Mentalist The Great Red Dragon Review

Synopsis

The Great Red Dragon picks up where Fire and Red Brimstone left off. Consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) continues his pursuit of the tattooed suspects and reveals a secret society of corrupt law enforcers. But his and Lisbon’s search for Red John amongst them leads to unforeseen consequences.

Concise Verdict

Another exciting entry in this year’s phenomenal season. 9/10.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review

Teresa Lisbon arrives at Jane house just in time to witness an explosion. Going inside she tries to apprehend Reed when she sees the tattoo on his shoulder but he manages to escape. Seeing Jane down, a distracted Lisbon allows Bertram to flee the scene.

-Lisbon can’t be blamed for not suspecting her boss; Jane himself never suspected that there would be more than one tattooed person.

Bertram tries to kill Jane

Bertram arrives at the hospital and overhears Cho tell Lisbon that forensics found the remains of three people in Jane’s house: Brett Stiles, Ray Haffner and Thomas McCallister. Lisbon answer’s glibly that she would have thought that Stiles could survive a nuclear attack. Cho tells us that Stiles, Haffner and McCallister are all positively dead based on DNA found at the crime scene even though “the bodies are all burned to a crisp.”

-Lisbon’s response bothered me here. Yes, Stiles was going to be arrested by the FBI for multiple crimes. He was also sick and going to die anyway, but Lisbon didn’t know that. Also, Haffner was creepy but as far she knows innocent of any crime. The same goes for McCallister. The fact that three people were killed in Jane’s house, during his hunt for RJ doesn’t seem to bother here at all. It should. If not from an ethical standpoint then from a legal one. After all, at this point, who knows who was responsible for the explosion at Jane’s house?

Bertram overhears this and learns that Smith is still in the wind. He takes this opportunity to try and silence an unconscious Jane before he lets out that Bertram  is part of whatever conspiracy the tattooed men are in. Thankfully, he is interrupted by Lisbon. He orders her to find Smith, trying to get her to leave to finish off Jane but the unconscious consultant wakes up. Bertram, knowing he missed his chance leaves the hospital, breaks his phone and sheds his coat the better to disguise himself.

-Unfortunately, Lisbon’s reunion with conscious Jane doesn’t shed much light on what happened in Jane’s house prior the explosion. We know that we heard a gunshot, but Jane’s dream sequence, remembering the event doesn’t’ show who fired the gun or what started the explosion. Was the bomb something that  Jane set up off screen? Maybe not as the reported casualties (Haffner and Stiles) remained sitting further than where Jane had led his suspects. If he had set up the bomb, you’d think he’d use it to get rid of his RJ suspect and would hence lead the suspect towards the bomb.

So we’re left thinking that if the bomb was, as Rigsby says brought there by one of the men. I suspect one of the so-called deceased men: McCallister, Haffner and Stiles. Perhaps one of them wanted to use Jane’s distracted state to fake their own death. But if so, then why?

Two possibilities: In the case of the dying Stiles, he could have done it to pass his remaining time freely without being hounded by the FBI. Or, If either he, McCallister, or Haffner are in fact RJ (too cautious to tattoo themselves) faking his death could be a plan to further outsmart Jane. He’d have no reason to suspect a dead person of being RJ.

Bertram is Ousted

Jane wakes up and tells Lisbon that Bertram has a tattoo as well. Lisbon then puts out a statewide search for both him and Read Smith.  Grace and Wayne follow a lead on where Smith could have gone but a uniformed officer beats them to the location: a medical clinic. Detective Cordero (Joe Nieves),  the Sac PD officer who was in charge of investigating Bob Kirkland’s shooting also arrives. Greeting each other with “Tyger Tyger” the two policemen confirm Smith is inside. The agent tells the uniform  “I just got word from inside CBI a couple of agents are on their way now”, and tells him he needs to hurry and get rid of Smith. Meanwhile he’ll slow down the agents when they arrive.

-Cordero’s words confirm that RJ still has a mole within CBI.

The officer goes inside where Smith is having the bullet Lisbon shot in him removed. He interrupts the process and tells Smith that he’s here to help him and asks why Smith didn’t call the “association”. Smith replies: “Funnily enough I got trust issues.”

-I love this reference to how RJ’s people who get caught get whacked. Smith, unlike other RJ people we’ve seen, seems to at least have a will to live.

Grace and Rigsby arrive at the scene and are greeted by Cordero who tells him that he and his associate beat them to RJ and have it covered. Jane calls and tells Rigsby not to trust anyone in law enforcement. The advice has the CBI agents charging in despite Cordero’s protests.

The officer takes Reed out the back where he is telling him the “association” has a safe house ready for him. Reed replies that he said that to  “someone” once before he shot him the back six times.

-Love the reference to Reed’s killing Bob Kirkland, continuity and reminders to those of us suffering short attention spans.

Grace and Wayne arrive just in time to save Reed. While Wayne deals with the officer, Grace tries to catch a fleeing Smith but is fired at by Cordero. The officer is taken in while Cordero and Smith manage to escape.

Confused Grace updates Lisbon that the detective tried to kill both the CBI and Smith. Jane tells her to check the officers shoulder.

-At this point it’s safe to say Jane has already figured out that RJ goes way beyond just one person. We get proof of this when he questions the officer.

Jane and Cho interrogate Officer Paul Hagen

At CBI, Grace tells Lisbon that Agent Cordero can’t be found; he called in sick at work- and that the captured officer’s name is Paul Hagen.

Jane and Cho question the unresponsive man. Despite refusing to talk, Jane is able to glean a lot of information from him simply by reading his reactions to Jane’s questions:

“You’re not a big talker. I get it. Loose lips and ships and all that. The bad news is that you have a lousy poker face.”

