The Mentalist: Nothing Gold Can Stay (7x10)

Okay... so, they did a good job with the scenario, but the scenario itself just pisses me off. I'm just... ugh. Let's do the plot first and then I'll explain what I mean.

So, three robbers steal thousands of dollars and end up hurting people in the process. The team tries to track down the robbers. While canvasing, Cho and Vega find two of the criminals in a diner. During a confrontation, one of the robbers gets shot, but so does Vega. Cho holds her as they wait for the ambulance. Everybody rushes to the hospital, but Vega doesn't make it. Everybody is distraught, especially Wylie, who had just asked Vega out on a date, and Cho, who was with her when she died.

Abbott and the others are all determined to get revenge and track down the guys who killed her. Technically, they aren't allowed to work Vega's case, but the guy in charge seems okay with letting them take the reins. They canvas different drug stores, looking for one of the robbers to show up and buy bandages, because one of the other criminals got shot in the altercation. The bad guys realize that they're being tailed, and they take a hostage and end up holing up in a house with an old woman and her nephew. The three robbers are inside - two brothers, one of them injured, and another guy.

Jane has an idea to use the brother's injury to throw a wedge between the other two robbers. They say they won't get a doctor to help unless they turn themselves over. Later, Jane purposefully feeds false information to the news so that the robbers will hear conflicting information, making it seem like one of them is dealing with the cops behind the other's back. This plan works, as the robbers start turning against each other. However, they lash out and hurt one of the hostages, which causes Cho to think they should storm the place and take these men out.

Cho admits that he wants to do this in part to avenge Vega, but that he also believes going in hot is the best move. Jane is distraught to see them about to storm the place, and he asks Lisbon not to go. She says she has to, so Jane takes matters into his own hands. He goes up to the door and trades himself for one of the other hostages. He then uses the other hostage's diabetes to get her safely out of the way, too. He continues to drive a wedge between the criminals, until he is able to lure them into the garage, where Cho and the others are waiting to take them out.

At Vega's funeral, Jane is really upset. He tells Lisbon that he can't watch her do this job anymore, because he can't go through losing the woman he loves again. Lisbon says that he can't keep saving her over and over. Jane says that he's much less afraid of dying than he is of losing her. He says he's leaving. She can come with him or not, but he can't stick around and watch her do this job.

So, my main complaint is that Vega's death was only in here for shock value. They literally introduced this character just so that they could shock us with her death. She was a good character, too. They set her up to be a mentee for Cho and a love interest for Wylie, as well as just a genuinely adorable and smart person. Then they killed her just to make us sad. It feels like a cheap shot.

Also, I'm pretty mad at Jane right now. Why is he being such a jerk? I understand being scared of losing Lisbon. I totally understand that. But this is coming out of nowhere.  He's been in love with Lisbon for years, and he's never inserted himself into situations and undermined Lisbon in this way before. It's different from his old shenanigans. He's purposefully preventing Lisbon from doing her job, and it's pissing me off. He basically gave her an ultimatum, even if he didn't phrase it that way: Lisbon has to choose between her job and Jane. How rude!

But I did like this episode, mostly for the dramatic tension provided by the scenario. Each of these characters had a very different yet very poignant reaction to Vega's death. I'm annoyed that she had to die, but it did serve a purpose insofar as it allowed us some further insight into all of the other characters.

Wylie was like a sad little puppy, lost and confused. His reaction to Vega's death broke my heart. It's so tragic to think that their relationship was cut off before it had a chance to go anywhere at all. They could have really had some sort of a future. I was starting to ship them more than I ever did Rigsby and Van Pelt, and I was thoroughly devastated to see this romance cut short.

Abbott is stoic about the whole thing, but there's a simmering anger hiding underneath it all. He makes sure to tell the homicide detective that they're out for revenge. No matter what the paperwork has to say, those men belong to Vega's team. He didn't even try to pretend that this wasn't personal, and I appreciated that.

Cho's reaction to the death was probably the hardest for me to swallow. He was so gentle and kind to Vega after she'd been shot, calling her Michelle and telling her that she did good. Afterwards, he's predictably stoic and quiet. He doesn't want to talk about it and gives short, clipped answers to the investigator. Later, when he has to call Vega's aunt and break the news, he loses it for a moment, quietly crying in Abbott's empty office. He also, point-blank, reveals to Abbott that he wants revenge, and he got it, taking down the man who killed Vega. Cho is a fiercely loyal man, even if he's a hard shell to crack.

Lisbon turned to her faith, quietly and gently grieving the loss of someone that could have become a close friend. Again, with Lisbon and Vega there was a loss of potential, there. They could have been a great team. Lisbon talks to Jane about her grief, wondering if Jane thinks her belief in the afterlife is foolish. Jane says of course he doesn't. I love that Lisbon feels comfortable enough to talk with Jane about her deep thoughts.

Jane is also oddly stoic in the face of Vega's death, but you can see the way he starts to crack under the pressure. He's terrified - now that somebody on his team has actually died, the possibility of it happening to Lisbon has become all the more real to him. I think his actions in engaging with the criminals proves that. He marches right up to the house, a very dangerous move, because he's so afraid of what might happen if Lisbon goes in.

That brings us to their breakup, if indeed that's what it was. I'm mad at Jane for basically throwing down an ultimatum, but at the same time I really understand it. The thought of Lisbon dying is so terrifying to him that he disregards his own safety without batting an eye. He knows what it's like to lose the woman he loves. He also knows he will not survive it a second time. This is some pretty powerful stuff, and it's making me wonder how we're possibly going to resolve it in the three episodes we have remaining. It'll make for an interesting couple of weeks, that's for sure!

It's hard for me to decide how to rate this episode, because I am distinctly pissed off with the fact that they killed Vega. But, everything that came out of that decision was interesting and moving. (In a way, it reminds me of Kyle's death on Smash, but you can read my thoughts about that elsewhere if you'd like). In any case, this show is coming to an end, and I appreciate the risks they're taking as we wind down.

7/10