# The Mentalist OAD 5/20/11 "Strawberries and Cream" SPOILERS



## Peter000 (Apr 15, 2002)

I thought that was a pretty satisfying conclusion to the Red John saga (I'm fairly certain we are meant to believe that was indeed Red John).

Perfect casting of Bradley Whitford as Red John. Couldn't have asked for a better one shot. 

I wonder where it will go from here? Though I feel so satisfied right now I could just stop watching all together. I'd almost stopped watching anyway, the previous 5 episodes are sitting unwatched on my DVR. I was only interested in the Red John story.

ETA: The title of this thread has the wrong air date... it should be 5/19/11, not 5/20. I watched it then looked at the date on my computer not realizing it was after midnight when I posted.


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## rgr (Feb 21, 2003)

Peter000 said:


> I thought that was a pretty satisfying conclusion to the Red John saga (I'm fairly certain we are meant to believe that was indeed Red John).
> 
> Perfect casting of Bradley Whitford as Red John. Couldn't have asked for a better one shot.
> 
> I wonder where it will go from here? Though I feel so satisfied right now I could just stop watching all together. I'd almost stopped watching anyway, the previous 5 episodes are sitting unwatched on my DVR. I was only interested in the Red John story.


I'm not so sure the Red John Saga is over. Why was he there if he hadn't got a call from the CBI Boss? Are we so sure RJ didn't have a second mole? The assassin could have gone to the hotel room at the top and been willing to rappel down after verifying Hightower wasn't in that room (maybe having two or three rooms to check). And those names could have been a setup from Laroche.

And Whitford could have just been the "public face" of RJ, there's been plenty of cutouts and red herrings before.

It'd be easy enough for RJ to give some personal details to use to fool Jane.

Of course I may be overthinking it, but that's what makes a good conspiracy.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

The thing that always felt completely ridiculous to me is how Red John seems to have all these "friends". Really? A serial killer and all these powerful people are lining up to help him out? I wonder if they're ever going to investigate that angle (he must have been, at the very least, incredibly rich) or if they'll just let it drop.Was that really RJ?

I do enjoy this show, even the RJ plotline, though. And I did hoot to see Josh as RJ; I knew that guy at that table would be important since he was so prominently in the shot.

I also liked how Jane did exactly what he's been saying he would do for the entire series, and how he didn't look shaken in any way: his voice cracking when he asked RJ to "wait" was obviously faked.


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

I for one am glad that Red John thread is over ... The whole idea of so many supposedly smart people perfectly willing to kill and die for him without a second thought smacked of a cult only ... Was a bit incredulous. I will admit though that casting was perfect, as was Jane calmly sitting down at the table and drinking tea.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

Peter000 said:


> I wonder where it will go from here?


Well, Jane has to prove that guy was Red John, otherwise Jane is going to have a very long prison sentence, although I suppose Jane can claim self defense, since the guy was armed and had pointed the gun at him. But if Jane tells the truth, the guy was going to walk away and leave Jane alone, so the self-defense plea is very thin.

How did Red John know about the meeting at the mall? Did Grace mention it to O'Laughlin? I'll have to watch it again.

Grace's necklace is obviously important. At first I thought it was a bug, either a listening device or a locator. But if so, why did O'Laughlin pull it off of her? Or was O'Laughlin having a change of heart (groan) and trying to tell her something about it? Did he mean to pull it off, or was he just trying to touch it and accidently pulled it?

I thought it had been established that O'Laughlin did not love Grace when he did not risk his life to save her in that shoot out several episodes ago. And it looked like he was going kill Grace in this episode. So it is hard for me to believe that he was trying to help Grace when he grabbed the necklace.

There is still the loose end of Kristina Frye, the psychic that Jane went on a date with and who later disappeared.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

secondclaw said:


> The whole idea of so many supposedly smart people perfectly willing to kill and die for him without a second thought smacked of a cult only ... Was a bit incredulous.


I wonder if the writers will try to provide an explanation. The only things I can think of are hypnosis (already covered in the show), or some sort of drug-assisted brainwashing (maybe RJ was a government scientist or ex-military?).

