Now just an observation I noticed at the time but haven't seen people mention on here yet;

Stiles has a terminal illness with 'a couple of weeks' a couple of weeks before blast. His crazy ritual with the women and the blood, stating he knows far more than PJ or RJ ever could. Then claims it is not a a death but 'a departure, as I will return!

Now - say everyone's right about RJ not being dead and this all being a ruse, which I personally don't believe but wish was true, surely this would explain the two year gap?

Stiles wanted to lay low for a couple of years to take the heat off him as RJ and also to make him appear as more of a messiah when he returned from the dead to lead Visualize. This was all his plan. He's the only one who doesn't have a weapon at Janes house, is early like he's relishing it, and is quick to point out to PJ several have the tattoo.

He happily leaves the embassy where he had immunity because Jane asks him to - also why is the FBI after him after all these years? Sets the stage for him planning all
this, he's the only one with the tools and the resources to do so, and takes heat completely off him, maybe that why we see his lookalike in My Blue Heaven.

He is really the only candidate from the list with the skills to be RJ as we all imagined him and maybe Heller knew this and this was best way to fool us all as The Mentalist loves to do.

I've always wanted it to be Stiles so just making an observation that's probably wrong but surely all this conveniently explains why we've jumped ahead two years and so many plot holes?

That or we have been truly robbed of our time and effort analysing all these clues! Which is a very real possibility.

I don't know, may well just be clutching at straws but I do hope we didn't see the two best characters in The Mentalist killed off with the line 'they died in the blast' and if McA survived so could Haffner and Stiles. Surely this isn't what the show has turned into with the terrible characters, acting and stories we've had since 6X06.

And makes sense that the gunshot could've been at Haffner. Maybe.