History YMMV / TheMentalist

** [[ArchEnemy Red John]]--[[spoiler:[[DirtyCop Sheriff Thomas McAllister]]]]--is Patrick Jane's nemesis and a sociopathic SerialKiller responsible for torturing and killing dozens of women. When Jane, then a phony psychic, insulted Red John while offering to help the police catch him, Red John murdered Jane's wife and young daughter. Years later, Red John, although retired, commits a number of murders to silence loose ends or torment Jane. Some of his worst crimes include kidnapping and brainwashing Kristina Frye into believing that she's dead; trying to force Jane to kill his best friend and LoveInterest, Teresa Lisbon; killing a woman because Jane had a happy memory of her; and beheading the therapist who helped Jane recover after his family's death. The mastermind of the Blake Association, a criminal conspiracy and protection racket for corrupt law enforcement officials, and leader of his own group of psychotics and serial killers, Red John regularly [[BadBoss kills his minions]] or drives them to suicide when he has no further need of them. A raging narcissist driven by an [[FameThroughInfamy intense need for attention]], Red John revels in the power he feels by holding thousands of lives in his hands.

** Season 5: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Thomas "Tommy" Volker]] is a greedy executive responsible for slaughtering over 300 Amazonian tribesmen for refusing to relinquish their land to be used for his geothermal project. When a journalist links him to the massacre, Volker manipulates an old friend into sabotaging her car, having the journalist suffocated, the evidence stolen and his "friend" left as the fall guy. After CBI Agent Teresa Lisbon convinces Volker's secretary to provide evidence against him, Volker has his assassin strangle her to death while he looks on, smiling, and planning to have the same done to another employee of his who planned to go public with Volker's crimes. Later having his own assassin killed in a drive-by shooting, along with two innocent bystanders, for [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness becoming inconvenient]], Volker also plans to kill another of his own goons for being interrogated by the police and attempts to personally [[WouldHurtAChild murder a young boy]] who witnessed one of his own crimes when [[EvenEvilHasStandards even his own hitman is too disgusted to do so.]] Loyal to no one, Volker is a vile man who embodies avarice.
** Season 6's "[[Recap/TheMentalistS6E19 Brown Eyed Girls]]" [[Recap/TheMentalistS6E20 through]] "[[Recap/TheMentalistS6E21 Black Hearts]]": [[FauxAffablyEvil Michael Ridley]] is the mastermind behind a massive [[HumanTraffickers human trafficking]] ring, kidnapping hundreds of innocent women to either be sold as {{sex slave}}s or killed for their [[OrganTheft organs]], with 15 butchered corpses shown on display. Ridley also shows the same callous cruelty to his [[BadBoss own employees]], with one getting his throat slit and two more getting stabbed to death while intimidating his right-hand man, Anthony Tremel, to try blowing up his doctor Alexander Lark before Ridley decides to coerce Lark into killing himself by threatening his daughter's life.

*** One thing that's established about Red John is that he doesn't tolerate cheap imitations of his work, and specifically tracks down and murders two copycat killers because of that. However, when it comes to the killer in the Pilot episode, [[spoiler: Dr. Linus Wagner]], he never goes after them despite them also copying Red John's M.O. Was this because Red John didn't have time to track down the killer before the CBI got to them? Or did he not care because the killer in that episode only used it to evade the police and he didn't see it as a mockery of his work compared to the delusional copycat killers who wanted people to believe they were really Red John?

* JerkAssWoobie:

** Dreyer Whelan from "Red Badge" is an utter dick towards Lisbon thoroughotu his brief interview scene but the reasons for this make him more sympathetic. His six year-old daughter was raped by a man who he (somewhat justifiably) felt the police should have already arrested and stopped. Whelan is stated to be either divorced or widowed, and years later is still seeing a therapist about the trauma (and apparently recovering less well than his daughter, the actual victim).

** Rachel Bowman from "Ball of Fire" is an AxCrazy murderer and kidnapper who wants to cause Jane as much physical and mental pain as possible before killing him. She also had her mother die giving birth to her, was raised by a father who was extremely close to her, and in the backstory, was callously manipulated by Jane to trick her father into confessing to murder, with him later dying in prison. The fact that she's explicitly shown to be suffering from some kind of mental disorder (mentioning taking her meds) also makes her seem a bit less cold-blooded.

