(S02E06) "No takebacks!" - Jane, to the killer, about her confession
So this episode had two things that scare the hell out of me: prison and mice. I think we all view prison as a place that would freak us out if we ever found ourselves in one. I hate the very thought of being in that situation. I think I'd try to escape like Jane did tonight. What's the worst that could happen, they'd send you to prison?
As for mice, I have a few every winter in my apartment. They come in through the wall behind the fridge looking for warmth and food. Really irritating and gross.
(S02E04) "Everybody is. I am." - Jane, on people who are geeks
Is Patrick Jane really, really brave or just clueless?
I've been wondering that the entire series. He's not a fighter. He's not even one of these "strong, silent" types who acts wimpy but is secretly a karate master or former Navy Seal or whatever. He honestly doesn't have any physical skills but he insists on interrogating people who could turn his bones into mulch. Like tonight's confrontation with bikers in a dive bar. Or maybe he was comfortable because Lisbon was there with a badge and a gun. I think he's done it in the past with no backup though, so I'm not sure if he's brave or just oblivious or doesn't care.
(S02E03) "I didn't lie ... he made risotto." Lisbon, to Jane, about a certain cooking show with "the angry man" she watched on Tuesday
Hypnotism is a lame shortcut in TV shows and movies. Hypnotists seem to do it so easily, and the subjects seem to be put under so quickly and then remember just enough to solve the puzzle or at least advance the plot to another point.
That's why tonight's hypnotism of Lisbon by Jane was so satisfying. I groaned when it started, but I like the fact that he hypnotized her without her knowing it, how she made a comment about Rigsby and Van Pelt while under, and how the hypnotism didn't really work in the end.
Patrick Jane came very close to catching Red John on The Mentalist last season, but it wasn't to be (not yet anyway). In this clip from the season opener this Thursday at 10 (new night and time), Jane and Lisbon are taken off the case because they are too close to it and we're introduced to the new guy in charge of it.
(Side note: it's funny that this clip is sponsored by - at least when I watched it - Red Robin! Is that a coincidence or on purpose?)
(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.
(S01E06) The title of this episode is hilarious. We've got the "red" that has been in every episode title of The Mentalistso far, but the "red-handed" refers to the murderer stealing from the casino. Add in the layer that the show opens with the victim's dismembered hand in the middle of the road in Vegas, and tongue-in-cheek doesn't quite do it justice. Very clever, writer guys.
But again, not so clever with concealing the guilty party from the viewers. Um, so why wouldn't we suspect the (really, like I'd spoil this tid-bit before the jump?) ...
(S01E05) I started watching this episode, waiting for Jane to do his stuff. Since The Mentalist previewed, I have enjoyed Jane's antics and "Redwood" didn't disappoint.
Quick -- who could have done it? A name popped into your head, you know it did.
Raise your hands above your heads, lower your right hand if you did it
Hypnotizing Nicole to get her to remember
Stealing Kara's MP3 player
Springing Nicole from the hospital
Cell phone decoy trick to save Lisbon
At the beginning of the episode, I thought I'd be writing about how this was a perfect example of a typical, predictable procedural. Once again, The Mentalist has pleasantly surprised me by proving just how special it is.