Brett Partridge being Red John? It will be seriously disappointing if they choose this route. Another *Dexter* type character, how unoriginal.

I've given up on theories now because we just don't know what's happened during the explosion, who got shot, etc..
It's possible that we will find out the real identity of Red John at the very end of the next episode, in the last few seconds..

So enjoy the next episode Mentalist fans, I can't wait!!! I really hope there will be a huge twist and nothing is as it seems!
I will accept anybody as RJ except Reede Smith. 

I had to choose someone to accuse otherwise I can't post it, so for the last time before the next episode, out of respect I choose my all time favourite Red John suspect ever. It might not be him, but I've never given up on him.:)

See you after the next episode aired, have fun!:)

So for a long time I have thought that it was Partridge. There was the scene with him and Patrick in season 2 where it shadowed what happened with Patrick and Red John later. Also I know his voice could be changed a bit but Partridge also sounds very similar to him. He often shows up at Red John copy cat murders, but also at regular Red John murders like the girl that had the baby. Patrick put on his list that he was totally macabre which I would have to agree with, but also if you remember Patrick said that Red John was a showman and what better way of putting on a show is there to just play this really nerdy character that seems like he couldn't do anything. Plus he would be putting on a huge performance if he made Lisbon actually think he died right in front of her just so he could divert attention form himself so he could keep killing. Bruno Heller said that Partridge had to die right then and that it was Red John who did it not him. I took this to mean that RJ who is Partridge killed his alter ego and it was just time for that persona to be killed off. Some of the other clues like the 'he is man' haven't quite added up yet, maybe he is many I think that is a pretty good possibility considering how many people he has working for him. One of the biggest questions I still have is how did he know Jane's list of suspects? We figured out that he went to Jane's therapist for the happy memory but how did he get his list? If in fact Jane had a list of 7 suspects before he saw the CD then Red John would have had to of stolen his book and seen inside of it for the list because the one on his wall was fake. Now if you remember in the middle of the season finale of last season Jane says to Lisbon that Bertram was one of his suspects, this was before he saw the CD. Maybe Red John made this CD and that just made Jane question himself and say "hey maybe it isn't Bertram but one of these other guys. I should check them all out." I don't know if Jane ever really had a list of 7 suspects because that is information we as viewers have not been able to see, but if he did then I still don't know if that question is answered. How did he get the list? 

So moving on to the other suspects. I don't think it is Reede Smith. His body and way he acts don't really match Red John. He has the dots which means he is definetly a part of the 'Tiger' organization, but he isn't Red John. Something I think a lot of people haven't considered is why he would go and kill Kirkland? It's true that Kirkland thought that 'Tiger' was some organization but he was specifically going to jail for hunting Red John. I think that Red John is the head of the 'Tiger' organization and had Smith go kill Kirkland so that he didn't tell Jane anything. It seems less likely that he would kill him for having a hunch about some secret organization in law enforcement, I mean who would listen to him about that? He would sound like a crazy person to everyone so I don't think he would kill him for that. Even if he told Jane that he thought there was a secret group I don't think it would that matter that much to let him stick around. All he did was create suspicion around Kirkland's murder. Now there is a good chance that Red John has no affiliation to the 'Tiger' group and that Smith simply killed Kirkland for that which could be possible depending on what we find out about the group. Also why would Red John kill someone on Jane's list of 7 it would just wind down the list even more. Unless he was already dead and didn't care or Smith wasn't acting for Red John and had no idea about the list. So Smith is a bad guy and he is a part of the group, but he is not Red John. 

I also don't think it was Kirkland for the obvious reason that he is dead. I thought he was hunting Red John but I didn't think he ever was. A lot of people have said they have shown his brother on the show and that his brother is the one that killed that guy in the hospital but it was most certainly Bob. Also if you remember when Bob is talking to that guy he asks him if he recognizes him and then he says he had plastic surgery so that he could look different, so he isn't going to look like his twin whoever that turns out to be. I think Michael could be working for Red John but he isn't Red John himself or it might just be a story line that will be played out in future episodes where Jane comes across him somewhere. They may have just set him up for future episodes. He may be a follower of Red John and it is quite possible RJ could train him so that he takes revenge on Patrick after he is gone. 

