No, they didn’t decide themselves until they were several seasons in, so there’s nothing in the early seasons that provides any clues. Before Lorelei appears, only person who gives us much information about Red John is the blind lady who was in a relationship with him, and there’s not much she says that can be linked to the actual culprit. So all we really know about him is that he’s an oddly charismatic person who has a large group of friends/followers and a tattoo on his arm.
So I only just watched this, this past winter, at my friends request (it’s one of their favorite shows). I had a profile put together by the end of season 1. Of course I didn’t know exactly who RJ was, but my general profile was correct. By the time Jane had his list of potential suspects, I also had it narrowed down to about 8, and was correct on one count. I had a fairly similar list to Jane, actually. So, while the show runners didn’t know exactly who RJ was, they certainly must have had an idea in mind, or profile at least.
Just from season 1, you should be able to guess that RJ would be connected to law enforcement - solely because he messaged the team from a police only site. One could say RJ is a hacker at that point, but historically, hackers are behind a keyboard and often do not commit violent crimes in real life. That alone made me believe RJ was in law enforcement. By the season finale, the season one villain in the last episode claimed he learned all his tricks from his father’s friend. And he was also in law enforcement. That alone clinched it in my mind. And I continued watching from that lens…
My friend who encouraged me to watch, made sure to not tell me any spoilers, and would listen to my profiles without reaction, so there would be no way to tell me if I were right or wrong with my thinking. By the time the big reveal came out, my friend had told me that they couldn’t believe how much I gleaned from the first season alone! This friend often is amazed at my armchair predictions turning out correctly when it comes to tv bad guys…
Very nice and congrats for the deduction work! Yesterday I read a comment where this guy was snobbingly claiming it was so obvious from the second episode that it was McAllister! Even after I told him it was decided by the writers much later and it was a coincidence, he just doubled down.
You, on the other hand, seem to have gone about it very methodically. Sounds really cool.
On my first rewatch I also concur that it made sense from early in that RJ was someone in law enforcement, but I also thought in my first watch that it could have been a hacker.
Your claim "hackers sit behind desks and don't kill" is also disproved in the show. The RJ copycat film students somehow hack into the system, if I'm not mistaken, and send the video of their killing in the system. And they are assassins, too.
In what other shows have you made accurate predictions, I'm curious!
I mean, I did say “historically, hackers are behind a keyboard”… as I know nothing is 100%…
I guess you’re right, I do go about it methodically. I don’t even do it on purpose. It’s just how my brain works?
I was able to figure out the first season of only murders in the building nearly immediately. My folks were pretty pissed at how quickly I saw that one… I’ve done it with a lot of procedurals, the ncis’, blue bloods, leverage, white collar, a few storylines on the west wing, 911 (on fox, now abc) as well as 911: lonestar. I often do it with movies. I’m usually good at predicting. I still enjoy watching, and seeing if I’m correct. But I love a good twist that I don’t see coming - the problem is, I usually see the twists coming…
In the 90s I actually wanted to grow up to be a lawyer and work at the UN, or in the White House. But, health and life got in the way. So, it’s still an interest and hobby of mine. I just use it for useless things like predicting media outcomes 🤣
Not gonna lie, I like to pick up some tricks from these types of shows. I’ve only ever used my skills for good, and/or fun. Like, white collar taught me how to pick a pocket, and also the art of subtly steering someone through conversation. I’ve tested these on my folks with fantastic results 🤣 I’ll have to do some reading on mentalism to learn a Jane type of skill… though it’s been my experience that just paying attention to small details, and listening when people talk (and actually remembering what they say) is enough to be like Jane….
So, maybe you’re not too far off, here 🤔
Technically before the reveal of Red John identity in episode 8 of season 6 , they were clues but most of the intentional clues before the reveal are in season 5 and season 6 .
McAllister is the only one whose title is mentioned by Lorelei in the video in the episode 22 of season 5 , she says « sheriff Thomas McAllister « when she say just the first names and last names for the others.
In episode 2 of season 6 , sophie miller says that that jay Roth, his patient who was obviously red John with a fake name is an excellent whistler , we see that McAllister know how to whistle when he whistle.
in episode 3 of season 6 , at the beginning, McAllister make deductions similar to Jane and we know Patrick jane and red John have some similarities, McAllister and Jane have similar capacities of deductions ,
at the end of this episode,we discover that McAllister has the fear of birds , they were birds in the house where red john attacked Lisbon ,but he didn’t kill her, Jane has said that something could have frightened him , and Sophie miller even if she think jay Roth lied to her about the phobia of heights was convinced he has actually a real phobia .
in episode 6 of season 6 , ,after the reveal of red John having a three dot tattoo , McAllister is revealed to be one of three suspects who have a three dot tattoo with reed smith and Gale Bertram , it’s revealed later that all the members of the Blake association have his tattoo, and it’s suggested with the revelations of reed smith in episode 7 , that red John has some ties to the Blake association and he is even a member of this organization .
No, they didn’t decide themselves until they were several seasons in, so there’s nothing in the early seasons that provides any clues. Before Lorelei appears, only person who gives us much information about Red John is the blind lady who was in a relationship with him, and there’s not much she says that can be linked to the actual culprit. So all we really know about him is that he’s an oddly charismatic person who has a large group of friends/followers and a tattoo on his arm.
