Red Tide
Season 1 episode 3: When the body of a young surfer washes up on the Santa Marta Beach, Jane enlists her friends to help find the killer.
At first glance it looks like a beautiful California postcard with blue skies and waves assaulting the sand up and down the beach. The idyllic setting is a great place to get in touch with nature and in this particular instance it forms the backdrop for the third episode of The Mentalist.
As usual, there will be no spoilers shared in this post so it can be enjoyed by fans and new viewers alike. This is on purpose so I hope you approve. At the least it’s hoped to act as a reminder to rewatch the show, or to encourage others to check it out for the first time.
Context
The setting is early morning and the area is fairly deserted except for a little girl playing blissfuly in the sand under her mother’s watchful eye. When she finds something new washed up on the shore the little girl’s curiosity takes over and she uncovers the body of a teenaged girl in a swimsuit covered in seaweed.
As the team starts its day, we find Jane and Van Pelt engrossed in a game of hide and seek (Jane style) using a set of car keys as a decider for who gets to drive on the next assignment. We get to see more of the team dynamic as they all participate in the game. What’s interesting here is that they seem very comfortable together which seems to help Jane with his nesting needs since he lost his family and seemingly has no other place to call home except with these team members.
At the beach a group of young people have set up a makeshift shrine covered in flowers and leis, are holding a memorial service for their dead friend Christine Tanner. As the group, made up of Danny, Hope, Win and Andy as well as an assortment of locals move around quietly, Jane, Cho and Rigsby approach the group looking hot, bothered and out of place in their suits.
Recap
As the CBI team approaches the crime scene that doubles as a makeshift shrine, two of the mourners, specifically Win and Hope, played by Will Rothhaar and Michelle Page respectively, approach and ask the team if the rumours are true; that someone killed Christine. Jane confirms that she was murdered and begins questioning the pair about Christine’s relationships with her friends. After some back and forth, Jane takes the opportunity to ask Win a rather strange question.
Cho and Rigsby accept this unorthodox line of questioning (because, you know, it’s Jane) until the young pair leaves at which point Rigsby asks how the questions were relevant. We learn that the answers are revealing of underlying feelings. Something Cho picked up on immediately (yes, he’s used to Jane’s methods and doesn’t second guess them very often).
Now, a bored Jane decides he likes the beach and intends to stay there while the 2 CBI agents return to the station. He’ll be catching some rays for the time being. What to do? Well, play in the sand of course!
In the meantime, Lisbon and Van Pelt visit Christine Tanner’s home, meeting her father Jack Tanner played by guest star Jamie McShane and two younger siblings. Jack is a broken man, worn down by life since his wife was killed in a traffic accident years earlier. As he retreated into himself and the bottle, Christine became a pseudo mother to her siblings and ran the household. Now she’s gone and it looks like Jack is ready to turn over her duties to his remaining daughter. Lisbon recognizes the situation immediately. It’s almost a mirror image to her own painful life story.
Here is our first introduction to Lisbon’s backstory. She lost her mother in a traffic accident at the age of twelve, forcing her into the position of caring for her three younger brothers as her father descended into the bottle before his own tragic end. She was forced to scrimp, working several mediocre jobs at a time to make ends meet while attending school and keeping her brothers away from as many bad influences as she could. She had to protect her brothers from their father’s drunken beatings and behaviour, often to her detriment. This period of her life defined her, down to her fierce need to protect and speak for the underdog, her loyalty to people she cared about, including the CBI team she built and protected almost like an extension of her own family. This was a key driver in her work and a pillar to the person she became. She did this while remaining an extremely private person who hid her personal life fiercely from everyone in order to protect herself from emotional harm. The hard shell she attempted to hide behind belied her true compassionate nature that some might consider a weakness.
As the two CBI agents looked around the Tanner home it was obvious the family struggled to keep their heads above water. Jack was well on his way to becoming an alcoholic and an emotionally absent father to his children. Lisbon struggled with flashbacks to her own life during the interview and was deeply troubled by what she saw. He was able to explain that Christine, an independent, responsible and hardworking girl had recently joined a new friend group of affluent surfer kids who brought a new perspective to her life.
As the team continues with the investigation they come across Christine’s former friend Darlene Pappas (guest star Hayley Chase) who shared some information about an older man Christine was seeing called “Pops.” Lisbon and Cho work to glean what little information they can from a disgruntled worldly wise Darlene and the case begins to unfold, particularly when the coroner confirms that Christine drowned in still water. Not where she was found.
The kids had spent time partying on the beach with Christine and a somewhat shady older surfer dude called Flipper, a man with a record of violence, the night before she died. The kids make light of their activities that night and wonder why that is such a big deal. Jane lets them know that they were probably the last people to see Christine alive. The party moved from the beach to land Danny's father Dane Kurtik (guest star Brett Cullen) owns on Devon Point where he is developing a condo complex. Win tells them that they all left for home around ten and Christine stayed to clean up while Hope suggested that Christine stayed late to meet someone. The team visit the condo construction site searching for evidence that Christine had been killed there and Jane has a contentious conversation with the owner Dane Kurtik in due course.
Jane discovers the group is key to solving the case and uses his observation skills, unconventional practices and his strange questions to uncover what seems to be their secrets.
As the sordid tale unfolds the team is able to tie up many loose ends and bring the case to a close. Lisbon stands with Jack Tanner comforting him as he learns how his daughter died. She encourages him to get help because he is all his kids have. She tells him to be good to them. She explains that although her father was a good man, after her mother died he was a self-pitying drunk. She tells him his kids need him to be there for them. Once again she tells him to get some help and gives him a card to resources for help for his family.
They Said
In this episode there were these choice words:
“What led you to Flipper anyway?” - Teresa Lisbon. “He had his hair braided exactly the same as the victim. She did his ‘do.” - Patrick Jane
“My father was a good man, and after my mother died he was a self-pitying drunk.” - Teresa Lisbon
“I’m not a grief counsellor. The Principal just didn’t want to mention homicide detectives in front of students. I’m Teresa Lisbon, California Bureau of Investigation.” - Teresa Lisbon