This is a theory, I realize there are many other possibilities. and the the writers will likely just change things to keep us hanging instead of developing a quality story.

RJ
has a strong connection to Visualize.  How many people play/mess/draw
with blood like Stiles did in his ceremony.  RJ obviously, makes his
smiley face with blood.  But I think when applied to the face is some
sort of forgiveness or mercy or pardon, like RJ did to Lisbon and like
Stiles did in the ceremony.  Stiles has some connection to RJ per his
previous conversations.  He is not RJ because ,,, well its just to
obvious.  But he has an interest in RJ's well being.  It makes Stiles
sad that RJ has become tied up in tiger tiger because he knows its not
consistent with Visualizes morals or RJ's future in visualize.  So he
helped RJ fake his death.  The reason Lisbon got to see Partridge dead
is so she could personally verify his death.  So partridge is laying on
the ground. Stiles grabs Lisbon, does his blood on face thing.   Swaps
Partridges alive body, probably with a very deformed face substitute dead body. 
And cuts off a patch of skin on the arm. because... RJ told PJ tiger
tiger earlier... so they assume PJ knows about the blake assocation by
now and either doesn't want Partridge linked to tiger tiger or doesn't
want to expose tiger tiger.  Now Partridge is assumed dead and can be
free from tiger tiger and free to lead Visualize because Stiles is
dying.  Now that Stiles is dead, Partridge wants to talk to PJ because
he lost a major helper and with losing his purpose for being, due to
betram's false accusation stealing his thunder, RJ is not thinking
logically and reaches out to PJ.

Has anybody considered that the church scene we see in the trailer, must obviously pick up from where the end of episode seven left off? As mentioned before we know RJ and PJ confront in the park.

Now - in the trailer the guy in the church confronting PJ we ASSUME is RJ - It may be or it may not be, here's why - it could be one of three people in my opinion;

Bertram - now if it is Bertram we know he's not RJ, everything from the last episode screams 'If you think it's Bertram you've missed the point of the show.' However it could be Bertram, but personally I think the figure in the trailer looks a little thin. However, say it is him - we can rule him out as RJ, he's either there as RJ's messenger/assassin and right hand man. He may be there to kill Jane, he may be there to deliver a message. I personally think if it is Bertram then the part we saw in the trailer, will show him talking with Patrick, but the 'Red John' voice comes from a mobile phone that Bertram has open in his hand. We don't ever see the person talk to Jane. That's how the 'The game's over and I won' line comes in - he's got leverage on Jane, i.e. Lisbon or whatever, and that will force Jane to kill Bertram and meet RJ later in the park. Bertram maaaaaay (stretching it slightly here) have left the encoded message for PJ with a list of all Tyger Tyger employees, but is forced by RJ to deliver a message at the same time (as RJ has stumbled onto Bertram's plan/realises he is actually trying to help PJ)

Next potential churchgoer; McAllister. From the trailer it sure looks like McAllister, and we've all seen the stills/close up freeze frames of him going through the window/walking up the church isle. Now lets assume that it is McAllister (which I'm not convinced about) in the Church  - same theme applies as with Bertram, he's a messenger or right hand man with a phone and a message. Whoever we see in that scene is surely NOT Red John, there's too much to happen in the rest of the episode, and from the trailer it looks like the tall thin, bald man dies in that church whilst delivering that message.

Now that brings me to the third possibility; and it's not who I wanted to be RJ all along, Bret Stiles, sadly....it is in fact.....Shawn Barlow. The carnie guy who says RJ has real abilities/is in Patrick's head at the end of season 5 who Patrick said he couldn't read. Maybe that's how RJ knows so much about Patrick, he's in cahoots with Shawn, and hence Patrick's surprised expression when we see the tall, bald, thin figure with grey hair walking down the isle. What initially lead me to think that was it sounded like he could've put on the 'the games over' voice and it got me a researching. None of those grainy photos prove it's McAllister, and I think that's why Jane looks so surprised; we see Barlow arrive at the church to deliver a message from Red John -  he's got to have been in the season 5 finale for a reason and nobody seems to have thought of him in the equation.

