The Mentalist: Could Patrick Jane Become a Killer?

Get the latest scoop on The Mentalist from the cast and creators at Paley Fest

By Drusilla Moorhouse, Jennifer Godwin Apr 20, 2009 6:05 PMTags
The Mentalist, Simon BakerSonja Flemming/CBS

If you watch The Mentalist you've got two burning questions: Where is Red John? And (less seriously) when are Rigsby and Grace going to finally get it on?

We've got the answers to both, as well as a little scoop from the cast and exec producers that the Mentalist himself, Mr. Patrick Jane, might be getting a little psycho before the season's out.

Want to know what drives Jane to such a dark place? Read on...

What's to Come: According to Simon Baker, the May 19 season finale takes Patrick Jane to a very serious place: "What we do in the finale is go straight to the quick of what drives him, which is revenge. There's a real vengeance within him and a burning desire for revenge. So you see this darker side of what he wants, in that sense."

Last Chapter: According to exec producer Chris Long, the finale circles back to where we began: Red John. Chris tells us, "This is the third ep in the season dealing with Red John. We learn something about Red John, we learn something about Jane—there's a scene at the end of the show where Jane does something that will change the way we view him."

Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: But don't expect a resolution to the Red John mystery until the very end. Mentalist creator Bruno Heller says, "Red John is an essential part of [Jane's] character, so at this stage, imagining the show without him is like imagining Moby Dick without Moby Dick."

New Love? Someone as charming and cute as Patrick Jane could (and perhaps should) get a girl, right? But does that happen anytime soon? Says Long, "Jane still wears a wedding ring, and we've hinted in certain episodes that he's not ready to go there. Not sure there will be that much romance. Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and Jane are slightly flirtatious; they're two fairly young kids, both unattached at the moment, so I'm sure there's an occasional something, but it's not something we're really going to explore yet in season two." For Robin's part, she sees the sparks, too: "There's chemistry there—whether it's a friend thing or a romance thing, we don't know."

Play Ball? Will noncouple Rigsby and Grace ever get together? According to Owain Yeoman, "Right now it's just adorable fumbling. There's some progress, one step forward, two steps back. I think eventually there's something in the works." And is Grace onboard with that? Maybe, maybe not. Says Amanda Righetti, her character's reluctance to pursue romance with Grigsby is because, "This job is her life, and it's what she's worked for, for so many years. And she's finally gotten to a place where she feels she can have potential and growth, and to destroy that over a guy—she's a little bit more reasonable than that." Argh!

Are you rooting for Rigsby and Grace? What do you think Patrick Jane's drastic move in the finale might be? Are you still loving The Mentalist? Post in the comments!

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The Mentalist airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.

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