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Friday 10 May 2013

The Mentalist 5.21 "Red and Itchy" Review

                                           
Lisbon (Robin Tunney) approaches Patrick (Simon Baker) in the attic once again as he stares out of the window this time round.  No mention of knowing it was her out there this time round, though she has been calling him.  She walks in saying it's a case and he's not working on one, also asking how his board is going.  Well it would be going if he could get some work done, like radio silence for a week.  She tells him LaRoche  (Pruitt Taylor Vince) has asked for him as his house was broken into.  He shot the burglar and one of them got away.  He didn't say anything was stolen.  Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) stands around with his dog and doesn't want to give it up.  Patrick steps over the DB and finds he had pills as Lisbon suggests he may be on drugs.  He was taking ibuprofen thus he probably had rheumatoid arthritis.  LaRoche refuses to go to the hospital until he speaks with Patrick.  To tell him his Tupperware box has been stolen.  Probably by someone he's investigating; a leak at the CBIt.  He promises o help him without revealing what was in there.

Lisbon overhears him it appears and actually Patrick doesn't know what's in there.  She knew about the box since Strawberries and Cream when Patrick told her.  He reminds her about getting the thief, Culpepper to break in and Lisbon reminds him she punched him and had to undergo anger management classes for six months, as she hits Patrick.  La Roche thinks he knows what's in the box but he doesn't.  Brenda (Rebecca Wisocky) speaks with Lisbon about giving a press conference to reassure that the CBI officers aren't in trouble, approved by Betram.
LaRoche mentions the cartel criminal, Miguel Leva being in hiding after no drugs were found at his warehouse and also shows Volker's photo again cos it's relevant here.  Just as I mentioned that LaRoche was shown in the Behind the Red Curtain episode since he'd have more to do in the show.  Volker had a secret phone and had been receiving calls from the CBI, but couldn't be located from where.

Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) finds the criminal Scott Saynay (Mark Dippolito) 9 years ago raped and attacked LaRoche's mother.  Which is why LaRoche tells Patrick his mother will also be grateful.  She killed herself later thus Van Pelt thinks he may have kept her blood cos it was the only thing that was found on his clothes.  So incase Saynay got out he'd have that with him still to use.  Saynay has been freed but no one knows where cos the files have been sent out.

Lisbon questions the burglar's wife, Joanne Parsons (Meagan Fay) who tells them he was a locksmith and maybe someone forced him to open the safe.  Patrick later wants to talk with her too and looks at Parson's collection of safes.  So someone had to take over from him as he had arthritis and couldn't use his hands.  Patty noticing the kitty and picking it up, he places it in the safe with Joanne saying she doesn't know the combination.  But uses her skills to crack the safe. Thus she was her husband's accomplice.  She dropped the Tupperware box off into the park as arranged.

When Patrick and LaRoche arrive they find the box gone and Cho (Tim Kang) finds a newspaper which had a story about Parson's and safes.  The managing editor was Brenda Shettrick.  Cho cracking a joke about it being a 'safe bet' she was involved.  Patrick laughs at that but Cho can't see what's funny. Lisbon gives the interview but the reporter, Mason Braverman (Mike Doyle) asks about Leva prompting Brenda to stop the interview.  Later Patrick uses the same ploy to catch Brenda redhanded.  By telling her Lisbon has arranged for Mason to be present at a rapid response team raid Leva's house.  She keeps wanting to use her phone to warn him but is stopped.  Until she forgets her vest and returns to the van where she's filmed warning him.  Liked the way Patrick talked Lisbon into going along with his plan, that Brenda gave her away to Volker and "for once in you life Lisbon, don't be the voice of reason, be the voice of wrath."
Lisbon: "How do we get the bitch?"

