Mentalist S3 Finale Thinky-Thoughts
First off, a few thoughts from the family:
Dad: Good!
Mom: *disbelievingly* Good?
Apple*: I was kinda bored.
Meadow*: I've watched too many tv shows to believe that's really Red John.
[* Names changed to protect the innocents and all that.. ;)]
Mmmm...
Quite the difference in opinion there. And I kind of agree with all of them. And not just 'coz I'm a great diplomat or anything. ;)
So...I missed the first 15 minutes, give or take, but my Mom said I didn't miss much. I arrived just before Jane locked the manager/whoever in the volt. In the beginning, I was definitely concurring with Apple--boring! Maybe it was knowing it was going to be epic, but I found myself thinking, "THIS is the finale? Really?" But then Lisbon got a bomb strapped to her chest and I was like, "Ooooh, this is a finale!"
Ok, so Lisbon-bomb plot: Kudos to TPTB for keeping it under-wraps. I don't remember seeing the bomb in the preview. I mean we know she was on the floor, so the in-danger part wasn't a surprise, but they didn't draw attention to the bomb. (Side-note: "If it looks hinky, I'll call for back-up. Lisbon joins the EJ-Steve team of "I don't need back-up! Wait...that went badly...how is this possible? :-D :P Ok, she's not as bad as the first two, but still...) So, Lisbon's Catholic? Not really a surprise (Saint Teresa). I thought her chanting the Hail Mary prayer was sweet. Even sweeter was Jane telling the bomber, "She's scared. So am I." Basically, buzz off and let her pray. It's a very un-Jane attitude to take. Ok, and who thinks they were trying to make us think that Lisbon was going to tell Jane she loved him? She was going to confess something--or was faking. If she wasn't faking, what was the end of that sentence? It probably was a platonic I love you and I'm not sorry it ended this way and take care of yourself. Man, self, stop shipping them so much! I thought the warped grin on the guy's face when Lisbon tried to confess...something was hilarious. You could almost see the Lisbon/Jane shipper bubble above his head. :-D
Anyone else want to see fall-out from Lisbon refusing to tell Cho about Hightower (until the team meeting, anyway)? I mean, it's not a big deal--not in the scheme of things. But he fought her on that--hard. And he's kind of been through a lot. Cho's been yanked around a lot this season (the Rigsby thing, LaRoche putting him in charge for a day, etc), and I think it would be interesting for him to get mad about this. He's been the faithful one for so long; maybe he's kind of fed up with it by now. Unrelated, but how adorable was it when he shortened Rigsby's name and called him Rigs. <3
Speaking of Rigsby, Owain Yeoman's accent slipped a lot this episode. :-D And, was it just me, or did Rigsby, get just a little too gleeful at the prospect of O'Laughlin being a suspect?
Hightower wasn't as great this episode as she was in her previous two, but... *shrugs* I really am starting to ship her and Jane. It was him calling her by her first name that did me in. <3 Curses to the person who first mentioned this ship! ;)
Grace is never allowed to date again. Ever. At least not without a thorough background check run by the team and an intensive interview by Cho ("Cho, did you really have to make him cry?" "Yes."). And random pop-up visits from the team during dates. Though I'm glad to be permanently rid of O'Laughlin, it seems like just a bit of a cop-out to have Grace have an evil boyfriend AGAIN. Make it up to me, TPTB, and give us Dark!Grace in S4. Not vengeful or overly dark, but knock down some of that naive optimism. She's not the same person. She shouldn't be, anyway. And what was him taking back the necklace at the end? Just added cruelty? I think it's unfortunate that the writing for Grace was so weak this season; I'm possibly demoting her from one of my favorite characters--at least for now. Not that she didn't have some amazing moments. I loved the girl hug! "I'm so glad you're ok." <3
So, points toward Jane being a sociopath/psychopath: He was just so cool and collected during the whole scene with Red John. Even when Red John described what his wife and daughter smelled like, he barely batted an eye. And, then, BANG! And then, tea! I don't know what to feel. I don't really like my heroes killing off the bad guys--I mean, in revenge. I think it's likely that next season will bring us the argument that it was self-defense (per Lisbon). We know it isn't, but unless Jane plans on consulting from behind bars, he'll be out. And, since we know, it was border-line "Murder in Cold Blood," I suspect the law will, too. The presence of a witness (coffee shop girl, I see you lurking there; been taking lessons from "elderly lady" on H50, have you?) makes me think that it'll be really hard to prove Jane was acting in self-defense. Because he wasn't. And he wasn't acting in a blood fury. I don't even think that he was acting impulsively or in a panic. I think it was a deliberate act of murder on Jane's part. He waits, waits until Red John's turned his back and is leaving. The gun's no longer on him at all; Red John's not taunting him about his wife and child. I think he was waiting until he had all the answers he needed. And, quite possibly, to feel what it feels like to turn the tables on Red John: for him to be murdered in cold blood, the way he murdered all his victims. So, next season, Jane won't lift a finger to his own defense. He'll probably glibly confess from the witness stand. I think Lisbon'll be the fighter, the one who won't stop until he's free.
So, taking votes: Was that really Red John? Really? TPTB promised us we'd see him, but you'll pardon me for being just a wee bit skeptical: I so wouldn't put it past them to be like, "Surprise! You only thought the Red John plot was over! Bwahaha!"
With that in mind, aside from the mess they've got to clean up (un-breaking Grace's heart, un-arresting Jane, un-offending Bertram, and reinstating Hightower, etc), we also have the set-up of LaRoche's "awful" secret. Hmmm... I'm kind of hoping we pick up next season, right where we left off. It's not strictly necessary, I suppose. But I'd like to see Cho and Rigsby to the rescue, charging in to save the day and all. ;) I mean, the girls saved the day already (nice shooting, Grace and Madeleine!), but it's the thought that counts. ;) I can picture it now: Rigsby runs to Grace's side and Cho runs to Lisbon. We know they love their ladies. ;) And maybe Cho will be the one to finally notice that Lisbon got shot. Let's just let her bleed to death, y'all, never mind that she's saving your life.
Wow, that's long. And I could say more. :P Also I need a Mentalist icon. :P
Ok, folks, I'm off to try my hand at some fic. The finale just begged for it, don't you agree?