History Fridge / TheMentalist

* At the end of "Red Handed", Jane traps the killer, TheGamblingAddict, into revealing himself in a high-stakes poker game by manipulating him into gambling away a rare and high-value poker chip which he stole from the victim, the casino manager. Jane only wins by rigging the deck to ensure he has a higher hand than the killer, but despite it being obvious that something fishy has happened the croupier quickly shuts down the killer's protests and prevents them from claiming the winnings. Might seem odd that a casino croupier completely ignores an accusation of cheating... but earlier in the episode, Lisbon mentions that a description of the poker-chip has been circulated amongst the casino staff in case the killer tries to bet or claim it. The croupier, who has almost certainly been given the description, clearly realises that the killer either murdered the casino manager (her boss and, possibly, friend), or at least knows who did.
* I spent the season 2 finale of ''The Mentalist'' getting more and more irritated at Kristina; first, the scene where she gives a waiter a 'message' from the other side seemed to confirm that she's an out-an-out con artist rather than a subconscious cold reader who genuinely believed what she was telling people, and it looked crass that she'd set this up while on a date with Jane, who has good reason to dislike fake psychics. Then she goes on TV to talk about Red John - not only exploiting a tragedy to shill her own psychic services but, given that she knows what Red John did to Jane for the same thing, apparently putting her straight into TooStupidToLive territory. I was annoyed at the idea that I was supposed to buy this person as one of the good guys... until she vanished, and Red John showed up with 'his' rather feminine voice and quoted a line from the earlier conversation that only Jane, Kristina and the random waiter would have known about. And suddenly it made perfect sense that Kristina had struck me as off; she's not one of the good guys at all, she's a possible candidate for the secret identity of the BigBad (or at least one of his acolytes).
* The epicest FB is "Blinking Red Light" in season Four. The episode is about serial killer, all right, and I'm confused how does this killer relate with the title? Then at the penultimate scene, when the serial killer is about to escape scot-free, Jane stares at the eponymous thing....which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin blinking red light]] of TV camera. Somehow, suddenly, [[spoiler: Jane compares the killer with Red John, which pisses the killer off and makes him boast how crappy Red John is compared to him]]. The serial killer is then [[spoiler: murdered by Red John]] So...how and why is this blinking red light brilliant? It's both ContinuityNod and ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Jane recalls that people who piss off Red John in TV will end up dead, like his family, and as such trick the killer to badmouth Red John like he'd done in the past!]].
** I think that's pretty clearly the implication.
** On the other hand, it could be brilliance [[spoiler: for Red John; this is the 4th person he and Jane have killed "together", along with the guy at the end of season 3 and Jane's wife and daughter. Jane thinks he manipulated Red John but he doesn't know how closely John is following his career and investigations, and he's too smart to fall for such an obvious trick (exposing himself to the public, after the world thinks he's dead) unless he had something to gain- Red John is making Jane into his partner-in-crime, and Jane just doesn't realise it yet.]]

* In the episode "Black-Winged Red Bird", one of the reasons Jane lists as a possibility for Red John sparing [[spoiler:Lisbon]] is that something spooked him and interrupted his usual ritual. Following TheReveal about Red John in the episode "Red John" this seems the most plausible explanation. [[spoiler:According to Dr. Miller's notes, Red John has one great fear that he tries to conceal. Sheriff [=McAllister=], who is eventually revealed to be Red John, suffers from ornithophobia, a fear of birds.]] What's in the abandoned house where Red John killed [[spoiler:Partridge]]? [[spoiler:Birds]]. Lots and lots of [[spoiler:birds]].

* The incomplete message Jared Renfrew wrote before he died, "he is Ma". It's very plausible that [[spoiler:he was going for "[=McAllister=]" but got the spelling wrong (''Mac''Allister fits the message, and it's an easy mistake to make, especially given that the guy was literal moments from death)]]. This is clearly unintentional, since the writers hadn't yet decided that [[spoiler:[=McAllister=]]] would be Red John, but it's still an interesting connection.

