well fellow watchers i  really hope its not jane but my theory is that hes got bipolar right and he doesnt know hes red john so he has two personalities one being red john the other being jane!!! would explain the flashbacks with him and his father in the earlier seasons!!!

First off, even though this is a theory that accuses Patrick Jane of being Red John it is more than obvious that at the end of the show someone else will be revealed as the serial killer. Jane being John would be far too classy for the general audience that seems to prefer rather cliched character constellations.

Regarding all those comments that don't get tired of pointing out that this and that episode supposedly makes it impossible for Jane to be John I'd like to say that there is one episode that invalidates all impossibility claims regardless of what came before or thereafter: The episode in which Jane killed Red John only to learn that the man he had killed wasn't Red John.

"How can John talk to Jane if Jane himself is John? How can John touch Jane if Jane himself is John?"

Answer: The Red John who touched and talked to Jane wasn't Red John. Just as the Red John who was killed by Jane wasn't Red John. That means every person presented to the audience as Red John is possibly not Red John. The man who was killed by Jane wasn't just an imposter who tried to be Red John on the weekends or some henchman trying to cover his boss by claiming to be his boss. No, the false Red John acted as if he really was or at least believed to be Red John (hypnotized by Jane?).  We only learn afterwards that he wasn't.

My point is Jane isn't John. But he should be. That would earn the show a place in the Olympus of TV shows. Maybe my hopes are fulfilled and at the end of the season another false Red John is revealed. And after three false Red Johns Jane finally realizes that he is the real one pulling the strings in the background.

i dont know if this particular thing has been mentioned but i was watching s4 e23 last night, the episode in which jane infiltrates the 19 24 secret club. When questioned by jane one of the members replies "Can't tell you that, first rule of fight club and everything". I personally dont believe that jane is red john but this shows that the writers may be fans of the film fight club and certainly have thought of the possibility that rj and jane could be one and the same.

i have a few theories who it may be
Patrick's Dad
Van Pelt
or Patrick himself :((((((((((((((((((((

first of all in season 1 there is an episode in which jane has flashbacks of his dad, his dad is a conman. it is stated that jane is much like red john, father and sons are alike? also it is clear janes dad probably did resent him as he wanted to make a success of the skills jane has but as you see in the flashbacks jane doesn't want to do what his dad wants him to do. Perhaps the only way his dad could feel powerful is by becoming this serial killer, now he is equal to jane and has had revenge.

Van Pelt is not red john but i think she could be his daughter or something (obviously then i doubt jane is red john if she is linked):
1) you never know much about her throughout the show
2) she believes in psychics so maybe she believes in red john, who is much like a powerful psychic or something
3) red john would have to have some computer knowledge, van pelt is the one always in control of the computer, so she clearly has this knowledge, when there has been messages sent through she probably knows how to do that.
4)She is the new one, perhaps she wanted to join to gain inside knowledge on jane, also she stopped relationship with Rigsby perhaps if she was closer that what mean risking being found out.
 hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

finally we have Patrick Jane
I REALLY REALLY REALLY HOPE IT'S NOT HIM I WILL BE SO UPSET
I'll keep this short but i guess he may have a split personality as jane does share a lot of traits similar to red john.
or perhaps he was once the red john but someone else has now taken over?
i'm not really sure and i try to not think it will be Jane but i really feel like it will be linked with him in someway.

I AM REDJOHN WHY DO YOU THINK I KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT HIM?

Patrick Jane IS NOT Red John.
Proof, you say??? Okay - episode 23 from season 2 proves it quite well I believe; so Patrick is off the list for sure.

First let me say that I hope I'm wrong, but Heller et. al are throwing lots of clues toward Red John being Jane.

In no particular order, here are some reasons, and you can decide for yourself if these are bogus. They might be.  I hope that they are--that they're red herrings. I'll start with the ideas and follow with possible debunkings.

- Jane reads a lot of Jung.  He is seen in several episodes reading books by Carl Jung. One of Jung's theories is the idea of Individuation:  Combining the conscious (Jane) with the unconscious (RJ).  

    debunk (?): Jane often says the subconscious knows things the conscious self doesn't know.  While this could work hand-in-hand with the theory that PJ is RJ, the fact is when Jane hallucinates about his daughter she doesn't accuse him. This may not matter, however, since she was wrong about a lot--she led him to the wrong killer (the assistant). He could have been in a shallow state of hallucination, not completely Red John. Going along with this, when Jane "loses" his memory he doesn't suddenly turn into a serial killer type. Though he does, let's note, end up at the end with a girl dressed in Red.

- Tyger, Tyger.  This is RJ's "signature" poem with Jane. Its companion poem is "Little Lamb," also by Blake.  The two are meant to be opposites, juxtaposed halves of one, Innocence and Experience, which is threaded throughout all the work of Blake.

    debunk (?): Just because the poems are opposites doesn't mean they are at work within Jane.  Maybe RJ sees Jane as his opposite, and Jane sees RJ as his opposite, etc. 

- Jane regularly makes the point that the perpetrator of crimes likes to be involved in the investigation (see James Panzer, the cop in the episode with the lottery ticket, etc.) Jane himself is always very involved in investigations involving Red John.

    debunk (?): coincidence.  Lisbon, et al. are also involved in investigations that doesn't make them Red John.

- Lorelei looks at Jane when he pulls up to pick her up. She says, disappointedly, "You?" but only after a beat.  As if something about Jane told her he was in his "PJ" mode.  

    debunk (?): It could have been just surprise. We don't see her face at the exact second. Her "shake hands" comment later suggests Jane and RJ are distinct individuals. But this could easily be a misdirection purposefully said by Lorelei.

- Darcy.  Susan Darcy, when she begins questioning Jane about his affiliation with Red John, gets a bit of a rise out of Jane.  He never explicitly denies that he is Red John, though he says he is not a friend or disciple. 

    debunk (?): coincidence. Without suspicion the scene could just play out straight and Jane's words could all be taken at face value.


These are only a few clues I can think of off the top of my head, but now I can't help looking for more. 

Now evidence supposedly against Jane being Red John:

- He wasn't at home when his family was killed. 
    debunk:  We don't know this for a fact.  His family could have been murdered at any time. The sequences where he finds the note are ALL FLASHBACK MEMORY SEQUENCES. Jane's "memory" is unreliable.

- Patrick Jane "meets" RJ when tied up in cellophane in the chair during the copycat film.  
    debunk:  The man in the mask was Timothy Carter, utilized by Jane to "protect" him and play Red John when necessary. RJ routinely uses others to kill for him (like Rebecca who kills Bosco and his team.)

- Various people who know RJ are out to get or otherwise interact with Patrick. (Dumar, Rosalind, Rebecca, Lorelei, Todd Johnson, O'Laughlin).
     debunk: These people presumably know Red John and know of his occasional "lapse" into PJ mode. Hypnosis or some other mandate to not reveal to PJ the truth could be involved.

- We've seen Red John sipping tea, etc. when Jane was in another room.
     debunk: There have been at least three misdirected Red Johns: Linus Wagner in the pilot, Timothy Carter, and the two teenagers who were copying Red John's style of killing.  There are also many people "in league" with Red John. The person sipping sea could have merely been one of them.

I'm done.  I HATE the idea that PJ is Red John.  Looking for good evidence against it, if you have it.

Cheers.