Red John's role in the series was as the archenemy of the protagonist, Patrick Jane, and the only rival who could be comparable to him in intelligence and deductive skills (or "psychic powers", as most people perceived). Finding Red John and taking revenge against him for the murder of his wife and daughter was Jane's central goal during the first 6 seasons of the series, a goal constantly frustrated by Red John's ability to be always one step ahead of Jane, despite how intricate Jane's plans were to stop him.
His role is loosely similar to that of Professor James Moriarty from the stories of Sherlock Holmes, the only challenge at the level of the intelligence and deductive skills of the famous detective, and who like Red John used to stay in the shadows while acting through a network of followers (although Red John had much more presence in the crimes, killing the majority of his victims on his own, and was much more difficult to defeat).
Bruno Heller, the creator of The Mentalist, reaffirmed this comparison in an interview by saying that Red John is not "one pathetic loser who is hiding out in a basement somewhere. He [Jane] is not fighting the Green River Killer. He's fighting Moriarty."
His importance in the series is evidenced in his presence in the titles of the episodes, having all of them a reference to the color "red" (except for "Pilot"). The episodes succeeding his death, starting with "My Blue Heaven" reference other colors besides red. The first five season finales and mid-season finales also center around him.
Heller also described Red John as Jane's 'White Whale'[4]or Moby Dick in Herman Melville's book - the obsession that destroys Captain Ahab.
However, the main source of inspiration for Red John seems to be another fictionalized serial killer, Jack of All Trades from the 1996 series Profiler. Their similarities include:
- Both are serial killers.
- Both killed the protagonist's partner before the start of the series (Samantha Water's husband in the case of Jack of All Trades, and Patrick Jane's wife in the case of Red John).
- Both killings prompted the protagonists to leave their old lives as psychics and join the law enforcement to find and take revenge against their loved ones' killers.
- Both were the main antagonists for several seasons, always keeping their identities hidden.
- At the end, both turned out to be sheriffs, characters who had appeared sometime in the early seasons (with no one knowing at that point that they were the killers), and were ultimately killed by the protagonists.
Even so, differences include that Red John was a much more persistent enemy, lasting about two and a half seasons more; and the conception of the character is completely different; Red John is a criminal mastermind with a network of accomplices (similar to Moriarty or Charles Manson), while Jack of All Trades is a solitary and obsessed murderer, more like true life serial killers.
Additionally, a possible real life inspiration for the character may have been Keith Hunter Jesperson, a serial killer also known as the "Happy Face Killer", who used to send letters to police and prosecutors and sign them with a smiley face.
Concerning his nickname, it was never specified what the meaning of "Red John" is or how he got that name. Within the universe of the series, it was hinted that he named himself, since the alias was first mentioned and revealed to the public by his accomplice Orville Tanner during his trial. In real life, some possible inspirations that Bruno Heller could have had for his name are:
- "John Doe", a name used for an "unknown and random man", which has its counterpart in the figure of "Jane Doe", a name used in the case of a woman and a possible inspiration for Patrick Jane's name.
- Red Dragon by Apocalypse of St. John, biblical character depicted by Red John's favorite painter William Blake in his series of paintings The Great Red Dragon, referred to also in the eponymous episode and which was the inspiration behind the serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in Thomas Harris's suspense novel Red Dragon.
- Red John of the Battles, nickname of John Campbell, Scottish nobleman, 2nd Duke of Argyll and 1st Duke of Greenwich.
- John the Baptizer, Gospel of John, first name of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (his favorite musician).
It is noteworthy that writers and executive producers Ashley Gable and Bruno Heller were not the only people involved in writing Red John-centric episodes. Starting from the Season 3, a pool of writers contributed to Red John episodes such as Tom Szentgyorgyi ("The Blood On His Hands", "The Red Barn", "Red Dawn") and Daniel Cerone ("Red Queen", "Red Sails In The Sunset").
The actor who played him when his identity was finally revealed, Xander Berkeley, said to TV Guide that he was "stunned and flattered" when he discovered that he was Red John, and that "earning this little place in pop-culture history was the last thing I ever expected. Truth be told, I thought I was a red herring".
In a flashback scene in which Patrick Jane walks up his stairs and sees the note on his door informing him of the murders of his family, there is a musical composition that Blake Neely uses as a motif throughout the series, titled "Your Worst Nightmare" and "Bloody Bed". Whenever Red John murders somebody or taunts Jane, the same or similar composition is played in the background.
Interestingly, this composition is one of the fewer tracks on The Mentalist soundtrack to feature orchestral instruments. It makes prominent use of harp harmonics, the string section, and orchestral percussion. This music also occurred during a scene in which Bob Kirkland discusses Patrick Jane's investigation with FBI agent Alexa Schultz.
Red John's favorite musical piece, as mentioned and heard in "Red John's Footsteps", "His Red Right Hand" and "Red Is The New Black", is Bach's "Prelude No. 1 in C-Major".
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