Hello fellow amateur theorists

This is my first posting so I hope to present my theory in a coherent and logical manner.

First, I'd like to state that I think the list of seven is one of the worst lists and presented an underwhelming and awful conclusion to The Mentalist. None of the suspects truly represented to me a suitable intellect or appearance to consider them Red John Therefore I consider Red John to be someone not on the list and believe like some of you others that in next  weeks episode Patrick is simply luring out Red John. It suits his character and his whole demeanour this season.

That being said I'd just like to say that for too long they have beaten around the bush and thrown every escape out of revealing Red John. Because of this I am hoping they can give a coherent and comprehensive explanation to HOW Red John pulled off everything he did in the past five seasons, any cop out or lack of explanation will damage the show (to be honest after we find out who Red John is I'm pretty sure the show will end as it is a mediocre show without the Red John subject matter).

In summary:

Red John is not one of the seven on the list

The reveal of Red John requires an extensive exposition on the HOW and WHY of his actions

The fact that Haffner is the prime suspect is disappointing and horrible, he'd be the worst Red John ever (so dumb that Jane got is whole team back from right under his nose).

Unless there is a twist that changes the suspects to someone outside of the seven I think we can all agree that it'll be a very underwhelming conclusion to the hunt for Red John.