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Friday 28 December 2012

The Mentalist 5.9 "Black Cherry" Review

                                               
Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and Patrick (Simon Baker) arrive at a CS with Patrick busy writing down names of everyone he shook hands with.  He doesn't need to include Lisbon in there cos she's a friend.  He can't recall the name of the CBI agent with the red hair - which was Harken.  Recalling Lorelei said he had met Red John, but didn't become friends.  Funny Lorelei was so clumsy and inept to have given away that piece of vital info about Red John but wasn't prepared to talk about him, or to even believe he woud have a hand in her sister's rape and murder, in Red Sails In the Sunset.   Patrick back to his usual obnoxious self as he antagonizes yet another hapless, arrogant golfer in Chip (Dan Gauthier) at the golf course.  Patrick asking if he did it and then accusing him of murder, only joking.  The Vic was a former gang member who was turning his life around and took on a job in  real estate company.  He left behind a sister Juliana (Kyla Pratt) and brother, Noah (Bryce Clyde Jenkins).

Lisbon and Patrick question them and Patrick makes an impression on Noah, he likes children and you can see he's comfortable talking with Noah.  Okay not all children, Patrick asks for a cup of tea and in the kitchen has a chat with Noah.  He notices his brother in a photo with his car which wasn't found at the CS.  Lisbon takes a photo.  They then question his colleagues and find the company was into giving second chances to criminals etc.  Patrick asks the boss Nathan (Robert Curtis Brown) if he also needed a second chance. When in walks Victor (Anthony Ruivivar) with another sale to add to his name.  Patrick finds out he was a former lawyer and quite frankly any one of these lot could have done it.  They were so ugh, slimy.  No really would you buy a house from them?  Luckily I got all three killers before it was revealed.  Phew that was cutting it close, usually they're obvious from the start to me.

Patrick also makes an appointment to view a model home with Tiffany (Senta Moses).  Juliana thinks one of her brother's former gang members were behind his shooting and pulls a gun on them.  Then fires shots into the wall.  She's arrested and Lisbon has called the ADA and Social Services for Noah.  Patrick wants Lisbon to "do the right thing" and hold off calling anyone.  They should be together and she should drop the charges against Juliana.  For a second there, thought Patrick would ask to look out for Noah, but that wasn't to be.  He was playing on, appealing to Lisbon's good nature and kindness to show through and not separate the two.

Cho (Tim Kang) meanwhile has a meeting with the gang unit agent Tamsin Wade (Monique Gabriela Curnen) to see if the Vic was still into any gang activity.  Whilst there he checks out an automatic weapon which reminds him of his time in the Special Forces.  She was a Marine.  Of course Cho will have a soft spot for her but with Cho his expressionless face usually gives away what he's feeling, it does.  You have to cold read him like Patrick does sometimes, ha.  Rigsby's (Owain Yeoman) ex, Sarah (Jillian Bach) is on the case and Lisbon tries to talk her out of filing charges against Juliana since they may need her to testify against gang members.  She  knows Lisbon doesn't really want to see her in court.  Lisbon also asks how Ben is.

Cho and Tamsin raid the gang HQ and bring in the man suspected of killing the Vic.  Here they find his car which Shade (Viscellous Shannon) stole since he was inside a model home.  This means he couldn't have gotten back home without his car and this makes the place where he was killed.  Patrick takes a tour of the model homes with Bosch (Larry Poindexter) but wants to see Catalina Number 2 instead.  When Bosch is driven away by Patrick as he wants to feel the "aura" of the house alone, he quickly falls to the floor and searches under the couch to find a missing ring under one of them.  That's the actual CS.  Patrick gets an idea to drive the car to the company and leave it there with a note: stating time and place and an amount of money to be be brought there.

He and Lisbon hide out in the kitchen of Catalina 2, until the suspects arrive, all three of them.  Before they arrive, Patrick tells Lisbon the rug is missing which was used to move the DB.  Apparently whilst hunting at the company retreat, Victor shot a deer, supposedly and the hunter and the others followed suit.  It was a hunter they killed and it was an accident but none of them wanted to report it and even talked the Vic out of doing the same.  He insisted and they killed him.  Lisbon once again asks Sarah not to bring charges and that Noah and Juliana should stay together.  Sarah says she owes her one.  Lisbon gets a hug from Noah.