He figures out that:

– Hagen belongs to a secret organization of cops sand other government officials. ”

-Agent Smith is a member as well.

-Hagen doesn’t know if Bertram is a member, nor if he or Smith are Red John.

-Tyger, tiger, is the organizations password, greeting and distress signal.

Jane/Lisbon Regroup

Jane tells Lisbon that they need to check Partridge’s body, since he told her Tyger, Tyger before he died, hoping she’d recognize the cry for help and save him. They assume he must have a tattoo on his shoulder and send Cho to look for it. Cho checks out the body and finds out that the left shoulder has been scoured, possibly to remove any evidence of a tattoo.

-Love how viewers suspicion of Partridge has finally been addressed. He’s a member of RJ’s secret society.

Bertram orders Cordero to Kill Smith

A missing Cordero meets Gale Bertram and tells him that Smith is in the wind. Bertram responds “It’s a good place to be,” and has Cordero wait for him while he enters a storage facility and retrieves cash, what looks like several fake passports, and a gun. Shortly, when Smith reaches out to CBI to turn himself in, Cordero immediately knows about it and tells Bertram.

-Once again, we get proof of an RJ operative at CBI.

Bertram asks if Smith knows who Cordero is. Cordero replies no, that Smith didn’t see him. Bertram gives him a CBI badge and tells him to “pick up” Smith and to “get it right this time”.

-Bertram’s authoritative demeanor here is a role reversal from what we have seen of him before. We’ve seen Reed Smith talk quite rudely to Bertram in the past, telling him “it’s your job to know” with regards on how far Jane’s investigation into RJ had gone. At the time I was surprised that a mere agent would talk to a director that way and speculated that perhaps he was conveying someone else’s sentiments, someone with authority higher or at least as equal as Bertram’s. Alexa Shultz’s maybe?

So it’s interesting here to see Bertram take the reins on making sure Smith is silenced.

Jane and Lisbon Question Smith

Cordero arrives at where Smith is and shows him a CBI badge, telling him Agent Van Pelt sent him. A relieved Smith tells him, “You gotta keep me safe. They are everywhere.”  Pulling his gun out, Cordero points at Smith and says, “Yeah, we are.” Lucky for Smith Cho arrives at the scene before Cordero can force him into his car and saves him.

At CBI, Smith tells Lisbon he wants a deal that allows him to walk freely. Jane tells him he’s free to leave if he wants but he won’t last long now that he’s been targeted by his “friends”. At Lisbon’s promise that they’ll put him in a federal prison far  away from California, where he’d be safe.

Smith starts telling his story of how he got involved in a secret, corrupt society of law enforcers. After suffering a back injury, he got hooked on painkillers the doctor had prescribed him and mistook a little girl for a suspect he was chasing. Under the influence of the drugs, he shot her. And despite all the evidence and witnesses the local cops had against him, he got away with it; a fellow cop reached out to him and helped him. The cop was a member of “The Blake Association”. Reed explains “someone’s a big fan of his I guess.”  He adds that “cops, judges, FBI Agents, anyone in law enforcement that needs a secret covered” are members. “You need a favor you ask for it. You’re asked to do something you do it.”

Smith doesn’t know who is in charge, nor all the members but posits that there must be “hundreds of us, maybe thousands.” He admits to killing Bob Kirkland because he found out about the association and states that Red John must be a member. When Lisbon asks how he knows, he states that Rebecca Anderson, Sam Bosco’s killer was Red John’s follower. And when she was arrested “someone” asked him for FBI credentials so that they can get to CBI. And after she was killed, “that’s when I knew I did a favor to a serial killer.”

-At this moment a guy passes by whistling.

Jane then Smith the million dollar question “Did you murder my wife and daughter?” Smith denies this and Jane believes him.

What the heck was that whistling man doing there? RJ’s mole? RJ himself? A red herring? Oddly enough, Jane doesn’t seem to suspect the whistler, despite knowing that RJ is “an excellent whistler” as Sophie Miller had stated.

Jane’s New Plan

With his only remaining suspect in the wind, Jane and Lisbon call a press conference and reveal that Gale Bertram is Red John, that he’s at large and that anyone who sees him should call the CBI.

-At this point I doubt Jane is %100  percent sure Bertram is in fact RJ, but he’s a suspect nonetheless and the fastest way to find him was to reach out to people outside of law enforcement for help.

The Team Talks

The receptionist of the storage unit where Bertram was at reaches out to the CBI. As Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt go through it for clues Rigsby asks their opinion on the latest development.

Rigsby: Bertram is Red John?

Grace: Looks like.

Rigsby: And if Jane find’s him he’s going to kill him.

Cho: Yup.

Rigsby: And we’re good with that? Killing the boss?

Grace: I am.

Cho. Yeah.

Rigsby: Okay. So long as we’re all on the same page.

Awesome scene. Short, sweet and to the point. Also, in character. If Rigsby, the sweetest of all three characters ended up taking revenge for his dad’s death, it makes sense he’d stand aside to let Jane get his own defense. And we know Cho is no stranger to taking the law in his own hands due to his gangster past (Blood in, Blood out). Van Pelt, as well, has always been a pragmatist (some have even called her cold). It doesn’t seem like she’d have a problem with getting rid of RJ, even if it means killing him.

More importantly, it could just be that the the team is as sick of the RJ case as I-er, as Jane and Lisbon are. They’ve been hunting the man for years and he’s thwarted them at every turn. Now that they are finally making progress and getting close to him, any hesitation will only get in the way of his capture/demise. And finding out that he’s in such a position of power as division head only adds insult to the injurious fact that he’s a serial killer.

That is, if Bertram is RJ, of course.

Cho finds a (USB?) memory chip hidden in a lighter. Tech savvy Grace opens it on the computer it appears to be a list of names but they are written in code. She sends it to Jane to deal with.

