Synopsis
CBI serious crimes unit is called to a crime scene near Rancho Murieta Fire Station where hero firefighter Paul Satterfield has been found in the woods nearby with his throat cut. Consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) goes searching for the murder weapon when he is attacked by the perp and drowned in a nearby pond. Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon (Tunney) finds him and paramedics manage to revive him. But when Jane comes to, it turns out that he suffers Dissociative fugue: temporary loss of personal identity.
Concise Verdict
I had tried avoiding as many spoilers as possible over this episode but a few pieces of knowledge managed to make their way into my twitter feed. The first was that Jane would lose his memory, reverting to his old self, and the second was that this episode contained Simon Baker’s favorite Jane/Lisbon scene so far this season.
I gave an inward groan at the first. Regulars know I have little patience with so called “thrilling” Jane-based plot lines and have been begging we go back to more case-based episodes. I was fully prepared to launch into my usual, “enough, we still have over three seasons to go and SLOW THE HECK DOWN ALREADY!” rant. Also, we’ve seen enough of the old Jane this season (via fake psychic reads) to know how he used to be. I didn’t see the necessity for more reminders of “look how much he’s grown” and started despairing that my inner Cynic might have permanently taken over. Fueled largely by the increasingly dramatic episodes this season, he pointed out that nothing screams desperation and a need to impress than excessive drama.
Then I watched this episode.
Due to the generous dose of character moments (I’m a sucker for those) I had to re-watch Fugue in Red several times to make sure my judgment was not being compromised by how much I enjoyed those scenes.
I’m glad to report writer Daniel Cerone had Cynic effectively put a sock in it.
MY GOD WHAT AN AMAZING EPISODE!
Despite the “Jane in distress” plot this was a team episode. We got to learn a lot about how the members of the Serious Crimes unit view Jane and his existence in their lives. Was it gratuitous with all the Jane/Lisbon moments? Sure. Did those moments overshadow the case? *gasp* No! Because those moments were woven so intricately within the episode. The drama was not out of place and most importantly wasn’t used to distract from an otherwise weak episode (a major peeve of mine and a sure way to get a low rating on this blog). Not only was the writing excellent (including a new setting and clever set up) but so much attention was paid to the details. The direction, production and music were all outstanding and the acting was superb. This was a perfect episode in the same vein of ‘Blood and Sand’ and ‘Blinking Red Light’. I’m still concerned that all the thrilling plots are a bit too much for a relatively young show but if Heller et. al. are going to continue with these home runs, who am I to argue? But let it be known that I’m going to be holding this show to the great heights it has achieved. There was, however, a major cop out at the end (we needed about 30 more seconds) so: 9.8/10.
Detailed AKA Humungous Review (spoilers galore)
Before I get into the discussion (the bulk of which will revolve around Jane’s interactions with the team) here are a few interesting facts about Dissociative Fugue:
-It occurs after trauma.
-The person suffering the episode may acquire an entirely new personality, and a new life, disappearing from the places/people/life he or she knows.
-Once the person “wakes up” from their amnesia he/she will not remember anything that happened while they were in the fugue state.
-Dissociative fugue can be recurring if the underlying trauma is not dealt with.
So contrary to what I originally thought, Jane in this episode did not necessarily revert to who he was prior to Red John killing his family; he just as likely could have acquired new personality traits to supplement those he did not remember having.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually appreciate this ambiguity. Whether Jane reverted to his conman self or became a new person didn’t matter to me because the way he acted while under the fugue presented me with two equally pleasant possibilities: Jane always was a good person or at least wanted to become a good person OR Jane’s friendship to Lisbon was so strong he sensed it even while under his fugue. I’ll explain this more later but first let’s see how the team dealt with Jane’s loss of identity.
WAYNE RIGSBY (Owain Yeoman)
Despite being the victim of many of the mentalist’s antics, Wayne Rigsby likes Jane and has spoken up on his behalf more than once. When Jane is forced to quit to investigate a Red John lead on his own (Red John’s Friends) Rigsby tells Lisbon” “It’s not that we need him, he needs us!” In a later episode where Jane again leaves the CBI, this time out of anger because the Red John case was taken away from him, Rigsby uses the opposite approach. He tells Lisbon “No disrespect, but I think we need Jane,” tacitly urging her to bring the consultant back.
So Rigsby’s loyalty and occasional sensitivity has already been established. While there were a few instances where Rigsby was interpreted to not be a team player, his reluctance was explainable either by his inherent respect for rules and/or fear of losing his job.
Rigsby’s regard for Jane is further built upon in this episode. When Lisbon tells the team that Jane is coming back to work, Rigsby, concerned, states “This is crazy he should still be in the hospital” but goes with Lisbon’s instructions when she says that they should act normally around Jane; that he needs to be surrounded by familiarity until he gets his memory back.
But when Jane appears to show an interest in Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) , Rigsby faces a new challenge to dealing with the mentalist that has nothing to do with his dilemma of breaking rules.
Jane shows up in the bullpen and when Van Pelt tells him he gave them a scare, he leans in close and tells her it wasn’t his intention.
It’s interesting that Rigsby immediately glances at Lisbon here (maybe hoping she’d intervene, or just checking to see if she sees what’s happening) before he chimes in to say he’s glad Jane is okay. Jane (intentionally?) calls Wayne “Pigsby” (perhaps to undermine him). Wayne corrects him and Lisbon then turns the discussion back onto the case.
Later Lisbon tells Jane and Rigsby to interview the firemen at the station. When Jane complains that he doubts he’d be useful Rigsby tells him he’s pretty good at picking out suspects mostly by “causing trouble.” Jane asks if Rigsby doesn’t mind the trouble and he replies “We’re a team, we help each other out.”
For his amiability, Rigsby has to then endure Jane’s asking him to help him out with the “luscious redhead” Van Pelt. Jane says since Rigsby and Grace obviously dated and she dumped him maybe Wayne can give him tips on how to “open the cookie jar” to get some “tasty ginger snaps”. Rigsby’s tip is a terse “back off”.
I don’t know what was funnier here, Rigsby’s reaction or Jane’s godawful lewdness but I was laughing so hard in this scene. For the record, I think that, perhaps more than being attracted to Grace, Jane was enjoying messing with Rigsby. I found his subsequent “I thought we were a team” very telling. It could also be that Jane was multi-tasking.
But despite Fugue Jane’s play at Van Pelt, Rigsby remains professional and the two work very well together; Jane ruffling feathers and Rigsby smoothing them over. I have to say watching Baker and Yeoman together was a great treat and I hope to get more scenes in the course of the season.
GRACE VAN PELT (Amanda Righetti)
Grace’s reaction to learning that Jane was coming back to work and that they should behave normally is “I’m not sure how to be normal around Jane.”
-I was very surprised at this line especially since Grace always seemed to be the person who acts most naturally around Jane. She’s the only one who ever bothers arguing with him over non-work related matters, and they seem to have a nice sibling dynamic going on. Jane butts into her business (like he does with Wayne) and she seems to enjoy working with him; willingly going along with his cons. So, yeah, I find Grace’s reaction that she doesn’t know how to act around Jane a bit strange, but it could also be that despite how well they seem to get along, on some level she is wary of him.
Grace (unlike Rigsby) doesn’t notice anything strange about Jane’s attention to her (further support that Jane was indeed just being his normal friendly self with her). She does however seem flattered when Rigsby later mentions that the only reason Jane didn’t con her is because he wants to date her.
-I found her reaction to be realistic and quite amusing, especially coupled with Lisbon’s hilarious facial expression and darting eyes between Rigsby and Van Pelt. It was almost like she’s saying “God, please no more drama between these two.”
But Grace’s pleasure at the idea of Jane’s interest quickly turns into disgust when she sees him in action, conning a woman at a bar, saying that he’s in touch with her dead mother. She tells Lisbon “I hate him”.
-Given the fact that Grace knows Jane is suffering a Fugue state, her intolerance here could be more continuity to her PTSD after having to kill her murderous fiancee Craig. Or that trauma could have nothing to do with her annoyance here as Grace hasn’t always been the most patient woman. As it is, I’m glad that her behavior in this episode was mostly normal; that she seems recovered from her tragedy and has only become slightly tougher from it (i.e. her questioning of the victim’s wife).
KIMBALL CHO (Tim Kang)
Jane is teamed up with Cho to check out Wlicox’s house, the last fire the victim helped put out. When Jane balks at going door to door talking to the neighbors “like a salesman” Cho tells him “You do it all the time. You say it’s one of the more interesting things about being a consultant.” Jane laughs, then tells Cho he’s a clever one, indirectly calling Cho out on trying to manipulate him.
-Cho’s approach to dealing with Fugue Jane is exactly opposite of Rigsby’s. While Rigsby (who usually tries to limit Jane’s chaotic methods) was up front about those methods as part of Jane’s crime solving techniques (despite his disapproval of them) Cho lies to Jane despite his usually being more willing than Rigsby to go along with Jane’s indiscretions.
So Cho’s nonchalance at using Jane’s Fugue state to make his job easier here is very interesting. Perhaps he doesn’t believe that Jane is indeed suffering from memory loss and wanted to test him. Or maybe inwardly Cho always disapproved of Jane’s antics but had been going along with them all this time out of necessity; given the chance to avoid them, he didn’t refuse it. Or maybe the reason had more to do with control as hinted at by Jane’s semantics since he tells Cho “I’ll do your bidding.” We get more clues later.
When Jane goes to Wilcox’s home under the guise of searching for his daughter’s doll, Cho asks Jane what his play is. Jane says it’s to “Bring a ray of hope to a family, I suppose and help my friends solve a crime.”
