'The Mentalist: The Seventh and Final Season'
(Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Rockmond Dunbar, Emily Swallow, et al / 3-Disc DVD / NR / 2015 / Warner Bros.)
Overview: Featured in all eight of these beloved, top-rated episodes are the Shady Rest Hotel caretaker Kate Bradley and her three beautiful daughters, Betty Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Billie Jo. Between keeping lazy Uncle Joe in line, as well as maintaining a watchful eye on her daughters hectic love lives, Kate has more than enough to keep her hands full!
DVD Verdict: I honestly think that I can say, hand on heart, that this final season, Season 7 was my favorite of all the seasons. Shorter, in episodic length than the usual seasons, some times when a show is cancelled we don't even get a nice wrap for it. I think 'The Mentalist' was on the cusp of getting canceled, so they knew this and offered up a shorter 13 episode season, which allowed them to wrap the show in a most delightful manner. Well, delightful for most all the characters, save for the one new recruit who passed on rather unexpectedly, it has to be said.
Anyway, with serial killer Red John laid to rest, Patrick Jane is finally free to close the door on his past and plan for the future. A fresh start with the FBI has him solving top-security cases alongside former CBI agents Teresa Lisbon and Kimball Cho, new colleagues Jason Wylie and Michelle Vega, and boss Agent Dennis Abbott.
And Jane's blossoming connection with Lisbon brings a deeper bond to the partners' already intimate and intense professional relationship; as witnessed in the very first episode of this seventh and final season. Jane jumps onto a departing plane, just to stop Lisbon from flying off to be with another detective, to tell her he loves her and wants her to stay. She admits she loves him and from then on it, the love is most certainly in the air. Which is a lovely change from the death and destruction that came along with the whole Red John saga!
As we all know by now, the show is named after the lead protagonist (Baker), and he promptly delivers. He is charming yet gritty, nonchalant yet brilliant, careless yet vulnerable. He's warm and cold at the same time, full of contradictions and full of flaws. Simon Baker portrays these subtle shades of Patrick's personality with an ease, and has made this so accessible to the audience.
I love the way the team solve the crimes in extremely clever ways, having fun along the way also, of course. The way Jane and Lisbon's romance was handled was just perfect - never full on mush, never hidden, clandestine meetings by the water cooler, they still went about their business. As for the eventual ending, of which I won't even come close to revealing here, it's a two-parter that works on every level. That said, it also comes across a wee bit cheesy, but it does still work. As for that final, final moment between both Jane and Lisbon, well, keep a hanky close to hand! I'll miss all the characters, especially Cho, Jane and Lisbon, but funnily enough I will also miss Vega (you'll see why). This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
Patrick Jane: An Uncommon Man - Chronicling Patrick Jane's journey of redemption, from revenge to romance
Unaired Scenes
Own it on DVD & Digital HD April 28th!
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