Theories of Hll (89)

Bruno Heller's 2013 Checklist:


1) WHO IS RED JOHN?     McAllister  [check]

2) WHAT IS RJ PHOBIA?   Pigeons!  Pigeons are everywhere.  [check]

3) HOW TO SHOW PROOF THAT MCALLISTER IS RJ?    Have McAllister freak out whenever a bird appears and in the final scene have Xander Berkeley do a high pitched voice [check]

4) WHAT TO DO ABOUT BLAKE ASSOCIATION?   Bloody pain in the ass.  Stick it on McAllister also.  Write in line:  "It didn't occur to him that I AM the Blake Association."   [check]

5) WHAT TO DO WITH THE HORDE OF SUSPECTS?  Just kill them all. [check]

6) WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALL THOSE DAMN OLD CLUES NOW?   Have Patrick Jane say he doesn't care about knowing any of them [whew -- check!  That was a big check!  Glad I figured that ONE out]

7) CAN I GET AWAY NOT EXPLAINING HOW RJ GOT THE LIST? [because I have NO IDEA, really]  Just have McAllister "offer" to tell and Jane say it was a good trick, never wanting to know and then just moving on to physical confrontation as quickly as possible [CHECK!]

8) HOW CAN JANE GET THE UPPER HAND ON RJ?  Breadcrumbs.  Pigeons LOVE breadcrumbs.  And then have Jane pull the pigeon from his pocket.  McAllister ends up disoriented and paralyzed with fear...Jane shoots him [check]

9) HOW CAN RJ ESCAPE SO I CAN KEEP THE ACTION GOING FOR THE FULL 42 MINUTES?  Have some random woman [Robin Tunney's out of work actor sister that I've been promising a bit part to] walk into the church to interrupt, allowing RJ to run off and thus, Jane having to chase him. [check!]

10) HOW WILL JANE KILL RJ?  Let Simon Baker make it up.  [check]

11) WHAT TO DO WITH SCORES OF FANS WHO WILL HATE THIS?  Just tell them they're GOING to be disappointed -- that'll shut 'em up.  It's just a show, after all! [that made me filthy rich and famous] but who cares what these bloody fans want.  Do they really know what they want, anyway?  Can't please them all, so who cares if I please any of them.  I can't be bothered now that I'm busy with a new project!  Really!  [check]

12) WHAT DO WITH SHOW AFTER RJ SINCE I WON'T BE AROUND MUCH?  Hand over to Baker, who's been dying to take over, anyway.  The writers, at this point, should be on automatic pilot, they've cranked out enough murder of the week episodes...[check]

13) PACK FOR A HOLIDAY IN THE ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE [check]

I just wrote a theory recently, #17866 [as a sarcastic joke!!], parodying "Casablanca" to make fun of what will be the final [and predictable] scene with Jane, Lisbon & Pike.

NEVER NEVER did I think these Mentalist writers would actually BE so mental LOL as to include "Casablanca" as part of Jibson symbolism....I mean, I just can't believe they referenced "Casablanca..." and seriously....SO CHEESY!

But I should have KNOWN they would....Heller & Co. have practically used EVERY last famous literary and film reference known to man, it seems...and though I wish I could be amazed by their use of mining previous material -- I am not.  They usually reference it badly....as a cliche or they just go absolutely nowhere new with it.  

Reading this essay made me think of how Heller failed artistically with the Red John reveal.


It's called "The Art of Misdirection" 
http://www.writingclasses.com/FacultyBios/facultyArticleByInstructor.php/ArticleID/42

A good read, and I especially like the distinction made in this quote:


"Please note...."that we’re speaking of misdirection, not misinformation."


1.  The writer gives enough misdirection to distract the audience from the truth of the story -- like the magician does with the pretty girl.  But then the writer would have to KNOW HIS STORY in order to pull this off [like a magician knows his trick]

2.  Heller was a bad magician --  he did not know the truth of his story from the beginning.  He did not know who RJ was going to be.

3.  Thus, the "clues" we were fed were not clues at all if Heller did not know who RJ was.  They were also NOT red herrings, and as this essay points out --- they were not misdirection. 


4.  EVERYTHING WE WERE SHOWN PRIOR TO Lorelie claiming Jane shook RJ's hand WAS PURE MISINFORMATION.  In other words, a LIES.


5.  Heller clearly decided on McRJ somewhere around the end of Season 5.  It is very easy now to see where the Mentalist started to become an entirely different show.



Another quote from the article:
"The writer should never lie to the reader, but, if necessary, should allow the reader to lie to herself."