Then there is Stiles who I think plays a large roll in RJ but again is not RJ himself. It can be seen that in his ritual last week he did a blood with fingers on the face thing which was creepy but I think was actually showing some Visualize cult practices. We all know that RJ was in Visualize sometime ago and would have learned some of these practices, so I think that after a while RJ just started his own cult 'Tiger' and used some very similar practices that are linked to Visualize. I have heard some theory that RJ maybe Stiles son which would be very interesting if true. It makes some sense to me. He was in his father's cult working at this farm and he would also be high up and see some of the actual Visualize secrets from his father like the blood thing but also just the creation of this cult as well, so he may have had a first hand look at how to turn people. It would also make sense as to why Stiles had a note from RJ to give to Patrick. RJ gave the note to his dad to give to Jane. Then you have that note from the last episode that was sent to Stiles just before his ceremony. Jane didn't send it which means RJ had to of sent it to warn him or just give him a heads up. I think that if this is true and that RJ is his son then maybe it was some sort of Dexter Morgan thing where RJ went to his dad and was like I killed these people, which Stiles would have to help his son for fear of anything coming back to him or just not wanting anything to happen to his son. Another thing that makes me think RJ is Partridge is that maybe he changed his last name to get away from his dad a bit. Brett Stiles Jr.? Just changed his last name to avoid the connection and live his own life or something. I kind of think that with Stiles dying if this is true that he will tell Patrick something in the next episode about this since he won't be around any longer to deal with his son and the things that he does. Stiles said that he only had weeks or a month so I could see him revealing stuff to Patrick before he dies. RJ has a lot of resources maybe it is because his father is loaded and can help cover things up. I don't know but it is quite plausible. 

Now Sheriff Mcalister to me could be RJ but isn't. In the first episode he was in there was that weird thing with him and Van Pelt and in that episode I thought that he was super creepy and something was off about him. The last few episodes though we have gotten some more character development and I think that maybe he was just honestly trying to help her or something. All I'm saying is that he shaved his mustache and it makes him much less suspicious. He has the three dots so he is in 'Tiger' but as far as how far he is I don't know. He told Jane he wasn't RJ in the last one and I think I believe him. He seems like he wants to help Jane. I would like, and this is just me wanting something to happen, to see him become an ally of Jane's. I think he maybe undercover or trying to infiltrate the 'Tiger' group. When all 3 of them were in that room earlier this season he had an odd look about him and the camera made it seem like something was odd about him there. Smith freaked and Bertram was like hmm but he didn't seem that concerned with Jane knowing anything, and I think it is because he is actually a good guy. I could see him and Jane almost being like old cop and young gun that teaches the old guy. Maybe Mcalister was an undercover and goes to work with them later on in the show after RJ. I don't know that has potential to be funny but also serious at the same time. That is what I would like to see I have no idea if any of that could happen but it would be interesting to me if it were. Again I just don't think there is enough evidence that he has done anything. They make you think he is afraid of heights and that was just to make you think, and then the whistling, but everyone of them whistles so throw that out. Honestly other than the tattoo and the thing with Van Pelt he hasn't got that much tying him to RJ. 

Which brings me to Haffner. There is again I think it would be interesting to see him maybe join the team after RJ and he works with them afterwards. He likes Lisbon and to me I just don't see her and Jane getting together, but maybe her and Haffner. That is what I hope happens if it is someone else. Now here is what I think. Haffner is friends with RJ and maybe his number 2 that helps him carry out things. Haffner and Partridge seem to be about the same age and I think that maybe they were in Visualize together and bonded while in there. Partridge tells him some things and he joins him to help RJ cult. One of the reasons I don't think it is him is because he got out smarted by Jane whenever he was the new leader of the team. I feel like RJ wouldn't let Jane outsmart him like Haffner did, and also if he was RJ and the leader of 'Tiger' than his mistakes wouldn't get him booted from the team. He gets really angry about things to quickly. Then again if RJ and 'Tiger' have no correlation than it is quite possible, but as it stands I think he is just RJ friend. I think he helped Partridge frame his death in front of Lisbon which is why she didn't die. Maybe Haffner asked him to spare her. That is why I think the smily on her face instead of the wall. Haffner made sure that RJ didn't kill her. Partridge could have died and so could she but she didn't for some reason. Why? It was either so that she could tell Jane she saw Partridge die or that the friend helping didn't want to kill her. If Partridge is dead what is the point in keeping her alive is what I guess I am getting at. Haffner said in the last episode that he was a Fixer so maybe he helps RJ from time to time. When the girl got killed a few episodes back they said he was taking care of some business. She said the guy had three dots but it is possible he just painted them on before he saw her knowing that she would tell Jane and divert more attention away from himself. That seems like a very clumsy mistake for the actual RJ to make. He could divert attention to 'Tiger' which none of them still really know about until now, and it is possible that Jane sees one guy with tattoo kills him and then that is the end, 'Tiger' keeps going and so does RJ all the while Jane thinks he killed RJ, or is in prison for killing someone else. It is also possible that if RJ doesn't have a connection to 'Tiger' that it was the group that tried to bug Cho's desk instead of RJ. 

