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The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 14

Blood In, Blood Out

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AIRED: Feb 11, 2010

8.0

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Episode Summary

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Jane tags along with Cho who helps the police with a murder investigation with the victim being a fellow gang member from his early days, who also used to be his best friend.

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

Not the worst episode, but close.

2.0

By bearcatjb, Oct 09, 2011

I'm forced to agree with RedCapParker, in his disappointment with this episode. Whilst I don't think this is the worst episode –for me it is still "Red Badge"- except for one aspect that I really enjoyed, it comes close.

We know that Jane is a smart man, someone who can read people, someone astute, confident and able to provide insight on people, behaviours and personalities, and then able to deduce somewhat accurately how they would behave in a given situation, but why is this not enough? Why is it that in nearly every episode, some elaborate scheme needs to be played out, to trick the perp into giving himself away?

Lightman from "Lie to Me" is also a smart man, equal to Jane in every way (only the writers on his show don't have him remain mysterious in how he comes to conclusions, as they frequently do with Jane), yet hardly ever is a trick required to catch the perp by the end.

Now since tricks are a main-stay of "The Mentalist", then to keep them fresh, they seem to be getting more elaborate and theatrical, and so then they run the risk of being over-the-top, as with this episode, and then come across as forced and phoney, and a product of bad writing. Come on, in this episode you had a guy who was so abused and mistreated that he was going to sue the team, yet earlier when it counted, he played along and pretended to be dead, aiding the team in allowing the real perp to believe Cho was a crazed murderer.

Huh?

If it had been real, and you had a guy who was physically abused, accused of crimes he didn't commit, forcibly removed and taken to the car park by a seemingly crazed policeman, all the while while his partners are calling out things like, "Cho don't do it!", and then knocked to the ground to have the said policeman fire his gun twice near his head (unbeknownst to the guy intentionally missing), and spray red juice of same kind on him, when the other 2 cops arrived with a third party, the last thing this guy would do is lay still, playing dead.

In real life he would be jumping up screaming, "this man is crazy, help me!" hoping that the other two cops and the third man, a civilian and a witness to his torment, would stop the third crazy cop from going further.

I'm glad, "fruit from the poisonous tree" was mentioned by this guy's lawyer, as I was thinking that the show's writers had no idea what this meant. Unfortunately it wasn't used in the context of the real killer, the janitor, in relation to the unit's case against him. There is no way he would be convicted from a confession garnered under threat of life, under duress. (I've mentioned this before for other episodes of the mentalist.) If a confession is gained under threat of life, under the premise of confess-or-die, then it is not a confession at all, and not admissible in a court of law. Even an innocent man would confess to a crime he did not commit under these circumstances.

Therefore any evidence the team found due to this confession, such as the gun used by the janitor, as Lisbon mentioned they found, is "fruit from the poisonous tree", and also inadmissible in court. I would so love to see a follow up episode where Cho and Jane and Rigsby are to attend the janitor's trial to get him convicted, and each have to answer questions under oath, posed by a savvy defence attorney.

These are all factors that would have made this the worst episode to date, rather than simply one of the worst. The one saving grace was the additional background we were given about Cho, fleshing his character out a bit more.

Unfortunately, though, this one nugget of enjoyment was no where near enough to make this a good episode.moreless
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Great

8.2

By thefanof, Jun 22, 2011

Earlier this week House had an episode that spotlighted one of the less engaging, less charismatic characters of its show, Cuddy, and predominantly featured what goes on during her day.

This week The Mentalist did something similar with an episode focusing on the quiet man of the bunch, Cho, going back to his roots to find the murderer. It was different to see the show without Patrick Jane dominating the interrogating with his shenanigans, and it was a welcome change. But Jane is the reason people watch this and his quarter trick was definitely one of the highlights tonight.

Great ep overall 8.2/10.moreless
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The worst episode of The Mentalist yet.

1.0

By RedCapParker, Jun 22, 2011

The summary said it all.

This episode was unbelievable, and though this is my first review, I wouldn't consider myself a particularly harsh reviewer.

To begin:

The Mystery- Or lack thereof. The mystery was embarrassingly easy to solve, and this is coming from a someone who is normally guessing until the end. The janitor's willingness to hire cons (for 'loyalty'), his 'tell' when lying (one of his eyebrows raises when he does) and his weak alibi pretty much cemented him as the killer. The sniffling secretary and spaced out boss meant coke and Sung's gang connections meant he was supplying them, and we had a new suspect. Except the boss suspect has no motive to kill Sung. He was getting coke, and had Sung on a good little leash with the blackmail. The secretary had no reason to kill Sung and didn't even know Sung was the supplier. So that leaves the janitor who lied when he saw the passcodes (which were very obvious passcodes, I must add) who also doesn't have an alibi. Woops, we now only have one suspect. Super.

The (Ice) Man-

Tim Kang acted his part very well, I will admit, but the part was terrible. We see a cold and stoic Cho in other episodes, but we also see an intelligent and moral man. In one of the first episodes of the show, he protests to Jane about putting a girl under hypnosis because it is immoral and illegal. He eventually lets him, but against his better judgment.

