Watched The Mentalist season 3 finale
Just watched the Season 3 finale of The Mentalist. And, whoa. I absolutely loved the ending.
SPOILERS
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So here I was, thinking that this season finale, we will see a showdown between Jane and Red John - through Red John's friend. Jane will get one step closer to finding RJ, who skips out of the way at the last moment, and maybe sacrifices his "friend" in the process. And then we shall continue this crime-solving-angst-drama in Season 4.
Talk about unexpected.
First, the friend. Ok, so 5 nice "unexpected" suspects. (Fun how Jane bluffed his way to LaRoche's list btw~) The show kinda set us up for this one and I fell right into it - ever since Bertram quoted William Blake at the end of the Hightower episode, I had assumed he was RJ's mole in the CBI. Thing is, I had considered the possibility that GaryStu!Agent O'Laughlin was one of RJ's spies too - after all, there's no rule that it could only be one of them (and given RJ's cautious nature and apparent influence, more than one had seemed very possible). But Jane's trap killed my idea of O'Laughlin as RJ's second spy. The "success" of Jane's trap meant that only one of the five could be the spy. Otherwise, it would be immediately obvious that it was a trap and no one would have showed up at all. (So, I thought.) Also, I had thought that the necklace O'Laughlin gave to Grace might contain a bugging device. If that was the case, Jane's trap would also not have succeeded. Well, after satisfying myself of O'Laughlin's innocence (I next considered that he would somehow be killed in the action - there were too many "foreboding moments of bliss" for Grace? XD), I enjoyed the twist. Ah, the rope.
Also, glad to see Hightower back (even if I hadn't particularly liked (or disliked) her till an episode or two before she was framed) and her story "wrapped up". I rather like the story leading to how she was introduced into this episode too. And I love it that Jane finally confides in his team~
But the main mindblower - the ending. RED JOHN. Just. I had always wondered about when we "*finally*" see Jane meet/kill Red John (which I had expected would be at least a few more seasons later), would it fall flat after all the anticipation? But this. This certainly hasn't failed my expectations. I liked the normalcy of the setting, how Red John was played (a regular joe, a weary serial killer? yet still, the mind games. And for some reason, the feeling I got reminded me of Moriarty in BBC Sherlock, even though there was no flamboyant creepy crazy), when Red John described how they smelled, perverse and heartwrenching and the horrifying realisation of how the fluffy-sweet title tied in with this episode. And I loved the end, how unexpected it was, yet perfectly plausible and I feel it's very much in line with Jane's character. (He brought the gun to a place where he expected to possibly meet Red John, which showed that he came prepared to kill. I had always wondered if Jane would really go through with it, when he finally met Red John, because it could go so many ways. Maybe I even wished he wouldn't - because of course, revenge isn't right - no one has the right to take another's life, and besides, wouldn't doing it make him more like the monster he loathed? But from a story point of view, it made sense that he would. Maybe Red John's words about his wife and child erased any lingering hesitation. And consistent with his character, he first made certain that the man is Red John, and his detest for violence and guns showed in the way he handled the gun as he removed it from his pocket and laid it on the table.) I wonder how the show will continue. I think it'll be exciting to see how Jane's character will develop from here (and how he gets out of this mess?). But it may also crash and burn without the Red John storyline. (That's not saying I support Red John's survival or a new Red John. He better not have killed a fake Red John anyway, I would so hate the show if that happens.)
SPOILERS
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
So here I was, thinking that this season finale, we will see a showdown between Jane and Red John - through Red John's friend. Jane will get one step closer to finding RJ, who skips out of the way at the last moment, and maybe sacrifices his "friend" in the process. And then we shall continue this crime-solving-angst-drama in Season 4.
Talk about unexpected.
First, the friend. Ok, so 5 nice "unexpected" suspects. (Fun how Jane bluffed his way to LaRoche's list btw~) The show kinda set us up for this one and I fell right into it - ever since Bertram quoted William Blake at the end of the Hightower episode, I had assumed he was RJ's mole in the CBI. Thing is, I had considered the possibility that GaryStu!Agent O'Laughlin was one of RJ's spies too - after all, there's no rule that it could only be one of them (and given RJ's cautious nature and apparent influence, more than one had seemed very possible). But Jane's trap killed my idea of O'Laughlin as RJ's second spy. The "success" of Jane's trap meant that only one of the five could be the spy. Otherwise, it would be immediately obvious that it was a trap and no one would have showed up at all. (So, I thought.) Also, I had thought that the necklace O'Laughlin gave to Grace might contain a bugging device. If that was the case, Jane's trap would also not have succeeded. Well, after satisfying myself of O'Laughlin's innocence (I next considered that he would somehow be killed in the action - there were too many "foreboding moments of bliss" for Grace? XD), I enjoyed the twist. Ah, the rope.
Also, glad to see Hightower back (even if I hadn't particularly liked (or disliked) her till an episode or two before she was framed) and her story "wrapped up". I rather like the story leading to how she was introduced into this episode too. And I love it that Jane finally confides in his team~
But the main mindblower - the ending. RED JOHN. Just. I had always wondered about when we "*finally*" see Jane meet/kill Red John (which I had expected would be at least a few more seasons later), would it fall flat after all the anticipation? But this. This certainly hasn't failed my expectations. I liked the normalcy of the setting, how Red John was played (a regular joe, a weary serial killer? yet still, the mind games. And for some reason, the feeling I got reminded me of Moriarty in BBC Sherlock, even though there was no flamboyant creepy crazy), when Red John described how they smelled, perverse and heartwrenching and the horrifying realisation of how the fluffy-sweet title tied in with this episode. And I loved the end, how unexpected it was, yet perfectly plausible and I feel it's very much in line with Jane's character. (He brought the gun to a place where he expected to possibly meet Red John, which showed that he came prepared to kill. I had always wondered if Jane would really go through with it, when he finally met Red John, because it could go so many ways. Maybe I even wished he wouldn't - because of course, revenge isn't right - no one has the right to take another's life, and besides, wouldn't doing it make him more like the monster he loathed? But from a story point of view, it made sense that he would. Maybe Red John's words about his wife and child erased any lingering hesitation. And consistent with his character, he first made certain that the man is Red John, and his detest for violence and guns showed in the way he handled the gun as he removed it from his pocket and laid it on the table.) I wonder how the show will continue. I think it'll be exciting to see how Jane's character will develop from here (and how he gets out of this mess?). But it may also crash and burn without the Red John storyline. (That's not saying I support Red John's survival or a new Red John. He better not have killed a fake Red John anyway, I would so hate the show if that happens.)