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Friday 21 December 2012

The Mentalist 5.8 "Red Sails In the Sunset" Review

                                           
The episode everyone was waiting for directed by Simon Baker, who kind of took the easy way out spending most of his time behind the wheel of a car and his co-stars took a back seat, especially Cho (Tim Kang) and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman).  Not to mention poor Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) hiding behind her desk, computer etc.  Nice touch when Lisbon (Robin Tunney) shakes her hair up with her hand before she talks with Kirkland (Kevin Corrigan) making us think she was "pretty-ing herself up" for him.

So Patrick (Simon Baker) meets Brett Stiles (Malcolm McDowell) for help with an escape plan to break Lorelei (Emmanuelle Chriqui) out of prison, which he doesn't agree to, meeting him in a cinema where he watches North By Northwest, the ultimate spy/escape/on-the-run movie, where Cary Grant is pursued by bad guys after being mistaken for George Caplan.  (Funny, mentioned that movie in something else I'm writing.)  Small part for Brett too just sitting in the theatre.  He's adamant he doesn't want to help, even if he can and tries to steer Patrick away from this plan.  a sense of genuinely caring for Patrick and not wanting to see him him arrested or some other motive.

Here, the episode's premise was described as Patrick needing help with an elaborate plan to break Lorelei out, didn't seem to be that elaborate of an escape.  Just have her in the yard, pay some people off and smuggle her out in a laundry truck, what else?  Perhaps the elaborate part was Patrick making everyone, including Lorelei believe he had been kidnapped by her.  Her motive?  Well, she is meant to be working for Red John but no one bothered to find out how she escaped and why at this point after all this time, who helped her, etc.  Patrick even taking a tyre iron to his beloved Citroen, before he abandons it.  As well as faking a text to Lisbon about someone following him.

Lisbon trust Kirkland too easily, I mean he still hasn't explained why he's there, especially since Homeland Security gets involved with the CBI out of the blue.  Patrick used the favour Brett owes him from 4.16 His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts, when he saved him from having his cult taken over when he was suspected of murder.  Even the laundry truck had the 'Visualize' logo on the back of it, incase you missed it.  being the name of Brett's cult.  Lorelei is dropped in the middle of nowhere and Patrick casually drives up in another 'inferior' car and she's shocked to see him, having thought her escape was the handiwork of criminal manipulator and mastermind, Red John.  She reluctantly gets in and the radio doesn't work, so she can't hear news reports of her escape.

She wants to see the ocean and he drives her there but she refuses to speak about Red John.  Watching the ship out in the ocean she wonders where they're heading.  Patrick builds a fire and he huddles in front of the fire. She comes up and lies next to him covering him with her blanket.  She had ample opportunity to drive away but doesn't take it.  What does that tell us about Lorelei.  She shares some sort of a connection, or attraction to Patrick and he does care about her, doesn't seem romantically though.  Especially since the scene is kind of a repeat of the season 4 episode 4.24 The Crimson Hat, when they spent the night together, however fully clothed this time. Cue romantic music in The Mentalist, never had that before.

Anyway Patrick wakes up thinking she's done a runner but she has removed her clothes and bathes in the ocean!!  He can't help but watch her.  He tells her to hide when the Park Ranger (Ron Perkins) approaches and don't tell me he didn't see her walk on the beach, he wasn't that far away.  He tells Patrick about campfires being illegal with permits and notices her shoes on the beach.  She calls out that she's naked so can't come out from behind the rock.

Patrick's car has been discovered so the team look for him, except Cho and Rigsby spend their time in the office, as does Lisbon for a while.  She and Kirkland meet Lorelei's mother, Dana (Gigi Rice) who turns out to be uncaring and quite a vain woman, it's hard to see as a mother.  Lisbon is direct with her and she hates her tone, Lisbon's not bothered with that, taking a leaf out of Patrick's book when he's blunt and direct.  She also ask if the man in the photo is Dana's father, of course it wasn't, Lisbon just being flippant.  Don't know about you, but I miss Lisbon and Patrick working together and their interactions.  Though it does make a change to see them doing their own thing, for Lisbon to go off with Kirkland and Patrick with Lorelei.

