Blood Brothers is the twenty-second episode of season one of The Mentalist. It aired on May 12th 2009 in the US.
Recap[]
Jane, Lisbon and Rigsby trek through the woods behind a local police chief. She leads them to a crime scene, a dead private school kid, beaten to death. He was found when they activated his ankle bracelet.
Principal Asher MacLean explains that Justin had some truancy issues recently at Bright Arch, a wilderness program and high school for troubled youth. Jane picks up on the fact that the principal doesn't like Chief Brody. She's not impressed with Jane's glib attitude. Jane thinks he was dumped in that spot after a struggle uphill. He goes looking for the spot. He thinks Justin was buried alive. And lo, they find an empty shallow grave.
The Bright Arch kids gather around Principal MacLean and CBI team. He tells them they can learn and grow from the experience. A kid named Bryan asks if they get to do the sacred fire ceremony on Friday. He tells the students to answer the CBI questions.
Justin's parents arrive, his mother Jemma Prentiss and father David Prentiss. David comes after MacLean, blaming him, stating that his son was supposed to be safe at the camp.
Lisbon talks to them. David heard about the program from a friend. He said Justin had become insolent lately, locking himself in his room, sullen attitude with lots of shouting.
Jane inspects a photo of MacLean in his office, decked out in camo and hunting gear. He says students come by word of mouth. They follow a code of honor and discipline by learning wilderness skills. A girl named Cassie brings the principal some tea in a mug with sleeping Z's all over it.
When she leaves, Principal Asher says she's one of their success stories. He explains that she's blossomed recently.
Justin had been there three months. When he left campus for several hours yesterday and wouldn't tell them where he was, he got eight hours in the "reflection room" and ankle monitoring for two weeks. "Confinement and dog collars," says Jane, "that'll certainly encourage a little discovery of inner resources, I guess." Jane asks if the kids parents are aware of that tactic and the principal says it's in the brochure.
Jane asks if he's heard of Z Krew, a name carved into a tree. Nope.
Cho and Rigsby dig through students' tents. Cho calls the place spring break in Cancun compared to juvie, which he was in as a kid. Rigsby is surprised by this fact and begins to quesition Cho about why he was in Juvie. Cho finds what could be a treasure map. They follow it.
Jane watches an uptight woman in short shorts barking at students while leading a knot-tying class. He cuts her down to size by tying her hands and telling her that her boss told him to do it. He sends her to check with her boss. The kids, impressed that he put their teacher in her place, are happy to talk. He finds a boy named Elliot who's been there for two years. They say Justin was basically good, but fought a lot. They look at each other nervously when Jane asks what he was doing in the woods. Somebody mentions the Axe Man Zachariah who lives in the woods. A kid says a year ago they found a townie kid chopped up in the woods. He asks them about Z Krew. Nobody answers.
Lisbon puts a stop to his questioning when the principal and untied teacher return.
Rigsby and Cho wander through the woods and come upon a cabin, marked on the map with a skull and crossbones. They find Justin's shoe print nearby.
When they knock on the door no one answers. Then they turn around to find a wild eyed woodsman with a shotgun on them. Chief Brody jogs up casually behind him, calling him a fool and takes his gun. He called 911 when they knocked. They take him in.
He says he's never heard of CBI. Cho admits they need better brand awareness. Winston says he has nothing to do with the kids at the program, but they harass him. He built fences, planted poison oak, installed alarms. Three or four of them were at the house the night before last throwing balloons full of red paint. They always wore masks.
Jane asks the principal who Zachariah is and calls him a liar when he says he doesn't know. Jane accuses him of being scared of Zachariah.
The principal says Winston is a crazy old man who made things up.
Jane addresses the students, with the principal looking on. He asks who wants to see some magic. He holds up his hands and slowly moves them, watching the kids. He singles out a kid scratching his leg, saying he's going to read his thoughts. He says the kid is thinking about throwing paint bombs at the crazy man's house the night Justin died.
Jane talks to Orrin, who wants to know how he called him out. He tells him about the poison oak rash scratching and the fact that it only grows near Winston's house. Orrin tells the story of "Zachariah." Zachariah was a lumberjack hundreds of years ago who got pinned beneath a log in the river. He was so angry at his friends for leaving him that he chopped off his own arm to free himself then chopped his friends to bits. The lumber camp was in the same spot as the school is now. Orrin explains that Z Krew wears masks so the only people they know is the one who asked them to join the group. He gives up Bryan, who goes running as soon as he sees Rigsby and Cho after him. Rigsby tackles him into the lake.
Bryan says there's no talking on Z Krew ops, they cooperate by notes and sign language. He says it's about running around in the woods, not murder. He thinks Cassie is involved in Justin's death somehow. He thinks Justin was in love with her. He saw them arguing.
