Series Review: Mentalist (Season 6)

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Highlights of the season:

Patrick Jane finally catches Red John

some suspects

*Some suspects *

After years of hide and seek, Red John, the killer of Patrick’s family and countless others, are finally revealed. After narrowing it down to six candidates, Patrick (Simon Baker) realizes that the corruption of law enforcement runs deep and that is how Red John has been getting away with what he does every time. Patrick’s final confrontation with Red John plays out in such a spectacular fashion I was ready to start chewing nails.

Patrick’s life after Red John.

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I’ve always wondered what Patrick would do after he caught the man that had ruined his life and taken away his family in such a brutal fashion. Seeing Patrick walking on the beach and just being at peace with who he is was unbelievably sweet.

Patrick, Teresa and Cho’s careers in the FBI

Theresa took the hardest hit for Patrick’s shenanigans, and when Patrick returns to the USA and requests her presence on the FBI team, it is such a sweet gesture from him. Cho (Tim Kang) is so focused on fixing himself and getting somewhere within law enforcement. I really like how he will always give credit to the right person and how hard working he is.

Teresa and Patrick finally address their relationship

This is probably the thing after Red John that interested me the most. Teresa (Robin Tunney) and Patrick have the oddest relationship, and she is more often than not exasperated with him, but she is also the only person that gets why he is the way he is and can fully cope with his mannerisms. It is good that they waited for Red John to be out of the picture – Patrick could not start a relationship if he hadn’t apprehended the monster in his life first.

Rating: 7/10

patrick in hidey hole

Although its usual length, The Mentalist season 6 felt like it took ages to get done. There were a lot of different things happening, so the feeling of being stretched wide is actually understandable.

The first 6 episodes are truly nail-biting and I would have rated those 8 had it been a separate season. Red John’s capture the extent of his power, the madness of the man and that final chase was scream worthy. I am really happy they didn’t spend the entire season on it; it would have been ridiculous to do that in the show’s sixth run. The man who played Red John (I don’t want to give too much away) was so frightening in the end. That voice flip still freaks me out to this day. A huge shout out to the show for finally revealing and ending the serial killer that has been tormenting Patrick for so long – I really don’t think that a seventh season of searching would have worked out at all.

The next couple of episodes deal with Jane’s hideout location, and how the FBI tracks him down to come work for them. I found it highly enjoyable because Patrick really did deserve a holiday after he put all that work in.

The majority of the last episodes are all cases with the FBI. The show evolves into purely procedural crime drama, and it works fine.  I really find Abbott amusing – he doesn’tmind at all to remind Jane who is in charge.

I loved Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Van Pelt’s (Amanda Righetti) relationship and how they made something for themselves outside the CBI and law-enforcement. One of the most intense scenes to me was with Rigsby hiding with their baby in the closet. I am a major fan of Rigsby and he is so cute as a father/husband/businessman. I am still a major fan of Cho and he should get some more screen time. He is so serious about his job and dedicated and momentarily hilarious most of the time.

The last few episodes slipped for me. It was without the jaw dropping emotion that had me hooked on this show from its first episode, and it just really felt tired. Simon Baker is still amazing as Patrick Jane. He is a great actor capable of projecting intense emotions. I mean, the whole human trafficking story could have been so much more if the writers were completely dedicated. That last episode could have been a lot more intense with the right aims. I did love Pedro Pascal as FBI agent Marcus Pike in here as well. When I realized that Oberyn Martell had crossed worlds to become an FBI agent I was really touched. His character was such a nice guy and you felt sorry for him even though he was messing with the plans of the show.

Have you seen this? What did you think?

Five things Friday – Females who kick ass on the small screen

Happy Friday!

I am officially back at work *very sad sigh*. My leave has been great and seeing my bestie has been so much fun. There is really no one better watching movies with than Zoë, who understands what I have to say during and afterwards. She was kind enough to educate me on films I haven’t seen yet (after she nearly had a stroke hearing some of them). More on that later though. Today, I bring to you five female characters who seriously kick ass in series. I love strong females in shows – there are so few that have decency and self respect and I hope that they counteract they ridiculous number of needy females on screen.

Enjoy!

1. Dr. Temperance Brennan, Bones, played by Emily Deschanel

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Bones is leading the leading lady for girl power on television. She is extremely intelligent and self sufficient. I like her because she is such a strong lead and really doesn’t need a man to save her all that often. I love her and Booth’s relationship and how he senses when she needs help and when he needs to back off – well, he gets that most of the time. Bones lifted herself up from a traumatic childhood and became someone respectable. Everyone she works with admires her and listens to her without question.

