Who is Red John?

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Ray Haffner

Ray Haffner
Suspected in 875 theories

THE THEORIES


 Bob Kirkland's story is wrapped up nice and neat, but I wonder if they will bring back Kevin Corrigan as Michael Kirkland...but that probably won't happen..would be funny, but probably not. This also shows his interest in Volker.  Volker seemed to work in the same vain as Red John and Kirkland probably had his suspicions that he was RJ.
The Tiger Tiger thing is interesting.  Red John set up this group with the code words "Tiger Tiger"/ In this episode we have eliminated 2 suspects. I never thought Reed Smith was RJ..he is too hot headed and young, but he is a FBI agent and is a useful tool to the right person.  He probably want's Jane dead or in Jail..actually he does want Jane in jail as he was trying to pin the first murder on Jane with the motive of him actually out smarting the police and getting away.That slip of paper Reed gave to Kirkland is going to be important. I am not sure how or why, but it will be.So let's see what we have thus far:                                                      Bertram: Still unsure, but I think he is a good guy, but reports to FBI and Kirkland about  what Jane knows.                                                   Brett Partridge is dead. (I would hate it if they brought him back..I hope they don't), but he was part of the RJ cult..for sure.                                                   Bob Kirkland: Dead..my initial guess that he was a good guy doing bad things turned out to be true. After he killed Lennon I thought for sure he was RJ, but was mistaken. It still doesn't make sense why he didn't ask him for RJ's name, but I suppose he was under a time crunch to kill him before Jane was to arrive...                                                   Brett Stiles: Still a possible...but  a possible that doesn't add up..                                                   McCallister: Maybe..the first 3 episodes surrounded by the shroud of pigeons and a phobia..we know that McCallister doesn't like and maybe afraid of birds. It is possible, but he seems just too much on Jane's side.                                                   Reede: This guy is a RJ cult member, obviously as proven at the end of episode 4 with Tyger Tyger. But so is that driver, so was Lorelei, and Lennon, and countless others we have seen given their lives to this man they call Roy,,Ray, Red John..whatever..                                                   So that leaves us with one guy: Mr. Raymond Haffner:
                                                                        
                                                     Points for him being RJ:
                                                                               *He has connections to Visualize
                                                                               *He has been watching Jane for a very long time.
                                                                               *He seems to be independently wealthy
                                                                               *His first kills and building a kill club was possibly at the Red Barn where he and other's tortured animals. (speculation because we don't know for sure if he was there or not, but it is a possibility..he was watching closely on that episode.)
                                                                               *And this interesting: https://twitter.com/nicknordella/statuses/391201415365812224


                             
 So that's it..is it Haffner?..probably...for now: "Tyger,Tyger..burning bright!"

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This is not a theory...but it looks like the writters of the show keep looking this site too mucho...2 of the 3 the top suspects in the site are "all ready dissmissed"....maybe Haffner is next?!
Honestly at this point I think every thing is possible...i really think they been changing red john since season 1...They didn't know if the show gonna last 5-6 season...so it dosn't make sense introduce red john in season 3 (bertram), season 4 ( Haffner) (Smith), season 5 ( Kirkland).

I think the original red john was Partridge...but now im not sure of no one...they dont follow the story...and every thing we all ready knew from the show we can not trust it at all...

smith to fat
stiles to old
bertram to tall

If we considered that "they say something true in the all serie the only suspect "alive" aproaches to be red john would be Haffner...

Sorry for the mistakes english is not my first lenguage... 

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Something new (sorry...).  This is more about how things developed rather than who Red John is.  I strongly want Red John's connection to Jane to go back to Jane's early days.  Such a connection would be more powerful drama than merely a serial killer annoyed by critical on-air comments by a minor entertainer 10 years ago.

What is Bret Stiles's back story, where did he come from?  Jane calls him just a con man.  If so, did he know Alex Jane -- maybe not a carny, but a con man acquaintance in the fluid world of non-violent criminality.  Both Stiles and Alex Jane would be in their mid-to-late 20's before Patrick Jane was born (40-plus years earlier).  

What if, with his ample charisma, Bret Stiles seduced Alex Jane's wife and is the biological father of Patrick Jane?  (Yes, this could be soap-opera lurid, but not necessarily.  Bear with me.)  Stiles would have no interest in actually raising a child, so I could see him content to let Alex be the putative father.  If Alex knew or suspected Stiles was the father,  Alex might have little love for Patrick and could readily exploit him in the show, especially once his wife/Patrick's mother was out of the picture.  (BTW, Patrick Jane seems unusally sensitive to people ill with cancer and is afraid of doctors and pain.  Did his mother die young of cancer?  I assume he had a positive relationship with his mother or he could have grown up to be a socio/psychopath if neither parent provided love or nurturing.)  As Patrick's intelligence and talent became apparent, Alex might come to see even more of Bret Stiles in his putative son, resenting him even more.