The principal says it's ridiculous to think she killed him.
Van Pelt shows up just in time to see Rigsby hosing off outside. He squeezes into a tiny camp tee. Lisbon says Cassie's missing.
Jane thinks searching for her sounds tedious and takes off on his own. The camp searches.
Jane makes a daisy chain under the bridge leading into camp. He pops up when he spots the principal leaving. He tells the principal he's going into town and Jane states that's where he needs to go. He get in the passenger seat and they drive through the gate.
The principal asks Jane to get out and shut the gate behind him. He tells him no because he knows MacLean will drive off without him. He has three theories as to why: fear, shame or guilt. Then Jane says: "Cassie, I have a gift for you." Cassie reluctantly sits up in the back of the SUV and puts on Jane's daisy chain. Jane rides with them back to camp, presenting her for Lisbon and Chief Elaine Brody. Principal MacLean asks for a lawyer and Jane says he was sleeping with Cassie. Brody slaps him.
Back at CBI HQ, Lisbon and Jane talk to her. She says it's true. Twice a week for a few months. She says she was scared, but McLain's just a "sad creep." She says nowhere is safe. Jane suggests Zachariah made her do it. They're a little unclear on how a legendary zombie lumberjack influenced her.
Lisbon drops in on Rigsby and tells him to arrest MacLean for statutory rape. MacLean says he was just being caring to the young girl. When Rigsby accuses him of killing Justin to keep his secret, he asks for his lawyer.
Jane tells the team they need to get back for the sacred fire ceremony.
Back at camp, Jane says they're going to start with a ghost story. The kids say it's bad luck to talk about Zachariah. Jane begins to add on to the story of Zachariah, explaining even further about what happened. After Zachariah hacked his friends, the townspeople built a huge bonfire in this very spot and burned Zachariah alive. Zachariah made a solemn vow that if someone writes a Z on the ground and calls his name three times, he'll take them away. But if the sinner doesn't repent he'll take the person away to his lair. The kids scoff at the ghost story. Jane asks if anyone has the nerve to call his name. Three boys do it. Nothing happens. Jane says they forgot the most important part, marking the ground with a Z. He hands his walking stick to Elliot, who makes the mark. There's a pause where nothing happens and then a hand shoots out of the ground and grabs ahold of him. Jane asks Elliot if he killed Justin. With the hand grabbing onto him, he confesses, scared. Then Rigsby pops up out of the dirt.
Jane compliments Elliot on the system he had going, keeping kids in line with Zachariah stories and MacLean in line with blackmail. Elliot says Justin was soft on Cassie, but when he found out what she was doing with MacLean on his order, he threatened to tell. In a flashback Elliot is shown bashing Justin's head in with a rock.
Elliot asks Jane how he knew it was him. Another flashback to Cassie bringing tea to MacLean in the cup with Zs on it, a warning to keep quiet. He was the first one to bring up Zachariah and had been there the longest. Then at the fire ceremony, Elliot was the only one who wasn't buying the extended story, because he knew the truth about Zachariah not actually existing.
Jane walks oustide to see Van Pelt talking to Justin's parents. He tries to dodge them, but gets called over. They thank him. He tells them their son died bravely and did it trying to save a young girl who was in trouble. The parents take the information gratefully.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Simon Baker as Patrick Jane
- Robin Tunney as Teresa Lisbon
- Tim Kang as Kimball Cho
- Owain Yeoman as Wayne Rigsby
- Amanda Righetti as Grace Van Pelt
Recurring Cast[]
- James Start as Rohn
Guest Cast[]
- Ashley Crow as Chief Elaine Brody
- Clayton Rohner as Asher MacLean
- Cameron Monaghan as Elliot
- Drew Osborne as Bryan
- Jonathan Biggs as Orrin
- Aimee Carrero as Cassie
- Tony Pierce as Marshall Winston
- Keith Sellon-Wright as David Prentiss
- Alla Korot as Jemma Prentiss
- Elizabeth Bond as Instructor Missy Jenkins
- Casey Margolis as Marley
- Theron Harrison as Teen Camper
| Season 1 Episodes |
| Pilot · Red Hair and Silver Tape · Red Tide · Ladies in Red · Redwood · Red Handed · Seeing Red · The Thin Red Line · Flame Red · Red Brick and Ivy · Red John's Friends · Red Rum · Paint It Red · Crimson Casanova · Scarlett Fever · Bloodshot · Carnelian, Inc. · Russet Potatoes · A Dozen Red Roses · Red Sauce · Miss Red · Blood Brothers · Red John's Footsteps |