Who is Red John

K gang! I know there are highly intense emotions boiling around about this episode. Firstly, Kudos to all those who were voting McAllister! We got our man!!!

Secondly, if you knew anything about Patrick Jane, you knew he had only one goal from the beginning; to kill Red John. He didn't respect him or admire him, he wanted him dead. Why would he stroke the ego of the man who murdered his wife and daughter by asking him to reveal all his genius and secrets? I guarantee you, most of the information Jane had deduced on his own. That's why the Sheriff was on the list in the first place. And to quote Patrick, "You're an evil, sexually perverted sociopath with pathetic delusions of grandeur. The rest is just details..."

BUT for those of us who want the details, here is how McAllister makes the most sense:

Rosalind's Description: McAllister is under six feet, he had short straight hair 6 years ago (lost much of it since then). He is not muscular, but not soft. Probably has rough strong hands, and was definitely the most likely to smell of pine, earth and nails.

He Is Mar: The very first big clue we got makes sense now. Most likely, Renfrew was trying to write He Is Marked in reference to the tattoo.

Bosco's Secretary: We all saw the secretary get killed by someone in a Sheriff's outfit. We know as this "Sheriff" approached her, she was smiling, indicating that said Sheriff was actually RJ.

Mobility: None of the other suspects had the allotted free time to commit the killings. All of the other suspects had jobs that kept them very busy. A Sheriff in Napa Valley wine country has lots of free time... and especially alone time.

Hunter Ethos: Jane usually discovers the killer by determining who had the right psyche to commit the crime. This held very true to McAllister. The man loved to kill. When Jane asked him what he hunted, he replied, "Anything with a face..."

Sophie Miller's Description: The Sheriff is middle-aged but in good health. He had the most calm and confident posture of any of the suspects. He's very charming. Most importantly, he has a real phobia, Ornithophobia, the fear of birds. This was eventually his undoing. Jane had noticed this at the Church in Napa when the pigeon flew by his head.

The Handshake: Lastly, we never saw these characters shake hands on screen, but I am sure it happened, just not in the conventional sense. The first time they meet, they play rock, paper scissors, a game during which you shake your hand three times before revealing either rock, paper or scissors. Thus, that is the moment the two shook hands.

All in all, the Sheriff made the most sense and I was satisfied to see him be Red John. I seem to recall everyone up in arms a few weeks back when everyone thought it was definitely Reede Smith. At least that didn't happen, right?

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Anybody else find it interesting that McAllister, Smith and Bertram were standing right next to each other during the blast, and yet Smith and Bertram are alive and McAllister was confirmed "dead"? Exactly how did the bomb kill Haffner and Stiles, who were on the other side of the room AND McAllister, while Bertram, Smith and Jane are unharmed? Anyone care to explain the physics of that? I sure can't! There is no way McAllister could be dead.

More importantly, how can we assume that ANY of the suspects actually died? The Blake Association has people everywhere, probably in forensics, given that Partridge was most likely a member. Who confirmed Haffner, Stiles and McAllister to be dead? Forensics! Why on earth should we trust their word? For all we know, NOBODY was killed and they're all in on it somehow!

We thought things were narrowed down, but lots of Tiger, Tiger people in Forensics opens up a huge can of worms. How can we trust that anyone is dead at this point? We can't even be sure of Partridge or Kirkland! My money is still on McAllister, but I'm starting to think it's anyone's game!

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Theory #12692 • By Sheldorian

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So I would like to propose an idea entitled The Severed Foot Theory

As Lisbon enters Jane's demolished house, she waves her flashlight around and comes upon a severed foot. I postulate the foot was NOT blown off by the explosion, but rather a shotgun blast... the same shotgun blast we hear prior to the bomb.

Here's what happened. One of the suspects grabs the shotgun out of Jane's hands. He's aiming it at Jane, who panics saying, "No! WAIT!"

And then the strangest thing happens. The suspect shoots off his own foot! Jane is perplexed for a moment, and then the bomb explodes. Due to head trauma, he forgets that last split second.