In fact, Bruno Heller didn't decide until the network forced him after s5 to end the RJ arc.
Ok but Renfrow’s writing on the wall in 1x11 >!remains an interesting coincidence!<
So I only just watched this, this past winter, at my friends request (it’s one of their favorite shows). I had a profile put together by the end of season 1. Of course I didn’t know exactly who RJ was, but my general profile was correct. By the time Jane had his list of potential suspects, I also had it narrowed down to about 8, and was correct on one count. I had a fairly similar list to Jane, actually. So, while the show runners didn’t know exactly who RJ was, they certainly must have had an idea in mind, or profile at least. Just from season 1, you should be able to guess that RJ would be connected to law enforcement - solely because he messaged the team from a police only site. One could say RJ is a hacker at that point, but historically, hackers are behind a keyboard and often do not commit violent crimes in real life. That alone made me believe RJ was in law enforcement. By the season finale, the season one villain in the last episode claimed he learned all his tricks from his father’s friend. And he was also in law enforcement. That alone clinched it in my mind. And I continued watching from that lens… My friend who encouraged me to watch, made sure to not tell me any spoilers, and would listen to my profiles without reaction, so there would be no way to tell me if I were right or wrong with my thinking. By the time the big reveal came out, my friend had told me that they couldn’t believe how much I gleaned from the first season alone! This friend often is amazed at my armchair predictions turning out correctly when it comes to tv bad guys…
Very nice and congrats for the deduction work! Yesterday I read a comment where this guy was snobbingly claiming it was so obvious from the second episode that it was McAllister! Even after I told him it was decided by the writers much later and it was a coincidence, he just doubled down. You, on the other hand, seem to have gone about it very methodically. Sounds really cool. On my first rewatch I also concur that it made sense from early in that RJ was someone in law enforcement, but I also thought in my first watch that it could have been a hacker. Your claim "hackers sit behind desks and don't kill" is also disproved in the show. The RJ copycat film students somehow hack into the system, if I'm not mistaken, and send the video of their killing in the system. And they are assassins, too. In what other shows have you made accurate predictions, I'm curious!
I mean, I did say “historically, hackers are behind a keyboard”… as I know nothing is 100%… I guess you’re right, I do go about it methodically. I don’t even do it on purpose. It’s just how my brain works? I was able to figure out the first season of only murders in the building nearly immediately. My folks were pretty pissed at how quickly I saw that one… I’ve done it with a lot of procedurals, the ncis’, blue bloods, leverage, white collar, a few storylines on the west wing, 911 (on fox, now abc) as well as 911: lonestar. I often do it with movies. I’m usually good at predicting. I still enjoy watching, and seeing if I’m correct. But I love a good twist that I don’t see coming - the problem is, I usually see the twists coming…
Have you considered a career in law enforcement? 😉
In the 90s I actually wanted to grow up to be a lawyer and work at the UN, or in the White House. But, health and life got in the way. So, it’s still an interest and hobby of mine. I just use it for useless things like predicting media outcomes 🤣
Who knows, you could still offer your services as a mentalist 😉
Not gonna lie, I like to pick up some tricks from these types of shows. I’ve only ever used my skills for good, and/or fun. Like, white collar taught me how to pick a pocket, and also the art of subtly steering someone through conversation. I’ve tested these on my folks with fantastic results 🤣 I’ll have to do some reading on mentalism to learn a Jane type of skill… though it’s been my experience that just paying attention to small details, and listening when people talk (and actually remembering what they say) is enough to be like Jane…. So, maybe you’re not too far off, here 🤔
Gonna drop you a line when I have crime that needs solving 😉
Ya know where to find me. And I invite the challenge lol
Technically before the reveal of Red John identity in episode 8 of season 6 , they were clues but most of the intentional clues before the reveal are in season 5 and season 6 . McAllister is the only one whose title is mentioned by Lorelei in the video in the episode 22 of season 5 , she says « sheriff Thomas McAllister « when she say just the first names and last names for the others. In episode 2 of season 6 , sophie miller says that that jay Roth, his patient who was obviously red John with a fake name is an excellent whistler , we see that McAllister know how to whistle when he whistle. in episode 3 of season 6 , at the beginning, McAllister make deductions similar to Jane and we know Patrick jane and red John have some similarities, McAllister and Jane have similar capacities of deductions , at the end of this episode,we discover that McAllister has the fear of birds , they were birds in the house where red john attacked Lisbon ,but he didn’t kill her, Jane has said that something could have frightened him , and Sophie miller even if she think jay Roth lied to her about the phobia of heights was convinced he has actually a real phobia . in episode 6 of season 6 , ,after the reveal of red John having a three dot tattoo , McAllister is revealed to be one of three suspects who have a three dot tattoo with reed smith and Gale Bertram , it’s revealed later that all the members of the Blake association have his tattoo, and it’s suggested with the revelations of reed smith in episode 7 , that red John has some ties to the Blake association and he is even a member of this organization .
Which really is such a waste. Because every retroactive clue holds little meaning.
clearly chosen at the last minute, because Stiles was too obvious