The Mentalist (TV Series) The Blood on His Hands (2010) User Reviews

*spoiler alert* - 3 attempts to guess the hidden Red John story arch

[petra-quilitz · 8/10 · 5 May 2011]

Again in this episode there was a Red John brainwash victim still alive at the end of the episode to give out mysterious clues. This time it's hitting close to home for Jane: Kristina (the quite yet but maybe almost girlfriend). Again, as in previous episodes, when a character under the Red John influence is asked by Jane who Red John is, they start to laugh and can't understand what he means. (Anyone remember the guy from a previous episode holding his finger up to his mouth gesturing to Jane: "we won't talk about it") What's up with that unusual reaction? Here are 3 guesses at the underlying Red John theme based on that reappearing reaction.

1, The dark version: Jane is the schizophrenic mastermind behind the Red John mask. His family's death, that could've been the real Red John, but during mental breakdown and rehab, Jane lost this marbles and guilt made him become Red John in a split personality kind of way. While hypnotizing his victims, he agrees on a secret pact a la Fight Club "we never talk about that it's me, and even when we meet inside the police office, and I question you, you will have to pretend that we don't know each other and keep our little secret". During daytime, Jane has to catch up on some z's from his night activity, that has no clue about (Also a Fight Club theme). John and Jane. Two sides of the same personality. That time when Red John appeared behind him, being tied to a chair in the abandoned hotel, that was all in his mind.

2, The semi dark version: The one time in the mental institution, that wasn't his only time wearing a white skirt. Jane is an unstable fellow, in and out of institutions since his wandering circus childhood where he accidentally killed his little twin brother John. Since then he has had "visions" (Kristina was right , he has the gift). But for him it's a curse, because John keeps reappearing, blaming him, possessing people and making them kill, giving Jane work to do. At night Jane sleepwalks into fresh crime scenes and unearths clues to his brother's killings for the daytime Jane to stumble on during next morning's police investigation. That time when Red John appeared behind him, being tied to a chair in the abandoned hotel, that was actually the ghost of his dead brother that the eventually healed Kristina will one day see and persuade to leave peacefully. Whoa, happy end.

3, The little bit dark version: Jane is Red John's mole. During mental rehab after his family's death, Red John hypnotized Jane to act on his will by a secret word that turns Jane into the murderer's zombie assistant. Jane has been unknowingly supplying Red John with case material ever since, putting Red John one step ahead of police each time. Jane is also present when victims get hypnotized, that's why they recognize him as the accomplice "who should know". The constant sofa sleeping, that is again Jane resting from his assistant night job. That time when Red John appeared behind him, being tied to a chair in the abandoned hotel, that was his master he didn't recognize, because the code word wasn't spoken. But through sheer will power, Jane will first uncover, then overcome the mental manipulation, Red John gets arrested and the show goes into a new season with a new villain. Hooray.

I personally prefer 3, but all in all, whatever the final explanation will be, it must answer why Jane sleeps so much and why victims laugh at him in surprise when he asks them who Red John is. Am excited to see what other possibilities lie in the answers to those questions, that the wonderful writers of the show will roll out for us over the hopefully many seasons to come.

The Return of the Visualize

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 28 December 2021]

When a young woman is found strangled in the Sacramento River, Patrick Jane finds that she was drug addicted since her feet have marks of needle, and the tattoo of the Visualize on her shoulder. Soon the CBI identify the victim as Celia Jovanovich, who lived at the Visualize facility, and had rehabilitated. Lisbon. Patrick and the agents head to the cult and the lawyer Julius Coles participates of the interviews with the security team, trying to isolate the leader Bret Stiles. Soon they learn that the FBI has an undercover agent working at the Visualize trying to catch Bret Stiles. While investigating the case, Stiles heads to Jacarta to escape from the agents but meets Patrick and gives a hint of where Kristina Frye might be.

"The Blood on His Hands" is an episode of "The Mentalist", with the return of the Visualize. The relationship of Bret Stiles and Red John is a great mystery. What has happened to Kristina Frye is another intriguing mystery. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "The Blood on His Hands"

This episode offers nothing to the Red John mythology

[CrimeDrama1 · 1/10 · 30 April 2022]

I am very confused why Kristina Frye was left alive. Initially a phone message, believed to be Frye's voice, leads lead Jane and the team to a home where they find a doll and a Red John-style face on the wall...in Frye's blood...but nothing else. Later, through Bret Stiles, agents find Frye but she is catatonic. Patrick Jane believes he can only speak with her if he treats her as being dead and "pretends" to connect to her as Frye, the psychic, would...then Frye speaks for the first time. However, when Jane mentions Red John, she says she has no idea what he is talking about and she had no reaction to the doll that had been found. So, what was the point of it all? The only follow-up was a mention that Frye would be transferred to psychological services - a mental institution. This was the last episode credited to the actress that portrayed Frye. I don't get it. There is a stand-alone murder, which is solved, but most fans of the show wanted a resolution with Frye and some clue about Red John but there was nothing of value. I thought either Frye would be found dead or agents would discover she had been brainwashed by Red John. It doesn't fit Red John's M. O. at all so it makes me wonder if Bret Stiles is behind what happened to Frye. Maybe he feared a Jane and Frye partnership would put him at risk but it wouldn't be hard to neutralize Frye. The final scene of this episode shows agents heading out on a new case, as if everything that had just happened meant nothing. Pretty boring.

Unexpectedly contains one of the best scenes of the show

[yavermbizi · 5/10 · 1 December 2021]

My overall rating of "The mentalist"'s Season 3: 4/10.

There is something about episodes with the character of Kristina Frye that is conductive to poignant scenes. Mind you, I'm not a fan of her at all - she's a mostly boring character that makes Jane cringy, and the writers have approached her in the wrong way, in my opinion: instead of her central question being "is her gift real or is she just pretending?' (a better but not dissimilar version of the central question from a later episode, "Every rose has its thorn", which is "is the matchmaker the murderer or is Patrick trying to persuade himself she is to have an excuse not to date her?"), it is "does she really believe that her gift is real, or is she lying?". That's a MUCH less interesting question, not in the least because it's answered again and again: yes, she does believe that, weirdly! I guess there's the moment where she asks Jane if he'd prefer her referring to "instincts" than to "spirits", but that's clearly trying to meet him halfway, and there's no follow-up... Whatever the case, first there was that scene in "Seeing Red" that I've praised in the relevant review, and now you get this episode's finale... A great performance by both Jane's and Frye's actors and what amazing depth and poignancy! It absolutely sticks with you. I'm only upset there doesn't seem to be any follow-up in the following episodes from what I've seen/know. I guess Frye's treated as dead and that's it, and Jane never again "calls upon" her - playing slightly more into the psychopathic notes of his character, where so long as she has no intel on Red John, there's no sense to talk to her... But I guess that's consistent with his character - he's singularly driven and doesn't mind collateral damage that much, much like Red John himself.

As for the rest of the episode: Brother Stiles returns and this time is actually not lame. Also, some slightly nonsensical things happen, and there's dreadfully low shot continuity, but hey, honestly this episode is just the vessel and the Kristina-Patrick scene in the end is the delicious wine inside the vessel, so are you really going to complain too much if the vessel's a bit chipped and the label is wrong, so long as the wine is breathtaking?..