We have to all agree that CBI Ron is not Red John but is definitely working with Red John.....He is Red John's mole in the CBI....
Because it comes to question, why is there a recurring character or extra in more than 75% of the scenes, unless he has a bigger role which is to be revealed when the show nearly finishes.....
If Red John is turns out to be Kirkland, then this will be a serious letdown....I will blame laziness on the writers for choosing Kirkland as Red John.....After 6 years of watching The Mentalist, I would want Red John to be someone who had potential to be Red John but was not one of the favorites(like Partridge or Stiles).....After the revealing of Red John, I would then want to rewatch previous episodes to see Red John and how he acted and what dialogue he used especially with Patrick ....Wouldn't it be a letdown if Stiles, Bertram, Kirkland or Partridge ended up being Red John.....Partridge is everyones favorite but I want shock and awe when Red John's identity is being revealed.............Can you all just imagine if Mars or Marshburn turns out to be Red John............
Red John is a showman and would have put on an act or facade when he first met Patrick and 'supposedly' shook his hand.......It's all about the performance for Red John...remember Tommy Volker's idiot performance in season 1....The same is with Ellis Mars....He pretended to be a psychic just like Patrick and made it look like he was being manipulated by Patrick for the entire episode, Now that is a performance................It would be a bit boring and predictable to cast Brett Partridge , Stiles or Kirkland as Red John, They have the potential to be Red John but most of the viewers want shock and awe in the series final episodes in the revealing of Red John's identity........After years of anticipation, wouldn't it be a letdown if Red John is an obvious choice like Stiles or Bertram.....If Red John is Kirkland, I would blame the writers of laziness and taking the easy way out........My favorites 2 candidates to put shock and awe to the viewers are Ellis Mars and Walter Mashburn.....yes...that Walter Mashburn.....plus there is also the clue 'He is Mar' which could be indicative of these 2
Red John is Walter MashBurn (: