman and Righetti’s performances were all flawless, despite the latter three not having as much to do in this episode as the show’s stars. So I’ll bring attention to how completely badass both Catherine Dent and Emanuelle Chriqui were. The latter in particular shows a wide range of ability: feigned innocence, honest concern, psychotic loyalty, and indifferent cruelty. She had me at “When did that happen” in reply to Jane’s “there is no right or wrong”. I actually would have loved her as a romantic interest for Jane, but I love her even better as a foe.

Then there was Sonia Jackson as the homeless witness Bean. She grabbed my attention in a scene which would have otherwise been completely uninteresting given all that was happening with Jane. Very talented woman.

Direction

Chris Long: The teaser, the ending, the dust billowing around Jane and Lisbon in the scenic desert. I think this was one of the most romantically shot episodes of the season. Gorgeous.

Music

Like I said, composer Blake Neely’s whole work this season was fantastic; drums at the end were particular dramatic. But there was also the hauntingly melodic Chris Issak’s epic “I Wanna Fall in Love” to start off the episode. Perfect song choice to set up Jane and Lorelei’s relationship. Kudos to whoever chose it.

Wardrobe

We had quite a bit to say here:

Windsparrow: I am still impressed that a man wearing a jacket, shirt and pants can look so naked just because he is not wearing a vest. When I said that to the Man, after the episode was over, he said, “Good.” This says a thing or three about how carefully Simon Baker has crafted his portrayal of Patrick Jane. It also tells me I should avoid mentioning to the Man what I think of photos of Simon Baker surfing.

Reviewbrain: It took me so long to figure out why Jane felt so…exposed in this episode. I kept looking at his shirt and wondering “Is it cause more buttons than usual are open?” Until I figured out that it was the fact I was actually able to *see* those buttons. But yes, like you said, it felt like he was more naked sans vest than it did when he was topless in the hotel room. It’s a perfect example of how effective subtle details can be, perhaps even more so than having Lorelie’s gorgeous ra- err, figure on display. And while I appreciate the eye-candy, I hate blatant fan-service. Fit’s the character though, so I can’t complain. Grr.

Best Lines

“I do give up. I quit I burn the Red John files. I freak out at the boss I admit defeat and I sink into a terrible depression.” -Jane explaining his plan to Lisbon.

“Brilliant, you did that part great, now what?” -Lisbon, in response to the above. Tunney’s reading of this line was fantastic.

“I am giving him his heart’s desire, he will see what he wants to see.” -Jane, on Red John.

“Hey Lisbon. Must have been a while since you rode on the handlebars of a man’s bike. It’s kind of romantic. Wind in your hair.” -Jane to Lisbon, on her “head” riding with him on the bike.

“You’re a sick man.” -Lisbon, in response to the above.

“There’s a childish hopefulness about you that’s really quite adorable.”-Lorelie’s apt description of Jane.

” Melon. Honeydew. Organic.”- Jane to Lorelie, in response on what he used for Lisbon’s “head”.

“As you well know Patrick, there is no hell. When I die I won’t be punished. What If you really did have a change of heart. What if you and I were friends. Imagine the life we could lead. It’s a higher path. A nobler existence.” -Red John.

Conclusion: Jane/Lisbon Just Friends?

Windsparrow:  I just knew when Jane got around to telling Lisbon how he feels about her, there would be sparks. I just didn’t expect them to be so loud. There are these sweet moments between Jane and Lisbon – the teasing in the church: while talking with her in the church scene, Jane leaned closer and closer to Lisbon. The more emotional the talk, the nearer the physical proximity. The Man commented, “They could be kissing.” Then him saying “I’m sorry” in his for-Lisbon-only genuine tone coming through, the hug in her office and “Love you”, the expression on his face when she brought it up – daring her to say it outright, him reaching out to hold her hand after the near miss with the pruning shears – sweet, small moments that show the genuine affection he has for her. I keep replaying in my mind’s eye Jane reaching for Lisbon, running his hand down her arm then holding her hand. It’s such a beautiful gesture. It’s meaningfully and unequivocally intimate. And there is not one molecule of sibling-like feeling in it. The moves he makes toward her are such small steps, no hurry, because they matter to him. She matters to him. That’s real.

Reviewbrain: I don’t have much to say to that, so I’ll just move on to the last question for this review:

Jordan Davis ‏@imsonotMelville: Do you think Jane was still having a bit of a breakdown or more appropriate a break through?

Reviewbrain: With regards to the previous episode, I still honestly believe it was both. When Jane burned his RJ files and told Wainwright and Lisbon that he quit, he had his breakthrough that he needed to announce that he’d officially stopped hunting RJ in order to stop the serial killer, to answer RJ’s question of did he gives up yet. As to the end scene in Red Rover, Red Rover, I believe it was %100 percent a reaction to all Jane had going through, the stress of giving up on RJ manifesting itself. But Jane probably, in his subconscious felt that, although he’d already said he quit chasing RJ, quitting/getting fired from the CBI would probably send a stronger message of that happening. I just don’t think it was a conscious preplanned decision. Because then you’d then have to factor in the fact that Jane used the case to get himself fired. And I don’t believe he thought that far ahead. He meant to get Marx justice, and went overboard doing it, overcompensating for being unable to get RJ, as he’s done so many times before ( Season two’s Redemption, Blinking Red Light).

I personally like the thought that Jane really had a breakdown, had suspected, but hadn’t known who Lorelie was, and came up with the plan after he found out who she was, simply because, to me, it all makes Jane more human, and therefore more interesting. But I acknowledge that it’s not what Jane’s said and is therefore probably not true. But keeping in mind that Jane has no problem with spinning the truth to serve his purpose, I’ll be holding onto my theory until I get more proof to refute it. Mind you, the entire thing was left intentionally (conveniently) vague enough so that we can draw just about any conclusion we want, believe what we want to believe. There seems to be a lot of that going on  ^_^

Something to look out for for next year: who’ll be the new CBI head? Whoever it is, I suggest they perform some sort of exorcising ritual in the office in case there’s a dark spirit there that’s cursed the job…

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

Minelli burned out and retired after Bosco’s team got killed, Hightower was set up by RJ and had to remain fugitive for a while, Laroche was just a temp and poor Luther Wainwright was probably just a plot device. I’d be glad to see any of the previous heads brought back. One thing this season sorely missed was a charismatic leader and boss for Lisbon. Now it must be said that while Rady’s character was unfortunately (and quite disproportionately, IMHO) hated by many, his was a great portrayal of a young boss in over his head. Wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Now, please head on over to Robin’s Green Shade’s Blog and check out which episode was voted the best this season.

Finally, thanks again to all my readers. You’ve been absolutely fantastic this year. Special thanks to blog affiliates tmredblog, Robin’s Green Shades, Simon Baker Forum, Hypnoweb, and guest reviewers Violet, CJDavey, and Windisparrow. Everyone else, you all know you absolutely rock. Of course, gratitude goes to fantastic cast and crew of the Mentalist who bring us this amazing show. May next year’s season be even better than this one.

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