I've been reading this site since the end of the 5th season but this will be the first time I make a comment. Mentalist was my favourite show in many aspects and I still love re-watching some of the good old scenes but what Mentalist means to me now is; Epic fail. It was great because we wanted to catch the killer for vengeance! The main character had a family, loved them more than anything else and the killer took it from him. He swore vengeance and we were with him without question, because we could totally feel his anger and sadness etc. So there's a man who loves his wife (and child) so much that he is willing to hunt down their killer (what takes 10 years) and after then he just easily falls in love with his (probably only one) friend!!! C'mon! I know Heller wanted to show us what will happen after RJ dies but NO. Just NO! Patrick should have moved on of course, but not with another love! It's so fucked up..The only thing that made us symphatize with Patrick was that all what he did was for his LOVE. And for his FAMILY. Now they want us to let just forget that shit and now he is into Lisbon. Okay but then I don't give a fck about his 10-year agony. He could have moved on then without the drama. He shouldn't have killed RJ just a proper fuck from Lisbon and it all would have been okay. It's sad. The saddest part of the whole thing is; the story went to uber-happy. I loved the sadness in the show. It made Patrick's pain real. That was the reason I watched it. It was unique. Not every show needs to be a fucking happy end. And by happy i mean the happiness, not the part that he got his vengeance. They should have killed RJ then close the show. Even if there would be no explanations. (Like we have none now, too).

Too bad for Pike.  Lisbon leaves him high and dry and in a couple weeks he is fighting "The Mountain" on GOT.

Heh, I've been trying to phrase my impressions of the season finale without coming out as bitter or rude. What a quest that turned out to be! :D

So, I decided that the only way I could comment on it whilst keeping a polite profile would be to distance myself from it. Approach it with complete disregard to my expectations.

1) First of all the episode in itself was quite mediocre for a season finale. It's solid proof of how much of its momentum the show has lost by apparently killing off its main selling point. 

Lack of romantic chemistry between the two main leads aside (one of the few TV couples that just don't work for me), even the build up to that moment was trite and lacking.

Jane's con became apparent to me (I did have some hope when I heard the name Schultz and H IS M), on the beach scene, were Jane let Lisbon "solve" it. It was so obvious that it was sad on personal level, bordering insulting.

2) I have never seen a show "hate itself" so much. Starting from episode 9 until the end, it's been less of a "new direction" and more of pointing out how every single thing from the past was silly and irrelevant. 

RJ being passed off as joke, (even in the trial con) and on the last episode they even targetted Jane's manipulative side (by having him renounce it for Lisbon). 

At every turning point post-8, the essential aspects of this show (RJ, Jane distancing others) have been targetted and ridiculed. And by extend the viewers that supported them. 

Sure, I'm on board with the character moving on. But moving on does not mean forgetting. One must aknowledge his past and all the actions that led him to this point. The show's approach is "eh, forget about those, here's something new".

This is not about the show moving to a place where I do not approve. I'm behind any storytelling decision that makes sense from the characters' perspective. The cast was great for what it went out to do initially. The troubled / distanced protagonist, the by-the-book cop, the badass cop with the golden heart, the comic relief / good cop partner and the eye candy / smart chick. It worked. Then they tried to take the characters somewhere that they weren't meant to go, or maybe they weren't ready for. 

They could easily recasted the whole show (yes that includes Jane) and none would be the wiser. It might have even made that last kiss less icky too.

Then again, maybe I am the problem. Maybe I failed to understand the characters of this show and I am way off in my assumptions.

I'll keep visiting this site, and will probably watch season 7 as well. But this doesn't feel the same show to me anymore.

P.S. On a fun note, I think we can now bump the list on the following link to 7 (hey just like the RJ suspect list!). Do not be alarmed, the link is safe. Cracked is very well known site, and has some refreshingly funny articles:

http://www.cracked.com/article/242_6-tv-shows-that-completely-lost-their-shit/

Have a good day :D