* In the Season 3 Finale, Strawberries and Cream, Red John's identity is revealed and Patrick Jane kills him. [[spoiler: We later learn that it was all fake, and that this 'Red John' was merely an accomplice. Jane needed proof that it was Red John before he killed him, so he asked him how he could be sure he was really Red John. 'Red John' responded by telling Jane how he killed his family, and what perfume his daughter was using at the time... The real Red John told this accomplice this information. Imagine that for a moment. Red John, the serial killer, enlists his accomplice with a bunch of information. He then goes on to describe, in detail, the smell of Jane's daughter to his underling. Not knowing how much pleasure he got out of the experience, or second-handedly making Jane squirm, makes this unsettling. Red John could have told this to who knows how many people... While gloating. We have no idea how many people he's recounted this story to. And it's possible that his accomplice used Red John's retelling as the basis for his performance. Red John got to make Patrick Jane squirm and not get punished for it. In fact, he likely knew that this would result in his accomplice's murder, and intentionally instructed him to use this information just to get rid of his accomplice, verbally snipe Jane, and get his worthy opponent in trouble with one stone.]]
** [[spoiler:Imagine your family is murdered and their killer goes around telling people who worship him all about how he brutally murdered your spouse and young child, going through every detail with a sense of cupidity. Then instructing one of these worshippers to go off and get himself killed just to spite you. Then you go on to hear the person you killed has a family and a bunch of people call him a great man. He was a manipulated pawn. Sure, you later find out that he kidnapped women and his wife was his accomplice, but until then, in your mind, the murderer of your family made you kill an innocent man with serious dedication to him through years of manipulation. You thought it was finally over, but it was anything but. This monster is still out there and there are more people, who know all about you and your deceased family, who could be anyone, anywhere, and will stop at nothing to get you. Many of them innocent people brainwashed to believe the serial killer loves them, and going to any length to please him. On top of all that, you and the murderer of your family have a silent agreement, wherein you purposefully get him to kill someone. HE'S PLAYING YOU TOO.]]
* Rewatching the first season episode "Blood Brothers", I had a realization. Ashton [=MacLean=], head of Bright Arch, is smuggling a young girl whom he has been sexually abusing off of the grounds after she becomes a person of interest in a murder investigation, mostly to keep her from implicating him in her sexual abuse. Now, it's safe to assume the CBI weren't going to stop looking for the girl, and would have wanted to question her if she turned up at her home. And [=MacLean=] can't seriously expect that she can go on the run and skillfully evade law enforcement. So what would have been his plan to ensure her silence? He'd already made it look like she'd run away out of a sense of guilt, and he couldn't have her turning up alive and well to implicate him for his own crimes. Patrick Jane may well have prevented the girl from unwittingly going to an early death.

* At the end of "Red Handed", Jane traps the killer into revealing himself in a high-stakes poker game where the killer, a GamblingAddict, is forced to bet a rare high-value poker chip that belonged to the victim, the casino manager in order to stay in the game. Jane wins having cheated by rigging the deck and ensured he has a higher hand than the killer, but despite it being obvious that something fishy has happened the croupier is unusually sharp and hostile when telling the killer that Jane has won. However, Lisbon mentions in an off-hand comment earlier that a description of the poker-chip has been circulated amongst the casino staff in order for them to look out for it in case the killer tries to play it. The croupier has almost certainly been given this description and, when the killer reveals the chip, has realised that he either murdered the casino manager, who is also likely to be her boss and possible friend, or at least knows who did.

* Go back and watch the second episode after learning who Red John really is, and watch his interactions with Grace. >>Shiver<<.

* The incomplete message Jared Renfrew wrote before he died, "he is Ma". It's very plausible that [[spoiler:he was going for "[=McAllister=]" but got the spelling wrong (''Mac''Allister fits the message, and it's an easy mistake to make, especially given that the guy was literal moments from death)]]. This is clearly unintentional, since the writers hadn't yet decided that [[spoiler:[=McAllister=]] would be Red John, but it's still an interesting connection.

* The incomplete message Jared Renfrew wrote before he died, "he is Ma". It's very plausible that [[spoiler:he was going for "[=McAllister=]" but got the spelling wrong (''Mac''Allister fits the message, and it's an easy mistake to make, especially given that the guy was literal moments from death)]]. This is clearly unintentional, since the writers hadn't yet decided that [=McAllister=] would be Red John, but it's still an interesting connection.

* Why does Partridge so admire Red John's work? Because Red John is his boss.

* In season 2, Jane immediately goes into shock at [[discovery of Bosco and his team's bodies]]. While the obvious reason for why it effects him more than the other characters is that they're career law enforcement and he's not, it could also be possible that it reminds him very strongly of finding his wife and child's bodies. The immense amount of blood and the way that the bodies are immediately visible from the door give the two scenes some superficial resemblance.

* The incomplete message Jared Renfrew wrote before he died, "he is Ma". It's very plausible that he was going for "[=McAllister=]" but got the spelling wrong (''Mac''Allister fits the message, and it's an easy mistake to make, especially given that the guy was literal moments from death). This is clearly unintentional, since the writers hadn't yet decided that [=McAllister=] would be Red John, but it's still an interesting connection.

