TVSquad

(S01E08) I have a complaint about The Mentalist: there's just not enough Jane for me. Simon Baker is the heart and soul of this show and I crave more screen time for him, and more of the antics we saw in the first couple of episodes. Regardless, this is one great show and I won't hold it against the writers that they are attempting to go deeper with the rest of the cast; a good idea, really.

OK, maybe I have two complaints, and this one is aimed at the director: Is it possible to tell the actor who plays the killer to not be so shifty the second they get screen time? I knew whodunnit so early on that I actually second-guessed myself.

My thought process on who the guilty party was this week went something like this:

• The second Sam Blakely came onscreen to "discover" the scene of the crime, I said it was him. He was too shifty.
• Five seconds later, I told myself there was no way it could be that obvious in the first 30 seconds of the show and I was seeing things that weren't really there.
• At 9:12, I pegged Presiado, the skinny guy in the blue car and the investigating officer, as the killer.
• When the team suspected him at 9:23, I decided it was too early to be him.
• With 9:33 came the realization I was right the first time and it was Sam Blakely. It would be fun to see how it all came together.

I liked the conversations between Jane and Grace and Jane and Lisbon this episode. Jane's advice to Grace on how to be a nice bitch was entertaining, but it helped us to get to know Grace a little better. And it's always fun when Jane bests Lisbon. I'm sure he's not bluffing when he says he always knows when she is lying.

Tell me you noticed the mention of the pineapple again. Once, it was a clever shout-out to Psych; now, I'm wondering if we are going to get a mention every week, just like Psych hides a pineapple in every episode. I love it when the writers have fun like this, and it is even more clever when it involves another show, not even on the same network.

This and that:

• That was one happy baby for being left alone and hungry all night long.
• We got another interesting character actor this week, in Rick Carris. He was so bold and cocky asnd just plain fun.
  
• Jane knew Patrice was the target and not Percell, but I wish we saw more of his thought processes. he was really just like another team member this week, not two steps ahead of everyone else.
  
• Loved watching Jane take the pulse of the angry cop, Presiado. Jane, the human lie detector....
  

I really like the way they show so much respect for the people involved with the cases. I felt for the wife of Blakely, and Jane just wrapped everything up so nicely when he brought them the baby at the end of the show. They were even respectful to Sam, who as the accidental killer, needed the most pity of them all. How sad to kill the sister you never knew you had.

How'd you feel about this episode of The Mentalist? Is it still going strong?