Or maybe your cult idea could work. Maybe there is a whole cult of Red Johns, not just a single person. The guy Jane shot seems to be the guy who killed Jane's family, but maybe he is not responsible for all of the Red John murders. If credible new Red John murders start happening, Jane is going to be in a lot of trouble for the guy he shot.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

RJ mentioned the trap, so as long as Van Pelt was being really stupid (like bringing her boyfriend to secret safe house ) she must have spilled it all. Knowing that the director was the suspect he came along to watch. He would have known it was a trap, but since the director couldn't finger him, he wanted to watch them fail. 

As to Van Pelt's stupidity, she really needs to just marry Rigsby. She can't be trusted to pick any man on her own after choosing two murderers in a row. Only my overriding lust for redheads keeps me from hating the character for being that dumb.

The trap at the hotel was a little too contrived and flawed. They're trying to keep the whole thing secret, but getting multiple hotel rooms one on top of each other would have taken enough coordination that RJ and his people could too easily have found out something was fishy. They only did it as part of the setup for the rope and the wrong room.

Complaints aside, this was my idea of a season finale. The whole Red John thing wasn't the overall motivation for the show so no need to drag it out. We got resolution ( or at least appears we have ). We got to see Jane smiling and at peace with himself. A cheesier show would have faded to black when we heard the gunshots and tried to make us wonder who shot whom.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

Idearat said:


> RJ mentioned the trap, so as long as Van Pelt was being really stupid (like bringing her boyfriend to secret safe house ) she must have spilled it all. Knowing that the director was the suspect he came along to watch. He would have known it was a trap, but since the director couldn't finger him, he wanted to watch them fail.


Or perhaps there was more than one traitor in the house.

I don't think Grace was stupid to bring her FBI agent fiance along as a partner. But it was idiotic that she did not object when he ignored Rigsby's call, and she did not immediately call Rigsby back. It is not like Rigsby frequently calls her for no good reason. And then for Lisbon to have her phone on vibrate and not on her person was just bizarre -- she is certainly not stupid. That was just an annoying contrivance of the writers to heighten the suspense.

I cannot figure out O'Laughlin's plan. Was he going to kill Lisbon, Grace, Hightower, and two children, in addition to the two uniform cops? That's cold.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Idearat said:


> As to Van Pelt's stupidity, she really needs to just marry Rigsby. She can't be trusted to pick any man on her own after choosing two murderers in a row. Only my overriding lust for redheads keeps me from hating the character for being that dumb.


Ironically, she's been portrayed as a complete idiot from the beginning...although maybe not deliberately. Remember in the early days, when she was the one who was always willing to accept supernatural explanations for things?

I never did understand whether they were _trying _to portray her as a complete idiot, or just open-minded. If the latter, it reminds me of the joke "Be open-minded...but not so open that your brain falls out." Either way, I was very happy when they dropped that repulsive aspect of her character.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Idearat said:


> The trap at the hotel was a little too contrived and flawed. They're trying to keep the whole thing secret, but getting multiple hotel rooms one on top of each other would have taken enough coordination that RJ and his people could too easily have found out something was fishy. They only did it as part of the setup for the rope and the wrong room.


I'm so-so on whether the trap was dumb (in hindsight having the rooms be completely parts of the hotel would have been smarter), but I definitely was yelling that they're not waiting long enough when they burst in. What's the rush? Wait and see what happens. Obviously I've watched enough TV to know that if you jump the gun like that you come up with the wrong conclusion 99% of the time 



john4200 said:


> I cannot figure out O'Laughlin's plan. Was he going to kill Lisbon, Grace, Hightower, and two children, in addition to the two uniform cops? That's cold.


It wasn't O'Laughlin's plan. RJ said he wanted to watch when Jane got the call the Lisben had been killed, to teach Jane another lesson. RJ ordered O'Laughlin to do it. It seems like a stupid move since it burns O'Laughlin completely and how useful is it to have a "friend" in the FBI office?!?! But hey, he's a serial killer so you have to expect some crazy. That whole speech about how he was going to give up and change his life was fantastic. Great writing there. The guy was nuttier than a fruitcake... but again to my (and others') point: how does a guy like that get so many high-powered "friends" he can control?

I bet it is something like a cult.


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## RGM1138 (Oct 6, 1999)

I don't watch this show but I was channel hopping and saw Josh Lyman and had to stop. I noticed that Blondie was nonplussed about capping an unarmed Lyman. Does he have a double-0 status or just diplomatic immunity?


