Characters / The Mentalist

Character page for The Mentalist.

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The CBI Core

Patrick Jane

Played By: Simon Baker

The titular mentalist, Patrick Jane is a former psychic and stage performer, but took a job with the CBI when the serial killer Red John killed his wife and daughter after Patrick badmouthed him on TV, hoping to exact revenge.

Possessing exceptional knowledge of human behavior, extensive meditative and hypnotic training, a refined memory and superhuman deductive skills, Patrick Jane is one of the most valuable agents of the CBI in the fight against crime. Though technically he's not a cop, just a consultant.

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• Abusive Parents: Not Patrick himself, but his father was emotionally and financially abusive.
• Afraid of Doctors: Played with. Patrick had a breakdown after his family was murdered, and is quite grateful (and possibly attracted) to the shrink who helped him recover. However, he actively avoids actually working with any other shrinks; when he forgets his sleeping pills and has to see another shrink to get more, he tells him nothing but lies.
• Agent Scully: Not just skeptical but actively scornful of any hint of the supernatural.
• Amateur Sleuth: Investigating is not his business initially, but he puts his talent to read people to very good use in his work with the police.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Makes a rather grand one at the end of the season 6 finale, running to climb on Lisbon's plane and tell her he loves her in front of everyone, despite the fact that she was furious at him for faking a break in a cold case just to have an excuse to go to Florida and stay at a fancy hotel.
• Anti-Hero: Patrick works with C.B.I. because they are his best chance at catching Red John, but he will assist them with other cases. Likewise, on several occasions, he has gladly helped others without any personal gain whatsoever, doing so to extremely generous extents.
• The Atoner: Whenever a case brings him into contact with someone that he scammed back in his psychic con artist days.
• Attention Whore: He really likes to be the center of attention. That said, he also encourages others not to be shy, sometimes even letting them take the credit.
• Awesome by Analysis: To ridiculous and ridiculously awesome degrees all the time. At one point he instantly reads the movements, tactics and habits of a boxer, and gives better practical advice than the man's coach despite possessing no fighting skill himself whatsoever.
• Badass Bookworm: Despite being raised in a circus group, he's long since mastered his field of expertise by the time the show starts, with deep knowledge in several matters.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Never seen outside of his trusty suit and waistcoat. Not even when getting ready for sleep. Seriously.
• Badass Pacifist: Jane uses his smarts to get the criminal, and has hardly used violence throughout the entire series.
• Batman Gambit: Possessing exceptional intelligence and knowledge of human behavior, this is easy.
• Batman Grabs a Gun: While Patrick has never vowed to abstain from using guns, he very much dislikes them. He's also a Non-Action Guy and generally doesn't like physical confrontation at all. That said, Jane will resort to violence at times, especially to save others. In such cases, it's clear that he won't shy away from murder when necessary.
• Bavarian Fire Drill: For the same reason as Batman Gambit, he's good at this too.
• Beneath the Mask: Patrick is an outwardly cheerful, optimistic and stable man who rarely loses his cool, but every once in a while the facade cracks, and we catch a glimpse of all the anger, sadness, and loneliness he represses. From "Seeing Red" (1x07);
  Kristina: I think you act assured and arrogant but inside you are troubled with deep guilt and self-loathing. A recent trauma in your past, perhaps? But you're more than a little unstable. (to Teresa) You have your work cut out for you.
  Grace: You are good.
  Patrick: Please. Not to boast, but I had quite a well-known horrible tragedy. A mere half-hour on the internet would tell you that I'm consumed with guilt and self-loathing.
  Kristina: One look in your eyes would tell me that.
• Berserk Button:
  • He really doesn't like seeing people repeat his own mistakes. "Psychics" and vain, arrogant men who take their families for granted really piss him off.
  • Anything having to do with Red John will cause Jane's mood to darken instantly.
• Big Eater: Really likes the cases where there is food in close proximity, see episodes Red Hair and Silver Tape, and Red Herring as prime examples.
  • He actually does this even more when it comes to drinks. Namely, tea.
• Blatant Lies: Willing to go as far as to talk out of his arse to draw out the baddie. It can occasionally cross the line into Seamless Spontaneous Lie.
• Boxed Crook: Defied. Following his murder of Red John, the serial killer who killed his wife and daughter, Patrick Jane is tracked down by the F.B.I. in Mexico, and offered a choice of either being F.B.I. consultant for five years (a deal that can be revoked at any time if he acts up), or being locked up for 20 years to life. Jane, of course, isn't about to play that and instead cuts his own deal leaving him basically free and clear, promising to reveal some very embarrassing information if they don't agree to his terms.
• Break the Haughty: We've got a glimpse of the con man Jane in "Fugue in Red", whom proved to be self-absorbed and uncaring in general.
• Brutal Honesty: When he doesn't care to charm or manipulate you, this is what you get. And if it isn't Ship Tease or another form of friendly teasing, you won't like it one bit.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: The CBI only put up with Patrick's antics because he solves cases.
• Byronic Hero: Very attractive? Check. Has a high intelligence? Check. Has a Dark and Troubled Past? You bet.
• The Cassandra: He is never wrong... about anything... ever. But he typically has to spend all of every second episode persuading the other characters that he's not wrong this time. Although, Lisbon and her team, and even some of the higher ups of CBI do take his word on plenty of things, he just needs some actual evidence to convict the killer.
• Catchphrase: Numerous variations of "Oh, I'm not a cop, just a consultant", "Please put the guns down!", and for the first season: "No such thing as psychics". Also, in relation to him, whenever it's asked why he's kept around despite all his shenanigans, the reason is always the same - "he closes cases."
• Celibate Hero: Downplayed, since he WAS married. However, Patrick's guilt over indirectly causing his wife's death causes him to generally goes no further than playful flirting at best. By the end of season 6 though, Patrick finally tells Lisbon he loves her.
• The Charmer: Always wears a charming smile, if only to mask the enormous amount of self-loathing he has for himself.
• The Chessmaster: Jane can make people do what he wants so easily.
• Circus Brat: He used to be a carny when he was a teenager and he grew up in a traveling carnival.
• CloudCuckooLander: Has various shades of this.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: He buried a suspect alive to get a confession out of him. Patrick flat out tells Lisbon that he plans to torture Red John to death the way Red John tortured his wife and his daughter Charlotte, even if he goes to prison for it. Inverted in the end as he opts to simply shoot Red John and then strangle the weakened killer instead of torturing him.
• Con Men Hate Guns: Jane doesn't usually carry a weapon, and mostly avoids physical violence altogether, but he seems to have a particular dislike of firearms.

