Patrick Jane gets his man

"We're done. There's nothing more to do here." — Patrick Jane, "The Mentalist"

Six seasons ago, CBS debuted a slick new crime drama — "The Mentalist" — centering on a whip smart con man, Patrick Jane (Simon Baker), who decided to use his skills to help the police catch criminals.

The show worked for a couple reasons. One, Baker is a charismatic lead character and the show had a gimmick that worked. The second is the overarching narrative, which surrounded the serial killer Red John, who was a great dramatic foil to Patrick Jane.

Throughout the first few seasons there were some excellent moments when Red John became a part of the main story. The show built interest and intrigue, and it cultivated a desire to know who Red John was and get the epic confrontation we expected.

As the third season ended, that seemed to finally happen. Bradley Whitford did a guest spot as, we were told, Red John. The confrontation was fascinating and what we could have hoped. And it ended with Patrick Jane dispatching the man he believed killed his family — and countless others — near the end of the episode.

Most thought that was the end of the story. But as the fourth season began, it was revealed that Red John was still alive, and Jane had been tricked again. Now in the middle of the sixth season, "The Mentalist" has again brought the Red John story to the forefront, this time ending it. Showrunner Bruno Heller promises that Sunday's episode — which revealed Red John to be a small town Sheriff and part of large police corruption conspiracy — was the end of Red John.

It was a somewhat satisfying episode. It was good to have closure — both to the languishing story and for Patrick Jane. However, it feels like a let down.

Mysterious killers or nefarious evil people can be a great plot device. But it puts the weight of expectation at an incredibly high level. In the film "Seven," the detective played by Morgan Freeman makes a comment about how these types of people, and their twisted motivations, often fail to live up to our expectations. Of course, the irony is that in the movie the villain does create a chilling sequence when he's revealed.

That wasn't the case with "The Mentalist."After this many episodes, the build up was too much. The expectation of Red John was too much. While it was a nice episode, you can't help but feel "The Mentalist" missed its window to resolve this story in a compelling way.

In fact, I'd argue the season three confrontation with Whitford — who did an incredible job honing a ridiculously high voice and creepy demeanor — was the perfect cap. Instead, the show fumbled it away and now is left with half the sixth season — likely the final season — to show how these characters move on.

There is time to make this season work, but as for Red John, this feels like a missed opportunity.