The following may seem like wishful thinking on my part, but I must say I a strong hunch that the Red John or Blake Association story isn't over yet, for sure. Let me explain my hunch (it's going to be long, so please bear with me)

1. After the Red John episode, I started watching seasons 1-6 all over again. And I realized that there are at least 3 episodes in a every season till date which involve RJ, and RJ playing the cat & mouse game, either to taunt Jane or keep himself "clean" by making some moves against Jane/CBI team. Such episodes are the premier, one mid-season episode and the season finale.

2. Things started making sense when the Blake Association was revealed. Which makes it very likely that RJ did in fact use the BA association to do his bidding (as mentioned in 6.07 by R.Smith).

And on a side note, I really have a feeling suggesting L'aroche is also a BA member. I mean, in season 3 we discover that he has a strange secret. Later, in the finale we in the scene where Gupta (who may also have been BA) was shot by L'aroche and you can see L'aroche acting mysteriously just as Gupta enters the car. Which makes even  more sense when we discover that L'aroche did in fact have horrible reason and he somehow managed to keep it in a box and quiet for 9 years or so if I'm correct.

And how do people in the show manage to keep secrets hidden? Answer- with the help of the Blake association. So it would make sense if Laroche comes back in the show and has something to do with the Blake Association.

3. In the mid-season episodes I mentioned before, RJ always has had to make a move to keep his hands "clean". For example- 1.11 with Jared Renfrew, 2.08 with Bosco and his team, 3.09 with Todd Johnson and later his buddy Montiero.

In s4 with Panzer and the morgue attendant/coroner. In s5 with Loreli and maybe the guy Kirkland killed. (supports the infamous twin theory). And now in s6, RJ by making the last move of his game (or was it the last?) and last week with the Ardiles killing (BA if RJ actually died).

4. Not to mention, the season finales have always been RJ playing games with Jane and the next premier episode showing the consequential/continuation of the previous.

So, it would make sense to think that the RJ (or the BA story-line) may not be over, yet. Heller and the team have stated in press-releases prior to the premier of s6 that "RJ will be revealed, i.e caught or killed by the end of 2013. 

And besides, The Mentalist, as we all can agree; is all about misdirection and twists.

Hence, wishful thinking or not, we can still expect a major twist from Bruno with something to do with RJ or the BA.

The one thing that gives most hope to all theories that RJ is not dead is PJ still wearing his wedding ring!

I still want to believe ;)

someone please answer this for me,during the episode where jane was talking to his teenage daughter,what did she mean when she asked him,(do they know who you really are)? 

Just a theory me and my old man came up with while discussing the most recent episode. 

Knowing that the whole cbi team has had there phones bugged since I would assume at least the start of the season we have to think about what this person or people might have overheard. I speak mainly of what PJ said in that there are other names on the list of BA members that have not been caught. What if this was true? I know its been said by smith that all the members are blackmailed into doing these crimes but he was also under pressure, looking for a way out and for protection, this could have very well been the escape plan story if they ever needed a way out but not to complete cross the BA and have a hit put on his head, they were allready exposed and he did no more damage then what was already done but make the other look ALMOST innocent. I mean bertram, and cordero didn't seem to regretful of they're actions or like they were forced to kill now did they?  now if it is true (and i hope it's not) that red john is truly dead then what about these other members that might be left to pick up the pieces after there leader died? they had 2 years to build a new base and start again. What if a lot of these people are working around Jane in the FBI and we just don't know it? Abbot for some reason i don't think would be one, however we know nothing about any of them, and if they thought they were on the verge of being caught again and Abbot was helping PJ on the grounds that he would help catch them wouldn't they do something about it? at the moment PJ is too hot, hes in the FBI with other non corrupt agents and cant be touched without exposing the truth because what else has he done to have someone want him dead? (besides piss off tons of people throughout the series:p but that's kind of irrelevant at this point), so where to start for information? They need to know if this list is real and what names that Patrick and possibly other members of his old team might know, so bug the former cbi team and see what they know about this "list". Take them out one by one, likely from the least dangerous/safest to kill, torture them for information and eventually get closer to Jane and the truth.. PJ might have really put people in danger with this lie he told to Abbot, and who know maybe Abbot is one too but is smart enough to know that if he was on Jane's list that Jane would be scared of him and wouldn't trust him so he goes with is as would be his "obligation" and plays along with Patrick's game (and in the meantime looking good for having PJ solve all there cases), however i really hope Abbot doesn't turn out to be the next RJ.. also I cant really see why RJ would want to kill off these scattered members of the old cbi...

