The Mentalist was another one of those shows I stopped watching during my years-long TV hiatus. Honestly, I’m not even sure I would have finished the series had I not taken that break. By that point, I was already exhausted by the Red John storyline, which felt like it would never end. I don’t mind a long through line, but eventually it needs to end. And the way they finally wrapped it up felt so ridiculously contrived that I was ready to pack it in altogether.
What stopped me was Simon Baker. His portrayal of Patrick Jane was so damn compelling that I was loath to say goodbye. Walking away from the character for good just didn’t sit right with me, so I was determined to stick with it. And then one day, I simply stopped turning the TV on—unless it was to watch a movie, either something I owned or whatever was on TCM.
Which brings us to this recent binge rewatch, where I finally found out how it all ended. Part of me really enjoyed spending time again with Patrick and the rest of the CBI team—especially Cho. I had completely forgotten just how adorable he is, albeit in that wonderfully stoic way. Patrick was just as charming as ever, and how anyone can resist that little half-smile of his is beyond me. It’s honestly unfathomable that Simon Baker didn’t land another big, long-running show after this. Maybe I should start a petition to bring him back to our screens.
As for the cases themselves, when they didn’t involve Red John, I enjoyed them for the most part. When Red John did show up, I found myself even more annoyed this time around. Maybe that’s residual irritation from my first watch, but dear lord, that storyline did not need to be dragged out into the sixth season. It should have ended after the third—at the latest.
That said, while the Red John resolution mostly made sense to me, the later decision to shuffle half the main cast over to the FBI just didn’t work. It wasn’t what I wanted for these characters, and part of me wishes I’d stopped watching at that point. I still enjoyed my time with Patrick, Cho, and Lisbon, but the show never quite regained its sense of cohesion after that shift. And don’t even get me started on the forced romance—Booth and Bones, they are not.
All that said, I do want to give the writers their due. The mythology of the show—including Red John—was carefully constructed, and they introduced recurring characters years in advance, laying groundwork that paid off much later. That takes real skill. Even when I didn’t enjoy the direction of certain storylines, they rarely missed a beat or flubbed a connection. The casting of those characters was also spot-on: Malcolm McDowell, Morena Baccarin, Pedro Pascal, Leslie Hope, and Reed Diamond amongst them—not a single wasted actor in the bunch.
While I’m glad I spent 151 episodes with Patrick Jane and finally saw how his story wrapped up, this isn’t a show I feel the need to revisit. I love so much of it, but the elements that frustrate me really frustrate me—and I don’t think I’m willing to put myself through that again.
16 comments:
I think maybe I caught a couple of episodes of this when it first aired, but never got into it. Which is a shame because it was the kind of show I liked back then. Maybe someday I will give it a try via streaming. I admit I haven't been in the mood to watch much of anything lately.
I know I watched some of this show but I can't remember most of it. I guess that's what happens when you get older. lol
Compelling is the word for Patrick Jane.
I loved this show for Patrick Jane and Cho (he was my favorite by a mile) but the Red John storyline did get absolutely ridiculous. I was good with one or two followers who worked in law enforcement but by the end I'm pretty sure it was 70%. I don't remember if we finished it but for at least the first few seasons it was a favorite.
Literary, It's definitely good for a first watch. If you do, let me know what you think.
Mary, they should be honest with us what getting older really means.
Mystica, very much so.
Katherine, it's absolutely moronic how long they drew that storyline out. I will say the writers did masterfully build the mythology adore him, but dear lord they milked it.
I really want to try The Mentalist! But it is on none of the channels I have. Only place it is on I had missed that they started showing it and you can only go back a month so nope
Blodeuedd, I hope you get to watch it sometime.
We are currently rewatching the Mentalist. We watch about three episodes a week and we are getting toward the end of the 5th season. I like the characters and the actors a lot, but I do remember that the last season was a little off. We are also rewatching Elementary and CSI: New York.
Tracy, Elementary is on my long list of shows to binge watch.
I'd forgotten all about this series (and agree that I got tired of the Red John plotline before poor Simon did). I agree he was excellent, as was Cho. I will have to see what he has done since then.
Constance, I could maybe have handled how long they dragged it out had it not become as overly complicated as they wrote it to be.
The Mentalist was much watch TV for the first few seasons, but I was beyond annoyed when Red John reappeared after that thread was seemingly resolved that I lost heart and abandoned the show.
Patrick Jane definitely made the show, and I would love to see him in something else.
Jane, It's like they couldn't figure out how else to keep him with the CBI. I think the wrote themselves into a corner.
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