We know how to make the audience just slightly uncomfortable without overdoing it, and how to deliver a line that can be read two ways, so the audience can project whatever they want onto us. I can only assume producers were scared to lose the show's big mystery. Red John most likely ordered Johnson to murder various police officers who were close to discovering his society or were members themselves (perhaps indicating why one of Johnson's victims was burned alive, probably in order to hide the organization's tattoo, which is marked on all members to better ensure loyalty) who failed to complete their orders or were planning on turning themselves, and the association by extension, over to the authorities. It's funny, because on the audition circuit I'm always running into the guys who played the other Red John suspects. Last appearance After five seasons and change, The Mentalist has finally revealed the identity of serial killer Red John. Kirkland is able to reproduce a near-exact version of Jane's bulletin board on Red John, presumably including the references to Kirkland himself as a suspect. Cordero, however, also under orders from Red John, shoots Bertram instead, prompting the real Red John to enter the church: Sheriff Thomas McAllister (an uncredited Xander Berkeley), previously believed to have perished in the explosion in Jane's house at the end of the episode "Fire and Brimstone". You could reason that Red John is far too dangerous to leave alive, but that justification has nothing to do with Jane's motivation. In the episodes "Red Sails in the Sunset" and "There Will Be Blood", Kirkland and Homeland Security are shown taking a deep interest in finding Red John's accomplice, Lorelei Martins, when she goes on a killing spree. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. The next day, as the FBI cleans out the CBI headquarters, Jane receives a phone call from Bertram, who is still on the run with the aid of Oscar, but cuts their conversation short when a police officer at the gas station he is calling from recognizes Bertram. Ding-dong, Red John is gone! Besides, more twists isnt necessarily better. A conversation with Red John: Xander Berkeley talks casting, masks and Sheriff McAllister : Please don't. don't kill me. Panzer's murder proves Jane's theory that Red John is still alive. Lorelei looks at the box Jane is bearing and asks if it contains a football or a cabbage. He might not be as sexy of an answer as some of the other choices might have been, but sexy and surprising any necessarily always in a series best interests. It has been confirmed that Sheriff McAllister will return for season six, which might mean that he will be disproved as Red John or the character will be given a larger role. This finally explains how Red John recruited so many followers over the years who worshipped him and who were willing to give their lives for his plans. Kirkland tells Jane that Lennon "never said a word" before dying. Jane didn't know he was meeting Red John, and sadly neither did anybody else involved in The Mentalist. Jane is not present at the time of the reciting, but it is quite out of character for Bertram to recite poetry, and the fact that it is a poem by the same author is probably more than a simple coincidence. Rewatching The Mentalist lately, I realized that we actually meet Red John quite early. As a serial killer, he is believed to have begun his killing spree in 1988, and has, with his operatives and acolytes, killed more than 70 people in California, Nevada, and Mexico. Before leaving Jane, Red John recites the first stanza of "The Tyger" by William Blake (see above). Jane apologizes to her corpse but, still peeved over Lorelei's breaking her promise to identify Red John, tells Lisbon (of Lorelei), "She had it coming.". He was later included among the seven final people on Jane's List of Suspects to be Red John . Though the writers. @nehakatti: So many amazing scenes!From jane helping Lisbon with her jacket to him sneaking a peek at the wedding. Jane then slowly chokes him to death. Patrick Jane and CBI agents Teresa Lisbon and Kimball Cho arrive at a vineyard where a female body has been found and are met at the scene by Sheriff Thomas McAllister. This makes Jane conclude that there is a connection between Johnson and Red John, but he doesn't tell anyone about this either. In the season 6 episode "Red Listed", there is a revelation by Bob Kirkland (Kevin Corrigan) as to what "Tyger Tyger" means. When Patrick asks how she knows his name, she says, "Your friend told me," and reveals the red smiley-face painted on her hand. In season five's "Red Sails in the Sunset", Lorelei Martins (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a Red John operative, who goes astray after Jane convinces her that Red John murdered her sister, Miranda, accidentally reveals to Jane that he has already met Red John and shaken his hand. Sheriff Thomas McAllister reveals his arm and his tattoo, three dots, just as Tinsley described. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Nerwin_Aldarion: Yes, it fit who RJ was, playing the power behind the throne easily. Upon arrival, they find Harker alive and unhurt, playing her piano alone, seemingly sad that Red John "couldn't stay". He pulls out his shotgun and asks that they all put their guns on the floor. In the next episode, Lorelei Martins tells Jane that he had already met and shaken hands with Red John. He didn't have to answer to. After five and a half seasons of a fascinating cat and mouse game between Thomas Jane and the serial killer known as Red John, The Mentalist finally saw fit to reveal the elusive sociopath's. After two attempts are made on his life, Smith decides to hand himself in to the CBI in exchange for protection, where he reveals that he joined the Blake Association after accidentally killing a twelve-year-old girl as a result of paranoia induced by pain medication he was addicted to at the time, eventually being cleared of the crime due to his ties with the Blake Association. TV Guide Magazine: How'd it feel when you got the news you'd been picked to be Red John?Berkeley: Fantastic! They believe she's been suffocated. My wife, Sarah Clarke, was Nina Myers on 24.In her mind, she was playing a nice, devoted member of CTU and was just gobsmacked to find out she was not only playing a traitor but that she'd be shooting Jack Bauer's pregnant wife in the stomach! Back at the sheriff's department, Teresa and Patrick question Hector about his relationship with Melanie. Robert "Bob" Kirkland, introduced in the retcon episode "Red Dawn", has engaged in numerous suspicious activities relating to Jane and Jane's search for Red John. I've got the kind of career where I can get away with making pad puns like, "Dyingit's a living!". After five long years, Napa Sheriff Thomas McAllister(Xander Berkeley) a minor character that has had little to nothing to do with Patricks journey over five-plus seasons was revealed to be Red John, the biggest criminal mastermind this show has ever seen. I suspect some will assume he's running to escape from being caught. Sheriff Thomas "Tom" McAllister was the sheriff of Napa County. In the season 3 finale, Jane tells the entire team all that he knows and recites the first verse of "Tyger Tyger". However, he later confides to Lisbon that his breakdown had been tailored to get Red John to believe Patrick was really giving up. Jane believes this occurred early in Red John's career and that Red John made a "mistake" due to his inexperience. Berkeley: I sort of figured it out early this season through osmosis, and then I called up Bruno Heller and set a meeting to discuss it with him. The leader of the cult, Bret Stiles, has shown in previous seasons that he has a very thorough grasp on Red John's inner workings, hinting at a connection between the two, which seems to finally be revealed as Visualize. McAllister (in Wedding in Red) shot in a difficult position, only with one hand, and in a lowly lit condition. There's the typecasting thing in Hollywood they see you do something and they want to see you do it again and again. Clues on red John identity before the reveal : r/TheMentalist - Reddit Red John Patrick Jane straddles Red John. On his way to prison, his vehicle is pulled over by FBI Agent Reede Smith. The driver replies with the same phrase. The twists and turns are far better experienced as complete surprises. Here's what worked (and mostly what did not) about Sunday's "Red John": DID NOT WORK: Red John's identity. He had the perfect cover job as the sheriff of Napa, where he was the master of his domain. Later that day, the man contacted Jane to explain that he would be of no further assistance, although this doesn't save Renfrew's life. Thomas McAllister/Red John Read at your own risk.] Jane soon realizes that Red John is more powerful than he could ever imagine, having connections in law enforcement and an entire cult of brainwashed followers under his complete control and at his beck and call. He doesn't leave clues. Patrick tells Frankie the story of how he lost his wife and daughter and tries to explain that the hatchet is not the best solution. Thank you very much!' Related: Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Plus, shooting someone, apart from poisoning, is probably the most impersonal way you could possibly do someone in. 5 Reasons Why The Mentalist's Red John Reveal Worked And Jane's face is an almost indescribable mix of emotions. Most of the time, this is the case in true life serial killer scenarios, as well. Lisbon faxes him a photo of the crime scene where the word "ROY" can be seen scrawled on the floor next to the sister's body information that had been withheld from the public at the time of the murder. 