-Love the continuity of that course Grace took on computer hacking. Also, it seems like the team came across actual documentation regarding the Blake Society, if this is really a list of names then it might be all the members.

Ruthless Bertram

Bertram is at a bar drinking when his face appears on television. He instantly kills the bartender who recognizes him and finishes his drink before calling someone saying “I need a ride.”

Some witnesses must have seen blood covered Bertram leave the bar because the next scene has Jane and Lisbon on their way there when Rigsby directs them to a house Bertram owns in the same area.

Cho is already there with a team of officers he personally checked making sure have no tattoos. All seems okay before SAC PD SWAT arrives at the scene, no doubt contacted by one of Bertram’s friends to confuse the situation. As Jane suspects, Bertram in disguise of a SWAT member, is picked up by Cordero.

FBI Shuts CBI Down

FBI Supervisor Dennis Abbot (Rockmond Dunbar) arrives from the Texas division as an outside party to clean out both the FBI and CBI from the members of the Blake Association. And since Bertram, the head of CBI turned out to be a serial killer, the entire CBI is shut down with every single employee being fired as Abbot collects evidence for his investigation.

-Wow. You kinda know that something like was coming and yet it was totally unexpected. I do wonder, however, what kind of evidence Abbot’s people were hoping to find in Jane’s couch. That seemed like just overkill. And it totally broke my heart. As it undoubtedly broke Jane’s…

Arriving in the unit he asks what’s going on when the agent moving his couch hands him something saying “that’s yours”.

-What the heck was that! I watched the scene several times but the best I could figure was that it was spare change from the couch? Or keys? What?!!

Abbott introduces himself to Jane, saying he’s taking over the investigation and tells Jane to stick around town as he’ll need to interview him at some point. And in case seeing Jane’s beloved couch carted off didn’t do you in, a Fed had to bump into Jane causing his blue cup to fall from its saucer, breaking on the floor. Both Jane and Lisbon are horrified, and for Abbot’s and newer viewer’s sake, Jane explains “that was my favorite cup” then leaves.

Lisbon follows him out, asking him if they should start breaking the coded list Grace found but Jane declines saying “it’s a waste of time” and that “we’re done. There’s nothing more to do here.”

At Lisbon’s disbelief that Jane’s quitting he responds “No I’m not quitting, I’m letting go. It’s out of our hands for now.”

Jane tells Lisbon he’ll be in touch and apologizes for everything before he leaves CBI. Later we see Jane (gasp) enter (GASP!!!!!) A CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*dies*

God I was so tempted to end the review there but how could I? It’s basically the entire point of the episode…maybe the entire series?

To be honest, I’d been expecting a scene like this ever since season four’s episode Blood and Sand. But now?

Wow.

I’m left with two options: to believe or not to believe what I am being shown.

But what other reason could there be for Jane going to church other than a desperation causing him to reach out, and therefore admitting, that there is a being higher than him? Could that be what he meant by “It’s out of our hands for now?”

One option that occurred to me had to do with the (coins?) Jane was given. Perhaps one of the coins Jane was given was his Saint Sebastian coin (originally gifted to him by Byron, a grateful husband in Bloodstream). In that episode’s review, I had stated:

Byron gives Jane his St. Sebastian medallion; he states that the Saint helps people in pain, and that it gave him a lot of strength. Jane is skeptic of a “magical medallion”. He makes to return it, telling Byron that he isn’t really a believer, but then changes his mind and keeps the gift; thanking Byron. The episode ends on Jane’s pensive face.

I love this scene because it recalls similar ones from seasons one and two where Jane used to connect on some level with people involved in the cases he solved. It’s nice continuity that Jane still has a hard time accepting gratitude for the good he does. It’s also very ironic. Jane is such an attention seeker, but whereas he loves to be recognized for his talent and brains, he shies away from gratitude; perhaps because he thinks he’s undeserving of it.

Now Jane probably only accepted the gift for Byron’s benefit, but it is a pretty optimistic gesture, nonetheless (especially compared with the rest of the season).

Now, to tackle some huge “ifs”:

IF amongst the coins returned to Jane was the St. Sebastian coin, and IF the agent who gave it to Jane works for RJ, then MAYBE the coin was a message that Jane should meet RJ in church and that is his reason for being there.

Lots and lots of ifs. Now for some more.

IF, on the other hand, the FBI Agent ISN’T working for RJ and was merely returning to Jane personal property they found in his commandeered couch then MAYBE seeing the Saint’s coin reminded Jane of Byron’s words and that’s what led him to the church; he was searching for a way to relieve his pain.

Of course, there’s always a third option that Jane wasn’t given anything important and the loss of his favorite couch and blue cup caused him to reach out to God and pray that Agent Abbott be cursed for depriving him of his two security blanket substitutes. I’m only partly joking here because Jane loved that couch and that blue cup.

Best Scenes

Jane’s questioning of Officer Hagen was quite enjoyable. Baker’s expression were as amusing as ever and I love how it ended with the man telling Jane “Get out of my head”.

Rigsby and Grace’s shootout was very exciting and well executed. Truly good writing, acting and direction.

Honorable Mentions

Actor Michael Gaston was phenomenal. Going from the kind eyed, political father-figure boss to a ruthless killer.

Drew Powell was also quite enjoyable. I loved his sarcasm as the doctor was attempting to pull out the bullet from inside him.

Writer Jordan Harper. Lots of masterfully intercut scenes in this one. Kept up a wonderful pace to the episode.

Every single regular cast member including CBI Ron and Karl. Love every single actor here.

Icings on the Cake

Husband and wife team Grace and Wayne worked so well together. It was nice to see them so in sync.

