The Mentalist: Red Letter Day (5x19)

I sort of liked this episode, actually. I was interested the whole way through, and there were some interesting advancements in the over-all plot of the show as well as a fairly compelling case-of-the-week.

The best part of the episode was its setting. It ended up working really well to stick the gang into a "wild west" scenario. I might have wanted a bit more from this premise, but I was decently pleased with what I got. It allowed for scenes to take place in a bar more aptly thought of as a "salloon" and for magic tricks and gunslingers to have their moments to shine. I also liked the concept of tourism here, and how money was one of the focuses/potential motives for murder, but it was done in a more clever way.

That being said, my biggest problem with the episode was the resolution of the crime. Incest? Sort of a weird angle to take, but alright then. It was sort of built up to, since we knew that the dad had had an affair, but I didn't think Lily the Barmaid was sufficiently set up to play such a big role in the climax. Also, the victim was an ass when he was alive, telling his son that it was his own fault for sleeping with his half-sister because he "should have been able to tell." Seriously? What kind of father was this guy? 

Another annoyance in the episode was the meth subplot. It was a completely pointless detour away from our story proper. The one good thing about it was that Rigsby totally tricked the guy into confessing, and it was refreshing to see the competency of someone other than Jane. We've had episodes before where Rigsby shows off his expertise when it comes to all things fire, and it was sort of nice to have that brought back in here.

There were a bunch of characters in this episode, and I should praise it for keeping them all pretty clear in my mind. The two that did the most for me were Lily the barmaid and Kevin the magician. It was funny to see Jane so thoroughly bamboozle the magician, and his kind treatment of Lily was nice to see as well. I thought it was interesting that they both ended up playing such a big role in the climax, although as I said before the specifics were a bit weak.

There was also a deliciously interesting subplot going on this week. We see Lisbon on an awkward date/work lunch with Bob Kirkland from Homeland Security. He's fishing for information on Red John. Later, he goes so far as to break in to Jane's little CBI cave and take pictures of all the evidence Jane has been collecting. I liked this thread because it gives us something of a substantial antagonist while we wait to learn what's going on with Red John. Also, it gave Lisbon and Jane another moment to bond, as Lisbon immediately told Jane about Kirkland, and the two of them speculated as to what the man wanted. I'm excited to see where this will go next.

We also had the Rigsby/Van Pelt subplot. My God. If they drag this out any longer I'm going to find the writers and club them over the head with a book on how to write a compelling love story. This is getting ridiculous! Rigsby gives Van Pelt a flower. Rigsby has a one-sided conversation with Cho, who finally responds with a typically straightforward line: "You're still in love with her, but instead of telling her, you bought her a plant." Rigsby goes to confront Van Pelt and tell her how he feels, when... dun dun dun! Van Pelt's new boyfriend steps out of the elevator. Seriously? How annoying! How contrived! How unnecessary! I was really annoyed by this ending. If they're going to end up together, just let them end up together already!

I'll briefly mention a few other high points of the episode: there was a scene when all five members of our team were together in the CBI HQ, which I enjoyed. We so rarely see them all work together like that. Jane dispensed suggestions, but the others were engaged and helpful as well.

At the beginning of the episode, there was a gunshot and Jane immediately ducked for cover. In a later scene, he provoked a bar fight and then stepped back and let the violence unfold. I really do adore this trait in his character - he's afraid of guns. And fighting. And you know what? Yeah! How realistic. It feels very human of him, and is thus very relatable.

All in all, a pretty solid episode. A few missteps in the subplot with Van Pelt and Rigsby, and a resolution to the crime that was perhaps a bit too uncomfortable, but other than that it was great!

7.5/10