• Cruel to Be Kind: On occasion. He's good at emotionally manipulating suspects and killers into confessions, but there have been occasions, such as the episode Red Menace, where it's because he senses that the culprit is a good person, deep down, who will be unable to deal with the guilt if left unpunished, and wants to confess on some level.
• Crusading Widower: After the brutal murder of his wife (and daughter), Jane is fiercely dedicated to hunting down their killer.
• Cultured Badass: Although Jane has no formal education, he is well-read, culturally literate and has an appreciation of art, theater, wine and music, especially opera and classical.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Between the father taking advantage of his skills as a child, his background as a phony and the murder of his daughter and wife, not to mention all the guilt, it's absolutely no wonder Patrick is a wreck.
• Dating Catwoman: With Erica and Lorelei.

• Dirty Coward: Played with; he's quite a brave man in many ways, though this is usually because he's confident that his wits and guile can carry him out of any situation. However, he can be something of a physical coward when it comes to potentially violent confrontation, and is noticeably quick to either make sure he's well out of the line of danger when a situation looks like it might kick off into violence (especially if it's a situation he's caused), position other people to take the brunt for him or, when this isn't possible, turning on his heels and running as fast as he can out of there.
• Distressed Dude: Carrying no weapons, not even a sidearm, and possessing zero practical fighting skills, Patrick often finds himself in this role. Ensue Holding the Floor until Lisbon arrives. Amusingly, Red John's accomplice lampshades this the moment before Patrick finally subverts it by shooting him point-blank with a concealed gun.
• Doesn't Like Guns: He will only resort to them if he feels it to be necessary.
• The Empath: A 100% non-supernatural example, but rather a skill acquired through a lifetime of training, though no less effective.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite his grey sense of morality, it's clear that Jane has lines that he won't cross, which he expects the same towards others. Notably, he will often show cold fury at killers who show no sense of remorse over what they did.
  • While enjoying his ability to figure out others' secrets, Jane won't pry "too" deeply. Notably, he even gives Rigsby a What the Hell, Hero? moment for trying to see what La Roche's secret box had inside.
• Failure Knight: The death of his wife and daughter plagues him greatly, but it also motivates him to save lives.
• Fair Cop: Fair Consultant.

• Friend to All Children: Especially given the loss of his daughter, and semi-background as a carny performer. For someone who spends his every waking minute figuring out people's dirty secrets, younger children must seem positively wonderful company.
• The Gadfly: A substantial amount of his antics during a given investigation are prompted with the at-least secondary, if not primary, motivation of winding up Lisbon, her team, and any other law enforcement and authority figures present who have irritated him.
• Guile Hero: Goes with the territory. He talks himself into, and out of, every single crisis.
• Happily Married: He truly loved his wife Angela, and becomes this again after he and Teresa get hitched in the series finale.
• Hates Being Touched: Starting in Season 3 (right after being kidnapped and menaced by Red John), bad things can happen to people who touch him uninvited. The consequences range from being mildly inconvenienced to being framed for murder and used as bait for a serial killer, mostly depending on your actions and attitude.
• Heads or Tails?: An episode of season 2 has him winning a bet this way. It landed heads 20 times in a row. No wonder they thought he was cheating, and considering his character he most likely did. He reveals how later in the episode when pointing out the value of Occam's Razor; after they spend the episode trying to come up with increasingly elaborate methods for how he could have pulled it off, he points out that the likeliest method is just that he used a double-headed coin and slight-of-hand to conceal it from them, showing them the rigged coin and the normal one he'd switched it with when giving it to Rigsby to inspect.
