It's Haffner. He is agile, charming, fits the physical description etc but the most important clue is that RJ left Lisbon alive. WHY would he leave her alive? Because he cares about her, as he told her in the hospital. He is Red John and Stiles is his father. Kirkland was either Lorelei's sister's boyfriend and is out for his own revenge, or he is RJ's right hand man.
No idea what that meeting between Bertram, Mcallister and Steele was about though.
The Great Red Dragon
The book of Revelations is a part of the holy bible containing many
passages describing the physical of representation of Satan. This
embodiment is in the form of a red, seven headed dragon or beast.
There are seven suspects.
Although I am hesitant to say that it can be concluded that these
seven suspects (Gale Bertram, Bret Stiles, Brett Partridge, Sheriff
Thomas McAllister, Reede Smith, Ray Haffner and Bob Kirkland) are
representations of each of the dragons head and therefore Red John is
someone made up of these charaters collectively, I do feel confident in
saying there is a definite theme of this red satanic beast in play
revolving around Red John and I strongly believe that we will soon be
hearing a lot more about this.
-WILLIAM BLAKE-
William Blake was a famous poet and painter from the late 18th to early 19th century. In relation to the Mentalist William Blake is known as the author of The Tyger, a poem often connected to (and recited by) Red John. However William Blake is also notably known for his famous painting The Great Red Dragon , his representation of the dragon like form of Satan - coincidence?
(Other possible connections to William Blake include; 1. The painting Dante’s Inferno depicting the story of man by the name of Virgil
leading Dante through hell - a possible reference to Jane’s retired
boos Virgil Minelli? and 2. Another painting named ’ A Brace of
Partridge’ - a possible reference to one of the suspects Brett
Partridge?)
- The 666 -
In the final scene of Desert Rose (ep 1, season 6) we see
Lisbon entering an old house with the flashlight. Directer Bruno Heller
has told viewers that this scene contains a vital clue to the puzzle of
Red Johns identity. As Lisbon’s flashlight passes we can vaguely see
some drawings and writings on the wall. DIE and 666
can be seen on the walls written in red. This is a reference to the
unholy trinity - 666- also known as the devils number. Is this the
important clue Bruno Heller mentioned? I don’t know about you but now
that we are into season 6 with 6 suspects left, I am certainly looking
forward to the 6th episode!
-HE IS MAN…-
At the end of Red John’s Friends (ep 11, season 1) we are
shown writing from a victim in blood on a bathroom wall supposedly
referring to Red John saying “He is mar”. As this message trails off it
hard to tell what the full message is and it is easy to imagine that
this mar could also be man. There are many theories as to what this
means - He is married? He is man? It could be numerous things including
he is marmalade or he is manfred (does anyone recall any Manfreds?).
However here is one to think about …. he is many
-HOWEVER -
If we are considering the red dragon theory, that Red John is made up
of the seven suspects, it could be said that the death of Brett
Partridge disproves this. This is true - why would they kill him if he
was one of them? Food for thought however, here is a passage from
Revelations 13 “I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten
horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a
blasphemous name. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed”
Bruno Heller has told us that Partridges death was no accident, that
it was a move purposely made by Red John and that we will soon find out
the reason for this. Time will tell.
Another point against the ‘seven headed theory’ is that the killings
surely must be done by the same person. Wouldn’t the smiley faces drawn
clockwise with three fingers of his rubber-gloved be difference? The way
the killer holds the knife in their hand, the angles, the depth of
cuts… wouldn’t these miniscule difference be found by analysists and the
brilliant mind of Patrick Jane? But just because only one person does
the actual killing does this really disprove that there are multiple
character making up the figure of Red John?
- THE EPISODE TITLES -
As mentioned previously, although it is hard to confidently conclude
that the ‘seven headed theory’ is correct, there is no doubt that the
themes of the red dragon, Satan and God WILL be involved in future
episodes to come this season.
Although further information has not been released yet we do know the titles of future episodes of season 6
Episode 6 - ‘Fire and Brimstone’. This is biblical reference, fire and brimstone is a description or warning of God’s wrath.
Episode 7 -'The Great Red Dragon' Any explanation needed?