'The Mentalist' Red John Revealed Sheriff McAllister - TVLine When Lorelei comes after Lennon, Jane appears to try to rescue Lennon (for Jane's own ends) and acknowledge Lennon and Red John's involvement in Miranda Martins' murder. Plus, Red John has outwitted Jane for years, yet not once after he was revealed did we get a sense that Red John was close to Jane's brilliance. TV Guide Magazine: You've played a lot of baddies. As you now presumably know, tonight Patrick Jane (Baker) discovered Red John was a not-dead-after-all Sheriff Thomas McAllister ( Xander Berkeley ), then shot him and throttled him to death. I cant wait to watch, with full curiosity, as to whats ahead. As it is revealed that Red John stole Sophie's personal files on her patients, Jane concludes that Red John most likely came to her in the guise of a patient in order to ply her for knowledge. That McAllister is a cop, at least, felt on target. While Kirkland originally monitored Jane through his connections in the FBI and researched Red John on his own accord, Kirkland's findings into the existence of this criminal organization enabled him to authorize Homeland Security to openly investigate Red John, as he is a suspected member of the organization, which could pose a threat to national security and commit acts of terrorism. This guy was supposed to be the smartest, most sadistic villain ever. In a later episode, a private investigator named Kira Tinsley, who was hired by Red John to spy on the CBI, mentions that it was a Visualize member that hired her, confirming that Red John is indeed still a functioning member of the organization. Satisfied with his answers, Jane then strangles McAllister to death. Then he asks, Are you afraid to die? This revealed that Jane knew McAllister was Red John before meeting Bertram and deduced his phobia, which Sophia Miller previously speculated on (also implying why he was unable to kill Lisbon previously as the house they were in during the season premiere contained pigeons). A conversation with Red John: Xander Berkeley talks casting, masks and more. Then, and only then, do you see the body of the victim. Jane sets a trap for the killer, wanting to create an opportunity. Oh, and Red John's claim that he got Jane's secret list of suspects because he's "psychic"? And we hear Jane choking Red John to death. McAllister asks Teresa about Patrick and is told that he was a consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation. Now that three men have identical tattoos, a new window is opened to identify who Red John is; and whether Red John also has the tattoo. In the premiere of season 6, Jane is highly disturbed at how Red John could deduce who he would have on his final list two months before finishing it, as well as have so much intimate knowledge of his memories and thought process. I've fallen from 30-story buildings three times, including once as a transvestite psycho-killer in a tutu and a red wig. Lisbon then sees Bertram and tells him Smith is Red John. McAllister first appeared in the second ever episode of The Mentalist - 2008's 'Red Hair and Silver Tape' - and resurfaced early in this sixth season as one of Jane's prime Red John suspects. In the season-three finale, "Strawberries and Cream (Part 2)", Jane encounters a man (Timothy Carter, played by Bradley Whitford) in a shopping mall who convinces him he is Red John and whom he subsequently kills. After ending the call, Jane approaches the man and questions him. Members, Sheriff of Napa County and Serial Killer Red John. Baker said something similar during our interviewthat he wished the show could have explored a 24-style serialized format when chasing Red John, but lamented that since The Mentalist is on CBS, they had to stick to a procedural format. The one where EW follows up with the cast. McAllister saves Jane's life from the killer. He had the perfect cover job as the sheriff of Napa, where he was the Red John answered yes again, then the cameras focused on Patricks face as he choked the life out of the man who had ruined his own. I thought, surely, there was someone more deserving of the title. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. In this history of dumb villain moves, has there ever been a dumber one than McAllister accepting it? How did Patrick Jane come to know Sheriff Thomas McAllister is Red John When discussing what the poem means, Cho says, "Well, God made the lamb, but he also made the tiger. If Red John was going to be McAllister, I wish the show would have spent fewer weeks/months/years hiding him, and more time having fun with these two rivals going after each other, especially since concealing Red John's identity was so creatively limiting. He's quite like the Brit character upon which he is basedSherlock Holmes. In the episode, Red John saves Jane from two student filmmakers who had copycatted Red John murders. If it suddenly ended with a bullet, it may not have offered that prolonged satisfaction. Status When did Heller decide Red Johns identity? Nobody has any images of me doing that. Just not this much. As a viewer, its also nice to be able to live vicariously through Jane and stretch out the satisfaction of Red John dying a little bit longer. In the cemetery where Jane's wife and daughter are buried, a little girl named Hailey (Emma Rayne Lyle) approaches him and says, "Hello, Patrick." ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Truth be told, I thought I was a red herring. But Jane, still not satisfied Carter was Red John, brings Rosalind Harker, the blind woman who had a relationship with Red John, to identify Carter's body. Although those names aren't revealed until the end of the episode, Jane and the CBI investigate a Red John murder. McAllister made the most sense. The Daily Show's Roy Wood Jr. Roasted 'A-Holes' Tucker Carlson And Don Lemon At The White House Correspondent Dinner, Why The Jerry Springer Show Was Always My Favorite Talk Show, Yes, Robert Pattinsons Batmobile Designers Busted Out The Pink Paint For Barbie Immediately After Wrapping On The DC Film. In Cho's interpretation, he refers to a third, and earlier poem by William Blake, called "The Lamb" to which "Tyger Tyger" is a response or a further musing on the different parts of creation and the reasons for them, as started in "The Lamb". When Agent Cho checks Partridge's body at the morgue to verify the tattoo confirming that he was a Blake member, he learns that Red John peeled away the section of skin on his shoulder where the tattoo would have been located, implying that Partridge was a member and Red John had attempted to cover up his affiliation to the group. Since then, Smith has been a member of the group, helping fellow associates cover their own illegal acts, while developing more and more guilt over his own actions. After a five-year long manhunt, The Mentalist finally revealed the series' ultimate big bad as Patrick Jane ( Simon Baker) discovered Napa Sheriff Thomas. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. The two shake hands, and Kirkland tells Jane that he knows him, although Jane didn't know Kirkland. Heller seemed to address this potential criticism during the interview, echoing Jane's dialogue by claiming that mysterious villains are inevitably disappointing: "Ideally you want [Red John] to be Sean Connery with horns and a tail in a cave, but that guy doesn't exist" and "Once the curtain is drawn back from these evil Wizard of Oz characters, they tend not to be very interesting dinner companions.". He is the sheriff of Napa County and a serial killer that the CBI has been looking for for years. Inside, she finds the mutilated body of Brett Partridge, chanting "Tyger, Tyger", before dying, effectively revealing that he is not Red John. Zack Snyder Explains Why Batman Needed Joker In Justice League's Knightmare Sequence, How Mark Wahlberg And His Family Are Doing After Leaving Hollywood. Sheriff Thomas McAllister (Xander Berkeley) was the source of the evil. Instead, McAllister smugly held a gun and monologued, like every other villain. Never say that on film if you want to live to see the next scene! Xander Berkeley Most of the intentional clues before the reveal are in season 5 and season 6 . Did the big reveal live up to its expectations? Overanalyzing is always far better after something has aired as opposed to before. I have 200 credits on my resume and I have probably died in half of them! Why was the Red John story arc finished when it was? There is a very sly line in Seven when Morgan Freeman tells his partner (and, by extension, the audience) that mysterious serial killer John Doe cannot possibly live up to their expectations. Patrick informs them that the girl was a local, and her death was an accident. McAllister made the most sense. Actually, Blake himself refers to "The Lamb" in "Tyger! Here's your problem, Pat. Jane used background noises from the conversation as a starting point to find this man, but Red John got to him first, killing both Renfrew and the prostitute Renfrew had been with. The killing of Eileen Turner marks the beginning of a new killing spree as Lorelei tells Jane that Red John will "start killing again often" until either Jane catches him, or he catches Jane. Lorelei tortures Julia to obtain information about her sister's death and then kills her after a brutal beating. He even went through some poor, unsuspecting family's plate-glass window and kept going. Deep down, all of us had some kind of crazy pet theory about who may have been Red John. Now, with Red John dead, Jane runs and runs and runs. McAllister thanks Oscar and then instructs him to leave to give him and Jane time to talk. TV Guide Magazine: Were the other potential Red Johns jealous when you won the prize?Berkeley: One day on the set Malcolm McDowell [Bret Stiles] said to me, "Mate, you're Red John! Jane has never been the worlds biggest fan of guns. It was crazy! I wanted to see whyMcAllister was Jane's match (Whitford's version, at least, hinted at it). He notices Frankie O'Keefe looking around and waiting in the sheriff's department lobby. He then reveals what Tinsley told him about the tattoo and asks the men to reveal their left shoulders. In Candyman, I was ripped open with a hook by Virginia Madsen in the ultimate revenge on a cheating husband. Who was Kristina Frye and what happened to her? 2. Jane's reaction is very striking. And he's dead, he's done, he got what he had coming. Did the writers know from the beginning who Red John was? Yet