I don’t think anyone has started a thread so here’s one if anyone wants to comment after the show -
My first comment is that the guy who plays the lead, who plays Patrick Jane, is a really good actor. He was super in the last ep of last season and so far super in this episode.
I do hope they wrap this up quickly. but I’m liking the episode anyway.
up until the last line - up until.
I go into threads like this assuming there will be spoilers, but I suppose it can’t hurt to be safe.
I think I knew in my heart of hearts that they were going to do this. I had some hope that they would just let Red John be dead, but what can you do? I suppose I should be thankful that they didn’t spend half a season or so teasing us about Red John’s identity. They just ripped that bandage off right quick. It’s not really a dealbreaker with me; obviously I tune in for Jane’s two-steps-ahead-of-everyone antics. And I think that Red John’s continued existence would hardly mean anything to me if not for the fact that it means the cutesy episode titles will, at least for the time being, keep on trucking.
Even though I watch it, this isn’t a well written show. The season finale was too good for the show, too far above their track record, so it isn’t a surprise that they ruined it.
So much wrong here. For starters, Lisbon called the fake Red John, so when his cell phone didn’t have a record of her call, she would have known it was replaced and not doubted Jane.
More importantly, it is totally ridiculous that Jane would murder a Red John accomplice who could have given him vital information, just because he spouted some information Red John could have easily given him. One alternative would have been to shoot to wound, and have the fake arrested with the gun and incriminating phone. Then he could have investigated him first and found, as he did now, that he was a fake.
The trial wasn’t really believable either. I guess they can always say Red John planted someone on the jury to keep Jane available to play with him, but they’ve already stretched that aspect beyond the point of believability.
It does look like they are setting up the boss FBI guy for something here as well - his actions make zero sense otherwise, but they are also painfully obvious.
Jane is Red John.
If you don’t believe me, you’ve been Mentalized.
I’ve been selling this theory since about halfway through season 1, though I’m not sure whether or not I’ve done so here.
The mentalist isn’t a show for such fancy theories. It’s going to move along with increasingly unlikely storylines regarding Red John and his 1000 accomplishes until the unsatisfactory finale reveals that he is some new dude. I wish they had dropped that ridiculous arc by now.
I was disappointed at the end. The trial and the result were bogus. But I still like the show and will watch. I hope that they wrap this up and push Red John back into the background again.
In the beginning of this series, Jane was kind of cool - using his carnival tricks to solve murders and trick criminals. However, the series has taken a left turn and suddenly it is all about Jane - and he is becoming a grumpy old fart on the sofa.
I hope they put this Red John story on the far back burner for awhile and get back to what made this series good - carny con artist out-conning the cons.
I gotta agree with that.
I think they could have done that -
IF they had let the reveal that ‘this wasn’t Red John’ wait until the end of the season - let Jane ‘think’ he had won for awhile, that this person was gone - he could’ve relaxed - and you end the season with a new bloody smiley face at a crime scene - discovered in the last 30 seconds of the show.
As it is - like I (recall) saying as we debated if this was/wasn’t red john at the end of the last season - them making it “not” red john shows that the writers have severely limited imaginations when it comes to this series and characters - this does not bode well.
I still don’t think Jane == Red John - they may be headed that way - but that would be even more of a cop out then where we are right now - I can’t see how they could pull that off in any satisfying way.
They’ve built the Red John character to a ridiculous degree. I can buy a serial killer who acts alone. But they’ve given him a long list of followers and co-conspirators (a sheriff, an FBI agent, etc.) without explaining why all of these people would possibly follow his instructions.
Red John is the mentalist woman who believes she has real powers and was “kidnapped” by Red John in a multi-parter. The woman has a multiple personality disorder and doesn’t know it, but the Red John personality does know and just disappears when convenient. Yes, it is far fetched, but they do a lot of fantasy in this series. One of the earlier episodes also demonstrated that the writers believe that hypnosis can completely take over a person’s will in a matter of minutes. Red John will have this capability.
That’s why I think that Red John isn’t any one individual, but rather an invention of the cult leader played by Malcolm MacDowel.
Yes, I was very disappointed with that episode. Might be their worst.
I think when Jane shot the guy, he thought he was Red John. It was not until he found out the gun and cell phone had been removed that he knew it was a plot by Red John to incarcerate him. I thought it was a false note that he killed the guy so quickly. I would think he would have savored the revenge more than he did.