Review of Episode 5×09: Black Cherry (AKA The One Where Cho Actually Gets Something to Do – Woo Hoo!)
by castiello

Overall: Cho was actually on my screen for more than fifty seconds. That right there is a miracle. I still wouldn’t exactly call this a “Cho episode,” at least not in the way that 5×04 was a Rigsby ep, but I’m grateful Cho finally got some screen time, plus a story arc for this season. The case was also pretty good (one of the more interesting ones they’ve had this year), there were several cute Jane/Lisbon scenes, Jane got to interact with a kid (which is always gold), Van Pelt was stunning (or should I say glowing?), and we got to see Sarah. So, overall, a very enjoyable ep.

Cho: Man, when he was handling that shoot-around-the-corner gun…**swoon**. Apparently, Lisbon’s second-in-command has a new love interest – and a new job. I’m glad it turned out to be something he could do without leaving Lisbon’s team, because for a little while there, I really thought they were setting him up for a longer arc where he would leave the team (and, by extension, the series). I think I might boycott the show if this happened. But so far it looks like they’re just giving him something extra/interesting to do. Plus a new girl to flirt with. She’s very pretty and I like that she is a Marine – it’s cool that they both have military backgrounds. The only complaint I have is that her name is Tamsen (at least according to the closed captioning) and they had a character named Tamzin back in season one (the witch, if I’m recalling correctly). I don’t feel like Tamzin/sen is that common of a name, and I’m not sure why the writers would use this more than once (name of someone related to the show, maybe?).

Anyway, we got to see Cho do an awesome suspect take-down, have fun playing with nifty gadgets, and meet a kick-@$$ girl. I am a happy person right now.

Jane: Loved him making a list of everyone in his life that he’s ever shaken hands with – and Lisbon was helping him. His reasoning why she is not on the list (their friendship) echoes the logic tromana used last week on the Paint It Red forums to rule out the team as suspects. I definitely hope Jane sees all of them as his friends. If a member of the team is ever revealed as Red John, I might have another reason to boycott.

Jane with kids is always wonderful – I loved them talking about the car, and how it actually ended up being important to the solution of the case. And, although I can understand Jane not wanting the boy to go to foster care, I do resent Jane a little for guilt-tripping Lisbon like that. It reminded me of the case back in season three (???) when a young girl remembered she had killed her own father in self-defense. Lisbon wanted to take her into custody, Jane wanted Lisbon to let the girl go. In the end, Lisbon let the girl go, but in that case, Jane’s reasoning was a little more sound – the girl really did act in self-defense, so why put her through the trauma of a juvenile detention facility and a trial (which she might lose, resulting in a prison sentence).

Here, though, a young woman who was supposed to be watching over her little brother chose instead to grab a loaded gun and go seek revenge. If the police had not intervened, she might have found “Shade” and possibly even killed him. This would have landed her little brother in foster care for the remainder of his childhood. I don’t really feel like she grasped the consequences of her actions and how they could have impacted her brother – and she needs to understand these things in order to be a proper guardian. The little boy did not deserve to go to foster care, but a few days wouldn’t have killed him (at least, I hope) and I think his sister did need to spend a few days in jail to realize the cost of her actions. I would have had an easier time with this storyline if Jane had simply urged Lisbon to plead for a lighter sentence (community service, maybe?) rather than have the charges dropped and everybody gets to go home without consequences. You go around firing an illegal gun on the streets, you need to have consequences.

Plus, Jane doesn’t always need to get his way. Most of the time, but not always. 🙂

He was wonderfully funny taking in the “aura” of the house, hiding with Lisbon, and pretending to be the boss at the crime scene (poor Rigsby’s confused face, LOL). This episode had a lot of playful, energetic Jane scenes and those always make the show sparkle.

Lisbon: Loved her emotion and her humor (“Put me on the list. I want to be on there!”). I thought she did a great (Jane-like) job guilt-tripping Sarah into dropping the charges, I just wish Lisbon hadn’t given in to Jane’s sad puppy face to begin with. She shouldn’t let him manipulate her like that. Jane’s got the easy job – he gets to say “Don’t let the kid go to foster care” and then he just leaves it up to Lisbon to figure out how to accomplish that. I wish she would say to him, “Okay, then you take care of all the legalities. If you want these kids to go home, you figure out a way to get that done.” Also, she shouldn’t let him boss her – at the end, he tells her to arrest the suspects. Jane’s said that to her (and other team members) in the past, too – arrest that guy, or let that guy go. That’s not Jane’s call! He’s not even a police officer. I love his friendship with Lisbon – it’s the main reason I watch – but she does need to stand up to him sometimes, and not give in to blatant manipulation. He’s not always right, and she doesn’t always have to do what he says.

