The fourth episode of the seventh season of The Mentalist called "Black Market" airs on December 21 and it will show what will happen now that the show is nearing its end.

Patrick Jane will be feeling under the weather for the next episode of The Mentalist, but his sickness won't keep him from doing his job. As instructed by FBI Agent Dennis Abbott, Patrick will stay in the headquarters and try to recover on the station's couch. Since he's feeling sick, Patrick will ask a favor from his girlfriend, Teresa Lisbon, to solve the crime while he tries to get some rest so he can be back in shape.

The next episode will also throw some light on Patrick and Teresa's romance, even if they try to hide it from their colleagues. Bruno Heller, the series creator, has hinted in the past that the series' season 7 will serve as an "encore" to the entire series, though the previous episodes have been about the romance that's present between Jane and Lisbon.

The pair try their best to steer away from conversations about their relationship since they think it will affect the professionalism they show towards each other. FBI Agent Marcus Pike (Pedro Pascal) is the only one who knows about their romance despite being a former lover of Lisbon. The conversation where Pike found out about the relationship took place at the end of the first episode of season 7.

According to the episode synopsis, the crime that Jane passed to Lisbon is a homicide case. The homicide is soon discovered to be related to a diamond operation.

Meanwhile, another character will have challenges ahead of him. Abbott thinks that his past could haunt him, as a wrong deed could jeopardize his wife's chances of getting promoted at work.