* MagnificentBastard ("[[Recap/TheMentalistS3E21LikeARedheadedStepchild Like a Redheaded Stepchild]]" & "[[Recap/TheMentalistS5E4BloodFeud Blood Feud]]"): [[NobleDemon Steve Rigsby]] is the [[ArchnemesisDad father]] of CBI agent, Wayne Rigsby, and a cunning career criminal who was released from prison where Steve had his son give him an alibi to avoid suspicion from the parole board. In his first appearance, Steve ostensibly assists Wayne and the CBI to solve the murder of a prison guard, only to use them to shut down a rival cigarette smuggling business before giving Wayne an honest fistfight when Wayne learns of Steve's manipulations. Steve later gets shot trying to protect his friend in his second appearance before [[FaceDeathWithDignity accepting his death]], spending his last moments bonding with his son and giving Wayne a vital clue that would allow Wayne to find Steve's killer and kill him.

* CompleteMonster: Of the many criminals [[GuileHero Patrick Jane]] is tasked with going up against, these are the worst:

* RelationshipWritingFumble: Jane and Lisbon are a possible case. One that the writers went with in later seasons...

** [[ArchEnemy Red John]]--[[Spoiler: [[DirtyCop Sheriff Thomas McAllister]]]]--is Patrick Jane's nemesis and a sociopathic SerialKiller responsible for torturing and killing dozens of women. When Jane, then a phony psychic, insulted Red John while offering to help the police catch him, Red John murdered Jane's wife and young daughter. Years later, Red John, although retired, commits a number of murders to silence loose ends or torment Jane. Some of his worst crimes include kidnapping and brainwashing Kristina Frye into believing that she's dead; trying to force Jane to kill his best friend and LoveInterest, Teresa Lisbon; killing a woman because Jane had a happy memory of her; and beheading the therapist who helped Jane recover after his family's death. The mastermind of the Blake Association, a criminal conspiracy and protection racket for corrupt law enforcement officials, and leader of his own group of psychotics and serial killers, Red John regularly [[BadBoss kills his minions]] or drives them to suicide when he has no further need of them. A raging narcissist driven by an [[FameThroughInfamy intense need for attention]], Red John revels in the power he feels by holding thousands of lives in his hands.

** [[ArchEnemy Red John]]--[[DirtyCop Sheriff Thomas McAllister]]--is Patrick Jane's nemesis and a sociopathic SerialKiller responsible for torturing and killing dozens of women. When Jane, then a phony psychic, insulted Red John while offering to help the police catch him, Red John murdered Jane's wife and young daughter. Years later, Red John, although retired, commits a number of murders to silence loose ends or torment Jane. Some of his worst crimes include kidnapping and brainwashing Kristina Frye into believing that she's dead; trying to force Jane to kill his best friend and LoveInterest, Teresa Lisbon; killing a woman because Jane had a happy memory of her; and beheading the therapist who helped Jane recover after his family's death. The mastermind of the Blake Association, a criminal conspiracy and protection racket for corrupt law enforcement officials, and leader of his own group of psychotics and serial killers, Red John regularly [[BadBoss kills his minions]] or drives them to suicide when he has no further need of them. A raging narcissist driven by an [[FameThroughInfamy intense need for attention]], Red John revels in the power he feels by holding thousands of lives in his hands.

** [[OverarchingVillain Red John]]--[[spoiler:[[DirtyCop Sheriff Thomas McAllister]]]]--is Patrick Jane's [[ArchEnemy nemesis]] and a sociopathic SerialKiller responsible for torturing and killing dozens of women. When Jane, then a phony psychic, insulted Red John while offering to help the police catch him, Red John murdered Jane's wife and young daughter. Years later, Red John, although retired, commits a number of murders to silence loose ends or torment Jane. Some of his worst crimes include kidnapping and brainwashing Kristina Frye into believing that she's dead; trying to force Jane to kill his best friend and LoveInterest, Teresa Lisbon; killing a woman because Jane had a happy memory of her; and beheading the therapist who helped Jane recover after his family's death. The mastermind of [[spoiler:the Blake Association, a criminal conspiracy and protection racket for corrupt law enforcement officials]], and leader of his own group of psychotics and serial killers, Red John regularly kills his minions or drives them to suicide when he has no further need of them. A raging narcissist driven by an [[FameThroughInfamy intense need for attention]], Red John revels in the power he feels by holding thousands of lives in his hands.

