I would like to open up a poll.
Thesis: Red John is one of the three suspects (McAllister, Smith, Bertram) with the three-dot tattoo.
Vote plausible if you agree with this thesis, vote unlikely if you disagree with this thesis. I would like to see what the general stance is towards this topic.
Whilst scrolling through the site reading some theories, I read something fairly interesting..
One theory, I cannot remember which one, stated that McAllister was wearing a wedding ring before attending the meeting at Jane's house, but wasn't wearing it when he attended the meeting... This, by itself, of course, wouldn't mean anything, but do you still remember what Jared Renfrew wrote on the wall in his blood? "He is mar?" What if he actually wanted to write down [b]"He is married"[/b], but succumbed to his wounds before he finished?
I still believe Haffner is RJ but this would definitely be decent proof against McAllister.
By the way, I just rewatched S06E06 and the theory I referred to is [b]correct[/b]. When McAllister received the text stating the location, he was wearing a wedding ring. However, he wasn't wearing the ring at the meeting.
Theories need explanation, for that they are theories. Just saying "Brett Partridge is Red John" doesn't make much of a theory. It does not point out why any other suspect can most definitely not be Red John, and why it has to be Brett Partridge.
I am under the impression that Red John is Ray Haffner. Partridge is a creep and a workaholic. He loved his work far too much, and the honesty with which he said "I am stoked to finally see one in the flesh" in S01E01 is a convincing argument that Partridge is not Red John. Also, try to watch back S06E01. Partridge was lying, dead as far as we knew at the time, on the floor. Lisbon got up, looked at the door and looked back. She was snatched from behind right at that moment. You did not hear a sound which would imply Partridge got up, and he couldn't have done it without making a sound in the time span that he got whilst Lisbon was looking away. Also, he couldn't have kicked her down with his own feet, since Lisbon was standing near his head (she crouched to examine his face, the close-up in which Partridge said "Tyger, Tyger" tells us as much. Also, how would that door open up itself?
In S06E02, the body of Partridge was found. There was no particulars on the body and he was dead alright. If he weren't dead, the coroner would've noticed and otherwise we would've noticed it later in the episodes if the coroner never actually received the body and Partridge is still alive, which would be implication of the situation. Brett Partridge must be dead. I refuse to accept otherwise, it possibly can't be.Partridge wouldn't be Red John. The series have continued after that episode and the goose chase to find out who Red John actually is, is still on its tracks. It would be very lame, not impossible, but lame, if Partridge turned out to be Red John and the whole scene and preparation for the scene at Jane's house were all for nothing.
Partridge is dead.
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I posted this on a theory revolving around Brett Partridge. It does not prove Ray Haffner is Red John, it just rules out one of the most prominent suspects, Brett Partridge. However, I do believe Haffner is Red John. We will see. Please do not rate this theory as a theory to prove why Haffner is Red John, but as a theory why Brett Partridge most certainly isn't.
Whilst Lorelei Martins was reading out the names in the season 5 finale, I noticed a very weird thing. Whilst she did say the short version of Robert Kirkland's name, Bob Kirkland, she called Raymond Haffner by its full name. Maybe she had to do this to avoid suspicion? It could also just be random, but I think that you wouldn't call someone with a smaller nickname by his full name if it weren't for a good reason.
Ray Haffner is still my Red John.
We started out with seven names on the list, of which we are sure one of them is Red John. Since Brett Partridge and Robert Kirkland are killed off, we are down to five names on the list. These names include Bret Stiles, Gale Bertram, Ray Haffner, Reede Smith and Thomas McAllister.
The Tyger Tyger Conspiracy is a government conspiracy consisting of high-ranking and low-ranking members of the various law enforcement institutions. I am sure Reede Smith is not Red John, since he is quite frankly not in the right shape to be able to commit such crimes. Plus, he is the one who killed off Kirkland himself, which doesn't seem a plausible option for the real Red John for me. Red John should be a up to this far hidden character on the list. Smith would now be too obvious, so I will rule him out as of now.
The next person on the list I am going to rule out is Gale Bertram. As the director of the CBI and, so far as I believe, a high-ranking member of the Tyger Tyger Conspiracy, Bertram is an important pawn in the games of Red John. Not Red John himself, for he has been too much in the spotlight in previous episodes and too directly related to Reede Smith as seen in the second episode of season 6. This reasoning also rules out Thomas McAllister, who has already been ruled out in the third episode of the season because of his hatred for pigeons. Also, he climbed the ladder at the chapel with ease, so the 'afraid of heights'-theory falls apart on him as well.
Two persons are left now: Bret Stiles and Ray Haffner. Whereas the other suspects were ruled out by a thin string of logic, this one is purely intuition. But come on, Bret Stiles as Red John? Really? No... I doubt it that any viewer so far has wanted to see Stiles as Red John. Powerful, yes. But too fatherly and warm to truly be Red John. Plus, he is also not in shape to have committed all of the murders Red John has committed. He is simply too old.
I believe Ray Haffner is Red John. Intuition also tells me Bret Stiles is his father, which would give the reason for as to why Stiles knows so much about Red John. But I have no proof for this statement to be build upon, so you can let this float.
Because of this, I believe Ray Haffner is Red John.