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The Mentalist gets political. Jane and Bosco clash again over “Red John” murders.

This summary will be broken up into two parts. The first section will be important information you need to know about the ongoing “Red John” case, and the second section will be a summary about a murder case.

In this episode Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) confronts Sam Bosco (Terry Kinney) twice about the “Red John” murder investigation. In the first confrontation, Jane is in Bosco’s office without permission. Bosco indicates that he knows his pass-code was hacked by Jane in the previous episode. Jane knows Bosco has new evidence about the “Red John” murders, and asks to see the file. Bosco denies Jane, and compares him to a “crack addict” about to get a hit. Before leaving, Jane states that “Red John” doesn’t make mistakes, and any new evidence is left on purpose.

The second time Jane intrudes on Bosco, he brings him a gift of donuts in a bright pink box.  Jane tells Bosco that he will no longer interfere with the “Red John” case, and that it belongs to Bosco. Bosco acts like he believes Jane and says thank you. Once Jane leaves, Bosco orders a subordinate to get rid of the box of donuts. The viewer’s sight is then directed to below the desk where Jane was standing.  A small device with a blinking red light is shown. The last scene of the episode is of Jane laying on a couch, looking up at a stain on a ceiling that looks like Elvis, listening to what is said in Bosco’s office with a device in his ear.

The episode begins with the discovery of Kristen Marley’s body under a bridge. There is some discussion of whether she committed suicide by jumping intentionally or was murdered. Jane and Officer Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) conclude she was most likely murdered, as she has a shoe missing.

Upon investigation it is discovered that Marley worked for a State Senator named Melinda Batson. There is a rumor that Marley was having an affair with Melinda’s husband, Elliot Batson. The two are visited by Jane and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney). While Lisbon is interested in interviewing them, Jane is more interested with the desk that belonged to the victim. He finds photos, a scrapbook, and labeled little glass containers with beach sand Marley collected.

When Jane does interview the Batsons, they tell him that Marley was having family problems, and that her mother-in-law called many times. Upon observation, Jane tells the Batson’s there’s no romantic “heat” between them. Melinda Batson admits as much, blaming it on politics.

The lead discovered by Jane is followed through by Kendall Cho (Tim Kang) and Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman). They visit Marley’s step-mother, Charlotte McAdoo (Mary Pat Gleason) looking for her son, Harlan McAdoo (Josh Stewart), who was earlier arrested for car-jacking. Cho and Rigsby find Harlan, who was hiding, and take him to the station. Eventually it is discovered that both McAdoos were trying to get Kristen Marley to give a false alibi for Harlan at the time period the car-jacking took place.

Harlan is interrogated. He displays no sadness over Kristen’s death. He complains that once she was employed, she never gave any money back to her family. He was also upset that she didn’t provide the false alibi. While Harlan is later distracted inside the station by agent Van Pelt, Cho and Rigsby go to Harlan’s car. They break into it, and open the trunk, finding Marley’s missing shoe. Harlan is then formally arrested, but Jane isn’t convinced.

Earlier in the episode, Jane deduces that Kristen Marley was a collector. He states that who she was romantically involved with, and the murder, will be solved by some memento that she kept. He stated it will be inside something fancy. Van Pelt goes to find the item. She discovers a box with a ballerina on top, but there is nothing inside it. It appears that Jane is wrong.

Jane then visits Senator Batson’s father, Walter Crew (Paul Michael Glaser). He was a legislator for 26 years, and is still a powerful political creature. Jane eventually asks, “How long were you sleeping with Kristen Marley before she was killed?” Crew dodges the question by stating that he’s been married for 38 years. But, his grin indicates he’s somewhat proud of the conquest.
He states, “even if what you say is true . . . what does that have to do with poor Kristen’s murder?”

Jane replies, “Blackmail or something like it. The business adultery leads to.”

Later, Jane calls Lisbon from her office. He leaves a message indicating that he put what he is looking for in the top drawer of her desk. He then leaves. A man dressed as a janitor (Daniel Zacapa) shows up, and opens the drawer. He finds a note that says, “Ah Ha!” The lights turn on, and we see Jane, as well as Lisbon, with a gun pointed towards the man. He acts as though he’s a janitor, but Jane calls him a “Fixer.” Jane was suspicious of the phones being bugged, due to the fact there was nothing in the box with the ballerina. He was also tipped off because earlier in the episode, he discovered that his couch had been moved. He looked at the overhead light, and saw that there was a “bug.”

The suspect then grabs Jane and holds a letter opener to his throat. Lisbon is made to turn over her gun, and handcuff herself to the door. People entering the vicinity then spook the false janitor, and he runs. Jane chases after him. He is then almost hit by the car driven by the Fixer. The car then crashes into another one in front of Jane.

In the next scene, the Batsons and Walter Crew are at the station, looking at a television displaying an interrogation room. In the room are the Fixer, bandaged, and an officer across from him. Jane states that there is about to be a confession from the Fixer, and now is the time to say what happened for leniency.

Jane indicates that he knows Melinda Batson is gay, and calls Mr. Batson “the beard.” Mr. Batson states that he married Melinda for financial considerations from her father, Walter Crew. Melinda then begins to confess. She states that she was having a relationship with Kristen, but then it was broken off. Melinda then states, “I knew Kristen was seeing someone, but I didn’t know who it was, so I followed her, and that’s when I saw my father. After he left I went into her apartment. She had these dumb bookends. I grabbed one. Next thing I knew Kristen was on the floor, it just. . . happened. And then I did what I always do when I’m in trouble, I called Daddy. He said he knew someone who could ‘fix’ it.”

After the confession Jane talks to the interrogation room through a microphone. He tells them they can let the Fixer go. The body of the Fixer then slumps over onto the table. He was dead from the car accident! Later, Lisbon and Jane are admonished by their boss, Virgil Minelli (Gregory Itzin), for using the corpse in such a way. The case is closed.

A few more things happened in this episode that may be important for future episodes. Since season one, Rigsby has had a crush on Van Pelt. Everyone knows it, except Van Pelt, unless she is playing naïve. Cho keeps telling Rigsby to ask her out. At the end of this episode it seems like it is going to happen. Rigsby asks Van Pelt if she has any plans for the night, and she tells him she’s just going to watch T.V. Rigsby doesn’t continue the conversation, and Cho walks over and says, “You’re gonna die alone.”

Also during this episode, Lisbon is seen rushing to an office in the “employee support services” section of a building. She is supposed to have mandatory counseling sessions, and this is the third time she’s been late. The counseling is due to something that happened during the last episode of season one. Lisbon had a gun pointed at her by a suspect, and then watched as Jane shot the suspect, killing him. Previews for next week’s episode seem to indicate that Lisbon is going to have some kind of nervous breakdown, which may be related to this incident.

One thing I’ve noticed about this show is that it has a great score. It is subtle when it needs to be, and during the light-hearted moments it is almost like another character. The music makes segues between scenes seamless.

Please stay tuned to this site for future updates of The Mentalist.

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