The Mentalist – Fugue in Red

• Title: The Mentalist – Fuge in Red
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An attack while investigating the murder of a firefighter (Joshua Cox) leaves Jane (Simon Baker) in a fugue state with partial amnesia and no memory of his work with the CBI, the death of his wife (Maxine Bahns) and child, or Red John.

There are plenty of suspects in the murder of the firefighter and the man who attacked Jane including the widow (Stacy Haiduk) and another firefighter (Myk Watford) who was sleeping with the victim’s wife, but Jane, even in his diminished state is able to identify the true killer (Kenneth Mitchell).

What’s more troubling to his CBI teammates is Jane’s change from the tortured but whimsical figure who bends the rules into an unscrupulous con man who has no desire to follow any rules at all. He even goes so far as to ask Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) on how best to score with Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti).

Eventually Lisbon (Robin Tunney) is left with only one option to restore Jane’s memory in a scene as brutal as it is necessary when she takes him home and allows him to open the the door to his past by gazing at Red John’s constant reminder still painted in blood on his wall.

The entire premise for episodes like this is always a little shaky. We know there’s no possibility of Jane leaving the CBI, so his memory must be returned by the end of the episode. That said, the more lighthearted Jane is fun to watch, but not nearly as much as the disgust expressed by his friends reactions to his behavior.