Rigs/Van Pelt: I don’t feel like we saw that much of Rigsby. I kinda wanted to see more of his reaction to Cho’s new job. Rigsby was right there when Tamsen made the offer – Was he intrigued? Did he feel a little left out? I did like that Cho introduced Rigs as his partner. That was sweet. As for Van Pelt, obviously she needs to be doing a lot of computer work right now, but she does look lovely doing it. She had a lot of case-related lines, plus even got to do one of the interrogation/interview thingies, which was nice. I hope the show continues to use her as much as they can!

Sarah: Nice to see her, and to hear about Ben. I like that she fell victim to Lisbon’s manipulation just as easily as Lisbon fell victim to Jane’s. I didn’t get any vibes about Sarah’s current feelings for Rigsby (any hope for reconciliation?), but she seemed very warm with Lisbon, and Lisbon was a contributor to the breakup (via helping Rigsby fake his own death), so maybe there’s hope. I do think Rigs and Van Pelt kind of have to be together in the end (how can they not?) but I’d hate to see Rigsby and Sarah permanently separate due to one of Jane’s schemes.

Kirkland: Mysteriously absent. Hmmmmm.

Final Thoughts: Cho, please continue having a storyline (especially one where you get to handle cool guns). Jane, lay off the guilt trips – but do keep figuring out the names of everyone you ever shook hands with – let’s see that Memory Palace in action (Btw, did anyone catch the full list of names on the page he had open at the end? I only saw “Walter Mashburn,” and my mom thought she saw “Cooper.”) Rigsby, don’t get left behind by your partner. Van Pelt, keep shining. Lisbon – stand up for yourself, woman! Sarah, stick around, I need closure. Kirkland – don’t stay gone too long, I still need to figure out if you’re Red John.

Looking ahead: Can’t wait to see how Jane begins to investigate all the names in his little book. 🙂

 

Review of Episode 5×08: Red Sails in the Sunset
by castiello

Overall: Wow. Very intense episode. Very different. I was definitely on the edge of my couch cushion the whole time, particularly whenever Lorelei and Jane were together. I love how much Lisbon contributed to the investigation, and how she and Jane worked together long-distance. I love that Jane got some actual, useful info on Red John. I hate that Lisbon was unapologetically put through the wringer yet again, but I like that she at least was smart enough to figure out Jane’s play.

Jane: When it comes to catching Red John, Jane is one crazy dude. Seeing him smash out the window of his beloved car, and later drive himself into a tree at high-speed, made me realize once again (in a very shocking fashion) something that’s easy to forget when Jane is working regular cases: that almost nothing truly matters to him. Not his car, not his health and safety. He will happily risk it all for the chance to get only an inch closer to the man who killed his family.

For the most part, I love how Jane worked with Lorelei – aside from trying to “mentalize” her about her mother (which she quickly called him on), Jane did a lot of little subtle things to gain her trust and build a relationship between them. He deliberately broke the car radio and got a room with a busted TV, just so they’d be more likely to make conversation. He repeatedly left Lorelei alone with the car and the keys, showing her that she was not his prisoner. I was so nervous that she would take off and leave him (and I’m sure he was, too) but it was the only way he had a chance of getting her to open up.

I like how Jane handled her assault – just staying down and speaking calmly, never making an aggressive move toward her or trying to physically restrain her. He played it very smart. The look on his face when Lorelei was walking up behind him on the beach was perfect – you could really sense his unease and the potential danger of the situation: was this lady going to snuggle with him or try to smother him in his sleep? (I’m so glad she chose snuggle!)

At the end, Jane’s decision to let Lorelei go off on her own was also very wise, allowing her find the truth for herself and come back to him when she’s ready. It fit with the way he handled her throughout the episode, and I hope it pays off for him in the end.

When Jane said he was going to “make them believe” he’d been a hostage, I just knew he was going to hurt himself pretty severely. Still, it was shocking to watch him drive himself into a tree at that speed. Very scary, the lengths he will go to. My only question: wouldn’t the investigating officers find the stick in the car and figure out what he’d done?

The ending scene with Lisbon had a very creepy tone. Jane looked like a lunatic, smiling over his latest “victory” with his face all banged up like that. He was practically in traction, but he didn’t care because he’d learned that Red John was a known acquaintance. This wipes a HUGE number of people off the suspect list, and Jane was high on the idea of being so much closer to his goal. He seemed to be almost taunting Lisbon that she’d never have proof that he set the whole escape/kidnapping thing up. I didn’t like that at all, and didn’t know what to make of it, other than he guessed that’s what she wanted to talk about and decided to head her off. Lisbon’s angry response (that she would be putting him in handcuffs if she had proof of what he’d done) was justified, but I’m still confused about the Lorelei chain of custody issues. Why should Jane be in such extreme, life-in-prison trouble for breaking her out of a prison where she was never supposed to be in the first place? (The FBI moved her there secretly, against a judge’s orders, right?)

