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May 18, 2013

The Mentalist: Redwood

by Debra McDuffee, posted Oct 28th 2008 11:29PM

Jane with witness
(S01E05) I started watching this episode, waiting for Jane to do his stuff. Since The Mentalist previewed, I have enjoyed Jane's antics and "Redwood" didn't disappoint.
  • Quick -- who could have done it? A name popped into your head, you know it did.
  • Raise your hands above your heads, lower your right hand if you did it
  • Hypnotizing Nicole to get her to remember
  • Stealing Kara's MP3 player
  • Springing Nicole from the hospital
  • Cell phone decoy trick to save Lisbon

At the beginning of the episode, I thought I'd be writing about how this was a perfect example of a typical, predictable procedural. Once again, The Mentalist has pleasantly surprised me by proving just how special it is.

Yes, I called the killer from the second he introduced himself as part of the search party. But it didn't end up mattering that I knew, because the dramatic scenes between Jane and Nicole, when he was helping her remember, were really fascinating and well-acted.

I loved the feisty truck driver; what a great secondary role. I like that he was entertaining and not just a generic suspect. So many proceduals wouldn't have bothered to make this character, not really central to the plot, a memorable one. This scene really made me smile.

I do wish we'd see a bit more on the Red John story arc in each episode. We did get a little glimpse into Jane's family with the piano-playing flashback, but that was seconds, and not very deep. Did it help us know Jane more? Barely. And it certainly didn't move along the Red John mystery at all. I wonder how they are going to bring us back to that?

So, The Mentalist has been compared to Psych, because both of the main characters were fake psychics, and have the gift of observation. Do you think the killer smelling like "pineapple" is a shout-out to Psych, the pineapple-obsessed show? I'd like to think it was a clever little tip of the hat, but either way, it was a nice detail that added more to the depth of the work Jane was doing with Nicole.

How do you feel about this episode, and the show in general?

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13 Comments

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Wynter

The song is Adore, Adore by Yoav

January 22 2009 at 4:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
starfish

Does anyone know where the river scene in this episode is?

January 05 2009 at 7:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Song Search

I'm looking for that song that was playing in the car as well...did you find the answer?

December 20 2008 at 7:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dedsergei

Hi ! Does Anybody know what is the song played in a car when Jane drove a girl to the crime place in this episode:The Mentalist: Redwood
Thanks a lot !

November 11 2008 at 6:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jim Kosmicki

you are right that the killer was obvious from the beginning. Jane indicated that the perpetrators like to put themselves into the search party. The guy who did it ranted about the situation as they came up to join the search party and had to be reprimanded to stop making judgments. it was there from the beginning if you caught the details (which is important for a show like this). But watching a show like this is not really about who the killer is -- it's about the process of determining the killer.

I had already commented on Clique-Clack that the pineapple tip-of-the-hat was cute before I read your review here -- glad to see people are catching that reference.

October 31 2008 at 1:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
La-Di-Dah

What I too really want to know abouttoo is Jane's past family and psychic life. They really need to inch the story arc forward more than they are right now.

October 29 2008 at 6:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan Chichian

I like this show and I think to call it a procedural is inaccurate. All of the CSIs and Without a Trace are procedurals but Jane and crew are a few steps away from that.

I can see the link to Profiler more than to Psych. Psych is exuberant and Shawn works to make everyone think he is psychic. While the Mentalist does have fun it is not over the top and Jane makes a point of saying that there is no such thing as psychics. Perhaps Jane is Shawn's foil?

October 29 2008 at 1:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Debra McDuffee

I didn't make the Profiler connection before, but you are so right! And I used to love that show; so smart, just like The Mentalist!

October 29 2008 at 12:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
BC McKinney

I continue to believe that the comparison to "Psych" is somewhat off the mark. This show is "Profiler" (NBC 1996-2000) with a penis (sexes of the dispassionate team leader also reversed), and concentrating on the Red John/Jack-of-All-Trades angle would only make it more so.

October 29 2008 at 11:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
keithnl

"The Mentalist" its "Psych" for your mom.

October 29 2008 at 11:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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