Who is Red John?

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Unrevealed suspect

Unrevealed suspect
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THE THEORIES

All Red John's accomplices, Red John is a made up name which started with one murder the same as "Blair Which" project and all myths which were recreated by multiple people/beliefs. Take the "Scream" scenario where multiple people wore the mask yet the original killer was never revealed. Myth.

People often tend to follow an "Idle" in life.. Whether it's a famous soccer player or actor. For the people who have had bad experiences in life e.g. have been bullied all their life.. Why not a serial killer as an "Idle"?

Another theory, the actual Red John has long stopped his killing spree and others are now doing it for him thus he can never be found. You cannot find someone who is not hiding from things he has not done... 

There was one episode where Patrick was put in a Limo when Red John spoke to him via a cellphone (He thought he was in the Limo) which leads to conclude that Red John has his apprentices as well, people who do work for him yet have never met him... "I just do the job and ask no questions"

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maybe Red John is a bunch of people, each one of them having their own personality of what Red John is and what he looks, sounds like ect.

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I cannot say who Red John is at this point, but I don't think Brett Stiles is Red John.  The reason is that the rivalry between BS and PJ is too obvious, not to mention how SIMILAR they are.  Both men have a "cult" like following, are highly charismatic and know how to work people -- of course, they'd be uneasy toward one another, they cannot influence each other!!  For now, it is a sore spot, but someday, I predict it will turn into something almost resembling mutual respect, and they will possibly work together to get Red John. 

ONE thing I know for CERTAIN:  neither PJ or BS are RJ -- because RJ is a power hungry sociopath incapable of caring about others.  Both BS and PJ deep care for others, no matter how much they play it off.

RJ probably has an ordinary, mundane life,"invisible" because of a seeming respectable or meek quality, or he is in an enviable position as a sort of prodigal son, in a family of wealth, power and influence where he is always in the shadow of a more power person within his family.  No doubt, RJ feels "robbed" and wants to achieve the glory that both Stiles and Jane enjoy daily and experience effortlessly, but that EJ secretly fears he's incapable of [which is true!].  RJ wants to be like PJ and BS, and deeply admires both.  He's someone who has likely positioned himself very closely to both men.  LOVE THIS SHOW!!

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Not really a theory on RJ but I am really looking forward to episode 18:  Behind the Red Curtain.  It involves a murder that interrupts a musical preparing for Broadway.  I would just love it if Jane made some disparaging comment about musicals and Lisbon declared her love for Phantom of the Opera to which Jane could reply that the Phantom is a singing serial killer then Lisbon could zing him with his similarities to Sweeney Todd.  I just watched that today and the similarities are interesting.  Both Jane and Sweeney lost a wife and daughter.  Both are on a quest for revenge that gets people killed around them (Bosco, Panzer, Jared, etc might have all lived if Jane hadn't been actively pursueing RJ).  There may be more similarities depending on how Jane's story ends - will he learn like Sweeney that it would of been better to "learn forgivingness and try to forget."  I really can't see Jane catching RJ without one of the team getting killed to give weight to the victory.  Hopefully that's why Lorelei was brought in so that the team doesn't need to lose someone but frankly I don't see Lorelei living past episode 16 in this season and definitely not past the S5 final.  Someone important is going to have to die at the very end of the show and it better not be Lisbon.

And for a single RJ thought:  I believe Mashburn is RJ and I scan the summaries of the episodes to look for clues as to which one he might be in this season - it better be one of them . . .  Well, like IKWRJI said, Mashburn is part of the nouveau riche and could easily be patron of the arts.  Maybe he's sponsoring the show.  Too bad the cast list isn't out yet.

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I don't know who he is, but he can't be Jane because Rosalind would have recognized something about him, especially because her and Red John were lovers. 

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I don't think it would make sense if PJ happened to be RJ. It could end up being very devastating end to the show. There are clues that can support the theory that RJ could be Patrick himself however there there are still major flaws in this theory. For example - who saved Patrick from the copycats if it wasn't RJ?

Now, Bob Kirkland. I very highly doubt that he could be RJ. It is possible that Bruno Heller could have double-bluffed us as the audience however I don't think he has. I think RJ has appeared in the episodes that Kirkland has and displays a genuine interest in Lorelai but only to throw us off focusing on the real RJ. I have a niggling feeling that RJ has been in the most recent episodes and Kirkland can't be RJ because his appearance has been too sudden.

I think Lorelai will reveal some more clues about RJ in the next two episodes and that's when PJ will narrow his list even further. I'm sure I read somewhere that Heller has stated firstly that "it's not likely that we're going to turn around and say hey PJ is RJ". And secondly, if I remember correctly, RJ has been seen since the first season ? If this is the case, why are there are people that are suggesting characters that have only been introduced recently (Kirkland, Lorelai)?

I am about to contradict what I just said however I think that the theorist that first put forward Walter Mashburn as a suspect has some interesting perspectives and has presented a well-researched theory. 

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I had my mind set on RJ being former CBI boss Virgil Minelli however with the latest developments occurring (RJ was a member of visualize, he is probably PJ's age) I have shifted my view.

SPOILER: Brett Partridge will be back on the next episode and I believe that he will be eliminated from potential suspects. I do not think he has enough power to be RJ and he is not the a-list actor that will portray RJ. The episode after that has Lorelei returning and going rogue. So, the next couple of episodes should be very interesting.

To me, I love the fact that all the names on PJ's list (the book with the names) and LaRoche's list are coming back into the fore: Brenda, Ardiles, Bertram to some extent. 

I believe that Bob Kirkland is RJ. Yes, too obvious but I think that Bruno Heller has double-bluffed us. He matches the descriptions of RJ, he is the appropriate age, he is in a position of power, he has been keeping tabs on Jane from the beginning and he is an a-list actor. Heller always said that the viewers would be disappointed by RJ's reveal and Kirkland's introduction was sort of low-key. The fact that Kirkland has been involved in all of Lorelie's episodes (bar one) this season also has me believing that he is desperately trying to keep her quite. 

Long live RJ and the Mentalist 

:) 

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