Lisbon: She was actually very Jane-like, dealing with Lorelei’s mother. “Your daughter is the servant and accomplice of a notorious serial killer and you have no idea how she got that way?” LOL. I think Lisbon’s tough, unforgiving attitude toward the mother was the thing that made the woman want to confess. Lisbon’s disgust at the woman selling a two-year-old girl: palpable. She looked physically ill. No wonder Lorelei’s a head case. It was nice to learn that the sisters were reunited in adulthood. Even though it ended tragically, at least they got to be together for a while.

Lisbon’s reaction to Miranda’s murder scene photo was perfect – you just knew, without even seeing it, that it was Red John. Super creepy. And, as always, Lisbon helped Jane by sending the fax, and later comforted him after the car crash, all the while knowing that this was one of his plays, and she’d just been another chess piece on the board. At least this time, unlike with his fake breakdown last season, Lisbon suspected Jane’s involvement early enough to save herself some unneeded anguish and worry.

Lorelei: She made me so nervous in this one! I never knew what she was going to do – drive away, call Red John, start cutting Jane’s fingers off in his sleep? That was the major tension in this episode – her unpredictable nature. I think her assault on Jane, the first time we’ve really seen her lose her cool, showcased just how damaged and fragile (and easily manipulated) she is. It was like a child’s tantrum – a perfectly believable reaction for someone who’s never had a proper parent.

Lorelei professed that she is stronger and clearer since her sister’s murder – she can’t be hurt by anything, now. How quickly Jane proved her wrong, though, by suggesting that Red John was Miranda’s killer. The person who “saved” Lorelei was the one who made her a victim in the first place – you could tell by her denial, her refusal to believe it, that this possibility did hurt.

This is the second time we’re seeing the idea of Red John as a sculptor, a re-inventor of people. He already credits himself with shattering Jane’s illusions and showing Jane the world as it truly is. And although I don’t believe that was Red John’s intent when killing Jane’s family, it did seem to be a deliberate plan with Lorelei and her sister. I wonder how many other minions he’s gathered through similar means. I wonder how many of them would turn on him if they knew the truth.

I was actually afraid when Jane told Lorelei who killed her sister, that Lorelei was just going to say, “I know.” I’m glad she’s not so batnuts crazy that she would willingly fall in with her sister’s killer. I even have hope that she’ll turn against her master, once the truth sinks in.

Kirkland: Hmmmmmm. Now that they’re making it so obvious, I’m starting to doubt that it’s him. Lorelei mentioned a handshake, and Kirkland’s handshake with Jane was emphasized as a significant/foreboding moment in the previous ep. I do think Lorelei was telling the truth about the handshake, because she was speaking in anger and that’s when little things tend to slip out. However, the way she said it sounded to me like Red John was someone Jane had met a while ago: “I’m surprised you guys weren’t life-long friends from the moment you first shook hands” or something like that. It would be a weird way to reference someone Jane had just met a week or two ago.

So, I’m thinking an older acquaintance. If they want to shock (and horrify us), it’ll be someone we love like Minelli or a team member (nonono). Then again, didn’t Heller say a while back that Red John wasn’t anyone we’d met on the show so far? I think he lies sometimes, though, just to throw people off the scent. In any case, I’m doubting Kirkland is Red John. If he is Red John, then he needs to creep it up a little. He wasn’t giving me any vibes in this ep like he did in the last one. If I’m looking at Red John on my screen, I want to be feeling chills and double meanings with every single line he says. I want to be scared every time he is alone with Lisbon.

Final thoughts: For me, this ep was fascinating to watch on a psychological level, exploring the reasons Lorelei turned out so damaged, what led her to Red John, and how Jane is slowly gaining her trust. I also like that Lisbon played a vital role in the episode, that we had some continuity with the Brett Stiles storyline (I’ve been waiting for Jane to call in that favor!), and that we got forward progress on the Red John case. I do wish the rest of the team had more than a few lines, but it was an atypical episode, and hopefully Cho/VP/Rigs(<-I love it when Lisbon calls him that!) will have more to do next week.

Looking forward to it, and to the rest of the season.

 

 

Review of Episode 5×07: If It Bleeds, It Leads
by castiello

Overall: What a strange episode! And a way more important one than I would have guessed from the previews. Maybe it was just the fact that I was really sleep-deprived when I watched it, but there were a couple of things that didn’t make sense. Generally speaking, though, I was intrigued, and definitely enjoyed that Lisbon had such a prominent role in the story.

