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The Mentalist Season 2 Episode 7

Red Bulls

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AIRED: Nov 12, 2009

8.2

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Episode Summary

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When two cases overlap, Minelli orders Bosco's and Lisbon's units to team up for the investigation of a kidnapping crime. Soon, the two different procedural approaches start to collide and cause tensions among the team members.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

Lisbon and Bosco's team work together

9.5

By DexterMorgan2, Feb 16, 2013

This was a really funny episode when the two teams had to work together when a woman is kidnapped and it delivers a brilliant episode with Jane solving the case and proving to Bosco how good he is and it was surprising that they was able to solve the case because of the feud with Jane and Bosco In the end Bosco trusted Jane enough to give him the Red John files since Bosco taken over.moreless
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Rarely does a television show excel on so many levels, as did this week's episode of "The Mentalist." Beginning with the opening scene, the viewer is neatly enticed to continue watching.moreless

9.5

By sunsethill, Apr 07, 2011

The plot may have been somewhat generic(kidnapping wealthy person for ransom), but the execution was nothing short of perfect. All the major and minor players had great opportunities to show why this series is really maturing. And of course, Jane was the unbridled genius that brought it all together. The writers really came through with a great contrast to previous episode's clashes between Bosco's and Lisbon's teams. Per Minelli's command, both teams needed some get acquainted time, to avoid the opening's near tragic exchange of gunfire. He orders them to work the case together.

Although the entire episode was a standout, certain specifics are worth noting. Van Pelt getting shot was a real shocker. Her imitation of Jethro Gibbs, when she slapped Rigsby in the back of the head for not wearing his vest, furthered her character as being cool under fire and not just good with a computer. Rigsby's chase scene of Van Pelt's shooter was a real adrenaline burst. The action, filming, and music could easily pass for a cut from "24" or "Burn Notice." Bosco's tough cop routine held up, but he blinked first when he handed over his Red John file to Jane. A softer Bosco is just not in his character and it is too soon to tell if that move will get him killed or save his life. The Lisbon and Bosco past gets more mysterious with each episode and the extended eye-to-eye contact and tequila shots implies that this sub-plot is more than filler material. As for Jane's performance, he is moving purely on instinct for his prey, i.e. Red John. His eye for detail is getting more honed and he is hiding it well with his wit and case closing abilities. Remember what he said to Mace Guthrie(suspect that Jane interrogated in the Season 1 finale), "I'll do whatever it takes..." to catch Red John.

Hopefully, the remainder of the season will maintain the standards of this episode. Is it Thursday yet?moreless
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Great episode (Review contains spoilers!)

9.5

By mysteriousopal, Apr 07, 2011

Lisbon, Jane and Bosco are forced to team up after a kidnapping victim turns up dead and another woman has been taken. Both teams go immediately on confrontation course and that unprofessional behavior nearly costs the life of Van Pelt. This episode has all the things I come to love about The Mentalist. We get to see Jane being Jane with no respect for boundaries, some cute scenes where he plays with a kid. Also there were some nice Van Pelt / Rigsby moments, in particular the little "fight" about wearing the kevlar vest and the aftermath of the shooting.

Jane and Bosco working together was very funny - especially when approaching the Mexican mafia guys. Bosco's line to Jane "You coming? I need you for backup." - hilarious :D

We see some great confrontation scenes with Lisbon, Jane and Bosco. And finally they team up for real to catch the kidnappers and get the woman free. In the end Jane manages to earn Bosco's trust and he gets to read the Red John file.

Overall a great episode. Can't wait for next week!moreless
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Another great episode.

8.0

By thefanof, Mar 21, 2011

Okay, I take it back. I said The Mentalist Season 2 was not good, and the last few episodes have just completely disproven that notion. The writing is as strong as ever, you have great action sequences, compelling drama on every level, mystery, suspense, top notch comedy scenes with Patrick Jane. Not much more you could want from a CBS drama.

CBS has the Super Bowl this year, and if I were them I would surely consider putting The Mentalist on after it. Millions have already discovered this show, but millions more could following the big game.

This was such a great episode from top to bottom. A good, intriguing story, that progressed well, was finely acting and most of all was believable, something not always the case with this show.