And then there is Bertram. He is the most likely suspect other than Partridge. In the end of season 3 Jane is meeting with him at the mall and right then and there I thought he might be weird. It was Bertram who made the comment to Jane about the rope that made Jane think the woman climbed down which immedeatly made Jane forget about Bertram. Coincadence that he said that or extremely clever on the part of RJ? Then you have Timothy Carter right there in the food court as well. How would he know where to go and watch Jane? Maybe RJ was wise to what Jane was doing which seems to be the case considering he had that security guard cover up evidence so RJ knew that Jane was going to shoot Carter so maybe Bertram had it all arranged and figured out when he was meeting with Jane. Another thing is that he never gets rid of Jane. Time and time again Jane makes him look bad but he keeps him because Jane 'solves cases'. RJ likes to look good in the public eye which is why I think Partridge more than Bertram because Jane sometimes makes him look very foolish on T.V. and I have a hard time believing RJ would just let that fly. Whenever Jane made fun off Partridge it wasn't really on camera or in front of others so he wouldn't get as worked up about it. Bertram is also still suspected by Patrick in last season's finale. I mentioned it before but the only name we knew for sure of the 7 before the CD was Bertram's. So this is the 2nd time that Patrick has suspected him of something. It is quite possible and I think this is what makes me think it isn't Bertram is that he is just high up in 'Tiger' and that Laroche suspected him because he noticed something odd with Bertram. Jane never really suspected Bertram until he got Laroche's list. I think maybe Bertram played some part in Todd Johnson's death to try and cover up 'Tiger' and make sure no one knew about it. It would make sense that RJ started 'Tiger' but also he just said the poem to Jane. He never actually said tiger tiger. I think it would be bad writing if that were the case but it is something to consider. Smith doesn't strike me as a poetry reader so I doubt he knows the poem so maybe RJ did start 'Tiger' and then go from there. Bertram also has the dots so he is for sure a part of it, I think he maybe  a high up in it but not the absolute leader. If RJ was the leader and said cover up my death Bertram would be able to do it so it makes sense. Then there is also if RJ is not a part of it and RJ is Bertram perhaps he killed Partridge and he was trying to give a clue to Lisbon as to who killed him. Then Bertram comes in does his thing to Lisbon and shows up at the crime scene same time as Jane. A lot of this is riding on if Partridge is dead. With no body shown to us the audience it makes just makes me think that this could be right. If Partridge is dead though I would say it is Bertram. It is hard to say exactly who it is without seeing that body. 

I think in the next episode we will get Jane and them trying to figure out which one of the 3 or 5 it is that is RJ and uncover the whole 'Tiger' group. Eventually they will figure out that it was none of those guys and be wondering what is going on. At the end of the episode Jane goes to see if Partridge had the tattoo and was also part of the group and when he goes to see the body, which will then satisfy the audience with seeing the body, it won't be there. And then wallah Jane finally figures out the Partridge was RJ, credits roll, stay tuned for our next episode. Then the big RJ episode will be entirely Jane trying to track down the actual RJ that he can now put to a face. I say he interrogates Bertram and gets him to reveal where he is hiding out at. Patrick finds him and they have a lenghty exchange and then Jane kills him. 
The other option is that Jane goes to see Partridges body at the almost begging of the next episode and see if has a tattoo and then it will satisfy fans with the body. Then I would say it is Bertram. How they will play that one off is a little harder to tell but that is my prediction. 

Final thoughts: if Partridge is dead and we see he is dead then Bertram is Red John. If however we don't see a body and he is missing then Brett Partridge is Red John. 

