The Mentalist: Red Brick And Ivy
By fred | December 17, 2008
(S01E10) We all know that there is a story underlying everything on this show, the story of what made Patrick Jane who he is now, and what changed his life in a way he never imagined possible possible. We all know it’s there, it was mentioned at the beginning of the series but it hasn’t been touched ever since, not directly. It’s always on our minds, as well as on the title of every episode in that one word, red.
But if each week we get a new case that’s got nothing to do with John Red, it’s not unusual to get little bits of information about if not what happened that day or who the killer is, how is affected Jane. It’s probably better that way, at least I like it that way, because since it’s clear this isn’t something to be resolved until the very last episode of the series, no need to pretend that things are moving forward when they’re not.
So instead, we focus on Jane, and that’s just about exactly what this show is all about and why it works so well, so all the better. This week, while we had our new weekly investigation and got to witness Jane in his “new self” who’s always wearing his smile, who also had a very strong connection with his past. This week’s case was brought in by Jane himself after an old friend, Sophie, called him up.
As it turned out, Jane really did took it hard in himself after his family was murdered, and he even ended up hospitalized as he had given up on life. Enters Sophie, the doctor who helped him through those difficult times and gave him back his will to live, and put him back on his feet. And clearly, while they probably never went further that a little kiss on the cheek, they got quite close.
This was a very nice insight in Jane’s psychic and how he works, and reinforced the idea that, facing Red John, he really would/will kill him. That was no joke. He was willing to help Sophie and let her escape, had she been the one behind the murders, because he owed her. As we’ve been told before, he’s not really a cop, and that gives him some freedom with the people he’s interrogating and what he can do, but it also means he doesn’t really obey the same rules, he’s not about the law, but justice, his own justice.
Of course this week’s case wasn’t hard to figure out either, and by the time the chancellor assumed the “suicide” of Kerry was putting an end to the investigation, I’m betting everyone knew he was the one behind it. But then again, it’s not really a problem because the show isn’t all about finding out who did it, it’s about Jane (and the rest of the team) working their way to catch him (or her, or them).
I did miss a little his usual tricks, whether he’s playing suspects or the team, but what I really liked this week was the development in his relationship with Lisbon. I loved how amused she was when he was using humor, as always got noticed by Dr. Stutzer, or the moments she teased him, like making fun of him helping the widow (”It was funny… Don’t listen to control freaks; Whatever you say, Sir.“), or of course by the end (”Aww, Jane kissed a girl.“) when she even offered him to drive the car, only to take that back as soon as he pointed out she was being nice and caring.
I have to admit, though, that when he told her about how he knew Sophie, I didn’t really trust him. I wasn’t thinking he was lying, but I wasn’t sure he was telling the truth either, I really wondered whether he told her the truth, or what he knew she would accept as the truth and made her feel like he wanted her to feel about the whole situation. I’m not sure why, because when he said he’d kill whoever killed his family I believed him right away, but maybe it’s because this time he actually seemed affected, which is so unusual for him I thought it might be an act. Anyways, I’m glad he was telling her the truth though, it’s good that their relationship is based on truth and that they can build up trust in this.
A couple more things :
* Loved to see Jane do the magic trick with the banana for the monkey, how cute.
* Was it me, or were Grace and Wayne almost flirting a little at some point?
* The weird cat man was just one of those fun suspects they love to throw in on this show. They usually don’t hold for much long, but are a lot of fun while around.
* I didn’t like the whole thing at the end, how they got the chancellor to confess. I know it’s how Jane works, he loves to play tricks and fool people into admitting their crimes, but I’m not a fan of it all that much. Besides, it would have been obvious already without them showing Jane lying about getting their boss’ approval for the whole thing, and that actually even bothered me. Because (a) it’s like we weren’t smart enough to get it was a trick without it (never mind that they still took time to explain it all, obviously, by the end), and (b) since when is Jane asking for Lisbon’s boss permission to do such things ?
All in all it was still a good episode of a show that, while formulaic and not very new, simply does what it’s supposed to be and does it very well, entertain us for a fun hour of television.
How did this episode work for you ? Any more thoughts to add, while waiting for the show to return next year ?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: The Mentalist