Pet Peeves

I was so annoyed that Lisbon didn’t even attempt to get Jane to tell her what happened at his house prior to the explosion. I wanted to know what happened! But I’m guessing the reason we’re being kept in the dark is to later spring on a surprise on us if any of the presumed dead people there ends up alive. I still would have like Jane to mention that he can’t remember what happened due to a concussion or whatever.

Jane’s and Lisbon’s final elevator scene seemed a little rushed to me. That could be intentional to show how upset Jane was, he simply couldn’t stand to be in CBI anymore. Or it could hint of his eagerness to get to church (for whatever reason). But it still seemed too hurried for me.

Conclusion

Jane’s Belief’s

All joking aside, let’s not forget that the show’s entire premise is a man searching for redemption, and for some people that equals finding religion. We’ve had more biblical/religious references than I can count on this show (visit link to read Violet’s fantastic post for more details). The most obvious being that the two main characters are named after two Saints (Saint Teresa, Saint Patrick) and that Jane’s dead wife’s name is Angela. One might argue that the last scene was out of character given how often Jane protested other people’s religious beliefs as being unfounded. But to me, it always seemed like he doth protest too much; like he’s willing himself to not believe as opposed to someone who truly was agnostic or atheist. Perhaps Jane was once a believer but lost that with the death of his family. If that was true then his reaching out now would be easier to digest. And even if he never was, then one could argue that Lisbon’s own belief rubbed on Jane after all the years they spent together. She’s certainly picked up a lot of his and, like any couple, it only makes sense that the opposite would be true as well. Jane’s only human after all.

Who’d love it if, in the next episode, it just turns out that Jane is meeting RJ in church and that’s the only reason why he’s there? But even if that was true, then what possible reason could there be for Jane sitting in a kneeling position? One can’t possibly ignore everything…

Is Bertram Red John?

Personally, I don’t think so. We’ve had hints that Bertram answers to someone else. His making a call to someone right before meeting Jane at the mall in Strawberries and Cream, is just one example. I suppose that could have just been him playing a part, keeping the FBI updated on the RJ case. But until I see the final showdown between Jane and RJ I won’t buy him as being Jane’s family’s killer.

So if not him, then who? CBI Ron? Karl? A still alive Haffner, McCallister, or Stiles? Cho?! (This would totally break me, but, after all, he does know Blake). Jane’s long lost twin or his dad? Anyone’s guess is as good (or as bad) as mine.

The Great Red Dragon

In this episode, when Cordero picks up Bertram, Bertram tells him he’s hungry and the former replies he knows a great Chinese restaurant. This recalled the restaurant Jane met Hightower in and the decorative dragon there. In that episode’s fantastic review, Violet (and company) went into great detail regarding it’s symbolism which I’ve reposted here for its relevance (and because there’s no way I’d do a better job analyzing The Great Red Dragon (i.e. Satan):

….the dragon at the Chinese restaurant may be an allusion to the Great Red Dragon from the Bible, featured in a four watercolour paintings from Blake. The dragon is mentioned in Book of Revelation (aka the Apocalypse) 12 and 13. The text is pretty telling, as commenter A.Anggraeni mentioned in the comments for ‘The Desert Rose’ review:

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne […].
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. […]” (Rev. 12, 1-14)

Here, we have:

– the seven-headed red dragon (seven suspects initially) coming from the sea, an important theme for RJ;

– he’s eager to murder in order to “rule all the nations”, cf. RJ’s thirst for power.

– he’s defeated in a war and he and his “angels’ lost their place in Heaven (may that be meaning that RJ and his minions will be defeated and law enforcement agencies will be purged from their accomplices?)

-Bob Kirkland was fighting RJ’s evilness in his own way and his twin brother was named after God’s Archangel Michael.

– The dragon retreated to earth after being defeated and losing the woman to God and he’s angry because “he knows that his time is short”… which may or not be referred to by the fact that RJ felt threatened and defeated to some extent when he lost his influence on Lorelei and had to kill her. He reacted out of anger by sending that DVD to Jane because he feels his adversary is coming close…

– He’s defeated “by the blood of the Lamb”… Since Ruby called Jane “lamb”, I hope it doesn’t bode too ill for him… Too bad that would-be angel doesn’t “have wings” as he told to the killer in ‘Wedding in Red’… I’m also hoping that sentence “they did not love their lives so much/ as to shrink from death” won’t foreshadow a fatal issue for anyone in the SCU.

– Also, it’s probably a stretch, yet it’s intriguing that the women was given eagle wings to flee from the dragon at the end, given that birds are pretty present these last two seasons…

The Bible also tells (Rev. 13, 1-8):

“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”

And (Rev, 13, 11-18):

“Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”

Again, there seem to be many allusions to those passages in the show:

– RJ accused Jane of “slandering” his name in the media. He placed himself as God.

– The cult-like philosophy used by RJ may be an allusion to the worshipping;

– in the empty house where Lisbon was targeted, there was the number 666 and she “received” RJ’s mark on her “forehead” (the smiley).

– Like commenter Rose UK remarked there are two beasts under the dragon’s influence. The leopard-like one, who blasphemies the name of God, and the second one, lamb-like, who deceived people by getting them to worship the first one. I don’t know if that’s relevant for the show storyline, but I wonder if some characters couldn’t fill those roles: the red dragon could be either the secret organisation (provided that RJ is only one of his powerful members and not its master) or a charismatic leader hiding behind the scenes (like Bret Stiles or even the sect Visualize as a whole, which might control said organisation). Then, the leopard-beast, or tiger in our case, might be RJ, or at least the serial killer(s) who impersonates him… leaving the role of the more inoffensive looking beast to some person who could recruit new members. Or those functions might be held by one man alone and then it could referred by Betram’s “I’m many things to many people”

Today’s episode’s title is Red John. FINALLLY!!!!!!

