This is one of the best episodes of The Mentalist we’ve seen all season. Despite our emotive gushing last week, we were glad that the writers didn’t focus on Rigsby and Grace. It’s enough to know that there’s something going on there. We don’t need to see it every second. In fact, this was a very ‘mature’ (for want of a better word) way to deal with it. So many shows would have leapt at the opportunity to boost ratings with a good romance. The Mentalist was content to leave it in the background in favor of good storytelling.
The episode rectified (albeit most likely only temporarily) one of the problems that has plagued The Mentalist for the last few seasons – let’s call it ‘The Jane Show’ syndrome. For a long time now, it has been clear that, without Jane, the CBI team would be incapable of solving crime. For this episode, that wasn’t entirely true. Jane didn’t really help with anything they couldn’t have figured out on their own, other than the plan to catch the criminal. This bodes well for next week’s season finale in which, no doubt, Jane will be too focused on Red John to be any help for anything else.
The case itself, this week, was also of interest. When LaRoche’s house gets broken into, only one thing is stolen – the mysterious Tupperware box discovered by Jane’s burglar in Season 3. LaRoche tells Jane that the box was taken by a leak at the CBI whom he has been investigating and that, unless LaRoche drops the case, its contents will go public. The episode is driven by dual strands of this same story. Foremost in our minds is the episode-long mystery of ‘what’s in the box’. This was a thoroughly entertaining aspect of the episode and kept us guessing right up until the final moments. Equally worthwhile viewing was the lifting of the veil of dramatic irony as Brenda was revealed as the CBI leak. Jane’s ploy to unmask her was a smidge predictable, but still provided a few giggles.
On the whole, a great, enjoyable episode, and one that the showrunners should emulate in the future. As the episode closes, Jane locks himself in his room, putting himself under self-imposed house arrest until he’s solved the Red John case, and we prepare for another Red John episode (they do tend to bookend seasons with them). We may have to wait until next year for another episode like this one, but that’s okay. If Sunday’s episode brings an end to the Red John saga, or even brings us significantly closer to that end, it will all be worth it. We live in hope. – K
Quoteworthy:
“You stop at nothing to close cases for your team.”
“Why, thank you.”
“…Other CBI agents have principles.”
– LaRoche, Jane
Pond Hopping Girls 