What makes the best 'payoff,' and what 'rewards' as a viewer would we like to see in this last red john episode? for starters, i hope we get just a bit more on the visualize connection.

i don't need much more detail on the blake association. the way reede smith indicated that members 'never know' who is contacting them, and just do what is asked, makes the blake association the perfect tool for red john to influence people and do favors -- whether a member or not. for example, he could contact a law officer he knows is a member, have them 'erase' the problems of a potential disciple, and therefore have another tool at his disposal. all red john had to do was find out about the organization and its codeword/workings -- not be a member. regardless of who is revealed to be red john, the 10 year killing gap can be explained not as a gap in killing, but simply a gap in revealed evidence. red john could have been using the association to cover his tracks in that period, until either a falling out or a swell of pride made him more likely to reveal his victims.

i feel like the most feasible final 3 at this point are bertram, haffner, and mcallister. 

bertram: if he ends up being red john, 1 'payoff' is that he 'played dumb' about poker, which would show his powers of deceit. he quoted a blake line. another payoff would be how red john has tried to get patrick 'on his side.' revealed as red john, bertram has the satisfaction of saying something to the effect, 'see, patrick? you've been working for me all along." the single biggest reason i don't think it can be bertram is that patrick gave his name to the press/authorities. jane has always said he wants red john for himself. and i feel like the 'you've been working for me all along' thing is a bit cliched.

mcallister: if the sheriff is red john, we get to marvel at how he was able to anticipate jane's moves in order to lose every time at rock/paper/scissors. we get vindication for the creepy factor he exuded when approaching van pelt in episode 2 season 1, and his eerie discussion about hunting in episode 3 season 6. he can gloat about saving patrick at least twice. and we get the 'zombie twist' of having been told he was dead, only to see him rise on the third day and hide easter eggs. wait, that's somebody else...i guess i ultimately have less of a problem with his reveal as red john than i would with bertram, but i still have a gut feeling that maybe those early circulating pics of nick nordella were jumped on by mcallister proponents, and ignored by fans of haffner, whom he could also portray.

haffner: if ray is red john, we'll probably get a clear visualize connection. he fits the physical description (whether you believe rosalind harker or not). he has the surveillance experience to have been a step ahead of patrick and APPEAR smarter than he really is. his 'i was willing to work with you on this' line after being fired in season 4 can have symbolic implications of red john trying to get jane on his side. if even remotely intelligent, his experience watching stiles would provide haffner some of the skills necessary to further learn how to manipulate people. he's demonstrated the conceit and self-centered nature a serial killer would need. and his reveal would give the show the final 'twist' of not only the 'resurrection,' but the fact that he somehow planted the tattoo evidence with the private investigator, which feels more like a red john to me. big negatives against him being red john include seeming to be dead in the explosion, not being there from season 1, and not having the perceived gravitas of xander berkeley.

i'll be happy with either a haffner or mcallister red john reveal, though i feel that haffner gives the biggest jolt at this point. whichever suspect it is, i've had fun on the site. musing about theories was a fun way to explore the show's 'world' while waiting for the next episode.

i hope patrick jane kills red john, and paints a smiley face with a big 'X' through it. what do you hope to see in the last red john episode? 

My MentalTwist Exegesis.

Jane knows he has been bugged and spied on in cbi. He used this to his advantage. Jane made two list. Both were fake . Kirkland takes the first one and red john knows this because of his people in the fbi. Red john thru spying with moles, and wire taps found out about janes other list.(who knows how) Jane purposively put on the list names of men he did not shake hands with as a trap. Or at least a few fake names. Jane knew rj would feast his eyes or ears on the second list so he faked it knowing this would reveal how rj got it. Revealing his identity to jane only. The first list was a trick. Making the second list look like the truth but there both tricks basically.

Red john thinks he's one step ahead because he believes he is watching jane plant a decoy and keep the real list when in reality jane is pulling a double move . Red john wants tiger tiger dealt with and uses jane to do so. Red john then plants the info for jane with Sophie miller . The info was descriptions of the tiger tiger members different neuroses. Jane knows this . Rj does not know jane knows this. Jane gathers the people on the list . Jane fakes macalister, styles , and haffners death to lower the list to two. Jane knows red john is waiting till the end to make his move ;) Reed smith is taken in and deemed not red john . Bertram is janes checkmate . This forces red johns hand for obvious egotistical reasons. Red john thinks jane believes its Bertram. Jane knows better . Next episode jane will decode the usb and find a secret tiger tiger safe meet up point at the church. Red john shows up after jane shoots Bertram. Jane chases him to the park. The rest is history.
Thoughts ?

I've been following this website for a while now, and I love seeing what kind of theories people come up with. As the search for Red John comes to an end, I just want to write a few things about each suspect hoping that, by doing so, I will be able to organize my thoughts and come to some kind of a conclusion...

First off, I really hope Bertram isn't Red John. That would be a huge cop out on the part of the writers and producers. Jane's public indictment of Bertram as RJ almost certainly eliminates him from the list. Jane pulls these tricks all the time, and it's hopefully just a ploy to make RJ come to Jane. Part of me thinks RJ is too smart for that, but who knows?

I find the recent deaths in the show very suspect. I have no idea what to think about the explosion at Jane's house that "killed" McAllister, Stiles, and Haffner. I've read some interesting theories positing that McAllister is RJ and have found some of them fairly convincing. In accordance with some other people who've posted on this site, I don't think McAllister would've denied he was RJ when put at gunpoint by Jane. RJ seems to have too much pride in his work to let it go without credit. Although, he could've figured he didn't have any other way out and lied. RJ's a manipulator after all. There was a user who claimed to have done a screen capture of a shot of the promo for the next episode effectively proving it was McAllister who walks into the church, but I didn't watch it. Stuff like that takes all the fun out of guessing. McAllister fits the age range that makes sense with RJ's killings, but so do a lot of other suspects.

I find the whole Kirkland's twin theory very compelling. As Jane drops his tea cup at the conclusion of the most recent episode (The Great Red Dragon) it seems like he's remembering something hugely important. I found a YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5-H9QGov4Y) that presents a nearly identical situation. Perhaps Jane dropping his cup jogged his memory. It just seems too random to be meaningless.

I think there's something to be said about Van Pelt. I'm not really considering her a possibility to be RJ, but it seems as though she could have a connection him. 

Then there's Partridge. My gut tells me that he's Red John. I don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't see his face in the last episode as this would once and for all confirm his death. It seems as though no one in Tyger Tyger know RJ's true identity, so perhaps the organization was involved in faking Partridge's death. Plus, as we first meet Partridge, he says, "Red John enters here," as he walks into the room. That'd be a perfect place to taunt Jane and his team, not to mention the perfect "a-ha" moment for viewers re-watching earlier episodes. Partridge may be a little too young to be Red John however. His voice is the closest to RJ's, if that is in fact RJ's real voice.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Partridge is RJ. His death seems to suspicious and he fits a large amount of the RJ's qualities.

All I can really say is watching the episode this Sunday will be both exhilarating and saddening. This show has captivated me since day one and it'll be sad to see the search for RJ end.