I find it funny how everyone's either bitching about the reveal, or is in denial—trying to convince yourselves that this episode is a fake, and that this story deserves a better ending. Fine, it wasn't the climactic, jaw-dropping, gut-wrenching reveal that we all expected. However, you forget two important things about this episode.
Firstly, this episode was always going to be about Patrick. Nothing more, nothing less. It was about him finally getting his wish, finding justice. You're supposed to look at it from Patrick's point of view, not a third person viewer demanding for answers. He didn't want answers, he didn't want to give Red John the satisfaction and appreciation that Red John so desperately craves for and has fed on for so long. If you expected all the answers to be revealed in this episode then you're just impatiently unreasonable and stupid. There's still more than half a season to go, and I'm sure answers will come. And also, Xander Berkeley is a great actor, and he did justice to the Red John character, in my opinion. I don't understand how everyone's bitching about the acting.
Secondly, you forget that Heller himself did warn us about how our own ideas and theories of how Red John should be; how we've built up this almost untouchable immortal personality in our heads was going to ultimately leave us feeling disappointed and cheated on. But in all honesty, if you take a moment to reflect on the last 5 years, was this cruel? Should we feel led on for the past 5 years? Can we curse the producers and accuse them of having a knee-jerk reaction of a decision to choose McAllister as Red John? I wouldn't. I believe that Heller did know whom he wanted as Red John from the beginning, and that they probably did stick to the general plot from the get go. But clearly, as with any TV show, there are going to be instances of uncertainty from the producers part, depending on external factors such as whether the show is going to continue for another season each year, whether the actors playing some of these characters were going to be available at given times in the script, as well trying to please a wider audience to have the necessary views for the show to continue. I believe that it was 'cause of the fans' whining in the first place—about how the Red John saga was dragging along for too long.. yadda yadda—that the creators had to rush with the plot and reveal this season. You only have yourselves to blame, really.
All I have to say is, instead of whining about it, how about we try and be thankful for what we got, for once. Heller and co. have done an amazing job at keeping all of us entertained and guessing for the past 5 years, with all in all, a brilliant set of characters, a brilliant storyline and a brilliant production. I'm just grateful to have been part of the journey.
