I was driving back from a grocery shopping trip, mulling on the last few episodes and on the many enigmatic interviews of Bruno Heller floating in the ether, when it struck me like lightning. It's one of those things that make you curse your blindness and stupidity in the face of clear evidence.
Let's recap two or three highlights from the last few episodes this season and the last, as well as Heller's comments in their context.
1. Jane draws up a list of 7 suspects, after months of supposedly gruelling mental work in his hidey hole. He then shares it willingly with Lisbon, despite her history of repeated betrayals on the discretion front. (she usually passes the intel on to her team, or apprises her seniors, or takes calls on account of her seniority that are sure to piss Jane off. She seldom conforms.)
2. Brett Partridge, bruised, battered, bloody and seconds from death, stumbles out of a cupboard, looks at Lisbon, says "Tyger Tyger" and dies. Why will a dying man, struggling desperately to stay alive, mutter these seemingly nonsensical words and not, say, mutter a few last words for family, or plead for help? The answer comes to us a few episodes later, when we hear a chilling repetition of the phrase from Reede's mouth and that of the van driver after they kill Kirkland. It's now established that Tyger Tyger is some sort of code phrase, said when some sort of sacrifice has been made for the 'larger cause' (while we don't know yet what that 'larger cause' is and why it involves killing off people, its safe to assume that the cause is Red John and the perpetuation of his power.)
Now, think back to Heller's insistence that the Partridge episode was a key one, that his death is not a random occurrence but a significant one, and that the episode holds a big clue to the Red John mystery.
The big clue lies in Partridge's strained, frightened but dogged utterance of Tyger Tyger. Why will a dying man it these words? When he's uttering them BEFORE SOMEONE WHO UNTERSTANDS THEM. The words were not a random utterance- they were said to Lisbon, and therein lies the clue Heller speaks about. Yes, Teresa Lisbon too is part of this dubious and chillingly corrupt organisation.
3. This hypothesis is confirmed in the latest episode by one major occurrence and one minor one. The major occurrence is Patrick Jane 'pre-empting' Red John's move in killing the spy he supposedly hired to bug the CBI office. If you've watched the Mentalist as religiously as I have, you will know that this is way off Red John's modus operandi. Not only is hiring a spy (and a damn sloppy one!) uncharacteristic of a man who can hack into networks with ease, but his killing of her is also off-kilter, not in line with his pattern of torture, savour and sign-off-with-a-smile. She is strangled, but it appears that she's been left with few breaths inside her, a dangerous eventuality that has never been Red John's style either. Then, there's Patrick's handling of the crime scene, haranguing the victim for information and contaminating it (the crime scene/ evidence) by rubbing off her bloody finger marks with his bare hands. Even for his devil-may-care, rules-are-for-breaking style of investigation, that's sloppy and unprofessional. It's so unprofessional that it seems suspect. It seems he's doing it for an audience- first, for the bewildered SFPD guy next to him, who sees his awful handling of the crime scene and the victim, and minutes later, for Lisbon, standing on the porch, wiping his hands theatrically with a handkerchief, saying out loud that "Red John has a tattoo on his left shoulder- three dots. That's my leverage." Historically, Patrick guards every clue, every development as jealously as a mother guards a foetus growing to fruition inside of her...and so, his chattiness seems uncharacteristic, deliberate. It is clear right then that ever since Lorelei Martins rattled off the exact 7 suspects he had on his drawing board, he's suspected a leak in his team. With this, it's clear that he suspects Lisbon. He suspects her of being complicit with Red John and feeding him intel about him.
The minor occurrence that confirms this hypothesis is Haffner's sincere parting shot to Lisbon at the elevator- don't get mixed up in this Red John business Teresa, it's dangerous. It's always been evident that he has a crush on her, and that he cares for her well-being and safety. This sequence shows Haffner's awareness of Lisbon's duplicity, his harbouring more than a hunch that Lisbon is mixed up in dirty business. We assume that he means investigating Red John. But in the light of everything I've explained prior, Haffner's concern appears genuine and the 'business' Lisbon is involved in isn't the investigation if Red John, as it is assisting him.
I know it doesn't feel good acknowledging even the possibility of a 'Lying Lisbon', what with her straight-talking, gutsy honesty and all, but it's the only way you can explain Patrick's odd behaviour of late. After he received news that Red John had his list, he logically concluded a mole in his team, and he rightfully believes that identifying this mole correctly will lead him to Red John. So that's what he's hard at work at. Hoping the next few episodes blow our collective minds!