• Heroic BSoD: After killing Red John, Patrick just has a brief moment of satisfaction over avenging his family's murder, but quickly realizes law enforcement will now be after him for murder, and he can barely bring himself to leave a farewell message to Lisbon before going on the run.
• Hero with an F in Good: At his worst. Jane may be on the side of good, but has performed acts that are just criminal.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Several episodes make it clear that Patrick does genuinely care about others, hence why he looks out for people in need. Likewise, despite often showing amusement whenever finding out someone's secret, he has once stated his desire to be "normal".
  • While insensitive at times, Jane can be sympathetic as well, even helping some characters deal with insecurity and self-doubt. Also, the first season often had him questioning his goal for revenge, specifically in whether it was the right choice to make.
• Hollywood Atheist: Bordering on Nietzsche Wannabe when challenged.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: To Lisbon, technically.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Jane has a lot of fun with his abilities while catching criminals, but when he talks to Lisbon about Rigsby and Van Pelt's relationship...
  Lisbon: Okay, I am not jealous and resentful. That is nonsense.
  Jane: Yet you recall my exact words. There's no shame in it. I feel that way too sometimes. Why does everyone else get to have a normal life?
• Important Haircut: Inverted. Flashbacks to Jane's days as a Phony Psychic, such as the episode 'Pretty Red Balloon,' has his hair straighter and shorter.
• The Insomniac: Will stay up all night working on a case, and says in the pilot he can't sleep unless he gets "the good pills" — possibly because his house is empty of furniture except a mattress in the floor beneath the smiley-face Red John painted on the wall in his wife and child's blood. Seems to sleep okay on the couch in the CBI office (and occasionally during briefings).
• Interdisciplinary Sleuth: A Living Lie Detector and Renaissance Man who doubles as a police officer.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his love for messing with people, he can display deep and genuine kindness. He's also a Friend to All Children.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: In Fugue In Red, his amnesiac version turns out to be this, being that it is based on when he was a scammer, but without the the love he had for his family. While he has a moment of friendship with Lisbon, whom is convinced that there is still a heart there, and helps find the murderer, he has no problems stealing half of the money, abusing Cho's trust to escape and abandoning the team.
• Kick the Dog: In "Little Red Book," he ruins (or at least severely damages) the careers of two honest CBI agents simply to get them transferred and replaced by members of his old team.
• Like Brother and Sister: In the initial seasons he had this type of relationship with Lisbon, eventually subverted in the final seasons, where he develops feelings for her.
• Limited Wardrobe: Jane only seems to own three-piece suits worn with a pair of battered brown shoes he is rather attached to, even getting them resoled in one episode. Following the Retool Jane loses his Waistcoat of Style, but gains some woolen socks (a gift from Lisbon) and a subdued tropical print shirt.
• Living Emotional Crutch: He and Lisbon are this to each other. Lisbon needs Jane as The Confidant and someone to help her with difficult situations outside of the normal. While she can function without him, she is not happy about it and seems to need Jane around as someone who can understand her without judging her (while she's close to her teammates, the whole employee/co-worker dynamic means there's always a barrier).
• Living Lie Detector: It would be a much shorter list to describe what he's gotten wrong.
• Magician Detective: His talents at cold reading, hypnotism, and observational powers often fall into this.
• Manipulative Bastard: Jane is a master manipulator, a trait also possessed by his enemy Red John.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The Feminine Boy to Lisbon's Masculine Girl.
• Morality Pet: Back in his con man days, his absolute love for his wife and daughter was one of his few redeeming features. In present times, his team can act as this, especially Teresa Lisbon.
• Moral Sociopathy: His sense of morality tends to fluctuate Depending on the Writer. At his worst though, he can be insensitive to a noticeable fault, outright hurting co-workers and innocent bystanders to achieve a goal.