* In the Season 3 Finale, Strawberries and Cream, Red John's identity is revealed and Patrick Jane kills him. [[spoiler: We later learn that it was all fake, and that this 'Red John' was merely an accomplice. Jane needed proof that it was Red John before he killed him, so he asked him how he could be sure he was really Red John. 'Red John' responded by telling Jane how he killed his family, and what perfume his daughter was using at the time... The real Red John told this accomplice this information. Imagine that for a moment. Red John, the serial killer, enlists his accomplice with a bunch of information. He then goes on to describe, in detail, the smell of Jane's daughter to his underling. Not knowing how much pleasure he got out of the experience, or second-handedly making Jane squirm, makes this unsettling. Red John could have told this to who knows how many people... While gloating. We have no idea how many people he's recanted this story to. And it's possible that his accomplice used Red John's retelling as the basis for his performance. Red John got to make Patrick Jane squirm and not get punished for it. In fact, he likely knew that this would result in his accomplice's murder, and intentionally instructed him to use this information just to get rid of his accomplice, verbally snipe Jane, and get his worthy opponent in trouble with one stone.]]

* The incomplete message Jared Renfrew wrote before he died, "he is Ma". It's very plausible that he was going for "[=McAllister=]" but got the spelling wrong. (This is clearly unintentional, since the writers hadn't yet decided that [=McAllister=] would be Red John, but it's still an interesting connection.)

* In the Season 3 Finale, Strawberries and Cream, Red John's identity is revealed and Patrick Jane kills him. [[spoiler: We later learn that it was all fake, and that this 'Red John' was merely an accomplice. Jane needed proof that it was Red John before he killed him, so he asked him how he could be sure he was really Red John. 'Red John' responded by telling Jane how he killed his family, and what perfume his daughter was using at the time... The real Red John told this accomplice this information. Imagine that for a moment. Red John, the serial killer, enlists his accomplice with a bunch of information. He then goes on to describe, in detail, the smell of the perfume of Jane's daughter to his underling. Not knowing how much pleasure he got out of the experience, or second-handedly making Jane squirm, makes this unsettling. Red John could have told this to who knows how many people... While gloating. We have no idea how many people he's recanted this story to. And it's possible that his accomplice used Red John's retelling as the basis for his performance. Red John got to make Patrick Jane squirm and not get punished for it. In fact, he likely knew that this would result in his accomplice's murder, and intentionally instructed him to use this information just to get rid of his accomplice, verbally snipe Jane, and get his worthy opponent in trouble with one stone.]]

* I spent the season 2 finale of ''TheMentalist'' getting more and more irritated at Kristina; first, the scene where she gives a waiter a 'message' from the other side seemed to confirm that she's an out-an-out con artist rather than a subconscious cold reader who genuinely believed what she was telling people, and it looked crass that she'd set this up while on a date with Jane, who has good reason to dislike fake psychics. Then she goes on TV to talk about Red John - not only exploiting a tragedy to shill her own psychic services but, given that she knows what Red John did to Jane for the same thing, apparently putting her straight into TooStupidToLive territory. I was annoyed at the idea that I was supposed to buy this person as one of the good guys... until she vanished, and Red John showed up with 'his' rather feminine voice and quoted a line from the earlier conversation that only Jane, Kristina and the random waiter would have known about. And suddenly it made perfect sense that Kristina had struck me as off; she's not one of the good guys at all, she's a possible candidate for the secret identity of the BigBad (or at least one of his acolytes).

* The epicest FB is "Blinking Red Light" in season Four. The episode is about serial killer, all right, and I'm confused how does this killer relate with the title? Then at the penultimate scene, when the serial killer is about to escape scot-free, Jane stares at the eponymous thing....which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTin blinking red light]] of TV camera. Somehow, suddenly, [[spoiler: Jane compares the killer with Red John, which pisses the killer off and makes him boast how crappy Red John is compared to him]]. The serial killer is then [[spoiler: murdered by Red John]] So...how and why is this blinking red light brilliant? It's both ContinuityNod and ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Jane recalls that people who piss off Red John in TV will end up dead, like his family, and as such trick the killer to badmouth Red John like he'd done in the past!]].

* In the season one episode, Blood Brothers, Ashton [=MacLean=], head of Bright Arch, informs Patrick Jane that he and his fellow CBI may not interrogate the students unless he or a member of his staff is present. The law states that minors cannot be interrogated by police unless a parent or guardian is present. Since it is reasonable to assume that the faculty of Bright Arch are just as much suspects as the students in the murder of a young boy found in the woods, why not simply sequester the children until such time as their parents can be called in to sit in on the interviews, rather than allow the school staff to potentially interfere? (Granted, Jane never lets little things like legality of his actions stand in his way, but what's Lisbon's excuse?)

