(Season 1, Episode 10 – “Red Brick and Ivy”)
“I’d hate to be a state’s attorney. Jane’s always pulling crap like this but they always win.” – Lisbon
So I hope everyone enjoyed this series finale episode of The Mentalist. After what the team pulled in this one, everyone will be arrested and sent to jail. I mean, come on. It’s one thing to “go against the rules” and be a “maverick” and “think outside the box,” but to get a confession out of a guy by locking him in a room, holding a gun on him, and pretending to shoot someone? That’s probably not in the CBI manual. Even Lisbon acknowledged (the above quote) that it was shaky.
So when we’re 32 minutes into the show and one of the suspects kills herself and leaves a note that says “Forgive Me,” you know that she’s not the killer. Too much time left in the show. Every whodunnit in the history of TV has taught us this, but the characters in TV shows never seem to understand this (except the hero, of course). Interestingly, Jane kinda wanted it to end there, which is unlike him, but quickly agreed that they should investigate others, including his old psychiatrist.
Speaking of the psychiatrist, I was actually hoping it would be her. I really don’t like her. I don’t know if it’s because of how the character was written or if it’s the actress, Elisabeth Rohm. I do know that she has always grated me the wrong way (see also Order, Law and). But this character is too cocky, too “I’m beautiful and I helped you Jane so you have to believe me.” I don’t even believe her as a doctor. She’s not a killer, but I don’t want to see her return to the show. Let’s hope any flashbacks we see in the future of Jane’s troubled past don’t include her.
Tonight’s killer was fairly easy to guess (it was either him or Dr. Anspaugh from ER). Not the best episode of The Mentalist so far, but I did like how it started out in classic murder mystery fashion (the murder not happening yet – we see it the poisoning and the death in the opening scenes). I hope next year (the show is taking a break until January) the show has more episodes where we can actually piece clues together and solve the mystery yourself, a la Murder, She Wrote or Ellery Queen.
Great line by Jane about Darth Vader. I’m going to use that the next time someone tells me to tell them the truth.
Clacked by Bob Sassone 
on Dec 17, 2008 @ 12:05 EST5EDT
“series finale episode”? Um, not with the ratings The Mentalist is getting! :)
Hmm, I liked last week’s ep better b/c it used more of the team. However, I did like the Lisbon-Jane connection early in. I also loved the shrink’s connection with Jane, but I don’t think she’ll return. I was pretty convinced that they had had an affair until the end. I went back to disliking Tuney at the ep’s end and really wish the writers would give her more to do. To compare the show to another procedural, Bones & Booth have chemistry to burn and you understand why the Squints are there, but here the CBIs seem unnecessary (save Cho, who’s hilarious) and I feel Tuney’s mid-90s psychotic capabilities are going to waste.
Side note: I didn’t guess the dean b/c I kept thinking that’s too obvious, even in the final 5 min ;) Plus, he lacked the telltale twitch. Also, why did Lisbon trust Jane to talk to the boss?