Looking back at the sixth episode, a lot of things didn't make sense.

Why would Red John try to bug the CBI office?

We know that Red John has been narrowing the
list down, by killing Bret Partridge.

Red John has always
been one step ahead of Patrick, maybe he was it again?

Think about it for a second.



One thing that I am absolutely sure about, is
the fact that Red John is extremely well organized.

Someone with these characteristics plans every
single detail of his actions. Remember
killing Sophie Miller? Patrick said: ''He must have been waiting until he knew
I would try to track her down''. ''He planned this weeks ago, maybe even
months''. Furthermore, remember killing
Partridge and luring Lisbon in to a trap? You don't improvise those actions.



Red John was aware of the list with seven
suspects. He must have known Patricks intensions, and try to put him on the
wrong feet. The first step was killing Partridge. The second step was getting
in touch with the woman who spied on the CBI team, and making her believe that he has a tattoo on
his right arm (three dots). He could have added a fake tattoo on his shoulder
easily, with the intension of putting the tyger tyger group in the headlights.
Or maybe he hypnotized her? Who knows.



Haffner is a private investigator who is very
good at his work. Kirkland was very good at his work as well, and he managed to
find out about a secret organization (Tyger Tyger). Maybe Haffner was able to
pull of the same thing? Or maybe Haffner is somehow connected to the Tyger
Tyger group, and marks his most important disciples by giving them three
dots. 



The third logical step for Red John would be to
put the attention on someone else. First he made people believe that he is
doing a sprint to the finish with Patrick (by killing Partridge), and now he
makes people believe that either Smith, Bertram or McAllistor is Red John
because of the tattoo (continuing his sprint to the finish). While in fact, he
is putting them in the crosshairs.



Red John is a powerful individual, someone with
a narcissistic personality. He probably has a form of megalomania, because
he is very proud at his work (remember one of the finales in which Red John
saves Patrick from copycats). Red John read out loud the poem of the Tyger, by
William Blake, to show off his power to Patrick.



This is also why Red John killed the Jane
family. Patrick made Red John look ridiculous on the television, this must have
made him very angry because he has a form of megalomania, and thinks of himself
as a showman and artist. It must have hurt his ego... Red John is a ruler, someone who gives orders and
holds all the strings in his hands.

Someone with these characteristics would hate the idea of having
similarities (or sharing something) with other individuals (the three
dots). These dots don’t proof anything, just the existence of the Tyger Tyger
group (who are very likely connected to Red John, one way or another).



Haffner told Lisbon that he joined Visualize as a messed
up kid. Maybe a messed up kid with megalomania, who was traumatised by
something that happend in his youth, or has another personality. Bret Stiles
made him his deciple, and learned him how to control his dark urges. Maybe
Stiles came up with the idea of giving Haffners dark personality the name John
(a very common normal name). What if they signed this other personality up for
Visualize as well? That would mean that Haffner is on the Visualize member list
as Ray Haffner and as Red John. The perfect cover. 



 As far as we know, Stiles doesn't have any
children. Maybe he considered Ray Haffner as his child. A good parent gives his
child the right education and life lessons, and shapes his personality. Stiles
his idea of education was finding a way for Haffner to live with himself. He
also gave Haffner money to start his own private business, something you only
do if you are really close with someone.



Going back in time, there was a scene in season
5 episode 13 in which Lisbon asked Haffner about his life. She said: ‘’So
Ray, you said that you joined Visualize as a teenager. So 1988, you would have
been 21’’?  In which Haffner quickly
responses: ‘’Yeah about that...’’.  After
which Lisbon asks: ‘’Did they ever sent you to work on Allisons farm? Were you
there?’’. In which Red John answer: Lisbon, we are still friends right? Why
would you ask me that? (which I thought meant something like if you go further
with this I will have to hurt you).

Red John figured out the list with seven suspects before Patrick did.
This means that he could have been able to make a plan in which he could
possibly betray/frame the Tyger Tyger group. Maybe he even told his most loyal
disciples that they were going to be in the crosshairs for him.

