- Title: The Mentalist – Black Helicopters
- wiki: link
The murder of a Federal Public Defender in Mexico leads Jane‘s (Simon Baker) to uncover an underground tunnel from Texas to Mexico used to smuggle people and goods across the border (and dump the victim’s body in another country). Despite the number of laws the rancher is charged with breaking, murder isn’t one of them leading Jane and Fischer (Emily Swallow) to look for leads on this side of the border involving a Texas commune (which Jane strands Fischer to investigate on his own).
The episode’s B-story involves the investigation into the murder of Oscar Ardiles (David Norona) and whoever seems to be targeting former members of the now defunct CBI. With Lisbon (Robin Tunney) stuck in the offices going through files on both cases, Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) and Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) call on their old pal LaRoche (Pruitt Taylor Vince) which leads to a creepy warehouse and a booby trap that claims a second member of the CBI.
Along with the commune murder and the Ardiles subplot, the episode also includes a running gag of Jane continuously offering his friends and co-workers the perfect gift. Not receiving one of her own, and distrustful of how Jane could know what each one of them wants, Fischer becomes increasingly frustrated… at least until she receives the gift her childhood self always wanted. As to the fallout of the fate of LaRoche and the mysterious force targeting the CBI (possibly tied back to Red John or his organization?), it looks like we’ll have to wait at least another week for some answers.
