Ever since the ending of Season 1 I have suspected Patrick to be Red John - in the way he shot that guy at the end of the season 1 who tried to kill Lisbon - who undoubtedly would have led us to Red John. Since then, the awesomeness of such a huge twist has made me see Patrick as Red John in almost every episode.
The opening credits of each TM episode in Season 1 started off with a black screen where the third definition of a Mentalist was: "A master manipulator of thoughts and behavior."
This, coupled with the uncanny resemblance that Simon Baker has to the Red John smiley faces (the droopy eyes, the wry smile and the quiff of hair), made me wonder if we weren't being played right from the outset with regards to who Patrick Jane really is. It would be very bold of Bruno Heller and co to be telling us that we (the audience) are being manipulated, instead of just defining the premise of the show. Very sly and outrageous if so.
Could he be Red John?
He certainly has the charm and allure to pull off some daring moves. He is the ultimate planner and is able to do things that almost seem magical, given his pinpoint accuracy when reading people. We've seen his capacity to manipulate, and rarely we've been shown his ability to completely hypnotise people and have them do whatever he wants. It would be pretty easy to have so many people idly follow him and end their lives for someone who is able to hypnotise them so well. The premise of the show is that psychics don't exist but we are shown how Patrick clearly has the ability to hypnotise people, thus gaining control of their actions. Most of Red John's minions have a clearly dazed look about them when they speak of him and do self-destructive things for him - it seems possible they are under suggestion (eg Rebecca in Season 2, murdering Bosco and co).. Additionally, during the talk show segment with Panzer (the other serial killer in Season 4), it is so clear how Red John is taunted by Panzer, and the look Patrick has on his face is that of extreme malice, anger and hatred whilst on camera - Panzer is tainting Red John's legacy, and is ultimately killed brutally shortly after the segment.
The purpose of this post isn't to accuse Patrick Jane as such - just putting the theory out there again. There is a huge proportion of the viewing community who would love to see the ultimate twist - the main hero is the main villain when all is revealed in the finale of the show.
As time has gone on, with each episode, this theory has had it's ups and downs, and does have a lot going against it, but each time I try and strike it out, another new fact swings it back towards being plausible for me again. However, the finale showed us a list of Red John suspects and we are told that Red John is definitely on that list. Bruno Heller is now saying that "it definitively is not Patrick John".
Once again, you’re making moves that make me wonder if Patrick Jane is Red John — after all, how else could he know that memory from inside his head? But by saying Red John is definitely on the list, can we rule out the theory held by some fans that Jane is actually Red John?
Heller: I would say that definitively: Jane is not Red John.
That does not mean Red John is not Jane. Anyhow, most people will interpret that as Red John being somebody else completely.
What I do want to bring attention to is that Bruno Heller has said back in 2008 the identity of Red John is a series ender - not a mere afterthought as some point in the show - but a series ender. To me this implies the show has been written from the off with the knowledge of who Red John is and how he came to be and what his relationship with Patrick is going to be. If I had to plan a TV show which introduces an anonymous killer as the main antagonist opposite a super clever, dashing protagonist such as Patrick Jane, knowing that your reveal of the killer would be the backbone of the entire series - my thoughts would be to sit and detail the main story beginning and ending extremely well with a semi hardened plan for the interval episodes/seasons.before filming it. In order to make this work, the antagonist (Red John) would have to feature prominently in the first season, if not the first episode, even if unknown to the viewer.
This brings me to my point... If it is not Patrick Jane that is Red John, then I am utterly convinced it is someone we were introduced to in the Pilot episode. This ranges from Lisbon (we know little of her backstory), to Cho (whom we hardly ever see) to Rigsby (less likely I have to admit, since we've seen a lot of his father issues and his baby) all the way through to the innocent-looking Van Pelt (who has bright red hair... and has a troubled past pre-dating her shooting of O Laughlin). However, with the reveal that Red John is like Waldo, I am even more inclined to suspect that if he is not Patrick Jane or one of the core team, then he is another recurring character we are introduced to in the Pilot... One who pops up occasionally and goes largely undetected.
Though I wouldn't be satisfied with this, for me it seems highly likely now that Brett Partridge is by far the most likely candidate for Red John. From the list of seven, he stands out as the one character who we have been given just enough exposure to, to vaguely remember when his reveal as Red John slowly transpires in the season ender, but not so much as to draw attention to him until we hit the final stretch of the show. Bruno Heller has said we will be disappointed when we find out the identity of Red John - and yes I will be slightly disappointed if Brett Partridge is revealed as Red John, even though he does an amazing job as The Ghoul and really has that edge about him - but I am coming from a baseline and very dark theory of having the hero be revealed as the antagonist, hence my disappointment. I won't go into why Brett Partridge is easily the best candidate for Red John, as it has been done on here many times very well (e.g. the voice, the build, the attitude, the right age, the hovering in the background randomly during seasons, the possible infiltration/insider knowledge on CBI business, etc.), except for the one scene in Season 5's finale at the beginning where Lisbon and Jane walk in on the murdered girl while Partridge is talking. The second where Partridge notices Lisbon and acknowledges her is immediately followed by a very poignant angle of the Red John smiley face with the back of Partridge's head. He senses someone (Jane) is standing behind him and then immediately turns so his face is next to the smiley face. We are, quite possibly, shown Red John standing next to his smiley face. If you pause it in that split second** before he sees Jane, he has the exact same smile as the smiley face on the wall, just as there is a tinge of the eery Red John music. Perfect. Again we are being given these tiny clues in every episode.
The majority of casual viewers will find this (Brett Partridge = Red John) interesting enough to be hooked to the final reveal - which, seems like it might be next season, though I hope and pray it is extended to season 7, and that I am right all along and Red John is Patrick Jane (not how I am not contradicting what Bruno Heller says when I say it that way) or one of the four other main characters...
Finally.. Where does "He is man/r" and what Bosco whispers to Jane and William Blake fit in to all of this?
So far only a Song of Experience has been referenced in TM. I wouldn't be surprised if The Lamb were to be referenced from the Songs of Innocence as we draw closer to the show's ending. More to follow.
**if you would like a picture of this scene, please feel free to email me
