Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Mentalist - Recap & Review - Red Tide

The Mentalist
"Red Tide"

Original Air Date: Oct 14, 2008.

Liz - TwoCents Reviewer
liz@thetwocentscorp.com

Say what you want about Patrick Jane, but I stand by what I said two weeks ago: his unorthodox methods of investigation apparently work. It is for this reason that his arrogance is probably well earned and we think him charming. (Okay, even if there are some out there who do not, I believe it is the intention that his character be charming.) There aren't many people who can prove that they are the smartest person in the room (or at least the one with the sharpest skills of deduction), and fewer still who could say something like, "My name is Patrick Jane and I have no superiors." Quite frankly, I am surprised it took him this long for him to get socked in the nose.

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[photo: Michael Ansell/Warner Bros.]

1 comment:

  1. The Mentalist
    "Red Tide"

    Original Air Date: Oct 14, 2008.

    Liz - TwoCents Reviewer
    liz@thetwocentscorp.com

    Say what you want about Patrick Jane, but I stand by what I said two weeks ago: his unorthodox methods of investigation apparently work. It is for this reason that his arrogance is probably well earned and we think him charming. (Okay, even if there are some out there who do not, I believe it is the intention that his character be charming.) There aren't many people who can prove that they are the smartest person in the room (or at least the one with the sharpest skills of deduction), and fewer still who could say something like, "My name is Patrick Jane and I have no superiors." Quite frankly, I am surprised it took him this long for him to get socked in the nose.

    "A master manipulator of thoughts and behavior," as the opening sequence states, fits him to a T. From beginning to end, Patrick's investigation (seemingly running concurrent but at times completely separate from the rest of the team's more traditional methods) is dependent on psychology and predicting human behavior and reactions. He's also a master of adjusting his plan on a dime and improvising (cell phone as a gun, can I say more?) when things don't go quite how he planned them. Not even to mention he's also a master at building sand castles if this episode is any indication.

    Through mental acuity, he apparently manages to make short cuts that Teresa and the rest of the team apparently can't quite make. By building ridiculous sand castles on the beach he apparently meets Flipper -- who is not our killer, but has important evidence. Isn't that always how it goes? Rule number one: our killer is not the person we might be first lead to think that it is. Mysteries are like that -- it's somewhat disappointing to solve fictional crimes based on what fits the narrative structure than what I can see from the evidence. But that's probably why I'm not a cop and just watch them on TV.

    My favorite part may or may not have been the bed-hopping teenaged murderers. Mostly because I never thought I would get to use all of those words in a sentence together without some major hand-waving. Teens are brutal, but these may take the cake.

    The scene at Devan Point was pivotal in that it showed Patrick -- and consequently, us -- everything that he needed to know. It led into the final scene where they had Hope in the interrogation room. Everything cascaded from there, like a snowball from hell. (Mixed metaphor, but work with me here.) Or even better, a clown car, except the clowns kept coming in instead of out… no, that doesn't quite work either. At any rate, whether intentional or not, Patrick managed to isolate the teens from one another by making them angry with the hypnotism, and with the group falling apart they all caved like cheap tents. It was awesome.

    As much as I like Patrick, I also like Teresa and would like to think that this show could just as easily be about her. Patrick may be the titular mentalist, but Teresa as a grounding force and the backbone of the team can't be underestimated. If she regularly puts up with the amount of condescension that she put up with for this episode without putting a fist through someone's teeth, more power to her. I suppose Flipper's flippant (oh, alliteration), "So you're bad cop?" might not be more or less than any other suspect might say. But Kurdick's, "If you were fifteen years younger, I'd give you a try," is just mind-bogglingly creepy and borderline crazy.

    Am I disappointed that the writers copped out (er, pun not intended) and gave the kickass lady cop a background that deprives her of a mother figure and gives her all brothers? A little. As I've learned in all my hours of trawling TV Tropes Wiki, tropes are not necessarily bad. We know from the pilot that Grace also grew up with brothers and a football coach dad, but no word on a mothering influence. I'll wait this one out before giving the writers a wag of my finger, as Stephen Colbert says. Women can be kickass without a tragic background devoid of female influence! They haven't disappointed me so far, but there's still plenty of time.

    In other news, we have a full season ordered. Hooray! So now that we know we have a full season, do we think we'll get back to Red John any time soon? Next week advertises the question, "Has Patrick met his match?" Has he? This is just a hunch but I would have to say no. What would it take for him to meet his match, anyway? It also looks as though there might be some angst. Pretty Client + Dead Wife + Protested Attraction = Angst! (That's not a factorial, that's me being excited about character torture.)

    See you next week!

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