Count me very impressed by this season of The Mentalist. After the great episode last time with Hightower running away, the show returned with a slightly different format and plenty of funny moments. Somehow, LaRoche becomes the interim head of CBI and the unwitting Lisbon mouths off to him, resulting in Cho being placed in charge of the team.
Naturally, we'd expect Lisbon to be upset, but she's actually relieved. Years of stress, having to deal with Jane and other aspects of being team leader, is on hold, and Lisbon quickly makes use of her new underling position. She still has certain impulses to lead, but she knows the Cho is in charge and is perfectly happy to hand off responsibility of Jane. The change in roles allows for a Lisbon and Van Pelt bonding scene and plenty of scenes where Lisbon shows her support for Cho.
The above average case is centered at a hospital, with Jane doing most of the work, playing the trick at the end and messing with a Russian criminal in the process. Jane also takes the religious medal at the end of the episode--possible acceptance of religion or just the courteous thing to do?
Score: 9.0/10