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## Kylep (Feb 14, 2003)

RGM1138 said:


> I don't watch this show but I was channel hopping and saw Josh Lyman and had to stop. I noticed that Blondie was nonplussed about capping an unarmed Lyman. Does he have a double-0 status or just diplomatic immunity?


heh, interesting point to jump in at. The dead guy killed the blond guy's wife and daughter before the series started. The blond guy had been working for this moment every minute since and had clearly stated if he finds the guy, he's killing him without a doubt.

I think most viewers are satisfied that he did just what he said he was going to do with no regret.

edit: Oh, and Lyman did have a gun. It was rolled up in a newspaper.


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## markz (Oct 22, 2002)

I loved that Josh Lyman was RJ! Great role!


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

And he had openly threatened Jane with the gun...i.e., taken it out of the newspaper for a moment, so the security cameras could no doubt see it. Since the cameras won't have audio, they'll see Red John walking away, then turning back towards Jane (holding the gun in the newspaper in front of him), then Jane shooting Red John. All Jane has to do is claim that Red John threatened him, and voila, self-defense.

The video won't be conclusive, of course, but it won't be conclusive either way. And given who the "victim" was and what he did to Jane, even if a prosecutor tried the case would any jury convict Jane?


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

Did he ever take the gun out? I don't remember that. He pointed it at Jane while it was still inside the newspaper, so Jane could see it, but I don't think he took it out.

However, there is definitely a gun in the newspaper next to the body and the cameras will show no one planted it, so it doesn't matter if it showed up on the cameras while they were sitting together. As you rightly point out, Jane can pretty much make up anything he likes about what RJ said since no one can hear.


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## [email protected] (Jan 8, 2008)

There are a lot or parallels between 'Red John' here and 'Jack of all Trades' in "Profiler," You'd think they were recycling ideas. 

Anyway, in 'Profiler' a fake 'Jack of all Trades' was captured a year or two into the series, only to be later determined the the original Jack had manipulated a follower into posing as him. So this case may be analogous. A real RJ might still be out there.

Besides, early in the first season the series creater was asked it RJ would be dealt with in the season finale. The creatorr said getting RJ would be more of a series' ender, rather than a season's ender.


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

I hope next season's mini-thread would be to piece together RJ's organization and his methods - the Who and the How ... after all with the show being about the Mentalist, it may truly turn out that RJ was just as gifted (if not better) than Jane and that's how he was able to manipulate so many people.

I do really hope that this was real RJ - and with the second hour written by show creator I don't really doubt it - especially with such a perfect casting for RJ's role (would be a shame to waste that on a fake). And assuming it was real RJ - this was a very satisfying conclusion to Jane's hunt - which hopefully will allow this character to change and evolve in a new direction.

As far as Jane's troubles after shooting RJ - unlikely that anything will happen. With a gun loaded with hollow-points (assuming this was no lie) and the trail of blood left behind by his associates the shooting is easy to justify - and Jane did make sure RJ turned around so he didn't have to shoot him in the back.


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## Thom (Jun 5, 2000)

john4200 said:


> ...Grace's necklace is obviously important. At first I thought it was a bug, either a listening device or a locator. But if so, why did O'Laughlin pull it off of her? Or was O'Laughlin having a change of heart (groan) and trying to tell her something about it? Did he mean to pull it off, or was he just trying to touch it and accidently pulled it?...


I, also, think there might be bug in the necklace. As O'Loughlin was about to shoot everyone, he said to Grace something along the line of "I am fond of you, but...". Since they were already planning the wedding, and he wasn't in love with Grace, there was no reason for him to give her the necklace without some other ulterior motive. As he lay there dying, he saw the necklace when she leaned over him, and he grabbed it to draw her attention to it hoping she would discover Red John's bug in it. He was dying, and he was fond of her, after all.

As to why Red John had all these "friends," I suspect he had been blackmailing and/or threatening families to coerce people. And he probably exaggerated how many "friends" he had. His periodic splashy killings were partially to make these "friends" know he was deadly serious with his threats.

In a previous episode, they laid the groundwork for Jane to stay with CBI after Red John was dealt with. I seem to remember Lisben having a brief conversation with Jane about what comes after. Jane saying his CBI involvement would be over, Lisben saying she didn't think so...


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

I'm not a big fan of the show (my wife likes it), in fact many of the past episodes I hated.

I will say this was a pretty awesome finale, very well done. I did call the fiance as the mole earlier, and as soon as I saw the cops guarding Hightower for some reason I knew they were dead men, but I still found it surprisingly suspenseful.