The Cho in this episode is a hairsbreadth away from a sociopath. A man who rose up from a gang, served in the military, who then joined a state agency is not a man who would risk everything torturing suspects. He is not a a man who would, in essence, set his friends killer free by extracting a confession under duress. This quasi-sociopath Cho does all those things. This Cho doesn't look ahead, doesn't plan, doesn't even think. This isn't Cho.

We understand that he is the Ice Man, but after looking at his actions in this episode, it looks like a better title would be the Scarecrow.

The Conclusion-

I will say this loudly and clearly for the writers to hear:

"BROWN V. MISSISSIPPI!"

Even more clearly: A confession obtained under duress will not hold up in court. The janitor will walk because any information they gained from that confession, the location of evidence for example, will be inadmissible, as will his confession.

I've let it go twice already (The witness protection episode and the university one), and enough is enough. If you're making a crime procedural, at least make it somewhat believable.

This episode of The Mentalist is hereby stricken from the records.

It is so ordered.moreless
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"Iceman" fits somehow, and yet...not.

9.5

By sandbur, Jun 03, 2011

Cho was hiding a past I'd never have guessed. And this episode was just the thing to bring it out into the open. Well done.

Tim Kang did a brilliant job, I thought, of bringing his alter ego to vibrant life. The checkered past sheds some important light on the "Kimball Cho" we see and love every week. Not only is this character development important and very welcome, it opens up all kinds of script possibilities too. And then there is the team, which now seems more like a team somehow.

The ending was really well done too, and while I doubt the "Iceman" presentation will melt on the job, Cho has been outed as a really good guy! I just hope his sense of humour stays dry as a bone! Oh, and and to the writers: I could get more glimpses of those guns of his too BTW...cuz I'm shallow that way... ;o}moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Simon Baker	Patrick Jane
Robin Tunney	Teresa Lisbon
Tim Kang	Kimball Cho
Owain Yeoman	Wayne Rigsby
Amanda Righetti	Grace Van Pelt

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Sandrine Holt	Elise Chaye	Guest Star
David Barrera	Frank Rodriguez	Guest Star
Jon Sklaroff	Adam Reed	Guest Star

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Episode Photos

Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) helps his col...

© 2010 CBS Corporation
Cho (Tim Kang) interviews Jon Jon, (Atti...

© 2010 CBS Corporation
Jane (Simon Baker) and Cho (Tim Kang) in...

© 2010 CBS Corporation
Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) on The Mental...

© 2010 CBS Corporation

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- At the start of the episode, when Cho is given the address of the murder, the line we hear is "1300 Summit Street" while the closed-captioning reads "3700 Heller Way."
  Later at the start of Crystal's interrogation, Lisbon's first line is "Where did you get the drugs?" while the closed-captioning reads "We don't really care about the drugs."
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QUOTES (7)
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- Jane: Well there must be someone that can tell us that he (an old friend of Cho's.) was or wasn't a member of the gang. I mean just for kicks.
  
  Cho: No.
  
  Jane: Okay, then, just to soothe your troubled conscience.
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- (Talking about the gang Cho used to be in)
  
  Jane: Don't take this the wrong way, but who came up with Avon Park Playboys? I mean, it's not very tough.
  
  Cho: Yeah, that's funny.
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- (Talking about Cho)
  
  Jon Jon: He's a Playboy from way back. Called him the Iceman.
  
  Jane: No. (Shakes his head.)
  
  Jon Jon: Yeah, you wanted something done cold, you got Cho.
  
  Jane: Well, it's still the same.
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- Cho: Mr. Reed, I apologize for accusing you of several crimes I knew you had not committed and for assaulting you, repeatedly.
  
  Mr. Reed: That's it?
  
  Jane: Yes, that's it. I thought that was very good.
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- Elise Chay: Um, I have to ask you...Patrick Jane is-- (From the couch behind her.)
  
  Jane: Over here.
  
  Elise Chay: Oh, hi.
  
  Jane: Hi.
  
  Elise Chay: (To Lisbon in a lowered voice) I thought he'd look scarier.
  
  Lisbon: He's resting.
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- Jane: And who is this K.S. by the way?
  
  Cho: He's a gang leader, bad guy.
  
  Jane: What'd you do to make him mad?
  
  Cho: I shot him.
  
  Jane: That'll do it.
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- (After Rigsby joins Jane and Cho)
  
  Cho: Why'd you call him?
  
  Jane: Oh, um, you're an unreliable partner. I nearly got shot.
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NOTES (4)
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- This episode had 15.86 million viewers when it originally aired.
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Vyrovnávání út (Settling the Score)
  Germany: Der beste freund (The best friend)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Canada: February 11, 2010 on CTV
  Australia: March 08, 2010 on Nine
  United Kingdom: May 21, 2010 on Five
  Germany: May 30, 2010 on SAT 1
  Sweden: June 1, 2010 on TV3
  Czech Republic: October 25, 2010 on TV Nova
  Slovakia: August 16, 2011 on Markiza
  Poland: October 31, 2011 on TVN
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- Simon Baker (Patrick Jane) and Jon Sklaroff (Adam Reed) previously worked together on The Guardian.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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