‘The Mentalist’ season 7, episode 10 review: Who died in ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’?

Even before Wednesday night’s new episode of “The Mentalist,” it was already clear that we were going to be losing an important character. The question was mostly who this character was going to be. It wasn’t going to be Jane or Lisbon, judging from how the promos gave that away. Also, the show would have to be both heartless and insane to want to take out one of the two leads right now.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to see anyone go … but in the end, it was Michelle Vega who did. Right when Cho had finally received the promotion of his dreams, he had to deal with the ambitious young agent being shut down. Then, he had to notify the family. This episode became in many ways about him working to pick up some of the pieces.

There was a quest to serve justice, and maybe there was a little bit of solace that came as a result of what the FBI did. However, it was clearly not enough to satisfy Jane. What Vega’s death did to him is made him further realize that while he does love to a certain extent the work that he does, he does not love it enough to actually put himself through the wringer and see those close to him die. He drew a line in the sand at the end of the episode, and made it clear that he wanted out; he wanted Lisbon to join him, but it was not clear if she would.

In a way, this episode was doubly-sad since we don’t know what comes next for Jane and Lisbon. Do they stay together? Can something change his mind? This is a reveal we were not expecting so close to the end. Grade: A-.

What did you think about this episode, and the person who died during it? Let us know in the comments, and we will have a preview for the next episode very soon at the link here. Also, you can sign up right away if you want to get some other TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)