"He is many"

Jane has narrowed the list to seven specifically because they were all people who could have been at each killing.  If "he is many" then that means the main factor in narrowing the list is meaningless and it could be any of them or none of them.

I like Bertram for it.

The Kirkland possibly being the anti-Jane from his youth that was there for his good memory but grew up hating how easily things came to Jane is compelling but I think less likely.


Outside of the list, I think the Jane alter-ego is interesting (deep naps, blocked memories, insight into murders that could be explained by repressed memory couched as an observation).

Also, Rosalind Harker is interesting.  Rosa=Red.  She is not suspected because she is blind, but she could be faking or using her handicap as a cover.  She is blind, not stupid, she seems oblivious to the fact she "dated" a murderer and that the morgue attendant was dead in her house as she played piano.  Roy Tagliafero could be of her own making or even someone she killed and stole an identity.

Still I think Bertram for many of the reasons others have said (he said the poem when Jane wasn't around, he's a fisherman [Red John has disciples - a possible Jesus reference, i.e. fisher of men], he's intelligent, has resources, seemed to care less about getting rid of the team but always prioritizes keeping Jane within close watch, etc...)

THE THEORY: RED JOHN IS 'MANY': Bertram +  Kirkland (+ maybe Partridge), + many other helpers/disciples.

I am sure that the words written in blood when Jared Renfrew was killed, is written by Renfrew and is "He is many".

If you were bleeding to death, and you new the killer was called something like, for example "Martin" etc., would you waste time writing "He is" in front of it?  Wouldn't you just start writing "Martin"?

Even if he was writing "He is Mary" or something like that, he would just have written "Mary" right off the bat.  Anyhow, we are all sure Red John is not a woman.

So one theory is that Red John is more than one person, plus many other assistants/helpers/friends/tools/fools or whatever you want to call them.

I would say Red John is: Bob Kirkland, Gale Bertram and maybe also Brett Partridge.  A "killer Committee" of (at least) 2 persons.  That way, you can easily explain the inconsistencies between the different 'versions' of Red John as they arise throughout the series. For example Rosalind Harker says Red John is just below six feet tall with short hair (fits both Kirkland and Partridge), he likes reciting the poetry of William Blake (fits Bertram), etc.

This is how Red John can be both short and tall, or have hair and also be bald, or have a high-pitched voice and a low voice, etc.

I would say it is also highly likely that most of 'his' helpers (like Lorelei) are also under the impression that there is only one Red John.

How did 'they' know about Jane's happy memory?  What about his psychiatrist Sophie Miller?  When Jane had his breakdown - which must have been the one time in his life in which he was not in control of himself - he could have told her at her request, possibly without remembering.  It is highly likeley that Red John was keeping tabs on Jane at the time and maybe he got access to their conversations somehow.  Sophie was not above criminal behaviour, as we remember.

How did they know about Jane's list of 7 suspects?  I can't remember if the guys that broke into the loft did so before or after Lorelei's death, but I think they did so before that.  And we see Kirkland painstakingly duplicating Jane's research.

So my bet is: Kirkland and Bertram are BOTH Red John.

Process of elimination here:
Reede Smith - If this is Red John it's crap writing.  Some guy we've seen for about 8 seconds of screen time, overall would be a very poor reveal.
Brett Partridge - Too young in my opinion, plus he isn't in a position of power where he could easily give people the things they want (RJ's primary tactic for getting people to do what he wants).  
Tom McAllister - Again it's crap writing if it's him.  He hasn't been involved in the series since episode 2.
Ray Haffner - Again he seems young, not that powerful, etc.  He could have been faking it when Jane took his team apart, but to me he just doesn't have the screen presence of a criminal mastermind.

So that leaves:
Bob Kirkland, Bret Stiles, and Gale Bertram.

It could possibly be Bertram, and he would be my second choice behind Bret Stiles.  He could have faked needing help at poker and his position overseeing Jane would be ideal for watching Jane flounder (searching for the man whose office is feet away).  He just doesn't strike me as overly charismatic and able to attract a following easily.

Bob Kirland is the obvious suspect, which generally means it's not him.  My view is that Kirkland is a former disciple of Red John's who has never met the guy.  Someone who got tricked into doing something he now regrets and/or wants revenge for.  So now he is trying to find Red John by riding Jane's coat tails.    He changed his appearance when he left Red John's employ to protect himself.  The reason he killed Lennon is Lennon knew what he used to look like, which would have put him in jeopardy from both Red John and the authorities.  As for why he didn't ask Red John's identity, it may be that he did but that was off screen or it may be that he felt Lennon didn't actually know who Red John currently is.

Which leaves Bret Stiles.  A man of significant means and charm, having built a cult from the ground up.  His age makes it more likely that he could be out killing in 1988, his position in the cult makes it more likely that he was able to cover up those same murders by relocating his cult people (who were working on that farm).  The only real thing going against Bret Stiles is that he let Lorelai out of jail.  This would be a highly risky move for Red John to make, although he may have made it just because he had gotten bored with Jane's lack of progress.

Although realistically, whoever they make Red John it will be highly disappointing.  It's been building up for 5 seasons and no matter who they pick there are going to be a few very good reasons why it's stupid that he's Red John.  My personal view is that they didn't have a specific character in mind when they created the series and even if they did having drawn the reveal out over six seasons and several different writers, it becomes difficult to not have contradicted yourself at one point in time... or just making Red John some random character like Reede Smith (since so little is known about him there's no way to make a case for why it isn't him... other than he's kinda fat and Red John would not be fat).

The story of the couple of married assassins, Malcolm and Sandra Boatwright, in the McAllister's first episode, is similar at history of Timothy Carter, the Red John impersonator, and his wife Sally, in Strawberries and Cream/Scarlet Ribbons/Little Red Book. 
In Red John's Friends, Jared Renfrew
draw in the wall, before his death and with blood, the write: He is
Mar... That could be He is MacAllister, or not "He is Mar" but an
incomplete anagram as "l l c is mar...te", then "McAllister". Jared
could prepared this anagram when he was in prison; if Red John will kill
him, the killer would not have deleted the clue.

In Van Pelt file in Red Dawn (even if it is anachronistic, because it happened a few years after) there's the plot of part of McAllister episode, with the "redhead girls killer".