Cho tells him that he doesn’t buy it, that Jane doesn’t help them because he likes them.
Jane is taken aback by this statement: “I don’t like you?” he asks, confused and perhaps even disturbed.
-This reaction is not surprising as everyone else on the team has been more than friendly with Jane despite his annoying some of them. Cho’s comment on the other hand was blunt, perhaps cruelly so considering Jane’s memory lossand the fact that Jane hadn’t done anything to warrant it with him (up to that point anyway).
Cho elaborates. “You don’t not like us, but you have deeper reasons for helping people. Without those reasons you’re a hustler.”
-And there we have it. The reason Cho had no qualms conning Fugue Jane is because he doesn’t trust him. While Jane had obviously retained his mentalist abilities, in Cho’s opinion, he is bereft of the motivation to use those abilities for good.
Jane tells Cho that he’s wrong about him; he does like them and he wants to find the girl’s doll. When he does Jane takes the opportunity to manipulate Cho. First he fakes regaining part of his memory, getting Cho to reveal that Jane had a family. Jane runs with it “how can I forget my family” garnering enough of Cho’s pity so that he’ll leave him alone (i.e. to collect himself). Once alone, Jane tries cracking the safe in the house before he takes off.
-Personally I think Jane’s flight was a reaction to Cho’s negative assumptions of his character. Perhaps it was Jane’s way of getting back at Cho. Or, Jane could have become fearful of whatever little Cho revealed about his past. This theory is supported by his later telling Lisbon that he wants to leave, start a new life.
In the bullpen, when the team is fretting over losing Jane, Cho tells Lisbon “Look, don’t take this the wrong way but the death of Jane’s family made him a better person.”
-I’d say Cho’s statement was made out of anger at Jane’s actions except it isn’t in his character to do that. When we consider this along with Cho’s earlier remark that Jane without his tragedy is just a hustler, I think it’s safe to assume that Cho doesn’t think much of Jane as a person.
But what isn’t very clear is whether Cho thinks Jane’s quest for revenge is his reason for helping the CBI, or his quest for redemption. As far as we know the only person Jane told for a fact that he will kill RJ is Lisbon. He’d stated to the team that he’s seeking personal revenge but that could have been equated with his catching RJ, not necessarily killing him.
Regardless, even if what Cho said is true, it’s not necessarily relevant in this case. While Jane has retained some aspects of his character, ”Fugue Jane” does not necessarily equal “Jane before Red John”. But Cho isn’t exactly the most sympathetic person so it’s no wonder he didn’t bother with this distinction.
LISBON/JANE
There were oh so many good scenes between Fugue Jane and Lisbon, but for the sake of brevity I’ll only elaborate on the more telling moments.
Intro..
When Jane wakes up in the hospital, in reply to Lisbon’s “It’s good to see you breathing.” He replies “It’s good to see you period,” taking her in. He then asks her if they are sleeping together, explaining at her indignation that it’s the only reason a cop would come to his bedside. Poor Lisbon hopes that he’s putting her on. When it’s clear he’s not she starts telling him about himself, but stops short of explaining why he stopped pretending to be a psychic; that his wife and daughter were murdered.
Lisbon tells the team that Jane needs to be surrounded by a familiar environment and that he needs something to hold onto so they are going to give him that. But despite Lisbon’s contention, instead of having Jane accompany her during the case as is their norm, she lets him go along with the others.
Jane/Lisbon Bench Scene
When Lisbon tells Jane to check the Wilcox home with Cho he tells her “So it’s his turn to babysit me now.” Lisbon answers “Well somebody has to.”
-Notwithstanding the reasonableness of Lisbon’s statement, Jane’s comment does beg the question why Lisbon isn’t the one watching over him. It’s probably just a plot-based decision; a chance to show all the characters reactions to Fugue Jane. It also gives the actors more or less a fair share of screen time (something I’m forever grateful for and wish a continuous effort would be made to do so). But if readers think there is even the slightest chance that Lisbon was actively avoiding Fugue Jane for whatever reason, I’d be very interested in hearing why. I have my own theory, but more on that later…
After Jane recites some of the things he does remember Lisbon remarks that his memory palace is still intact. Jane’s reaction to this statement is one of my favorite this entire season: “I told you about the memory palace?”
-Fugue Jane’s tone and facial expression with this line says it all: he is surprised and intrigued that he apparently trusts this woman enough to share one of his mentalist secrets with her.
For his benefit Lisbon explains: “We’re friends.”
-Again, Jane’s facial expression is that of amiable wonder.
When Lisbon asks him what he remembers about his wedding ring, Jane interprets it as being the best way to gain a woman’s trust. Lisbon is incredulous over this explanation: “So you wear a wedding ring to get over on women.” Jane answers: “worked on you.”
-At this point I think Fugue Jane was trying to lure Lisbon into revealing more about his identity by insinuating that his wedding ring deceived her into trusting him. Or maybe it was his roundabout way of poking to see if his apparent trust for Lisbon is reciprocated. Either way, Jane was fishing for more information regarding their relationship. But Lisbon doesn’t bite, instead turning the conversation onto the case.
Later in response to Cho saying Jane’s loss of his family made him a better person, Lisbon responds that this person was always inside of Jane; that his family’s murder just brought him out. It’s nice to see that Lisbon knows Jane enough to think that he always was a good person. And I’m saying know because in my opinion this became fact ever since episode Throwing Fire when a young Jane was shown crying over having to deceive a dying girl (doing his father’s bidding).
Later, Lisbon defends Jane again, this time from Van Pelt, when the two women find him doing the fake psychic reading in a bar. At Grace’s “I hate him” Lisbon is quick to point out “that’s not him”.
Now, remember when I said I had a theory over why Lisbon was shuffling Jane off onto the others? A possible reason could be that Fugue Jane is such an incorrigible flirt. The man even dared to cop a feel of Lisbon’s behind as they leave the bar. I had a hard time picking my jaw up off the floor after that, though I’m not sure if it was due to his audacity or to the fact that Lisbon didn’t kill him for it. I do have a possible explanation for her patience other than the fact that Jane is obviously not himself. Perhaps she thinks that after being celibate for eight years, and without normal Jane’s inhibitions and issues, Fugue Jane might be finding it a little hard to reign in his libido.
Jane/Lisbon (2nd) Hospital Scene
Lisbon escorts Jane to the hospital. When she tells him she’ll see him in the morning, he tells her not to bother, that he’s done with the detective work. Lisbon is understanding and tells Jane he can stay in the hospital till her recovers his memory, but Fugue Jane has no interest in that. He gleefully tells Lisbon that he plans on calling one of the many women he met to check him out. Frustrated Lisbon states that that she can compel Jane to stay as a witness. At her threat, his mood sobers:
“Why would you do that? You think I can’t see what’s going on here. You people, you’re tiptoeing, you’re dancing around some forgotten tragedy. I’m happy now. Just, just let me be happy.”
Talking about hitting where it hurts. Lisbon, selfless friend that she is, acquiesces to Jane’s request: “Fair enough. Look I’ll miss you but I’ll leave you alone, okay?”
Tunney totally broke my heart here. Lisbon is such a sweetheart, but then that’s nothing new and it seems that Fugue Jane sensed as much.
I have three theories here: Jane, sensing that Lisbon cares about him used that to get her to leave him alone. Or, Jane said the above statement to gauge Lisbon’s feelings for him, to see if she cares enough about him to let him go, either out of curiosity or to indirectly piece the puzzle of his life back together. Or, Jane, wanted to gauge how tragic his life truly by testing Lisbon. If his past is as horrible as he suspects then Lisbon will probably choose to leave him alone rather than risk dredging it up again.
So which is it?
But despite Jane’s request to be left in peace, when Lisbon asks him for parting advice on the case, he angles around to get her to ask him to finish it. First, he tells her he found out who the killer is, asking her if she needs him to spell it out. When she says she does, he then states “I suppose you need me to gift out the killer too”. At this point, Lisbon seems to realize what he’s doing and answers with a smile “You usually do.”
Jane responds that he’ll give her the killer as a parting gift the next morning, bidding her goodnight. Lisbon, pleased, settles in to spend the night in a chair in Jane’s hospital room. To her dismay, Jane points out that there’s room in his bed. Lisbon warily rolls her eyes but doesn’t budge from her seat.
Have I mentioned how much I adore Lisbon?
Jane/Lisbon bullpen goodbye scene
After the case is solved Jane comes to bid the team goodbye brandishing his “responsible adult”: an attractive young woman, Tamarra, on his arm. Lisbon congratulates him on solving the case even though some of the cash was missing. At Jane’s query she elaborates that Wilcox said Jane took the money but that Wilcox probably just hid it. Jane tells her “I’d look for an accomplice that’s a big job to pull off alone.”
-By this statement Jane is once again fishing for an invitation to stick around.
But Lisbon doesn’t seem to get it. She tells Jane that they’ll look for an accomplice and gives him his last paycheck. Jane then bids them farewell and starts to leave but not fast enough to keep Lisbon from noticing a diamond bracelet on his friend’s arm. “That looks real,” she comments in dismay. At this statement Tamarra gives Jane a smooch on the lips, saying that he wasn’t lying (presumably about the bracelet being genuine). Here Lisbon and the others realize that Jane did in fact steal the missing money.
A few points: Jane did not need to come back to CBI and he’s certainly not stupid enough to parade bling bought by the cash he stole there. I posit that Jane wanted to be caught, that he wanted to stay even though he didn’t have his memory back.
Further proof of this is that when Lisbon calls him out on running away, dares him to take a ride with her before he takes off, Jane agrees.