Now is the Red John story arc over? If they keep it going I'm afraid the bad guy is going to become such a powerful villain that if/when they do end it it will probably be a let down, but then again was this guy really dead (three bullets seems like it would do the trick) or was he even the real Big John?


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## rambler (Dec 3, 2005)

What's in Laroshe's tupperware container?


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## Thom (Jun 5, 2000)

Only Laroshe knows. Jane was bluffing about knowing what was in the container.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

Perhaps the writers had just run out of red-themed episode titles and so they decided to kill off Red John...


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

Alright, what I don't understand, if the assassin in the hotel was going to use the rope to go down one floor, then why lay out all the artifacts of the kidnapping on the bedroom of the floor above.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

Ment said:


> Alright, what I don't understand, if the assassin in the hotel was going to use the rope to go down one floor, then why lay out all the artifacts of the kidnapping on the bedroom of the floor above.


I think she was surveying the scene before she decided to repel down.


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## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

robojerk said:


> I think she was surveying the scene before she decided to repel down.


Huh? Surveying the scene of what she had in her pack? 

I think Ment has a good point.


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## secondclaw (Oct 3, 2004)

I don't think she was going to rappel down from the balcony with the large bag she was carrying ... it was my impression that she unpacked it so she can clip stuff to her belt, etc ... maybe only take what she needed.

I am far more bothered not picking rooms at random ... and with the assassin just coldly jumping off the balcony like that.



Ment said:


> Alright, what I don't understand, if the assassin in the hotel was going to use the rope to go down one floor, then why lay out all the artifacts of the kidnapping on the bedroom of the floor above.


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## rgr (Feb 21, 2003)

With all of the folks willing to die for Red John, I still think that the Red John killed in this episode is just another one willing to take the fall for the real Red John. Or maybe he was the only Red John, but that there's another layer behind it. Sounds like pretty cult-like behavior, so my bet is that Malcom McDowell's Bret Stiles character is involved somehow. He always seemed to know too much and had a lot of political influence. Or did that wrap that storyline up completely?


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

The way RJ was always playing Jane it wouldn't have surprised me at all if the assassin had always planned on jumping and her laying the stuff on the bed was RJ's way of pointing to the FBI guy as the real mole. She did seem to lay it all out and then just wait for them to show up. After all, Rj was playing Jane like a fiddle.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

I think that if it turns out that Bradley Whitford was _not_ Red John, it would be an incredible cheat by the writer.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

busyba said:


> I think that if it turns out that Bradley Whitford was _not_ Red John, it would be an incredible cheat by the writer.


I agree.

I don't think the story is over by a long shot, but I do think (hope) that RJ is now well and truly dead. Not only mostly dead. All dead.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

busyba said:


> I think that if it turns out that Bradley Whitford was _not_ Red John, it would be an incredible cheat by the writer.


I agree. Now, there may be some of his minions still around, but RJ is dead.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

Since Red John has a cult of followers, he could have been grooming a protege.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

I hope RJ isn't like Menudo, or Dread Pirate Roberts.

They don't need that story line to keep the show going. It isn't 'How I met Red John', so I hope they let it go.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

They will have to come up with a reason for Patrick Jane to stay with the CBI though, since his only real motivation was to find and kill RJ.

Maybe staying on as a consultant will be the community service that he gets sentenced to after his murder conviction.


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

busyba said:


> They will have to come up with a reason for Patrick Jane to stay with the CBI though, since his only real motivation was to find and kill RJ.
> 
> Maybe staying on as a consultant will be the community service that he gets sentenced to after his murder conviction.


[Castle]Maybe he can stay on as a consultant and use his time with them to collect information for Detective novels or the like..... [/Castle]


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## tgrim1 (Sep 11, 2006)

Ment said:


> Alright, what I don't understand, if the assassin in the hotel was going to use the rope to go down one floor, then why lay out all the artifacts of the kidnapping on the bedroom of the floor above.


I'll have to rewatch, but didnt she also just sit there at the end of the bed?

And the way La****** was looking around seemed a little fishy when he was getting in the squad car before shooting Bug


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

busyba said:


> They will have to come up with a reason for Patrick Jane to stay with the CBI though, since his only real motivation was to find and kill RJ.
> 
> Maybe staying on as a consultant will be the community service that he gets sentenced to after his murder conviction.


