"When you achieve your objective, then what happens?," Baker says of the aftermath. "Now what do I have to live for and where do I go from here? Was it that gratifying for Jane? There's all of those questions. We deal with that in a lot of ways in the next episode afterwards."
The Mentalist's Red John case is now closed.
After putting the Red John spotlight on California Bureau of Investigation Director Gale Bertram (Michael Gaston), he turned out not to be the madman Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) had been searching for the past several years. Who was Red John? Sheriff Tom McAllister (Xander Berkeley), who had been one of the three who presumably died in the blast during "Fire and Brimstone."
It was a cat and mouse game after the reveal -- in the same cathedral
Jane was seen in at the end of "The Great Red Dragon" -- but Jane and
McAllister would meet again, this time at a local park. With McAllister
pinned down to the ground after being weakened by a gunshot wound in the
abdomen, he pleaded with Jane to spare his life. But for Jane, his sole
mission in life was to end Red John for good. And so he put his hand on
McAllister's neck and suffocated him until he was dead.
It was important to "give a real emotional, pleasing end to that story," creator/showrunner Bruno Heller
told reporters, admitting that the ultimate Red John identity slowly
"emerged" over the last few seasons. "For me it was about giving Patrick
Jane exactly what he's wanted for all these years. He wanted revenge
and he got it. I think that's what the audience wanted so that's what we
gave them."
"I did feel a sense of pressure because we've been working towards
this for so many years and it was something that had pushed the
character from the very beginning [since] 2008. Somehow I had to live up
to that in that one moment -- the one moment in the life of the
character where he's stepping out into the unknown," Baker acknowledged.
"The way we did it was important because I felt like to pull the
trigger is just pulling a trigger but to actually wrestle with someone
is far more kismet."
With the Red John mystery behind them (and the show making a big
two-year time jump next week), Heller and Baker discussed the
repercussions of Jane's actions, where this leaves the rest of the
former CBI members and the new conflicts that will arise in the post-Red
John era.
On Jane's future now that he's gotten what's he's wanted
Bruno Heller: Jane is this tragic figure who has
gotten his heart's desires and found the grail -- this evil grail he's
been chasing all these years. It's very much a question of what does
that do him as a person. Can he begin a new life? What kind of life
does he want for himself and how will he define himself now that part of
his life is over.
Simon Baker: When you achieve your objective, then
what happens? A lot of the time you focus all your energy on trying to
achieve your objective but you don't consider how it leaves you standing
afterwards. My favorite part of that is the transition out of it. Now
what do I have to live for and where do I go from here? Was it that
gratifying for Jane? There's all of those questions. We deal with that
in a lot of ways in the next episode afterwards.
On Jane killing Red John
Baker: The character has made a decision that he was
going to kill Red John from the first time we ever saw him. He made
that decision and then he said that was going to happen. What we didn't
know was how he was going to react and whether or not he could go
through with it and in what fashion. To me that was just jumping off a
cliff, really, and jumping off a cliff so it's like -- he's got what he
wants and what he's wanted for so long. The idea of what drama is sets
out to achieve an objective but doesn't quite achieve it and they'd have
to change tactics and approach. This is interesting because he's got
Red John within his grasp, he doesn't take a moment to hesitate and I
think there was a line in there where he said "I'm not hesitating, I'm
just going to stay in the moment" in the church. When he's on top of
him, it's the idea of shutting him up. Jane just wants to get on with
the job and from that moment on, you gotta try to be there and be alive
in the moment.
On how Jane is affected by Red John's death
Baker: When Red John dies a part of Jane dies in
that moment as well. It takes a while for him to get back on his feet
and if you look at it, he doesn't have a wife and kid, he doesn't have
any relationships other than the people he's been at work with at the
CBI and his perverse obsession/relationship with Red John. He doesn't
have a lot other than the CBI people.
On the option of Jane not killing Red John
Heller: Certainly I never considered any other
ending. I always hated those heist movies where they didn't get away
with the heist or revenge movies where they didn't reap their revenge.
It would've been almost dishonest not to take that as the conclusion of
that particular chapter.
On Jane's potential legal ramifications
Heller: Yes [there will be legal ramifications for
killing Red John]. You can't go around killing people willy nilly
without some ramifications. Very much so.
On the likelihood of Jane's return to law enforcement
Baker: Not immediately.
Heller: He's going to be placed in a position where
his personal desires on that level are not point. He's done something
highly illegal. What he does in the future won't be entirely up to him.
... His life as he knows it is over, but it's the beginning of a new
life.
Baker: Once the dust settles you start to see who's important to who and how each person sees themselves and who they care about.
On Jane and Lisbon's bond
Baker: I think absolutely. I think even stronger.
Heller: Now Jane and Lisbon have a chance to take a breath and think about each other in a way they haven't before.
On how the Red John wrap-up affects Lisbon and the others
Heller: For the other characters, it's a little like
children of divorce. They've been involved with somebody else's mission
and now that mission is gone. They were in a world they didn't choose
and now they're in a world that's changing around them -- again, not of
their own volition. What this is going to be for these characters
growing up and leaving home; Jane has big questions about what he's
going to do with himself and Lisbon, Van Pelt, Cho and Rigsby also have
to make those choices.
On whether Red John's disciplines will take action
Heller: Never say never but I would say the audience
and the story demands that we step away from that trope for a while.
The trouble with these stories where you're playing tricks on the
audience with "Who is it?" mysteries is that you can get way too get way
too mysterious and there were a lot of people who said all the way
along that Patrick Jane was Red John. When you've got that kind of
elaborate thinking out there, it's dangerous to come back to stories
unless you're coming back to that story with full force because people
will start thinking "Red John is not dead!" Red John is dead.
On if Red John will still be part of the fabric of the show's future episodes
Heller: We won't be going back. One of the things
you discover when one of these figures of great evil are unmasked ...
once the curtain is drawn back from these evil Wizard of Oz characters they tend to not be very interesting companions.
On whether The Mentalist will go back to cases of the week
Heller: What this fresh version of the show is about
is what happens afterwards. In a very real sense, Jane is a happier
person. A weight has been taken off his shoulders and to that degree, a
weight has been taken off the show. Jane has more freedom and more a
sense of possibility and liberty. ... We'll return to crime-solving.
On worries about The Mentalist losing steam without Red John
Heller: [I'm] not really concerned. If it can't,
then that's what happens. it felt to all of us that that chapter of the
story was done. Frankly I think the great asset and value of the show is
in Baker's head and what he does. Red John never even appears in as a
character physically in the last episode. It was a feeling in the show
and a sort of objective but in terms of moment by moment pleasures of
the show, those are delivered by Simon Baker and his people, not by Red
John. Frankly I don't know but I don't mind, but I think it's going to
be a great show after Red John. Then it's up to the audience to decide
if they like it or not.
SRC: hollywoodreporter.com/
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