Meanwhile, Bret Stiles is founding and growing the Visualize organization.  Assume a seriously disturbed young adult (late teens, early 20's) joins Visualize--Ray Haffner, Brett Partridge?--25 years ago.  Visualize straightens him out to be functional (off drugs and alcohol).  Intelligent and talented, he becomes a protege of Bret Stiles, but Stiles can't eliminate his darker impulses.  (This would also work if Red John were another illegitimate son of Bret Stiles, but that would be way too many coincidences for any reasonable plot.)

The protege becomes Red John and first murdered at the Red Barn, perhaps triggered by drugs (speed) and sleep deprivation.  The Visualize farming attempt fails and the protege -- now off the speed and no longer sleep deprived -- pursues a career in law enforcement and crime as a crooked cop (remember Orville Tanner was a criminal as well as participating in the first recent Red John murder).  This could account for the 10+ year break in Red John-style murders.  Something -- don't know what --would then have triggered him to resume murdering.

This helps explain the following:
o  Jane is gifted with extraordinary intelligence and talents as Stiles's biological son, despite Alex Jane's mediocrity.
o  Knowing his paternity, Bret Stiles has affection for Patrick Jane which increases as Stiles recognizes similarities in Jane.  Stiles makes strangely personal commets to Jane in several episodes.
o  Stiles knows who Red John is and disapproves of the murders -- especially murders for the sake of killing (vs. for practical reasons such as eliminating a competitor, etc.).  But, having had a role in creating Red John, Stiles protects him to protect himself and Visualize.  It is possible Stiles occasionally uses Red John to murder to further Stiles's Visualize interests, too.
o  Initially, Stiles protects Jane from Red John's worst impulses.
o  Once Red John learns of Jane's link to Stiles, there is a tangled mix of jealousy and affection, especially as Red John develops a fondness for the cat-and-mouse game with a worthy opponent.  Red John ends up displacing his anger over the on-air comments by murdering Jane's family instead of Jane himself.  Ultimately, Red John has equal parts resentment and love for Jane (Heller's duality theme) and both torments Jane and protects him.  Jane is thus uniquely able to hunt Red John without immediately being killed by him.  Ultimately, Red John appreciates the irony of hurting Jane far more by keeping Jane alive than he would had he killed him, and, benefitting from the entertaining game between them.

Finally, this sets up the possibility of salvation for Jane.  It would mitigate Jane's guilt if Red John had his own reasons for killing Jane's family.  I think the Tyger Tyger law-enforcement organization is a competitor and threat to Visualize.  I hope and assume the law-enforcement corruption and Visualize provide the new long story arcs once Red John is wrapped up.  (Like others, I will be disappointed unless Red John is one person who can properly be the focus of Jane's revenge.  That doesn't rule out a group of Red John friends, but there must be one Red John heading it.)

This doesn't advance the "who is Red John" question, but it's fun to speculate.  BTW, I know others have already floated the idea that Red John is the son or protege of Bret Stiles.  I'm not trying to take credit for others' ideas.

Thanks for reading this.  Comments -- pro or con -- welcome.

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Hey, These are few hints that made me think that Ray Haf. may be RJ:

I couldn't notice some Things in these scene that may say Ray is indeed RJ ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPQ0QVl9qkU

-First he notices the low security in that hospital, Maybe cuz he's an ex-cbi or maybe cuz he's a serial killer lol.
-then in the dream Teresa had, he was the one that cut her throat the other suspect seemed to be just there to clean up.
-Now
It's known that RJ doesn't like to be criticized ; notice when Lisbon
said that " RJ isn't not so though ..." Ray Looks down left, and that is
said to mean that he's reflecting on inner feelings or remembering
something (either angry or remembering that night) and just after that
he come's up with an upset face just for a second.
-later on he says "I like you teresa I really do" and i think that's the reason why RJ didn't kill her that night.
-to
sum up he starts whisteling, i don't think that after this situation
and conversation anyone would go away whisteling, it doesn't fit, even
if it's a habit. this has to be a sign from him to her.
 
-A part
of this clip Ray Seem to be a very nice guy and has self-confidence
he's maybe the nicest guy In the list ( too good to be true ?)
-He
left CBI and Made his own firm (the only one of the suspects that is
independant) , do u really believe it's because of the salary.
I
think that it's to get rid of suspicion and cuz he doesn't need to be an
inside anymore, after all there's an inside organisation 'tyger-tyger',
it can get him all the informations he needs !
-When teresa was suspended he became Jane's boss, I guess it's not a coincidence , he needed to get closer to him.
-he's
an (ex?) visualise, When lisbon asked him if he was ever sent to work
in Elliston farm in 1988, he takes the question personnaly and manages
not to answer it.
ah and One last thing ... Ray=Roy ?

