S1·E3 Red Tide

Episode recap

The third episode of the first season of The Mental ist, titled “Red Tide,” opens with the discovery of a teenage girl’s body that has washed ashore on a California beach. The find brings the case to the California Bureau of Investigation, where former celebrity psychic medium Patrick Jane works as a consultant. Jane’s role on the bureau is to apply his keen powers of observation and his expertise in reading people, a skill set that the series consistently highlights as central to solving serious crimes.

The CBI team begins a standard investigation, gathering forensic evidence and interviewing witnesses connected to the victim’s life. As the inquiry progresses, it becomes clear that the girl’s social circle includes a group of friends who surf together. The investigators learn that these friends may possess knowledge about the circumstances that led to the girl’s death, but they are