Lisbon: Looking lovely with her hair wavy and bangs pushed off to the side (yay!), our favorite boss lady took on the dual tasks of getting Jane to stop obsessing (good luck with that…) and trying to build a case against a well-connected billionaire. Neither effort was successful, but I gotta give her credit for trying. I love that she is doing her best to look after Jane, even when he makes it impossible. I like that she was able to pick up on the secretary/assistant’s distress, but why the heck didn’t Lisbon get that girl some protection after the girl agreed to cooperate? The poor thing was obviously scared. Lisbon promised her she would be safe, and then didn’t post any guards on her or move her to a different location or anything…I mean, Volker arranged for the mass murder of an entire tribe of people. Lisbon knew how dangerous he was. I’m sure he still could have gotten to the girl anyway, even despite protective measures, and the ending of the ep would’ve been the same, but at least it would look like Lisbon did everything possible to prevent the murder. I could certainly feel her heartbreak at the end, but at the same time, I was like “What did you expect? You didn’t protect her!” Maybe there were guards and I just zoned out for that part (I told you I was sleep-deprived), but I don’t remember anything about that.

Another strange thing – the ending itself. They didn’t catch the bad guy! It just sort of ended on this sad, defeated note. Lisbon vowed to get Volker (and I’m sure she will), but it will have to be in another episode. In a way this is cool, because it means Lisbon’s got multiple arcs this year: she’s got the poker games with “really important CBI/FBI people,” she’s got a relationship with Kirkland (who may or may not be Red John), and now she’s got a vendetta against a super-creepy psychopath billionaire. I’m so excited to see where all this goes.

Jane: He seemed to be preparing Lisbon to “go on” without him, which makes sense, because he was also working on ways to bust Lorelei out of prison. If successful, he would be off somewhere trying to get her to give up Red John, and not around to help the CBI investigate cases. Why Lorelei is in a maximum security prison in the first place is completely baffling to me, but that whole arc has been baffling since early in the season. I guess Red John and his FBI mole did not bust Lorelei out, after all. They just moved her to another prison. Why? And why does Jane have to break in to get to her? A judge already ruled that CBI should have custody of Lorelei. The FBI was acting illegally when they stole her. So, now that Jane has found her, shouldn’t there be a legal course of action he can take to get her back into CBI custody? Maybe he’s afraid the FBI would just take her away again as soon as they got wind of what he was trying to do? Just the fact that she is still in any kind of government custody is completely perplexing to me. Does the official FBI have her in custody because they’re trying to get the glory for bringing down Red John, or does just a small, Red John-controlled “section” of the FBI have Lorelei in custody to keep her away from Jane? Somebody else is going to have to figure this out, because my brain just imploded.

Moving on, I don’t like when Jane acts as though Lisbon needs lessons from him on how to do an investigation. I mean, it’s definitely in character – he’s always thought the team was kind of helpless without him – but I guess I just wish the show wouldn’t continue to back him up on that point. When Jane was away for six months last season, the team’s case resolution rate dropped into the toilet. Here, again, when Jane was less involved in the case and Lisbon was working it mostly on her own, the bad guy got away. It’s like the show is saying the team really can’t do it without him, and I disagree. Jane may close cases fast, but he also does it dirty – half the tricks he uses would get the evidence/confession thrown out in court.

Jane trying to get into the prison (and asking Cho about it!) was pretty darn funny. Jane was also funny with the weather girl (*smack* Lisbon: I hope that hurt), and on the news show: “We’ll be right back after a short commercial break.” LOL.

Cho/Rigsby/Van Pelt: If I have to group them together, then they didn’t get enough to do! Still, I did ask for a Lisbon episode, and this one gave her lots of opportunities to shine, so I guess I can’t complain. I did love Cho’s reaction to Jane’s maximum security prison question. Cho even told Lisbon about it, which is interesting. Are Cho’s loyalties shifting away from Jane a bit? Maybe a sign of the betrayal the team felt when Jane left them last season? Or maybe Cho just doesn’t want Jane to do something monumentally stupid. Again.

Kirkland: What’s up with this guy? They are certainly making a huge deal out of him – particularly his very brief interaction with Jane. I couldn’t help but think, OMG, Jane is shaking hands with Red John right now and doesn’t even know it! And he works for Homeland Security – yikes. Then again, this show does tend to throw out red herrings a lot – remember Bertram quoting that Blake poem? Would the show really let us meet the REAL Red John this way? Or is Kirkland just another minion? Either way, it seems that he’s trying to protect Volker, and Volker is just the type of person who’d be a member of Red John’s “club.” Did you see him sitting there, just watching that girl get strangled? Creepy as all heck.

