‘The Mentalist’ season 6, episode 8 preview: Simon Baker waxes poetic on Red John, future

Tonight on “

The Mentalist,” the long-hyped Red John story finally finds itself at the end. But with that, of course, comes a myriad of questions regarding how the story will end, and then eventually where it is going to go from here the rest of the way.

What we really like about the perspective Simon Baker has on this case for now is merely that he carries with him a sense of honesty and relief following the end of a story that has dragged on for really the past five years of his life. So while he may be happy to move into a new chapter, he also admits that any time that you see what is really behind the curtain it can feel like a letdown. Just take a look at what he had to say to TV Guide:

“I always felt what was scary was the fact that it could be the guy that you see every day on your way to work that’s watering his lawn two blocks away … the everyday guy that is a serial killer. So when we found out it was who it was — I think, ultimately with anything like this, there’s a level of disappointment. When there’s mystery, you paint the picture in your head of what it’s going to be, and particularly when it’s a mystery that holds you under water for so long, the mystery of who it is is mythical. The truth is, it’s just a person.”

Baker and show creator Bruno Heller also touch more on what the show will be like after the end of the Red John saga. We’re going to jump ahead two years in time following the end of the case in the December 1 episode “My Blue Heaven,” where we will see Lisbon now in San Francisco and Rigsby / Van Pelt in Northern California. The entire team is going to be scattered across the country, and the question that comes out of this is what could presumably bring some of them back together. This is an interesting era for Baker to take on now, given that the Patrick Jane character is different, and there could be different things that motivate him. That is what is interesting about the show continuing after Red John’s end, since typically, you would think that this sort of story would be construed a series finale.

You can read (and watch) more about “The Mentalist” over at the link here, and we will have a review of this episode online once it has aired.

Photo: CBS