The Mentalist Season 2 Review

Monday, May 31, 2010 , Posted by Should I See It at 1:02 AM




Show: The Mentalist: Season 2 (WB/CBS)
Creator: Bruno Heller
Starring: Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman and Amanda Righetti.
Plot: After is wife and daughter are murdered by serial killer Red John, a former fake psychic joins the Califonia Bureau of Investigation. He uses his extraordinary powers of observation to help close cases often  to the chagrin of Agent in Charge Teresa Lisbon and her team: Agents Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt.


Please be advised that spoilers abound. Don't read if you don’t want to know!





 



In 2008 the first season of The Mentalist burst onto screens, quickly becoming one of the most watched programmes in the United States (and here in Australia, too).

Is the second season of The Mentalist as good as the first? No, not really. It's getting too easy to spot the killer and too easy to recognise when Jane is pulling one of his stunts.

Actually the stunts are getting old, too. And, I never thought I would say this, even Simon Baker’s charm is wearing thin. Patrick Jane is incredibly narcissistic, no doubt about it, but this season he has turned into a downright jerk.

Season 2 has been plagued with inconsistencies and an inability on behalf of the writers to really follow through. Unfortunately, Season 2 suffered from a severe lack of character development and team dynamics. The writers were dropping character based subplots faster than you would hot potatoes. For example:

We learn that Lisbon was in love with Bosco…. And? She looks morose for a couple of episodes, and then it‘s never to be mentioned again.

Then we have Grace give that ‘pretend’ speech about her sister committing suicide…. And…..that’s it. Surely if you were going to the effort of bringing back Kristina Frye, you would have her interact with the only member of the team that ACTUALLY believes in psychics. We could have found out if there really was a dead sister… or we could at least have some clue as to what the ‘trauma’ was that makes her so emotionally unavailable and afraid of commitment.



Well to be fair, the season started of close enough to what we originally knew as The Mentalist. But something, somewhere changed. The tone of the show changed. The show has always had a glossy exterior, but you were always aware of the tension lurking underneath. It’s almost as if Season 2 has been stripped of both the gloss and the tension. I have no idea how that happened. All I can put it down to is poor writing, particularly the character of Jane. So much of the show relies on Jane. And maybe that’s the problem. The focus on Jane means the (incredibly talented) supporting cast are neglected. Unfortunately.

Since we are having a go at the writers, let’s have a look at some of the biggest mistakes they’ve made this season.


THE BOSCO STORYLINE:



The plot of the first eight episodes was enough to fill a whole season. Then we would have at least been emotionally invested in Bosco and his team.

His Red Right Hand (Episode 8) had too much story, too little time. Actually it would have made a great two-part season finale. The introduction of Madeleine Hightower would have been a great way to kick off season 3.

The Bosco storyline did provide some insight to Lisbon's story (though I am finding Lisbon a little bit annoying this season) but as previously mentioned it didn’t go anywhere.

For the record, I actually liked Bosco. I just thought he was terribly under used.


RIGSBY AND VAN PELT:



How could we discuss season 2 of The Mentalist without talking about Rigsby and Van Pelt?

Well, I started out happy that they FINALLY got together. Though when it happened in Episode 5 I was a little concerned that it might be a bit soon. And, my concern was not unwarranted.Unfortunately, they were majorly mistreated by the writers (and that’s not just the disgruntled shipper in me talking).

Red Bulls (Episode 7) gave us the wonderful scene of the pair in the ambulance. I thought it was well written and well played by both the actors. Actually, Amanda Righetti proves that she is a MUCH better actress than her credits (The OC, the Friday the 13th remake) would have you believe. However, I found this scene to be incredibly misleading. After watching this I was convinced that the writers were going to treat the characters and their relationship with respect. I almost feel a little betrayed by writers for giving them the incredibly childish argument that ended with, ‘Fine, do whatever you want, Grace,’ merely six episodes later. We are seriously expected to believe that they decided to announce their relationship to the rest of the team without discussing their future together or the future of their careers (particularly as this was an obstacle for them getting together in the first place)?

Why resolve the ‘will we be able to keep our jobs?’ scenario in Episode 13 only to have it repeated a few of episodes later with the introduction of Hightower. My question to the writers: why would you get them together if they are only going to breakup 13 episodes later???? (and for two of those episodes they were barely speaking to each other). We didn’t learn anything about them in order to actually justify the breakup (or the relationship itself, for that matter).