Reasons Partridge is Red John in the simplest terms.....

1. First episode

2. First line, "Red John enters here.

3. First 2 times he appears on the show are Red John copycat killings.

4. Second time he appears on the show is the first and only time we actually see and hear RJ.

5. Doesn't appear to be smart enough to be RJ.

6. William Blake's A Brace of Partridge

7. First person eliminated from the suspect list.

8. The pigeons everywhere.

9. Faking his death is not out of the realm of possibilities.

10. Patrick never shook his hand on the show.

11. He is nothing like RJ. A perfect cover to be close to everything and everyone involved.

12. He is a ghoul.

13. He is irksome.

14. Goes out of his way to annoy Patrick

15. Even dead, more people think he's RJ than when he was alive.

16. Nothing about him is a character trait of RJ

17. He made Patrick's list for no apperent reason whatsoever, while the other 6 all seemed suspicious at one time or another.

18. Only victim to say, "Tiger Tiger" with no apparent connection to RJ before hand.

19. Just because it makes sense.



10.

While I ultimately believe that amongst the seven names, Brett Partridge will be revealed to be Red John; that isn't quite what I am here to talk about.

Instead I want to present a theory about who Red John was before he became Red John (and whatever his alias is now).  

Note: A better formatted version of this (with images) can be found at: http://angryragemonkey.com/post/66811979613/obsessions-about-obsessions-a-red-john-theory

After re-watching the episode The Red BarN, far more obsessively that I would like to admit, I believe Red John was Allan Charney (or Cherney, the spelling seems a bit inconsistent on the wikia).

The theory is based on the assumption that none of the things I am about to show you are errors in the episode.  Additionally I am assuming that the third person omniscient moments scenes are, in point of fact, accurate.  I don’t believe we have ever established that the camera is an unreliable narrator; but it is always a possibility.  We could just be seeing what the characters are imagining.

But I don't think that is the case.  I think of Bruno Heller a bit like Red John himself.  He is a showman, manipulative, knows more about what is going on, and kills a lot of people.  As Jane opined, when we learn something, the question isn't "what does it mean?", but "why does he want us to have it?"

Everything we see has to be interpreted though that lens.  So when we learn important information, we can't just take it at face level, we have to try and see what is the intent of the information.  In the case of "The Red Barn", I believe it is to set the backstory for Red John.  Therefor his identity is most likely mentioned 

The story — after the whole Lisbon 10 year anniversary and perverted stripper — begins with the report of three long dead bodies in a barn in Elliston, CA:

http://media.tumblr.com/ada0b6067e408eae0be64d34c19f6a6f/tumblr_inline_mw6cbzDOPn1qz4gjx.png

One of the bodies has a class ring, which Identifies the body as Lester Bradovich:

http://media.tumblr.com/d1a61cc87abf321b890ba9ae677617d1/tumblr_inline_mw6cd3I5tr1qz4gjx.png

So far so good, right?  

Well, this is where things start to get a little interesting.  Jane and Lisbon go off to Visualize, and talk with Brother Cooper.  Cooper tells them that the Barn belonged to Visualize, and that Lester Bradovich ran the farm with Allan Charney (or Cherney, spellings seems to vary on the wiki), and Martin Talbot.  

So lets look at the info Cooper hands to Lisbon.  Here is Martin Talbot:

http://media.tumblr.com/fea8c75d386697700f2456fefbe348c4/tumblr_inline_mw6cdsVXc61qz4gjx.png

And here is Lester Bradovich:

http://media.tumblr.com/fea8c75d386697700f2456fefbe348c4/tumblr_inline_mw6cdsVXc61qz4gjx.png

(BTW check out the reason for joining Visualize: "Hitting Drugs")

Well that's odd.  That doesn't look like the arrest record (see above), and it sure doesn't look like the man that Ellen Preston (the Vet's daughter) killed (and naming him as Bradovich):

http://media.tumblr.com/7e303fca8846beb3f69910bac43698ca/tumblr_inline_mw6cf2dJ861qz4gjx.png

Which is consistent with the arrest record.

So what happened?  Well it is entirely possible that someone on the show made a mistake, and it wasn't worth going back and fixing.  I am not sure it matters overall to this argument, but it helps in the sense that it makes it look like Visualize is trying to confuse the matter and make people think Bradovich is someone else.  

