Theories of John_Patrick (3)

For any story to be truly entertaining, there has to be some plausibility in the story itself.  That doesn't mean that we have to believe that the story DID happen, just that it COULD happen.

Mr. Heller and company are in serious risk of pushing the boundary of believability of this story beyond the bounds of plausible entertainment and into something we all just shake our collective heads at, say a collective "pshhhhhaw", and walk away from.

Some of the things I find incredibly difficult to believe:

1.  Tom McAllister could make that voice,
2.  Tom McAllister could seduce a woman like Lorelei and get her to do anything he wanted,
3.  Tom McAllister could seduce the blind woman Rosalind Harker,
4.  Tom McAllister could seduce ANY woman,
5.  Tom McAllister could convince any male followers (such as Craig Laughlin) to do as he wished,
6.  Tom McAllister would have the means (time, money, resources (such as transportation to Malibu and Mexico on a moments notice from Northern California at a moments notice)) to commit the atrocities that were committed by Red John all while remaining Sherriff in Napa County,
7.  The FBI has the authority to simply disband a state agency such as the CBI (there is still something known as state sovereignty covering such matters),
8.  A person with great insight into human behavior (such as the character of Patrick Jane) wouldn't have put two and two together when coming across a beautiful American woman in his hideaway in Mexico just a day before the FBI shows up to make him a "deal".

These are just a few examples of things that seriously stretch the bounds of credibility within the show.  If the story continues on this arc, then soon it will become SO unbelievable as to be completely unwatchable.

Interesting season so far.  A lot of questions, such as, "is the list real?"

Well, assuming the list is real (and I believe it is), my prediction is that Red John is Brett Partridge.  He faked his own death in episode one of this season to eliminate himself from suspicion.  The list is real, because even if Patrick did NOT have the list before Jane watched the Lorelei disc, Red John/Brett Partridge would have put himself on his list (a seemingly risky move) in order to later throw suspicion off of himself by faking his own death (removing the risk from the move of putting himself ON the list).  Brett Partridge/Red John would have the forensic know how and connections in the forensic department to enable him to pull off such a fake. 

There are other clues from prior seasons as well, such as when Rebecca was being walked to her cell and was killed by Red John - some of the suspects on the list would not have been able to pull that off.  Bertram would have been recognized by the other guards instantly as being out of place, as would Haffner and Stiles. McAllister also would have stuck out like a sore thumb in that scenario. Partridge, though, would have had the inside knowledge as well as the obscurity to pull that off.  Smith and Kirkland also might have pulled that off, though.

Smith can be eliminated because of his "yelling" at Bertram  this season as well (which also obviously eliminates Bertram - RJ would NOT be yelled at by one of his followers).  RJ simply would NOT have lost his cool like that over something as simple as a Patrick Jane trick.  Remember, RJ is playing with Jane.  He would NOT need Bertram to keep Jane under control.

That leaves Kirkland or Partridge.  Kirkland is a strong suspect, given his reaction towards Jane and other Red John followers, and I cannot point to anything that definitively eliminates him (yet).

And we must remember what Jane pointed out about RJ in the pilot - his killings are an exercise in his showmanship - his need to be the center of attention, even at the murder scene, where his gruesome painting draws the eye away from the murder victim.  Bret Stiles already gets all the attention he needs as the leader of a cult.  Bertram gets attention as a rising political player.  Same with SHERIFF Tom McAllister (Sheriff being an elected position). Haffner, being a political/corporate climber as well, would seem to fulfill his need for attention through his professional life, too.  Kirkland, Smith, and Partridge, though, all lead lives outside of the limelight, but none moreso than Partridge.  As a forensics guy, there is not a lot of upward mobility in that position.  Kirkland and Smith, while not in the limelight, don't seem to be as professionally reclusive and yet with an undercurrent of desiring attention and admiration (as demonstrated by Partridge's "bungled" attempts to analyze the crime scenes he has been shown in).  Partridge seems to best fit the role of someone desirous of attention, yet knowing he will never get such attention professionally.

Finally, the fact that we never saw a confirmed, dead Partridge, and we did not see Jane even try to inspect his dead body, really leads me to think that Partridge's death was faked.  This leads me to think that RJ WANTS Partridge eliminated from Jane's radar as a suspect, and the primary reason for that would be because Partridge IS RJ.