Who is Red John?

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Jason Cooper

Jason Cooper
Suspected in 21 theories

THE THEORIES

You see, Red John has made people speak on his behalf.  Of course those people die soon after.  If you steal Red John's "thunder", you will be killed.  Red John could have been Sheriff McCallister; I would believe it.  From the first time Jane met that Sheriff, McCallister had a problem with Jane.  The odd part about it being McCallister is that McCallister saved him; however, if people were watching, and McCallister did nothing, people might get suspicious.  They'd ask why did you just sit there? or How did Jane die, and why are you here?  It is also plausible to assume that Red John setup McCallister to call Jane with that voice, from the beginning.  The "Blake Association" is cops, so they are going to be watched by cops.  Being around police in a police station will make a criminal careful.  Of course, Red John is only human, and he would eventually slip up.  However, he may still be out there.  If he is still out there, he will be aiming for Jane next.  McCallister did not try to kill Jane with a knife.  I would expect red John to try to use a blade of some sort.  Despite the victory for Jane, there is still the Blake association. I have some doubts as well about McCallister naming his organization: "The Blake Association".  However, it would not be traced back by name to police.  Something like Fraternal Order of Police would tip somebody off. 
Despite the victory for Jane, there is still the Blake association.  The people who were obvious members of Red John's secret organization that Jane shot are not suspects anymore.  We are left wondering if the show picks up as usual, without the hunt for Red John. 

We are also left to wonder about the police that are members of the Blake Association. Their supposed leader is dead, but they are all fugitives.  The three star tattoo is a giveaway.  The show picks up two years later, and something brings them back together.   The last words of "RED JOHN": I will tell you who helped me in the CBI.  Was it Gal Bertram?  We already know! 
Could it be that the three tattoo was just a faction.  I could have sworn that Red John would not have gotten so angry at Jane.  McCallister was cool headed, but Bertram was cool headed.  Everybody was calm.  I saw some anger, when Jane called him a sociopath.  I thought Red John would have laughed.  Consider that Red John murdered his wife and daughter; Red John already has retaliated, so he has no need to express anger. I thought that the voice was a setup.  The episode when Jane gets confronted by Red John while being tied up was a total setup.  It could have been real, but it is just so easy to order subordinates to do your dirty work.  Plus, Red JOhn used a gun to kill those film students, and he didn't leave any faces painted in blood. 
Well if McCallister could pretend to be dead, anyone in the organization could pretend to be dead - supposing that McCallister is not the head of the "Blake Association".  I am suggesting any more serial killers from that association be called Blake Association killer(s).  I prefer no more color adjectives for serial killers, unless it is outside the Blake Association.

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You see, Red John has made people speak on his behalf.  Of course those people die soon after.  If you steal Red John's "thunder", you will be killed.  Red John could have been Sheriff McCallister; I would believe it.  From the first time Jane met that Sheriff, McCallister had a problem with Jane.  The odd part about it being McCallister is that McCallister saved him; however, if people were watching, and McCallister did nothing, people might get suspicious.  They'd ask why did you just sit there? or How did Jane die, and why are you here?  It is also plausible to assume that Red John setup McCallister to call Jane with that voice, from the beginning.  The "Blake Association" is cops, so they are going to be watched by cops.  Being around police in a police station will make a criminal careful.  Of course, Red John is only human, and he would eventually slip up.  However, he may still be out there.  If he is still out there, he will be aiming for Jane next.  McCallister did not try to kill Jane with a knife.  I would expect red John to try to use a blade of some sort.  Despite the victory for Jane, there is still the Blake association. I have some doubts as well about McCallister naming his organization: "The Blake Association".  However, it would not be traced back by name to police.  Something like Fraternal Order of Police would tip somebody off. 
Despite the victory for Jane, there is still the Blake association.  The people who were obvious members of Red John's secret organization that Jane shot are not suspects anymore.  We are left wondering if the show picks up as usual, without the hunt for Red John. 

