r/TheMentalist • u/OccassionalVisiter • 1d ago
General Discussion Why does he do it?
I've often noticed Patrick Jane seeming to disregard the feelings of grieving family members or friends, especially when he's meeting them for the first time after a murder. I understand that close relatives and friends are often among the first suspects in a homicide investigation, but sometimes Jane comes across as intentionally insensitive or provocative. There have been several scenes where he asks blunt questions or makes comments that seem unnecessarily harsh.
Is this a deliberate tactic to get an emotional reaction and reveal something about the person, or is it simply part of his personality?
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u/kkk0wabunga 1d ago
i also remember in the early seasons where he’s intentionally provoking ppl to punch him so they can be interrogated lol i can never understand him sometimes
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u/Miserable_Compote595 18h ago
He's trying to help his team, it's one way to do it. Usually it's because he knows Cho and co want that person interrogated but can't bring him in.
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u/Kenny_Died_xD 1d ago
I think you're missing the point. He behaves however he needs to so he can get the read, and he doesn't care how he is percieved cause all he wants is to kill red john. Absolutely nothing else matters. (Except maybe Teresa)
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u/Miserable_Compote595 18h ago
I also think he doesn't care because he treats all of them as potential criminals. He also probably considers himself one of the least qualified people to help with grief. He's gone through it before, he knows he can't give what they need. Seeing those people also likely remind him of what he used to do which he hates.
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u/Kenny_Died_xD 18h ago
Exactly. On the grief point though, I think he knows absolutely no one can give them what they need. So he doesn't pretend to try and help.
I somewhat agree with that principle myself xD
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u/Miserable_Compote595 17h ago
I wouldn't say he thinks nobody can help. Sophie Miller helped Jane through so why wouldn't he consider them helpful for others who grieve dead relatives. He considers actual doctors who can help with the core of the issue instead of tossing in the delusion of talking with the dead.
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u/Suspicious_Baker_234 Blueberry Muffin 1d ago
I agree with most previous comments. I also think that it's maybe his way of separating or protecting himself from his own trauma and tragedy, imagine his pain if he allowed himself to feel the people's grief again and again... I've known people who joke about terrible things because it's the only way they can process it, so it could even be a coping mechanism.
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u/RecognitionBig9248 1d ago
I’ve always read it as a mix of both, but one thing I really appreciate about Jane is that he never uses his own tragedy to manipulate people into caring about him. For all his blunt, sometimes harsh approach with grieving families, he doesn’t expect sympathy in return. If anything, when he’s in pain, he tends to walk away rather than share it – even with those closest to him. He’s clearly broken, but watching him rebuild (messy and sometimes morally questionable as it is) feels very real, and like he’s slowly finding his own kind of peace.
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u/OccassionalVisiter 1d ago
This is a brilliant observation and analysis....Jane has never once tried to gather any kind of sympathy for his life changing loss. Yet another reason to appreciate his character!
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u/throwaway30127 1d ago
I don't think he believes that he deserves any sympathy as he pretty much blames himself for what happened to his family and is filled with equal amount of self loathing and self love.
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u/Raptorilla Bret Stiles 1d ago
Two reasons:
- he can read them much better if they are caught off-guard, because it makes them drop any mask
- he is a sociopath (Agent Wainwright made a psycho test on him and Jane kinda agreed on the result)
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u/Fickle-Painting2744 1d ago
He shares many traits common to psychopaths/sociopaths/narcissists (never sure of the distinctions), except that we have so many examples of his empathy in the show. Wainwright never got to see that side of him, so he doesn't have all the data.
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u/realityGrtrThanUs 1d ago
Psychopaths don't see our reality making them amoral and unpredictable. They make up their own logic and views.
Sociopaths have no morality. They see this reality but don't value it the way we do.
Narcissists are reality. They see our reality but they are the center of it.
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u/YellowMushroomLover 1d ago
Others prospective are great.
I honestly think he does this so he can catch them off guard and read whatever they are lying or not. It could also be because he wants the killer or any person guilty accidentally reveal themselves or show uncomfortableness.
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u/justlookin987 1d ago
Damn did everyone forget his wife and child were murdered, i think once that happened he went into a place where he had one goal and lost alot of empathy along that way. Until he catches Red John nothing and noone matters, 'you lost your family, well so did I so lets move on and find the killer so i can find my family's killer'
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u/series-hybrid 1d ago
Most people have never committed a murder, and they make mistakes at the scene. A homicide detective has seen many legitimate suicides, plus murder scenes.
The average person doesn't know how they "should" act after committing a murder, and their reactions are contrived instead of spontaneous and genuine.
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u/Famous-Internet7646 12h ago
I think he tries to provoke them to get an honest reaction. That will be his basis to gauge their other reactions if they’re being truthful or not.
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u/pikkopots Angry Little Princess 👑 1d ago
It's how he gets reads on people. Throwing them off will usually tell him something about them, so he's got a purpose in doing it. I do, however, think him often being unrepentant about this tactic is sometimes off-putting.