I think Jane wanted Lisbon to help him get his memory back. That he on some level realized she cared about him and that he trusted her enough to want to stick around, to dare face whatever it was she would get him to face because at least she’d be around for when he regains his memory and that it was better to have someone who knows him, that he seemingly trusts than some random stranger.
As to Lisbon, it’s ironic that after telling everyone that Jane needs to regain his memory on his own she is the one who actively forced him to regain it. The scene in the end where she leaves Jane to open the door to his room of terror, the crime scene of his wife and daughter’s murder was heartbreaking. Lisbon’s “I’m sorry” was heartfelt, yet resolute. I can’t help but wonder if her actions here are a result of being affected by Jane’s “greater good” creed, or if this is all her. I imagine she thought it better in the long run. Firstly, so that Jane not be alone when he regains his memory, and perhaps more importantly that she keep this potentially harmful (to himself and others) Jane from being let loose.
I so wish the episode lasted a bit longer so we can see what (if any) other comfort Lisbon would have offered Jane. But as Jane shouldn’t remember anything that happened during his fugue state, I can only assume (hope) that aside from being confused for a while, he’ll be fine (once Lisbon fills him in on what happened).
Best Scenes
Seriously, how can I be expected to choose? The entire episode was one best scene. I will venture a guess as to what was Simon Baker’s favorite Jane/Lisbon interaction: the scene in the hospital in which he tells her to let him be happy. It was my favorite scene, along with the intro, Lisbon crying over Jane, then his regaining consciousness. Other favorites include the hilarious (first) hospital scene, Cho confronting Jane, Rigsby and Jane in the fire station, the ending…see my dilemma? I am curious as to fans’ favorite moments so please let me know in the comments.
Honorable mentions
Karl Sonnenberg: those who do not know him, he is the technical/medical advisor on the show. He’s the one responsible for how realistic Jane’s revival scene was and probably for Simon Baker’s safety as he was acting the drowning scene.
Director Randy Zisk: Aside from the flawless thrilling intro, there were many lovely takes in the episode. The sweeping angled shot of the fire station showing us so much of this great setting was much appreciated. Other shots include moments where Jane is seen from Lisbon’s vantage, especially the last scene of the episode. It conveyed the conflicting idea that while Lisbon is more than willing to look out for Jane, he is ultimately alone in his tragedy; she can only look upon him from afar.
The entire cast was phenomenal. Kang as usual brings a quiet intensity to Cho while Rigsby’s reactions to Jane’s antics were delightful comic relief. Righetti gave a strong performance as well. But by default (due to the nature of the plot) Tunney and Baker stole the show.
Stacy Haiduk I recognized her instantly (its hard not to with those eyes) and was pleased that she was as intense as I expected.
Music: Blake Neely really outdid himself this time. The teaser music of the episode was exciting and blended flawlessly with the intro. The ending was a also real tearjerker. But then there were also tunes in between, especially when the victim’s wife was being questioned. Moody and lovely.
Icings on the Cake
Lisbon and Grace tag teaming to question the victim’s wife.
Finally getting an inkling of how Cho feels about Jane.
Jane’s awkward kiss with Tamarra. It conveyed his inner conflict and how unused he is to exhibiting this particular display of affection, especially to someone he barely knows.
Teach me Please: This is a new category where I’ll place the fun (mostly mentalist) facts we learn on this show. In this episode, aside from the phenomenon of dissociative fugue, we learn how Jane uses anagrams to remember things: Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach is an anagram which represents the order of taxonomy in biology:(Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species). And an anagram on how to spell the word because is: Big elephants can always understand small elephants.
Best Lines
The entire episode was full of great lines, from beginning to end. I mentioned many above but here are some I may have missed.
“It’s good to see you, period.”-Jane to Lisbon.
“Are we sleeping together?” Jane to Lisbon.
“Excuse me?!” Lisbon in response to the above.
“Well you’re a cop, that’s obvious. But you’re not treating me like a suspect and I can’t see any other reason for a police officer to come to my bedside unless we’re, unless we’re sleeping together.” Jane to Lisbon.
“ No. We. Are. Not sleeping…together.” Lisbon’s reading of this line was priceless.
“We’re working towards it though right, so I haven’t missed anything.” Jane!
“Are you putting me on?” Lisbon.
“Jane, I’m not impressed. I told you my mother died when I was a girl.” Lisbon. Wow. Really? I wonder when that happened. My bet is in episode Red Tide, off screen.
“The closest a man should come to touching a fitted sweater is helping a woman out of one.” Jane on fashion.
“Causing trouble mostly.” Rigsby, in answer to Jane on how he recognizes suspects.
“In Atlanta a woman credits her dog Floyd Henry for pulling a cancerous tumor which saved her life. Why do I remember that?” Jane in an aside to Rigsby as he interviews the firemen.
“You said I caused trouble.” Jane, to Rigsby when he receives glares for getting a dog to point to a paramedic as a suspect.
“Yeah, to help the investigation that guys the paramedic that saved your life.” Rigsby, in response to the above.
“We’re friends.” I melted at Lisbon’s simple explanation. Yes they are.
“Adrenaline. Couldn’t get enough of it. Drinking in all that glory, dancing in the fire. How do you compete with the high of being a hero? Everyday, a rush towards a big cliff. I bet getting stabbed was the biggest rush in his life.” Victim’s wife to Lisbon and Grace. Stacy Haiduk was so good. I love how she made her voice break a bit towards the end; belying she did care about her husband despite her bitterness.
“You don’t help us because you like us.” Cho to Jane. Major revelation.
“You don’t not like us. But you have deeper reasons for helping people. Without those reasons you’re a hustler.” See the above.
“Not me.” Grace on not being conned by Jane. Not much to be proud of when he didn’t even try, Grace.
“Really?” in answer to Rigsby saying Jane didn’t con her because he wants to date her. But what I loved about her statement is Tunney’s reaction to it, looking warily between her and Rigsby. So funny.
“Are you gonna make me call back up to get you out of this bar because I will do that, Paddy” Lisbon, to Jane. Awesome Lisbon is back!
“Let me know if you change your mind, or you know, get it back.” See the above.
“Put your game face on cockroach, for the dignity of your family.” Jane to Wilcox.
Conclusion
The responsibility of stating this episode’s possible moral fell on blunt Cho: Jane is a much better due to losing his family (i.e. good can come out of tragedy). This fact is quite true but let us be aware of the limits of this idea. Avid fans may remember Rebecca ( Red John’s lackey and Sam Bosco’s killer) said as much to Jane when she justified Red John’s actions to him; that he was creating light out of darkness (or something to that effect) in episode ‘His Right Red Hand’. Personally, I’m more inclined to go with Lisbon’s statement. That Jane always was a good person. Aside from the evidence in ‘Throwing fire’ we’ve had more support in this episode:
-Jane told Rigsby that he owed him 60 bucks. True, he wasn’t honest about the amount but perhaps he was just rounding down. What’s important is he admitted to owing him money.
-Jane did get the doll for the perp’s daughter.
-Jane called the perp a cockroach, showing his derision at the man for throwing away his life with his family.
-My theory that Jane only stole the cash from Wilcox because he wanted Lisbon to catch him with the money; to keep him from going anywhere.
That laughing you hear is Cynic; please ignore him.
And speaking of morals, Chizuruchibi has another very important moral from this episode:
Image by Chizuru-chibi. Copyright Reviewbrain December, 2011. Not to be used without permission.
Not only that, but if I were Lisbon, I’d be paranoid to ever let Jane out of my sight from now on…
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December 23rd, 2011 at 2:06 am
Thanks very much. This is a really great analysis. One small note.. I thought that Jane called Rigsby ‘Bigsby’, not ‘Pigsby’. I thought Bigsby was quite clever because of Wayne’s size.
I’m with you. I enjoyed this episode very much, and have found myself replaying my favorite scenes. The post bar scene in the hospital is my favorite. This episode epitomizes the strength of the Mentalist. It can be simultaneously serious and amusing, and gives me so much food for thought. And of course, I love the deepening closeness between Lisbon and Jane.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 3:50 am
You know, I have to tell you, I really enjoy this blog and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing and very informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted, Ive spent most of my time here just lurking and reading, but today for some reason I just felt compelled to say this.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 5:18 am
Absolutely not true in all cases that “Once the person “wakes up” from their amnesia he/she will not remember anything that happened while they were in the fugue state.” I know, because it happened to me when I was a youngster, after a similar loss. In my case there was zero memory, to the point of drawing a blank when looking in the mirror. When my memory came back, I could recall every minute of that suspended state, from the initial alarm and distress at feeling untethered to the exquisite clarity and exhilaration that came with being free of judgments, preferences, opinions…of self. That experience not only remained vivid, it’s informed my whole life.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 6:22 am
Thanks for a wonderful review and I appreciate you taking the time, especially at this time of year! I can see I am going to be with the majority because my favourite scene was the second hospital scene. First because how good did Simon Baker look in just the shirt.:) and second we got a glimpse of what it must be like to be Jane.
When I read about the fact that the team have to decided whether or not to tell Jane about his tragedy or to let him have happiness, I expected it to be done in the team and so the fact that it was Jane that spoke about the tragedy and asked to be allowed to be happy was an unexpected peace of brilliance.
t showed us how nothing is hid from Jane, he reads everything even if he doesn’t always understand it. Jane not only knew that a tragedy occurred but that he was still in pain about it. I’m not sure if he learnt that from reading the team or from his own feelings – probably a bit of both.
I think that also part of Jane wanted to run away but also part of him didn’t as shown by the fact that he went with Lisbon.
