Just before this fourth season of The Mentalist started I rather cynically joked with my girlfriend that the whole "Red John shooting" would be resolved within about 3 or 4 episodes and then we'd be back to business as normal apart from the episodes at the Fall and end-season points, when Red John would be brought up again to create drama. I thought I was being unfairly harsh saying this so imagine my surprise when the shooting is sorted within one episode and the gang are all back together again by the end of the next one. From here we move forward with case per week stories that continue to have little connection with everything that had gone before.
As a formulaic piece of light entertainment, this is fine and The Mentalist continues to deliver as such with stories that rely on the enjoyable quirks of the lead character. While I would like it to be more than this, I do watch it as formula TV so am fine with it doing that as long as it works. The problem this season appears to be that, as it is in its fourth season, the writers seem to think that this is not enough and that they should be doing something more connected and meaningful – but yet at the same seem unable to break away from the idea that this is a case-per-week show. As a result we have lots of things that are half-done, lots of development that goes nowhere meaningful and generally lots of missed potential, all of which I found frustrating.
The main way this manifests itself is in Jane's darker edge; it is sporadic, superficial and is never made to be something more rewarding. Jane starts this season with a murder on his hands – a man who is nervous of guns, kills a man who he thinks is responsible for so much pain and misery; a few episode later and he goads a suspect into making statements about Red John on TV, specifically because he knows that Red John will kill the man, thus saving the CBI the problem of proof and conviction. This latter action he is open about but yet none of this affects him as an individual or the relationships with others in the team. An episode which I found particularly disappointing was one where he has contact with a former client from his shyster days; the woman has a new snake-oil salesman telling her things and we get to see the damage that Jane caused her. Unfortunately, as with so many moments of this season, this is only really seen in the "fade to black" moment at the end where Jane looks off into the mid-distance with a thoughtful look on his face – letting the viewer know it is a "thing" but yet not showing it anywhere beyond that moment. This very superficial lip service is irritating because when it happens it reminds me that the writers know this stuff is important, but yet aren't making it happen beyond little touches when they need it.
Similar to this, the supporting characters are fleshed out a bit with feelings and lives but only enough to tick a box or support a plot. So Van Pelt is given pain from her shooting at the end of season 3, but yet it is not consistent and seems to only be used to create the plot for half of one episode. Cho has more of a shout with his painkiller use and ill-advised relationship, but again it isn't as engaging or used as it could have been. Rigsby's relationship and fatherhood is even weaker and I presume the lip-service being paid to it means that it will be used in the next season by the writers and that they're not too interested in it now. As a result of this the cast mainly stick to the formula and don't expand their performances with the material. Baker remains fun in the traditional way while Tunney continues to be an enjoyable wet blanket even if attempts to do stuff with her character all fall flat. Kang is funny in his stoic silence and in fairness he did do well with the introduction of weaknesses and mistakes to his character. Yeoman and Righetti are solid, but not much more. The various guest stars are always fun to place (some easier than others) and the only downside is that they not only foster the "case per week" thing but also distract by virtue of being a guest face rather than just a character.
Overall this fourth season is solid in terms of the formula base it has set for itself; I might wish for more but ultimately this is what it is and in previous seasons I have accepted that more or less. Problem with this season is that the writers seem to also think they need to be doing more with this established show and not just doing weekly cases that could be watched in any order; sadly their attempts to do this are superficial and involve inserting meaningful looks or small plot threads into the weekly cases, rather than making pain and darkness part of the character in a real and convincing way. Maybe the acceptance of these moments by the audience will mean that the fifth season will do more of it, but for the minute Mentalist continues to be little more than enjoyable case-per-week formulaic TV that delivers light entertainment but nothing beyond that.
11 out of 26 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
