Theories of Egbert (7)

To be frank I really have given up on this show - BH lost interest and tied the thing up in a crap-coloured ribbon. The end of the Red John story (and, indeed, Patrick's only real reason/motivation to work for the police) was truly awful.

The character development over the last season feels like it has been handled by a nine-year-old child. For example, how did Lisbon just become an FBI agent? Even Cho spent a year or two training.

But Lisbon was just handed a badge?

How does that work?

It doesn't matter: this is The Mentalist. Nothing makes sense and nothing means anything!

When they got away with the appalling McAllister business they clearly realised that the audience would swallow any old rubbish. And this attitude shows. The plots are repetitive, the dialogue is empty and they have replaced drama with melodrama - story-telling without a strong character-driven plot. Things just happen because they happen.

But somewhere in my jaded, disappointed brain there are a few remaining cells that believe the producers and writers are still just setting us up for the REAL Red John finale. Crazy, right?

And those few cells have been obsessing on the lack of physical contact, intimacy and warmth between Jane and Lisbon, the girl he forced his way onto a 'plane to woo (In reality you would be shot in an american airport, or be taken to a CIA torture room, if you did something like that).

"Supposing they are not really in love", my poor desperate brain cells cry out, "but they want to provoke the real RJ into showing himself, now that Jane has found happiness in a new love?"

So, could this remance be a charade?

Is it a trap of sorts?

I've been reading some of the excellent theories, thoughts and reflections on this site.

The problem for me is to isolate what I think will happen from what I want to happen.

I would like to hope that:

The last season was a "long con" - an attempt to lead everyone in the wrong direction and to set us up for a surprise in season 7.

Or, maybe, they thought that the show was about to be cancelled and tried to wrap everything up in a hurry, but left space for an alternative resolution in case they got another season to play with.

Or, they were lazy and cynical in their approach to wrapping-up both the Red John and the "will they, wont they" Jisbon arc but will revise their plan due to protests from the fan-base and (perhaps) from the cast / writers.

If any of the above are the case then we can look forward to a cracking seventh season. They will have had time to finish off the Red John story-line with style. Maybe they could begin with the murder of Lisbon. Perhaps RJ waited until Patrick dared to love again before striking against him a second time?

Also, we should see the return of Lorelei. The ONLY way she could have known the names of Patrick's suspects was that her death was faked (remember, Patrick had not finalised the list until after her death).

Brett Stiles should also return. His death was obviously faked, plus he knows way too much about Red John. He probably also knows who he is. Maybe he uses him to dispose of people? 

It is also likely that someone close to Jane and Lisbon was in the (stupid, stupid, stupid) Blake society. (This really was a low point - can you really imagine a secret group of corrupt cops running around quoting William Blake to each other?)

In the final reveal I suspect that RJ is someone you would least suspect - Rigsby or GVP, etc.

OK, so that is my desire - now what I think will happen:

Nothing.

More Jisbon crap.

More murder-of-the-week high-jinks.

And the grande finale? The wedding of the year!

A third possibility is that Cho will finally flip-out and get shot holding up a liquor store :)

OK, I just watched episode 16. 

More grinning and giggling from the FBI as Jane runs around playing dress-up.

A hint of romance for Lisbon.

Some swarthy, bearded baddies. They really should have had them dressed in pirate costumes.

Oh, and a murder victim who seemed quite eager to be shot over a painting of his wife.

The episode ends with Jane looking forlorn while Lisbon and her new b/f head off for an all-day breakfast diner.

Poor Cho looks as though he really doesn't want to be there any more. I know the feeling, pal.

Looks like the end of the road for this once great show.

Certainly, it is the end of the road for me. I will watch the remaining episodes in this season, but then I am out of the game UNLESS the fix this mess by episode 22. I see that BH is listed as the writer, which means they want to wrap-up the whole thing with some sort of elegance. But my guess is that they will drop some sort of bombshell in the last episode - something to give us hope. Maybe a red smiley-face? Even if they do, it will probably come to nothing.

If the they want to fix the show, the must do a number of things.

At a minimum point, we need to see several questions addressed:

1. Who is Red John?

2. Where is Lorelei? She must be alive, as evidenced by the tape of her naming the list-members.

3. Where is Kristina Freye? Is she RJ? If not, how did she know so much?

4. What is the relationship between RJ and Stiles / Visualize? How did Stiles know the whereabouts of Freye?

5. What made RJ a killer?

Perhaps RJ watched a TV show for six years but felt betrayed by the producers in how the convoluted plot was resolved. Unable to cope with the awful show it became, he began to kill people to relieve his tension and disappointment?

How disappointing.

What was once a truly unique series has now become a buddy-cop show.

Had they attempted a transition of this sort following the excellent (and satisfying) conclusion to Season three then they might have gotten away with it. But to see Jane and Lisbon giggling over a pair of socks and chortling about "how much trouble" they can cause is truly depressing.