I loved this episode, I loved watching con man Jane, I think it showed us how much he had reigned himself in. It was good that they showed him doing something good as he didn’t have to bring the doll after he had used it as a ruse. I also don’t want to give the tragedy all the credit for this as that would be crediting Red John, I have also had in the back of my mind what Rebecca said.
I thought the drowning scene was well played and well directed, that we only saw Simon from the back whenever he was out of the water, just being able to watch his arm flaying trying to fight for his life was a heartwrenching. Also thought the resuscitation scene was well done too.
I thought the cold read of Lisbon was very clever, using the white light angle after seeing the cross and taking a shot of her being religious, plus it got her attention at the thought that he might be relating a near death experience (at first).
I enjoyed the interactions with the team and also thought Grace’s response interesting. I think she can be a bit wary of him and may have also been because she doesn’t like the idea of nothing being hid from Jane. I thought Cho trying to use his fugue state to mess with him very funny. I can understand what Cho said about how Jane feels about them as Jane did spend most of Season 3 away from them and he has seen Jane use and manipulate people constantly. But I think Jane likes them.
I thought all of the Jane/Lisbon scenes were excellent and I find it interesting how they have moved this relationship along this season and I would not be surprised at a falling out somewhere along the way to slow things down a little.
This episode has joined my favourites list.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 9:11 am
Thank you for taking the time to share your own experience. I was merely pointing out some “facts” I found in the Internet in an attempt to see where the writers might be going with the storyline. For example, if most people don’t remember what happened during their fugue state, then I suspect this frees the writers from having to refer to the episode in the future. On the other hand, the fact that in some cass the patient can have recurrent fugue if the underlying trauma (i.e. Jane’s grief) is not addressed this opens an opportunity that, should they want to, the writers can make him experience the dissociative fugue state again. Again, I was simply pointing out some symptoms I found online in an effort to infer what may happen next episode. I for one would be thrilled if Jane did remember what happened. Could make for even more great character moments. Sadly, I just don’t see that happening; that have to leave something for the rest of the season 😉
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December 23rd, 2011 at 9:13 am
Bigsby would be very clever indeed. Perhaps I misheard it…thanks is for sharing!
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December 23rd, 2011 at 9:19 am
Despite how painful it may be to credit RJ with Jane’s change that’s not the reason why I don’t thi k it’s true. I dont think there is anything shameful in changing for the better, no matter how horrible the circumstances. I just honestly believe that Jane had already been on his way to redemption from the con. He had a loving wife and daughter, and he had already been trying to help the police catch the killer. It could be argued that he was simply doing it for the rush, fame and/or money but based on ‘throwing fire’ I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he was trying to balance the bad with some good in his life. Given enough time, who is to say he wouldn’t have quit the psychic business on his own.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 9:47 am
I was waiting for this review 😉
Loved reading it, so much!
I was a bit worried about this episode, because dealing with Jane’s past is not easy, especially making him loose the memories of his past. I can’t imagine Jane living without the memory of his wife and child, even if that memory is inevitably related to their murder. But surely he has lots of sweet memories about them, so I just can’t imagine Jane go on without those memories.
The thing that surprised me the most was Cho’s reaction. I couldn’t avoid thinking about what Rebecca said when Cho mentioned that his tragedy made him a better person. I didn’t like that comment. Especially if we remember that Jane helped Cho back in S2, he was by his side the whole time. Especially if I think the touch on Jane’s shoulder from Cho when the interview with Rebecca was over. I thought Cho understood Jane more than this.
I think that Jane cares about the team, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to explain the fact that he was ready to die with Lisbon when she had a bomb on her, that he killed a RJ friend to save her life, that he helped Cho, that he gave some good advices both to Rigs and VP since S1.
Jane cares about them (tho maybe on different levels), they are the only people who manage to stick around him. But his wife and child come first. That’s it, and if he has to leave them behind to avenge his family he will do that. But if he has to risk his life to protect some of them, being in the situation, he would do that as well. There are priorities in life, and for now, his family is still his priority.
Cho should understand that anyway. When Elise was attacked in S2, we saw his rage and his desire to catch the people who did that. And he agreed to go along with Jane’s plan in S3 finale. So I found Cho a lil contadictory in this episode.
My favourite scene was the last one. I had shivers when I saw that Charlotte’s tricycle was still there. It was heartbreaking, and in a way also a bit eerie if I may say so. It was a “nice” touch…
The acting, the light, the music. Everything was perfect in that scene. I also liked that it ended so fast. There was really nothing else to show. And so everyone can imagine what eventually happened after.
I agree that Jane wanted to be brought back to his memories in the end.
And anyway, you’re really happy when given all the options, you decide that what you have makes you happy, not because you don’t remember. Avoiding the truth is just a placebo. Jane was happy in that very moment, but what about when he would have regained his memories? Waiking up one day next to a woman who means nothing to him, remembering his family that he sort of left behind, and knowing also that his friends didn’t do a thing to stop him?
I think Lisbon did what she needed to do. It was terrible, and Jane had to suffer that moment again, but it had to be done.
Was it also a selfish act from Lisbon? Maybe. She surely wanted the Jane she learned to know back. The Jane that doesen’t steal money, but instead give the money he wins over poker to a girl who needed them to save her mom (and then feels good about it) (S1- Red Handed).
She is surely not in the position to choose which kind of life Jane should live, but then again Jane’s life isn’t normal. And for the reasons stated above, I’m sure Jane wouldn’t have wanted to live a life without the memory of the people he loved the most. I’m sure of that.
And between, wasn’t it Jane who made Lisbon believe that she was going to die in S2, just because he thought that could have helped her after? Wasn’t it selfish to assume what was best for Lisbon that time?
So they both took debatable decisions for one another.
Second favourite scene was the intro, the rescue scene. I loved the parallel of Lisbon touching her cross as she did when Bosco was rescued after being shot by Rebecca, She did the exact same thing. It’s so heartbreaking and sweet the way she did that, especially since we know that cross was her mom’s, it’s like asking her and Someone else’s help.
I also liked the hospital scene, but I somehow felt sorry for Lisbon the whole time. I think she has a quite considerable crush on Jane. The way she looked at him initially, when she still didn’t understand that he didn’t know who she was. The way she looked at him when he gestured to come closer. I felt sorry for her because of the constant flirty attitude Jane had with her during the episode, teasing her. And I wanted to hug her so bad when she sat down on that chair to stay with Jane.
Unrequited (for now, then who knows) feelings aren’t nice to deal with.
At least that’s my take on those scenes.
I also loved the mention of the memory palace, and all the scenes between Rigs and Jane.
I’m really looking forward to the new episode after the Holidays’ hiatus. I hope the matter won’t be dropped completely.
And I also completely agree with the moral of the story: never lend Jane a flashlight anymore, especially never let him wander around in the dark alone anymore. 😛
Can I also say how much I loved the Knight/Lisbon saving the damsel-in-distress/Jane parallel in the rescue scene? I totally love the opposite gender characterisation when it comes to Jane and Lisbon. 🙂
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December 23rd, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Aaaaah, I`ve been waiting for this post! Thank you!
So, first of all: I LOVED this episode. My god, was it A-MA-ZING!!!
Okay, now that that`s out in the open, I need to state my own theory of why Jane wanted Lisbon to “Just let him be happy”.
Watching that scene I had a feeling like he was really scared, if not downright panicked – probably because he already knew that something was very very wrong (as Lisbon pointed out later in the bullpen) and he didn`t want to deal with that. He didn`t want his memory back, scared to think of what he might be blocking out.
I think this is evidenced by the fact that although Jane does use Cho`s comment on his family to con Cho, he did not actually give it any further thought. The Jane we know would have put his wedding ring and the comment about family together and he`d have concluded that there´s some sort of tragedy involving a family he doesn`t even remember. But even in the end, he very much tried NOT to remember. Lisbon noticed and thus called him out on “running away” because he can`t deal with what he`s feeling. Of course Jane could never resist a dare, so he had to go with her – he probably didn`t think she`d find a way to make him regain his memory.
Oh, and I totally agree with you: We definitely needed another 30 seconds at the end! Or maybe a minute. Anything at all would do. Maybe we`ll get a reference to that scene in the next episode?
About Cho`s comment that the murder of his family made Jane a better person: Wrong.
Cho conveniently forgot that Jane did not only forget the murder, but also his family.
Angela`s brother stated in Season 3 that she was “the only good, honest thing” in his life – and probably Jane`s, too. Her influence – and their daughter – most likely already made Jane a better man. However, I think there has always been a good part in him, just like you said. If he had never met Angela, though, and never lived through such a tragedy, I think he would have turned out exactly the way we saw him behave in this episode, probably due to his father`s bad influence.
Favorite scenes:
– Jane grabbing Lisbon`s ass. I was HOWLING with laughter.
– Jane and Lisbon in the hospital (both scenes) for the same reason as above
– Jane and Lisbon on the bench. “We`re friends” AWWWWWWWWWWW!
– Lisbon taking Jane to see his house … the look on her face was heartbreaking.
– Jane commenting on the robbery case in the bullpen, instead of the murder, and complaining about the robber`s fashion sense (HAHA!)
– Jane asking Rigsby for advice on how to get it on with VanPelt. Priceless!
– Lisbon`s “NO!” when she saw Jane in the water and her crying over him. Lisbon. CRYING! Over Jane! Oh My God! ♥
Okay, I give up. The whole episode was a blast =)
Honorable mentions to Cho for trying to mess with Jane and manipulate him. I don`t think he really has a problem with Jane – only with the Jane we got to see in this episode. Cho and Jane actually appear to be friends to me, especially since Cho is usually the one most willing to go along with Jane`s crazy schemes.
