This week on The Mentalist, convicted manslaughterer, Erica Flynn (Morena Baccarin) is released from prison under CBI custody to help solve a murder, but Jane believes she has other motives.
Troubled Teens
Jane arrives at a crime scene where Natalie Gibecki, a counselor at youth detention facility, has been murdered. While at the scene, Jane receives a call from Erica Flynn, claiming she knew Natalie can help find her killer, if he gets her released from prison on a furlough. When Jane visits her at the prison, Erica tells Jane that Natalie was dating a married man, which he had already guessed at the scene. The team discovers that one of the kids, Trent Mathews, went missing from the youth facility the night of the murder. Thinking Trent would go back to where he was busted, Cho and VanPelt stake out the high school where Trent soon appears and starts a fight.
Secret Lover
Lisbon and Jane sign Erica out of prison, while back at the station, Trent tells Cho that one of the counselors at the Youth Facility, Danny, was fighting with Natalie after she caught him hitting one of the other kids. Trent says he tried to stop Danny but took off before Danny could get too physical. After looking through her old matchmaking files, Erica theorizes that Natalie must have met someone while she was working at a nonprofit organization before the youth facility. Jane and Erica visit the office of the nonprofit organization and find Natalie's lover, Richard Eldridge (Ian Bohen). VanPelt goes through photos of Natalie's vacation to see if she had been with anyone there, but when Jane sees the pictures, he takes them. Richard tells Lisbon that he and Natalie had broken up, but she called and asked to meet him the night she was killed. He waited for her at the bar, but she never came.
Escape Plan
Jane and Erica attend the fund raising event for the nonprofit organization, where Jane informs them he and Erica are scheduled to perform. Using a magic act, Jane exposes the head of the nonprofit organization as an embezzler who killed Natalie when she found out what he was doing. After Jane stops Erica's plan to escape with her lawyer, Jane says goodbye to her and she is taken away by a prison guard. Moments after she leaves, another guard shows up, indicating the guard that took Erica was a fake. Later, Erica calls Jane from a beach and says she looks forward to meeting him again.
While the plot lines of The Mentalist episodes are usually simple and predictable, they are also usually quite fun. With the added bonus of a great guest star, the show remains entertaining, though the writing has gotten a bit stale. Next week, Malcolm McDowell reprises his guest starring role, which should be entertaining. Tune in.
Quotes
"What could possibly go wrong?"
-Jane to Lisbon about letting Erica Flynn out of prison to help with the investigation.
"Don't believe me? No? Good, that gives me a chance to prove it."
-Jane to an audience
Recommendations
