The Mentalist"Redwood"
Original Air Date: October 28, 2008.
Liz - TwoCents Reviewer
liz@thetwocentscorp.com
Among the things we learned this week: bad karma does have an expiration date according to traditional Buddhist teachings, and that nobody is going to appropriately appreciate this pedantic little detail if you bring it up as a rebuttal to the dry quip that TV detectives are so disposed towards. Who knew?
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[photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS]
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The Mentalist
ReplyDelete"Redwood"
Original Air Date: October 28, 2008.
Liz - TwoCents Reviewer
liz@thetwocentscorp.com
Among the things we learned this week: bad karma does have an expiration date according to traditional Buddhist teachings, and that nobody is going to appropriately appreciate this pedantic little detail if you bring it up as a rebuttal to the dry quip that TV detectives are so disposed towards. Who knew?
Patrick Jane brings us the usual combination of amusement, absurdity, and genius that we have come to expect, and it's all tied up in what I think it the most exciting climax of the show to date. But we'll come to that in a minute. First, as with every episode, we start at the crime scene where Patrick immediately establishes his prowess, and the local law enforcement is dumbfounded by it. One girl, Cara, is discovered dead under the car, and a search for the other girl, Nicole, yields no results. He convinces the sheriff to allow him to attempt some of his mojo, on the grounds that he believes the killer is part of the search party.
His mojo, you ask? Why, he has all of the searchers raise both their hands in the air, including Lisbon and the sheriff, and then instructs the killer to put down his right hand. Unsurprisingly, there are no takers. After all, Simon didn't say. Well played. Then they get a radio: Nicole has shown up in a convenience store. When we are shown her, she is bloody, holding a knife, and appears to be inhaling potato chips and a sports drink like a frat boy with the munchies.
At the hospital she claims amnesia and the sheriff is… very angry about this. It's at this point I wonder if they have gotten the same man to play sheriffs for all the episodes they've needed one for. I mean, honestly I'm sure that they have different people, they just all seem to be the same sort of nondescript, older man. Anyway, the sheriff is rather peeved that his murderess "conveniently" has no memory of the event. Patrick tells him that she wasn't lying, he saw it in her eyes. The sheriff remained unmoved.
In the next couple of scenes, Grace shows off some major mojo herself. First, she has computer skills to boot, and then when she, Rigsby, and Cho go to bring in a suspect, she shows some major ball busting mojo. Their suspect is a truck driver who gave free makeup to Cara in hopes of receiving sexual favors in return. His misogyny towards the female cops in the room and Cara as well as well as his reticence makes me think that this man isn't very well. My notes actually say, "Wow. This man is not okay." This scene also made me love Cho a little -- okay, a lot. He has major interrogation skills. Unfortunately, being an ass is not a crime, and so they don't have enough to keep him and Patrick says to let him go. While he may not be a nice man, he is an honest one. He was also stealing evidence and listening to Cara's MP3 player. Bad, Patrick, bad. Lisbon tells him to put it back. He goes to obey.
Oh, wait. No he didn't. He totally pocketed it. If that didn't tell you it's going to come into play, I don't know what will. As it turns out, the MP3 player is all a brilliant plan of Patrick's to spring Nicole from the hospital that involves him stealing the guard's hat and taking him on a wild goose chase with it as a distraction. If you didn't laugh, you have no soul. Watch the episode again until it's funny and then come back. I'll wait.
Perhaps more brilliantly than stealing the guard's hat is what the plan actually is: he is going to take Nicole on a drive and walk through the night, step by step, using the same music. Even though it wasn't hypnosis, it was sort of mesmerizing. When Patrick says something, he has a way of making you believe it, of making you want to believe it. He takes Nicole through the memory and -- surprise, surprise -- our villain is the police officer who is with Lisbon at that very moment. Incidentally, "PINEAPPLE, WHAT THE HELL," is my new interjection.
So, why was this the most exciting climax to date? I'll tell you why. Because it came down to a fast draw between the officer and Lisbon, and he basically said, "Feelin' lucky, punk?" Anyone who paraphrases one of the ten coolest moments in cinema definitely has my thumbs up. If Lisbon threw the phone for Patrick to talk and trick the officer, does that mean she threw his voice?
Pardon, the villagers are now coming to have my head off for that joke.
Anyway, it was a good episode, perhaps my favorite so far. It had some angst (the Moonlight Sonata montage), and it had some good old fashioned comedy, drama, and my favorite climax (that ended in a quick draw and me making a lame joke). Did you guys like it? Are we going to see Rigsby's mojo? Maybe he has an awesome dating mojo. Hm.
No new episode next week since it is the national election and network coverage will be devoted to that. Please take the opportunity to go vote if you haven't voted early or by absentee ballot.