Recap / The Mentalist S 4 E 21

• Armor-Piercing Question: Patrick Jane to Archie Bloom Senior: "Were you ashamed of him (your son)? It's an irrelevant question. I already know the answer."
• Let Off by the Detective: When Jane reveals that Archie Bloom and the drag queens faked his suicide, Lisbon decides not to bring them in. She decided that Archie had suffered enough at the hands of his abusive father, bullying co-workers and exploitative landlord.
• Suicide, Not Murder: As the episode unfolds, it appears that this is the reality of the incident. It turns out that Archie Bloom faked his suicide so he could escape his abusers and start a new life.
• Talking Down the Suicidal: Archie's suicide was going to be real. Fortunately, Glennda and her friends talked him out of it.
• Thanatos Gambit: Fortunately subverted. Archie's suicide turns out to be staged. Glennda took an unclaimed body from her day job that was going to be buried in the pine fields. Archie left enough clues to send two of his tormentors to prison. His father's career will be ruined when his abusive methods come to light.
• Trauma Conga Line: Let's see...Archie Bloom was bullied in high school. His father was ashamed of him for being gay, handcuffed him to a chair until he finished his homework (more than once), and eventually helped push him until he dropped out of college. He was bullied again at his minimum wage job, and went into an abusive relationship because he couldn't afford the rent. Oh, and he was only 19 at the time of the fake suicide.
• Wham Shot: Jane shows Glennda a picture of Archie Bloom. Her reaction reveals everything: Archie was the man she saw behind the alley that night.