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Red Moon is the ninth episode of Season 3 of The Mentalist. It was directed by Simon Baker.

Summary[]

Patrick Jane works with a local psychic who insists on helping the CBI team with a triple homicide that involves two cops, and ultimately Red John, Jane's old nemesis.

Recap[]

Jane and Lisbon are responding to an interesting call. Three bodies, each with three methods of killing, arranged out in the middle of an orchard. These bodies include two police sheriff deputies, and Keely Farlow, who was engaged to local EMT Todd Johnson. Jane wants the case — or maybe, as he says, “vice versa.”

CBI starts to set up camp in the sheriff’s office and Lisbon is forced to coordinate with the small-minded Officer Mullery, an uncle of Todd Johnson. Mullery takes command of the sheriff's office because he is the highest ranking officer alive. Ellis Mars, a seemingly helpful private citizen, comes in and asks to speak to the person heading the investigation. When Grace offers her services, he declares, “You are far too young and pretty to have any authority in the matter.”

Lisbon and Jane drop in on Farlow’s place of residence, where she lived with fiancé Todd and her grandfather, Joe Hunnicker. Todd presents Lisbon and Jane an opportunity to give their strophe and antistrophe on revenge. Lisbon extols the virtues of the justice system, while Jane of course advocates for vengeance and vigilantism. On the car ride back Lisbon claims to be in control of their little situation and that she will manage to stop Jane from being irrational when they catch Red John.

Ellis Mars, psychic, is all ready to talk to Lisbon, but she isn’t having any of it and of course neither is Jane. This guy must be new because he doesn’t recognize Jane’s name, and then he tries to use his own tricks against him. Look, Mars.

Meanwhile, Cho and Rigsby manage to get a truck driver, Gregor Hobart, that Keely had been serving at her job at the diner as well as creeping on her despite being engaged. They talk to him but unfortunately, there’s nothing illegal about just giving people the heebie jeebies, so they bring in the guy Greg pointed a finger at: Rusty, who works at the diner.

Now, Rusty and Keely had an intense disagreement, and it is found he has scratches on his forearms, as would have occurred during a struggle. He tries to explain them away, but no one is buying what he’s selling. After a minor hiccup, Lisbon and the CBI take him away to Sacramento for questioning.

In Sacramento, Todd tackles Rusty to the ground and starts pounding on him, when Cho pulls him off. Jane pleads for mercy on Todd’s behalf with Hightower, who in turn asks a satisfying apology. Jane then gives Todd the Vengeance Driven Primer, with one simple quote: “You can’t let people see what’s in your heart."

Todd apologizes and Hightower is satisfied, so she lets him go with nary another word. They take another look at Hobart’s statement, and determine that they’ve been looking for the abduction site on the wrong stretch of road. They find Keely’s bike, a button, and just when they pick up a fireman who looks good for the murders, Mullery gets shot in the head while he’s on the phone with Lisbon.

With another visit from Mars, Jane seems to have found his fall guy. He sets up Mars as a psychic, planting ideas in his head, and what Mars comes up with is a lycanthropic killer whose kills coincide with the cycles of the moon. So a man who think he is a wolf or werewolf did it. That night — the height of the full moon — at Jane’s prompting, Mars is lurking about the orchard and gets scared off by the cops waiting — again, also at Jane’s suggesting. Jane himself is there to pick Mars up at the side of the road when he flees the scene. They now have suspect, and as Jane tells a sleepy Lisbon, he has an excellent play in motion.

Essentially, he gets the cops so busy looking for Mars as their number one suspect, that Jane takes Todd out to the hotel where Mars is resting and appears to have machinated Todd’s revenge on Keely’s killer. But Mars, of course, is not the killer. Todd is. Todd gets taken in and when it comes time to talk, he will only talk to Jane, because he has a secret only Jane will understand. Jane is reluctant to go, but does eventually, and when they open the door, Todd is on fire.

When he’s near death in the hospital, he uses the strength left to him to give parting words to Jane: “Tyger, tyger,” these of course being the opening to the enigmatic poem Red John recited to him at the end of last season.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Recurring Cast[]

Guest Cast[]

Season 3 Episodes
Red Sky At Night  · Cackle-bladder Blood  · The Blood On His Hands  · Red Carpet Treatment  · The Red Ponies  · Pink Chanel Suit · Red Hot · Ball of Fire · Red Moon · Jolly Red Elf · Bloodsport · Bloodhounds · Red Alert · Blood for Blood · Red Gold · Red Queen · Bloodstream · The Red Mile · Every Rose Has Its Thorn · Redacted · Like a Redheaded Stepchild · Rhapsody in Red · Strawberries and Cream
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