After a good month of voting for the Mentalist for a People’s Choice Award for Best Tv Crime Drama on the PCA app, Facebook and Twitter, I have become a part of a group of The Mentalist fans that are, sometimes to my dismay, excessively good at finding spoilers. They have even introduced me to words that were all but foreign to me such as “Jisbon,” “Shipper,” and “OTP,” which will be important in a minute. Last night I happened across a tweet/spoiler that caught my attention and lead me to an article at www.tvline.com/2013/2014/thementalist-season-6-brianna-brown-jane-date/.
The spoiler itself was less than
earth shattering, apparently Jane is going to ask a girl out on a date in an
upcoming episode, but out of my naive love for the show I started reading the
comments thinking that people would be going on about how awesome it is. Boy
was I wrong and further, what I found there was enough to give me a sleepless
night that in turn led to this article. (By the way, I make no allusions to having
a real life.)
I’m not going to sit here and
rewrite every scathing remark that I found there, but if you’d like to read
them yourself, just click the link above. All I’m going to do is list a few
things that frankly, really got my goat.
As Jane would list them, A.) The
creators are not only being bullied by “shippers,” (people who want two
characters to be in a romantic relationship,) but are also allowing themselves
to be bullied. B.) “shippers” only watch the show for “Jisbon” (Jane/Lisbon
romantic entanglement), C.) romance ruins good shows, D.) it’s okay to “ship”
(want a romantic entanglement,) between anyone but “Jisbon” even if they’re
murderers, cons, or strangers, E.) Jane and Lisbon have no chemistry and Jane
doesn’t even like Lisbon, F.) the Red John Episode was a disappointment, and
finally G.) “real fans” aren’t “Jisbon shippers.”
It seems like there’s a few people out
there who are finding a lot to complain about The Mentalist, which has left me wondering
why they even watch the show in the first place? Thankfully, as you have the
right to complain, I, as well, have the right to address “said” complaints.
I must say that as far as insults go
A.) was certainly all encompassing. Not only did you insult the “shipper” fans
of the show, (which was assuredly your purpose,) you also managed to insult the
creators, writers and actors of the show as well, (which I’m thinking wasn’t
your purpose). Bravo! This “bullying,” comment assumes that the creators and
writers have so little pride and affection for their work that they would give
in to anyone who was trying to ruin the integrity of what they have built.
If this is indeed what you were
saying, and it sure sounds that way to me, I must assume that you have never
written a word in your life and could therefore never understand how attached
writers become to what they have created. In many ways, it’s not unlike a
parent/child relationship. I can attest that no amount of pressure would ever
make me change something to “please” fans. Really quick, though, I need to
explain that what I’m talking about here is the true and original intent of the
story. So, if the original intent of the show was that Jane and Lisbon end up
together or not then small things, ie when or how they end up together, might
change, but not if they do. And I can tell you this much: Bruno Heller is no
push over.
In a tvline.com interview regarding
the relationship between Jane and Lisbon, Heller said that, “They haven’t been
thinking about [their growing closeness] while it’s been happening, so all this
accumulated emotion and feeling has been building up, essentially behind them.
It’s only when they step away from that and can turn around and look back that
they will really start to see how they feel about each other, and it’s great
fun to explore that on the page. I think it’s going to be a whole different
look at these two characters.” (http://tvline.com/2013/09/19/the-mentalist-season-6-jane-lisbon-spoilers/.)
Also you say that you are “real fans,”
but threaten to stop watching the show should Jane and Lisbon ever end up
together. Now, I am not a “real fan,” as you defined it, but I can say this in
concern to B.) I wouldn’t stop watching the show if Jane and Lisbon didn’t end
up together, so why would you, as “real fans,” stop watching if they did? Do I
want Jane and Lisbon together? Absolutely! But there is so much more to the
show than that: the humor, the fact that Jane makes an effort to be happy even
though he has every reason to be sad, Cho… Need I say more?
It just doesn’t make sense that
you’d stop watching especially when so many of you claim that you watch the
show solely for the procedural aspect which would remain even if Jane and
Lisbon did end up together. (C.)
