Nick Nordella appears in both episode 6x07, The Great Red Dragon and 6x08, Red John, as shown on the IMDB website. His appearance in these two episodes has led many people (including myself) to believe that he plays the young Red John from the Visualize owned 'Elliston Farm' in 1998.

The two actors from the list of seven (five remaining) suspects who Nordella resembles the most closely are Sheriff Thomas McAllister and Raymond Haffner. I have no doubt that Haffner is a very strong suspect but i believe that McAllister is Red John.

This is due to his age. The actor who plays McAllister (Xander Berkeley) was born in 1955. This makes him 58 currently. Therefore, he was 33 when Red John killed the Visualize members in the barn (as shown on Season 5 Episode 13- The Red Barn). The priest in this episode (Kyle Secor) told Jane that Martin Talbot told him ‘some kid’ drew the face. At the age of 33 at this point, Berkley would be unlikely to be referred to as a 'kid' by anyone. However, the age of Berkley's character (Thomas Mcallister) on the show is 50. This means that in 1988, he was 25. This makes him much more likely to fit Talbot's description of a kid.

Returning to the point of Nick Nordella, he is currently aged 25. The character of Thomas McAllister was 25 in 1988 because the writers changed Berkley's age. Coincidence? I think not. Nordella resembles a young McAllister. And they have changed Berkley's age to make McAllister and Nordella the same age at this point. Why do this? Because Thomas McAllister is Red John

further thoughts on conspiracy theories and popularity contests:

for me, red john is more interesting/intriguing as a character when he's this 'mysterious loner serial killer with a hidden agenda' and unknown motivations. tying him into a law enforcement conspiracy 'kills' a lot of that fun for me. just like the whole 'patrick jane is red john' theory feels like a clever but over-done plot device, i'm getting a bit burnt out on government conspiracies.

so far, i've seen 'red john works for the tyger, tyger group' theories, 'red john is the tyger tyger group' theories, and 'red john and the tyger tyger group hate each other' theories.

perhaps the 'tyger tyger' group exists to cover red john's tracks. NOT because they work for him, but because they are trying to catch him, and failing. they have been trying for a really long time. and it would probably be really, really embarrassing for a law enforcement organization, and the public perception of law enforcement, to NOT reel in a serial killer after so long.

from the serial killer's point of view, this would bother his 'ego,' causing him to be even more brash and 'theatrical.' in order to get noticed and to receive proper attribution for his crimes, he may develop more of a 'calling card' or style, such as the smiley face or the 'tyger tyger' phrase. law enforcement agents who are part of the conspiracy would later 'adopt' the phrase 'tyger tyger' as a code that whatever action they are currently taking covers up a red john related crime. if the serial killer actually is a member of law enforcement, that is a 'twist' that also enables the killer to stay a step ahead of the authorities. he is part of law enforcement, but a killer, which mirrors the duality explored in blake's poem.

under this reasoning, you'd need a conspiracy of law enforcement agents who:

1. hide evidence of red john crimes to reduce public hysteria
2. break the law and procedure to try to kill/capture red john
3. cover the evidence of other officials and agents breaking laws and procedures when attempts to subdue red john fail
4. silence witnesses
5. exist on multiple levels of law enforcement or government agencies

people have commented on how odd the red john timeline is. he appears (we think) at the red barn, then goes dormant for 10 years, before becoming more 'public.' 

but a novice serial killer would probably be more cautious. he may 'hunt' victims that are not going to be missed. and these murders would be relatively 'easier' to cover up in the news, than the later killings. some would probably go unnoticed by themselves. however, as he becomes more brazen, the serial killer would then be less 'discriminant' in terms of his victims, picking increasingly visible targets, and culminating in the murder of a certain psychic's family after that psychic mentioned him on a talk show. that would be the ultimate way to get noticed, and to spite any law enforcement agency's attempts to cover up his handiwork. 

the affinity red john feels for jane could be genuine gratitude for jane indirectly making him so popular.