Episode 8 - ‘Red John’ -I believe this is THE episode in which we
find out Red John’s identity , considering the name and that Bruno
Heller has told us that our favorite serial killer’s identity will be
found half way through this season. Also this episode has been directed
by Chris Long - the man that has directed the most important episodes
including all of the season finales and most of the season premiers.
The Mentalist has many references to the bible including the first
(and latest) episode of season 6 - desert rose - in which Jane refers to
Luke in order to solve the crime. So this theory is not all that
irregular.
Firstly, apologies for the formatting. I copied from a word document, and that clearly wasn't such a good idea.
Secondly, I’m not convinced that Alex Jane (Patrick's father) is Red John. However, I've
collected some evidence that suggests that Alex may be connected to RJ somehow. Here's some food for thought:
-
We never do find out what happens to Patrick’s
parents.
-
Evidence of ‘The Tyger.’ I believe that the tiger mentioned in the poem is Patrick
– intelligent (burning bright), fearsome, capable of great good and great evil.
The main question of this poem is – ‘what
immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry’? Or in other words,
who/what god would create such a creature? The answer – Patrick’s father! Red
John seems as obsessed about Patrick as vice versa, and perhaps this is Alex
who is continually obsessed with his son, seeing how far he can test his son
and ‘twist the sinews of thy heart…
furnace… thy brain… smile His work to see.’ This could be possible,
especially after Patrick spurned his father and carny life by running away with
his wife – inducing murderous rage in Alex, and ultimately resulting in the
death of Patrick’s family. If RJ believes himself to be the god in this poem,
this shows his superiority complex – where he thinks that he is allowed to kill
other people, or ‘lesser beings’ in his eyes.
-
The people who are connected to RJ who die
continually whisper to Patrick ‘Tyger
tyger.’ This could be RJ’s way of greeting his creation – Patrick.
-
In the pilot episode, Patrick says that ‘Red John thinks of himself as a showman; an
artist. He has a strong sense of theatre.’ Alex Jane, as a circus
performer, would fit this description.
-
More than once, RJ has had twisted, intimate and
tender interactions with Patrick. Perhaps a strange father/son relationship? E.g. Rebecca tells Patrick that ‘Red John misses you.’
In Red Sky in the Morning, Red John saves
Patrick from the would-be murderous snuff-film directors, Dylan and Ruth. He
also tenderly touches Jane’s face as if hypnotising him.
-
Red John has the same skills/likes as Patrick –
perhaps because he taught him them.
In Red Sails in the Sunset, Lorelei Martins reveals Patrick and Red John
are very much alike and she is surprised that they didn't become best friends
as soon as they shook hands. RJ is capable of coercing others (through
hypnosis, in some scenarios?). Both love tea. Patrick is loath to drink
anything else, and whenever ‘Roy Tagliaferro’ comes to see Rosalind, they drink
tea (e.g. Red is the New Black). Red John knows exactly how Patrick loves his
eggs (he instructed Lorelei how to do them perfectly in The Crimson Hat).
-
The death of Eileen Turner (Patrick’s childhood
memory) in Red John’s Rules is understood, since Alex must have witnessed
Jane’s fascination as a child. But then, this can be discounted in the face of Sophie’s
death and J. Roth in the recent episode Black Winged Redbird.
-
Sophie’s description of someone with a ‘damaged and narcissistic personality,’
who doesn’t deal with conflict and adversity, who is ‘deceptive and dark’ in his emotional makeup also matches Alex’s
proud, angry and superior personality in Patrick’s flashbacks.
Of course I realise this is a deeply flawed theory. There are many things that don’t fit. E.g. the physical descriptions: although
Rosalind Harker’s description of RJ reasonably fits Alex Jane, I really doubt
that he is middle aged, as Sophie stated. And unless Alex got plastic surgery
and a total makeover, how could he be one of the people on Patrick’s list of 7
(now 6?) people?
However, I still believe that RJ is deeply connected to
Patrick, whether he is friends with Alex Jane, is Alex Jane, or came from a
carny background too. We’ll see.
#5216 made a good point that they may have overlooked themselves. Red John is a crack shot, as shown in Red Sky in the Morning.
