One thing we must realise is that
the only reason RJ has been able to stay off of Jane’s radar is because he was
putting on a show all along. He is a showman and artist. The show has always
shown us that RJ is very much like Jane. We have always known that RJ is a
mentalist (just like Jane) and season 5 finale has confirmed that to us. I
think that Bruno Heller has always known the identity of RJ. Two of suspects (Sheriff
McAllister and Partridge) have appeared in the first two episodes of the show.
Maybe Bruno was planning to reveal RJ earlier but with the success of the show,
he then decided to keep the mystery going.
Before I analysed the 7 suspects,
I would like to talk about Grace Van Pelt.
She is the only character on the show that we don’t really know about her past.
Her father was a coach that we've learned in season 3. I think the writers have
kept her past a mystery because she is connected to Red John. In season 2
episode 2 (The Scarlet Letter), at the beginning of the episode, she strongly
stated to Wayne & Cho that human life is sacred, when someone takes their
own life it’s a tragedy. This makes me think that she had some personal
experience with suicide. And in season 2 episode 10 (Throwing Fire), when Grace
was trying to talk the victim's wife out of killing herself, she mentioned a
sister which she later told Wayne that she does not a sister. I believed she
was lying. She did have a sister and she committed suicide. And we know that RJ
used people who have lost someone and I think that’s how RJ made her one of his
followers. It is worth mentioning, that two of boyfriends were killers.
Although that does not really mean much, it does show that she has a tendency
to be attracted to dangerous personalities. She believes in psychic powers and
the afterlife. I think that has been mostly due to Red John. He has helped her
to process the death of her sister (or someone close to her).
Brett Stiles
Brett is very much like Jane; he can read people
and has the power to influence their action. But I think he is too old to be
Red John and Rosalind did not mention anything about RJ having an accent. One
might say that Jane and Stiles are friends. Jane helped Brett and vice versa.
And I don’t think that Brett Stiles has tried to hide his true identity. He
probably knows one of RJ's friends. That’s how he knew about the location of
Kristina Frye.
Reede Smith
He appeared in Season 5. Personally, he does not
have the charm to be RJ. He does not really fit Rosalind description. Most of
you would agree with me that he cannot be Red John and I would really be
disappointed if he is.
Gale Bertram
Gale is definitely not RJ for many obvious
reasons. In season 3 finale, Gale was one of the suspects that they believed
to be RJs mole. If he was Red John, the assassin would not have gone to room
405. She went there because of O’laughlin information. And in season 5 (Red
in Tooth and Claw), we have seen how Gale was behaving at the poker game because
he was losing to the Judge. Obviously, if he was Red John, this would never
have happened. RJ is like Jane and he does not need any help from Jane to
win.
Bob Kirkland
I think that the writers added Bob in season 5
just to confuse us. He is secretive and could be Red John. But I think he has
a personal reason to find RJ. Maybe RJ murdered someone close to him. If Red
John knew the suspects list before Lorelei death why would Bob break into
Jane's attic? There is no point for him to find any information. So he cannot
Red John. He killed Jason Lennon. Maybe RJ ordered him to or it was personal
and did not want him to reveal any information to Jane because it would
compromise his investigation. In season 5 episode 16 (There Will Be Blood), Bob
was listening to Lisbon’s conversation with Gale. This scene makes Gale and
Bob look very suspicious as if they are both working for RJ or one of them is
Red John. Bob asked Gale if they can trust Lisbon. My guess is that Bob told
Gale Bertram about his investigation and there is another mole at the CBI.
That’s why they cannot trust anyone at the CBI.
Brett Partridge
I think there is too much evidence that point to
Brett Partridge. That would be too easy and not interesting at all. Obviously
Jane dislikes him. He is the appropriate height and his voice is high pitch.
But he is not charming enough to be the famous serial killer Red John. He is
just a creepy forensic guy. I don’t think we can trust the voice in season 3
finale. RJ could have changed his voice. I think they just want to throw us
off by piling evidence against him.
Ray Haffner
He was a former FBI agent and is an expert in
wiretaps and surveillance. He could be Red John but very unlikely. Just
because he is member of visualize and he probably was at that farm does not
make him Red John. He is more likely a friend of RJ and that’s how Stiles
gets his information on Red John. It is too easy if he is Red John because
all the evidence points to him.
Sheriff
McAllister
I know that most of you would disagree with me
that Sheriff McAllister is RJ. Yes, he appeared in only one episode (Red Hair
and Silver Tape). But if you wanted to keep RJs identity a secret you would
limit his appearance. There is a reason for why he is on the list.
In Red Hair
and Silver Tape, it was about a couple killing redheads and the Sheriff
was at scene when the girl was killed. We know that RJ is connected to other
serial killers and I believed that the sheriff knew about the couple killings
because they were his friends. The sheriff that we saw was just an act. This
is not who he is (assuming he is Red John). Obviously there is not much that
we can really say about him but we will probably see more of him in season 6
.
One person on the list is Red
John and maybe his friends too. Season 5 finale has revealed a lot
about RJ. Lisbon was even wondering if he could be a real Psychic. One thing
that Jane has shown us is that there is no such thing as Psychics. This only
means that RJ is playing at a higher level. He got into Jane's mind. I don’t
think that really easy especially with Jane. Maybe Jane has shared this
information with someone at one point in his life and Red John has done a lot
of research on Jane, and spying on him (using Ray Haffner). When Jane was in
psychiatric hospital, he probably reveal such information to his doctor and he
does not remember. RJ got access to this information somehow.
One thing I am realising now is
Jane could have shortened his list further just like we are trying to do. Some
of the names don’t make sense at all (such as Stiles). I believe Jane is
playing with RJ but does not want anyone to know. He wants to be one step ahead
of RJ for once. I hope season 6 starts with a Red John episode. I hate to wait
for midseason or the finale to see him at work. Personally, I wished Red John
is played by an actor as talented as Simon Baker and I am not sure the actors
on the list can capture the charisma of famous serial killer. Bruno Heller
referred to RJ as moriaty. And I think
that’s why we want to believe Jane himself is RJ because there is no one better
to be Red John.
