Well, here's my take on this week's episode: "The Whites of His Eggs" ….err, I mean, "Eyes"
There's the GOOD, BAD and the UGLY [and the just plain STUPID]
1) THE GOOD: The story of the week. Wow, I actually liked it. It had a decent amount of suspense and the assassin was formidable. When just about every other villain makes for a better RJ than the RJ we got, the question: "Do you think 6x08 was a success?" is a no brainer. It's NO, because Lydon could have been a better RJ, period. No one should qualify to be better than what we got but everyone does at this point [except for Haibach LOL] And, in this episode, the bad guy went down like a bad guy should, properly beat at his own game minus pigeon tricks.
NOW FOR…
2) THE BAD: the beginning and ending bits, that focused on Jibson's "relationship"
a) the beginning bit --
So just as we're all complaining about Lisbon's recent "adhering to gender roles due to her new relationship" -- they throw us"Lisbon beats Jane at foosball" to show, that indeed, Lisbon has not been traded in for a Stepford Wife.
And, let's not forget the scintillating dialogue in that opening sequence!
"Can we get some chicken wings?" Lisbon says.
"Sure. We may have to get 'em to go," Jane responds.
"Can we get some chicken wings to go, please?" Jane asks the waitress.
But then Lisbon gets a call from the boss.
"We need to go now," Lisbon tells Jane.
"Uh, 86 the wings!" Jane shouts to the waitress, "Thank you. Sorry."
There I was….on the edge of my seat -- will they eat chicken wings at the bar? Or will they eat wings in the car? And then after all of that build up, they had to cancel their order! DAMN FBI and people being killed all the time. Clearly, Jibson must quit the FBI -- so they'll have more time to eat chicken wings, like normal couples.
Jonathan and Jennifer Hart ALWAYS had time for a glamorous dinner, and they solved murders and chased bad guys while holding FULL TIME JOBS [and having great hair]. Seriously! Maybe Jibson needs a butler, like Max, back home in the RV.
b) the ending bit -- we already saw it in the previews!! There was absolutely positively nothing new -- nada zero -- whatsoever about those last few moments because we already heard Jane say "I'm protecting you" and Lisbon scowl "It's my job" on commercials all this week! I love when they do that: show us something, make us think there will be more, and then we watch to find out but -- Nope, that was it. I thought that AT LEAST they'd have their FIRST FIGHT over a bucket of chicken wings!
I admit that I like the idea of these two fighting, it's definitely more true to the nature of their relationships -- SIBLING RIVALRY -- but I'm sure this "conflict of interest" is just another obvious plot ploy, to break them up so they can get back together again [Maybe THEN they'll finally have chicken wings together]
NOW FOR…
3) THE UGLY -- I mentioned in a previous post the "baby" and "family" symbolism we're being set up for -- this episode laid the "FAMILY" theme on SO thick, every other word in the dialogue was: "family" "baby" "kids."
this is what I found in the first 12 minutes of the episode:
raised 3 brothers
good family men with young kids
young mother actually your family
our baby, are you even thinking about him?
someone else's child, too….that poor kid
a baby at home, and he's only 6 months old
what's you're baby's name? Henry -- After Matt's Dad
Henry's birthright
Mama taught me
the family members
little brother
the mom
the family
go see the family
MA…MA!!
My oldest boy
a middle child
there are THREE BOYS
I guess Heller thinks he can play "subliminal" Mentalist tricks on us, and that if we just HEAR the words: family, baby, kid, brother, mother, etc. mentioned enough in the dialogue -- we'll accept the ending of Jibson having a family better
NOW FOR….
4) THE utterly...STUPID!
1. "It's a killer view" -- [right before the assassin 'kills" the guy who said it, and then actually kills from the view], double entendre was never so idiotic
2. "watch the man get beat by a girl" -- why is Jane a man and Lisbon a "girl?" So, Lisbon is still deferring to Jane in a way that, welp, is uncharacteristic to who she's always been. Yup, this insipid little storyline about Jane protecting Lisbon being is just a ploy that will get resolved at the end….by…you guessed it: LISBON SAVING JANE [as if that's never happened before!]…[or Lisbon "coming to her senses" and realizing that she'd better let Jane save her?] Easier to just get her pregnant and force her out [as if law enforcement and military aren't parents]
3. "Never play foosball with a woman whose raised 3 brothers" [meant to be a DEEP FORESHADOWING of the story of the week involving THREE BROTHERS] -- [insert yawn]
4. VIDEO GAMES: a bad guy from a violent family that kills people plays video games where he kills people, too, enjoying it a little too much. But WAIT…can we really blame violent video games that reward obliterating human life, the Mentalist asks? Maybe it's just WHO is playing since Wylie and Vega can play the same games and still be law abiding citizens. Or maybe it's just saying that as long as you're on the right side of the law, it's okay to kill people in games -- because weren't these kinds of killing games originally meant for the military, but became mainstream for "fun" and perhaps that's not really the best thing for the youth of America….especially the youth with bad mothers? 'Cause it's the mother's fault, really. [well, at least partially] Hmm?
In any case, the Mentalist want us to know they are *neutral* on the subject. A violent video game does not make someone go out and kill --- it's just the killers who like to play them! [and ruin it for all the good eggs out there like "Wega" who are just having plain old fashioned fun]