Surely the best shot would be the person who's had precision training, likely a government agent?
I agree with that theory that Haffner is RJ, i just felt i'd add this minor info.
I think its ray haffner most because of the discription in the last episode where it said he was a middle aged man, in good physical condition and is good whistler. The whistling part stood out to me the most because when haffner leaves after talking to lisbon the show makes it quite clear haffner is good at whistling and his talk with lisbon displays narcissism which is also a trait that RJ is supposed to have.
This is not about who Red John is i dont have an idea anymore, is just about 2 clues i found
watching the episode of tonight, here we go.
1.- In the description of red john in the final seconds of the chapter, " hes an excelent whisteler" ( i dont know if its spelled like that im mexican) and in that cutscene we see Sheriff Mccalister whistling, and when Ray Haffner visits Lisbon at the hospital, he leaves the room whistling.
2.- Im asuming all of you have noticed that ( probably this is just heller being a troll ) they have tried to shove Ron on our faces the last 2 episodes? Even on the preview of the episode 3, the only thing even remotely related to Red John on the Preview is that we see Ron one more time, 3 episodes in a Row.
So this is my 2 cents about todays episode, i dont think is Ron i just used his picture, but they are going the extra mile to shove him on our faces.
Of all the remaining suspects, you can make a case for any of them. Some are more tenuous than others, but this is TV, so they can always squeeze a round peg in a square hole if they (Heller) want to. Eg: Stiles is too old, but you can massage the facts a little and make him work. Bertrum is bald and seemingly not physically equipped to be RJ, but again, it is possible. However, of all the facts we now know, Haffner fits all of them. He is by far the most likely. Reasons:
1. He is similar to Jane. He even looks a little like him. He is charming and physically stong and agile. This is VERY important and not to be overlooked. RJ is a guy who can charm women and men alike into being accomplices that view him as a deity figure. They would die for him before betraying him. RJ would likely be good looking and incredibly charismatic. All the time. Think of Lorelei and the kind of person to completely have her under his spell (not to mention all the others). She says RJ and Jane are very alike, and surprised they didn't become friends after shaking hands. The most alike Jane amongst the suspects is Haffner. By a mile.
2. Physical attributes. Height. Age. Hair. And also his strength and agility. RJ is a guy who doesnt just kill with a gun, he slices up people. He hides in bathrooms and sneaks out behind Lisbon to accost her. He is strong enough to slice up Partridge, bind him, put him in a closet. All the men could do this, but it is just so much more likely that RJ is physically very strong and agile. Haffner looks to be the best candidate again. Perfect height, age, hair for the descriptions. Fit, strong, agile, very capable of the physicality of his murders and the murder scenes he constructs. Much less so are Bertrum, Reede, Stiles, Mcalister.
3. Whistle. As soon as Haffner whistled that tune after the creepy hospital visit I thought it would be very meaningful. (Anybody know the tune? is it a clue?) And then right on cue, we learn from the shrink who overheard RJ whistling in the waiting room that RJ is an excellent whistler. Note: he whistles in a waiting room at the shrink's. So he whistles at odd moments. We hear Mccalister whistle in the car, but this is normal behavior. Whistling in a waiting room, a little less usual - just like whistling as he leaves the hospital room. I mean, it was just so odd that he started whistling. Who does that as they leave a hospital room after an awkward conversation. Perhaps the 'phobia' that the psychiatrist detected was a phobia of medical rooms? Silly, i suppose, but something to think about. Whistling at the shrink's office and also at the hospital.
4. He either genuinely likes Lisbon or he is trying to woo her as part of his plan to mess with Jane. Either way, RJ did not kill Lisbon and Haffner fits this criteria too.
5. Power, connections, technology: Haffner's job and status gives him all the ability to monitor and control the situations as he needs to. Perhaps not as much as Bertrum, although perhaps in some ways he has more power, given his elevated federal status.
6. Visualize connection.
We still need to discover the Blake connection with Tyger Tyger. We still need to learn more clues, and likely twists and turns will occur. But as of right this moment, who is more likely than Haffner? He just fits the physical facts so perfectly.