Also, may I just say how absolutely heartbreaking it was to see that although Jane`s house is completely empty, his daughter`s bike is still there? He probably didn`t have the heart to put it away. *sniffs*
Now, I want to wish you a merry Christmas/Hannukkah/enter holiday of your choice here and a happy new year.
Also, as always: Thank you for this great blog post!
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December 23rd, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I also did a bit of reading up on dissociative fugues, as there were a number of fan fic stories going with the “won’t remember what happened during the fugue idea” and that goes against what little I do know about the psychology and biology of memory formation. What I found was that it is not the same for every one. Some remember what happened during the fugue, some remember nothing (or vague things like smells, or simple actions), and some will remember much of what happened but not the the trauma that induced it. I have the impression that the third option is most common.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 3:45 pm
First thing is:
“Nothing says ‘nothing’s going on here’ like courtship rituals from the 1950s.”
“Oh, yeah. And the next episode, we should totally have him invite her to cuddle up in bed with him. Bonus points for working a good grope in there somewhere.”
“Definitely. Those shippers will be so disappointed with such definitive evidence that Jane and Lisbon’s relationship is completely platonic, perfectly sibling-like!”
“Uh, guys? If my brother looked at me like that, I’d want to move to another continent.”
“Hush, woman, what do you know? You probably shipped Aragorn and Arwen in “The Lord of the Rings”.
“Err, didn’t Aragorn and Arwen actually get married at the end?”
*I swear this is the only RPF I have ever written.*
Second thing: Tricycle by the window/patio doors in Jane’s house? Too small for the little girl playing the piano in that memory flashback in season 1. My pet theory is that and the single mattress in the bedroom were in a storage shed or closet when Jane hired a moving company to clear out everything in the house. Kinda makes it even more heartbreaking.
Third thing: I can’t for the life of me make up my mind which of Jane and Lisbon’s scenes together is my favorite. “I told you about the memory palace?” “Are you gonna make me call back up to get you out of this bar because I will do that, Paddy.” “But we’re working toward it, right?” Yup. Nothing going on there.
“There’s plenty of room up here,” is the stuff of which fanfic is made. I can think of at least three whose authors are now saying, “See? It’s like they read my mind. Or at least my story.”
Maybe I shouldn’t keep going on about this, though. The Powers That Be might decide they must punish me for being a taunting taunter.
But seriously, there was groping. It’s not nice when it happens in real life, but Jane. Grabbed. Lisbon’s. Butt. That will never not be funny.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Lol!!! Feel free to write RPF’s here anytime. I admit one of the reasons it took me so long to acknowledge my love for this episode was all the J/L moments. I’ll admit to being a closeted shipper (oops) but then I enjoyed when Jane got with Kristina (mostly cause it was doomed) and Lisbon got with Mashburn (cause, Mashburn!)
So I don’t know if I actually qualify as a shipper or not…anyway..yeah. All those moments you mentioned seemed to come straight out of a J/L fanatic’s fantasy that I couldn’t believe it. Felt like I was being toyed with by the writers. But then if Jane won’t in fact remember any of this (as some real life case studies suggest) then why not go all out? that’s why this episode was clever fun 🙂
And yes Jane grabbin Lisbon was hilarious. What I would give to see the look on Jane’s face if he ever finds out he did that…
About the tricycle, you ate right, piano Charlotte does seem too big for one, but I just remembered that it was in the pilot episode as well; Jane moved it out of the way before he went upstairs to find his family killed. Maybe his daughter never learned to ride a bike?
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December 23rd, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Hello Reviewbrain,
Thank you so much. I’ve enjoyed every minute of reading this review. A few thoughts I’d liked to share:
1) I like how the show started with Lisbon’s emotions and ended with Jane’s. (Nothing wrong with Lisbon triggering Jane’s memories at the end. Jane will have to eat his words from the “Sundae Scene” Redshirt episode though. His wife and child would want him to remember.)
2) ‘Creme-de la-creme’ Scene: Im with you being the whole episode on big winning scene. Jane WAS trying to make the team tell him his memories. And bringing that Lady in Red, Tamarra (which has a fleeting resemblance to Lisbon) was a desperate move. I find it a rare scene seeing Jane (fugue or not) so ‘bradishing-diamonds-and-exiting-the other longer-way-to-elevator-prior-to-his-entrance” desperate.
Great Reviews 🙂
P/s: The title has a fun yet dark play of words. Fugue, are also known as a classical composition technique.
The most famous fugue composer is J. S Bach.
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December 23rd, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Great review ! I couldn’t wait to read you and I wasn’t disappointed !!!! 🙂
First of all, Cho wasn’t as cruel as he seemed: he didn’t tell Jane that they weren’t friends or that he himself didn’t like the consultant. He merely pointed out that he knew Jane usually had a hidden agenda when helping out others. That’s in fact the same stance that Lisbon had during two whole seasons when she admitted not trusting him. Remember her surprise when she realised that Jane was genuinely trying to help her when she was suspended by Hightower (in the crate)? Or the scene with the trust fall? Now, we viewers are aware that there is more to him than just that manipulative side, but how to blame Cho when Lisbon herself only came to trust Jane progressively? I mean, Cho didn’t say that there wasn’t any friendship at all between them, just that he knew Jane had no qualms in using them. And he’s right, even more when the man doesn’t remember them at all. Would you believe a professional liar when he tells you he likes you even if he isn’t even able to remember correctly your name?
What was more telling somehow was the reference to the memory palace. Lisbon stated that he told her about it because she’s his friend. In fact, he explained it to the whole team while playing poker in the casino episode, just after giving them expensive gifts. That means by Lisbon’s logic that they’re all his friends. If we want more proof that he likes them there is another indirect detail: Jane never hesitated to steal, but in his normal state, he shares with his team (the expensive wine in ‘Red Scare’, the jewellery he bought with the money he won in the casino, he even tried to convince Rigsby to keep that diamond he lost in the bullpen and put it in Grace’s pocket as if it was a gift from Wayne…)
Second point: RJ’s crime indeed made Jane a better man. That’s sad, but true. The murder of his family redefined his word, his personality as well as his priorities. He no longer cares about fame and money. Before that, he was closer to Wainwright’s “clinical psychopath”: “superficial charm”, “greed”, “sense of self-worth”, “cunning and manipulative”, “poor behaviour controls”, “refuses to take responsibility for his own actions”… Huh huh. He was particularly cunning with the girl in that red dress: she was his ticket to exit the hospital, he was planning to use her sexually, and he used her also to hide the stolen money. The plan was to parade with his bad acquired wealth in front of the investigators while he thought they couldn’t prove anything… And you’re right, that’s terribly ambiguous, because it could be a way of subtly mocking them, since to hide something in plain view is very clever (or so told Poe’s Dupin at least), but, at the same time, we can interpret that as him wanting to be caught.
That’s why I’m convinced Lisbon wasn’t selfish when she drove Jane to his house. It was certainly what he would have wanted in his normal state but, more than that, I think that was really the trigger for Lisbon was the seemingly innocent “there are doors that are better left unopened” he casually told in the bullpen just before leaving with his brunette. Because she knew exactly what that not so metaphorical memory door hid: there *really* was a door in his past that changed his life when he opened it, so Jane was letting slip that he knew there was something highly disturbing precisely behind that door. He was somehow asking Lisbon to help him here: she only helped him find what door it was and, when he saw it, she didn’t even have to tell him what to do. He slowly walked to it and opened. I think that’s the point that shows the better your theory that Jane was indeed trying to regain his identity.
Another thing I found delightful, amusing and enlightening is the way Jane’s seduction. Some time ago, he was betting with Rigsby that he could seduce any woman and he told him that the key to seduction was “love and affection”. And what does he do here? He uses exactly that method, but in the most fake way ever: he uses comfort (the psychic stuff at the bar); he puts off a reassuring persona (the wedding band); expensive gifts (the bracelet). However, it was hilarious how much it contrasted with his real thoughts on the matter! That’s showed in the worst possible and funniest way every time, because let’s face it, you don’t usually make jokes about helping a woman out of a her clothes in front of two women you’re trying to hit on… And asking ex-lover advice about going out with the girl who dumped him? Awkward, ironic and irresistible!
Now, it was interesting that he seemed even more persistent (although unsuccessful) with our dear Lisbon, since he used every trick with her, trying to worm his way into her favours at every occasion. First, Jane the charmer isn’t bothered by not remembering how he ended up half drowned at the hospital. No, his very first reaction when seeing some unfamiliar visitor is to hit on her. He uses smiles and flattery (she’s “memorable” indeed). He’s being direct: they may have not been sleeping together but he’s not opposed to the idea.
Second phase: the direct method failed. But do not worry, he’s full of resource: he puts on his psychic mask. You couldn’t charm her? Try to build her trust in you by impressing her by your gift. And try again (“Teresa” screams of trying to get closer). And again (because he was so not still trying to impress her with his anagrams, right?).
Then, Lisbon stresses her power on him. I don’t know if he’s pleased by this new side of her or if he tries to get the upper hand (or if he has drunk a little too much beer) but he suddenly becomes more physical. So, yeah, favourite scene : the groping. Definitely. Hilarious. That’s really as if he used every trick in his repertory with her in a parody of the trust vs power arc you defined for last season.
