The Mentalist Trivia

1. In the first half of season 5, one cast member had conspicuously scarce screen time and was even written out of the show for a few episodes. Who?

From Quiz "The Mentalist" Seasons 5-7

Answer: Amanda Righetti

Actress Amanda Righetti was pregnant during the first half of the season. Her character, Grace Van Pelt, was therefore shown almost exclusively sitting behind a desk or half concealed behind other props, such as a bar or a file cabinet. Grace does not appear in the episode "Red Dawn," which is set in the past and details how Patrick Jane came to work for the CBI (although her Academy application is shown lying on Lisbon's desk at the end of the episode). For the last stage of Righetti's pregnancy during episodes 15-18, Grace Van Pelt was sent to attend a computer seminar in Los Angeles. She returned in "Red Letter Day."

From Quiz More "Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: tea

Patrick is often shown having a cup of tea, offering someone else a cup, asking for one, or indeed helping himself to one in someone else's house. In episode 2 of season 5, "Devil's Cherry," Patrick's passion for tea has some unforeseen consequences when he inadvertently drinks some tea laced with belladonna, causing him to hallucinate his deceased daughter, Charlotte, as a teenager.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: California Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

The California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is a made up government division for the state of California. The CBI headquarters is located in Sacramento.

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: Simon Baker

The correct answer was Australian actor Simon Baker, who is actually a Golden Globe Award nominee. The incorrect answers all relate to the show: Tim Kang and Owain Yeoman are both other actors in the show, plus, Bruno Heller is the show's creator.

From Quiz More "Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: J.J. LaRoche

J.J. LaRoche is first introduced in season 3 as the new head of Internal Affairs, investigating the murder of Red John associate Todd Johnson. He is a somewhat ambiguous, hard-to-read character. When Hightower is framed for Johnson's murder and has to run, LaRoche takes over her duties as SAC. In the first episode of season 4, he announces that his post was always meant to be a temporary solution and says goodbye to Lisbon (giving her an unexpected hug) and her team. His successor is Luther Wainwright (sometimes spelled "Wainright"), a very young and open-minded agent. Wainwright is killed in friendly fire in the season 4 finale.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: Grace Van Pelt

Although Grace Van Pelt has been around ever since the pilot episode, she is still the newest member on the team. She has proven her skills and gained acceptance, so Grace is no longer treated like a rookie.

From Quiz Basics of "The Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: Red John

Red John is a serial killer who is believed to have killed at least twenty-eight people, including Patrick's family. His signature is a red smiley face, drawn on the wall in the victim's blood. He always makes sure that this smiley face is the first thing people see, even before they find the body of the victim. He is Patrick Jane's nemesis and, in a way, his match, as he is the only criminal Patrick has never been able to fully outwit. On occasion, Red John has intervened on Patrick's behalf (for example, by killing people who were about to kill Patrick) and seems to enjoy being hunted by him.

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: California Bureau of Investigation

Jane consults for the California Bureau of Investigation by inputting his advice and usually solving the case with his amazing skills of noticing things normal people wouldn't.

From Quiz More "Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: The Tyger

In "Red Sky in the Morning", Red John saves Patrick's life by killing two students who chose Jane to be the star in their next snuff movie. When he approaches Patrick, who is bound to a chair, all he does is whisper the first few lines of the poem in his ear ("Tyger, tyger, burning bright..."). In "Red Moon", Todd Johnson - freshly found out as the killer in this episode -is set on fire in his holding cell before Patrick can talk to him (which he requested, claiming he had a secret to share). Before Johnson dies in the hospital, he whispers, "Tiger, tiger" to Jane, thus revealing that he knew Red John. It is due to the murder of Johnson that J.J. LaRoche is brought in to investigate and suspicion is planted that Red John has a contact inside the CBI. Both J.J. LaRoche and Director Bertram are later shown to refer to William Blake, which keeps the audience guessing as to who the mole may be until the very end.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: Red John

Jane spoke out against the serial killer Red John on a talk show. In retaliation Red John went to Jane's house and murdered his wife and daughter. Jane has been obsessed with finding Red John ever since.

From Quiz More "Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: Kristina Frye

Kristina Frye (played by Leslie Hope) is a spiritualist and medium who, other than Jane, "embraces her gift" and tries to convince him to do the same. It is not quite clear whether she is a fraud, like Jane used to be, or genuinely believes in her powers. In the season 2 finale, Kristina is seen on TV, urging Red John to reach out and seek help. Patrick realizes that she makes the same mistake he made six years ago. Later, Kristina disappears and is found again early in season 3 in a catatonic state. During a séance, she briefly talks again, claiming that she is already dead and does not remember who killed her. The mental disorder where people believe they are actually dead is known as the "Cotard delusion" or "Walking Corpse Syndrome".

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: "No, just paying attention."

Jane continues to go on about how he "used to make a good living pretending to be a psychic." This is said in the first episode.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" Seasons 5-7

Answer: Sheriff Thomas McAllister

When an explosion in the episode "The Great Red Dragon" kills Bret Stiles and Ray Haffner, it looks at first as if McAllister died, too (thanks to altered DNA records provided by Brett Partridge), and a manhunt for Gale Bertram starts, since it appears as if he is the only suspect left. However, it turns out that Bertram, while corrupt, is not Red John. The final confrontation between Patrick Jane and Red John is somewhat anticlimactic, for it shows that even the seemingly all-powerful, all-knowing phantom that used to be Red John is just an ordinary man-next-door. It ends with Red John's death at the hands of Patrick and Patrick's subsequent flight from Sacramento. Thomas McAllister was played by Xander Berkeley and made his first appearance on "The Mentalist" in "Red Hair and Silver Tape" very early in season 1. So in a way, Red John has always been a familiar face to viewers.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: Benjamin

In season three it is revealed that Rigsby's girlfriend Sarah Harrigan is pregnant. She gives birth to a baby boy named Benjamin in "Something's Rotten in Redmund".