Keep up the good work Mentalist!moreless
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Amazing episode, with great attention to detail and some new developments in the Jane vs. Bosco issue! More of this please

9.5

By Lyta_499, Nov 15, 2009

Okay, after this episode I've officially stopped worrying about where Mentalist is heading. It's obviously back on track and with a vengeance. All the loose ends have started to tie themselves to one another, the show's weaknesses have been paid attention to and, judging from this episode, corrected and it's moving on a new, accelerated pace.

First of all, loved the scene with Van Pelt getting shot, and Rigsby chasing down the suspect. That was a very well done chase scene, an adrenaline rush that almost had me biting down my nails! As a previous reviewer pointed out the music in combination to the quick, fragmentary editing and the camera angles worked miracles for increasing the suspense factor. More of this type of hard, fast adventure would benefit the show in the future. Also, the aftermath of the shooting, where Van Pelt's leg couldn't stop shaking and Rigsby got into the ambulance with her, was a very realistic portrayal of such an incident. A cop who has just taken three bullets would be shaken to say the least, even if it was the bravest cop in the force. Van Pelt's reaction was realistic as well as somewhat heroic. And after her and Rigsby establishing their relationship status in the previous episode, we can now see how this is affecting their work relationship. Apart from being overly worried for one another it seems they're going to be fine.

The interaction between Bosco's team and Lisbon's team, as well as Bosco and Jane themselves was amazing. I didn't expect a solution to this problem so soon and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Bosco didn't give in easily, but in the end he had to admit to Jane's skills and value in the team. Of course, Lisbon's reproach pushed matters towards that direction, but Bosco isn't a bad person. He is stubborn and perhaps a little restricted in his way of thinking when it comes to solving cases, but when he experienced Jane's effectiveness first hand he admitted his insight would be of use in the RJ case. The scene where Bosco handed Jane the folder was unbelievable, it was so unexpected it blew me away! Now the RJ issue can be furthered, and I'm sure many viewers are as anxious as I am to see what happens next. Also, up until this episode I thought Bosco's obvious love interest for Lisbon was unrequited, but after their scene with the tequila shots, I have to wonder... It didn't seem like she wasn't interested.

All in all a solid episode with proper balance between adventure, drama, humor, detective work and character development. Loved every minute of it and hope we get more of this quality of material in the future. Well done, team!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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Dominic Hoffman	Marlin Hicks	Guest Star
Andres Perez-Molina	Nick Martinez	Guest Star
Jesse Burch	Mark Dyson	Guest Star
Gregory Itzin	Virgil Minelli	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Jane (Simon Baker) apprehends a suspect ...

© 2009 CBS Corporation
Jane (Simon Baker) and Bosco (Terry Kinn...

© 2009 CBS Corporation
Jane (Simon Baker) and Bosco (Terry Kinn...

© 2009 CBS Corporation
Cho (Tim Kang), Lisbon (Robin Tunney) an...

© 2009 CBS Corporation

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Red is a predominant color in all episodes of The Mentalist. In the closing scene of "Red Bulls", Jane is seated on the couch reading a red covered book. This is fairly obvious; however, a more subtle allegorical representation of red is the book that the camera pans across just prior to focusing on Jane. The book is Communism and Development by Robert Bideleux. Not only is the cover of the book decorated with a series of red flags with different symbols of communism, but red is also the official color of the Communist Party.
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QUOTES (14)
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- Duncan Weaver: More CBI. Where did you guys come from anyway? Two days ago, I never heard of you.
  
  Jane: You neither...nice place. You guys must be loaded. How did you make the money?
  
  Verona Westlake: Uh, my grandfather, actually...oil, lumber.
  
  Jane: Oh! I just assumed it was new money, because of the, uh, decor.
  
  Bosco: (in a lowered voice) Um, already you start with this crap?
  
  Jane: What? What?!
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- Bosco: You shouldn't be working with us. You're hurting people. You know that?
  
  Jane: Who?
  
  Bosco: The cops you work with. Don't kid yourself, their careers are taking a hit. If you care about 'em, you'll leave.
  
  Jane: Cops I work with, meaning Lisbon?
  
  Bosco: And her team.
  
  Jane: But mostly Lisbon.
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- Bosco: Lisbon? What are you doing here?
  
  Lisbon: What do you think? (She points to the corpse on the floor.) What are you doing here?
  
  Jane: You're waving your guns around is what you're doing. Can you just put your guns away, please? Cowboys!
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- Bosco: You know, that thing you said about Jane making you a better cop...you don't believe that.
  