It is odd that no one mentions this, but you can't have everything, alas.

OK, back to my point (and I do have one).  Next Ellen Preston describes going down into the basement and finding the two other bodies.  First we see what appear to be Talbot:

http://media.tumblr.com/0ab75ca2584f8b44229c4b407ec278d2/tumblr_inline_mw6cg0E3aj1qz4gjx.png

Lots of blood, hands clearly bound, and when we later see his skeleton, it is consistent with what we see here. Then we see Charney's body:

http://media.tumblr.com/a239e09a3d7035344913f352b3d5a816/tumblr_inline_mw6cgo48Y71qz4gjx.png

Not nearly as much blood on the body; especially for a guy supposedly shot with a shotgun.  We see what could be a entry wound on the forehead, but a kind of low rent one. But also look at the hands, the binding isn't clear at all.

Ellen makes the observation that she had the feeling that someone was watching them, we hear breathing, and the camera moves back to look at Charney's face.  It could be the perspective of someone hiding in the shadows, but the camera is very low to the ground so I think we are supposed to believe (if we believe anything) that it is Charney.

So all interesting, but not super convincing yet.  Now real evidence that Charney was alive... well until we take a look at his supposed skeleton (Red circle):

http://media.tumblr.com/a60f7616c7647495dc2f8785adc7f2eb/tumblr_inline_mw6chlVFgs1qz4gjx.png

The skeleton on the bottom is consistent with Talbot's placement and disposition.  It is hard to see but Bradovich's body was placed over Talbot's head and Charney's feet on the right of the image.

But look at Talbot.  The head is turned, and the arms are apart.  Now in the intervening 20+ years things could have happened, but the basement was hidden, there was no sign anyone had been there in the intervening time, nor any mention of predation.  So, again, assuming this is accurate, I believe this episode is telling us one important thing:

Alan Charney is Red John.

Now we are fully in the world of speculation, but I think one of two things happened:

1) Charney kills Talbot, and is going to kill Bradovich.  I speculate as to why in my previous email, but he does.  He then hears Ellen and her mother coming.  He then make it look like he is dead.  It is dark, and he can always pop up and kill them too with the element of surprise.

They freak out and dump Bradovich's body and scarper off home.  Charney then Kills another person at the farm and disappears.

2) Bradovich kills Talbot and thinks he has killed Charney who is injured and either passed out or pretending to be dead.  He later puts another body in his place hoping it will be long enough before anyone discovers the body, so that people assume he is dead too.

I have... thoughts... about what happened after, how Red John came to be after that, and who of the seven I think Red John is (Partridge), but that is for another time — if ever.

It isn't a perfect theory.  I am making a lot of assumptions, and I can see one real argument against Charney being Red John:  When Talbot is asked by Pierre Dumond (the priest and former head of the Elliston farm) about the smiling face, he said "some kid" put it up there.

Charney was one of the original members of the farm.  It is unclear if Talbot was added later, or was part of the original group when Dumond was in charge; but you would think he would know Charney.

Perhaps Talbot was covering, maybe he didn't know who drew the face, maybe one of a hundred other things.  It is just an anomaly and it damages my theory.  There are others, but that is perhaps the biggest.

I'm kinda new to this forum, didn't know it existed before my son showed
it to me, and since then I been a regular, and one thing thats striked
me , was that even tho a lot of us had diffrent theories about who RJ
is, it always was a good tone between the users, latly that has somehow
changed, I mean I can read a theory about let's say Reede Smith being RJ
and even tho I personally would be very dissapointed if it turned up to
be him, most of the theories I read make sense, because we are all
dedicated to make a great theory showing why we suspect the person we
suspect, I don't tell ppl to stop posting theories only because I don't
like who they think RJ is.

And to be frank I don't like it when
ppl call other ppl theories for crap or Bs, just because we have a
diffrent opinion, I think Partridge is RJ and I will post as many
theories I like about that, and I want change my mind before it's revealed who it is.

I
even click plausible on theories that have another suspect as RJ, just
because it's so many red herrings in this show , that alt of theories is
plausible, that's one of the many things that keep this show so great.

Here you can read my theory , but I warn you my suspect is BP

http://www.whoisredjohn.com/See-a-theory-Red-John/9976

I think the IMDb list is unreliable. They change it all time!