Synopsis

The Great Red Dragon picks up where Fire and Red Brimstone left off. Consultant Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) continues his pursuit of the tattooed suspects and reveals a secret society of corrupt law enforcers. But his and Lisbon’s search for Red John amongst them leads to unforeseen consequences.

Concise Verdict

Another exciting entry in this year’s phenomenal season. 9/10.

Detailed AKA Humungous Review

Teresa Lisbon arrives at Jane house just in time to witness an explosion. Going inside she tries to apprehend Reed when she sees the tattoo on his shoulder but he manages to escape. Seeing Jane down, a distracted Lisbon allows Bertram to flee the scene.

-Lisbon can’t be blamed for not suspecting her boss; Jane himself never suspected that there would be more than one tattooed person.

Bertram tries to kill Jane

Bertram arrives at the hospital and overhears Cho tell Lisbon that forensics found the remains of three people in Jane’s house: Brett Stiles, Ray Haffner and Thomas McCallister. Lisbon answer’s glibly that she would have thought that Stiles could survive a nuclear attack. Cho tells us that Stiles, Haffner and McCallister are all positively dead based on DNA found at the crime scene even though “the bodies are all burned to a crisp.”

-Lisbon’s response bothered me here. Yes, Stiles was going to be arrested by the FBI for multiple crimes. He was also sick and going to die anyway, but Lisbon didn’t know that. Also, Haffner was creepy but as far she knows innocent of any crime. The same goes for McCallister. The fact that three people were killed in Jane’s house, during his hunt for RJ doesn’t seem to bother here at all. It should. If not from an ethical standpoint then from a legal one. After all, at this point, who knows who was responsible for the explosion at Jane’s house?

Bertram overhears this and learns that Smith is still in the wind. He takes this opportunity to try and silence an unconscious Jane before he lets out that Bertram  is part of whatever conspiracy the tattooed men are in. Thankfully, he is interrupted by Lisbon. He orders her to find Smith, trying to get her to leave to finish off Jane but the unconscious consultant wakes up. Bertram, knowing he missed his chance leaves the hospital, breaks his phone and sheds his coat the better to disguise himself.

-Unfortunately, Lisbon’s reunion with conscious Jane doesn’t shed much light on what happened in Jane’s house prior the explosion. We know that we heard a gunshot, but Jane’s dream sequence, remembering the event doesn’t’ show who fired the gun or what started the explosion. Was the bomb something that  Jane set up off screen? Maybe not as the reported casualties (Haffner and Stiles) remained sitting further than where Jane had led his suspects. If he had set up the bomb, you’d think he’d use it to get rid of his RJ suspect and would hence lead the suspect towards the bomb.

So we’re left thinking that if the bomb was, as Rigsby says brought there by one of the men. I suspect one of the so-called deceased men: McCallister, Haffner and Stiles. Perhaps one of them wanted to use Jane’s distracted state to fake their own death. But if so, then why?

Two possibilities: In the case of the dying Stiles, he could have done it to pass his remaining time freely without being hounded by the FBI. Or, If either he, McCallister, or Haffner are in fact RJ (too cautious to tattoo themselves) faking his death could be a plan to further outsmart Jane. He’d have no reason to suspect a dead person of being RJ.

Bertram is Ousted

Jane wakes up and tells Lisbon that Bertram has a tattoo as well. Lisbon then puts out a statewide search for both him and Read Smith.  Grace and Wayne follow a lead on where Smith could have gone but a uniformed officer beats them to the location: a medical clinic. Detective Cordero (Joe Nieves),  the Sac PD officer who was in charge of investigating Bob Kirkland’s shooting also arrives. Greeting each other with “Tyger Tyger” the two policemen confirm Smith is inside. The agent tells the uniform  “I just got word from inside CBI a couple of agents are on their way now”, and tells him he needs to hurry and get rid of Smith. Meanwhile he’ll slow down the agents when they arrive.

-Cordero’s words confirm that RJ still has a mole within CBI.

The officer goes inside where Smith is having the bullet Lisbon shot in him removed. He interrupts the process and tells Smith that he’s here to help him and asks why Smith didn’t call the “association”. Smith replies: “Funnily enough I got trust issues.”

-I love this reference to how RJ’s people who get caught get whacked. Smith, unlike other RJ people we’ve seen, seems to at least have a will to live.

Grace and Rigsby arrive at the scene and are greeted by Cordero who tells him that he and his associate beat them to RJ and have it covered. Jane calls and tells Rigsby not to trust anyone in law enforcement. The advice has the CBI agents charging in despite Cordero’s protests.

The officer takes Reed out the back where he is telling him the “association” has a safe house ready for him. Reed replies that he said that to  “someone” once before he shot him the back six times.

-Love the reference to Reed’s killing Bob Kirkland, continuity and reminders to those of us suffering short attention spans.

Grace and Wayne arrive just in time to save Reed. While Wayne deals with the officer, Grace tries to catch a fleeing Smith but is fired at by Cordero. The officer is taken in while Cordero and Smith manage to escape.

Confused Grace updates Lisbon that the detective tried to kill both the CBI and Smith. Jane tells her to check the officers shoulder.

-At this point it’s safe to say Jane has already figured out that RJ goes way beyond just one person. We get proof of this when he questions the officer.

Jane and Cho interrogate Officer Paul Hagen

At CBI, Grace tells Lisbon that Agent Cordero can’t be found; he called in sick at work- and that the captured officer’s name is Paul Hagen.

Jane and Cho question the unresponsive man. Despite refusing to talk, Jane is able to glean a lot of information from him simply by reading his reactions to Jane’s questions:

“You’re not a big talker. I get it. Loose lips and ships and all that. The bad news is that you have a lousy poker face.”