All in all: I did really enjoy the episode, even though it ended on a strange sort of “To Be Continued” note that is usually reserved for hardcore Red John episodes. Maybe this was a hardcore Red John ep. Whatever it was, it took me by surprise. I had no idea until about two-thirds of the way through that we were diving into such deep waters. I wish the Lorelei/FBI thing was a little bit more understandable, but I love that Lisbon’s got a villain of her own to go after and the fact that we may have gotten some very important info about the Big Bad himself. Definitely and very eagerly looking forward to next week and the rest of the season. Let the mind-blowing conspiracies continue!

Review of Episode 5×06: Cherry Picked
by castiello

Overall: When the episode starts more than a half-hour late (thanks a lot, CBS), and I’m still not getting sleepy by the end of it, then I know it’s a good one. I’m happy to say that 5×06 fell into that category. The episodes that involve kidnapping always have an intensity about them that the regular murder investigations usually lack. Add Jane’s questionable negotiation tactics into the mix, and we’ve got a real nail-gnawing situation on our hands. But the case wasn’t the only thing that grabbed me. I know some people don’t like it when the show works two different storylines in the same ep, but here I thought it was the right move. Having Jane investigate Lorelei’s disappearance while helping the team with the kidnapping gave the episode great continuity with the rest of the season. If three eps went by without a mention of Lorelei, then that would just be weird. The Red John case will always be front and center where Jane is concerned, and it’s good that the show is giving us some forward momentum on that storyline.

Jane: Okay, seeing him negotiate with kidnappers is just plain scary. I know he knows what he’s doing, but still. He’s not always right, and sometimes he just seems so reckless. Plus, in this ep, he was distracted by the Lorelei investigation, which made it even more likely that he might goof up. I was relieved at the end when everyone came back whole and alive. I couldn’t relax until I knew everything would turn out okay.

Jane’s intensity when interviewing the drivers was right on the money. His breaking and entering into the guilty driver’s home was not unexpected, nor was his decision to use blackmail. I really thought Jane was going to let this man off the hook for rape, just to get the info on Lorelei. I hated the thought, but Jane seems willing to let almost anything slide, if it means getting closer to Red John. It surprised me – in a very good way – to see that Jane had police waiting outside to arrest the driver. I don’t know what evidence they could have on the guy that isn’t fruit of the poisonous tree (Jane’s illegal search), but I don’t care. I figure: Jane’s smart, he came up with something. Maybe found the inmate who was victimized and convinced her to come forward.

Interestingly enough, it seems that the FBI are the ones who stole Lorelei. I had assumed this was an act of Red John himself, but I’m guessing he just orchestrated the whole thing through his mole in the FBI.

Other Jane thoughts: Jane plus dog always equals a win, no matter how brief the scene is. I actually thought the dog/open gate situation was going to play a bigger role in solving the case. It seemed to indicate that the kidnapper was unfamiliar with the property (which is true of the guy who actually carried out the plan), but other than that it didn’t seem to go anywhere. Maybe I just missed something. Also missed how Jane got the homeowner’s phone number so quickly after arriving on the scene. I guess you could say he had the brother’s last name, and was able to use that to quickly search for the number on his cell phone, but it’s a stretch. It was a funny scene, though – cruel, but funny. “Are you alone? What are you wearing?” LOL.

Jane refusing Lisbon’s help in handling the driver was sad. It’s like he was saying “thank you” and “I’m sorry” at the same time. Sorry that he didn’t trust a legitimate, official investigation to get him what he needed. Sorry that he was letting her down by going outside the law (once again), but unwilling to take the chance of another lead slipping away. At least when Jane goes illegal, he does (usually) try to keep Lisbon and the others out of it, for their own protection.

Lisbon: Poor Lisbon, having to deal with bureaucratic public relations crap once again. Not only did she have to deal with a double-kidnapping, a murder, and a difficult victim-family-member, but she had to do it all with Brenda and Bertram breathing down her neck. Nice. I loved her standing outside the locked door, trying to mend fences with the guy who’d shut himself inside. “I feel bad that you’re in there…” Such great, long-suffering line-delivery.

I liked that Lisbon was sensitive to Jane’s other case (the driver interviews) and their importance. She did not hesitate to let him leave when he said he needed to. I also love that she offered to help Jane once he figured out who the guilty driver was. She is sweet and good-hearted, even if she isn’t the best “actress.” You could just see the hurt on her face when Jane implied she didn’t do a great job pretending to be shot, and when Brenda gently declined to have Lisbon make an on-camera appearance. I think Lisbon tries so hard not to suck on camera, that she just ends up being totally awkward. The fact that she gets flustered and screws up makes me love her ten times more. She is awesome at her job. She stinks at interviews. She is a believably-flawed, utterly endearing human being. 🙂