* In the season one episode, Blood Brothers, Ashton MacLean, head of Bright Arch, informs Patrick Jane that he and his fellow CBI may not interrogate the students unless he or a member of his staff is present. The law states that minors cannot be interrogated by police unless a parent or guardian is present. Since it is reasonable to assume that the faculty of Bright Arch are just as much suspects as the students in the murder of a young boy found in the woods, why not simply sequester the children until such time as their parents can be called in to sit in on the interviews, rather than allow the school staff to potentially interfere? (Granted, Jane never lets little things like legality of his actions stand in his way, but what's Lisbon's excuse?)

** [[spoiler:Imagine your family is murdered and their killer goes around telling people who worship him all about how he brutally murdered your spouse and young child, going through every detail with a sense of cupidity. Then instructing one of these worshippers to go off and get himself killed just to spite you. Then you go on to hear the person you killed has a family and a bunch of people call him a great man. He was a manipulated pawn. Sure, you later find out that he kidnapped women and his wife was his accomplice, but until then, in your mind, the murderer of your family made you kill an innocent man with serious dedication to him through years of manipulation. You thought it was finally over, but it was anything but. This monster is still out there and there are more people, who know all about you and your deceased family, who could be anyone, anywhere, and will stop at nothing to get you. Many of them innocent people brainwashed to believe the serial killer loves them, and going to any length to please him. On top of all that, you and the murderer of your family have a silent agreement, wherein you purposefully get him to kill someone. HE'S PLAYING YOU TOO.]]

** On the other hand, it could be brilliance [[spoiler: for Red John; this is the 4th person he and Jane have killed "together", along with the guy at the end of season 3 and Jane's wife and daughter. Jane thinks he manipulated Red John but he doesn't know how closely John is following his career and investigations, and he's too smart to fall for such an obvious trick (exposing himself to the public, after the world thinks he's dead) unless he had something to gain- Red John is making Jane into his partner-in-crime, and Jane just doesn't realise it yet.]]

* The epicest FB is "Blinking Red Light" in season Four. The episode is about serial killer, all right, and I'm confused how does this killer relate with the title? Then at the penultimate scene, when the serial killer is about to escape scot-free, Jane stares at the eponymous thing....which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTin blinking red light]] of TV camera. Somehow, suddenly, [[spoiler: Jane compares the killer with Red John, which pisses the killer off and makes him boast how crappy Red John is compared to him]]. The serial killer is then [[spoiler: murdered by Red John]] So...how and why is this blinking red light brilliant? It's both ContinuityNod and ChekovsGun: [[spoiler: Jane recalls that people who piss off Red John in TV will end up dead, like his family, and as such trick the killer to badmouth Red John like he'd done in the past!]].

** On the other hand, it could be brilliance [[spoiler for Red John; this is the 4th person he and Jane have killed "together", along with the guy at the end of season 3 and Jane's wife and daughter. Jane thinks he manipulated Red John but he doesn't know how closely John is following his career and investigations, and he's too smart to fall for such an obvious trick (exposing himself to the public, after the world thinks he's dead) unless he had something to gain- Red John is making Jane into his partner-in-crime, and Jane just doesn't realise it yet.]]

* The epicest FB is "Blinking Red Light" in season Four. The episode is about serial killer, all right, and I'm confused how does this killer relate with the title? Then at the penultimate scene, when the serial killer is about to escape scot-free, Jane stares at the eponymous thing....which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTin blinking red light]] of TV camera. Somehow, suddenly, [[spoiler: Jane compares the killer with Red John, which pisses the killer off and makes him boast how crappy Red John is compared to him]]. The serial killer is then [[spoiler: murdered by Red John]] So...how and why is this blinking red light brilliant? It's both ContinuityNod and ChekovsGun: [[spoiler: Jane recalls that people who piss off Red John in TV will end up dead, like his family, and as such trick the killer to badmouth Red John like he'd done in the past!]].

* The epicest FB is "Blinking Red Light" in season Four. The episode is about serial killer, all right, and I'm confused how does this killer relate with the title? Then at the penultimate scene, when the serial killer is about to escape scot-free, Jane stares at the eponymous thing....which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTin blinking red light]]. Somehow, suddenly, [[spoiler: Jane compares the killer with Red John, which pisses the killer off and makes him boast how crappy Red John is compared to him]]. The serial killer is then [[spoiler: murdered by Red John]] So...how and why is this blinking red light brilliant? It's both ContinuityNod and ChekovsGun: [[spoiler: Jane recalls that people who piss off Red John will end up dead, like his family, and as such trick the killer to badmouth Red John like he'd done in the past!]].