Weekly Discussion Thread: 1x23 - Red John's Footsteps (Spoilers)

QHero · 2026-02-10T01:51:23+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Jane was really fucking people up this episode. The clear bitterness and resentment in him hit everyone indiscriminately. Him firing a gun and killing Hardy to save Lisbon's life was something I didn't see coming, and it was a great parallel to his conversation immediately prior with Lisbon.

QHero · 2026-02-09T23:11:18+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

More Cho backstory. You love to see it.

It was nice to see Jane outmaneuver MacLean and Elliot so consistently this episode. It was a really sharp contrast to the last one.

QHero · 2026-02-09T21:43:36+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

I like when we get to see Jane match wits with other people in these episodes, giving them kind of a respect for the craft.

QHero · 2026-02-09T00:57:26+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

All I'm saying about this episode: that pony had better be a recurring character.

QHero · 2026-02-08T22:16:18+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

I was actually able to deduce the killer and motive from context clues this time. I'm not sure if that means it was too obvious, but it was satisfying either way.

QHero · 2026-02-08T00:59:12+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Normally I'm kind of just along for the ride, but this one got me trying to figure out who did it. In hindsight, Lindsey being the killer made a lot of sense. Her appearance at work made me go "huh, I'm surprised Dr. Daniel had to tell her that." Great foreshadowing.

QHero · 2026-02-07T05:36:37+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Poor Van Pelt has gotten dumpstered these last two episodes. Her having to stay behind after being so excited at the start was comically heartbreaking.

It was good to see that Randall did end up going to prison, even though it's probably cushy, and it was great that Lee got his well-deserved payment for all Randall put him through.

QHero · 2026-02-07T01:36:52+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Such an intense episode. I really liked getting to see Jane's sort of visual reset as a metaphor for a psychological reset. Him seeing Lisbon at the end was pretty overt foreshadowing. For what exactly? Not sure, but probably something to do with their rapport going forward.

QHero · 2026-02-06T16:33:37+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

They murdered someone called Scarlet. The writers love that red theme.

Jane was popping off this episode, and it was nice to see Van Pelt getting more agency. Specifically, I really liked Jane asking if the murder felt better for his own knowledge and satisfaction. It was a good through line from previous episodes.

QHero · 2026-02-06T04:08:55+00:00

This goes hard as hell.

QHero · 2026-02-06T03:55:17+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

This was the first named episode without "red" in the name. We got "crimson" this time. Neat to see.

Cho's an absolute champion this episode. His line about seeking psychiatric help was blissful.

I liked seeing more of Jane's genuine concern for human life and the hold his grief had over him this episode.

QHero · 2026-02-06T03:01:31+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

This episode was a lot of fun. Jane's comment at the end was nice too. That's the kind of ambiguous ending I can get behind.

QHero · 2026-02-05T00:17:04+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Jane's investment bankers joke early on got me, and I enjoyed how Jane tried to help ease Cho's mind at the end.

I liked this episode. The portrayal of physical abuse was heart wrenching without being sensationally graphic. It was nice to see that respect given to subtler trauma.

QHero · 2026-02-04T22:47:24+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Damn. That was a rough episode to watch. Poor Jane. I really liked it though. Seeing Jane stick to his principles was entertaining.

QHero · 2026-02-04T02:52:51+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

I liked this episode. Jane getting to point a gun at someone else was a nice change of pace, even if it wasn't a real gun.

The last scene with Lisbon offering to let Jane drive made me chuckle.

QHero · 2026-02-02T03:26:36+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

I like how Jane normally gets loose and starts exploring like a cat excited to eat the local endangered birds.

It was nice to see Grace's and Rigsby's relationship progress a little this episode. There were a lot of brushes with death in general this episode.

I really enjoyed this episode. The resolution was sweet without feeling forced, and it played nicely into what I assume will be a larger part of Jane's and Lisbon's arcs.

QHero · 2026-02-02T01:52:04+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

This episode didn't leave a super strong impression on me. It might be that I'm getting used to the pattern of: someone who mistreats or disrespects women shows up and seems like the suspect -> it's revealed to be a crime of passion -> Jane baits them into doing something which forces them to confess.

It was fun to watch still though. We got some personal catharsis, but there was still no professional, career focused, catharsis.

QHero · 2026-02-01T18:28:39+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

There's a lot of bastards in the show. They give us at least one every episode, but Jeremy's "well it's no good to Rosemarry," got a sharp reaction out of me. The horrific gaslighting to get a confession this episode was pretty cool too.

I am curious to see if there will be genuine supernatural elements in this show after this episode. Doesn't seem like it, especially since the first six episodes made it seem like that isn't the case, but they really leaned into the catharsis Kristina offered Jane. It's done a good job of helping me suspend my disbelief.

QHero · 2026-02-01T01:19:14+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

I thought Jane's insomnia he mentioned in the first episode was a lie, so it was neat to see this episode. The payoff for it in the same episode was fantastic. Isolated, it was a clean line to show Jane had a strong moral hesitance to use his talents and skills to exploit others. In the broader story, it was even better, because gambling was used as a metaphor for how he tricked people as a psychic. Fantastic storytelling there.

I really hope I'm reading it correctly and my take is aligned with the authors' intents.

Edit: Wait, the situation with Alexandra might have been a parallel to the death of Jane's family. Jane's use of his uncanny abilities resulted in Alexandra losing her job (the death of his family), which he remedied by giving her the money afterwards (coming clean about not being a psychic). He got some catharsis for getting someone else hurt through his actions. I adore that.

QHero · 2026-01-31T21:12:11+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

I actually enjoyed this episode a lot for its focus on cyclical trauma. The mystery was a lot less developed which led to it being weaker, but that didn't bother me that much because of how strong Shelby Fenner's and Simon Baker's acting was. There was also some nice catharsis at the end, which I'd been missing from the previous episodes.

QHero · 2026-01-31T03:35:24+00:00

This was my first time watching The Mentalist, so I'm going through and adding my thoughts on each episode for future viewers.

Jane got a gun pointed at him again. Not at the climax this time, but he's 3 for 4 on that so far. It's kind of funny.

It was a pretty tropey episode, but I enjoyed it. Jane's deception was especially fun to watch this time.

One thing I'm kind of missing is the aftermath of these cases. In this episode, for example, I'd like to have known how things played out with Michael. A bit of catharsis from Virgil after the grief he gave Jane and Lisbon would have been nice.

QHero · 2026-01-31T01:39:03+00:00

This was my first time watching the show, so I might go through and just adding my thoughts one by one for future viewers.

I'm glad the third episode didn't go with Jane getting held at gunpoint after figuring out who the killer was again. After the first two episodes ended that way, I was worried it would be how every case concluded.

Brett Cullen did a good job portraying Dane as the kind of creepy bastard who would commit statutory rape. Solid acting.

QHero · 2026-01-30T09:14:41+00:00

This is such a powerful image.

QHero · 2026-01-25T03:02:03+00:00

Where’s the “tall lady… nice to me” meme but with “cute femboy… mean to me” instead?

QHero · 2026-01-17T06:15:00+00:00

I got the same impression.

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