Now, either that is a testimony of his instinctive trust in her, or Windsparrow is right and there’s definitely something deeper, but what’s still obvious is that he’s never going to live it down! No way some of the guys don’t make any comment. Even Grace saw him at the bar. He’d better brace himself. 😉
(On a side note, to complete Zee’s remark, “fugue” also refers in French to running away. I guess that’s the meaning of the Disociative Fugue, you basically run away from your trauma. Fortunately Lisbon was here!)
Enjoy the holiday, everyone!
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December 23rd, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Hello,
I discovered your blog a few weeks ago and I must say that I really enjoy your reviews. I haven’t read them all (not yet) but so far, I have found them pleasant 🙂 To be honest, I’m not going to write long and complete replies (but I enjoy reading others’ comments as well) and to be REALLY honest, I haven’t seen season 4 yet as it will be broadcast in my country next year (grrr I definitely think I won’t be able to wait until then). I know I should not read the reviews before seeing the episodes but I just can’t resist, I have to know what happens and I don’t mind the spoilers. That’s why I just want to know something about the ending of that episode : after the “kiss” scene (which I’ll probably hate when I see it), does jane leave with that woman or does lisbon call him back and directly takes him to his house (which would mean that the woman is left alone) ? In one word : does anything happen between jane and the woman after the “kiss” ? Ok, I know it’s a stupid question and it’s only because I do not want anything to happen, LoL . What I want to know is not really clearly mentioned in every review I read nor in comments about that episode.
Thanks for your reviews and sorry for the mistakes (I’m French) :). Happy holidays and merry Christmas 🙂
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December 24th, 2011 at 6:46 am
The difference between Cho here and Lisbon in S1 &2 is that Lisbon had a reason to mistrust Jane: he told her straight out he plans on committing murder. Also, as a woman and his boss I expect she has other reasons not to trust Jane; mostly because he tries to charm her into allowing him to do things
she disapproves on cases. That’s not exactly a problem Cho faces as he’s not the one responsible for Jane.
My statement that Cho’s words are a bit cruel is based on the fact that at this point Jane doesn’t even know who he is. Cho was using his inside knowledge on Jane’s (forgotten) personality to get him to tell him why they were at the house. Jane usually likes to investigate things on his own and only reveals all the end so I don’t think he was lying when he said “help my friends”. He only duped Cho and took off after Cho mentioned his family which I honestly believe was a flight response and I direct result of Cho; first with his antagonizing Jane, then with mentioning Jane’s family.
I have no words for how much I loved this scene. I totally respect Cho for his honesty, I just don’t agree with what he did.
I am also intrigued by the possibility that it could mean that Cho doesn’t approve of (this) Jane although he doesn’t even know him. This doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t like him.
And we’ll have to agree to disagree on Jane prior to RJ. Jane may not care about money now but one could argue its because he no longer has anyone to provide for other than himself. He still gets his fame/ego boosts via helping out at the CBI, he still cons people. The only thing that has changed (that we know of) after his family was killed is that he is no longer making money as a psychic. He had already started working with the police before his family was killed and we know his wife was pushing him to leave the psychic biz so he must have at least considered it.
Again, that is not to say tragedy doesn’t affect people for the better. I’ve experienced this first hand. I just don’t think that is shat happened here. If Jane is a better version of himself, it is *in spite* of RJ, not because of him.
“he was planning to use her sexually and to hide the money.”
I think the fact that Tamara was surprised the bracelet Jane got her was real is very good evidence that she knows nothing about the money.
And I doubt she would have checked Jane out of the hospital if she hadn’t been interested in “using” Jane sexually herself.
I completely missed the door metaphor so thanks for pointing that out, and you are right. It does support my theory that Jane wanted Lisbon to help him remember, despite how terrible he knew that memory probably was.
As to Jane’s awkward statement, I think that was his usual method of saying outrageous things to gauge people’s personalities based on their reactions. But instead of using this on suspects he was doing it to know the team.
As to his efforts with Lisbon, as an unbiased reviewer I am going to decline to comment on whether Jane was trying to woo “Teresa” or not. I am smiling though 🙂
I am however interested to know how those who think Jane was actively pursuing Lisbon here would explain his statement that he wanted Grace.
Finally, I totally agree Lisbon wasn’t selfish when she took Jane to his house. I can’t see how anyone would think that. It is very interesting though, that she knew the face was still there. I wonder when she’s been to Jane’s house before…
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December 24th, 2011 at 6:48 am
I think Jane leaves immediately with Lisbon afterwards. Glad you like the blog, and don’t worry, your English is great 🙂
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December 24th, 2011 at 6:55 am
Wow… so many hidden meanings o the Episode title. Wonder if it’s the intent of the writers or we are reading too much into things :D.
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December 24th, 2011 at 7:52 am
My remark about Jane no more being after money is not only based on the fact that he left the psychic field : there’s a little of that of course, but what I really meant was that it was symptomatic of a deeper change in him. It’s his whole perspective and way to treat people that have been affected. He doesn’t try to con them anymore for purely selfish reasons (their cash), he may still con them but it’s mainly to get the truth out of them and occasionally to protect himself. I really think that his perspective has changed: he doesn’t try to make money not only “because he no longer has anyone to provide for other than himself” , it’s been clear since some time now that he simply doesn’t care anymore for things like money, a classy house, etc…
And I don’t think RJ made him a better person: it was the murder, not RJ, and even so you’re right and it was certainly not the consequence RJ was after. Jane managed to survive the grief and to find a new reason for living because he has a strength RJ was not counting on. RJ’s goal was to crush the little “worm”, not to make him a haunted butterfly. THAT was Rebecca wanting to believe in her idol, rationalizing after hand an unexpected consequence. But the fact remains that, although it was not the programmed consequence, it happened: Jane is a better person, because he doesn’t care for money anymore, because he’s gained from his own loss an empathy with people (or at least he doesn’t repress it anymore). And Lisbon (and to a lesser extent the team) are also certainly responsible for that new maturity too.
And Jane having considered leaving the psychic business is on my humble opinion very improbable: Angela may have pushing him to do so, but he went on TV to cold read people, he helped the police as a psychic. Where do you see him leaving the stuff? Man, he was just expanding his business, diversifying his activities! He wanted to widen his cover and more fame/ costumers. Police work was probably just a bust to his ego and a mean to gain legitimacy!
About Jane “sexually” using Tamarra, you’re right, she was using him as well! It was a give and take (or better said a take and take from both parts). And of course, she knew nothing about the money, or about Jane for that matter… But Jane used her to smuggle the money out. He was certainly planning to take the bracelet back after he dumped her (the morning after).
Jane wanting Grace? Jane wanted every woman he came close to! Guess he even begun to woo them at the hospital! He was in a frenzy, couldn’t take his mind off the gutter around a pretty girl, and Grace is definitely one! No wonder he tried to hit on her, that was to expect. But what was more intriguing is that he seemed more insistent with Lisbon: he wasn’t able to have any conversation with her without at least a comment, even after he told her to let him leave. After the first meeting, he didn’t even bother to hide that he wanted to get in her pants.That was unexpected.
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December 24th, 2011 at 8:48 am
Thanks for another insightful and interesting review. I loved this episode! It was so funny. I just want to comment on the fact that it seemed so funny that Jane ( Even though it was Fugue Jane), asked Rigsby for advice on how to date Van Pelt, poor Rigsby was so uncomfortable. The idea of Van Pelt and Jane on a date is just so far-fetched and laughable to me. In all honesty it’s not that far fetched to picture Jane and Lisbon in a relationship at the end of the series, because they do banter quite a bit and he does occasionally flirt with her. I don’t really like fugue Jane compared to normal Jane, because I think normal Jane is a better person.
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December 24th, 2011 at 10:36 am
All the ‘evidence’ is circumstantial and there is simply no way of knowing why Jane started working with the police, or that he knew he’d be interviewed for doing so. I’m not saying you’re wrong, just pointing out that there are other interpretations. As to Tamarra, there is simply nothing to suggest Jane was using her to hide money she knew nothing about.
Like I said, agree to disagree 😉
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December 24th, 2011 at 10:38 am
Thank you zee for your input. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought of number two 🙂
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December 24th, 2011 at 10:51 am
I’ve missed you 🙂 I totally agree with your tale of Angela’s influence; in fact I’d go as far as to say that her goodness might have been what attracted hom to her in the first place. O find your comment that Jane was afraid to know interesting especially coupled with his little methods of trying to gather clues. It’s like he wanted a general idea but didn’t want to know the truth outright in case it was terrible. I’m inclined to think that he did think Lisbon could get him to stay, that on some level he wanted her to make him remember.
As to Cho, you are right, he was wrong about Jane but like I said, Cho isn’t the most sympathetic person and usually doesn’t bother giving people the benefit of the doubt or even finding their motivations (blood in blood out, rhapsody in red, and pink tops). I think his cynicism is a result of his background as an ex-gang member so it goes with his character. Plus it’s part of what makes him so cool 🙂
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December 24th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Jane the blond damsel in distress and Lisbon the dark night is always hilarious, I adore it too 🙂 as to Cho, I think his mistrust here was towards “fugue” Jane who isn’t necessarily the same as normal Jane, the one he cares about. But you are right; Im just chalking it up to his bluntness. Lisbon having a crush on Jane…hmm. If she does have one that would make Jane’s flirtation painful. I never thought she had one. But it might be a result of their closer bond this season. I just like to think that they are two friends who care a lot about each other…for now 😉 and I don’t think anyone can call Lisbon making Jane regain his memory selfish. If she had done it for herself she wouldn’t have agreed to leave him alone earlier. She only did that when she saw that he stole the money; she was keeping him out of potentially falling into bigger trouble.