 

It is very likely that Red John met the woman who spied on the CBI in a
place like a gym. We know from the scene in which the doctor’s notes are read
out loud, that Haffner works out on a regular basis and wears a t-shirt while
doing this. This must have been the ideal place to show off his (fake) tattoo.
When Red John killed the woman who spied on the CBI, he must have planned to
not finish her off completely. Red John hates lose ends, so this would be the
only logical explanation for me. Killing a woman like that requires strength
and speed, something Smith, Bertram and McAllistor don’t really seem to have.
Also, the shadow seemed to show a little bit of hair, which eliminates Bertram.


There are so many other things which point to Haffner as well. He is an
excellent whistler, short-tempered, easily offended (when Lisbon said he was a
possible Red John candidate).  Again a
form of megalomania.

Also, Red John is a very intelligent person, and a master of body
language. When Jane got the seven suspects together in one room, Haffner was
the first person to say that it was ridiculous. This could be interpreted as
someone who is very guilty of something, but later on Haffner ‘’proofed’’ that
he didn’t have the tattoo. Which made his action one of a man who is truly
upset by something, right? Wrong...    He
reacted at first to be a step ahead of Patrick. He knew Patrick would back off
if he saw the tattoos from the other guys, and he knew that his action would be
interpreted as ‘’upset’’. I think this was a typical Red John move, always
being one step ahead of the competition.  Isn’t that were the entire show is about?

Even though I am not a woman,

Haffner looks charming and charismatic,
something which a lot of women find attractive. I just feel and think that he
would make the most logical and intelligent Red John. In one of the
conversations with Patrick Jane, Haffner said something like: You always know
it better, don’t you?  The mentalist is
about little clues, and I believe that if we add up all of these little clues
we get Ray Haffner.

So why do I not believe that the other suspects are Red John? Multiple
reasons. I believe that Heller changed the identity of Red John a couple of
times. The first Red John was introduced to us in either the first or the
second season, and must have been Partridge. Heller must have had an escape
scenario, in case the show would not get a lot of views. Imagine having a
random Red John if season three would have been the last one? No one would buy
that...

Fortunately, the opposite thing happened. The mentalist had become a big
success, and slowly, but surely, Bruno Heller must have decided around the fourth
season that it was time to round things off and start writing a complete
profile of Red John. This is exactly around the time that Ray Haffner came in
the spotlights. During the fourth season in episode two he appeared, which
would be the exact right time.

 



=-=-==-  Analysis of the three
main suspects  =-=-=-=-=


Reede Smith got introduced in the fifth season, which is way too late.
He is chubby, not very high profile in the FBI, and seems to be someone who
finishes the dirty work (like killing Kirkland). He doesn’t fit the description
of Sophie Miller as well.  Smith showed
us that he is afraid of heights, which doesn’t necessarily means that he is Red
John.  He gave exactly the same reaction
as the sherrif (when Jane tried to test whether or not he was really afraid of
heights or not).  Sophie said there was
every indication that Red Johns phobia issues were true, whether it was
acrophobia or another kind of phobia We know that Haffner is afraid of spiders,
which is another form of fobia, but that also doesn’t neccecarily proof
anything. I think that in general, we should forget about the entire phobia
thing and focus on the big things..

If Reede Smith turns out to be Red John, everyone would be deeply
disappointed (something Heller announced). But I don’t think that a man who
writes such an amazing story line would give us Reede Smith as Red John.  Personally, I really don’t believe that Smith
as a character is able to get a lot of success with women. Remember the blind
women, she described Red John his body as well shaped, not chubby or too
muscular. Of course he could have changed his body over the years, but I don’t
think someone like Red John would do that.  We do know that Smith is powerful, because he
knew that the driver of Kirkland was a tiger tiger member (while the driver
clearly didn’t). Why would Red John waste his time killing Bob Kirkland? Kirkland
was on to the Tyger Tyger organisation. He would rather send someone, or maybe
he didn’t even send someone to finish the dirty work. Red John is proud of his
work, he would have marked his kill with a smiley face.

McAllister is not afraid of heights and does not seem to have another
phobia (I know that we shouldn’t focus on that too much, just mentioning it) .
Also, he doesn’t seem to be powerful enough to be Red John. When Smith, Bertram
and McAllister were talking in the room, I just felt that they were corrupt
agents and were talking about something dirty, but nothing more.