I am a, (cringe,) “Jisbon Shipper.”
(Worst couple name ever. Sounds like a pole dancer in Vegas.) That said,
confessed, whatever, I am actually excited about the idea of Jane asking
someone out on a date. I, eventually, didn’t mind it when he kissed Erica Flynn
in season four, (after I knew she wouldn’t be coming back,) and was fine with
him going out to dinner and dancing with Kim Fischer. In my opinion Jane will
need to do these things if he is ever to find his, (my twitter friends will be
so proud of me for using this,) OTP, (One True Paring.) By the way, who comes
up with these things?
What I don’t understand and am not
okay with is the idea that it’s perfectly okay to “Ship” Jane with anyone “with
two legs,” as some twitter friends put it, as long as they are not Lisbon, including
murderers: Erica Flynn, Lorelei Martins; Cons: Erica Flynn, Kristina Fry; or
total strangers: Kim Fischer. (D.)
Uh, seriously people? Do you hate
Lisbon, and dare I say Jane, that much? Now I’m hoping it’s clear why I
wouldn’t want Patrick Jane with murderers, or cons, so I’m just going to skip
explaining my reasoning there in the hope that you’re not completely out in
left field mentally and just move on to Kim Fischer.
My Blue Heaven hadn’t even aired
before people were claiming Kim Fischer was Jane’s OTP. Which confuses me yet
again, because Lisbon “haters” love to claim that she and Jane have no
chemistry, E.) while at the same time saying he would have tons of chemistry
with a character we hadn’t even seen him with yet.
Now correct me if I’m wrong, but
isn’t that kind of claim slightly reminiscent to the one made by the builders
of the Titanic who said that it was unsinkable? The truth of the matter is that
this type of claim only sets you up for failure, because until it’s been tested
there’s no way you can really know. (It’s a double metaphor. I love it!
Especially because I think your “Fane” or “Jisher Ship” is going down. Also it
appears there is a couple name worse than Jisbon.)
I’ll give you this much though, at
least Fischer isn’t a criminal, murderer, or con woman, but could we please see
them together before you decide they are perfect for one another and that
Lisbon should, indeed, be kicked to the curb? Is that really so much to ask? Especially
six seasons in when we’re already emotionally invested in the cast we have?
The sad thing, for you “Fane
shippers” anyway, is that even if you were to come to me now and say at this
point, “Well, hey, we’ve seen them together and they were perfect,” I couldn’t
trust your judgment because you had already decided they were “perfect” before
you ever actually saw them together.
It wouldn’t be an argument for their
chemistry, (which I can be mature enough to admit they have, unlike all of you
with Jisbon,) but only for your desperation not to see Jisbon happen.
Besides, I thought you were watching
The Mentalist for the procedural aspect, (C.), so why are you “shipping” in the
first place? Especially given you believe that romance only ruins good stories.
On that awesomely ridiculous note,
romance doesn’t ruin, it sells. People like falling in love and watching other
people fall in love. It’s a natural human instinct and desire to crave love and
enjoy watching it. Unless of course you are the emotional equivalent of a slug,
in which case, if you are, I apologize in advance.
I for one have never been a big fan
of romance-centric movies, books or television shows. In fact I find them quite
boring. He and She meet, some conflict ensues that keeps them apart, conflict
is resolved, they get together, and often crying is expected. Meh. No thank
you. That said, it is a well known fact that the best and most popular stories
out there have been romances or have had dominating romantic storylines in
them. Ie: Titanic, (haha, still funny,) Twilight (I apologize for pulling this
card,) Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Thor, and all these awesome “superhero”
movies that have been coming out lately, Bones, Castle, and even The Divinci
Code, all had or have dominating romances in their storylines that have far
from ruined what they are.
If anything this only proves that
romance helps draw in audiences and gives them something to invest in that can
be streamed in throughout every episode, unlike the case-of-the-day scenario.
Romance makes our beloved characters human, which is what people like to see.