We are also left to wonder about the police that are members of the Blake Association. Their supposed leader is dead, but they are all fugitives.  The three star tattoo is a giveaway.  The show picks up two years later, and something brings them back together.   The last words of "RED JOHN": I will tell you who helped me in the CBI.  Was it Gal Bertram?  We already know! 
Could it be that the three tattoo was just a faction.  I could have sworn that Red John would not have gotten so angry at Jane.  McCallister was cool headed, but Bertram was cool headed.  Everybody was calm.  I saw some anger, when Jane called him a sociopath.  I thought Red John would have laughed.  Consider that Red John murdered his wife and daughter; Red John already has retaliated, so he has no need to express anger. I thought that the voice was a setup.  The episode when Jane gets confronted by Red John while being tied up was a total setup.  It could have been real, but it is just so easy to order subordinates to do your dirty work.  Plus, Red JOhn used a gun to kill those film students, and he didn't leave any faces painted in blood. 
Well if McCallister could pretend to be dead, anyone in the organization could pretend to be dead - supposing that McCallister is not the head of the "Blake Association".  I am suggesting any more serial killers from that association be called Blake Association killer(s).  I prefer no more color adjectives for serial killers, unless it is outside the Blake Association.

We know red John killed someone back in '88.  I am thinking it may have been a father and son killing that started the Red JOhn symbol.  think about the need for an ensignia.  The killer is claiming the kill.  He would do it to protect somebody like a father. 
red John could also be trying to establish a pattern to hang on to someone else by creating an ensignia.  Its a calling card to a crime.  You would have to be subconsciously trying to protect someone elses involvment by taking credit for the crime, or you would be establishing a rapport with law enforcement to try to set somebody up.  If you keep the right frame of mind, you could be prepared for any unforeseeable events.  Red John could be a meticulous serial killer.  I would think that the father son combination would be unlikely.
 
Out on that farm anybody could have been hurting those animals.  Red John was there.  The Police need to identify McCallister as a person who was there.  Did McCallister catch that towns sheriff as a child dealing drugs?  Did he then confront the people who were paying for the drugs?  Is that how McCallister got started?  McCallister could have put the ensignia there to let the boy know that McCallister would take credit for the murders, and he would also let the boy go on drug possession charges.  How does the sheriff never see the red john ensignia?  Did a drug deal go bad, and McCallister cleaned it up?  The key to understanding what happened is in the beginning.  Where did it all start?  Since the first murder took place on Visualize farmland, the real red john has some affiliation with visualize.

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what to believe after this episode? there are still so many questions that i don't think all will be answered in next final Red John episode. here's my take on current state:

- gale bertram is not red john. patrick wants RJ for himslef, he would never give his true identity to the press. it was just a distraction, part of a plan really.

- what's the story behind that gunshot before the explosion? why it wasn't explained? i think it's essential for closing in on RJ, and Patrick must remember it and know something, but why he didn't share it with Lisbon and others?

- sheriff must have survived the blast. if patrick, gale and reede survived, who all were at the same side of the room (same as sheriff), away from other 2, then sheriff would have survived it as well. So the bomb must have been planted somewhere around haffner and stiles. i think it was hidden inside sheriff's hat (there's no other way to bring the bomb really) and he left the hat on the couch. But, does that make him RJ?

- in promo for Red John episode we see a lot of scenes with a character that looks like sheriff, but would they really give red john that easily? in a promo? even though i like sheriff as a red john, i wasn't expecting they would reveal rj to us in a promo. it's too easy which makes me now kinda doubt it is him.

- this episode ended in church (i think there's a reason patrick went there) and from promo we see the next ep continues in church with a possibly sheriff (rj?) walking in and saying something like ''game over''. I don't believe we will know who is red john already in beginning of next episode, somewhere in middle yes, but not at the beginning. What if that really was sheriff in church and he was holding the phone which from real RJ was talking through?

- brett partridge. there's a huge mystery with him atm. why did RJ kill him? it is still not answered! if that was really his body at the morgue, why is his skin from shoulder removed and who did that? did he even have a tattoo? if he was in TT, why would RJ (who's also part of TT, according to Reede) killed him then? at that point no1 even knew about TT, so he wasn't danger to the organization or RJ and wasn't needed to be killed.

