The Mentalist recap: Red John's Rules
In the beginning of the fifth season of The Mentalist, I somewhat jokingly wondered who Red John was. My picks were Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) himself, Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), Lorelei Martins (Emmanuelle Chriqui), or someone else. Well, it turns out I’m right. It’s someone else. Spoilers to follow.
Earlier this season before her demise at the hands of Red John, Lorelei told Jane that he had shaken hands with the serial killer. Through some miraculous process of elimination, Jane whittled it down to seven possible suspects. At the end of the finale, those names are revealed. (When Jane solves the murder of the week, it leads him to a video of the now deceased Lorelei reading off the names on Jane’s list, per Red John’s predictions. Apparently, The Mentalist’s big bad is a little bit psychic — or at least better at faking it than Jane ever was.)
Here are Jane’s suspects — many of whom have appeared multiple times throughout the series, and some only once.
Bret Stiles (Malcolm McDowell): The leader of Visualize Self-Realization Center
Gale Betram (Michael Gaston): The director of the CBI
Raymond Haffner (Reed Diamond): A CBI agent, Jane’s former boss
Reede Smith (Drew Powell): An FBI agent
Bob Kirkland (Kevin Corrigan): A homeland security agent
Sheriff Thomas McAllister (Xander Berkeley): A sheriff who helped Jane and the CBI solve a murder way back in the second episode of the series.
Brett Partridge (Jack Plotnick): A forensic analysis for the CBI
My money is on Partridge for three reasons: His voice fits Red John’s eerily high pitched tones, he hates Jane, and I read a theory about it being him way back in season 1.
Who do you think Red John is?
(Read our interview with Mentalist creator Bruno Heller.)
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