So why was the foot blown off? Because the suspect wanted the forensics team to find it. That way they would believe him to be dead. This would also imply the suspect knew about the bomb, and therefore would probably be Red John!

My theory eliminates Bertram and Smith because they have both of their feet. So it has to be one of the supposed dead suspects: McAllister, Haffner or Stiles.

From what Reede Smith tells us, someone within the Blake Association wanted Bosco's secretary dead. Therefore, I put my money on McAllister, since he's got the tattoo.

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So I was looking at the votes on the suspects tab on this website. Guess who's number one...

Sheriff McAllister!!!

Partridge is a close second, but the ratio of theories to votes is interesting.

Sheriff has 335 theories to his 629 votes. Partridge has 996 theories to his 584 votes.

It's like the top two suspects ratios are reversals of each other. Anyone care to guess what the reason for this is?

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Hey gang! This is not a theory. I was just hoping we could pull our collective insights to answer a question I have.

In episode 2 of this season, while Patrick and Lisbon are talking in the hospital, a doctor walks by. She knocks and then says the following:

Doctor: "Hello? Uh... Mrs. Lee? Carmen Lee?"
Lisbon: "Sorry. Wrong room I guess..."
Doctor: "Sorry." (The doctor exits).

That scene always bugged me. I can't shake the feeling that it was a clue of some kind and that it's going to be relevant later on. Sure it's realistic that a doctor might have the wrong room, but as a writing stand point, why include that banal moment? There must be more to it. With the Mentalist, there always is.

Please comment below if you have a thought about this scene. I really have no idea what it's importance might be, I just have a hunch it will be somehow!

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Okay, we've all filed through the evidence hundreds of times and all come up with some very good theories based on the facts. For me, the following is my evidence:

1.) He Is Mar = He Is Marked: The tattoo is legit.
2.) Hunter Ethos: We know he'll hunt "anything with a face"
3.) Handshake Theory: I theorize the handshake had to be on screen. Their "shaking" of hands was by playing rock, paper, scissors.
4.) Physical Profile: 6 years ago, he had short-straight hair. He's under 6 ft, rough strong hands, not muscular but not soft. Probably smells like the woods "pine and earth", middle-aged, in good health. Good posture, self-possessed. Has a phobia: Orinithophobia, fear of birds.
5.) Well-placed job: He is less-confined by his work, spends many hours alone away from the public eye. His car and profession could easily trick his victims into trusting him.
6.) Friendliest: Of all the suspects, he's the only who gets along with Jane. Also only calls him "Patrick".

I feel those are strong arguments, but the strongest I have is simply the chemistry between McAllister and Jane. It is by far one of the most intriguing dynamics of the group. Jane went to Napa to get to know him better. I have a feeling, McAllister barely made the list. Patrick probably thought he was possible but unlikely. However, when he went to meet him, I believe Jane saw a darkness in him, a "blood lust". He took a little too much pleasure in shooting Jane's kidnapper. "Now he's talking directly to Jesus". Plus he has an intelligence, stealthiness and charm that truly fit RJ.

When the Sheriff showed his tattoo, it seemed like Jane was expecting it to be him. All the pieces fit. He thought he had his man, but low and behold, Bertram and Smith had the same tattoo. Next episode, he'll hunt down Bertram and Smith, but they will not be RJ. The Sheriff will have faked his death and still be at large.

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So I've been voting the Sheriff a lot, and I still think he makes the most sense. However, something has been lingering in the back of my mind for a while. As Kira Tinsley lay dying, she uses her last moments to tell Jane her attacker had a tattoo with three dots on his left arm. She uses her own blood to demonstrate the dots on her shoulder.

Here's what bugs me... she painted the dots vertically. When McAllister, Reede and Bertram reveal their tattoos, they are in a horizontal line. But according Kira, the three dots are in a vertical line.

On that same note, did anyone notice that Haffner didn't reveal his whole shoulder to Jane? He's the only one who doesn't. The front half of his shoulder shows and the shirt covers the rest. It could easily be covering three vertical dots. I wonder if RJ might have a slight variation on the TIger, Tiger tattoo to demonstrate his higher authority.

Just a thought :)

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Theories of Sheldorian (23)