My theory? Barlow delivers the message for RJ, PJ then kills Barlow, and goes to meet RJ because of the 'leverage' but has his own trick up his sleeve as always, we know he knows Lisbon's been bugged from the beginning, maybe he's bugged her too? Doesn't lead us any closer to who RJ is really, but at this point it's safe to say RJ could realistically be any of these;

Haffner
Partridge
Bob/Michael Kirkland
McAllister

Still clinging on to the hope it could be Stiles, but frankly he's more likely to be the symbolic 'father' of RJ or as I posted before, the 'old' RJ.

I don't think the bombing rules out any of the 3 'dead' or Partridge's 'death' rules him out - it could be anyone now lets face it, just pick your favourite suspect and root for them (come on Stiles, at least be RJ's mentor.) I'm still leaning towards Haffner/Partridge/Kirkland and wouldn't want to pick one as I think there will be a family/acquaintance relationship between RJ and PJ he never knew (brothers, in the foster system, carnies, etc.)

And also - you don't just casually mention a twin brother for no reason then never mention them again - just saying.

Only people it's definitely not are; Bertram/Smith

Just trying to say here; whoever walks down that church isle is not Red John, I believe they're delivering a message from RJ to PJ with a rendezvous or whatever, in the park later in the episode.

Good job to the writers; they've left it so whoever your favourite is, as long as it's not Bertram or Smith, is still in contention; very difficult to rule anybody in or out, and the only people who could be RJ are all supposedly dead! Well played Sirs, well played.

Look at the end scene in season 6 episode 1.the general public assumes that Red John has killed partridge. but  It is known that Red John is almost 6 feet tall and look at the way Lisbon was snatched. it clearly looks that someone pulled her from below... So the person who pulled Lisbon wasnt standing, obviously as Lisbon is short in height. Red John doesnt seem like a person who'd crouch and attack.. No, since Lisbon was pulled from below, it implies that the one pulling her was on the floor. And who was on the floor gentlemen?! Brett Partridge... There are various other clues as well. BP says in the pilot episode that "He's stoked to see one in the flesh", but he later says that he has been at all the RJ murder scenes.. Why would he say that?! I think his pilot episode dialogue was meant to target Patrick Jane, as he was meeting him for the 1st time there... Not the RJ murder.

Look at the end scene in season 6 episode 1.the general public assumes that Red John has killed partridge. but  It is known that Red John is almost 6 feet tall and look at the way Lisbon was snatched. it clearly looks that someone pulled her from below...Red John doesnt seem like a person who'd crouch and attack.. No, since Lisbon was pulled from below, it implies that the one pulling her was on the floor. And who was on the floor gentlemen?! Brett Partridge... There are various other clues as well. BP says in the pilot episode that "He's stoked to see one in the flesh", but he later says that he has been at all the RJ murder scenes.. Why would he say that?! I think his pilot episode dialogue was meant to target Patrick Jane, as he was meeting him for the 1st time there... Not the RJ murder.

Acredito que os únicos suspeitos que estavam presentes desde a primeira temporada é o Partridge e o Bret Stiles. Conforme a aparência de Red John (que Rosalind Harker descreve) Red John é um homem de cabelo liso e de estatura mediana, e portanto o único que se enquadra é o Partridge. Os demais suspeitos apareciam nas outras temporadas

Sunday spoilers; press unlikely if you must, b....no one says you had to read this. I omitted a few explanations, but I kept in the most important explanations

McAllister appears in church pretending to be Red John. Patrick shoots him. McAllister asks for mercy. Then the strangest thing happens. Patrick tells him he's done and he wants to be left alone.

Patrick goes to his family's burial site. McAllister taunts Patrick. Then Patrick chases after him. It ends with McAllister revealing he's not Red John. He says Bertram, who is supposedly Red John wants to meet with Patrick, with no one else around, in a park.

FBI agents try to disrupt the meeting, but the former CBI team have Patrick's back. Patrick takes Teresa's gun as a prop. He talks to Bertram. He says he's done. He gives Bertram the gun and tells him to leave him alone or kill him because he's tired of this game. Patrick gets up and walks away.

