The Mentalist - Red Letter, S02E22

Compared to many of the episodes of this season, I was actually quite satisfied with this one. Not only was there a character who was smart enough, capable enough to give Jane (Simon Baker) a run for his money, but the CBI team actually accomplished something without his help. Amazing. Now if only they would give that CBI a little more screen time, the show might get back into my good books.

Murder, politics, human trafficking, prostitution - this episode certainly brought out the dregs of society. And to make Jane's job all the more difficult, psychic Kristina Frye (Leslie Hope) has appeared again. While she and Jane both make similar observations, him from observing, her from the interpretation of the messages of the dead, it was not possible to discern who was playing whom. Which I loved. I loved that they were in the elevator, and neither could actually figure out who had convinced the other to do what the first had wanted because both wanted the same thing.

Also, I loved that without Jane's help, Cho (Tim Kang), Rigsby (Owain Yeoman), and Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) were able to break a ring of human traffickers. Not only is that a fantastic accomplishment, but for once I felt as if the team could actually solve something without Jane and his convoluted plans.

I hope Kristina is back. Not only is she enjoyable, but she makes a good foil for Jane. She is a believer, while he is cynical, and yet both are very intelligent. She is not an easy target for Jane, unlike every single other character we've met...except Red John, whom we have not actually met...so...um.

Anyway, next episode is the season finale. I hope it involves Red John, I hope it involves all the characters of the show, not just Jane, and I hope it is awesome enough that The Mentalist keeps a spot on my list of shows.