‘The Mentalist’ season 6, episode 8 review: Who is Red John (for real), and is he dead?
After six seasons, the wait on “The Mentalist” was finally over: We now know the identity of Red John. While it seemed going into this that Gale Bertram was the man responsible for killing Patrick Jane’s wife and family, you knew that there was going to be some sort of twist that took it a step further.
But those of you who felt that Brett Partridge was really alive and that he was Red John were wrong; instead, it was none other than Sheriff Thomas McAllister … if that is really his name. This man seemed like the least likely suspect of the final seven candidates, but sometimes, the least expected candidate is the one that really ends up being the guilty party.
But it was really after this reveal that the action in this episode started to really become interesting, starting with the fact that Patrick Jane really did not want to know why this all happened. This is something that we’re sure many would be curious about, but he realized that there were many more pressing matters to deal with. Not knowing the answer was irrelevant, since it was not going to bring back the lives that Patrick lost.
With Red John being human, there is almost a chunk of the mythos that was gone. Seeing McAllister run around as Jane chased him through a cemetery felt shockingly human and strange. It was an exciting chase in that you could feel the desperation; Jane suddenly felt as though he had nothing to lose.
To us, the biggest surprise here was that Jane actually did kill Red John, and did not turn him over to the police or have some sort of change of heart. You can argue over whether or not this is the right thing for a CBI agent to do, but for Patrick Jane, this is the only thing that made sense.
But then, just when you think that he was going to turn himself in, he doesn’t. He just leaves. The mystery at the end of this episode is just what happens next. Jane leaves Red John’s body, and then takes off to a destination unknown. There’s no real closure for anything, and his friends sacrificed their own careers for him. This makes Jane in some ways selfish, but we almost like that this was a flawed conclusion to a story that took a long time. We’re just ready and excited to see what this new, mysterious chapter of the story will bring. Grade: A.
What did you think: Did “The Mentalist” do the end of the Red John story justice, and are you excited to see where the show chooses to go from here on out? Share your thoughts with a comment below, and click here to read some more news related to the episode. We have a promo for “My Blue Heaven” (the next new episode) here.
Photo: CBS
sass
November 26, 2013 @ 6:50 am
As far as who Red John turned out to be, I think Patrick Jane put it best: “I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed.”
nee na
November 26, 2013 @ 5:13 am
Hurmmm… I would give it a D-. For all the clue that had been given by the director and series it didn’t point towards Tom, only one clue fit to the sherrif, the pigeon and how amazing plus annoying is that. All the previous clue pointing towards patridge but in the end it was the sherrif. I was hoping at least the real red john ticks a few box base from the clue given, but well now we left with Patrick. What happen next kinda interesting …tyger..tyger. ;p
Joel
November 25, 2013 @ 12:45 pm
Frankly, I give this episode an F. I’m not one of the RJ=Brett Partridge fans. I thought that would have been about as silly as the sheriff.
When you get to a major criminal, it should be someone that you didn’t necessarily expect or know for sure, but you should be able to see that it was him. With the sheriff, that is not the case. I’m not saying that they needed to explain every detail, but they explained no details. No clues given in previous episodes were connected to him. With the episode they produced, McAllister could have been replaced by just about anyone else, and nothing would make less sense in the episode.
I don’t really care who it was (though I thought Haffner made the most sense for a good RJ), but the episode was one of the worst ones I have ever seen.
The scene in which RJ was revealed had no intensity, and was in my opinion, practically comical. The first thing we should have heard was the shrill RJ voice, finally seeing the real RJ.
And the pigeon was simply laughable, in far too many ways.
I loved the Mentalist, didn’t care that it be Brett Partridge, and yet found it to be simply awful. Terrible writing, terrible ending. I’m fairly certain the show will get canceled soon.