Dana comes in to talk with Lisbon and tells her she had a habit back then and couldn't raise two daughters, so she sold one to a couple in need of a child. She wasn't happy with her decision but Lorelei didn't forgive her for this.  Miranda was raped and murdered, left for dead in a building and she managed to scratch the name 'Roy' on the floor.  An alias of Red John but we knew he was involved as soon as Lisbon saw the CS photo.

Patrick buys clothes, food and a disguise for himself of a cowboy hat  and sunglasses so she can disguise herself, but they didn't change their car which has been identified by the Ranger.  Again Patrick thinks she's driven away when he comes out and finds the car still there.  Think he left the keys in there purposely as a test to see if she will run.  Anyway after getting a room with a broken TV and sitting on the bed right next to the radio, he forgets to make sure it doesn't work.  SO whilst he's out getting ice and calling Lisbon, she hears the news she's meant to have kidnapped Patrick.  Lisbon faxes Patrick the CS photo.

Patrick is beaten by Lorelei when he comes into the room, oh Patty you let  a woman get the better of you like that! Normally it's the men who hit him!  He shows her the photo in a bid to convince her Red John lied and used her, but she's not buying it.  She heads for the cabin which Miranda owned and Patrick lets her drive.  This time Lorelei leaves the keys in the ignition.  The team have narrowed down his location from his call which is what Patrick tells her and tells her to go.  He'd kill for a cup of tea though and she agrees to make him one.  No time though as he lets her escape in the 4X4.  Lorelei leaving him with the clue that he and Red John are so alike, it's a wonder they're not the best of friends since he shook his hand?  Lorelei: "I only wonder why the two of you didn't become lifelong friends the moment you shook hands."

This being a clue that Red John is someone we actually know, possible red herring with Kirkland as Patrick shook his hand, but doesn't know who he is, as he asks Lisbon when she finds him.  TO make the whole kidnapped story convincing, Patrick crashes the car and ends up with whiplash.  He tells Lisbon about this and that Red John is someone he's met and shaken hands with, but he's met so many people.  Lisbon knows he set up the entire kidnapping as she's known him for so long and knows him too well.  Again saying she would arrest him, like she when she told Patrick if he kills Red John she will bring him in.

Lorelei kisses Patrick before she leaves and he's receptive to the kiss at first but seems to push her away, normally he wouldn't have let that happen but after their one might thnag, it's like he does almost welcome it.  Lorelei is nothing but another one of Red John's brainwashed Vics and Patrick tells her as much.  He's happy to let her go on her own since she pretty much told him plenty about already meeting Red John and he hopes she will call him when she realizes the truth about Red John.  Question being will she last long on the show or will Red John make her another one of his dead brainwashed Vics?  Clearly she's not about to go to her mother and it seems she was a late addition to the story just so the writers could bring in Lorelei's sister. and Red John having his claws into Lorelei's family.  Why were Miranda and Lorelei targets for Red John?  Broken homes, broken families seem to be his mantra for Vics and killing off family members and siblings is his 'game' to recruit acolytes.

Great directing on the part of Simon as he really made the episode atmospheric and creepy in places with Kirkland showing up and then that cabin.  Who had the car battery on charge there?  Patrick's slo-mo run to the cinema like he was himself escaping (from Lisbon, ha) and then the movie playing on screen, so apt.

As was Patrick cold reading Lorelei's mother without even meeting her: that she was vain and cold, also that Lorelei must have looked out for someone, this being Miranda.  Dana telling Lisbon she doesn't have children when she asks her if she felt at all responsible for her daughter.  That must have hurt her, considering Lisbon had her brothers and would have had to be mother to them.  Lisbon has no sympathy for Dana and the effect she had on her daughter and when she tells her she lost two daughters, Lisbon asks, "want me to get you a tissue?"

Mention His Right Red Hand as there were similarities between Lorelei and Rebecca,  who he ends up killing.  The grin on Patrick's face in the attic when he realizes his Red John suspect list has been narrowed down by Lorelei, but she could be lying.
Patrick referring to Kirkland as Lisbon's "new best friend."  Jealous he's out of that loop perhaps?
Kirkland: "If he's with her, he's in a lot of danger..."  What made him say this?  Suggesting he knows more about Lorelei than he's letting on, which he probably does since he's been seen with Alexa Schultz.

Lisbon referring to Loereli as Red John's mistress though she calls him a psychopath.



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