The Mentalist 2x10 -- "Fugue in Red"
So. I am pleased to announce that I was wrong -- this episode did NOT suck. In fact, in my opinion it was very well done and is definitely my favorite of this season so far. It had me from the very beginning -- Lisbon's horrified "no" when she saw Jane floating in the water and her tearful pleas for him to wake up were so, so perfect.
The look into Jane's past was, frankly, unsettling. Old!Jane is basically as different as you can get from the Jane we've seen for the past four years, and I really didn't like him. He's sleazy and selfish and completely lacks a moral compass. Now, it's not like this was really a surprise -- we've seen bits and pieces of Jane's past throughout the show and it's always been pretty clear that he wasn't a great guy before his wife and daughter were killed. But I still found myself taken aback at how completely different and unpleasant he was.
At first the old Jane doesn't seem so bad. He hits on Van Pelt, which was pretty funny (I loved the "WTF is this?!" look on her face), and his interactions with Lisbon were *hilarious*. Maybe I have a weird sense of humor, but their first scene in the hospital cracked me up. I also liked his "there's room up here [on the bed]" line when they went back to the hospital, and her "yeah, like hell" expression. AND we can't forget Jane grabbing her ass and having his hand rather, um, swiftly removed. :p
The way his conman side made such a gradual appearance was very natural and realistic. He cold-read Lisbon and she seemed to be thisclose to falling for it, but in the end that was basically harmless. Then he pulled a stupid, pointless prank on the firemen -- again, annoying but eventually harmless. But then he manipulated Cho into leaving him alone in the burnt house and ran away to do his psychic thing and seduce half a dozen women, much to the team's irritation (and poor Cho's guilt). And finally he got a confession from the killer and took half the stolen money before giving the team the cue to move in. That was my personal turning point from "Well, he's acting like an asshole but I guess he's not really HURTING anyone..." to "Wow, I don't know this Jane AT ALL, and he's basically awful."
Lisbon seemed to agree with me, judging by her reaction to the realization that he really HAD stolen the money, and that he didn't even feel guilty about it. I don't think that she was really and truly convinced that he wasn't playing some kind of game until that moment, and Robin Tunney gets major props for the look of betrayal and realization on Lisbon's face.
And the ending...guh. The LOOK on both their faces. I read a couple reviewers saying how they couldn't believe Lisbon took him to get his memory back and how she's a horrible person...but really? What was she supposed to do, let him go? I don't believe for a second that Lisbon would let him leave like that. At the very least, if she hadn't driven him to his house, she probably would have arrested him. It was clear she felt pretty bad about being the one to make him remember, but in the end it was for the best. As for his theft of the money, I have no doubt that having to live with the memories of what he did will be far, far worse than any punishment the police could give him.
(Oh, and on a tooootally shallow and superficial note...I'd almost forgotten how amazingly hot Simon Baker is when he laughs/smiles. *thud*)
WOW. I APPARENTLY HAVE WAY TOO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT TV. If you managed to get through all that, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the episode! :D
The look into Jane's past was, frankly, unsettling. Old!Jane is basically as different as you can get from the Jane we've seen for the past four years, and I really didn't like him. He's sleazy and selfish and completely lacks a moral compass. Now, it's not like this was really a surprise -- we've seen bits and pieces of Jane's past throughout the show and it's always been pretty clear that he wasn't a great guy before his wife and daughter were killed. But I still found myself taken aback at how completely different and unpleasant he was.
At first the old Jane doesn't seem so bad. He hits on Van Pelt, which was pretty funny (I loved the "WTF is this?!" look on her face), and his interactions with Lisbon were *hilarious*. Maybe I have a weird sense of humor, but their first scene in the hospital cracked me up. I also liked his "there's room up here [on the bed]" line when they went back to the hospital, and her "yeah, like hell" expression. AND we can't forget Jane grabbing her ass and having his hand rather, um, swiftly removed. :p
The way his conman side made such a gradual appearance was very natural and realistic. He cold-read Lisbon and she seemed to be thisclose to falling for it, but in the end that was basically harmless. Then he pulled a stupid, pointless prank on the firemen -- again, annoying but eventually harmless. But then he manipulated Cho into leaving him alone in the burnt house and ran away to do his psychic thing and seduce half a dozen women, much to the team's irritation (and poor Cho's guilt). And finally he got a confession from the killer and took half the stolen money before giving the team the cue to move in. That was my personal turning point from "Well, he's acting like an asshole but I guess he's not really HURTING anyone..." to "Wow, I don't know this Jane AT ALL, and he's basically awful."
Lisbon seemed to agree with me, judging by her reaction to the realization that he really HAD stolen the money, and that he didn't even feel guilty about it. I don't think that she was really and truly convinced that he wasn't playing some kind of game until that moment, and Robin Tunney gets major props for the look of betrayal and realization on Lisbon's face.
And the ending...guh. The LOOK on both their faces. I read a couple reviewers saying how they couldn't believe Lisbon took him to get his memory back and how she's a horrible person...but really? What was she supposed to do, let him go? I don't believe for a second that Lisbon would let him leave like that. At the very least, if she hadn't driven him to his house, she probably would have arrested him. It was clear she felt pretty bad about being the one to make him remember, but in the end it was for the best. As for his theft of the money, I have no doubt that having to live with the memories of what he did will be far, far worse than any punishment the police could give him.
(Oh, and on a tooootally shallow and superficial note...I'd almost forgotten how amazingly hot Simon Baker is when he laughs/smiles. *thud*)
WOW. I APPARENTLY HAVE WAY TOO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT TV. If you managed to get through all that, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the episode! :D