The Mentalist Season 4 Episode 17 “Cheap Burgundy” Recap
In this week’s episode of The Mentalist, Jane has to solve two murders when he is called to help on a case requested by Agent Darcy, while still trying to Lisbon and his team solves their own case.
The first case deals with murdered victim, Matilda Cruise a woman that had gone missing after agreeing to meet with an online chat-room buddy, but after disappearing for a couple of weeks her body was found near a waste management facility. Her boss, Mr. Filo holds a live a press conference along with the CBI to announce a $10 million reward for any information that leads to the capture of Matilda’s killer. Lisbon gets an urgent call from Wainwright to come back to the office immediately, but Jane wants to stay a bit. Lisbon tries to get him to leave, but instead he chooses to question Mr. Filo during the live press conference. Jane questions Filo about his motives for donating money, when he is known to be a notorious cheapskate. Furthermore, Jane accuses Filo of “putting” up the money, because he knows that he won’t have to pay out because he is the killer. Filo punches Jane in the face right in front of everyone, including the press and Jane just has him arrested.
When Lisbon and Jane arrive back at the CBI, they are met by Agent Wainwright and Agent Darcy who is there to request Jane’s help with a case. Jane accepts the invitation, much to Lisbon’s displeasure because she still needs his help with the ruckus he caused with Filo. Lisbon tries to warn Jane, that Agent Darcy may have an ulterior motive to requesting his help, but Jane says he has it covered. When Jane leaves, Lisbon has to go “make” nice with Mr. Filo, but when she greets him the interrogation room, Filo starts running his mouth calling Lisbon a “bitch” and threatening to sue. Lisbon, who was going to apologize in the beginning quickly scraps that idea and decides to hold Filo for the mandatory forty-eight hours for assaulting Jane and tells her team that within that time limit they will find all the evidence they need to arrest Filo. Lisbon is on a warpath and no one will stand in her way.
Jane and Agent Darcy travel to their crime scene located in a small clearing near the woods in a couple towns over. There they meet Ranger Franklin, the man who found the victim, Katie Bauer. Katie was found with multiple stab wounds in her back, but with seemingly no signs of struggle or anyone defense wounds for that matter. The two decide to meet with the next of kin, which so happens to be the In-laws as her husband is flying back home and her own parents live out of state. The in-laws explain they were watching their grandchild Megan, so that Katie can have a day to herself, but when they came to drop off Megan Katie was nowhere to be found. That’s when they decided to call the cops.
While Darcy continues to question the in-laws Jane meanders through the living all the while listening to the in-laws talking. He starts looking at the home phone, looking up who Katie called earlier and finds the number of her mother-in-law as well as a number for a pizzeria. This gets Jane to inspect the kitchen along with an impressive wine rack when he sees the garbage cans located right outside the door. Jane goes through each, trying to find something that isn’t there. He returns back inside to curious looks and he explains that Katie called for a pizza yet no pizza boxes were found. At this time, Katie’s husband’s Sandy arrives home from his flight. Jane starts questioning Sandy, who seems to be in shock, about his marriage to Katie and more specifically as Katie the person. He doesn’t seem to have an answer, but his mother-in-law tells him to show Jane and Agent Darcy a video clip of Katie singing to their daughter Megan. Jane takes this into consideration and outright tells Darcy in front of everyone that Sandy could be a possible suspect, but they would have to investigate further. He says goodbye leaving Darcy to chase after him and leaving Ranger Franklin to deal with the stunned family.
Back at the CBI, the team gets reports from the Medical Examiner that Matilda was mostly like strangled and as of right now there is no forensic evidence. Lisbon tells her team to figure out a way to link Filo to the mysterious man that Matilda met with. This man supposedly had a hobby of reading Shakespeare, so Lisbon wants them to find a connection to that. At the same time, Darcy and Jane go to the family owned pizzeria that Katie called earlier. There they find Manny and Lila Barca who Jane questions about the order that Katie placed. Manny says that no one delivered a pizza to the residence, but they did receive a call from them, but no one on the other line answered. Manny’s sister Lila starts asking what is going and Manny tells her about the murder. Jane picking up some cues decides to question about their younger brother James who seems to be their main focus.
According to the two, James was in the military, but ever since he came back he changed. His temper rises quickly, has rages and has blackout moments. The two claim that James has nothing to do with the murder, but once they over hear Darcy receiving a phone call that James car was found not too far from Katie’s house they have no idea what to think. Jane tells Darcy they should go back to the crime scene to see if they can find James, because if James left his car there that means there is a good chance he never left the woods. The two start shouting for James and Darcy uses this opportunity to question Jane about Red John, but things quickly take a turn as James appears through the trees covered from head to toe with blood carrying a large knife. Seems like the pair may have caught their killer, but is it really him?
