Not a theory, just some thoughts and questions after watching "The Great Red Dragon":
Well, quite disappointing episode it was, wasn't it?
Though Bertram now indeed seems to be the man (at least the head of TT), I'm still not so sure about him being Red John. IMHO, a few questions remain to be answered in the upcoming episode:
1. Why the hell are McAllister, Stiles and Haffner all three "burned to crisp" while not even being in the same place at the moment of the explosion? After all, Smith and Bertram are well alive - tough luck on McAllister being burned to ashes, despite standing right next to them at that very second...
Furthermore, I find it highly unlikely that Heller kills off two important characters such as Stiles and Haffner like that.
2. Why would Bertram want to kill Jane in his sleep, if he really was Red John? Sure, Jane at that moment is the only person besides Smith knowing about Bertram's tattoo...but still, as one can see, Smith is real quick at surrendering to the CBI when being threatened by TT. If he would have been caught after Jane's death, he still could've told everyone about Bertram's tattoo. Also: I don't think that Red John would simply cut Jane's throat in panic with Lisbon almost catching him in the act. For me, it doesn't fit the character in two ways - neither would Red John be that incautious, nor would he kill his arch enemy in such a dishononarable manner. (He could have done that every night for a few years now, knowing where Jane lives and sleeps ;))
3. Why didn't we get to see Partridge's face? I don't really think that he's alive anymore but it was a bit strange nonetheless.
4. What is Bertram's list supposed to mean?
5. What's the big deal about that tea cup? "My favourite tea cup" - really? Doesn't it appear a bit off that Jane pretends to care all that much about a tea cup all of a sudden, despite being as close to Red John as never before? When he entered that room, he didn't seem to think about "letting go". After he was told what was happening and having his precious tea cup broken, he stopped, as if something struck his mind. Which leads me to the last question...
6. Why does Jane go to church in the last scene? He doesn't strike me as the typical religious guy at all, not believing in any kind of superficial or esoteric stuff. Is he waiting there for someone? Does he hope to find someone? Is he mourning his tea cup? I don't know.
As one can see, this episode somewhat asked more questions than it answered. If Red John really turns out to be Bertram in next week's episode, they better should deliver an awesome explanation for this and all the other remaining questions. The Mentalist and it's otherwise well-crafted Red John storyline deserve more than a plain "Yeah, whatever, bald guy did it all" in my eyes.
My guess after watching the 6x08 promo is McAllister, by the way.
Greetings from Germany, stayed up all night to watch the latest episode :P