B.
Heller Said, after knowing RJ we woul'd be disappointed,  will that be
cuz it was so obvious or  cuz it would be a Bad surprise (Rigsby ? the
most unexpected ?). events of this series are not easy to expect ...
after all RJ could be anyone or even an organisation... they're all
suspicious !

Here you go I just had to write this down !

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Hey, These are few hints why I think that Ray Haf. may be RJ:

I couldn't notice some Things in these scene that may say Ray is indeed RJ ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-716hnLar_g

-First he notices the low security in that hospital, Maybe cuz he's an ex-cbi or maybe cuz he's a serial killer lol.
-then in the dream Teresa had, he was the one that cut her throat the other suspect seemed to be just there to clean up.
-Now It's known that RJ doesn't like to be criticized ; notice when Lisbon said that " RJ isn't not so though ..." Ray Looks down left, and that is said to mean that he's reflecting on inner feelings or remembering something (either angry or remembering that night) and just after that he come's up with an upset face just for a second.
-later on he says "I like you teresa I really do" and i think that's the reason why RJ didn't kill her that night.
-to sum up he starts whisteling, i don't think that after this situation and conversation anyone would go away whisteling, it doesn't fit, even if it's a habit. this has to be a sign from him to her.
 
-A part of this clip Ray Seem to be a very nice guy and has self-confidence he's maybe the nicest guy In the list ( too good to be true ?)
-He left CBI and Made his own firm (the only one of the suspects that is independant) , do u really believe it's because of the salary.
I think that it's to get rid of suspicion and cuz he doesn't need to be an inside anymore, after all there's an inside organisation 'tyger-tyger', it can get him all the informations he needs !
-When teresa was suspended he became Jane's boss, I guess it's not a coincidence , he needed to get closer to him.
-he's an (ex?) visualise, When lisbon asked him if he was ever sent to work in Elliston farm in 1988, he takes the question personnaly and manages not to answer it.
ah and One last thing ... Ray=Roy ?

B. Heller Said, after knowing RJ we woul'd be disappointed,  will that be cuz it was so obvious or  cuz it would be a Bad surprise (Rigsby ? the most unexpected ?). events of this series are not easy to expect ... after all RJ could be anyone or even an organisation... they're all suspicious !

Here you go I just had to write this down !

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Not a theory, more like an argument request : Anyone have some good reasons why Ray Haffner is NOT red John ? I mean a SOLID argument against him? ...cause it just feels like everything is pointing towards him.

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The thing
that most of us took for granted is that the 7 suspects on Jane’s list are
linked to each other…what if some are and some are not?

I’d dare to say that Bertram, McAllister and Smith (and possibly Partridge,
killed because he was starting to freak out about Jane closing in) are part of
the “Tyger Tyger Club”, a ring of corrupted, influential people who work for
the CBI, FBI, etc…, who are teaming up against Red John because he somehow gets
in the way of their dirty work (or maybe they just want to prove themselves ad
the good guys, catching the most wanted serial killer of the hour), therefore
using Patrick Jane’s skills and investigation to get to him.

We’ve seen that Kirkland was also using Jane’s investigation to get his
personal revenge, but got killed by Smith because he was about to get too close
to the truth (about both Red John and the corruption ring).

The thing that leaves me confused is Smith hypnotizing the guard in charge of
Kirkland’s transfer, it could be related to some kind of “Red John’s minions
training” or just to Visualize and its manipulation techniques.

I cannot recall whether Smith mentioned Red John, when he gave Kirkland a piece
of paper and told him he could be given a safe place, money, etc…did he?

I agree with those who say that Red John’s “Tyger Tyger” clue to Jane (S02) was
meant for Jane himself to uncover the dirty business, possibily because they
have done something that was getting in the way of Red John’s own killing
business.

My guess is that all of the 7 suspects (except for Kirkland) are members of
Visualize (hence the hypnosis techniques), even Red John himself, who I’d dare
to say…is Ray Haffner, but we’ll see what next week’s episode brings.

Haffner doesn't strike me as someone who plays well with others, he started his
own private business funded by Stiles...why would someone you're not really close
to fund your business?

I think Haffner was a tormented young man who found his way in Stiles' cult and
saw in Stiles himself a father figure.

In a few weeks we'll see a couple of episodes starring Nick Nordella, who
dangerously looks like a young Xander Berkeley, but I think McAllister and his
ornithophobia are just a big red herring (well played, Bruno, well
played).

If Red John was really Michael Kirkland, Lennon would have mistaken his brother
Bob for him, in the hospital, because he knew exactly what Red John
looked like.

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