  Lisbon: I may have exaggerated for effect.
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- Lisbon: Sir, the important thing is nobody got hurt.
  
  Minelli: All respect to your people, Lisbon, the important thing is we make sure that this does not happen again. "CBI agents shoot each other", is not a headline that I want to see.
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- Lisbon: It's time to go.
  
  Jane: I'm gonna stay.
  
  Lisbon: I know what this is about. Bosco's got the Red John file, you think if you hang around long enough you'll weasel your way into it.
  
  Jane: Weasel is a little strong.
  
  Lisbon: You're wasting your time. Bosco will never go for it. Never.
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- Jane: So what's the deal here?
  
  Bosco: Well, the tattoo on the kidnapper's arm suggests the Mexican mafia might be involved.
  
  Jane: Mm-hmm.
  
  Bosco: Those guys...they're members. So we're gonna go talk to them.
  
  Jane: They look scary.
  
  Bosco: They are scary. You can't become a full member until you've killed someone.
  
  Jane: Maybe I'll just wait in the car.
  
  Bosco: No. You're coming with me. I need you for backup.
  
  Jane: Backup?
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- Minelli: I want your people teaming up on this.
  
  Bosco: (sighs) Is that necessary?
  
  Minelli: I believe it is. I want to foster better inter-unit relations. Let's stop stumbling into each other and try working together.(Bosco sighs and crosses his arms) You have concerns?
  
  Bosco: I do. (Points to Jane.) This man is a...uh. I don't even know what he is. He's an accident waiting to happen.
  
  Lisbon: Sam, be fair. He--
  
  Bosco: Closes cases, I know.
  
  Jane: I do.
  
  Minelli: He does.
  
  Jane: I do.
  
  Bosco: But in my opinion, this is a mistake.
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- Lisbon: My team went in the house. The corpse was there but the coroner wasn't, so we waited.
  
  Minelli: And everyone almost died in a hail of bullets.
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- Lisbon: (to Van Pelt who has just been shot) Don't ever do this to me again.
  
  Van Pelt: No problem.
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- Bosco: They're Jane's people. They need watching.
  
  Lisbon: I like to think of them as my people.
  
  Bosco: Well, think what you like. I can't have them trying to pull some cheap stunt behind my back.
  
  Jane: Well, we have a whole range of expensive stunts if you don't like the cheap ones.
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- Cho: Bosco's team calls us Bert and Ernie.
  
  Rigsby: You knew that, and you didn't say anything?
  
  Cho: It would bother you.
  
  Rigsby: It doesn't bother you?
  
  Cho: No.
  
  Rigsby: Why not?
  
  Cho: Ernie's the clever, handsome one.
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- (talking about Van Pelt who has just been shot)
  
  Jane: Is she all right?
  
  Lisbon: Yeah.
  
  Bosco: Thank God.
  
  Jane: Well, thank kevlar, actually.
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- Lisbon: (to Bosco) You know what? Jane's not the problem. You are. You're so stuck on the idea that he's not a cop that you can't see what he is. You know how many cases he's closed for us? You think he's given me bad habits? I think he's made me a better cop.
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NOTES (3)
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- This episode had 16.17 million viewers when it originally aired.
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Rudí býci (Red Bulls)
  Germany: Ernie und Bert (Bert and Ernie)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Australia: November 16, 2009 on Channel 9
  The Netherlands: February 25, 2010 on SBS6
  United Kingdom: April 2, 2010 on Five
  Germany: April 11, 2010 on SAT 1
  Sweden: April 13, 2010 on TV3
  Czech Republic: September 6, 2010 on TV Nova
  Slovakia: July 13, 2011 on Markiza
  Poland: September 12, 2011 on TVN
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Bosco's team nicknamed Rigsby and Cho as Bert and Ernie. Bert and Ernie are two characters of the long-running children television show Sesame Street.
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- Bosco shoves Jane out of his office after Jane tells him how much he is impressed with his "macho cop prowess" in the street encounter with Raoul the informant. As Jane walks away he refers to Bosco as "Bullitt" and "Kojak."
  
  The allusion is to San Francisco Police Department detective Lt. Frank Bullitt, played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 film Bullitt.
  
  Kojak was a television series that aired for seven non-consecutive seasons between 1973 and 1990 starring Telly Savalas as New York Police Department Lt. Theo Kojak.
  
  Both Kojak and Bullitt were no nonsense tough cops similar to Bosco's character.
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