TVGuide Ask Matt - SPOILER 4.01
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[Question: I seem to remember that after last season's Mentalist finale that the writers promised that, yes, Patrick Jane really killed Red John. I personally like keeping the mystery alive, but I wish shows wouldn't make such grand statements and then reverse them on a whim. According to the season premiere, that is exactly what happened. Do you know what changed their mind?
Matt Roush: I'm fairly sure this twist is what they had in mind all along. It's possible the producers were purposefully misleading in some of their interviews after last season — how much do you want show-runners to reveal their hand, anyway? — but the way I understood the intent of the cliffhanger is that we were meant to believe that Patrick Jane in that moment believed he had killed the real Red John. It was only when Jane realized he'd been set up (with the missing gun, etc.) that he knew he'd been manipulated to kill the wrong fiend. I wouldn't call the producers' statements a lie (if in fact they did) as much as misdirection (which is what you should expect from people running a mystery series).]
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