6x07 link please?

First, I think there are a lot of really clever people here who are obviously dedicated fans of this show and they have given a lot of thought to solving this puzzle.  It is great that this show and its talented cast and writers have generated this dedicated following.  I really love The Mentalist.

The writers have done a nice job keeping this reveal plausible for multiple interesting characters.  Good for them!

My guess is Haffner.  Here are a few reasons (although others have provided many more):

-He is the only suspect with clear connections to both law enforcement and Visualize (allowing him to develop acolytes in both organizations)

-His law enforcement connections would put him in a position to set up Tyger, Tyger as a decoy, since that group may be a threat to him as well.

-The next episode says "Only three suspects remain" and then shows the three tattoos.  But we don't know which suspects are killed in the blast.  If a Tyger is among those killed in Jane's cottage, then one of the Visualize suspects could still be Red John.

-Haffner's personality is creepy and immature while being wily and clever.  This fits RJ, who often taunts Patrick like a kid on the playground.  "There's going to be a comeuppance," he said.

-Finally, Haffner has a thing for Teresa.  If RJ wanted to destroy everything Patrick loves, he would have killed Lisbon long ago.  But Haffner is intrigued by her. 

That's my guess, but I understand that it is only that!  I can't wait to find out.

Tyger, tyger, burning bright
(subject of poem, obvious, noticeable)
In the forests of the night
What fearful hand or eye
(what god)
Could frame
(make, create)
Thy fateful
(what happens when large felines get ahold- death)
Symmetry
(beauty, grace, power)

What good god can create beautiful evil in the form of the amazing large felines.
Good vs Evil
Sherlock vs Moriarty
Clark vs Lex
Any tortured Greek hero vs whatever task or monster the teller of the myth wished to use.
In this case, the damaged Patrick vs his Red John.

Hi Mentalist fans!

 



I really love this site and I have been reading
your theories for many months. I never shared my thoughts to you so please give
me the chance to introduce my theory of who is Red John and stick with me
till the last word =)

Let's start with the list of seven final
suspects. I suppose we can trust that list, because it would be stupid
to show the audience two fake lists (Kirkland's
list) and make six episodes about these people with clues etc. and no one of
them is Red John.



Now, we can start to analyze Patrick's
suspects:

 

Brett Partridge wouldn't make a great RJ, because that would
just be another show with a creepy forensics guy as the killer. I don't think
Bruno Heller would create an original story with a usual end. That's why he is
already dead. In addition he never shook hands with PJ. We should have seen the handshake on screen at their first meeting.


Don't get me wrong, I’m sure Jack Plotnick
would play the character of RJ great.

 



Leaving 6 suspects:

Robert "Bob" Kirkland was after RJ like Patrick. He was
shot by Reede Smith because he found out that there is a powerful organization
within the law enforcement. They have shaken hands when they met the first
time. I don't care about his twin brother, because this would be cheap anyway
if it turned out Bob’s brother is RJ. It’s a red herring. It was just a story
that Bob told Patrick and explained why he is even killing people to find RJ.
RJ probably killed his brother.

 



That means only 5 people are leaving.


Reede Smith: I think the only reason he is on the list is
the Tiger Tiger organization that will be important for the story after Red
John is catched. He doesn't fit the description gave by Sophie Miller. Red John
said in the limo (season 4) that he found out about the trick as soon as his
friend with the FBI found out. I don't think he was lying. Another proof is the
murder of Kirkland.
That isn't Red John style. It was all about the TT. No handshake at their first
meeting and he was introduced way too late. There is no option Reede is Red
john.

 



Sheriff Thomas McAllister: He is calm, a little bit creepy,
a hunter. He is a small town sheriff so I can imagine there are ways and means
to “disappear” and live a second life as RJ. He is a little bit too thick.
I don’t think that he has any phobic disorders. I still could imagine him being
RJ, but he hasn’t shaken hands with PJ. I have the feeling that he is just a TT
member and not more.

Gale Bertram: I could imagine him being RJ, but he doesn’t
fit Sophie’s description. He probably is high up in the TT hierarchy and is
trying to catch RJ. Even though we should keep in mind that he actually shook
hands with PJ, quoted William Blake and he really cares about the media and the
other clues you guys posted. I don’t want to repeat.

 



Bret Stiles: He is too old. There are many clues pointing
to him (whistling, the height, charming, powerful etc.), but there is no way he
is RJ. I can imagine that he is a kind of a master for RJ. We also know that he
knows RJ because he told PJ the place where Cristina was and he said that he
knows more than PJ or RJ could ever imagine. I ask myself why the FBI wants his
head now, after 20 years doing not much. Maybe new clues? Maybe it has
something to do with RJ. Reede Smith is an FBI agent and TT member. What if TT
is trying to catch RJ? They found out that Bret knows RJ and protect him so
they want to bust him and force to talk. They suspect RJ being a Visualize
member. BUT there is one problem. Why didn’t Stiles let PJ kill McAllister?
Maybe because that wouldn’t change anything. They are too many.

