
Finally, an episode of The Mentalist with a significant amount of story arc. We really got to see Jane's lust for revenge in this one, and the lengths he would go just to get a bit closer to finding out who Red John is.
The Mentalist jumped out of its formula slightly this week, and it worked for me. We learned some new things about Jane, Red John and the team, and even though it could have been an extremely dark episode, it was just dark enough to get the point across while still being entertaining.
Minelli
He comes off as a guy who plays by the rules, but when push came to shove, he proved that he believed in his team. He gave them the time they needed to help Jane find the real killer of Undine and free Jared Renfro. Sure, he let Jane quit (I wonder if he actually would have fired him), but he redeemed himself in the end. Plus, we got a great scene -- the team's "gross insubordination" -- and a great quote out of Minelli's actions:
"You should put a flashlight underneath your chin just to complete the effect." -- Lisbon to Minelli, as he tries to scare her into believing she's putting her career on the line for JaneThe Team
We've watched the team bond throughout the season, and the fact that they were willing to be suspended to help Jane was notable. When they were waiting for the call from the would-be blackmail-ee, they were all waiting quietly and still, except for Rigsby playing the Rubik's cube. A small detail like this is so telling about his personality, and about the quality of the writing and directing team we've got here, too.
Jane
Did we really learn much new about Jane? He's so purposely guarded that I cannot imagine we'll find out a whole lot more about him in just one episode. However, we did get some classic Jane:
- He tried to get the police to believe that he was the homeowner, and got Muriel to publicly reprimand her son, Gardner, in the process. Take that, oh smarmy one!
- While waiting for Mariska, the victim's mother, to answer the door, Jane puts Lisbon on the spot and tells her she needs to do the talking. In his defense, Jane does bail her out when she completely bombs. Funny stuff.
- We find out later that Jane figured out the locked door problem on his first visit to the murder scene. Fun "party trick."
- Nailed it! Love how Jane completely pegged Renfro's Mexico location through observation and intuition.
And really, what's with the evil laugh at the end of the episode? I know I was supposed to find Red John simply chilling, but it seemed a little cliche to me. If Red John is really so far ahead of Jane in the game, couldn't he have thought of something clever to say?
OK, just one funny anecdote with perhaps a slight prediction as to who Red John may be. I was unsure as to what was actually written in blood, which I think was intentional. They want it to be cryptic; after all, this is a series arc, not a season arc.
My husband grabbed a screenshot for me and popped it into my dropbox, and when I went to retrieve it, I asked him why he named it Mentalist_heisman -- not "he is man," but "Heisman," like a name. I totally missed that, but now I'm wondering if Red John's name is Heisman or if someone with the name Heisman will help Jane find a new clue.
Do I have something there, or should I just go to bed earlier?















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
1-07-2009 @ 2:16AM
Rick said...
How about "He is Manelli" Don't remember actually seeing the spelling of his name anywhere.
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1-07-2009 @ 2:56AM
Will said...
I, too, thought it read "he is man", but I didn't have any idea what that meant. But after reading your post, it makes sense : Heisman... it's OJ, again!
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1-07-2009 @ 3:08AM
TravelinLady said...
I love this show, the writing and the acting. But this episode was a bit too dark for me.
I did not enjoy it at all, and I hope they go back to some of the banter they had in the pilot and the first episodes.
I like the Patrick Jane character a bit more cynical and a bit wierd with the humor. Did not enjoy this episode and will not be waiting for it in reruns.
I don't know if they can sustain this Red John sub plot line for 5 years. If Jane has all this ability, it seems to me that he could find this criminal fast.
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1-07-2009 @ 3:17AM
bc said...
Jane isn't employed to search for Red John. And Jack of all Trades toyed with Samantha for three seasons on Profiler, even training a couple proteges to throw her off track. I figure Red John can do at least as well. My question is, who will be the first team member Red John kills, and when?
1-07-2009 @ 3:11AM
Joe said...
I'd like to think it is 'Heisman', Jane will figure is out, but Red John put that message there using Renfro's finger as another game to play with Jane.
I feel like this episode was the one where they knew the show was a hit, so they decided to expand the mythology behind Red John to get more life out of it instead of what might have been a quick solution at the end of season one.
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1-07-2009 @ 7:34AM
Ryan said...
The evil laugh is a standby in this sort of mystery. It (hopefully) is a little chilling, and in this case was obviously pre-recorded so as not to eliminate anyone in the room as a suspect.
Also note that Rigsby inexplicably leaves the motel room as soon as he sees the bodies, rather than examine the crime scene. Wasn't he the one with the CSI training just last episode? Has he suddenly developed a weak stomach? Or is he just going to search the entire neighborhood by himself?
I actually enjoy the standalone Mentalists more than the Red John mythology ones (I can't take that name seriously - all I think is "Redjac! Redjac!"), so I was dreading this episode. I amused myself by watching Lisbon in each scene as if she were Red John, tormenting Jane and trying to get inside his emotional defenses. She's always seemed a bit off to me in the past.
I know it's probably already been ruled out by previous episodes, but it was awfully convenient that Renfro never saw her face. I had been expecting her to drive Jane to the prisoner release, since she usually drives him everywhere. I could totally see Robin Tunney flipping the switch to serial killer at the end.