He figures out that:

– Hagen belongs to a secret organization of cops sand other government officials. ”

-Agent Smith is a member as well.

-Hagen doesn’t know if Bertram is a member, nor if he or Smith are Red John.

-Tyger, tiger, is the organizations password, greeting and distress signal.

Jane/Lisbon Regroup

Jane tells Lisbon that they need to check Partridge’s body, since he told her Tyger, Tyger before he died, hoping she’d recognize the cry for help and save him. They assume he must have a tattoo on his shoulder and send Cho to look for it. Cho checks out the body and finds out that the left shoulder has been scoured, possibly to remove any evidence of a tattoo.

-Love how viewers suspicion of Partridge has finally been addressed. He’s a member of RJ’s secret society.

Bertram orders Cordero to Kill Smith

A missing Cordero meets Gale Bertram and tells him that Smith is in the wind. Bertram responds “It’s a good place to be,” and has Cordero wait for him while he enters a storage facility and retrieves cash, what looks like several fake passports, and a gun. Shortly, when Smith reaches out to CBI to turn himself in, Cordero immediately knows about it and tells Bertram.

-Once again, we get proof of an RJ operative at CBI.

Bertram asks if Smith knows who Cordero is. Cordero replies no, that Smith didn’t see him. Bertram gives him a CBI badge and tells him to “pick up” Smith and to “get it right this time”.

-Bertram’s authoritative demeanor here is a role reversal from what we have seen of him before. We’ve seen Reed Smith talk quite rudely to Bertram in the past, telling him “it’s your job to know” with regards on how far Jane’s investigation into RJ had gone. At the time I was surprised that a mere agent would talk to a director that way and speculated that perhaps he was conveying someone else’s sentiments, someone with authority higher or at least as equal as Bertram’s. Alexa Shultz’s maybe?

So it’s interesting here to see Bertram take the reins on making sure Smith is silenced.

Jane and Lisbon Question Smith

Cordero arrives at where Smith is and shows him a CBI badge, telling him Agent Van Pelt sent him. A relieved Smith tells him, “You gotta keep me safe. They are everywhere.”  Pulling his gun out, Cordero points at Smith and says, “Yeah, we are.” Lucky for Smith Cho arrives at the scene before Cordero can force him into his car and saves him.

At CBI, Smith tells Lisbon he wants a deal that allows him to walk freely. Jane tells him he’s free to leave if he wants but he won’t last long now that he’s been targeted by his “friends”. At Lisbon’s promise that they’ll put him in a federal prison far  away from California, where he’d be safe.

Smith starts telling his story of how he got involved in a secret, corrupt society of law enforcers. After suffering a back injury, he got hooked on painkillers the doctor had prescribed him and mistook a little girl for a suspect he was chasing. Under the influence of the drugs, he shot her. And despite all the evidence and witnesses the local cops had against him, he got away with it; a fellow cop reached out to him and helped him. The cop was a member of “The Blake Association”. Reed explains “someone’s a big fan of his I guess.”  He adds that “cops, judges, FBI Agents, anyone in law enforcement that needs a secret covered” are members. “You need a favor you ask for it. You’re asked to do something you do it.”

Smith doesn’t know who is in charge, nor all the members but posits that there must be “hundreds of us, maybe thousands.” He admits to killing Bob Kirkland because he found out about the association and states that Red John must be a member. When Lisbon asks how he knows, he states that Rebecca Anderson, Sam Bosco’s killer was Red John’s follower. And when she was arrested “someone” asked him for FBI credentials so that they can get to CBI. And after she was killed, “that’s when I knew I did a favor to a serial killer.”

-At this moment a guy passes by whistling.

Jane then Smith the million dollar question “Did you murder my wife and daughter?” Smith denies this and Jane believes him.

What the heck was that whistling man doing there? RJ’s mole? RJ himself? A red herring? Oddly enough, Jane doesn’t seem to suspect the whistler, despite knowing that RJ is “an excellent whistler” as Sophie Miller had stated.

Jane’s New Plan

With his only remaining suspect in the wind, Jane and Lisbon call a press conference and reveal that Gale Bertram is Red John, that he’s at large and that anyone who sees him should call the CBI.

-At this point I doubt Jane is %100  percent sure Bertram is in fact RJ, but he’s a suspect nonetheless and the fastest way to find him was to reach out to people outside of law enforcement for help.

The Team Talks

The receptionist of the storage unit where Bertram was at reaches out to the CBI. As Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt go through it for clues Rigsby asks their opinion on the latest development.

Rigsby: Bertram is Red John?

Grace: Looks like.

Rigsby: And if Jane find’s him he’s going to kill him.

Cho: Yup.

Rigsby: And we’re good with that? Killing the boss?

Grace: I am.

Cho. Yeah.

Rigsby: Okay. So long as we’re all on the same page.

Awesome scene. Short, sweet and to the point. Also, in character. If Rigsby, the sweetest of all three characters ended up taking revenge for his dad’s death, it makes sense he’d stand aside to let Jane get his own defense. And we know Cho is no stranger to taking the law in his own hands due to his gangster past (Blood in, Blood out). Van Pelt, as well, has always been a pragmatist (some have even called her cold). It doesn’t seem like she’d have a problem with getting rid of RJ, even if it means killing him.

More importantly, it could just be that the the team is as sick of the RJ case as I-er, as Jane and Lisbon are. They’ve been hunting the man for years and he’s thwarted them at every turn. Now that they are finally making progress and getting close to him, any hesitation will only get in the way of his capture/demise. And finding out that he’s in such a position of power as division head only adds insult to the injurious fact that he’s a serial killer.

That is, if Bertram is RJ, of course.