Cho/Rigs/Van Pelt: Not a huge amount of screen time for these three, which is okay – just as long as it doesn’t become a regular thing. I did love the little scene with Rigsby tossing popcorn (?), acting like a seal, and Cho actually laughing a little at Rigsby’s antics. I felt like Cho was happy to see his partner back in good spirits after what he’d just been through. Another thing I liked about this episode – although we only found out about it after the fact – is that it sounded like the team solved the case together. Jane might have started the ball rolling, but after that, everyone participated in figuring out who the kidnapper’s accomplice was and what the next move should be. They worked together to trick the female “victim” (I like that actress, btw – she did a great job) into fleeing with the money. It’s nice when Jane’s not the man with the plan, while everyone else is just sitting around clueless. Go team! 🙂

Brenda: Was it just me, or did she seem nastier in this ep? Always before, I felt like she was sympathetic to Lisbon, even when they had to work at cross-purposes. In this one, Ms. Public Relations just seemed like a b***h, threatening to call Bertram if Lisbon didn’t “behave.” I dunno, I usually kinda like her, but not in this episode.

Final thoughts: Progress on the Lorelei front – yay! Team working together – yay! Jane not letting a rapist get away for the sake of his obsession – double yay! Holiday Wish List: A Lisbon-centric ep in the near future. A Cho-centric ep in the near future. Another Minelli return. And a partridge in a pear tree (because Jane needs another animal to play with). Looking forward to 5×07!

Review of Episode 5×05: Red Dawn
by castiello

Overall: As soon as I saw the previews for this episode, I just knew I was going to love it. Then I saw the episode, and it wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. Don’t get me wrong–I did love it, most especially for the stellar performances, but there were a few things that kept it from being the absolute killer episode I was expecting. Mostly just some hiccups in the believability of the storyline. For such an epic episode, I wanted it to be totally flawless. The acting, IMHO, was – I have no idea how our cast wiped out years of history and familiarity, making me believe that everyone was meeting Jane for the first time, but they did it. Top marks to Robin, Simon and Co. Top marks to the director, too. A few points off for the writers, but I give them credit for tying in the FBI and making this flashback episode (which I would’ve enjoyed even if it was pointlessly tossed into the middle of the lineup) actually fit into the season’s arc. Even set in the past, this ep gave new information and helped to move the current storyline forward. Well done on that part!

Jane: Oh, Jane. You poor, raw, wounded, fragile thing…Seriously, how fresh was the pain in his eyes? Wow. And such a change from the cool, slick, and confident man we often see nowadays. He seemed like a little lost lamb, wandering around the CBI offices. Totally adrift. Not as completely helpless as he seemed (he did manipulate Hannigan into hitting him, just to stay in the office), but almost.

I did have a hard time believing that the CBI would allow someone like Jane to not only ride with an agent out to a murder scene, but actually get out of the car and go over to the body and everything. I know they said the forensics people were done, but still. I just can’t imagine this would ever happen. Minelli (yay!) wanted to keep Jane happy by letting Jane ride with Lisbon and ask questions about Red John, but we never saw anything about the car ride, or whether they actually discussed Red John or not. We just saw Jane exit the car at the crime scene and start walking around.

It was obviously necessary to the storyline for Jane to flex his psychic “muscles” in front of Lisbon, but I do wish it had come about in a more natural, believable way than a victim’s family member tagging along on an investigation for no justifiable reason. If Jane had followed Lisbon to the crime scene in his own vehicle, still seeking answers about Red John, I would have had an easier time with that.

Speaking of Jane’s “gift,” I didn’t feel like he did anything too impressive, prior to smoking out the killer at the end of the ep. He did a little bit of cold-reading, some basic deductions from crime scene clues, and some body-language interpretation. In a way I felt like he should have done something more grand, to warrant Lisbon’s request for his help at the end. But then again, that’s not the main reason she asked him – I think it was much less about the team needing help (they weren’t that stuck) than it was about getting Jane away from the Red John files and giving him something else to do, and I wholeheartedly love her for that.

Also love: The look on Jane’s face when he first opened one of the Red John evidence boxes, only to have Lisbon immediately call him away from the files – man oh man, he did not want to step away from those files. You could already see the hunger, the need, the beginnings of obsession. Fantastic acting. And Jane’s anger, when he was talking to Lisbon about psychics – wow. Incredible to see so many emotions from Jane, back in this time period when he was too fragile to cover them up.

Can’t forget the Jane-meets-couch moment, either. The way they shot that was so cool, to make him look like he was lying down on it, when really he was standing up, leaning against it. The scene at the end with him finally snoozing on it, the Red John files all around, and Lisbon’s little “shhh!” was beyond priceless.

