What can I say? The final showdown was utter, indefensible Bull$%(#.

Many people like to use the analogy of Sherlock Holmes to Moriarty to illustrate the comparison between Red John and Patrick Jane. However, this is not exactly the way the serial killer was actually portrayed. From the very beginning of the series, Red John has been proven to be "The Mentalist" to the titular Mentalist; to be as above Jane as Jane is above the average criminal, reminiscing upon such instances where he performed feats like the gross brainwashing of followers, placing Rosalind Harker into a state of hypnosis, and forcing Kristina Frye into an irreparable catatonia, not to mention the countless times he has taken what appeared to be the truth about a situation, and turned it on Jane, the trickster of tricksters.

Why, then, was this final confrontation so vapid?

Instead of enacting the Red John that is so clearly beyond Jane, as Jane himself eventually admits, it is as if Heller took all of the scripts he had written for the past five seasons, and tossed them out of his office window for the grand finale, leaving a daffy and shallow shell of what should have been the villain to trump all villains. There were much better, more compelling performances by the likes of Erica Flynn, Tommy Volker, and, hell, even the episode with the SJK  -- episodes that that leave you wondering why he did not leave the brunt of the writing to the more creative members of his team.

These past few seasons of The Mentalist have been losing viewers by the millions for a very good reason, and if Heller refuses to get his act together, we may only see the show around for a few seasons more. Eventually, it will actually be beneficial to bring Red John back, despite the claims of his saga being over. As far as I am concerned, however, that atrocity depicted by Thomas Mcallister (though Xander Berkeley is an incredible actor) will never be the real Red John. Sure, there is some level of disappointment expected regardless of whom the killer actually turned out to be, but this butchering of the premise of the show was uncalled for.