‘The Mentalist’: Red John Is Thomas McAllister — Season 6 Episode 8 – Hollywood Life

‘The Mentalist’: Serial Killer Red John Is Finally Revealed

After more than five seasons, we finally met the man who murdered Patrick Jane’s wife and child on 'The Mentalist' — and to say that it was a shock would be an understatement. WARNING — do not read on if you don't want to learn the identity of Red John! The Mentalist and its lead Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) have been searching for the elusive serial killer Red John for the better part of five years, and during the series' explosive Nov. 24 episode, Patrick finally identified the man who murdered his family, then promptly made good on his promise to kill him. Did the big reveal live up to its expectations? Read on to find out!

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Reading Time: 3 minutes
November 25, 2013 5:19PM EST
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS

‘The Mentalist’: Thomas McAllister Is Red John

Well that was… unexpected. After five long years, Napa Sheriff Thomas McAllister (Xander Berkeley) — a minor character that has had little to nothing to do with Patrick’s journey over five-plus seasons — was revealed to be Red John, the biggest criminal mastermind this show has ever seen. Then, mere minutes later, he was killed by Patrick in a move that was probably underwhelming to many fans of the series.

Outing McAllister — the bumbling cop from the show’s second episode — as Red John was definitely a head-scratcher, but when you think about it, the move makes sense if the show wants to finally move on from the plot line that has dominated so much of the action over the past five-ish seasons. No matter who ended up being Red John, that elusive man behind the curtain, he always would have been underwhelming after five years of buildup. So basically, McAllister just ended up being the sacrificial lamb for fans to hate on.

‘The Mentalist’: Patrick Jane Kills Red John

What was truly remarkable, however, was the way that Patrick killed Red John. After putting his hand on the wounded man’s throat, Patrick told Red John to blink once for “yes” and twice for “no.” Then he asked him if he felt remorse for murdering his wife and daughter, to which Red John answered, “yes.” Patrick’s face pretty much said it all, then his second question — are you afraid to die? — was delivered in a light, almost giddy manner that was truly disturbing coming from the Patrick we’ve all grown to love.

Red John answered yes again, then the cameras focused on Patrick’s face as he choked the life out of the man who had ruined his own. The big RJ reveal may have been a let-down, but his departure from the series was anything but — Simon Baker was truly remarkable, proving that you don’t have to say a word to speak volumes.

No one really knows what’s going to come next, which is actually pretty exciting — it’s like The Mentalist has been given a clean slate. Patrick is currently running for his life, but the real question is who the big bad will be now that Red John is out of the picture.

What do you think, HollywoodLifers? Were you happy with the Red John reveal, or at least his death?

— Shaunna Murphy

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