Posters have already suggested the person Jane killed isn't the "real" RJ. Already suggested the need to apprehend RJs cult followers.

An alternate possibility.
Assume the RJ plot line is finished. Lisbon is kidnapped and/or attacked. Patrick leaves his job at Burger King to help find Lisbon or find the perp.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

jlb said:


> [Castle]Maybe he can stay on as a consultant and use his time with them to collect information for Detective novels or the like..... [/Castle]


And let's face it...it's just plain fun for him. Does a rich guy like him need any reason more than that?


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## jgickler (Apr 7, 2000)

Wasn't Jane wearing a wire when Red John was shot? Both Rigsby and Cho were at the mall, and at one point didn't Jane tell Cho that the CBI boss wasn't the mole? So it would make sense that Jane was wired to get a confession from Bertam and as a result the whole RJ conversation was recorded. I don't know if it helps or hurts Jane, but I assume it will be pivotal in proving Janes innocence next season.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

jgickler said:


> Wasn't Jane wearing a wire when Red John was shot? Both Rigsby and Cho were at the mall, and at one point didn't Jane tell Cho that the CBI boss wasn't the mole? So it would make sense that Jane was wired to get a confession from Bertam and as a result the whole RJ conversation was recorded. I don't know if it helps or hurts Jane, but I assume it will be pivotal in proving Janes innocence next season.


I thought I saw him take the ear thing out when Bertram left.


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## Graymalkin (Mar 20, 2001)

If it turns out that Bradley Whitford was not Red John, I'm done with this show.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

jgickler said:


> Wasn't Jane wearing a wire when Red John was shot? Both Rigsby and Cho were at the mall, and at one point didn't Jane tell Cho that the CBI boss wasn't the mole? So it would make sense that Jane was wired to get a confession from Bertam and as a result the whole RJ conversation was recorded. I don't know if it helps or hurts Jane, but I assume it will be pivotal in proving Janes innocence next season.


He had something to communicate with his backup, but nothing was said about the communications being recorded.

They mentioned that the mall security cameras had sufficient coverage that if RJ showed up they would definitely get him on (video)tape. That's the only explicit mention of any recording that was made.


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## jgickler (Apr 7, 2000)

betts4 said:


> I thought I saw him take the ear thing out when Bertram left.


But he still probably had the wire on, just couldn't here what Cho and Rigsby were saying. My guess is that he didn't want to here them telling him not to kill RJ. But the more I think about it the more a wire seems likely. They thought that the CBI boss had killed one witness already, so no way would they let Jane meet him without being able to hear what they were discussing.


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## jgickler (Apr 7, 2000)

busyba said:


> He had something to communicate with his backup, but nothing was said about the communications being recorded.
> 
> They mentioned that the mall security cameras had sufficient coverage that if RJ showed up they would definitely get him on (video)tape. That's the only explicit mention of any recording that was made.


But if you were trying to get a mole to confess, you would definately try and get it recorded. At the very least, I think that Cho and Rigsby hear the whole conversation with RJ, but I think it is highly probable that the whole thing was recorded, even if it were just a recorder in Janes other pocket. It would be dumb and sloppy police work to do any less.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

jgickler said:


> But if you were trying to get a mole to confess, you would definately try and get it recorded. At the very least, I think that Cho and Rigsby hear the whole conversation with RJ, but I think it is highly probable that the whole thing was recorded, even if it were just a recorder in Janes other pocket. It would be dumb and sloppy police work to do any less.


It was a trap for RJ, not an attempt to get the mole to confess.

But yeah, you would think that they'd be recording anything anyway.


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## bacevedo (Oct 31, 2003)

I believe Cho and Rigsby were gone when Jane was talking with Red John. As soon as Jane realized the fiance was the mole, he told Cho and Rigsby (via the wire) and they took off to go help Lisbon, etc. At least that's how I remember it.

And I agree, if that wasn't the real RJ, I will consider it cheap writing. I believe they wrote this season finale as a possible series finale, because they weren't sure if they were coming back next year. Now that they are coming back next year, they can move forward and not worry about having to close out the Red John story. They can add to it (more backstory, still have his accomplices they need to catch), but it's much easier on them to have that chapter closed.


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## Church AV Guy (Jan 19, 2005)

bacevedo said:


> ... I believe they wrote this season finale as a possible series finale, because they weren't sure if they were coming back next year.