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December 24th, 2011 at 11:17 am
Thanks for your comment Julie 🙂
I too like how the relationship progressing, but I’m also wary of it. It seems too goo to be true and I’m waitingbfornthe other shoe to drop there (via FBI agent Darcy and/or Red John)…
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December 24th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
As always, a great review that generates an interesting extended discussion. I almost always squeeze in time to read, but rarely to respond.
A couple things on this episode: Violet is right about the fugue = flight. The med/psych websites indicate that the PRIMARY symptom distinguishing dissociative fugue from dissociative amnesia is sudden, unexpected disappearance/travel away from home/work/customary places resulting from the loss of identity. Jane’s fugue couldn’t start this way because he was unconscious, then hospitalized. I wondered about the “baby-sitting” and needing “the signature of a responsible adult” to be released. When I looked up fugue, I realized it was meant to prevent this disappearing, long enough for him to recover his memory. His decision to leave was thus the delayed result of his confused identity leaving him with no personal connection to his previous life, only exacerbated by his mentalist skills telling him people were covering something in his past. I didn’t get the feeling he was looking all along for invitations to stay, so much as feeling out just how badly the tragedy had affected him and whether he wanted to be told/remember it or not. Having figured out that 1) it was REALLY BAD but 2) that he’d had a family probably left him conflicted. Combined with the stirrings of memory that Lisbon called him on, he gave in to her request.
“Jane in this episode did not necessarily revert to who he was prior to Red John killing his family; he just as likely could have acquired new personality traits to supplement those he did not remember having.”
Reviewbrain, Exactly. Other reviews/discussions seem to be coming down on the side of this being either pre-RJ Jane or pre-Angela Jane. I don’t think the likely time frame with Angela allowed for this full personality. Rather, exaggerated parts of his remaining personality filled in the vacuum.
Mary_N, I was a little thrown by Cho too. Even as blunt as he is, “you don’t not like us,” felt off. I was thinking of Red Handed, Russet Potatoes, and Red Badge as well as Blood In, Blood Out. And you reminded us of one of my favorite scenes: the team’s, and especially Cho’s, response after Rebecca’s interview in His Red Right Hand.
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December 24th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Welcome to the blog 🙂
Thank you for detailing the specifics of the fugue state and the reason why he needed to be kep under surveillance.
I too beleive that Jane’s initial concern was finding out clues about himself to decide whether e wanted to remember or not, he was fishing for that at first.But although he came to realize that his reality was in fact bad and decided he’d rather leave, (his telling Lisbon to let him be happy) he also seemed rather conflicted hence his later attempts to see if Lisbon can be moved enough to ask him to stay. It could simply be to him needing his ego to be stroked, or like you said, he was conflicted and it was easier to let Lisbon decide for him, probably because while he doesn’t “know” her, he saw enough to know that she cares about him, enough to trust her.
Thank you so much for your comment. You clarified much of what I ha been trying to say much more eloquently.
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December 26th, 2011 at 2:07 am
I love this post and this episode was amazing and I have a few points to share
-I think Grace said she didn´t know how to be normal around Jane because she´s used to Jane the consultant but not Jane the fake psychic and considering how different those two are she was no doubt unnerved being around Jane the fake psychic and how he behaves. She obviously likes Jane but I believe anyone would be unnerved being around someone as “controversial” as Jane was as a psychic and he did do a lot of “bad” things
– I think Cho likes Jane. He is a brutally honest personality and matter of fact and I believe his comment is right. Jane does not not like them, but he does the job not only because he likes them but also because he wants to help (I like to think). He tricked a lot of people and was not a very good person (on the outside) but now, helping the police and doing something good he is able to make a difference and show that he is a good person. It gives him something, a purpose and he´s able to give back and most importantly, keep sane. Not to mention, the team is his family. They are the only people he has left in his life he really trusts and cares about and whom care about him.
And I loved your review, the “Bigsby” line gets me everytime 🙂
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December 26th, 2011 at 10:33 am
They make bigger trikes for bigger kids – that one looks simply too small. Aside from the meta explanation that in the pilot they had not quite settled on the girl’s details, and that trike remains in the props kit for Jane’s empty house, I have no idea why it would be there at all.
Well, maybe the girl was shorter than I remember or the trike is bigger than it looks – I’m not exactly an expert, and my nephews are out getting married, growing full beards, and playing trombone in university orchestra so it has been a while since I had a solid visual frame of reference.
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December 26th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
This episode was a gorgeous experience. Lisbon and Jane have a lot to grow and I’ll be there to watch the things happen. Fabulous post? Totally!
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December 28th, 2011 at 1:47 am
Theory: Christina Frye is Red John? what do you think, REVIEWBRAIN?
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January 2nd, 2012 at 7:52 am
Thanks for everyone’s comments.There has been so many good points made. I learn so much that I missed and it helps my understanding and enjoyment of the show. Thanks for taking the time to write your insights. This episode was such a gem to enjoy for years to come. Can’t wait for this second half that always moves up a gear. Happy new year everyone.
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January 4th, 2012 at 6:39 am
Awesome cartoon and review. Need more people like you.
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January 10th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Hi,
As promised, and better (well maybe! ) late than never, here are my thoughts on Fugue in Red.
I wrote these a few days after my first viewing but before the first review here was posted so they must be read as fresh and without reference to any other writers influence. you will notice that my take on many things is quite different many others and I will admit more reactive than analytical, not to say more trusting and romantic. Your inner cynic would have a field day with me!
Reading through again I find there are a few things that I would change in retrospect and I should have expanded on my views of Lisbons reactions, but I will leave you to read my views unaltered.
**************
I loved Fugue in Red, and so many mentions have been made of the amazing acting from Simon and Robin and the terrific script from Daniel Cerone, so I just want to pick out one little thing before I comment on what I think are the important themes of the whole………………my number one highlight at the moment is Paddy giggling ……. first when thinking about the prospect of sleeping with Lisbon and again when he pulled the red herring stunt…… it so reminded me of drunk Patrick in Jolly Red Elf…………
So here goes……..
I thought that one of the most important aspects of the plot was in showing us the teams reactions to ‘Paddy’ and how their reaction to him was coloured by their relationship with Patrick.
As you would expect Lisbon was, loyal, understanding but firm and the first and last scenes showed us, what we already knew, that she feels very strongly about Jane, she’s hopelessly loyal to him but now we have seen ( thanks for the proof Felicity) that she is just a teensy bit possessive of him! In terms of her view of their relationship it was revealing that she said ‘We’re friends’, not ‘I’m your friend’. She feels that Jane regards her as a friend.
Van Pelt……………. Well now, I’ve always thought vanPelt’s relationship with Jane is somewhere between a schoolgirl crush ( which sort of explains why she doesn’t know how to behave around him) and a desire to save him from himself, so it was no surprise to me that she was initially flattered by his interest and then over reacted ( ‘I hate him’ ) when seeing con man Jane in action. Why such an over reaction anyway I don’t know, as Jane said to Lisbon in ‘Little Red Balloon’, he’s ‘selling hope’ and a fool is soon parted with his/her money! VanPelt will soon get over her shock at seeing Paddy doing what he was brought up to do………she is the only member of the team ( apart maybe from Lisbon) who has seen the real Patrick revealing his emotions when she saw him crying in ‘Seeing Red’ and again in ‘Bloodshot’ to an extent. She might also do well to remember that he was a primary matchmaker between she and Rigsby and has often taken her under his wing in cases, I think he has real admiration for her faith and ‘goodness’.
Rigsby as always just follows the crowd, initially sympathetic as expected, then ( again as expected, defending vanPelt’s honour!). I don’t think Risgby would ever be ‘friends’ with Paddy or Patrick…….they are just worlds apart. ‘We’re a team’ sums it up and when Patrick returns to the fold nothing will change as far as Rigsby’s concerned, he’s always been sceptical of Jane and will continue to be led by the rest of the team…….always the last to join in Patrick’s little games. He soon forgets all the advice Jane’s given him in the past ( OK I know a lot of it’s teasing!).
Cho! Good old tell it like it is, pragmatic but loyal Cho. ‘You don’t help us because you like us’, ‘you don’t dislike us’……………for Cho it’s all about being part of the team , but unlike Risgby he admires Jane’s skills and is fiercely loyal as he will be to any of his colleagues. Cho has also had cause to see that Jane has his loyalty to him when he went with him into the gang world, but I think he would regard this as something other than friendship. Cho’s attitude to seeing ‘Paddy’ will not change his attitude to Patrick. Liking or disliking is not what it’s all about for Cho and he doesn’t mind if Patrick doesn’t ‘like him.
I think what I’ve discovered here is that what might change the team’s relationship with Patrick is not what they have seen of his past persona, but what they will see when he comes back from the house with his memories in tow…………will he be the same Patrick and what effect will any change have on the team?
Now the subtle interweaving of Paddy and Patrick……………I thought there were several points at which Paddy started to be reminded of his tragic past life but whether these moments were there to make us wonder if he was remembering or not I’m not sure it was so clever to make these events important to the plot, particularly the scene with Cho. I really thought he had been reminded by the doll and I still think he was for a moment but cleverly used it as a ploy to get rid of Cho, what I can’t figure out is why he wanted to get rid of Cho. Had he already decided to take the money which he was pretty sure was in the safe ? Anyway it made a very special scene!
I also noticed when he was standing outside the house and the homeowner mentions his family Paddy’s face clouded suddenly and I wondered if this was a memory or just the moment when his first suspicions of the man were confirmed (he had checked with Lisbon about the weather that week . It had been too warm to need a fire.)and decided to take him to see his family in order to search the house first.