The hug between Jane and Lisbon was probably my favorite part, though, just because you could see the gratitude on Jane’s face – Lisbon cleaned him up and gave him something to do, when before he had nothing. She helped him find a reason to wake up in the morning, other than hunting Red John. In a very real way, she saved him.

Lisbon: How pretty did she look in this one? I love no-bangs Lisbon as much as I love vagrant, five-o-clock shadow Jane. Which is to say, a lot. She just has such a beautiful shape to her face, and the bangs cover part of it up. It was nice to see her whole face again, even if it was for only one episode.

Superficial gushing aside, Lisbon was great in this ep – stern, compassionate, sensitive, intelligent, annoyed, funny. She had some of the best lines (Jane: I cleaned up, like you said. Lisbon: Yeah…It’s a process. ROFL!). It made total sense for her character that she would end up with someone like Hannigan on her team. Even back then, I guess she was the “parent” agent who could keep problem children in line. So funny to hear her horrified reaction after Hannigan hit Jane – I am used to hearing her yell at Jane that way, not somebody else!

The best thing about Lisbon in this episode was her perceptiveness. The more she interacted with Jane, the more she could sense how lost he really was. When she saw him opening that first Red John box, I think she just knew he was headed for darkness – and her first instinct was to steer him in the opposite direction. Speaks volumes about her character, and her relationship with Jane – from that early on, she was already trying to save him from himself.

Minelli: Love him. Miss him. He needs to be on here WAY more often. At least he got a scene with Lisbon, this time. I’ve always loved their relationship; you can just feel the depth of his fondness for her. His avoid-lawsuit-at-all-costs attitude was perfectly in character, but I’m still trying to get past the implausibility of him sending Jane out to a crime scene with Lisbon. I’m going to assume Minelli just thought Jane would stay in the car, or would get dropped off somewhere as soon as Lisbon finished answering his questions. Minelli probably didn’t realize that Jane had absolutely nowhere else to go.

The little scene at the end with the FBI lady was intriguing. You could tell Minelli was going against his better instincts, and who knows how much horrible stuff has happened as a result. The scene definitely felt Red John-ish. When they showed the man in the car with her, I actually thought we might’ve just met Red John himself. I’m starting to doubt it now, though, because he seemed kinda on the younger side and not bad-looking (Bruno once said that Craig O’Laughlin was too handsome to be Red John — someone so good-looking would not need to go around, cutting up women).

Last little tidbit about Minelli – he knew Jane was in a mental hospital? And he never told Lisbon? Wow. Interesting. Not sure what to make of that. You’d think he would give her a heads-up – Lisbon, as Jane’s direct superior, would be in the best position to notice if Jane was starting to show signs of cracking up.

Cho/Rigsby: The one-liners. The facial hair. The joy. Cho got the best material, as always (Jane: Just pretend I’m not here. Cho: Okay.). Loved the looks both guys kept shooting at Jane. And near the end, when Rigsby was getting all caught up in Jane’s act, and Cho just gave him this sideways look, like, “Seriously?” Pure gold. I wish they had been in it more, and I definitely missed Van Pelt, but the focus did need to be on Jane, and how he got started on his path as a consultant.

Final thoughts: A few bumps in terms of believability issues, but all in all, it was a beautiful episode (both visually and emotionally) and one I know I’ll enjoy watching many more times. Hope everyone else enjoyed it, too! I’ll have to go find out!

Review of Episode 5×04: Blood Feud
by castiello

Overall: Whoa, only four episodes in, and already we have another emotionally-charged, character-driven storyline – way to go, Season Five! Lots to love in this one, including getting to see Ben for the first time (finally!), a couple of nice Cho/Jane scenes, plus some hardcore drama and major screen time for Rigsby (‘bout time!) and the awesome return of La Roche. Since this was Rigsby’s episode, it seems fitting to start off with his character this week:

Rigsby: Owain knocked this one out of the park, no question about it. I could feel everything that Rigsby was going through, from fear for his father’s life to the painful mix of loyalty/hate/love that Rigsby grapples with every time he interacts with his dad. The numb shock of loss and the raw, hot need for vengeance were all perfectly portrayed, culminating in a roller-coaster episode.

I love that we finally got to meet cute little Ben, and that we also got some info on the current situation with Sarah. The scene with Rigsby and his dad sitting in the bar together, having beers and looking at pictures of the baby, was probably the most emotional one for me – the conflict and uncertainty in Rigsby’s eyes, the desire to love and be loved by his father, coupled with the fear of being hurt once again was devastating to watch. And then his dad died…

I like how each member of the team found their own way to comfort him, from Van Pelt’s hug to Lisbon’s assertion that they would find the shooter to Cho and Jane’s quiet, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of this…” I feel like everyone tried to support him the best way they knew how. However, whether Jane (and Cho) did right by Rigsby, giving him that opportunity to kill his father’s killer, remains to be seen. Which brings us to:

La Roche: Loved seeing him again – he is super-cool and such fun to watch on screen. At the end, when he broke down Jane’s plan, I was a little shocked. When Rigsby showed up at the gym, I didn’t know who had called him, but quickly put it from my mind as the action climaxed. Hearing La Roche lay out all the steps Jane had taken to orchestrate the whole scenario kind of blew me away – I guessed who the killer was (and his motive) fairly early on, so there was no surprise there, but that ending was a jolt.

