I know it's late but I just caught the episode. The reason that Jane went through with the Russian set up was because he didn't know it was also a fake until after he got a look at it. He thought that it was the Russian at that point, it was only after he saw it was also fake that he knew it was the assistant. I liked that Lisbon had no idea what was going on at the end, but played it liked she did. She realizes that Jane solves all her cases and she gets the credit but she doesn't mind. I liked this episode alot, the time flew by quickly. My favorite episodes are when Jane knows before anyone else, including the audience.

we can only hope that CBS replays this soon for those of us who use DVRs. I knew that the game would run late, but I held out that slim glimmer of hope that we'd get the whole program. But no.

And I just want to remind CBS, who were clearly gauging the ratings potential of their #1 new show on Sunday that Shark was a hit in its original Thursday night slot and died when they moved it to Sunday. Not every show is a Sunday show.

John: glad i'm not losing my mind here....

Why did Jane bother to risk stealing the painting from the Russian when he knew (could easily tell from looking at it for a few seconds) that it was, in fact, fake? Why switch one fake with another fake? Had he gotten caught doing the switcheroo, they would have tortured and killed him (with diplomatic immunity to ensure getting away with it).

Jane said he "didn't realize it was a fake until later" but that's quite unlike Jane - he had plenty of time to look at it - the Russian was kind enough to even let Jane hold it. Jane was able to spot all the other fake paintings within seconds - and at this point he knew what to look for.

It makes no sense that Jane risked his life to swap a fake for another fake.

Also, can someone explain to me why the artist felt the need to pull out a shotgun on Van Pelt and Jane? He implied that he felt they were somehow, for some reason, a threat to him and he was defending himself... but I don't see why. He didn't know the guy who commissioned the paintings had been killed, and he didn't know the Russian mobster was involved in any way. Why would he suddenly be scared of Van Pelt? She was acting somewhat dorky and embarrassed due to Jane - especially when the artist (forget his name) said that Jane was an ass who she should not marry. But she did not say or do anything that would suggest she was there for any reason other than to have her portriat done. I'm probably missing something, but I watched it again and it still made no sense to me.

Also, about 26 minutes into the episode, the sound got all wierd for about 10 seconds - Jane was talking but we could not hear what he was saying - it was like he was pretending to speak. Did I miss something? Was that a broadcast error? I thought I still heard sound - just no voice while Jane was talking to Lisbon. It's exactly 26 minutes into the episode, if you have it. If something was wrong with my TV or how it was broadcast here, what was Jane saying?

Other than that, I really liked the episode.

Ads for The Mentalist during the week showed a red tractor on the forgery and in the show there was a machine gun and an antenna. What happened to the tractor?

I shared trachein's confusion for a bit and then gave up. Thank's John, for clearing it up.

I always enjoy the Jane antics. Did not miss the Red John arc because they did a big episode of it 2 episodes ago, and because they mentioned Jane's family (specifically daughter). I am satisfied with either flashbacks, Red John or giving us little clues about Jane's family. It's a smart way to keep reminding us how tragic Jane is despite his ever-present grin.
I am also really liking the characterizations of all the agents (in particular, I have liked the back stories they have given her in the past 2 weeks). Funny funny moment was "You know about that?" after Lisbon tells her everyone knows Rigby's in love with her (even the attorney general). Funny twist moment was when Jane presented to the gangster's house with a hand-drawn prop (and then the little shakey-shakey move was fun and puzzling).

I also loved this episode. Had most of the things I watch this show for. I must admit that one part confused me. I have watched the scene several times, but I still do not get how Jane switched the paintings. They were obviously trying to show us that he did something, but in the second that he had, what did he do? He appears to have entered with one framed piece (the stick figure picture) and he left with one framed piece, also the stick figure picture that was uncovered. How did he 1) get the fake moro in the mobster's house? and 2) switch the paintings?

Given the movements that were made, it would seem that the stick figure drawing was on the back of the fake Moro that Jane got from the forger and that he "popped out" the mobster's painting and replaced it with the forgers painting. However, Jane walked out of the room with the stick figure drawing clearly showing, so unless he knew the "real" moro had a stick figure drawing on the back (he admitted he did not know the mobster's painting was fake until after he stole it), how did he switch the mobster's painting for the forger's painting while still maintaining the stick figure drawing? So I'm stumped and have spend far too long trying to figure this out.

I'll probably feel really stupid when someone gives the answer, but I'd really appreciate it nonetheless.