Here is an addition to my theory (#7883), that Bob Kirkland is Red John.
In the meanwhile I got a good question about my theory from my girlfriend: "Ok, your theory sounds good, but how do you explain, that Bruno Heller said, that we have already seen Red John til the end of season 3, but Bob Kirklands first appearence was in season 4?"
Now I found an answer to this question, which not only answers this question, but also some more questions, which were still unsolved:
- how could Red John know, that Patrick Jane will be at the mall in 3x24?
- how could Bruno Heller say, that we will see Red Johns face in final episode of season 3, but then it turned out, that it was a fake-Red John. Was he lying?
- why did Patrick Jane in season 4, when he meets Bob Kirkland for the first time in the office says: "do I know you?"
Answers:
We learnt from Hightower in season 6, that Bob Kirkland was informed on a regular basis about Patrick Jane by the Chiefs of CBI, at that time that was Bertram. So he knew it from Bertram. That setting makes it possible for Kirkland, to show up at the mall, without making Bertram skeptical. In 6x24 at 34:39 you can see a man in a red pullover, who looks very similiar to Bob Kirkland. He is seated between Patrick Jane and the fake Red John. And what is interesting, at 35:14, exactly at the moment, when Patrick Jane walks in direction to the fake Red John, this man in the red pullover, stands up and leaves his table very quickly, even without paying. But Patrick sees his face just for a fraction of a second. That would explain, why later in season 4, when he sees Bob Kirkland for the first time in the office, Patrick asks him "do I know you?". That fraction of a second was too short to remember him, but it was enough for a mastermind like him to have a feeling of remembering. A nice clue from Bruno Heller to the audience. It is also interesting, that this man in the red pullover, who left the table so quickly, is later seen in two szenes in the background. Maybe this could be interpreted as the waldo szenes, that Bruno Heller was refering lately.
So, that all explains, why Heller can say without lying, that we saw Red John til the end of season 3, that we saw Red Johns face in the final episode of season 3 and that he was at the mall. Everything he said was true, and it was very good covered by the fake-Red John storyline.