Red John is
very mobile and was able to go to Mexico to kill a lead that the CBI had before
they were able to reach it. I just don’t feel like a local sheriff has the
mobility to pull something like that off. We know that Visualize has a private
plane, which Stiles used to disappear. Of course Mcallistor could be a
visualize member who happens to have access to that plane, but it just doesn’t
feel right. Smith probably rules the Tyger Tyger group, because he is on paper
the highest one as well (FBI has a bigger jurisdiction than the CBI chief and a
local sherrif have). Smith also seemed to be the most dominant person when the
three members with the dots were talking in Bertrams office. He said to Bertram
that it was his job to find
out what Jane knows.

Furthermore, McAllister said: You’re wrong, I am not Red John. I think
that he was completely honest when he said that. MCAllister Red John would feel
so ashamed to look Patrick Jane in the eye and say I am not him. Remember his
message? ‘’Until you find me, or I find you’’. That means Red John has already
prepared himself for the day that he might get caught. Someone with a mindset
like that doesn’t lie in someone his face when he is exposed.



Which brings us to Bertram. An interesting case and open book as well.
He was there when Timothy Carter got killed by Patrick. Throughout years he
just never seemed intelligent enough to catch up with Jane, and he was a
terrible poker player (until he got some advice from Jane). Of course this
could be seen as one of the many tricks that Red John pulls off, but I think
that Red John is a very proud man (not only at his kills, but also in person).
No matter where it is about, he probably hates losing. The only options to stop
losing are to avoid it or make it work your way. Someone like Red John would
not take advice from someone else. Also, someone like Red John would never
accept it if someone (like Smith) puts him on his place by saying ‘’that’s your
job’’.

 Bertram seems to be a big red
herring who reports everything to his boss, Smith. We know that Bertram has many
friends, but Red John prefers to not work with other people (in general).
Something Bertram seems to enjoy....

Summarizing, Haffner works for himself. He is good looking, well spoken,
but there are signs of an evil and narcissistic personality. He seems to be in
excellent shape, and he really likes Teresa Lisbon. Enough reason to save her
and put a smiley on her face. I think Red John admires Lisbon as much as Jane
does, which is maybe another definition of the poem in which Red John referred
to symmetry.  

Think about other people as well. Haffner looks like the kind of man who
is charismatic enough to get a women like Lorelei. I really don’t think that
Lorelei would have been impressed by a local sherrif, or a reede smith, or a
big red herring like Bertram who desperately tries to spy on Jane.

He has been in Visualize, and admitted coming there as a damaged kid. He
was about 21 years old when Red John started killing people, which would be the
perfect age to show that he is mature and aware of his actions.

 

 



So what about the
bombing? How are we going to go further? Haffner is on the R.I.P. list of
Rigsby (together with Stiles and McAllister).

 


Scenario 1:

Red John probably set a trap for Jane and made the bomb go off, which
means that he knew that Jane would get all the suspects together to show their
arm. This allows him to put the attention of himself and maybe start running
for his life. In my opinion, not very likely. Bombs are not Red Johns MO (mode
of operation), plus he would probably not start running for his life (he is too
proud for that).



Scenario 2:

Jane made the bomb go off, because he had a deal with Stiles. Stiles
wants to be able to spent his last weeks in the world without the FBI chasing
him.  The Mentalist never shows the kind
of deal that Jane makes, until he pulls it off. Stiles must have told Jane
information about a secret organisation of corrupt agents. Maybe Stiles told
Jane to make him and Haffner disappear, before the bombing took place. After
the bombing, Stiles told Jane about the tiger tiger organization (which would
make sense because Jane was talking about a secret organisation of corrupt
agents in the promo of season 6 episode 7).  Jane now realized that Haffner is Red John,
and that the even bigger lie comes from Bertram, Smith and McAllister, who
possibly worked together with Red John.  This way Stiles didn’t directly point to
Haffner, and got what he wanted.

 

Perhaps I am completely wrong about everything, but I honestly think
that if Haffner is not Red John, then Red John is not one person. Thanks for
reading J Please leave a comment
about this article, or share your ideas.