The Mentalist: Carnelian Inc
By fred | March 25, 2009
(S01E17) After a special episode last week that blinded our favorite CBI consultant, but that gave him his sight back by the end of the episode as in any TV show, we were now back to normal and an episode that got Jane and the team back on a case. I’m sure lots could be said about the actual case we got this week, but it would not really be nice things.
Not that the case was bad, but it was predictable, very much so, and it only get annoying when it comes down to situation where there is something obvious, something that should be obvious to anyone, starting with the actual detectives, whose job it is to notice such things and should be used to it, as they deal with such situations every day, and yet the only ones who actually see the obvious seem to be us, and Jane.
I mean, like him, the minute you saw that bomb, and how despite all the expertise that went into making it, some cable “accidentally” got disconnected, you just had to know without the shadow of a doubt who made that bomb, and why. He obviously did it so that nobody would suspect him, seeing as he was meant to be the next victim and all. And while in itself, despite somewhat of a cliché, there’s nothing wrong with that, it becomes a lot more of a problem when no one, not the bomb expert, not anyone from the CBI team, no one (but Jane) seems to get that.
Frustrating is what you get, when none of the actual detectives is catching on something as obvious as this. And because it was so obvious, and because you just know how the episode is going to end, because Jane always has to do a little show and trick the killer into revealing himself and/or confessing, you knew that he would get the bomb back, turn it in while pretending it’s okay because it doesn’t work except the cable was set back, and you know he’d go far that red button before the actual killer jumps in to stop him — as if he would have really be allowed be bring in an actual bomb and play with it.
Seriously, you’re a killer and you’re smart enough to have pulled this whole thing down, and you fall for that obvious trick? I can guarantee you that, even if he’s only a consultant and doesn’t obey the same rules of the CBI, there’s no way they would have allowed him to grab a bomb, a functioning bomb loaded with explosive, and walk away to do whatever he pleased. Not a chance in the world, and now that turns our otherwise smart killer into a moron, kinda ruining the whole thing really with a cheap/easy resolution.
I’ve said before that I wish from time to time Jane would get things done without resorting to tricking the killer that way, and that is even more true in such a case. And yes, I say Jane, not the CBI or nothing, because clearly Lisbon doesn’t even try to pretend that she’s in control. Cho, Van Pelt or Rigsby she can give them order, but when it comes to Jane, not a chance. If she tries, he smiles and does it anyway, so she might as well come along, since she clearly enjoys to see him do his little act – and she knows he gets results, too.
Speaking of, I enjoyed their interactions together, especially the trust scene. Jane seemed really upset, if not hurt a little, when she claimed not to trust him, and really eager to fix that. It was funny to see the two of them like that, even more so while, and I do believe that Jane meant it, that she could trust him and he would be there for her (after all, he’s no liar, he told her he was out for revenge and would kill Red John when given the chance, and she should trust him on that!), but it made it funnier that it came right after he explained how all those seminars and experiments are meant to brainwash people.
She said she didn’t trust him, because he wasn’t trustworthy and it was her job not to trust her. He then presented absolutely no real argument, nothing concrete, yet she cave in and trusted him to catch her. I’m not saying he “brainwashed” her, of course, but I’m sure that was the point, too.
Quick question about the ending: It’s funny how they always insist, on many shows, that as soon as the guy asked for his lawyer, it’s over. If cops continue to talk to him, whatever he says then can’t be used in court, and yet they always do get him to confess after he asked for his lawyers. Anyways, can they really work out such a deal? Seemed to me almost as if he was paying his way out. I mean, I know he’s still going to jail, but didn’t it sounded like if could have it better for $500,000? For confessing a crime, helping solve or prevent another one, tell where the bodies are, all this I can see. But for money? That just seemed wrong to me.
All in all and despite it flaws, another real fun episode. What did everybody else think?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: The Mentalist