That makes little sense. This show was as close to a renewal lock as it gets. There was no doubt at all. There must have been another reason, or else it is a mis-direct like in "The Profiler" a few years back.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I had the feeling that Rigsby and Cho were gone. It would have been smart for one of them to stay with Jane, but they were worried about Lisbon and Grace.


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## sean67854 (Jul 11, 2001)

I think Jane does know what's in the tupperware and if Red John is really done, that will probably be the story arc next season. 

When the show people who have jumped on TV why is that they always have one leg bent when they're laying there? That seems really unlikely to me.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

sean67854 said:


> I think Jane does know what's in the tupperware and if Red John is really done, that will probably be the story arc next season.


I'm pretty sure he really _doesn't_ know what's in the tupperware. We watched the guy he sent to rob the house as he opened the safe, etc. and he never had a chance to look inside. In fact I think I remember him (the robber) telling Jane that he (the robber) didn't know what was in it.

I personally think that plot point is done now; I'd be a bit surprised if it comes back at all, other than maybe in passing, and _really_ surprised if it turns into anything major.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

Idearat said:


> As to Van Pelt's stupidity, she really needs to just marry Rigsby. She can't be trusted to pick any man on her own after choosing two murderers in a row. Only my overriding lust for redheads keeps me from hating the character for being that dumb.


I think O'Laughlin was an idiot.
Picking Red John over Grace?
Really, was sex with Red John that good?
I'd fry Red John in two seconds to be with Van Pelt.

BTW, Amanda Righetti weighs in on the finale.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

We really enjoyed this episode...hopefully that concludes the Red John saga and they can move on to other things.

One thing that had my wife and I rewinding was LaRouche (sp).

WTF was wrong with his eyes!?

I mean they were literally shaking back and forth during several scenes with him and Jane..it was FREAKY.

If you still have the recording of the show, go back and watch his eye movements...strange for sure.


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## Dawghows (May 17, 2001)

Alfer said:


> One thing that had my wife and I rewinding was LaRouche (sp).
> 
> WTF was wrong with his eyes!?


That's a medical condition the actor (Pruitt Taylor Vince) suffers. He has something called pathologic nystagmus, which causes a person's eyes to move involuntarily.

I don't know if he's had treatment for it, or even if a treatment exists, but my wife and I both think his condition has improved over time. It was much worse when he was younger.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

Dawghows said:


> That's a medical condition the actor (Pruitt Taylor Vince) suffers. He has something called pathologic nystagmus, which causes a person's eyes to move involuntarily.
> 
> I don't know if he's had treatment for it, or even if a treatment exists, but my wife and I both think his condition has improved over time. It was much worse when he was younger.


Wow....didn't know that.

It was the first we noticed it and it was so distracting we lost focus of what the actors were talking about.


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## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

bacevedo said:


> I believe Cho and Rigsby were gone when Jane was talking with Red John. As soon as Jane realized the fiance was the mole, he told Cho and Rigsby (via the wire) and they took off to go help Lisbon, etc. At least that's how I remember it.


And if the hypothetical recorder was with them then nothing Jane or Red John said after they left would be captured. So it's back to Jane's word on what happened.


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## TiMo Tim (Jul 20, 2001)

Just watched this last night...


robojerk said:


> I will say this was a pretty awesome finale, very well done. I did call the fiance as the mole earlier, and as soon as I saw the cops guarding Hightower for some reason I knew they were dead men, but I still found it surprisingly suspenseful.


My wife always had a hunch about the fiance.

And what's the deal with the cops guarding the safe house? "Let's stick together-- we'll sit in our uniforms, in this marked police cruiser parked in the driveway, pointed towards the gate and away from the road." Is that how real cops protect a safe house?

In the hotel, I saw the rope on the bed and thought, she wasn't expecting to find Hightower in that room. And at the table in the mall, I asked my wife, is Patrick packin' heat?


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## Dawghows (May 17, 2001)

TiMo Tim said:


> Just watched this last night...
> My wife always had a hunch about the fiance.


My wife and I suspected him almost from the very beginning. Not sure why, exactly, but we were convinced he was bad right from the get-go.


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## purwater (Aug 25, 2005)

My wife knew who the mole was as soon as the episode started. I suspected she was right and I told her as soon as we saw Bradley Whitford sitting there that he was RJ and that Jane would shoot him before the episode was over. Glad to see the writers have Jane follow through on what he's promised since day one.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

purwater said:


> Glad to see the writers have Jane follow through on what he's promised since day one.