It is in keeping with Jane’s character (and Cho’s) that they would deliberately give Rigsby this opportunity – Jane’s always been very eye-for-an-eye, and Cho used to be in a gang himself, so he fully appreciates the concept of retribution. And yet, La Roche’s condemnation of these actions rang true, and I found myself siding with his interpretation of the events – that Rigsby may have thought he wanted revenge now, but who knows how he’ll feel later. His dad had just died. Lisbon was right to take him off the case, and Cho and Jane should not have brought him back in, no matter how much Rigsby wanted them to. They put him in a situation he was not ready for, and now he’ll have to deal with the fallout. Justified though the shooting was, Rigsby, who had a strong ulterior motive, should not have been the one to pull the trigger. Later, when he was holding Ben and crying at the end of the episode, my heart just broke for him, not only because he was mourning for his father, but because he was maybe mourning a little for himself, wondering if the pursuit of revenge had made him more like his dad than he ever wanted to be.

Jane: He got a few light moments in this ep (“There used to be a man attached to this needle – do you know where he went?”), but not too many. I liked how that little doggie’s tail just started whipping back and forth the instant he saw Jane. As sweet as Jane is with animals, though, he’s even sweeter with babies – methinks we need to see him holding/interacting with Ben very soon. It’s a crime we had to wait this long to even catch a glimpse of that cute little redhead.

As far as the more serious aspects of the episode, I like how this one focused on consequences. At the mention of Rigsby’s separation from Sarah, we see how drastically one of Jane’s schemes has impacted the life of one of his team members. Jane’s methods are often extreme, and it is important that the show illustrates, at least from time to time, how far-reaching the consequences can be. Jane usually gets the result he wants, but often does not acknowledge the price for other people (e.g. in “Ball of Fire,” Jane did not think of how badly he was damaging the killer’s daughter, by using her to get her father’s confession.)

I do believe Jane thought he was doing the right thing, calling Rigsby to the scene and setting up a situation where Rigsby would likely have to use lethal force against his father’s murderer. It’s what Jane himself would want, if the situation was reversed. It’s been what, ten years since his family was killed? And Jane still wants Red John’s head impaled on a pointy stick. But I think he didn’t realize–at least until La Roche pointed it out—that to assume Rigsby would still want the ultimate revenge after his emotions calmed down was a mistake. Jane put a raw, grief-stricken man into a situation he had no business being in. I do like Jane’s point that “it’s better to regret doing something than to regret not doing something,” but I like La Roche’s point even better: Rigsby will never get the chance to find out.

Cho: How wonderful to see him and Jane get a little time together. They have a great chemistry whenever they’re paired up – this nice, subtle blend of humor and deep understanding. Cho gets Jane. Especially in this situation, they were very much in tune–their brains were almost on the same wavelength. I think Cho believes in payback almost as much as Jane does, and I believe both men were trying to do right by Rigsby…they just went about it the wrong way.

Lisbon: She was a great boss and a great friend in the episode. Taking Rigsby off the case was definitely the smartest move. The way she handled those extremely sexist comments from Rigsby’s dad, so cool and professional and completely unfazed, made me proud. Her loyalty to Jane, trying to take the blame for him at the end, made me love her and worry for her at the same time. I don’t want La Roche to be right, that Lisbon’s loyalty to and love for team is her greatest weakness. I’m glad Jane didn’t let her take the fall for him this time. Her career has taken enough hits for him as it is.

Van Pelt: Loved her tenderness towards Rigsby. I think she is the only one on the team without major Daddy issues (at least, none that we know of yet). It was nice to see the “coach’s daughter” in her come out, as she gave pointers in the gym. I do wish she’d been a bit cleverer, maybe able to recognize that the gym owner was a little too helpful (i.e. not on the up and up), but that’s okay – this season is making me hopeful that she’ll have her day in the sun. Hopefully, they all will.

Last thoughts: An emotional and thought-provoking episode that made me reflect on the complexity of family bonds and the far-reaching (and sometimes unforeseen) consequences our actions can have. Did Jane and Cho do the right thing in this ep? Not necessarily. But do they–and Van Pelt and Lisbon–love Rigsby and try their best to support him? Hell, yeah. The team was a true family in this one, and that is something I love to see.