looking at the suspects from the angle of ego gratification:

1. bertram wants to be the bureau's center of attention, and is happy to do interviews
2. haffner wants recognition for service, and is happy to have that need gratified by money at a higher paying job
3. stiles is the head of a religious cult or sect and wants complete control and adulation
4. smith may not have power or control, but has been depicted venting his anger openly on both colleagues and suspects. in effect, abusing his power as an fbi agent

so once again playing devil's advocate, and expounding on an earlier theory, mcallister (and to a certain extent, smith) stand out as the 2 suspects who don't seem to need their egos stroked on a daily basis.

when lisbon and jane were involved in the napa investigation of episode 3, mcallister teased them, and even thanked them for their help, rather than feeling threatened. he seems like the only suspect who isn't desperate for attention. 

the one exception to that portrayal was mcallister's pursuit of van pelt in season one. it conveyed a sense of being predatory, rapist, and obsessive. he may not have known she was a cop, but he knew cbi was in town. and he still tried to get her in his car.

I’m not positive who Red John is, but will make the
following observations.

 

Heller said there was a clue in the final sequence of S06
E01.  That can be a number of things: the
666, the pigeons, the knife, but I tend to think it has to do with the clown face
on Lisbon.  Something tells me we’ll discover RJ was a
part of the carnival at some point in Jane’s life and that he resents Jane.  I wouldn’t be shocked if RJ knew Jane in the
carnival and was jealous of his life with Angela and Charlotte.

 



Tangie Ambrose will be a guest star in E08, “Red John,”
playing Samantha Barsocky from the carnival circuit.  This tells me there is some connection with the carnival.

Nick Nordella will play “Young Man” in E07 and E08.  Check out his twitter feed at https://twitter.com/nicknordella
.  I think he’s trying to hint that he’s
playing a young RJ.  His description
would match a young Haffner, MacAllister and even Bertram.



There are still things about Van Pelt that remain mysteries
– her psychic aunt, her sister’s suicide, the deep secret she’s never shared
with anyone, etc.  I feel that RJ plays a
part in her life and that she may have a vendetta against him, as well.

 


It seems to me that RJ is killing people associated with the
Tiger organization.  I know he himself
uttered it to Jane, but maybe they’re also enemies of RJ?  But maybe not, since Smith killed Kirkland.  Who knows?

 



S06 E05 is entitled “The Red Tattoo.”  Perhaps “he is mar” is “he is marked”?  The titles of E06 and E07 are “Fire and
Brimstone” and “The Great Red Dragon”. 
These are images from Revelation, as is “the mark of the beast,” so for
now, my bet is that “The Red Tattoo” also has apocalyptic undertones.  



I’m not really sure who RJ is.  The 7 heads of the dragon is an interesting
theory and would explain why it’s hard to pinpoint RJ to one individual.  But it could mean other things, too, ie,
healing of a fatal wound, etc.  Still,
I’m just not sure.

random thought for the day regarding sheriff mcallister. he's not
my favorite choice. i am just playing devil's advocate.

in
recent theories i've read, everyone mentions the scene in the first
season (where he gets creepy with van pelt) as a strong cause of
suspicion. but lately, i haven't heard anyone focus on the weirder
aspect of it, for me. leading up to that scene, jane has set a trap
for the 'killer of the week' in the episode -- the crazy couple. but
when mcallister shows up and starts creeping on van pelt, jane is
surprised he's there. he's unforeseen, on a show that will make a
living of demonstrating how jane often 'sees it coming.'

add
to that the way the sheriff was able to sneak up on him while on the
phone and later save him in episode 3, and mcallister seems like the
only suspect to have caught jane off-guard.