Cho finds a (USB?) memory chip hidden in a lighter. Tech savvy Grace opens it on the computer it appears to be a list of names but they are written in code. She sends it to Jane to deal with.

-Love the continuity of that course Grace took on computer hacking. Also, it seems like the team came across actual documentation regarding the Blake Society, if this is really a list of names then it might be all the members.

Ruthless Bertram

Bertram is at a bar drinking when his face appears on television. He instantly kills the bartender who recognizes him and finishes his drink before calling someone saying “I need a ride.”

Some witnesses must have seen blood covered Bertram leave the bar because the next scene has Jane and Lisbon on their way there when Rigsby directs them to a house Bertram owns in the same area.

Cho is already there with a team of officers he personally checked making sure have no tattoos. All seems okay before SAC PD SWAT arrives at the scene, no doubt contacted by one of Bertram’s friends to confuse the situation. As Jane suspects, Bertram in disguise of a SWAT member, is picked up by Cordero.

FBI Shuts CBI Down

FBI Supervisor Dennis Abbot (Rockmond Dunbar) arrives from the Texas division as an outside party to clean out both the FBI and CBI from the members of the Blake Association. And since Bertram, the head of CBI turned out to be a serial killer, the entire CBI is shut down with every single employee being fired as Abbot collects evidence for his investigation.

-Wow. You kinda know that something like was coming and yet it was totally unexpected. I do wonder, however, what kind of evidence Abbot’s people were hoping to find in Jane’s couch. That seemed like just overkill. And it totally broke my heart. As it undoubtedly broke Jane’s…

Arriving in the unit he asks what’s going on when the agent moving his couch hands him something saying “that’s yours”.

-What the heck was that! I watched the scene several times but the best I could figure was that it was spare change from the couch? Or keys? What?!!

Abbott introduces himself to Jane, saying he’s taking over the investigation and tells Jane to stick around town as he’ll need to interview him at some point. And in case seeing Jane’s beloved couch carted off didn’t do you in, a Fed had to bump into Jane causing his blue cup to fall from its saucer, breaking on the floor. Both Jane and Lisbon are horrified, and for Abbot’s and newer viewer’s sake, Jane explains “that was my favorite cup” then leaves.

Lisbon follows him out, asking him if they should start breaking the coded list Grace found but Jane declines saying “it’s a waste of time” and that “we’re done. There’s nothing more to do here.”

At Lisbon’s disbelief that Jane’s quitting he responds “No I’m not quitting, I’m letting go. It’s out of our hands for now.”

Jane tells Lisbon he’ll be in touch and apologizes for everything before he leaves CBI. Later we see Jane (gasp) enter (GASP!!!!!) A CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*dies*

I was so tempted to end the review there but how could I? It’s basically the entire point of the episode…maybe the entire series?

To be honest, I’d been expecting a scene like this ever since season four’s episode Blood and Sand. But now?

Wow.

I’m left with two options: to believe or not to believe what I am being shown.

But what other reason could there be for Jane going to church other than a desperation causing him to reach out, and therefore admitting, that there is a being higher than him? Could that be what he meant by “It’s out of our hands for now?”

One option that occurred to me had to do with the (coins?) Jane was given. Perhaps one of the coins Jane was given was his Saint Sebastian coin (originally gifted to him by Byron, a grateful husband in Bloodstream). In that episode’s review, I had stated:

Byron gives Jane his St. Sebastian medallion; he states that the Saint helps people in pain, and that it gave him a lot of strength. Jane is skeptic of a “magical medallion”. He makes to return it, telling Byron that he isn’t really a believer, but then changes his mind and keeps the gift; thanking Byron. The episode ends on Jane’s pensive face.

I love this scene because it recalls similar ones from seasons one and two where Jane used to connect on some level with people involved in the cases he solved. It’s nice continuity that Jane still has a hard time accepting gratitude for the good he does. It’s also very ironic. Jane is such an attention seeker, but whereas he loves to be recognized for his talent and brains, he shies away from gratitude; perhaps because he thinks he’s undeserving of it.

Now Jane probably only accepted the gift for Byron’s benefit, but it is a pretty optimistic gesture, nonetheless (especially compared with the rest of the season).

Now, to tackle some huge “ifs”:

IF amongst the coins returned to Jane was the St. Sebastian coin, and IF the agent who gave it to Jane works for RJ, then MAYBE the coin was a message that Jane should meet RJ in church and that is his reason for being there.

Lots and lots of ifs. Now for some more.

IF, on the other hand, the FBI Agent ISN’T working for RJ and was merely returning to Jane personal property they found in his commandeered couch then MAYBE seeing the Saint’s coin reminded Jane of Byron’s words and that’s what led him to the church; he was searching for a way to relieve his pain.

Of course, there’s always a third option that Jane wasn’t given anything important and the loss of his favorite couch and blue cup caused him to reach out to God and pray that Agent Abbott be cursed for depriving him of his two security blanket substitutes. I’m only partly joking here because Jane loved that couch and that blue cup.

Image by Chizuruchibi. Copyright Reviewbrain December, 2013. Not to be used without permission.

Best Scenes

Jane’s questioning of Officer Hagen was quite enjoyable. Baker’s expression were as amusing as ever and I love how it ended with the man telling Jane “Get out of my head”.

Rigsby and Grace’s shootout was very exciting and well executed. Truly good writing, acting and direction.

Honorable Mentions

Actor Michael Gaston was phenomenal. Going from the kind eyed, political father-figure boss to a ruthless killer.

Drew Powell was also quite enjoyable. I loved his sarcasm as the doctor was attempting to pull out the bullet from inside him.

Writer Jordan Harper. Lots of masterfully intercut scenes in this one. Kept up a wonderful pace to the episode.