And of course on the bench with Lisbon, why were they down at the water’s edge again, had he come to jog his memory or maybe she had brought him. He seemed so pleased that he had told her about the memory palace and it wasn’t just chance that he couldn’t stop playing with that wedding ring, his subconscious was troubling him.
Maybe these fleeting feelings of something terrible coming back were what made him seek the comfort of doing what he knew best………..going back to his roots, a séance, scamming, flirting and having fun ….. and wasn’t he happy being the centre of attention……..until Lisbon brought him back to earth with a bump! I think he’d already decided to run.
When ‘Paddy’ said ‘I’m happy now, just…. just let me be happy’ ( I felt it was Patrick saying it!) , Lisbon acquiesced so quietly and again when he collected his paycheck and declared something like,‘ I’m off to start my new life’she accepted it. I thought she was going to let him go and was surprised. I think there were two things that made her change her mind, well sort of three. She saw just a hint that he was making too big a thing of leaving. Yes! He was running away, but he needed her to see that he was running away. After all, only the day before he had been so enthusiastic about using his ‘psychic skills’ to catch criminals and now he was off! All those hints about his tragic past had scared him! Lisbon also knew she had seen things that had begun to touch him and make him wonder about what he would have to find out if he stayed, like the fiddling with the wedding ring, which he referred to as my wedding ring, not the wedding ring.
But I think the thing that made Lisbon stop in her tracks was the sight of those jewels sparkling on Tamara’s wrist. ‘Paddy’ had stolen the money, yes, but he had not kept it. They were all shocked to see the he had stolen it, not that surprising in my mind, it was an opportunity which arose and which I’m sure his father would have instilled in him was one not to be missed. Anyway how many times have the team seen Patrick cheat to make money……that was Patrick …….. and remember this is ‘Paddy’, to him this would have been just pushing the boundaries a little further …..after all, no one got hurt . Besides he had not kept the money, he had bought a beautiful present for a woman he hardly knew and who was only his ‘ responsible adult’……his ticket out of the hospital. If he had wanted to buy her he could have done it with a cheap trinket…… even she didn’t believe it was real. Maybe Lisbon was reminded of Patrick buying jewels for herself and vanPelt with his gambling winnings in Red Handed and placing that tiara on her head in A Price Above Rubies. The old Patrick was hiding inside Paddy somewhere and I’m sure Lisbon knew then that she couldn’t let him go and more importantly that if she let him go she would never forgive herself. Paddy would very soon begin to remember more painful things and when he did Patrick would need someone to help him get through it. Who else could do it……… he has no one else…….. in his words ‘ I’ve got nowhere else to go’ and Lisbon said it herself ‘ We’re all he’s got!’………. she had no choice but to stop him.
It’s interesting that Lisbon knows so much about Patrick’s old house. Maybe it was familiar as a Red John crime scene but I would be very surprised to find that she knew that he still visited it and that he would have told her this ( if he has told her then they are already closer than we think) and it’s even more surprising that she assumed he would have the key on his keyring …..although perhaps it’s akin to keeping his wedding ring on.
When I first saw the ending I wanted it to be longer; to see more of Patrick’s pain. In retrospect I think nothing on screen can portray what we can imagine, so although I would have loved to see Lisbon reach out to comfort him I think she feels that he is not ready to be comforted and we and she will just have to wait a little bit longer. It is up to us to wonder what happened next.
I don’t suppose we will ever know and that is what I miss most in the presentation of these pivotal events ………..we are never allowed to see Jane and Lisbon talking about what has happened ( only those few times when he has felt it necessary to confirm to her ( and us) his intentions toward RJ). In this case I am sure that there was very little said. What could Lisbon say other than what she did say…….. ‘ I’m sorry ‘. I imagine her just waiting until he gathered himself and then driving him to where ever he wanted to go, possibly to her place, where she knew he would be safe or quite likely spending the night sitting alone in that house with him, not saying much, just being there.
I’m sure most of us see it differently so maybe it’s best left to our imaginings.
I had longed for this ending ………. It has made Lisbon break into the shell of Jane’s past in a way that she hasn’t been able to before, surely he will need to talk to her now that she has been with him into that house. I feel it gives the writers a huge opportunity to take the relationship ( no….. not THAT way) between Jane and Lisbon much further and to use that relationship to show us more about both their characters , particularly Jane’s past and maybe to let us into the Red John case more. The writers ( DC I think) have said they were looking for a better way of showing the past than through flashbacks. Well what better way than through eavesdropping on Jane and Lisbon’s chats. They can’t expect us to believe that after this ending Jane and Lisbon will be anything other than closer, unless they take the direction I fear they might……………..Jane resenting Lisbon for making him relive his tragic past……….. but Jane is not a fool, he would realise that reality would have come back to bite him sooner or later and it would be better to face it safely with Lisbon than alone or with virtual strangers.
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January 12th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
@lyn42, I really like your description of Grace’s relationship with Jane, between a little bit of a crush toward an older man she admires and protectiveness… Now I’m not so sure Van Pelt was overreacting in front of “Paddy’s” performance: of course watching him play his part as a psychic has unsettled her, but, more than that, what angered her, just like Lisbon, was that he used that pretty woman’s emotions for her dead mother to hug her. Just watch that scene again: his discreetly goofy smile, the way he pressed his hand on her shoulder blade and her waist, he seems to be feeling up her breasts. 😉 Hence Lisbon protesting that it’s “not him”: their Jane is indeed an egoistical con man, but by no mean a perverted one… And that only makes the fact that she was initially flattered by his interest funnier! 🙂
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January 14th, 2012 at 3:57 am
Well, I am really confused about this episode. Why? Because we had a power outage 43 minutes into it which ended in time for (literally) the last word spoken – only knew that because my DVR started a second recording which was that word and the credits. I have no blippin’ idea what happened, except for what’s written here. Sounds good. Can’t wait for the DVD. Gonna wait a while, though. 😦
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January 17th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Thank you for your analysis of the episode. You made some very interesting points, and provided lots of nice details. I can’t help but want to address some of them…
I think Jane and Rigsby do have a lot in common. They were both raised in a bad environment by men who despised any goodness they might have had (Jane’s father berated him for feeling bad for lying to a dying girl while Rigsby’s dad was outrightly disgusted with him).
While Rigsby may not be aware of these similarities, Jane most probably is and it might be why he teases Rigsby so much… Violet had talked a lot of this in her review of episode “like a Red-Headed StepChild” if you’re interested.
As to why Jane decided to get rid of Cho. It’s Janes MO to solve the case on his own then lord his cleverness over the team as he explains it. It think he wanted to check the safe because he suspected the stolen cash was in it. So he did want to solve the case and yes maybe wanted to steal some money as well. Why? I wouldn’t go as far as all-I-need’s take that he was terrified. But I do think Cho’s blunt view on what he thinks Jane’s motivations are, his statement that Jane had a family, and what if any memory surfaced at that moment led Jane to conclude that whoever he was wasn’t happy and he was better off taking off. Let’s not forget disappearing is one of the most cited symptoms of people experiencing fugue. So is starting over.
I also agree the man mentioning his family did seem to stir something within Jane, an inkling perhaps.
Lynn, you said:
“When ‘Paddy’ said I’m happy now…I felt like it was Patrick saying it!”
I’ll let you in on a secret. I did too! In fact, until the very end of the episode I had this suspicion that by that point (Jane/ Lisbon ‘s let me be happy hospital scene) Jane had already regained his memory and was just continuing this charade to poke at Lisbon. But the end scene made me conclude that I’d been wrong. I don’t think he’d take the Russ that far, his memory coming back seemed pretty real to me…As was his shock/grief.
Perhaps this overlap between Paddy/Jane was intentional. I honestly don’t think Paddy was all that different from Patrick. His actions seemed to stem from an overreaction (the flirting, the troublemaking, the stealing) to fear at not knowing who he was. Like Lisbon, I couldn’t blame him for anything he did and I suspect he intentionally crossed the line into stealing to make her stop him.
I found Lisbon’s knowledge of Jane’s house and the smiley interesting too. Why haven’t whenever seen that conversation on screen! Her finding out about it..
But this goes back to her statement, they *are* friends. I don’t think she was being possessive here just stating a fact. Yes
I agree that the ending might be perfect the way it is, but I didn’t necessarily want to see what happens after…even just a longer zoom on the smiley or Jane or anything along with a few more strings would have kept the end from feeling too abrupt. The writers definitely have an advantage at hiding what happens afterwards a mystery; specifically how close these two are and how much Lisbon has let her guard down around Jane…
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August 29th, 2012 at 5:44 am
The real Jane was the Jane we saw in this episode. Tragedy made him a better person, and it was very cruel of Lisbon to torture him by forcing him to remember the things he so dearly wished to forget. He stopped living a real life after his family was murdered.
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August 29th, 2012 at 5:57 am
RE: Jane/Rigsby
I think Jane found Van Pelt to be attractive, but would not have pursued it because he didn’t want to have anything to do with the CBI.
Jane being Jane, he had sussed out Rigsby’s thing for Van Pelt, and he was messing with him. That’s one thing that never changed with Jane. He loves messing with people. Risgby is easy to mess with, too. Jane gets him a lot (cards, the weighted coin, etc.) and he even told Annabeth that Rigsby is an easy mark.
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February 13th, 2014 at 8:16 am
I thought it was very interesting that the fugue state may bring out a new personality because we know thta Jane was never a womanizer. he said that he and his wife were their escape from the carnival life style – that means they were together when he left that life. it was also kind of obvious in his akwardness with Tamarra, big talk but no action there…
I think the flirting with Van Pelt and pinching Lisbon was also just to mess with the team – now that he gets off on!
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