Having watched this show for six years, bought the box-sets and thought deeply about the resolution of the Red John story, I cannot describe how disappointed I have been with this awful season. The whole "Tyger-Tyger" nonsense, the idiotic "list" plus the multiple unanswered questions leave me cold.

For the first time ever I was not looking forward to this episode.

Unless they pull something amazing out of their hat before the end of this season I suspect the show will be cancelled outright.

The whole things stinks of despair and lack of imagination.

Pretty much any contributer to this forum could have assembled a better story-line than the one they ran with.

Poor, poor show.

The real mystery here has nothing to do with Red John.

What I simply cannot understand is how a great show, in its sixth successful season, can switch from being engaging and compelling to barely-watchable bilge in the course of a two episodes.

The Mentalist has gone from being clever and enagaing to poor man's Criminal Minds knock-off. When Lisbon said "let's see how much trouble we can cause" with an amused glint in her eye I actually groaned with shame.

Shame for having been suckered into actually thinking about a TV show between episodes for six years. Shame for racing home from work some nights to catch it. And shame for wasting so much money on the box-sets.

It seems that Heller & co. had no idea, no plan, for how the Red John story arc would be resolved. They just continued to drop clever and brain-teasing clues and insights which, one assumed, would later be revealed as part of a satisfying greater truth. Now it seems that all of the clues, hints and evidence were meaningless and that there was no plan at all for the resolution of the RJ story-line.

McAllister makes no more sense as the revealed Red John than would anybody else on the list - indeed, he possibly makes the least sense. If they had picked a random member of the public to play RJ it could be no worse.

Also, the silly plot-line that steered the show towards the unveiling of Red John is reminiscent of the sort of thing school-children might come up with. Tyger-Tyger, The Blake Society, Blue Dots, pidgeons, etc.

Awful.

And, one final question, how come episode eight, the most important episode of all time, was so shabbily made, badly scripted and unimaginatively photographed?

Perhaps they have been told that this will be the last season and the recent episodes have reflected some sort of feud with the studio (or something)?

Whether it has been decided that season six is the end oif the road or not, I cannot see the show continuing as it is now. Dreadful.

I accuse Bruno Heller ...

... of murdering a perfectly good TV show!

I have just witnessed the grim spectacle that is Episode 8.

Please please please let it be a spoof episode, designed to get the die-hard fans all worked up. But if it is the real deal, then they have let us down badly.

The resolution of this story arc should have been subtle and nuanced, allowing us to understand what lies behind the brutality of Red John. Instead we get this cack-handed effort where Patrick rejects RJ's offer to answer his questions, thereby leaving multiple plot-points forever dangling in the wind.

And, irrespective of this particular episode, the whole Tyger-Tyger malarky is just plain silly. I mean, you'd think that RJ would be kept busy with his full-time job plus his serial murders, but now we are expected to believe that he heads-up a secret society for bent policemen who were dumb enough to get caught!

It's just too nonsensical to be remotely credible.

As a loyal viewer, and purchaser of the box-sets, I feel short changed and let down.

This excellent series has been building up to a climax for a number of years. If this episode is the real deal then they needn't have bothered.

Very disappointing.

                                                                                                                                

First of all, I find it hard to believe that this "Tyger-Tyger" business has been going on under the noses of Jane, Lisbon, Cho and Rigsby without one of them noticing. And I agree with the recent comment on this board that at least one of them would have been invited to join-up (probably Cho: "The Iceman").

VanPelt has a secret. I suspect that she in involved with the Visualise cult. Remember when Stiles was in custody and he began to speak to her? She seemed interested - plus, VanPelt defended Stiles when others were disparaging him. I don't think that Stiles is Red John, but he knows who Red John is for sure. I strongly suspect that there will be some sort of a revelation about VP shortly.

Rigsby is, perhaps, hiding something also. Maybe he is a "Tyger-Tyger" member?

Lisbon is in love with Jane. This by itself is not a problem - but RJ being at large keeps Patrick close to her. If RJ is killed then Jane will likely move on - or find himself back in prison (or whatever). But the bottom line is that for as long as Red John is out there, Lisbon gets to keep Jane close.

I think that Red John is somebody close to the team - but may not be on the list at all. The list is probably just another one of Patrick's games. It may also be a device to divert attention from another person who Jane thinks is RJ. However, that fact that Red John knew who was on the list is proof that Lorelei is still alive. Maybe the body was a long-lost twin?

I am also intreagued by the idea that Red John may be revealed to the audience, but not to Jane, Lisbon & co.

Interesting.

To be honest, RJ could be anybody - but I'm gonna guess Ron for two reasons.

First, he is always there, but never really a part of any story line.

Secondly, his name is like a shortened version of Red John: R-O-N.

Anyway - enjoy the series, folks!