true, he lost at
'rock, paper, scissors.' but in my opinion, all the suspects have
'played dumb' at one time or another. haffner has been fooled by
jane, but had a career in surveillance. can't imagine anyone lasting
in that field without some smarts. bertram needed help with poker,
and often looks befuddled, but management jokes aside, i don't see
anyone rising to that position without some brains, either. so i
don't regard 'being made to look foolish' as a reliable way to
demonstrate someone is 'definitely' red john, or not. red john has
spent the entire series making patrick look foolish. you have to be
smart to guess someone's next throw at rock paper scissors. but you'd
also have to be pretty clever to throw out the right hand to lose
every time, too.

my question for everyone on the forum is not
who your favorite suspect is. who is your LEAST favorite suspect?
which is the red john reveal that would aggravate you the most, or
require the most 'back story' in order for you to respond 'oh, okay.
you win, bruno. he's red john?'

for me, that person is reede
smith. i'll actually be a little pissed if he's red john,
because:

1. he doesn't meet the harker description (granted
we've all doubted that description lately)
2. he's demonstrated
overt anger issues, which feels 'obvious'
3. he hasn't 'been there
from the beginning,' in terms of being cast on the show

i
think the fun of any good mystery is being able to go back and piece
clues together from the course of the story...the full course of the
story. that, and actually having a 'fighting chance.' if smith turns
out to be red john, i'll feel cheated because i don't think we would
have had that 'fighting chance' to unravel the red john mystery, when
he turns out to be a character introduced 5 seasons into the series.


by that token, the remaining suspects all have reasons why
they'd irk me. haffner is only marginally less annoying as a season 4
introduction. mcallister's character was seen in one first season
episode, then suddenly makes the suspect list and shows up in season
6. bertram skirts the line of annoyance as a season 3 introduction. a
lot of people take issue with bret stiles' place on the suspect list
due to his age, and i confess to agree with that in some ways.

who's your least favorite suspect?

This is a theory on Red Johns phobia.
I read this short theory on another site but the individual suspected Reede Smith,
i though suspect McAllister instead.
I think that Red John might have a germ or physical contact phobia.

I suspect that Red John doesn't like to come into contact with others
he finds "unclean".This is probably why Lorelei stated
"I'm surprised you didn't become life-long friends the moment you shook hands".
It is probably a big deal when Red John allows someone to 'touch' him and people who are allowed so, tend to become his friends.

Looking back at the episode Wedding In Red, i noticed that McAllister twice avoided contact with Lisbon, first when he passes her to get a closer look
at the hammer on the ladder he actually tucks in his hand into his chest and
at the end when he shakes Patricks hand (before the pidgeon scare)
and immediately brings his hand to his side before Lisbon gets close to him.
This is why i think he always has his hands on his belt, the perception of it
would be that he is just being professional.
This is probably the reason why Lisbon was spared, whatever she came into contact in that house (pigeons for example) kept Red John from killing her eventhough he was wearing gloves.

Just a side note, when Red John was talking to Patrick in the season 6 opener,
he had both his hands on his blade.
I believe this means that he had some kind of communication system
that allowed him to have his hands free,
like the walkie talkie Sheriff McAllister had on him when he sneeked up on Jane.

this is a bullshit ... they want to make "tiger tiger conspiracy " the next intrigue ... after they find red john ... but now i ' am so disappointed about the meaning of "tiger , tiger " ... and another thing ... Patridge CANNOT BE RED JOHN BECAUSE AFTER HE DIED , RED JOHN WAS SPOKEN WITH JANE ON PHONE...AND HE HAS THE SAME VOICE LIKE ALWAYS !!!!! (regarding to that theories that said about patridge was red john and he was murdered ... )

It definitely has to be him. The young guy who will play Red john of 1988, resembles Thomas Mcallister. The age also matches. The guy looks around 20, and Mcallister according to the script is 45. It would be disappointing for everyone if he turns out to be Red john as he just plays the role of a normal Sheriff. The boots he wear, also tell the same story. Moreover, when Rebecca was killed, he was there. Good posture, middle aged man, excellent whistler and has no family of his own. Jane also said he is not dumb as he looks. He was in the series since the beginning, so I suspect him