After a minute or so, "Hi." Brett Partridge appears. They exchange dialogue. Red John reaches out to him and tells him how we was a step ahead all along. It turns out he bugged Teresa and that's why he spared her. All of Red John's tricks were heavily reliant of surveillance technology and the compliance of disciples. It was no surprise to hear Haffner had the biggest role as a Red John disciple, while Bret Stiles supplied him with all the followers he needed. When he's done Patrick laughs at the floor. Patrick Jane, unleashes the details of his mammoth plan which began with figuring out Red John was Brett Partridge using Lorelei Martins and Rosalynd Harker.

He knew all along Lisbon would be bugged, and fed her the list, which was actually a list of people Patrick thought were disciples of Red John. Patrick explains how wrong he was to think this. Kirkland, Smith, McAllister and Bertram were all trying to catch him, they were in Tyger Tyger as spies, with the exception of Kirkland. When Patrick blew up his house, they all became part of Patrick's double con on Red John. There are flashbacks to what happened in Patrick's house. For much of the season 5 and season 6, Patrick only fed Lisbon what he wanted Red John to think. Even at Patrick's house the gunshot and explosion misinformed Red John because Lisbon's phone is outside in Patrick's car. They happened, but no one dies. Haffner and Stiles were revealed to be alive and in the custody of Bob Kirkland. And Patrick's biggest blow to Red John is when he says the flash drive left by Bertram, it contained the names of every person in the Blake Association .


Red John begins to run. Patrick chases. When he's cornered Red John asks if Patrick remembers him. Patrick says yes. There's a flashback to the carnival. Patrick tackles him at the exact time the flashback starts. As the flashback finishes, the and the boy with the pigeons fades, red John's facial similarities are highlighted. Patrick is strangling him, and you can see he's savouring the moment. The episode ends with FBI breaking into Patrick's attic and arresting Patrick. While he's being transported, an agent says Bob Kirkland sends his regards, and Patrick is released out into the sunshine. Some sad but triumphant music plays more than once. It's nostalgic of earlier seasons. Closure at last.

Something to note before we begin:

The storyteller (Aka Bruno Heller) has
explained in no uncertain terms that the list is real. It would be
dishonest and stupid to lie about something like that. Had he not wanted
the list to be real he wouldn't have given a straight answer to media. Lying is bad
storytelling. This means one of the 7 suspects is for sure RJ. Anyone
outside of the 7 on the list, including but not limited to someone's twin(Sorry Kirkland
camp) is off the table.

For the rest who believe your suspect could
still
be Red John:

Someone as careful and calculating as RJ could have
planned/planted DNA or faked evidence if tyger tyger is really as deep
as they make it sound. Confirmation of the deaths from the blast is
brought to light and accepted as fact during the show before mistrust in other law enforcement is placed. Forensics and all 'facts'
that are not in front of us are up for debate. I do, however think that
Partidge is dead. It makes no sense that CBI agent Cho would somehow not
recognize a former colleague or look at his face to be absolutely
certain it's him. Especially when there is so much mistrust going
around. I give the writers more credit than that. That being said, the
"DNA evidence" is not anything concrete that we can trust. This leaves
Mcallister, Haffner and Stiles all available to possibly be alive. It is
a fair guess assume that Patrick Jane isn't convinced that RJ is
Bertram. Bertram is an evil man so PJ doesn't care about the pressures
or situation Bertram is in now with the finger pointed at him, but he
isn't RJ. Patrick wants RJ all to himself. That being said, I have no
idea who RJ is but my hat is off to the creator for making such an
interesting finale and finally bringing this wonderful mystery to a
satisfying close. Keeping us guessing right until the very end.

In Closing:

I
apologize in advance this is a bit of a double post on one I had
created earlier but my previous one wasn't as complete as this. I
look forward to your votes and challenge you to find flaw with and/or
come up with counter-arguments to what I've said. Please comment and
tell me what you think!
***POSSIBLE SPOILER BELOW***






On a side note:

We
don't understand the context of the blurry pictures of Mcallister in
the promo for the finale. That being said, there's no way to
definitively say that he is or is not Red John. It may be fair to guess
Mcallister is still alive, thus providing further evidence that some of
what I said above may be true.