‘The Mentalist’ season 6, episode 11 review: Is Patrick Jane really in love?

Over the past week or so, we have tried to give a message rather loud and clear when it comes to Patrick Jane’s possible new “date” on “The Mentalist”: It is better not to believe what you may see at face value. Just because it looks like Jane has a new lady in his life does not make it true. Instead, it may be a part of one of the man’s larger (and more devious) plans.

Early on in the episode, Simon Baker’s character grew close to a woman in Crystal, who was at least connected to a case that the FBI was starting to work on. Just when it looked like she was in the clear to everyone else, he asked her out, and the two seemed to strike up a relationship. Did it look normal to everyone else? At first, nobody questioned it too much … but he did just enough to help them figure it out.

This was yet another one of those crazy Jane schemes that really should have gotten him killed, and if it was any other show, we would criticize it. But, it’s just how “The Mentalist” and the character operate. He got close enough to her for her to get her guard down, and run information to the police so that she would be suspected.

The only unfortunate thing is that there wasn’t any Jane / Lisbon moment at the end of this to tie it all together in some sort of substantial way. That would have been the real way to make this satisfying, since it would have provided the hope that shippers have been hoping for there. Without that little moment, this was the sort of standalone episode that was pure fluff, and only really entertaining for showing once again that Jane is not crazy when it comes to the women he chooses to really get close to. Grade: B-.

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