 


Raymond Ray Haffner: I know we see in many situations Ray acting
weird, even ridiculous, but RJ isn’t a hero. He is just a serial killer with
many followers because of Visualize. He killed PJ family only because he
couldn’t stand being mocked on TV! Remember Panzer? Similar case. Come on guys,
how childish and sick is this?! So don’t expect RJ being superman. This is what
Bruno Heller meant by many people would be disappointed when RJ is revealed. I
have a theory for the statement that RJ is like Waldo. Ray was working with the
CBI and we might have seen him in the background. I rewatched the first episode
with McAllister (S1E2) and there is one scene in the office where you can see a
guy looking like Ray, but it’s unfocused. Maybe there are other scenes? Maybe
we were focused on Ron, so we hadn’t noticed Ray? Would be a great distraction.

He fits the description of Sophie the best. He
is a Visualize member. I'm sure that Red John is a member, too. I bet the cult
is helping him to find followers. I remember Rebecca talking about RJ as a
messiah. She said a few things which sounded like Visualize staff. He has the
right age and when he was young he probably worked at the farm. Stiles put
blood on someone's face and RJ did something similar to Lisbon when he killed the TT member Brett.
Another Visualize connection.

Ray talked to someone on the phone and told him
to offer a lot of money (from Visualize). He added if she doesn’t want to take
it, there are many ways to silence a woman. Exactly the same would RJ do and say.


 



So it looks like Ray
Haffner is Red John. My 2nd guess would be Gale Bertram because I don't know if
we can trust Rosalind. 

 


Just my other thoughs: Is
it possible that Ray is acting that strange because he knows Bret Stiles is
going to die and that would mean the end of RJ because the other Visualize
leaders are against him? Is Bret the only supporter?

Not a theory...but the episode 7 promo it shows a board with the pictures of Hafner, Stiles, and McAllister...Are their pictures posted because they are dead ? Or because they are at large ?

Haffner fits not only physical description but also emotional relation to be Red John

I'll give you the hints later...

(this is just a testing post)...lol

My opinion: Ray Haffner.
Reasons:
1-He likes/respects Jane (not like Bertram, for instance, that doesn't seem to appreciate Jane at the CBI, or Smith, who apparently doesn't give a s.);
2-He truly seems to like Theresa and call her by her first name;
3-He fits the profile, including the whole visualise/barn thing (he was a teenager at the time);
Now it gets interesting..
4-As mentioned in other theories, the actor who plays RJ says in the interview for TV Guide that he was surprised for being chosen - he thought he was a red herring. He also uses the expression "truth be told". It has been proven Reed Diamond (Haffner) also uses that frequently;
5-He hasn't the three dotted tattoo. You might be saying: that's the opposite of a lead! Some people already discarded Haffner as suspect because of that. The way I see it, anyone who has the dots is also a member of Tyger Tyger (a symbol of it). I don't believe at all RJ is a member of such organisation (more on that later). Therefore, it could be either Haffner or Stiles. Well, Stiles is dying, which, again in my opinion, pretty much eliminates him as a suspect (that and the fact that he wouldn't be in his 20s or so at the barn);
6-He is missing from this picture (before anyone starts criticizing, I know this is sort of a long shot): http://instagram.com/p/gjUXK7FnMM/ This picture was taken on Sun's episode, clearly after the suspects had shown their shoulders to Patrick. Why is Reed Diamond missing? Well, it could be nothing, but it could also mean something.


Now I'm gonna move to my actual theory of the plot.


I think RJ is not a part of Tyger Tyger. Instead his almost unlimited resources come from Visualise. As to why I don't think RJ belongs to the organisation, that's because Partridge, a probable member (Tyger Tyger before dying, as usual), was killed by RJ. As to why I think RJ belongs to Visualize, because Stiles, the church's guru, knows RJ quite well, apparently (I remember he mentioning Patrick's friend 'John' is quite powerful etc.). Guess who's the only one - besides Stiles - who belongs to Visualize on that list? Yup, Haffner. Seems kind of odd, right? Among the 7 original suspects, 3 definitively belong to Tyger Tyger, 2 definitively belong to Visualize, Brett Partridge is probably a member of the latter and Kirkland was trying to uncover the story behind this same organisation (BTW, I think that's the reason Smith killed him, and not because he knew something about Red John (which we probably wouldn't tell anyone but Jane)).

I also believe Visualize and Tyger Tyger are completely different entities, and do not have members in common (at least shouldn't). In fact, I think these organisations have some rivalry (they both have their fair share of illicit activities, one way or the other), which probably would have to do with Red John.


That said, I think Partridge got wind of the fact that he was being bugged by CBI's team and wanted to kill Theresa, confront her, tell Tyger Tyger; something along those lines. RJ killed him before he could do that to protect Lisbon (amongst other reasons) (vide item 2). That gives rise to the problem that Tyger Tyger then had also to be on the search for Red John. He, on the other hand, would've been able not to be caught by Tyger Tyger so far with help of Visualize.


If that's the case and Visualize and Tyger Tyger are rivals, it sort of explains why would RJ bomb PJ's house with 3 tyger tyger members (obviously, PJ and RJ definitively survive the explosion. If Stiles doesn't, that's because he was gonna die soon anyway, he probably arranged things with RJ to avoid suspicions). This also would explain why Smith was kind of astonished when Jane announced one of the five was RJ (a fact probably new to Tyger Tyger members, who would've been searching for Red John for a while now).


I hope any of this made sense to you guys, and I would ask that before you downvote my theory (I'm not saying that you shouldn't), just leave a comment saying why do you think I'm wrong. I think that's more useful to refining the hypothesis (or just throwing it completely away, if that's the case) than just downvoting it. Thanks.

Greetings from Brazil!