And as a side note: All that canoodling in the office, did they really expect to keep it a secret?


THE LATE ARRIVALS:



Madeline Hightower and the return of Kristina Frye.

Two of the most poorly though out arcs of the show.

Hightower. DO NOT LIKE HER. She has eyes like a snake. You can never tell what she is thinking. It’s almost as if she is waiting to strike.

And let’s not ignore the way she has made Lisbon completely redundant, undermining her authority over her team, in front of her team, too.

I miss Minnelli. He cared about the other characters. He ALWAYS had the team’s back. Jane was expendable.

Hightower has some weird reversal of priorities. She is ready to off anyone, EXCEPT Jane. Can she not see that he is the root of (most) of the trouble????


And don’t even get me started on Kristina. Who ever had the idea to bring her back should be permanently removed from the writing staff. A LOVE INTEREST FOR JANE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Their ‘flirting’ scenes were embarrassing. Seriously, I had to close my eyes, they were that disturbing.

Did anyone actually care that she was ‘taken’ by Red John? Good riddance, I say.


*exhales* Rant nearly over.

So, overall, there were some good episodes and some …. Well, not so good.

In brief:

Episode 7: Red Bulls

As previously mentioned, I thought the Rigsby/Van Pelt relationship was particularly well written in this episode. However, overall I thought it was an enjoyable episode. I particularly liked the chase scene. Most importantly, I liked the scene between Bosco and Jane at the end. Very insightful, particularly into Bosco’s character. Too bad he was offed in the next episode.


Episode 10: Throwing Fire

I didn’t seem to hate this episode as much as some people did. I particularly enjoyed the performance of Chris Brochu as young Jane. Lack of curly hair aside, I felt he resembled Baker, not only in looks, but he did a particularly good job of capturing the mannerisms of Patrick Jane.


Episode 12: Bleeding Heart

Sean Maher guest stars! Two Simons in one episode! (FYI Sean Maher played Simon Tam in Joss Whedon’s Firefly). I thought I was going to die of excitement! i liked the interviews with each member of the team: particularly Cho's. Omigod. Cho is awesome.


Episode 13: Redline

Welcome Currie Graham as Walter Mashburn! What a breath of fresh air! I would have like to see him romance Lisbon a little bit in later episodes; for example having embarrassingly large displays of flowers sent to the office. As Jane says ‘A little empty glamour, would have been good for her!' I hope he returns soon!!!!


Episode 14: Blood In, Blood Out

The episode was a bit of a mixed bag. It started off well enough, but was let down by a completely unbelievable final act. The best part about it was that it gave Tim Kang a chance to shine; he proved himself to be a very talented actor; with an ability to convey so much with very little. He proved himself worthy of being a leading man.

And NOTE TO WRITERS: one big episode for Cho does not mean that he should be abandoned for the rest of the season. Apart from a couple of Awesome! chase scenes, Cho had very little to do except say ‘yes, boss’.


Episode 16: Code Red

I really disliked this episode. Though there was some classic banter between Lisbon and Jane (‘go and buy yourself a candy bar’). Jane’s behaviour to Lisbon (making her think she was dying) was absolutely cruel. Not to mention some dodgy acting from the guest cast.


Episode 23: Red Sky in the Morning


Great title, but what a waste of a season finale.

First of all, whose idea was it to bring back Kristina Frye?

Secondly, whose idea was it to bring back Kristina Frye?
Apart from the appearance of Red John in the last 4 minutes of the episode (which actually freaked me out a little but more than I would like to admit), this episode was pretty much a joke.

Note to the writers: the season finale is supposed to make viewers excited about the series return, not make them loose all hope that this show will ever be good again.



So, season 3…..

I give them four episodes to win be back. Unless they get back to what made the show good in the first place: the cleverness, the unexpectedness, the charm AND the darkness co existing, I will be switching off The Mentalist for good.

Maybe the writers are just getting complacent, since they have one of the highest rating shows in America. But for how much longer, I'm not sure. FYI for the overseas readers, the ratings for The Mentalist in Australia are far below what they were in it's first season. Most weeks it barely scrapes into the top 20 most watched programs.
Perhaps the writers will pay attention to the outcry and sharpen up their act.

But, I doubt it.



Should I See It?

Meh. Not nearly as good as Season 1, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.



Read What We Learnt on Season 2 of The Mentalist here.

The Mentalist official site here.


All photos property of CBS.