- when it was found out reede and gale are in TT collective, why only reede was ordered to get killed and not gale too? is gale their leader then? reede said it's called the blake association, because some1 is a big fan of blake and we saw back in season 3 gale recited some other blake's poem. it appears to me gale is leader and what is rj to them then, just a member or?

who can be rj then?
1. sheriff - i like him the most of all 7 suspects and i want it to be him. but, if he's rj and he is the one in promo we see, i'd be disappointed i found it out in a promo and not in a episode. THAT WOULD SUCK HARD. but since he's alive he's top option.
2. brett partridge - there are too many questions around him and his apparent death and so far we didn't get any answer to that. just because we didn't learn anything about it i gotta give him some chance, but would he need cbi credentials to enter cbi building to kill rebecca? hmm...but look at this, if he is RJ, and faked his death and would want his identification to remain secret, wouldn't you as well remove some1's skin from shoulder from your fake body so nobody would ever know were you in TT organization or not.
3. ??? who else? I believe hafffner and stiles are really dead dead, there had to be some casualties at that bomb explosion, no question about it. and bob kirkland's evil twin brother is biggest shit i read here, i give more chance to reede.


10x for reading

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I posted earlier that my best guesses for Red John were McAllister, CBI Ron, Santa Claus and Gandhi.
After seeing next weeks promo I am taking McAllister's name off the list 100%. No way they would give RJ identity away in a 30 second promo.
My thoughts say that the timeline wouldn't fit. If McAllister is RJ and that is him walking into the church at the beginning of next weeks episode and he gets shot, it rules him out completely. We see McAllister fleeing but we don't see him get away. If he does get away, why would he agree to meet Jane (as said later in the promo) after already being shot and facing certain death.

I just watched a video on Youtube of an editor for a TV blog. He posted a video of his live reactions to next weeks episode which contains absolutely 0 spoilers.
Here's the video for those interested: "youtube.com / watch?v=vWYpReqi678" Remove spaces.

At one point in the video his jaw literally drops and he goes a little insane. If this is the moment RJ is revealed he's reacting to, I assume that RJ must be either someone dead (maybe from the list) or someone out of nowhere (eg. Ron or the bald guy in my picture). But obviously it doesn't end up being Bertram and I doubt McAllister.

Gandhi it is.

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At Visualize we wonder if the Tyger tyger organization has anything to do with the fact Justin Bieber is gay

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Lorelai Martin's sister was killed by Red John. Now, I question the integrity of Lorelai's testimony that Red JOhn has shaken Jane's hand. She did say that they would be 'good friends'. I understand her to have been respectful of Patrick Jane. If she worships Red John, she must think highly of Jane to think that those two could be 'good friends'. She said it, but she says that Red John thinks it. I believe she thought of it only because she liked Jane. Now, this is a clue to Red John's identity.
Jane is a leader, and Red John is a leader. Two leaders could 'bump' heads on issues. Jane is seen as independant, and Red John needs people to follow. Red John's freinds are afraid of him. Jane is unafraid. It is likely that the two would never be 'good friends'. In my opinion, Lorelai exposed the fact that Red John has an inferiority complex. I believe he lives in somebody's shadow. His success is underscored by the person he assists. I believe Red John could be Brett Stiles' assistant. Red John is looking for a way to move on, despite his feeling inferior to Brett Stiles. Plus, the murders that made Brett Stiles popular could have been orchestrated by Red John. Brett Stiles could have been framed for those murders, so the business gets taken over by the assistant. Red John might have used his contacts (in the FBI) to setup Brett Stiles for murder(s). It would explain how Brett Stiles could know about Kristina Frye's whereabouts.
I believe that Hafner was quitting his job to avoid confrontation with Tyger, Tyger. His new job is an honest man's attempt at dealing with hiding. If you were an FBI agent and you hid from a perp, you would feel depressed. Hafneroffers Lisbon a job, because he just wants to offer Lisbon the same comfort he is experienceing; while hiding. He fears Red John, and he wants to protect Lisbon. He knows that Red John has friends in the CBI. Hafner wants to avoid a "run-in" with Red John's friends, in the CBI. Hafner's "gut" is telling him that Tyger, Tyger is watching him. He wanted to look respectable, while running & hiding. He is keeping his composure. "Visualize" is helping him cope. I think about the type of person Red John must be and Hafner is far from it. However, his new boss looks more the part. Red John just might turn out to be Brett Stile's assistant.

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So here's a theory, 
Jason Cooper is Red John, biggest hunch was his voice and behaviour. He appears in three episodes: - The Red Tattoo,The Red Barn, and His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts...looking super suspicious in them all. If he is Red John, the production crew has done an awesome job sneaking him into the show without a grand entrance.

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