'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
The Mentalist: Red-Handed
by Debra McDuffee, posted Nov 11th 2008 10:30PM
(S01E06) The title of this episode is hilarious. We've got the "red" that has been in every episode title of The Mentalist so far, but the "red-handed" refers to the murderer stealing from the casino. Add in the layer that the show opens with the victim's dismembered hand in the middle of the road in Vegas, and tongue-in-cheek doesn't quite do it justice. Very clever, writer guys.
But again, not so clever with concealing the guilty party from the viewers. Um, so why wouldn't we suspect the (really, like I'd spoil this tid-bit before the jump?) ...
shifty, gambling-addicted son-in-law? But also again, it doesn't matter that we can figure out whodunnit; that's not really what The Mentalist is about. The fun is in watching Jane catch the baddies in his own unique way.
Although this wasn't my favorite episode -- Jane just wasn't over-the-top enough for me -- it still had its moments:
- In the opening scene, Jane uses his ridiculous powers of observation to peg that the hand belonged to upper management of a hotel or casino, and bet Cho 35 cents.
- Jane notices the footprints leading into Etienne's garage and finds the dead body.
- Using the money he won from the casino, Jane buys the team jewelry and watches. I love how the ladies return the items and the men keep theirs, and I love even more than Jane gave the jewelry to good will. And the winnings in the end to the dealer with the sick mother.
- It was cool enough that Jane clearly was memorizing the cards, but the scene where he told the team how he did it was entertaining and really showed more about all of their personalities. A nice way for us to get to know the team and also tie into the storyline.
- Could Daniel, the son-in-law have been dumber? Or is gambling addiction that bad? He had to know that if he used that chip, he'd be caught.
I also felt like we really got to know the supporting team members more in this episode. They loosened up, so to speak. Rigsby's facial expressions and Cho's (no pun intended) poker face are nice foils of each other.
Based on the previews, it looks like next week I'll finally be getting my wish ... more Red John stuff! As much as I enjoy watching the week-to-week episodes, I crave the story arc. It gives more depth to Jane's character and adds suspense to the show.
How are you all feeling about The Mentalist these days?
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