I want to make an observation regarding the fans and the style of the show. Many theories over the years have been well thought out and at times, very complex. People have pointed out specific details whilst making incredible connections. A lot of us Mentalist fans take things very literally. For instance, when Patrick said he would cut Red John up when he found him, we truly believed that is how Red John would be taken down. Or that the "He is Mar" clue has real significance. There are also numerous others examples that I'm sure you can think of, if you follow what I'm saying. We want things to make sense and fit together like a puzzle. We want to think the story was mapped out from the begging and stays logical. And yes, the writers do owe us that, to some extent.
However, the style of the Mentalist isn't really designed to cater to us die-hard fans (a minority). It is more about appealing the masses. Some television shows are serialized heavily. The Mentalist is not one of them. Many of the episodes are standalone. With these episodes, a person could miss watching it and watch the next episode without confusion. As much as we want the Mentalist to be plot-driven, it has never really been that way from the start. The back story of the Mentalist is Red John, but it isn't like every episode is about Jane getting closer to finding Red John. The show is about Patrick being a "Mentalist" and solving murders. The series is based on that procedural structure. I will say that Season 6 has been the most serialized season so far though. But more often than not, an episode has no bearing on the overarching plot of Red John.
My point is that some of us (including me) want every detail to connect from one episode to the next, but the Mentalist has never been that kind of show. There are some tv series like that, but not many. Those kinds of detailed plots work better in books, so tv producers aren't as apt to try it. And with that I quote an interview with Heller and Baker (especially the bold):
"How much Red John will we hear about, in the future, or have you entirely moved on now?
Heller: We won’t be going back. One of the things that you discover when these figures of great evil are unmasked, in real life, is that once the curtain is pulled back from these evil Wizard of Oz characters, they tend to be not very interesting dinner companions. They tend to be egomaniacal, one-track-mind type of guys. There are a lot of questions about motivation, and what he was doing when and how, and how that connects to other things. That makes great internet fodder, but it’s not very entertaining for the weekly TV audience, so there won’t be much of that. Even though some people would love to delve into that, it’s not what the show does, on a weekly basis."
http://collider.com/simon-baker-bruno-heller-the-mentalist-interview/#pf14IGsV6zYG2FAJ.99
So yes, we want answers to some questions, and yes, we even deserve answers to some questions. But then we are asking The Mentalist to be something it is not.