Patrick reads her and she claims he knows nothing about her.  She came here wanting to write, had romantic notions of meeting someone but nobody loved her.  She couldn't write, liked coffee and horses and a managing director of a paper is higher up, well connected.  She fell in love with power and made it to the CBI to rub shoulders with the bigwigs.  She wants her lawyer.  Rigsby finds the box in her desk drawer, would've thought he'd look there first.  He's tempted to open it and Cho says he doesn't want to know what's inside.  Patrick stops him, it's not his to look inside.  That was nice Patrick reprimanding Rigsby like a little boy, ha.  Also Van Pelt was right it was animal inside the box and not vegetable as Rigsby thought.  Who'd carry round food for 9 years!

Patrick returns the box to LaRoche and he thanks him, their arrangement is over now.  Patrick hopes not. Still thinking Patrick knows what's inside, is a reminder of how low men can go.  LaRoche: " hold this box as a warning.  It reminds me of the depths a man can sink if he lets himself...it reminds me of my mother."  This should have an effect on Patrick cos he's willing to sink to such depths in his endless search for RJ.  Maybe he's warning him it'll always catch up to him in the end.

Earlier Patrick telling LaRoche he doesn't think he's a monster for keeping what's in the box.  Also they have a conversation about Patrick having to tell Lisbon what was in the box, cos she's his partner and LaRoche understands about loyalty and friendship.  Later Patrick tells Lisbon he needs to work uninterrupted.

Lisbon takes the address of Saynay and finds he can't talk.  Someone cut out his tongue as his mother (Meg Foster) tells her.  That's what's in the box.  There was the feeling that Saynay may not have been guilty of the crime he was accused of, what if his tongue was cut out for other reasons and what does that make LaRoche.  He tries to speak to Lisbon and that look on her face was as though she thought the same.  Then again maybe it was cos she knows what's in there now and Patrick still doesn't.  What would he have thought of LaRoche now if he did, would he still say he's not a monster?  At least we got that reveal about the contents of the box even though we won't get a Red John reveal anytime soon.  No mention of Van Pelt and Rigsby being together either.

Also in Strawberries and Cream, LaRoche tells Patrick "that is private," referring to what's in the box.  Here Patrick says much the same to Rigsby.  It's great the way Patty has this whole other side to him, one where he's helpful and understanding of people and doesn't overstep the mark, that he's not always condescending.  Also LaRoche saying to Patrick that they don't see each other as friends.  Especilally after he thanks him and goes back to calling him Mr Jane.
In the beginning LaRoche knows Patrick didn't take the box as his "puppet mastery of me ends if it becomes public knowledge."
Patrick: ""I never thought of you as a puppet."
LaRoche: "You ever thought of me as a friend?"

Some excellent lines here such as LaRoche telling Patrick that too many high profile suspects were getting out of being arrested.  He didn't notice.  LaRoche: "because you stop at nothing to close cases for your team."
Patrick: "Thank you."
LaRoche: "Other CBI agents have principles."
Patrick: "I leaned into that one."  Yes but not all of them, what about this CBI mole still around on RJ's side.

The clue was in the title as to what was in the box, did anyone get it, red and itchy tongue!  Also the fact that Saynay didn't speak whilst in prison and why his cellmate ran off when he found out they were investigating the case for the box's owner.  Wasn't Brenda already revealed as the leak back when they caught Volker so why was she still at CBI, not to mention why LaRoche didn't know about her.  Yet here Lisbon says they didn't have anything to put her away and they still don't.

Also a coroner scene for them this week as Patrick seems interested and Lisbon, coffee cup in hand doesn't want to look inside Parson's DB at his heart!  Showing yet again she's not into that gore.  Be relieved she didn't faint again, ha.

Patrick's comment when he wants to know why Lisbon is being interviewed: "Sacramento's most eligible singles or should I say sexy spinsters of Sacramanto."  His comments to Lisbon are getting so risque and she seems to like them too.  Brenda telling Lisbon she should be reading blogs!!  Yeah Lisbon! ha.

Did anyone chuckle at Saynay's name, i.e. say nothing, nay as in no say, no speak, no tongue to do so, well it was rather funny!  The writer subtly getting that one in.

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