After 23 episodes, and what seems like 19 months, the fourth season of The Mentalist comes to a close. I’ll admit that I was underwhelmed by much of the fare this season, but this finale really showed how good of a show The Mentalist could be if it stuck with its major story lines instead of the normal procedural tripe. On with the conclusion!
Downward Spiral
It has been six months since Jane was fired from the CBI, and he has chosen to do what many of us dream of in times of strife which is a drunken, con-filled stay in Vegas. Over his time in Sin City he has found an admirer in Lorelai, a local bar tender who can only afford a shirt that covers two-thirds of her body. The two get to talking about philosophical absolutism (philosophy? In The Mentalist?!) when a man Jane has recently conned comes back for his money. Jane, ever the con man, says no and gets in a chase that results in him getting beaten, followed by Jane beating a police officer. You know, normal things that mentalists go through in Vegas.
Buckshot and Bed Mates
Back in California, the CBI team is called to a crime scene involving a shotgun blast to the face. Rather than get to work, the CSI lady and Lisbon get into a conversation about Jane, when Lisbon learns about Jane’s arrest. Van Pelt wants to help Jane, but Lisbon says he had his chances and that she has cut him off. This statement is opening old wounds… Damn you Mentalist, you know how to cut me deep! Back in the office, the team finds a witness who says she saw a gang member run off with the shotgun, but he dropped it along the way. It looks like an easy open and shut case, which works out perfectly with helping Jane. What a coincidence.
In Vegas, Jane is released on bail, and he suspects that Lisbon is behind it. Back at his motel room he is awoken by Lorelai, who is somehow able to contain her cleavage while on camera. She tells him that she was the one who bailed him out because she felt a connection between them. The soon watch nature shows and make love, just as God intended. Here’s a hint Jane, if a woman bails you out of jail after a chance meeting, keep the relationship platonic and move on. Trust me. The next morning Lorelai tells Jane that she is an agent of Red John and he wants Jane to work with him. See? Told ya so.
Hatching a Plan
Lisbon takes a half day to deal with the news of Jane while the team finds out that a man named Kevin was the one seen at the crime scene. It turns out that Kevin didn’t kill the victim, only robbed him after the victim shot himself in the face with a shotgun in the middle of the street. While that doesn’t sound like a suicide to me, the CBI buys the story. I guess we’ll just have to go along with the professionals.
Lisbon goes to the church for some time to think about her issues when Jane appears behind her after mocking her beliefs. Good ol’ sacrilegious Jane. He tells her that he has been faking his break down in order to get closer to Red John and it has worked. Next time I have a breakdown, become an alcoholic, and disappear for six months, I’ll tell my wife that it was all part of a master plan that worked. Lisbon stubbornly agrees to help him and Jane goes back to visit Lorelai. She tells him he will need to kill Lisbon in order to gain Red John’s trust. Jane goes back to the CBI office (I wonder how often he needs an oil change. Or maybe he is racking up a lot of airline miles) he goes into Lisbon’s office and starts shooting his gun.
No Respect for the Dead
Wainwright arrives at the CBI office and learns that Jane has left with Lisbon’s body while Rigsby was killed. It’s amazing that an office full of police folk wouldn’t stop a guy leaving with a dead body. Agent Darcy stops by to offer her support, and goes to see Rigsby’s body in the morgue. It turns out that the body was missing a face from a shotgun blast, and it is of course the suicide victim from earlier. Instead of notifying the family members, the CBI team decided to use this poor man’s body as a tool in their own con. Stay classy, CBI.
It turns out the living CBI team are hiding out in a storage unit outside of Vegas with Jane and setting up a way to crash Jane’s meet up with Red John. Jane gets an address from Lorelai and the team gets to work with high tech tools police such as Google Maps. Jane is also told to bring Lisbon’s head to the meeting as proof. To prepare for this he puts a wig on a melon. I’m sure that will work. The game is afoot!
So Close Yet So Far
The team splits up and stakes out the house Jane is supposed to meet Red John at. Jane finds a bicycle waiting for him with a note telling him to go to a different address. He goes to the address but only find a vacant lot when a limo appears. Lorelai is inside with a bodyguard and she sees right through Jane’s little plan and has Jane beaten. The CBI team is stopped by Darcy and the CBI leaving Jane unprotected. Jane is thrown in the front of the limo where Red John talks to him from the back.
The CBI team tells Darcy what is happening and they appear on the scene shooting up the limo as it tries to escape, leaving Jane behind. Inside they find Wainright, dead, with a cell phone taped to him on speaker phone. The whole thing was a ruse, and Red John is still at large. The only thing he didn’t plan on is having Lorelai stuck with the CBI.
Watching this episode, I was happy that the story was progressing while mad that most of the season was filler. I understand that this is how The Mentalist works, but this show could be great if they actually moved the story forward in every episode. It looks like the show will be on Sundays next season and hopefully this shake-up will help kick the writing staff into gear. Thanks for reading these recaps, and I’ll see you all next year. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned for all your off season Mentalist news!
Chase Gamradt
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