*** One thing that's established about Red John is that he doesn't tolerate cheap imitations of his work, and specifically tracks down and murders two copycat killers on the show because of that. However, when it comes to the killer in the Pilot episode [[spoiler: Dr. Linus Wagner]], he never goes after them despite them also copying Red John's M.O. Was this because Red John didn't have time to track down the killer before the CBI got to them? Or did he not care because the killer in that episode only used it to evade the police and he didn't see it as a mockery of his work compared to the delusional copycat killers who wanted people to believe they were really Red John?

** Some fans like to disregard everything after Season 3 (or at least the parts that continue the Red John arc) due to feeling that it provides a better conclusion to the Red John arc than season 6 does, and remains more grounded in reality.

** Red John's ability to pull off impossible feats have always been a source of controversy with fans because of how close they come to straining credibility. Some of the earlier examples include Red John being able to hack into the Department of Justive Network just to tell Jane to "Keep up the good work" [[note]] This took place back in season 1 when a convicted murderer named Jared Renfrew claimed to have information about Red John that he would share if Jane helped Jared proved his innocence for a crime he didn't commit. At the time, Red John wanted Jane to succeed in getting Jared out of prison so he could kill him in the open before he talked. [[/note]] and being able to [[spoiler: infiltrate the CBI in season 2 to kill an associate who had become a liability.]] At the time, fans rolled with this because they believed the show would eventually explain how Red John was able to pull his accomplishments off. However, as the seasons continued, there were fewer and fewer satisfying explanations, and meanwhile Red John's ability to run circles around law enforcement started to get more outlandish. This comes to a head around seasons 5-6 when [[spoiler: it's revealed that Red John was able to figure out the names of the 7 suspects on Jane's list ''2 months before Jane was able to.'' Aside from briefly hinting at the idea of Red John being psychic (which many fans saw as an AssPull), there is never a logical explanation given for how Red John was able to do this.]]

** Red John's ability to pull off impossible feats have always been a source of controversy with fans because of how close they come to straining credibility. Some of the earlier examples include Red John being able to hack into the DOJ Network in season 1 just to tell Jane to "Keep up the good work" [[note]] This took place back in season 1 when a convicted murderer named Jared Renfrew claimed to have information about Red John that he would share if Jane helped Jared proved his innocence for a crime he didn't commit. At the time, Red John wanted Jane to succeed in getting Jared out of prison so he could kill him in the open before he talked. [[/note]] and being able to [[spoiler: infiltrate the CBI in season 2 to kill an associate who had become a liability.]] At the time, fans rolled with this because they believed the show would eventually explain how Red John was able to pull his accomplishments off. However, as the seasons continued, there were fewer and fewer satisfying explanations, and meanwhile Red John's ability to run circles around law enforcement started to get more outlandish. This comes to a head around seasons 5-6 when [[spoiler: it's revealed that Red John was able to figure out the names of the 7 suspects on Jane's list ''2 months before Jane was able to.'' Aside from briefly hinting at the idea of Red John being psychic (which many fans saw as an AssPull), there is never a logical explanation given for how Red John was able to do this.]]

** Todd Johnson: Did he [[spoiler: murder cops just ForTheEvulz?]] Or did [[spoiler: Red John order him to kill those cops for specific reasons?]] While his appearance in season 3 initially leans towards the former interpretation, the revelation in season 6 about [[spoiler: the Blake Association]] casts it in a different light. If [[spoiler: Johnson's killing of cops had to do with the Blake Association]] was it because [[spoiler: said cops were former association members who turned traitor and needed to be silenced?]] Or was it because [[spoiler: they found out about the association and were doing an investigation into it?]]

