Boy have I got a soft spot for Patrick Jane.
I've started rewatching the Mentalist again as it is another one of my comfort shows that I fall back on when I fancy a crime show but don't want to pay too much attention to the story. I've seen all these now so it has become the show of the moment and I enjoy having Jamie watch them for the first time too. I like the strangeness of a consultant who is technically a crook. It is a bit like Sherlock in Elementary where he's been breaking the law, only Jane is an ex-conman only in the sense that he lied about being a psychic for money.
This led to a famed serial killer murdering his wife and child in revenge as he attempted to profile him on live TV. So Jane gave up his lie and dedicated himself to the CBI helping solve crime in exchange for being able to work the Red John case and finding justice for his family.
We meet Patrick Jane quite strangely before we find out his history in the first episode. We see him interviewing a wife about her daughter's disappearance. He uses her body language to determine her distrust of her own husband, Jane follows this, confronts the husband, finds him guilty and then the wife kills him which opens a can of worms. We do find out that it was justified though as the man was guilty of killing his own daughter.
As the first season goes on, we see the CBI team growing as a unit. There's a newbie, Van Pelt, and she very obviously has a thing for Rigsby who returns the feeling. Cho is a hilariously blunt agent who enables Jane, and then we have the relationship between Jane and Lisbon, the unit leader. It is obvious from the get go that there is more between these two than professionalism, but it is a super slow burn. Lisbon barely admits there is a friendship in this season, at the moment Jane is a liability to her, but she likes having him around.
I like the idea of having a consultant being able to predict a persons thoughts or actions solely through reading them and employing a little trickery. Ultimately Patrick Jane is a very flawed and yet skilled individual and that is what has made him so relatable. He is attractive, arrogant, but also kind. He insights a trust which he doesn't deserve and also acts like he is the most clever person in the room and above the law. But he gets results and I just think the idea of having what is effectively a carnie con man part of the CBI so intriguing as that would not happen in real life but it makes for brilliant watching.
Also having such a clever serial killer lurking in the background and the police clueless is something special. Usually they solve it by the finale but this case isn't solved for a long while, not in the first season at all, and it just gets bigger and bigger. That is quite unique for a show like this, to have a big bad always lurking no matter what, an unsolvable crime. I love it.
So I'm giving the first series of The Mentalist an 8/10. Some of the characters annoyed me, some of the plots seemed too obvious, but otherwise it is a clever and easy little show that I adore, and having the smug Jane front it just boosts the appeal. Having him bounce off the religious and moral Lisbon was a great match and I can't wait to revisit season 2!
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