The Mentalist -Red Menace, S02E04

Though this The Mentalist did not compare with last week's in terms of powerhouse performances, it was still a great deal of fun.

Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) helped solve another murder using his unconventional methods. A lawyer responsible for a biker gang ended up dead, and suspicion fell upon the gang which he'd cleared of all accusations previously. Jane and Lisbon (Robin Tunney) went to interview the gang, and while they were chatting to the Sinner Saints, headed by a man named Von McBride (Mark Pellegrino* from Dexter and Supernatural), a woman, Felecia, showed up, cursing the Saints. She blamed them for her brother's murder, though McBride had been acquitted with the aid of the dead man.

Most of this turned out to be irrelevant to the case. Jane figured out that the son had killed his father, who always put work first. The man did not seem to care about his family, and thus his son murdered him and his wife helped cover it up. Jane planted evidence on Felecia, but when the son saw her arrested, his guilt compelled him to confess. He also confessed the involvement of his mother, which I found quite strange. After all, a lot of his anger was supposedly derived from his father's affairs...

So what was the purpose of the biker gang? I can't say for sure. Part of it is that we learn that Rigsby (Owain Yeoman)'s father, who was apparently a major criminal, was a biker. And part of it was so we could see another side of Jane. After the case was over, the biker's had not really been affected, but they had been developing suspicions as Jane kept asking who the informant amidst them was. In the final scene of the episode, Jane shows up a final time at the biker bar, wearing a fedora and staying in the shadows. Before he leaves, he gives McBride and envelope. Then McBride's buddies come see what's up, and find money in the envelope. They start beating up the man, suspecting that it is he who turned informant. We don't know what happens to him, but it can't be good. Not sure how I'm supposed to feel about Jane orchestrating this while Felecia watches.

In other news, Cho (Tim Kang) and Rigsby briefly mentioned the development with Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) - there is none. And Van Pelt was awesome in a car chase scene, where she and Lisbon pursued a suspect on a motorcycle. Go Van Pelt - she is beautiful and badass.