Every single regular cast member including CBI Ron and Karl. Love every single actor here.

Icings on the Cake

Husband and wife team Grace and Wayne worked so well together. It was nice to see them so in sync.

Pet Peeves

I was so annoyed that Lisbon didn’t even attempt to get Jane to tell her what happened at his house prior to the explosion. I wanted to know what happened! But I’m guessing the reason we’re being kept in the dark is to later spring on a surprise on us if any of the presumed dead people there ends up alive. I still would have like Jane to mention that he can’t remember what happened due to a concussion or whatever.

Conclusion

Jane’s Belief’s

All joking aside, let’s not forget that the show’s entire premise is a man searching for redemption, and for some people that equals finding religion. We’ve had more biblical/religious references than I can count on this show (See Violet’s fantastic post for more details), the most obvious being that the two main characters are named after two Saints (Saint Teresa, Saint Patrick) and that Jane’s dead wife’s name is Angela. One might argue that the last scene was out of character given how often Jane protested other people’s religious beliefs as being unfounded. But to me, it always seemed like he doth protest too much; like he’s willing himself to not believe as opposed to someone who truly was agnostic or atheist. Perhaps Jane was once a believer but lost that with the death of his family. If that was true then his reaching out now would be easier to digest. And even if he never was, then one could argue that Lisbon’s own belief rubbed on Jane after all the years they spent together. She’s certainly picked up a lot of his and, like any couple, it only makes sense that the opposite would be true as well. Jane’s only human after all.

Who’d love it if, in the next episode, it just turns out that Jane is meeting RJ in church and that’s the only reason why he’s there? But even if that was true, then what possible reason could there be for Jane sitting in a kneeling position? One can’t possibly ignore everything…

Is Bertram Red John?

Personally, I don’t think so. We’ve had hints that Bertram answers to someone else. His making a call to someone right before meeting Jane at the mall in Strawberries and Cream, is just one example. I suppose that could have just been him playing a part, keeping the FBI updated on the RJ case. But until I see the final showdown between Jane and RJ I won’t buy him as being Jane’s family’s killer.

So if not him, then who? CBI Ron? Karl? A still alive Haffner, McCallister, or Stiles? Cho?! (This would totally break me, but, after all, he does know Blake). Jane’s long lost twin or his dad? Anyone’s guess is as good (or as bad) as mine.

The Great Red Dragon

In this episode, when Cordero picks up Bertram, Bertram tells him he’s hungry and the former replies he knows a great Chinese restaurant. This recalled the restaurant Jane met Hightower in and the decorative dragon there. In that episode’s fantastic review, Violet (and company) went into great detail regarding it’s symbolism which I’ve reposted here for its relevance (and because there’s no way I’d do a better job analyzing The Great Red Dragon (i.e. Satan):

….the dragon at the Chinese restaurant may be an allusion to the Great Red Dragon from the Bible, featured in a four watercolour paintings from Blake. The dragon is mentioned in Book of Revelation (aka the Apocalypse) 12 and 13. The text is pretty telling, as commenter A.Anggraeni mentioned in the comments for ‘The Desert Rose’ review:

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne […].
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. […]” (Rev. 12, 1-14)

Here, we have:

– the seven-headed red dragon (seven suspects initially) coming from the sea, an important theme for RJ;

– he’s eager to murder in order to “rule all the nations”, cf. RJ’s thirst for power.

– he’s defeated in a war and he and his “angels’ lost their place in Heaven (may that be meaning that RJ and his minions will be defeated and law enforcement agencies will be purged from their accomplices?)

-Bob Kirkland was fighting RJ’s evilness in his own way and his twin brother was named after God’s Archangel Michael.

– The dragon retreated to earth after being defeated and losing the woman to God and he’s angry because “he knows that his time is short”… which may or not be referred to by the fact that RJ felt threatened and defeated to some extent when he lost his influence on Lorelei and had to kill her. He reacted out of anger by sending that DVD to Jane because he feels his adversary is coming close…

– He’s defeated “by the blood of the Lamb”… Since Ruby called Jane “lamb”, I hope it doesn’t bode too ill for him… Too bad that would-be angel doesn’t “have wings” as he told to the killer in ‘Wedding in Red’… I’m also hoping that sentence “they did not love their lives so much/ as to shrink from death” won’t foreshadow a fatal issue for anyone in the SCU.

– Also, it’s probably a stretch, yet it’s intriguing that the women was given eagle wings to flee from the dragon at the end, given that birds are pretty present these last two seasons…

The Bible also tells (Rev. 13, 1-8):

“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”

And (Rev, 13, 11-18):

“Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”

Again, there seem to be many allusions to those passages in the show:

– RJ accused Jane of “slandering” his name in the media. He placed himself as God.

– The cult-like philosophy used by RJ may be an allusion to the worshipping;

– in the empty house where Lisbon was targeted, there was the number 666 and she “received” RJ’s mark on her “forehead” (the smiley).

– Like commenter Rose UK remarked there are two beasts under the dragon’s influence. The leopard-like one, who blasphemies the name of God, and the second one, lamb-like, who deceived people by getting them to worship the first one. I don’t know if that’s relevant for the show storyline, but I wonder if some characters couldn’t fill those roles: the red dragon could be either the secret organisation (provided that RJ is only one of his powerful members and not its master) or a charismatic leader hiding behind the scenes (like Bret Stiles or even the sect Visualize as a whole, which might control said organisation). Then, the leopard-beast, or tiger in our case, might be RJ, or at least the serial killer(s) who impersonates him… leaving the role of the more inoffensive looking beast to some person who could recruit new members. Or those functions might be held by one man alone and then it could referred by Betram’s “I’m many things to many people”

Today’s episode’s title is Red John. FINALLLY!!!!!!

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