That said I’d like to speak to the
idea that Jane and Lisbon have no chemistry and specifically the person who
quoted Bruno Heller saying that they were like siblings. You’re are absolutely
right. Heller did say that, but that’s not all he said. I’m going to quote it
directly so that later someone can’t accuse me of picking and choosing parts of
quotes I think will make my points, which is what I am accusing you of right
now.
In the Hollywood reporter, Bruno
Heller said, “I think their,” (Jane and Lisbon’s,) “feelings for each other,
whatever they are, have been masked by this joint mission they’ve been on. Now
they’re getting toward the end of that mission—for good or ill, success or
failure. Certainly Lisbon is beginning to think about what happens after and
how is that relationship going to change. They’ve always thought themselves
that it’s a brother-sister, professional relationship, but clearly there is
more there that they’re not really aware of themselves. Once Red John is gone,
if he goes, the real relationship that they have with each other is then
exposed to light, if you like, then they have to deal with that.” (Here’s a
link for those of you who’d call me liar: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/mentalist-season-6-preview-bruno-638413.)
On the examiner.com Bruno Heller
also said this about Jane and Lisbon which you might find interesting or
infuriating, “I think they absolutely love each other. Have they ever laid
there at night and thought about the other one and what that would be like to
be a romantic couple? Of course they have, and that’s exactly what they’re
going to continue feeling and thinking.” (http://www.examiner.com/article/the-mentalist-6-01-photos-romance-for-jane-and-lisbon-teased.)
Further, I’d like to give some
evidence from the show itself. I’ve picked three episodes to make my point,
intentionally picking two which were written by Heller, since you like to use
parts of his quotes to make your invalid points. I also picked examples
spanning the seasons so as to be more than clear than you have been in the
opposition, that there have been moments of potential romance building between
Jane and Lisbon.
The pilot has an excellent moment at
the end of the episode after Jane gives Lisbon an origami frog he made for her,
when he steps off to the side to watch her without the worry that she’ll catch
him in the act. He gives a huge smile at her surprise when the frog jumps, then
becomes sullen (?) and walks off.
In season three, episode ten, Red
Moon, Jane goes to Lisbon’s hotel room and wakes her up. When she opens the
door she is in her night shirt. He proceeds to tell her to get dressed, and
when she goes to do so, closing her door behind her, he tries to look through
her peephole and then her curtains.
In season five, episode two, Devil’s
Cherry, Jane drinks a poison that causes him to hallucinate his deceased
daughter, who later in the episode asks Jane after proclaiming that Lisbon is
“cute” if they’d ever gotten together. So either the actual ghost of his
daughter is pushing him toward Lisbon or his subconscious is.
Bruno Heller may have said that they
have thought themselves brother and sister, but he has said other things about
their relationship, and one thing is for sure, his writing absolutely negates
the sibling theory.
I can say, with much gratitude, that
my brothers have never once stared at me as Jane did with Lisbon in the Pilot
episode, (and other episodes as well,) my brothers have never checked out my
legs while I was in my nightshirt, and my brothers have never had a subconscious
hallucinations of their deceased daughter, or her actual ghost, (whatever you
prefer to believe,) asking them if we’ve ever gotten together. Hallelujah!
Brothers and sisters do not flirt.
Yuck. Although if yours do, in hindsight, that would explain a lot. Point
being, if “Jisbon” happens, it’s not because the fans forced the writers to do
it, (A.). If anything it’s Bruno Heller and the other writer’s fault for
putting it into our heads in the first place. From the Pilot, nonetheless!
And finally, one more thing regarding
romance, I’d like to point out that, (while I’ve made some jabs myself, they
were mostly to garner a laugh,) this is just a television show. Fiction, not
fact. I know because my family tells me on a regular basis. (I think they’re
worried I’ve forgotten.) And while I can admit to being more than a little
emotionally invested in the show and its characters, I’d like to hope that I am
smart enough to realize that not everyone is going to agree with me and hope
that I can show a modicum of self-control and decency toward real human beings,
even if they disagree with me over my opinion of fictional characters.
Moving on.
There is one more issue that I would
like to address and that is the completely naïve understanding of those who
think the Red John episode was such a letdown that they need to broadcast their
disappointment all over the internet.