Jane is able to calm down James and they are able to take him back to the station where they question him about the killing. He says that he doesn’t know what happened. He did remember taking pizza to her house, but then nothing up until the point he wakes in the woods next to Katie with blood all over himself. Jane doesn’t seem too sure about the case and decides to call Lisbon to check in and to ask for some advice. Lisbon tells Jane the case isn’t going well and she asks about Darcy, but he easily deflects the question. He tells her that the way to get to Filo is by him always being right. Lisbon takes that into consideration and has Wayne question about him having an interest about Shakespeare, but he quickly shoots that line of questioning down as well as sees through Wayne’s tactic of trying to hypnotize him, which Wayne just fails miserably.
Jane tells Darcy over dinner that he doesn’t believe James is their killer. She isn’t so sure and starts changing conversation back to Red John. Jane agrees to answer and questions she may has, after he gives her a psychic reading from his old act. He reveals about how she was closer to her father, because of her mother’s weakness after the death of her little sister. He explains that she feels like it was her fault even though she didn’t have anything to deal with her sister’s drowning. Jane further goes on to say that it is why she is so persistent in her line of work, because she has no life due to her closing herself off to everyone else and that no matter how hard she tries her sister isn’t coming back. Darcy calls Jane cruel and storms out to the restaurant. Jane notices the ring on the waitress’s hand and he rushes out to Darcy to tell her he knows what has been bugging him about the case, Katie wasn’t wearing her wedding ring when her body was found. Darcy and Jane head back to Katie’s house where Sandy shows them her room, apparently they were sleeping in two different rooms, and Jane finds the ring leading them to the conclusion that Katie was having an affair.
Jane talks to James and asks if Katie and he were having an affair. He says yes and they were together for over six months after the two hit it off when James dropped off a pizza. Jane tells him that he doesn’t believe that he killed Katie, but James isn’t so sure himself. Jane and Darcy go back to Katie’s house where they inform Sandy and his parents, what is going on saying that might have a suspect. He tells Darcy that they need to release James and get a search warrant for his brother Manny instead, but Darcy explains that she isn’t going to play any of his unnecessary games. Darcy and Jane get into an argument when Jane says that he knows the real reason why Darcy brought him on the case. She finally tells the truth it was her to observe Jane and find out if Red John is still alive and whether or not Jane is a disciple of his. Jane comes clean saying that Red John is still alive, but he is not affiliated with Red John at all. Darcy doesn’t believe him and Jane just says prove it.
Jane calls Lisbon after he and Darcy split ways asking for her help, leaving her team to find a way to trap Filo. Jane tells Ranger Franklin that they are letting James go and are pursuing his brother Manny, with the hope Franklin will let this piece of info slip to the right people. At the CBI headquarters the team gets Filo’s DNA off of a water bottle he was drinking and threatens him with a potential match. Filo laughs saying that Matilda’s killer is too smart to leave prints and they have to do better than that to catch him.
Lisbon arrives to where Jane is staying and drives to the pizzeria were the two stake out the building. Lisbon questions Jane about what happened between him and Darcy. Jane explains to Lisbon what happened that just sends her into a panic feeling very afraid for her friend. Jane just disregards the incident for getting back to the job at hand. They seem two people dressed all in black, taking hair from a hair brush and planting it on Manny’s car. Jane and Lisbon tell the offenders to freeze and it happens to be Mr. and Mrs. Baurer, the in-laws. They take them back to the station where they confessed to murdering Katie. They say they knew that Katie was having an affair, but didn’t say anything because they knew that if they did the couple would divorce and her son would have to give Katie half of everything due to California law. So the pair drugged the wine bottle Katie was going to take on her rendezvous with James. When the two passed out because of the drug, they stabbed Katie with the addition of framing James in the process. They release James who seems happy to be out of jail and more importantly happy to have is life back. James thanks the pair and Lisbon and Jane plan to head home.
Back at the CBI, Agent Darcy is meeting with Wainwright and explains that she believes that Jane is a Red John supporter and that she and the FBI will do everything in their power to bring him down. She gives Wainwright the choice to help her out or get caught in the crossfire. He chooses to help bring Jane down. As the Lisbon and Jane arrive the cross paths with Filo who is being released. Filo starts to threaten that he is going to sue, and Jane starts incorrectly quoting Shakespeare that Filo quickly corrects, catching Filo in the lie that he did know Shakespeare after all. Wayne talks him back into the interrogating room to question him this time, with proof of his involvement with Jane looking on happy to be back.
Check out the promo for The Mentalist new episode “The Ruddy Cheeks” airing at a special time and date, Friday March 9 at 9/8c.
Originally the posted on Affairs Magazine