until recently, they didn't know whodunnit any more than we did! [Laughs] I was chased all over Southern California! NY 10036. (Image credit: Getty Images) The death of Red John had been planned since the start of the show. At this time, Red John is shown to be stalking Darcy via an uploaded video called "I Dare You" on the Major Crime server, which shows her in her apartment, unaware that she is being filmed. If Red John wanted to die, maybe this is how he wanted to die. Jane discovers Lorelei had a sister who was murdered some years prior. Smith informs him that the "Tyger, Tyger" quote is used by dirty officers of California Law Enforcement. I only wonder why the two of you didn't become lifelong friends from the moment you shook hands." Did you actually feel disappointed when the identity of Red John was I didn't feel I was tapping into any really deep, dark place with that. In Fire and Brimstone, Jane tries to gather all of the remaining Red John suspects in one place, which included McAllister. TV Guide Magazine: Considering Red John's grand, operatic crimes, it's so interesting that his life ended not with a bang but with a whimper.Berkeley: Yes! She tells Jane she has done "much worse [than breaking a promise]", and that she and Jane are both going to hell "on two different roads". Now here's the other great part of this scene: The camera stays on Patrick Jane. Red John's storyline did the same thing, despite its importance to the series. Of course, I played an arch-villain [Percy Rose] on Nikita for two seasons but found a way to justify that guy's behavior his Machiavellian ends justified his means. In a radio interview Heller has also stated: "Red John is really just a personification of death, I mean it's that simple. SPOILER WARNING: This article contains heavy spoilers about the main plot of the series that you might not want to know. While hiding from the authorities, Bertram brutally murders a bartender who comes close to recognizing him on the news reports and evades capture by posing as a SWAT officer as other units, many of which he called in himself, arrive, allowing him to escape unseen in Oscar's vehicle. In the third episode, Wedding in Red, Jane travels to Napa Valley to investigateSheriff McAllister. Leader Red John only outmaneuvered Jane off-screen as the show's writers invented ways to keep him out of Jane's reach. After being locked in a holding cell in the CBI headquarters, Johnson says he will only talk to Jane, as he claims only Jane will understand what he has to say. All of the Red John files were delivered to Darcy by CBI Director Wainwright, himself killed shortly thereafter by Darcy assuming it was Red John in the car speaking to Jane. He knows Red John is a man. She unquestionably has the consultants back, but that doesnt mean shes overtly defied orders that many times. Kirkland reappears in episode 4 of season 6. Gale Bertram (Michael Gaston) leaves the mall in a huff over Jane's wasting of his time. He likes to hear them beg for mercy as he cuts them open.". It went on for so long that, after a while, I was thinking, "Is the bullet still in him?". [Laughs] I'm trying to go through a bit of redemption! In the episode "Red Letter Day", Kirkland has two Homeland Security agents break into the attic where Jane works (and occasionally lives) at CBI. However, Lorelei refuses to believe Jane about the murderer. It was only established very late in the show that Red John is actually Sheriff Thomas McAllister, who had been present in the show since the very beginning, meaning that Jane was much closer to . I just don't want to put that crazy-psycho stuff out there. Bruno Heller, show's creator, has said that Red John isn't a "pathetic loser who is hiding out in a basement somewhere", and that Jane is "not fighting the Green River Killer. He might try to avoid the law moving forward, but I don't think that's what's on his mind here. Safe to assume Red John ranks right up at the top?Berkeley: Absolutely, but as good as it's been for me, I am hesitant to keep going there. Unlike the last time Red John supposedly died, this ending doesnt necessarily guarantee Jane will find himself in court. ", And it wasn't just the choice of McAllister that stumbled, but how dull he was once unmasked (this is nothing against Berkeley, who was great on 24 and didn't have much to work with here). It But Red John? Asking McAllister to blink once for no and two for yes, Jane asks if he is sorry for murdering his wife and daughter and if he is afraid to die; McAllister blinks twice to both questions. He could stand trial. The three of us did a movie together in Pennsylvania. In the episode "Red Moon", Jane exposes an EMT, Todd Johnson (Josh Braaten), as a serial cop killer. But, still, why me? The first was Patrick Jane's wife, Angela; Red John wanted to punish Jane for saying derogatory things about him during a TV interview. according to series creator/exec producer Bruno Heller, New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition.
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