Patrick in his attic space again adds more names to his burgeoning list.  Some interesting ones too, a few which have crossed my mind and yours too, I'm sure, like Walter Mashburn, or Virgil Minelli.  Others include:
Brett Partridge: CBI Forensics Dept, Totally macabre, handled RJ cases.
Ellis Mars: Bumbling sort, "Psychic," Todd Johnson investigation.
Dean Harken: Agent at CDCA Biotech facility, red hair.
Jason Cooper: Second in command at Visualize, Stiles coup.
Walter Mashburn; Playboy, Unlimited $$, intrigued by murder.
Vint Molinari: CBI Missing Persons, Searched for Kristina F,  Made no progress.  (Oh she's on the list but not as a possible Red John, which it seems has been decided is definitely a man.)
Dr Linus Wagner: Early case, in prison, Copycat RJ.
Virgil Minelli: Old CBI Boss, retired.
Dr Towlen Morning: Family Doctor, Deceased?  Early RJ Victims.
Osvaldo Ardiles; DA's office, road block.

Brett partridge appeared in the Pilot episode and the season 2 finale Red Sky in the Morning.  A possible inclusion to ensure that the writers and producers will be able to say Red John has been on The Mentalist since its Pilot, we just had to endure to find out who it is, when the big reveal does happen.

Ellis Mars was in 3.9 Red Moon as the "psychic" who didn't now who Patrick was and then proceed to use Patrick's own methods of deduction and cold reading against him. Was this an act?

Dean Harken from 2.16 Code Red and he does have red hair, though that's no big clue.
Jason Cooper 4.16 His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts, second in command after Brett Stiles and he was voted to take over from Brett after he was accused of murder.

Walter Mashburn 2.13 Redline and season 3's Red Hot.  In Red Line he told Lisbon, "I have no love for danger. Nothing's dangerous if you think ahead. If you plan it right, you can get away with... well I was gonna say you can get away with murder, but you know what I mean."  

It's interesting to note Patrick's list includes an array which narrows down people in some of the more interesting settings and cases that Patrick encountered them in.  Such as Visualize, Mashburn, whom he encouraged Lisbon to get to 'know' better.  Patrick's perfect memory.  This list is either revealing Red John or was a very convincing RED herring and not one of them in there is Red John.

Others: Vint Molineri: 3.3 The Blood on his Hands.
Dr Linus Wagner from the Pilot episode and season 3 Ball of Fire.
Virgil Minelli is suspected by many fans especially since he made that deal with Alexa Shultz of the FBI.
Dr Towlen Morning in His Red Right Hand, what's odd about Patrick's inclusion is that he was a Vic of Red John and was found in a cemetery, shot and frozen.  Not sure how Patrick could have met him, yet he recalls him and suspects him.  He was also the family doctor of Red John's third and fourth Vics.
Osvaldo Ardiles was in Rhapsody in Red and Panama Red, the ADA Patrick doesn't like and the feeling is mutual.

Anyway these names were intriguing to us and particularly since we won't be getting anymore episodes until next year, and not early either, so that leaves us still mad, angry and guessing, since one of the names on the list appears in the next episode, 5.10 Panama Red.  We'll have a long wait for that.

Nice to see Patrick actually getting back to business at hand this week and helping out 100%, apart from the beginning, but then he has been working on his list so it was a good follow on from the last episode.  Also Lisbon showing she still has a heart in making sure Noah and Juliana stay together.  Proving why we like her even more.  She has to understand what it's like not having a mother and how she was there for her brothers too.  It's a sister's place, I was going to say job but that wouldn't sound right.

Wonder if Sarah and Rigsby will get back together since they didn't get any scenes together.  Cho and Tamsin will prob get together romantically, there's an attraction there. But we know Summer is set to make an appearance again in a future episode, so...Anyway, fun part Lisbon telling Patrick at the beginning as they leave the scene, that he should add her on the list.  Patrick telling her she talked in her sleep when they were in the kitchen, she just appeared to mumble or make a sound, no didn't see any drooling either!
Other great scenes from Patrick: he needs the right "aura" before he buys a house; his little bit of dancing too to check out the kitchen floor.  It's a wonder Simon didn't direct this ep! ha.

Dan Gauthier is best known for playing Lt John McKay in Tour of Duty.  Didn't get much of a part here. He also played a Chip in Friends, The One with the Cat ep.







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