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: The chef and his wife

Jane says the chef "uses way too much butter" in his cooking so therefore suspects him. He also calls him a "gluttony baby".

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: "Good luck, Teresa. Love you."

While Jane and Lisbon are in her office, Jane wraps her in a big hug and says "Good luck, Teresa. Love you." When asked about it later, Jane claims he does not know what he said and that he was "hyped up".

From Quiz Basics of "The Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: Wayne Rigsby and Grace Van Pelt

Wayne Rigsby, the arson specialist on the team, falls in love with red-haired rookie Grace Van Pelt on the day she joins the team. Since a romantic relationship between agents in the same unit is against the rules, they both fight the attraction initially, especially Grace, who is very correct and diligent. They finally cave in during season 2 and begin dating in secret. (Patrick Jane knew, of course.) They announce their relationship to the team a little while later. Lisbon, who would have been obliged to report this, decides to pretend she didn't know, but the end comes shortly after when Madeleine Hightower becomes the new SAC and orders Rigsby and Van Pelt to either end their relationship or have one of them transfer out of the unit. Rigsby offers to transfer out, but Grace knows that he would sooner or later blame her for it, and so she ends it. Before they become involved, Rigsby's infatuation with Grace and his inability to hide it is a constant source of amusement to the team.

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: Real psychics

Jane says this in the pilot episode when Grace Van Pelt asked him "When you met with other psychics, real psychics, could they tell you were just pretending?" and that is when Jane responds "There's no such thing as real psychics."

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: Minelli, Hightower, LaRoche, Wainwright

Virgil Minelli, Madeleine Hightower, J.J. LaRoche,and Luther Wainwright were all supervising officers for the CBI.

From Quiz Basics of "The Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: hypnotizing them

Patrick has been shown several times to hypnotize, or attempt to hypnotize, a suspect or witness. Usually he gets reprimanded for it, as it is not proper procedure and could possibly endanger a trial. He also discovers that someone else hypnotized Wayne Rigsby, and on one occasion hypnotized Teresa Lisbon at her own request to help her recover her memory of the previous evening.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: Thomas

After a difficult youth raising three boys, Teresa cut herself off from the rest of her family. In the episode "Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien" Lisbon runs into her brother Thomas (Tommy) who is currently working as a bounty hunter. Lisbon's niece Annabeth appears in this episode as well, but she is not Lisbon's brother.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" Seasons 5-7

Answer: J.J. LaRoche and Osvaldo Ardiles

LaRoche and Ardiles are both killed by the murdering brother-and-sister team, Richard and Hazel Haibach, who are part of a major story arc in season 6. The other characters from the incorrect answers are all alive by the end of the series, although Hightower did fake her own death in order to escape Red John and Kristina Frye has been in a catatonic state claiming she is already dead since her last appearance in season 3.

From Quiz More "Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: They all have

Rigsby and Van Pelt were the first of the team to share an on-screen kiss in season 2 (episode "Red Scare"). Cho was shown to have a girlfriend in "Blood In, Blood Out" (season 2) and had an affair with his CI, Summer Edgecombe, in late season 4 and early season 5. Lisbon had a one-night stand with Walter Mashburn in the season 3 episode "Red Hot". Mashburn had previously appeared as a murder suspect in a different episode and shown interest in Lisbon even then. As we have just learned in the previous question, Patrick Jane shared a night with Lorelei Martins. He also went on a date with Kristina Frye and was kissed by murderess Erica Flynn.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: Charlotte

Charlotte is the name of Jane's deceased daughter. Although we do not know much about her, we get a sense of what Jane thinks she might be like when we see his hallucination of her in "Devil's Cherry".

From Quiz Basics of "The Mentalist" Seasons 1-4

Answer: Visualize Self-Realization Center

Brett Stiles first appeared in season 2, where Visualize was the center of an investigation. He is a very ambiguous character and has hinted that he has some insider knowledge of Red John.

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: "Bloodshot"

Jane loses his sight due to an explosion in the CBI car park. Nonetheless, he relies on his other senses (which he claims have heightened, even though he still walks into a poll) to continue with the case. However, as the case proceeds it becomes revealed that Jane is the true target of the killer. (Jane still continued the case blind! Wow! What a trouper!)

From Quiz "The Mentalist" Seasons 5-7

Answer: Emily Swallow

Emily Swallow, who played Kim Fischer, decided not to come back for the last season. Her absence was explained by Fischer's moving to Seattle to tend to her mother, who had suffered a stroke. To fill the empty slot, Josie Loren's character Michelle Vega was introduced, a young and ambitious agent with a background in military and a drive to prove herself. She is a bit of a comic relief at times, gently bullying Cho to accept her as a protégé of sorts.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" - Seasons 1-4

Answer: We don't know yet.

We don't know. At one point Jane shoots and kills Timothy Carter who was posing as Red John, but we know Red John is indeed still alive.

From Quiz Red John ("The Mentalist")

Answer: Dead people

A very funny one liner from Mr Jane. He says this when he enters the house of a woman claiming to be a psychic who Jane then immediately believes to be a fake.

From Quiz "The Mentalist" Seasons 5-7

Answer: Beirut

Murderess Erica Flynn, who has sometimes been described as the Irene Adler to Patrick's Sherlock Holmes, made her third appearance in this episode, which is set almost entirely abroad. She is arrested at the end of the episode after trying in vain to drive a wedge between Jane and Lisbon.

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