** In season 6, a huge bombshell is dropped when it's revealed that [[spoiler: there's an organization called the Blake Association which consists of corrupt cops, law enforcement officials, FBI and CBI agents who commit atrocities and cover up crimes for each other while silencing anyone who finds out about them.]] This arc alone feels like it could have been enough to take up an entire season, especially when [[spoiler: Reede Smith]] claims there are thousands of [[spoiler: Blake Association members]] out there and [[spoiler: Dennis Abbot's team]] would have had a hard time tracking down everyone involved. Instead, the arc only exists for a few episodes, and then fizzles out after [[spoiler: Red John dies.]]

** Red John's ability to pull off impossible feats have always been a source of controversy with fans because of how close they come to straining credibility. Some of the earlier examples include being able to hack into the DOJ Network in season 1 just to tell Jane to "Keep up the good work" [[note]] This took place back in season 1 when a convicted murderer named Jared Renfrew claimed to have information about Red John that he would share if Jane proved his innocence, and Red John wanted Jane to succeed in getting Jared out of prison so he could kill him in the open. [[/note]] and being able to [[spoiler: infiltrate the CBI in season 2 to kill off an associate who had become a liability.]] At the time, fans rolled with this because they believed the show would eventually give explanations for how Red John was able to pull his accomplishments off. However, as the seasons continued, there were fewer and fewer satisfying explanations, and meanwhile Red John's ability to run circles around law enforcement started to get more outlandish. The biggest moment happens in between seasons 5 and 6 when [[spoiler: it's revealed that Red John was able to figure out the names of the 7 suspects on Jane's list ''2 months before Jane was able to.'' Aside from briefly hinting at the idea of Red John being psychic, there is never a logical explanation given for how Red John was able to do this.]]

** Not everyone really pays attention to the episodes that take place after the ''real'' final showdown with Red John in Season 6, given the cast shake-ups and how much it suspends disbelief that Jane is still allowed to work with law enforcement by that point.

** Red John's ability to pull off impossible feats have always been a source of controversy with fans because of how close they come to straining credibility. Some of the earlier examples include being able to hack into the DOJ Network in season 1 just to tell Jane to "Keep up the good work" [[note]] This took place back in season 1 when a convicted murderer named Jared Renfrew claimed to have information about Red John that he would share if Jane proved his innocence, and Red John wanted Jane to succeed in getting Jared out of prison so he could kill him in the open. [[/note]] and being able to [[spoiler: infiltrate the CBI in season 2 to kill off an associate who had become a liability.]] At the time, fans rolled with this because they believed the show would eventually give an explanation for how Red John was able to pull his accomplishments off.

** In season 6, was Red John telling Jane the truth about [[spoiler: being a psychic?]] Or was he lying to [[spoiler: save his own skin?]] There's never a definitive answer for how Red John [[spoiler: got the list of 7 suspects months before Jane did]], so it could go either way.

** Todd Johnson: Did he [[spoiler: murder cops just ForTheEvulz?]] Or did [[spoiler: Red John order him to kill those cops for specific reasons?]] While his appearance in season 3 initially leans towards the former interpretation, the revelation in season 6 about [[spoiler: the Blake Association]] casts it in a different light. If [[spoiler: Johnson's killing of cops had to do with the Blake Association]] was it because [[spoiler: said cops were former association members who turned traitor and needed to be silenced?]] Or was it because [[spoiler: they had found out about the association and were doing an investigation into it?]]

* ReplacementScrappy: The new CBI Special Agent in Charge, Hightower, is an epic bitch to the team. She broke up Van Pelt and Rigsby, scolded Lisbon continuously, and hang Jane's fate on the team. By Season 3, she was getting [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap better]], though. In fact, [[spoiler: she saved Jane's life]].

** Many believe that Brett Partridge was funny enough and had sufficiently interesting interactions with Jane to add him to the core characters in the CBI. Instead, he was a sporadic character who was only used as an incredibly unsubtle Red John RedHerring.

** Todd Johnson: Did he [[spoiler: murder cops just ForTheEvulz?]] Or did [[spoiler: Red John order him to kill those cops for specific reasons?]] While his appearance in season 3 initially leans towards the former interpretation, the revelation in season 6 about [[spoiler: the Blake Association]] casts it in a different light. If [[spoiler: Johnson's killing of cops had to do with the Blake Association]] was it because [[said cops were former association members who turned traitor and needed to be silenced?]] Or was it because [[spoiler: they had found out about the association and were doing an investigation into it?]]