First of all, I’d like to see you do
better.
Second, to all of you who think this
and have the nerve to post you thoughts over and over again all over the
internet, I say to you that it is clear that you have no real understanding of
what it takes to make a good story.
Since season three of The Mentalist
I have been sure that Gale Bertram was Red John. Now that I know he is not, I
am not disappointed, because as a writer I understand that there is a process
one must go through to keep people guessing and a story fun.
After the fifth season finale and
over the course of the following summer I started vacillating on my belief that
Bertram was Red John and was really starting to think that it was Brett
Partridge. Partridge was on the list of seven suspects Jane had, was present at
several Red John crime scenes, as a matter of fact I think he only had one
episode that was not in some way Red John related, and to top it off about 70
percent of people who were voting online as to who they believed Red John was
voted for him. He almost had me won over.
However, as I was watching the first
episode of season six, my writers brain kicked into gear and I started weighing
the options of him actually being Red John with knowing the popular opinion. I
thought to myself, Bruno Heller and the writers must have seen that he was the
most popular choice. When this thought occurred to me, I turned to my mom and
said, “If Bruno Heller is smart, he’ll kill Partridge by the end of the
episode.” And Bam! Partridge died.
As a writer, you always have to be
thinking, “who is the most unexpected person?” As soon as they saw that people
were voting for Partridge, it would have been silly, from a writers standpoint,
to make him Red John, even if they’d thought about making him so, which I’m
sure was an idea that they had toyed with.
Now, for those of you who are
thinking to yourself, “she just said you can’t change original intent,” I would
point out that the Bruno Heller and the writers did not start out the show
saying that a specific person would be Red John. Instead they figured it out as
they went, so it was not original or true intent. (For those of you who thought
they found a loophole in the potential Jisbon proviso above.)
After Partridge died I went back to
my original suspect Gale Bertram, and I tell you I absolutely hung onto my
belief until the Episode Red John. It wasn’t until Bertram started saying he
was Red John, in fact, that I realized that he wasn’t. Again, because as a
writer, especially a smart one like Bruno Heller, there was no way they could
make Bertram Red John. It would have been bad, even lazy writing. What they did,
from a writers standpoint, especially a writer with access to the internet and
the hundreds upon hundreds of opinions of who Red John is readily available to
him, he would have known to keep turning the corner into unexpected, and I for
one think he and all the writers did an exceptional job.
It’s not just me who thinks this as
the Episode Red John pulled in some of the highest ratings the show has had in
a long time, which was even more impressive when you consider that it had to
compete with football, an award show on another channel at the same time, and
an early leak of the episode. Despite all of that it was the highest rated show
that Sunday night, on all the channels. Yay! And high ratings carried over to
the following episode My Blue Heaven, proving that fans of the show weren’t as
disappointed with the Red John reveal as you ne’re-do-wells think they should
be, or not so secretly want it to have done, (which I say without remorse as
you openly discuss your “disappointment,” with what the creators, writers, cast
and crew worked so painstakingly to provide.)
The Mentalist is amazing no matter
what direction they take it in and I for one will watch it even though Bertram
wasn’t Red John, and even if Jane goes on a date with a girl who isn’t Lisbon.
Did I want Bertram to be Red John? Yes. Do I want Jane with Lisbon? Yes please!
It’s the only pairing that makes any sense to me, especially after five years,
but no matter what, I’ve come to conclude after five and a half years of
watching this show, and never having been disappointed by it, that the
creators, the writers, and the actors know what they are doing and won’t
disappoint me in the future.
The only thing I need to worry about
disappointing me is once again stumbling into nonsense like I did at the end of
the tvline article, with malcontents freaking out over every little, ridiculous
thing. Although, since you have already proved how easily discontented you are
maybe you’ll finally just give up watching The Mentalist, which many of you have
claimed is your favorite show, and stop complaining about how much you “hate”
what they’re doing, and allow us “fake” (G.) and perfectly contented fans to
watch and enjoy the show, with the new blood it’s bringing in, in peace.
A girl can always dream anyway.