I hate the omniscient genius killer that inexplicably anticipates the hero's every move, even when the hero is himself a genius, and can defeat any security protocol while remaining totally untraceable. I hope that Red John is in the CBI in the end.
Profiler got it right with Jack of all Trades, who made mistakes at times in his eagerness to bait Sam, and showed us his simple disguises and escapes, rather than lazily handing us writers' fiat.
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1-07-2009 @ 8:03AM
Paco said...
I was thinking along the same lines as Rick on this one, that Manelli (sp.) may be Red John. If you think about it:
- He suddenly decides to go visit his sick sister and orders Lisbon not to call him during this period. By doing this, he gives a definite 1-week timeframe to Jane and team, as well as ensuring that he is not contacted at all while away.
- The wry look he gives to Lisbon at the end of this scene can be re-interpreted as an almost evil sneer.
- Red John / Dr Joe NH has some sort of DOJ access, which of course Manelli would have.
- One explanation for how Red John can follow Jane so closely of course is that he also works in CBI.
Only problem is that before even I started congratulating myself on this, I looked up IMDB and it spells his name as "Minelli" and not "Manelli." So we're either talking poetic licence as applied to spelling to keep us off the scent, or I've drawn a bow way too long for such a fine show.
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1-07-2009 @ 8:41AM
Jason said...
I didn't see "He is Man", I saw "Mar," like the beginning of a name; "He is Mark" or "Marcus" or "Marian" or something like that. That doesn't look like an "n" to me. Could also be an "i" or "l". The possibilities are endless, since the victim was writing this as he died.
It's in the castle Aaaaaaaargh came to mind. :)
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1-08-2009 @ 7:48PM
stacywitt said...
I also saw Mar and figured it meant married. Well that was the first thing that popped in my head atleast. lol
1-07-2009 @ 9:06AM
wraith16 said...
i liked this episode.
i does remind me of the jack of all trades from profiler. i enjoy a subplot thats not always on the surface.
you mentioned the rubics cube. in past episodes, they give little shout out to 'psych' either with an 80's reference or the pineapple.. so i guess the rubics cube was thrown in for that,
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1-07-2009 @ 9:14AM
Aaron said...
I also read "He Is Mar" with the "r" trailing down as he died It's a clue, and Jane will have to figure out the rest of the word.
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1-07-2009 @ 9:43AM
Jason said...
Thanks for backing me up. :)
1-07-2009 @ 9:41AM
Dan Chichian said...
Glad I am not the only one to see it as Mar and not Man.
I had a problem with the computer bit. It was very convenient that RJ was on the site just when that file was being accessed. Another clue that he (she) is one of the team?
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1-07-2009 @ 10:10AM
Jason said...
It's not a name. If you were dying and trying to write the name of the killer as you died, would you take the time to write "He is" at all, or just go for the name flat-out. Either a: he was trying to write a clue and not a name along the lines of He is Man, or b: he didn't write anything... RJ did using the guy's finger and blood to do so. If RJ left the clue, it's one for Jane to decipher, and the mystery thickens until Jane himself provides us with a solution.
If theory a is correct, then I still don't think he was writing the word "Man," but rather something else. Perhaps "He Is Married," or "Marked" or "Marshall" or it could have been a lower-case "m" he was trying to write (compare the mark to the other "M").
Note to future victims: When death is inevitable and you're trying to write (in blood) the name of the killer, don't waste time writing a thesis, just write the name and that should suffice. Have some courtesy on your way out, please. Thanks.
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1-08-2009 @ 4:50AM
Michael said...
Yeah, write something simple like "Not Penny's Boat"...
1-07-2009 @ 10:52AM
La-Di-Dah said...
How about a scrambled word like "Dr. Joe -NH" meaning Red John? Could "He is Mar/Man" be rescrambled to mean anything (but that would have to mean Red John wrote it because I find it hard for a dying man to be writing riddles on the wall), which also would mean Red John would be going outside of his method, which I don't find credible either.
I loved this episode - I thought it was perfect, until the laugh at the end (I would have been okay with breathing in the fun, but the laugh was comical for me and put an episode that was just the right part dark and light over the top). I really wanted the scene to end with Jane and Lisbon sitting on a bed like that, but I guess the writers could not resist one last Red John attempt to torment Jane. Also loved the DOJ/Computer scene so much because how Jane played the game in his typical mentalist way - when Red John congratulates him on "good work," Jane asks "why?" That was not what came to my mind. A series of cursewords and "I am going to kill you" would come to my mind instead.
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1-07-2009 @ 12:10PM
Dan Chichian said...
Another theory is that the second word is the number 15 and not the word is.
Ok I don't have a clue as to what the first word would be or why March 15th would be important from what we know so far.
Jason - future victims should also refrain from uppercase/lowercase usage. Keep it simple folks! Granted that is a lot of rules to remember at death's door.
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1-07-2009 @ 2:40PM
Jason said...
The difficulty is in setting an example. Who's going to volunteer? :)
1-07-2009 @ 12:14PM
Shail said...
Maybe it's he is mar, which was supposed to be he is married. Just another idea.
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1-07-2009 @ 12:35PM
Gene Redlin said...
I thought this episode was particularly good.
I'm hooked.
I guess that's the whole idea
Like x files and alien.
It worked for me.
More like this please
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