7.  Our heads should have been swirling upon the point of the RJ REVEAL -- as we thought back to all the wonderful misinformation we'd been given over 5 years...and all the ideas we made up surrounding it, realizing that we'd had our POV expertly manipulated in the best way possible.
8.   My point:  we were not given genuine misdirection.  Genuine misdirection leads somewhere, it is EXPLAINED regardless of the outcome of the story.  There was no trick to be enjoyed for the audience because the trick was on us.  We were the trick and it's hard to enjoy the fruits of our efforts -- when there was no audience payoff.  
9.  Please do not give Heller any credit for having used his craft, do not call all the details we were fed "red herrings."  True misdirection, along with well placed red herrings, are GOOD and necessary as a part of the journey of any artful, suspenseful mystery story that leave an audience satisfied.
10.  Heller relied on MISINFORMATION aka LIES...that led nowhere.  Heller let us lie to ourselves while he lied to us, too -- that is why he told us we'd be "disappointed" because...

Misdirection [red herrings] = leads to surprise

Misinformation [lies] = leads to disappointment


Heller was a bad magician who switched his trick midstream.

FINAL SCENES of THE MENTALIST:


About to board the plane to DC, Lisbon stands at the airport gate with Jane.  Pike approaches them.


Pike: "Are you ready, Teresa?"
Lisbon:  "Yes, I'm ready."


But Lisbon hesitates, because deep down, she's secretly hoping that Jane will stop her.  However, Jane has no intention of doing any such thing, saying.


"Welp, you guys better hurry, or you'll miss that plane."


Pike confers:  "He's right.  We'd better go.  Well, it's been real fun knowing you Jane.  Stop in if you're ever in DC."

Jane:  "Oh, yes, definitely, thank you.  I just might take you up on that."
Lisbon: "Well, I'm sure we'll have a couch in our new place."
Jane:  "And make sure it's a good one.  Preferably leather..."


Lisbon laughs, sharing a knowing look with Jane. 


Jane:  "Oh, and uh, one more thing.  Marcus, be good to Lisbon.  She deserves it."

Pike:   "Oh, will do.  I look forward to many years of doing just that."

Lisbon blushes.

Jane:  "Good."

Lisbon:  Well, goodbye Patrick.  Take care of yourself, okay?"

Jane:  "Yup, promise.  Bye."


Pike and Lisbon leave.  Lisbon wants to look back, but she doesn't.


Jane watches them go, smiling, but once they are out of sight, he becomes wistful -- even though he knows he's not good for Lisbon, deep down, he doesn't really want her to leave.  Still, he knows he can't hold her back any longer -- poor Lisbon has already spent a decade as a veritable nun following him around.  He has to let her go because hooking up with her would be like marrying his cousin.  
He watches through the window as the plane takes off, knowing he's done the right thing as much as it hurts. [Oh so Casablanca...]
 
THEN, LATER: BACK at the FBI: Jane decides to head west again, to his Malibu house.  He's going to put it up for sale, and travel around a bit.  Jane packs up the RV and says goodbye to Cho, who has decided to stay in Austin, making the FBI his home, as he has also recently hooked up with Agent Fischer and they are "exploring" a possible relationship together to see who can keep a straight face longer.  Abbott wishes Jane wouldn't go and tells him there's always an open invitation to come back, thanking him yet again for the Transformer toy.  

Jane pulls his RV out, waving goodbye to everyone, including Wylie, and he heads out for the highway.
  


Later, after driving a while, Jane stops at a rest area for the night.  In the back of the RV, there's an empty tea cup and a copy of Moby Dick on the counter.  And we see that Jane has crammed his trusty old couch into the back of the RV, too.
 


Tired, weary and seemingly lonely, Jane lays down on his couch, staring straight up...

….when suddenly THE PIGEON appears, flying in through the window, landing on the back of the couch.  Patrick smiles.  



THE END

Dear Bruno Heller, Simon Baker [and the various writers they found in a cave somewhere....],



STOP reminding us of clues that were never solved!! [and that you have no intention OF ever solving]

You are putting bullshit in our faces when we're already standing in pigeon shit.






 

Does every last shot have to be of Jane on his old couch with his lonely self?  Okay, we GET IT, Jane hasn't changed or moved on ONE BIT [and 2 years later since he supposedly killed RJ and the show's gone in a "new" direction].  Yeah, whatever...

Jane says in the episode [Violets] where we first meet MARcus Pike...that   "The key to a good con is always making the MARk feel that he's in control.  You can lead a man anywhere as long as he thinks that he is driving."  Okay TWO things come to mind:

1) No, I'm not saying Marcus Pike is RJ: he's too young, too new, too obvious.  But I mean -- OF COURSE Lisbon's new love would be with a man whose name translates to RED HERRING.  

2) Is this what Jane is doing now?  -- Making SOMEONE whose NAME shall remain NAMELESS think that they are "driving" and "in control" while he bides his time?

In [Silver Wings], Jane says to the Redheaded Female Killer "You needn't be a MARtyr" [when he gives her a pillow]

And then, there's "near a body of water"  and "no such thing as psychics" [definite ALLUSIONS to Kristina Frye]


Oh, how I hate those last minute tease and double entendres now, the bastards...