2. Teresa Lisbon, The Mentalist, played by Robin Tunney

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Teresa, a special agent at the CBI, deals with Patrick Jane and solving homicides. She needs to be a good agent and handle Patrick at the same time, a nearly impossible thing as Patrick loves offending people and breaking the rules. I like Teresa because she keeps her head during dangerous times and is very loyal to her team. I can’t help but wonder if she and Patrick will ever end up together, but as I am on season five on the series and haven’t seen anything like that, I guess I should just patiently wait for it.

3. Dr. Tara Knowles, Sons of Anarchy, played by Maggie Siff

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I really don’t think it is easy to date a gangster, but Tara manages somehow. I’ve only watched about two or three seasons and I guess things go wrong and right pretty often between Jax and Tara, but I like their strange dynamic. She reveres life and he doesn’t have too much respect for it and somehow they work out.

4. Caroline Forbes in The Vampire Diaries, played by Candice Accola

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Let me tell you, this girl is shit annoying in the beginning. She is needy and unsure of herself, whining and has absolutely no confidence whatsoever. Then suddenly she starts developing and becomes sure of herself. Okay, becoming a vampire will change you, but the series shows how it brings your worst characteristics to life. Caroline goes through so much, a crazy vampire hunter father, a difficult mother, her werewolf boyfriend and a crazy hybrid who loves her in his strange way with incredible grace and admirably few tantrums.

5. Olivia Dunham, portrayed by Anna Torv

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Plenty of people have weird, freaky jobs, and then you get the people on Fringe. I admire Olivia for doing her job even when it makes absolutely no sense, keeping everyone in line, coping with all the crazy scientists and still managing to be a bit professional.

Do you have any favorite female leads? Let me know!

5 Things Friday: 5 shows to watch

Happy Friday the 13th!

This week was horrible. Imagine everything going wrong, and then going wrong again. We have had our generator fail at work (a big problem when the lab’s freezers can’t keep samples frozen), pipes had burst, birds attacked people by flying through the shaft, which held the bursting pipe – it was that kind of week.

Watching series always makes me feel better. It is so much easier dealing with other people’s problems than our own, even if they are fictional. Here are 5 of the best shows I have watched this year.

The Mentalist Season Four

 Baker Mentalist

At the end of season three, Patrick shoots and kills the man he suspects of being Red John. Season Four starts with his arrest, and his quest to become free again. How will Patrick get out of trouble this time?

It wouldn’t be on my list if I didn’t think the show was good, but I really enjoyed this one. It is fantastically intelligent and entertaining, and they even manage to keep the cases fresh. I enjoyed the inclusion of Luther Wainwright. Finally a person on Patrick’s intellectual level! Speaking of Patrick, how phenomenal is Simon Baker in his portrayal?

Without giving away too much, I just want to say I hope Season Five brings some closure to many parts of the storyline. The show is in danger of becoming very stretched out if some plots don’t close down.

The Carrie Diaries Season One

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The only new series on this list, The Carrie Diaries was much more enjoyable than I would have expected. Truly, it is extremely frivolous, so it is great to watch on a day where you just don’t want to think.

The show revolves around the teenager Carrie Bradshaw, the main character in the very successful Sex and the City franchise.

The second season needs to have a more structured sequence of events, and a real storyline. A little more originality wouldn’t hurt as well.

The Carrie Diaries is a good, entertaining and short series, but if you seek something more complex, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Sons of Anarchy Season One and Two (I freaked out it is so good)

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Read reviews here and here.

I made the huge mistake of watching episode one of season three while on my stationery bike at home. I nearly fell off. I am not capable of being emotionally detached from it. It is shocking, amoral and violent, but the suspense keeps me going back for more each time. Every episode is jam packed with drama, and you simply can’t stop.

Obviously, I love it. Go watch it.

Supernatural Season Three

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The favorite Winchester boys return and they desperately search for a way to save Dean’s soul. On the way they hunt and kill demons, vampires, werewolves and pretty much every supernatural creature they can find.

I have only watched until season three so far, and I am still impressed with how the show is created and presented. Even though the show is relatively serious, the team still manages to bring humor to it.

I am perpetually irritated with Sam, but his character is an essential part of the show, and Dean has lost too much to lose his brother as well.

Season three is a short season, so it can be a quick watch. The series ended as I expected it would, but the end made it possible for season four to start with a bang (I hope)

Pretty Little Liars Season Three

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It is the one show I never expected to like, but I devoured season one and two. They were both brilliant, but season three struck me as mediocre. It is one of those shows that needs to reach a conclusion, but never does. It seems silly to take the girls to university with A still stalking them, but it would seem if they don’t find him/her by season Four, the show is going to go down the drain.

The show is entertaining and suspenseful, but it seems to follow the structure of season one and two, and they only add in a few more villains.

This is definitely a girl show, so if you are one, you will enjoy some of it.

Have you watched any of these shows? Which other ones would you recommend?