THE MENTALIST “The Red Mile” Season 3 Episode 18 – If you’d told me at the beginning of this episode that by the end of it I would be a sniffling mess, I would have thought you were nuts.
This one started out just like every other episode, Jane tormenting someone (coroner Steiner) and figuring out obscure details about their victim, his family, etc. Only this time the team gets themselves a temporary extra member when the body of their victim is stolen from the coroner. Jane invites him along to help with the case and soon he has his very own shadow, taking Steiner with him when he pokes around the victim’s home and basically showing him a fun time.
Before I really had a chance to ponder why Jane was suddenly being so nice, Steiner himself catches on and we find out that he’s dying and Jane’s doing all this to keep his mind off of morbid thoughts.
Meanwhile Van Pelt’s fiancé comes along with her, Cho and Rigsby to capture some suspects and when it turns into a firefight, the guy freezes, big time. Luckily Rigsby dives in and saves the day but afterwards he’s left with a decision – should he tell Van Pelt what happened or not? For now anyway, his decision was to keep that info to himself but I have to wonder if he’ll be able to hold on to it forever.
Finally after the case is solved, Steiner asks Jane to be there when he commits suicide, unwilling to let his illness take control and run its terrible course. Understandably Jane balks at first but then quietly acquiesces and so began the scene that had me in tears at the end. It all happened so simply, between two men who were not by any stretch what you would call best friends and yet Jane gave Steiner exactly what he needed. It was beautiful, it was sad, and it blew me away.
My favorite bits…..
Jane’s joy at finding out that Steiner was on the case.
Laughing when Lisbon told Jane not to amuse himself at the coroner’s expense. Oh dear, now we all know that’s the very *last* thing anyone should tell Jane, right?
This bit:
Steiner: “You might as well say he’s going to meet a Tall Dark Stranger.”
Jane: “That’s very unlikely doctor. He’s dead.”
Jane planting a note on the body without the coroner seeing it. Nice!
Lisbon swearing that Jane had nothing to do with stealing the body…..right before she checked with him to make sure.
Jane reassuring Steiner that he’d done everything he could do and even offering him a cup of tea to cheer him up.
Not being even the tiniest bit surprised that Cho knew the details of exactly what a hedge fund was.
Feeling just as suspicious as Lisbon, when Jane asked Steiner to help with the case.
Jane using a fire alarm to figure out which of the doctors had treated their victim. I’d like to say that his actions surprised me but at this point nothing that Jane does surprises me; it only amuses me to no end.
Jane and Steiner getting caught by the butler and running out of the room like little boys caught with their hands in the candy jar. LOL.
Whoa! Momma with a shotgun.
Rigsby doing the superhero dive and saving Van Pelt when her own fiancé froze.
Lisbon’s little grin when the guy tried to suggest that Cho had been abducted but just hadn’t realized it.
Jane suggesting that maybe Jabba the Hut or Alf might be their murderer. Haw.
Jane’s childlike joy when he found out that the butler did it and the way he danced around announcing it to anyone who would listen. Of course it turned out to be the mother, but I still got a kick at how much he enjoyed it anyway.
Rigsby starting to tell Van Pelt what her fiancé did in the shootout but backing out and telling her he might be able to help with her wedding plans instead. Aw.
How fast things went from light and funny to super serious when Steiner asked Jane to witness his death.
Jane finally admitting to Steiner how he put the note in the victim’s pocket.
Jane’s trick with the coin “it’s there….and then it’s gone,” echoing what happened with Steiner. He was there speaking to him, sipping a cup of tea and then…..gone.
What did you think of this episode of The Mentalist? Got any favorite bits or least favorite bits of your own? I’d love to hear from you!
Follow me on Twitter @mokibobolink
Please make sure to read our comment policy before posting a comment.