The Mentalist (TV Series) Blood in, Blood Out (2010) User Reviews

Most sad and touching episode thus far, my favourite.

[vonwicked · 9/10 · 29 May 2013]

Just watch this episode, and I wanted to check out peoples thoughts on this. To my disappointment, there was but one mere review, in which the reviewer seemed to greatly dislike the episode. I'll address that later.

This episode made me cry like a baby. And I don't do that a lot. But the whole story involving one of the main characters so personally, it got to me. Especially the ending, where Cho sits in remorse with the grandmother of the victim, was the most touching scene I've seen in this whole series. I think he did a splendid acting job this episode, in that he really managed to capture the man of stone, with no emotions leaking out, but lost his cool and showed genuine emotions for the first time in the series. If there's anything I could complain about, it's the obviousness in the whole confession thing; it was made too obvious the cocaine dude wasn't killed, and it was all a plan to fool the real culprit.

Now, the other reviewer first of all complains about the name of the gang and Cho's nickname. Well, guess what. The writers are aware of it. They're even so aware of it that they have Jane, the series witty protagonist, make a snarky remark upon it. It's SUPPOSED to sound stupid. Second of all, the other reviewer claims it's hard to believe Cho comes from a gang background. Why? He's the emotionless one on the team. He's hardened like no one else, and doesn't mind bending rules. If anyone could be a former gang member, it'd be him. And I think they make it all very believable.

While not the funniest episode, nor the most witty or smart, this episode is still definitely the best one so far in my opinion because the story brought up so much greater emotions to me. Kudos.

Chased by the Dark Past

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 21 December 2021]

Cho is summoned by a police detective to identify a gang member from his former gang Avon Park Playboys. Patrick Jane goes with Cho, who identify the man as David Seung that was his friend in the past. The grandmother of the victim, Suanne Seung, goes to CBI and asks Cho to investigate the murder case since her grandson was regenerated and was working after serving sentence in the prison, but Cho refuses. Out of the blue, Cho and his girlfriend Elise Chaye are assaulted at her home by two men wearing hood and Cho decides to find the responsible forgetting that he is an agent of the law, with the support of Patrick Jane, and finds that his friend had changed indeed.

"Blood in, Blood Out" is an episode that discloses part of the dark past of Cho in the Avon Park Playboys gang. In this episode, Cho forgets that he is an agent of law and resolves the difficult situations in an unofficial way. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Blood in, Blood Out"

Fantastic Episode.

[dvdmao · 10/10 · 4 September 2013]

I watch FAR too many movies, and even more TV... However I watched this episode and created an account just to write this review. This was a fantastic episode and I felt compelled to try and offset the negativity of another reviewer.

As Wilhelm touched on in his review, this episode was less about wit and comedy, and more about giving some depth to one of the central characters of the show. Season 1 focused primarily on growing an audience, setting a feel for what the show was about and showcasing its potential. Passionate and emotional; season 2 brought delving in to the past of the characters, which was greatly needed - ESPECIALLY after teasing about his back story in multiple prior episodes. Fans WANT more backstory, and Cho may be one of my favorite characters on TV. Cold, calm and collected, and did you see him run down and tackle the car salesman in episode 13!? As for the name, "Avon Park Playboys": You have to remember, making up catchy names is not the end goal of most gangsters... they are more often linked to certain areas and I wouldn't doubt that "Avon Park" might represent their own "turf". Besides, it was not supposed to be a particularly successful or large gang, and I felt it was quite believable. "Mr. Ice"? Remember he was supposed to have received that name sometime in the late 80s/early 90s as a young teen. I personally know wannabe thugs with much more ridiculous monikers.

Overall it was an episode that added emotional value to the series. It gave us more information about Cho and helped with character development. It was well written (with the exception of the transparent plot to reveal the true killer) and left me wanting more. Kudos to Woodruff and crew!

Someone who used to be Cho's best friend, and in the same gang as Cho, is found murdered.

[annaskycova · 6/10 · 20 November 2013]

Agreeing that it was nice to get to know more about Cho, and that it totally works with the stupid names, my pet peeve is a different one:

Lisbon tells Crystal that if she tells them about her boss's sexual abuse, drug abuse, etc, then he will be put away. This is the reason that Crystal even tells them anything. But then, at the end of the episode, Lisbon bargains with the attorney making a deal with the charges of abuse, trafficking, etc, to let Cho of the hook (since he assaulted the boss). WTF? I wouldn't be too happy if I was Crystal. From her position one of the policemen fracked up and because of that her abuser will be let of the hook to save the policeman's ass. I was actually sad to see Lisbon and the gang acting so corrupted.

I'm watching all the early episodes since I'm a late follower of TM, I really don't think the early seasons are as good as the later ones.

The worst episode yet.

[bxhanx · 2/10 · 12 February 2010]

This episode borders on the absurd.

A member of Cho's former gang, the "Avon Park Playboys" is found murdered. Cho starts his own investigation into the murder. It turns out, Cho's gang name had been "Ice Man" and that when he was a member of the gang in his youth, he shot and wounded the gang leader. After wounding the gang leader, Cho entered the military and later became a law enforcement officer.

First of all, the name "Avon Park Playboys" is just ridiculous. I'm not sure who would name a gang that and then stock it with tattooed murdering gang members. It seems more of a gang name for the Billionaire Boys Club. The acting is atrocious at best. Tim Kang (Cho) does a very poor job of trying to act like a man who is putting his past behind him. No matter how hard you try to stretch your imagination, you just can not envision Cho as a gang member. Much less a gang member who commits aggravated assault and then is accepting into the field of law enforcement.

I usually enjoy The Mentalist and I certainly hope this isn't a peek at things to come. This was by far the worst episode yet. Hopefully they will recover and be back to the usual stuff for the next episode and beyond.

Another coerced confession at gunpoint

[CrimeDrama1 · 5/10 · 25 April 2022]

The killer was not very smart, thanks to the writers. Though he confessed while Cho held him at gunpoint and revealed the location of the gun when asked, none of that would be admissible during his trial. Next, we see the killer at the CBI office, essentially confessing again but if he would have kept quiet, he never would have been convicted.

Who at CBS thought that holding a suspect at gunpoint to force a confession is acceptable? No Miranda Warning? No one seems to have questioned it as it has happened before (Lisbon did it!) on this show. I like tough cops but even Dirty Harry knew when he went to far to get a confession. I am continually surprised (bad way) by the lack of quality control on crime dramas. Unfortunately for CBS, most of the issues I've had with crime drama mistakes involved shows on that network. Does CBS just hire anyone to be a writer? It appears that they don't use any law enforcement or legal consultant. I don't get it!

Cho chokes

[gregerfinkelly · 3/10 · 4 May 2022]

The character of Cho isn't clean-cut chill after all. In this episode, Cho beats a number of people, including an afraid-of-his-own shadow Jewish character, to get a confession. That's acceptable? Obviously, it isn't. Worse, for the most part, The Mentalist's earlier episodes had offered smart, nuanced, cerebral fare. Not here. This episode is worse than the worst of xenophobic 1950's cowboy shoot 'em ups better known for their lowbrow vigilantism, because Cho is supposedly a good-guy, a by-the-book cop we all so highly cherish. Pitiful.