The Mentalist

Red Herring

Season 2, Episode 15, Aired 3/4/10

Episode Summary

Jane and the team are asked to investigate the murder of Jeffrey Barge, a prominent chef, who was poisoned right at a best chef challenge.

7.9

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Cast & Crew

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Simon Baker

Patrick Jane
Robin Tunney

Teresa Lisbon
Tim Kang

Kimball Cho

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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Patrick Jane and the team investigate a Chef's death.

8.0

"Great"

By jimforlife391, Sep 17, 2011 Report Abuse

I Don't know about anybody else but I think this is one of The Mentalist's worst episodes of the season, don't get me wrong it was good but not normal Mentalist good. This episode was not strong because there were no good CBI investigating it was boring and for Jane he didn't do any cool stuff that he usally does, to get the answer, the thing he did with the spice was smart but not exciting, I just think the storyline was boring and I also think they should do a episode about Red John, and solve Red John very soon, maybe for the end of season 2.moreless

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7 3
Red Herring

6.0

"Fair"

By thefanof, Sep 17, 2011 Report Abuse

Filler episode tonight, it would be hard to spin it any other way. A fairly generic plot (a man dies as a result of poisoning) and a whole host of cliched suspects (the brother, the mistress, the wife etc. etc.)

Sometimes this show can be bloody brilliant, but sometimes it feels like something I want to turn off. Tonight's episode was not that extreme, but this is not something I am going to watch again once TNT starts airing reruns.

I am glad the show is back and producing new episodes, but for one of TV's most popular shows they need to do better than this.moreless

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6 3
Lazy writer coasts on show's premise

4.5

"Poor"

By KludgeTV, Sep 17, 2011 Report Abuse

There have been quite a few writers for this show, some better than others, but all so far have respected the intellect of the audience of the show. We're mystery fans that have read the best and are not easily fooled. There've been no episodes with magical acceptance of Jane's deductive abilities but instead each writer has respected the brand and written honest, suspenseful mystery. For the most part each episode has built on the mystic of the Jane character.

Unfortunately Mr. Appelbaum, the author of this offense, simply boiled the show down to its base elements and tossed in a few words to fill it out. The show feels like it was written by a producer that said, "Hey! That's easy. I could right an episode! He's like a smart guy that does stuff... and things."

It reminds me of someone that watches a brilliant comic that makes comedy looks so easy so says, "That's so easy! Everyone around me says I'm funny. I bet I could tell jokes."moreless

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2 5
Jane and the team investigate the poisoning of a chef at a cooking competition.

8.0

"Great"

By vicbjones, Dec 03, 2010 Report Abuse

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD; There were some things that were a little hackneyed, but I was kind of surprised by the killer's motive. As soon as I saw the wife on the married cooking team, I figured the victim was having an affair with her, and when she was brought in for questioning, I wasn't surprised when she ended up poisoned too. I also guessed the killer reasonably early, but when I heard the backstory to why the killer had done it, I was a little conflicted. I fell some sympathy for both the killer/killers and the victim(s). One unique element was the medicinal marijuana store owned by the thuggish loan shark, but even more impressive was how subtlely the writer established the elements of his story, from the reason the CBI was called into the case to the victim's relationship with his wife to the subplot involving Lisbon and alcoholism(?). (O.K., maybe that last element wasn't so subtle.) There was plenty of foreshadowing if you were paying attention, and it all tied together. Jon Polito's talents were somewhat wasted, but this was one episode of The Mentalist that I didn't think could be improved by changing the order of some of the scenes.moreless

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3 0
Episode that went through the motions but came out feeling flat. No character depth or development, kind of disappointing after the long break.

8.0

"Great"

By lemae_27, May 31, 2010 Report Abuse

It was an alright episode. Was hoping for some kind of makeup scene between Grace and Rigsby but they didn't address their previous fight or even indicated that they were still together.

Overall the episode had a weird feel to it. At the beginning Jane asks Lisbon if shes alright which foreshadows a personal problem coming. Then in her office while she's talking to the AG she's organizing her desk and she has these bean bag things that have 'file', 'in', 'out' written on them. At the end Jane asks her again if she's alright which she insists that she is. She sits behind her desk and goes to pull out a bottle of liquor, slightly hesitating, before placing it on her desk. She hesitates again before putting it back and shutting her drawer.

Hopefully they are using this episode to set something big up in the future, possibly a drinking problem with Lisbon, though it seems cliche.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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Notes
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- International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Pálivá omáčka (Hot Sauce) Edit
- Original International Air Dates:
  Canada: March 4, 2010 on CTV
  United Kingdom: May 28, 2010 on Five
  Germany: June 6, 2010 on SAT 1
  Sweden: June 8, 2010 on TV3
  Czech Republic: November 1, 2010 on TV Nova
  Slovakia: August 23, 2011 on Markiza
  Poland: November 7, 2011 on TVN
  Edit
Quotes
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- (The CBI team is searching through Abigail's house while Jane is watching TV.) Jane: Did you know a full-grown elephant can eat up to 495 pounds of food per day? Lisbon: Could you at least pretend to be helping? Edit
- Jane: What's the trouble, Eliza? Eliza: I don't, um...I don't feel well. I should go. Lisbon: What's the problem? Eliza: Uh, the peppers...it didn't go down well. Lisbon: The pepper? What's wrong with the pepper? If you don't wanna talk about it here, we can take it down to headquarters. Jane: How long can we keep her there? Lisbon: Forty-eight hours. Jane: Wow, that's a strech of time. Eliza: I have to leave. I have to leave right now. Jane: No, that would be rude. I don't think so. Duesterberg: What is wrong with you? Eliza: We all...have to go to the hospital, right now. Lisbon: What for? Eliza: The pepper...I think it was poisoned. I-I-I saw Ludo put something into it. Ludo: I did not. How dare you. Jane: Maybe you're just cramping a little? Just a little-- Eliza: All right, all right. I poisoned Julia's pepper. Lisbon: And Jeffrey's gin? Eliza: Yes, yes! Just bring me to a hospital. Jane: No, hospitals are terrible germ factories. You don't wanna go there. Eliza: Are you insane!? Lisbon: Relax. We knew about the pepper. We just didn't know who put it there. Edit
- Jane: You're quite the ghoul, aren't you, Duesterberg? Dragging on this meaningless contest after a man has been killed. Duesterberg: This contest, Mr. Jane, is an affirmation of life. It's a testament that appetite still exists, even in the face of death. Jane: And you need the money. Edit
Allusions
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