HOWEVER I still like to believe that red john is alive and that this is all one big game of chess, im sure you all know the theories if your on this site. Jane shut the cbi down on purpose because of a possible mole in his close party, He has the fbi rapped around his finger trying to make the real RJ think hes moved on, i have even deluded myself enough by reading other theories to think and almost hope that its Rigsby! never in the whole show would i have even considered turning on him but im at that point and i know a lot of you are too.  I sure hope BH dose't let all his fans down and actually pulls something great out of his a** i mean i will accept this huge upset of Mcallister being put off as the real deal for so long and even forgive BH if he turns this around, and who knows MAYBE this was what he wanted, MAYBE he didn't care about the HUGE loss in viewers over this, and all the hate he would receive for a few months, MAYBE he just wanted to create a fantastic story for his die hard fans like us!! or maybe not... but on the somewhat large chance that Rj is dead and this is a new spin, at least it would keep things interesting and not completely stray from the whole RJ story. They might even answer some of the questions that they have so rudely ignored! well just a theory! hope you guys like it and that you might take this and include things i may have missed and make it your own theory! AND PLEASE POST THEM!!! I miss coming to this site every day and seeing LOTS of actual theories not just hate comments, no one wants to see them.. were all mad enough as it is!

  PLEASE HIT GREEN SO OTHERS CAN READ AND HOPEFULLY POST NEW EXCITING THEORIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL YOU MENTALIST FANS!

Since this show is great at misdirection i am going to highlight the road to red john by looking into clues that the show has been DEAD silent about.

-Red john is just like Brett Styles . He has brainwashed followers and a doctrine-like moral code. This doctrine is based on creating a "new self". Visualize does this by the "air out" videos and red john does this by killing someone very close to you . This death or air out video makes you see the world differently through "new eyes" and makes you say goodby to your old self.
-Haffner's threats came out of the blue . Visualize is not suppose to be related to the BA at all and honestly i dont think they are . Visualize has its own undercover cops and whatnot to do their bidding.
So what was this threat about ?

-***The fact that this show has said NOTHING about visualize, janes house, haffner, styles, is a clear indication that they are saving it for the end of this season. And also a clear indication that this info is detrimental to the Red john story line. Detrimentalist.
-No way in hell they don't bring this stuff up again.
- Jane has not talked about van pelt or rigsby and neither has cho.
Wylie and Jane have also never been introduced to each other in the show.
-EVERYONE can see that the show is purposively making Wylie look suspicious.
--Jane wanted cbi to be shut down. He has abbot wrapped around his finger and jane is calling all the shots at the fbi.
-Jane has NOT moved on at all. As long has he wears that wedding ring than he is still on the hunt.
- Jane is PRETENDING to be a new guy. He is going to respect his psychic abilities moreso so that red john trully thinks he has changed .
-Kristina Frey will return (she is a cheap gig to book)
-Does anyone believe that Macalister had the mental fortitude to make Kristina a mute?
~~A key phrase/plot in the last episode was what? Making the bad guy(girl) think that she is in the clear because the police had arrested somebody else.
This is a MICROCOSM of the big picture painted by Jane to finally catch Red John in the act.
-The key is in the act . Jane knows who he is looking for and has known since the end of season 5. He needs to catch Red John in the act, and thats why this chess-match will last much much longer, to my dismay.