This.


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## bacevedo (Oct 31, 2003)

Church AV Guy said:


> That makes little sense. This show was as close to a renewal lock as it gets. There was no doubt at all. There must have been another reason, or else it is a mis-direct like in "The Profiler" a few years back.


I didn't realize it was a lock. It seemed that all of the other shows around were getting announced as renewals, and I didn't see anything about The Mentalist being renewed until later. Does it really have that great of ratings that it was a lock? I love the show, but honestly don't know how it does in the ratings.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

Ratings for it were 14 million viewers this season finale as an example...each season opener is hitting nearly 15 million.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

TiMo Tim said:


> And at the table in the mall, I asked my wife, is Patrick packin' heat?


His hand was conspiciously in his jacket pocket the whole time. I spotted it when Jane was first standing at the table with RJ. It really wasn't much of a surprise when there turned out to be a gun in there.

With RJ dead, how are they going to title the episodes going forward?


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

busyba said:


> With RJ dead, how are they going to title the episodes going forward?


Use different synonyms for "dead"?


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

Alfer said:


> It was the first we noticed it and it was so distracting we lost focus of what the actors were talking about.


If you ever saw the series _Touching Evil_ (the American one with Jeffrey Donovan and Vera Farmiga [sp]), he played a man who was disturbed and that aspect really played well into that character.

By the way, that was a great, if short-ran (short-runned???) series and worth seeing if you can find it. I don't see it on Netflix, though I think the original British version is on there.


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

bacevedo said:


> I didn't realize it was a lock. It seemed that all of the other shows around were getting announced as renewals, and I didn't see anything about The Mentalist being renewed until later. Does it really have that great of ratings that it was a lock? I love the show, but honestly don't know how it does in the ratings.


CBS waited to formally announce the renewal of a few "lock" shows including Hawaii Five-0, Criminal Minds and the Mentalist.


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## cmontyburns (Nov 14, 2001)

JYoung said:


> BTW, Amanda Righetti weighs in on the finale.


As does Bruno Heller:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/05/26/the-mentalist-finale/


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

cmontyburns said:


> As does Bruno Heller:
> 
> http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/05/26/the-mentalist-finale/


The attached video in the article was awesome. I loved when Patrick asks for the check when he sees the waitress after the shooting.


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## smak (Feb 11, 2000)

busyba said:


> His hand was conspiciously in his jacket pocket the whole time. I spotted it when Jane was first standing at the table with RJ. It really wasn't much of a surprise when there turned out to be a gun in there.


I noticed the hand in his pocket the whole time as well, but I think the show so preconditioned me to not expect Jane to have a gun, that I never really thought about it until RJ turned back to him, and Jane stood up. Then I pretty much thought that was going to happen.

I thought he had his cell phone in there and he had called somebody with it in his pocket, so they could hear, or something like that.

I definitely think they wanted us to see his hand in his pocket and for us to wonder what he's doing.

Did anybody ever hear about Bradley Whitford doing this, because I think they must have secretly done it, because I never heard about it, and I follow a lot of the TV spoiler guys. I don't even remember them saying Guess who's going to be on the last episode of The Mentalist, and me ignoring it.



busyba said:


> With RJ dead, how are they going to title the episodes going forward?


The episode titles are released a few weeks early, we might know for sure if he's dead when we see the first episode next season.

-smak-


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I am not worried about Jane staying with the CBI, he has shown his usefulness in all sorts of cases non RJ related and can probably be talked into staying by his new 'family' of Lisbon and the gang.


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## markz (Oct 22, 2002)

If Jane left, they'd have to rename the show CBI: Sacramento (or wherever it's located).


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## Philosofy (Feb 21, 2000)

Here's something that confused me. In the last season, when that guy in custody fried, he said "Tiger Tiger." And in a later episode, the head of the CBI muttered that to himself. I think both the head of the CBI and the FBI guy were both Red John moles. I think Red John is dead, but will have lots of minions bent on revenge.


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## Fahtrim (Apr 12, 2004)

Philosofy said:


> Here's something that confused me. In the last season, when that guy in custody fried, he said "Tiger Tiger." And in a later episode, the head of the CBI muttered that to himself. I think both the head of the CBI and the FBI guy were both Red John moles. I think Red John is dead, but will have lots of minions bent on revenge.


From the season premiere last week, I'd say you are wrong.


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