The Mentalist - Red Herring, S02E15

With a title like Red Herring, I was a little disappointed with this episode. Not that it wasn't a good episode; it was solid: well written and well acted. But it was your average episode of the Mentalist where very little that is lasting occurs. Typical of a procedural, but I still think it was a waste of a good title.

What did I want from a title like that? I wanted Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) to be distracted from the truth by a red herring. I wanted Jane to have suspicions about someone that were founded, but that simply weren't actually relevant to the case. There is something about Jane always being right, always manipulating everyone into everything exactly the way he'd planned, that is simply getting boring.

Ouch. I know, that's a harsh statement, but it's true nonetheless. And when this episode was devoid of any Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Grace (Amanda Righetti) action - by the way, are they back together and happy and simply back to pretending that nothings going on, or are they still in a fight and that's why Cho (Tim Kang) isn't allowed to mention their relationship - and devoid of more than a few brilliant comments by Cho: "I don't eat anything I can't identify," you need something interesting and new to be going on.

So there was a love affair and a pregnant wife which were red herrings, and the sous-chef was the killer instead. I hate to say that I thought it was pretty easy to figure out, as was Jane's method of bringing the killer out of the wood work. And the hints about Lisbon (Robin Tunney)'s alcoholic dad were good as forerunners for something pertinent that will happen in a future episode, I want something to be happening now.

So please, The Mentalist, give me something new to get excited about! Someone else who thwarts Jane, or let's just delve into a Red John segment. Are you craving this too?