*** WARNING - This Review Contains MASSIVE spoilers and main plot informations about this episode,and previous ones,DO NOT read It if you didn't watch all of the episodes up to this one ***
After the episode that was supposed to bring the answers,there are still many questions and wonders,but I'll address that later on. I'll split this review into three segments: I - Episode as a whole; II - Red John related; III - The future/Unanswered questions.
I - Episode as a whole
The tension this episode reached was at another level,Patrick,from being hunted to hunter,the team being united,even though officially they are not a team anymore,and,the revealing of a "legend". The music,as It has been with every episode of the 6th season,was awesome,tense and emotional,supporting the right moments wonderfully.The acting,very good,especially Simon,definitely delivered It. On the technical angle,great episode,9/10,but a few disagreements regarding the next segments.
II - Red John related
The identity finally revealed,Sheriff Thomas McAllister,portrayed by Xander Berkeley wasn't a total surprise to me because, in one of my theories,Red John would be among the dead suspects who were killed by the explosion at the end of S06E06 and he would have faked his death to mislead Jane - also because Bertram and Smith just didn't fit -,with that noted,the confirmed dead ID's were Stiles,Haffner and McAllister,and who was the only one who was,indeed,part of the "Blake Association" and had a tattoo on the shoulder? McAllister. Many people were expecting a "superhuman mastermind and unbreakable" Red John in the reveal,but they forget that,despite being very clever indeed,he's just a man,with fears and weaknesses just like everybody else,the episode makes this clearly with RJ begging for his life,he IS human,and that may have shattered the dreams of some of the fans who were hoping to see a more "super" RJ,who he portrayed himself to be in previous seasons.Personally,I enjoyed this human RJ more than everything,and I was expecting for one,for as Timothy Carter(Bradley Whitford) said in S03 finale "I'm not a monster,I'm not the devil,I'm just another human being,with flaws,vices and problems just like everybody else". The acting(Xander),the angle in most disagreement by many people, I think he did a very good job,not "epic"(I still prefer Timothy Carter/Bradley Whitford as a more convincing RJ) but Xander was consistent and convincing,I would say an 8(7,7)/10,but the problem is,I didn't really see much of him as Red John,none of us did,we only saw him in a conversation and some moments of his weak side,and that's It, I think It's not enough to judge the portraying of a so complex personality as RJ only with those minutes.And now you might ask how could we get a better view of RJ in order to judge It properly? That brings me to the last segment.
III - The future/Unanswered questions
Even though Red John is gone,there are still many questions in the air about how RJ did some of the tricks he did,and some other things in general,especially regarding previous seasons - "He is Mar",Kristina Frye and many others - that wasn't even mentioned in this episode and that irritated a lot of people apparently. And I agree with them,I'm just not judging too soon,these loose ends weren't addressed in this episode for the lack of time and because It didn't fit the moment,Patrick didn't care how RJ did It,he just wanted to have his revenge. I think(and hope) that Bruno will have a special episode dedicated to answering those loose ends,telling the whole background of Red John,showing "his side of the story",and then,we will see more of Xander's acting as a "respectable" RJ,and tie all loose ends. That's why I think there are still venues to explore about RJ. And now,I must say I am VERY curious to know about the future of the show,what will Patrick do now that he finally got his revenge? What about the team and CBI? Lisbon? More and more questions,and as much as I hate It,I love It,I just hope I will be given proper answers for them at the right time. For me,a 9/10 for leaving this "What now?" feeling in the air.
The bad critics going on now is not so much about the episode,but about loose ends in my opinion. With a very good emotional & overall and leaving me hungry for more,I give S06E08 "Red John" a 9/10.Thank you for reading.
(This is my first written review,so I apologize for possible mistakes,also I'm not a native English speaker so,thank you for your patience)
After the episode that was supposed to bring the answers,there are still many questions and wonders,but I'll address that later on. I'll split this review into three segments: I - Episode as a whole; II - Red John related; III - The future/Unanswered questions.
I - Episode as a whole
The tension this episode reached was at another level,Patrick,from being hunted to hunter,the team being united,even though officially they are not a team anymore,and,the revealing of a "legend". The music,as It has been with every episode of the 6th season,was awesome,tense and emotional,supporting the right moments wonderfully.The acting,very good,especially Simon,definitely delivered It. On the technical angle,great episode,9/10,but a few disagreements regarding the next segments.
II - Red John related
The identity finally revealed,Sheriff Thomas McAllister,portrayed by Xander Berkeley wasn't a total surprise to me because, in one of my theories,Red John would be among the dead suspects who were killed by the explosion at the end of S06E06 and he would have faked his death to mislead Jane - also because Bertram and Smith just didn't fit -,with that noted,the confirmed dead ID's were Stiles,Haffner and McAllister,and who was the only one who was,indeed,part of the "Blake Association" and had a tattoo on the shoulder? McAllister. Many people were expecting a "superhuman mastermind and unbreakable" Red John in the reveal,but they forget that,despite being very clever indeed,he's just a man,with fears and weaknesses just like everybody else,the episode makes this clearly with RJ begging for his life,he IS human,and that may have shattered the dreams of some of the fans who were hoping to see a more "super" RJ,who he portrayed himself to be in previous seasons.Personally,I enjoyed this human RJ more than everything,and I was expecting for one,for as Timothy Carter(Bradley Whitford) said in S03 finale "I'm not a monster,I'm not the devil,I'm just another human being,with flaws,vices and problems just like everybody else". The acting(Xander),the angle in most disagreement by many people, I think he did a very good job,not "epic"(I still prefer Timothy Carter/Bradley Whitford as a more convincing RJ) but Xander was consistent and convincing,I would say an 8(7,7)/10,but the problem is,I didn't really see much of him as Red John,none of us did,we only saw him in a conversation and some moments of his weak side,and that's It, I think It's not enough to judge the portraying of a so complex personality as RJ only with those minutes.And now you might ask how could we get a better view of RJ in order to judge It properly? That brings me to the last segment.
III - The future/Unanswered questions
Even though Red John is gone,there are still many questions in the air about how RJ did some of the tricks he did,and some other things in general,especially regarding previous seasons - "He is Mar",Kristina Frye and many others - that wasn't even mentioned in this episode and that irritated a lot of people apparently. And I agree with them,I'm just not judging too soon,these loose ends weren't addressed in this episode for the lack of time and because It didn't fit the moment,Patrick didn't care how RJ did It,he just wanted to have his revenge. I think(and hope) that Bruno will have a special episode dedicated to answering those loose ends,telling the whole background of Red John,showing "his side of the story",and then,we will see more of Xander's acting as a "respectable" RJ,and tie all loose ends. That's why I think there are still venues to explore about RJ. And now,I must say I am VERY curious to know about the future of the show,what will Patrick do now that he finally got his revenge? What about the team and CBI? Lisbon? More and more questions,and as much as I hate It,I love It,I just hope I will be given proper answers for them at the right time. For me,a 9/10 for leaving this "What now?" feeling in the air.
The bad critics going on now is not so much about the episode,but about loose ends in my opinion. With a very good emotional & overall and leaving me hungry for more,I give S06E08 "Red John" a 9/10.Thank you for reading.
(This is my first written review,so I apologize for possible mistakes,also I'm not a native English speaker so,thank you for your patience)