The Mentalist Season 4 Episode 23 “Red Rover, Red Rover” Recap
In this episode, Lisbon is called to the crime scene in an abandon warehouse where a decomposing body was found in large storage cabinet. The body had seemed to be bound as well and the estimate for how long the body was locked up for was about six months. Lisbon calls Jane asking him to come to the crime scene, but Jane is obviously distracted by something and he says that he will be around later.
After hanging up with Lisbon, Jane heads to his car, but notices a card attached to the windshield. The card reads “Happy Anniversary” and it is obvious that Red John is alluding to the day he killed Jane’s family and his no problems taunting him about it. Jane then heads over to the cemetery to visit his family’s gravesite, but happens to run into a small girl. The girl comes up to Jane saying “Hello, Patrick” which is odd, since he doesn’t even know this girl. The girl, Haley, continues to talk saying a friend of his brought her here and then drew a red smiley face on her hand. Jane instantly knows that Red John is behind this and as he goes to inspect the marking, but the girl has one last message for Jane- “Have you given up yet?” Creepy!
Jane makes a quick phone call to Lisbon informing them what just transpired. Lisbon and Wainwright both arrive at the crime scene. Wainwright updates Lisbon that Red John apparently lured the girl away from a field trip and the only description they could get was a man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. Lisbon and Wainwright want to question the girl, but when they go to ask her she has no idea what they are talking about. Lisbon immediately knows that Jane has something to do with it and he doesn’t deny it. Jane adamantly states that anyone who has seen Red John has died, so he “wiped” her memory of the encounter to protect her. Not wanting to continue the discussion further Jane quickly changes the subject to the crime investigation at hand, leaving Lisbon and Wainwright incredible frustrated and shocked by his behavior.
Lisbon informs Jane that their victim is Antonio Castro, a broker for RF Victor Offices who has been missing for eleven months. Jane and Lisbon decided to speak to Antonio’s boss, Dennis Victor. Dennis informs them that Antonio was engaged to his niece and Antonio was a well-beloved employee. Dennis along with two other employees, Ian Brightler and Benjamin Marx help answer any questions the CBI has. Benjamin who is Antonio’s direct supervisor tries to cover up his dislike of Antonio, but Jane sees through his façade. Jane questions him about his thoughts on Antonio and even goes as far as suggesting that Dennis and Ian were lying about how well-liked Antonio was. Jane continues his probing, but as he tries to deduce who is lying, but he ends up looking like a fool when he is proven wrong. Jane and Lisbon leave the building, but before Lisbon can say something Jane leaves telling her he will see her tomorrow.
The scene quickly changes to Jane going to a restaurant and drinking his cares away. He returns home drunk with even more alcohol that he recently purchased and decides to look at the case files of Red John he has stashed away. Jane looks over the files and decides to burn each and every one. He continues to drink all the while, even passing out at one point and almost burning down the building. Jane who is nursing a hangover is brought to the CBI, where he is questioned by Lisbon and Wainwright. Jane explains that it is time for him to give up the pursuit on Red John because the only way to stop Red John is for him to stop playing.
Jane decides to move forward with his new outlook by continuing to work on the Antonio Castro case. Lisbon and Jane talk to Antonio’s fiancé who is sleeping with Ian thanks to Jane’s deducing. Thanks to this new piece of evidence Ian is brought in for questioning, he denies at first, but with some motivation supplied by Jane – causing Ian to start hyperventilating and then stealing his inhaler and forcing him to talk before giving it back- Ian confirms his relationship and further goes on to state that after Antonio went missing, he and Dennis found some inconsistencies on his computer eluding to the fact that Antonio had been stealing from the firm prior to his disappearance. Happy with the answer, Jane gives the man back his inhaler and heads off to the cemetery. He convinces the proprietor to lend him an open grave including a coffin for a “police sting,” but as to the reason why well Jane’s eerie smile implies whatever he is up to doesn’t bode well.
Back at the CBI offices, Jane listens on Lisbon and Cho question Dennis and Benjamin on why did they not report the theft in the first place when they uncovered what is going on. Jane’s attention is diverted when Van Pelt asks for help identifying a post it note she found in Antonio’s things, with the numbers “19, 24” written. He recognizes the meaning and goes to talk Benjamin and Dennis. He gets confirmation that the numbers stand for an exclusive club that cater to a very high cliental. To be members people must have a high income and must be invited first to join. He also confirms another suspicion of his that Antonio was about to join shortly before his disappearance. He thanks the two for their help and goes back to talk to the team about what he has learned.
Jane informs the rest that he knows who the killer is and that he convinced Dennis to call an emergency meeting at the club. He has an idea on how to catch the killer, but he needs everyone to follow his lead. He and Lisbon head to the club where he starts to ask people questions, the first is to determine if they are lying while the second is to determine the truth. The last person he gets to is Benjamin, before people start refusing to speak without a lawyer. Jane leaves the room and bumps into Benjamin and he convinces the man to give him a ride in his car in exchange for information who the killer is. Benjamin agrees and true to his word, Jane tells Benjamin that the killer is him. Ben scoffs at the idea, but he explains that Antonio was not the one, who was stealing from the company, but it was him (Ben) and then when Antonio notices the discrepancies he was killed. Ben continues to deny, but when Jane goes on further to state how he lured Antonio away from a fundraiser at the club pretending to be a hazing ritual and describing how he locked Antonio away while he was still alive, Benjamin knows he has been caught.
Benjamin and Jane happen to arrive at the cemetery and Jane being Jane convinces Ben to follow to an open grave and tries to get Ben to confess. Ben of course denies to the very end, but Jane expecting that whacks Ben in the back of the head with a shovel. Ben falls into the grave landing in the coffin and Jane then proceeds to pile the dirty back onto the coffin, thus burring Ben. The following morning Lisbon finds Jane at the cemetery and informs Lisbon of what he did and even shows a video of Ben confessing to the murder while buried in the coffin. Lisbon of course calls the police and ambulance and gets Ben out of there.
Jane is summoned back the CBI where is effectively suspended by Wainwright, but Jane not liking what he hears starts to taunt Wainwright calling him “weak” and a “mamma’s boy, still craving for his mother’s milk.” Wainwright then tries to attack Jane, but is held back by Rigsby. He calms down and decides to change Jane’s suspension into a firing. Jane is no longer welcome back to the CBI and is to leave the premises hereby immediately. Jane complies and heads to elevators, but before the door closes, Lisbon runs to him asking him to let her help him. Jane smiles, calls Lisbon cute and closes the doors thus leaving the CBI for good.
Originally posted on Affairs Magazine
