The whole thing with Abbott’s old boss, Peterson, comes to a head. Here are your Mentalist Top Five Moments!
Peterson apparently didn’t take Jane’s threat as seriously as Jane thought, because he has the guy Abbott shot in Rio Bravo dug up and the bullet in his head extracted. Jane is on top of it, though, as he told Wylie to monitor Peterson’s whereabouts. Peterson’s been in contact with a San Antonio congressman named Jules Blatt, and Mrs. Abbott’s confirmation is in four days. The clock is ticking! Time to save some Abbott butt!
After Jane lets Abbott in on the bad news, he instantly knows what Peterson did and that next comes the subpoena of the gun. As Lisbon totally freaks out, Jane lies down on his favorite couch for a think. If Jane’s not worried, neither am I.
Meanwhile, Abbott finally tells Lena what happened, and she’s supportive of her man. She wants to withdraw, and Abbott offers to resign. Jane interrupts to say he knows they’re both willing to commit career suicide for the other but warns against it, since Peterson’s a ruthless bastard who won’t stop until he’s destroyed both of them. But Jane has a plan, of course. Hey, that couch has magical powers.
Abbott doesn’t want Jane in on it, but Lena does. She spills that Abbott said Jane has one of the most devious and trickiest minds he’s ever worked with. But! He also says Jane is his friend, and he would trust Jane with his life. I’m all verklempt. Jane won’t tell them his plan, so they have deniability. They’re on board. So is Cho. Vega is purposely left in the dark.
Wylie discovers Peterson is a wine snob with a lavish lifestyle, so Jane’s theory Peterson has stolen money seems dead on. Jane will handle the bullet problem, while Lisbon, Cho, and Wylie dig into Peterson’s life.
Jane goes to his old circus buddy, Pete, for some help. Pete also recommends Jane take off the damn ring. Pete, you’re my hero.
Meanwhile, Peterson could not be more douchey as he hits tennis balls at a private club while talking on the cell phone. Jane tells him he knows about Peterson’s trip, and Peterson’s all “JUSTICE” until he comes clean this Jules person wants to block Lena from the position, and if Peterson gives him the ammunition to do it, that will turn out good for him.
Of course, Jane steals his Peterson’s phone. Through it, they’re able to figure out Peterson is skimming through low-level drug busts, since he’s the one who’s supposed to report how much money they found. He also has a Fort Knox security system.
Vega at last corners Cho. She knows something’s been going on and wants in on it, so Cho needs to stop protecting her. She’s down with breaking at least seven laws and possibly ending her career, so he assigns her the Peterson detail.
It all of a sudden occurs to Abbott his agents might be breaking a few laws and tries to call off Jane’s plan, but as Jane points out, he’ll go to jail, Lena will lose her job, and Peterson winds up as head of the DEA. Uh, NO THANK YOU, Abbott thinks but doesn’t say. However, he also looks verklempt because they’re all willing to go down for him.
Vega overhears Peterson’s meeting with Missy from Blatt’s office, where he promises to bring the evidence the next day.
I guess Peterson wasn’t too worried about his lost cell phone, as Wylie is able to tap into his security system and put up a static picture. Alrighty, then! Of course, Jane just sits on the couch and figures it out. They find the safe but need Peterson’s thumb print. Since this isn’t an action movie, I assume they won’t be killing Peterson and cutting off his thumb.
As an alternative, Wylie goes to Abbott to get clearance to retrieve a couple of million dollars from evidence. Abbott=not at all surprised Jane lied about not needing his help. Meanwhile, Wylie has the money and is on his way to Peterson’s house. Vega stalls Peterson by ramming into the back of his car, but the gig is up when Peterson recognizes her.
Abbott shows up at Lena’s confirmation hearing to wipe the smug smile off Peterson’s face. He shows Peterson a nice picture of a bag full of money with Peterson’s kitty sitting on top of it. Peterson checks Abbott for a wire but forgets to check the room for Vega who recorded Peterson offering half of the money to Abbott.
As for the bullet evidence, well, if you didn’t figure out Missy was a plant, you’ve never watched this show. In flashback, we see Fake Missy go into Blatt’s office and say she lost her cell phone in order to make the original call come from Blatt’s office. Then Pete and his gang pose as exterminators, so Peterson could have his meeting with Fake Missy. Peterson gets placed under arrest by Abbott. YAY! I love when the good guys win.
Lisbon and Jane discuss Jane’s obsession with keeping Lisbon safe. His awareness of her being an FBI agent seems to be the bone of contention. In the end, Jane admits to his fear of losing her but agrees to live in the moment.
All’s well that ends well. Abbott tells Cho he’s moving to D.C. in a couple of months, and he’s selected Cho to lead up the unit. Even CHO looks verklempt. He smiles! Laughs, even! And Wylie and Vega are becoming a thing.
What do you guys think? As we countdown to the final episodes, it seems they just want to make the fans happy. Good job!