I'll save the bragging about being correct for another time and place, but I wanted to add a voice of opposition to those people who are appalled by episode 8.
Firstly, it is real. Of course it is. It is not a fake decoy episode.
Secondly, what we have seen is raw and silly because it still needs editing. I am quite sure they will edit out the silly voice Gale uses as he dies, and will make other changes in editing (such as RJ body clearly breathing heavily after he is supposed to be choked to death). We will get more and better atmospheric music, better cuts, some new bits added etc... That is the point of a raw cut like this, and that is why editors get paid the big bucks.
Thirdly, I really enjoyed the episode. I thought the writing was good, and the storyline makes complete sense. Remember what we know of RJ. Remember what we know of serial killers. Why indeed does RJ kill Jane's family?? -- because he kind of nailed the analysis when he first went on TV and described him. Ultimately a pathetic lonely guy seeking approval. RJ needed to be psychopathic, but not a psychic. He needed to be hugely powerful, but not in a position of obvious power. He needed the physicality to sneak in the shadows, to travel around the state without arousing suspicion, to actually live a double life. The others suspects would have tremendous difficulty with this (save for one or two). What we have seen all season is an unravelling of RJ as Jane got closer and closer to getting him. We know RJ has gone from loathing Jane to respecting him, perhaps even admiring him and wanting to befriend him. This fits 100% with what we saw of STM over this season. He exhibits every trait. He fits broadly within every description. He is perhaps 1 inch too tall - but that is within the window of believability. He has thinning hair, but 5 years ago it is conceivable it was a little more lush. He fits all the descriptions of Miller. He fits the physique of the sneak peaks we have seen of RJ. He is sinister, aloof, clever, and always had an air of calm about him. He nailed the detective work in the Napa episode - and demonstrated his uncanny sense of smell - which is a crucial clue.
I loved how we learn he is a pathetic man who desperately tries to stay alive. He has lost his network, his power - the other heads of his dragon. He is finally alone. It is just him and Jane (and perhaps 1 or 2 other desperate female devotees). He plans his final victory. To have the world think Gale is RJ, to fake his own death, to kill Jane, and to continue into his next chapter. But this time Jane is one step ahead. He has almost known since the rooftop of the church in Napa that STM is RJ. But he needed more certainty. We see Jane looking deeply at the Pidgeons in episode 2 (with the Partridey looking lady) - he is piecing it together. He knows what RJ will do at his house (and he plans the gun he will later use to wound RJ right from this moment - presumable the family gun he had once bought to protect his family - symbolic). He knows after this that the bomb was theater - and this leaves only STM in his mind as RJ. But he needs to still find a way to get him, and this is not certain yet. He does, however, know that Bertrum is his ace in the hole, and how he can use him to lure out STM. In fact, ironically, both RJ and PJ are using Bertrum for much the same purpose.
We see Patrick in the park again with Lisbon, surrounded by Pidgeons, and this is likely where he gets the bird for his final trick. It seems shocking that he smuggles a bird into the church like he did, but remember that Jane is carny folk - and this kind of thing for him is child's play, I am sure.
Ultimately, I found the ending very poetic and very genuine. Jane didn't want answers to RJ's tricks - he didn't want him to have any joy in his game. He simply wanted RJ to die, to know why he was dying, to know that he made a mistake when he targeted Jane's family, and to regret ever doing it. He acheived this exactly.
Fourthly, there has been much discussion of Visualize and Stiles. Remember that one of the arching themes of the Mentalist has been Janes iconoclasm and the fact that he champions skepticism and the denial of religious mumbo jumbo. The show plays with this theme too. Visualize is a cult, and is there to show that ultimately it is theater and lies. Stiles was the epitome of this. A showman full of hot air and no substance. When he claims knowledge of RJ, he is doing what all clergy do - trying to bolster his mystique and authority through lies. I wouldn't put much stock into the lack of a Visualize connection with RJ. It was a good misdirect by the show's writers, but it is much more satisfying to me that RJ was just a man with delusions and uncanny power; and not a man who had all the attention and success he ever needed already. The dangerous narcissist is the one who knows deep down they don't have the success and loyalties of people who love them. STM is perfect.
Finally, many of us on here are so well versed in the Mentalist universe that we find this ending to be without much twist at all. But to 99% of the audience, this is a twist and a great reveal. Furthermore, it is somewhat faithful to the notion that Heller wasn't going to screw with us too much this season. Somebody dies, they stay dead (except for STM!). The tattoo clue - was genuine. The phobia - genuine. Gale always acting goofy and clumsy - genuine. We get a pretty straight forward narrowing in on who RJ is, and but for a bomb deception, we don't feel like Heller gave us a nest of lies and deceit. I like this. If a TV show demands all it's viewers be super sleuths with hours per day to investigate theories online, then it will be a 1 season wonder.
My only real issue is the gunshot in the house. Was this supposed to be the sound of the concussion bomb? If so, then it makes sense somewhat. If not, then what happened?
As for all the other clues, they reconcile. "Roll Tide" -- sure, STM was simply stalking them at lunch listening in, and had abducted Frye by then. The "he is mar" - well, this could be so many things. Perhaps it was even RJ himself scribbling something as a misdirection. Not a big deal. How he knew the final list? well, there are a dozen explanations - and perhaps we find out in due course.
I am satisfied. And I think the episode was pretty exciting and compelling. In fact, I sat there for an hour just smiling silently when it ended. Then again, I had predicted STM, and had guessed the majority of what transpired, so I had reason to be happy. But I won't lie, at one point or another I literally suspected every one of the 7 suspects, and that just means it was good writing. Bravo.