• Nice Guy: From what we can gather, Jane was a good kid until his father gradually corrupted him into becoming a scammer. In present times, Jane normally has a polite and friendly attitude, unless he is trolling someone.
• Non-Action Guy: For most of the show, Patrick's main utility has been in non-combat situations or as Mission Control. Gradually subverted, considering he's now killed three people, to the point where he now qualifies as a badass.
• Non-Action Snarker: In contrast to the sometimes snarky, but much more physical Lisbon.
• Non-Idle Rich: It can be assumed Patrick Jane made a lot of money during his years as a psychic and it's been hinted several times.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Although he generally exhibits a happy demeanour, Jane suffers enormous guilt over the deaths of his wife and daughter as well as a ferocious determination to kill Red John, the serial killer that murdered them.
• One of the Kids: Has shades of this.
• Papa Wolf: His motive for joining the police. Also comes out in protective behavior toward children.
• Phony Psychic: Used to be this. In fact, people still tend to assume he has supernatural powers upon demonstration, despite his constant denials.
• Photographic Memory: Jane shows this skill while pointing out clues. He has several tricks for remembering things, such as associating facts with places in a "memory palace" and making up stories about objects when he needs to remember them in a specific order.
• Phrase Catcher: Lisbon and other characters usually state that "he closes cases" when asked why he's allowed to continue working with the CBI.
• Professional Gambler: Jane has time and again, used his skills at poker to gain funds, once against a table of mafia dons, he both got the money and the loser’s enmity.
• Race for Your Love: At the end of the season 6 finale, Lisbon gets on a plane to Washington and Jane has to fight to get through airport security in order to speak to her. Unfortunately, he forgot his FBI credentials, so he has to settle for climbing a fence, spraining his ankle on the jump down, and limping across the tarmac before the guards realize what he's up to.
• Really Fond of Sleeping: Patrick Jane is really fond of his rather shabby leather couch that he keeps in the sleek-looking office and he loves lying there and taking naps. (He doesn't even have a desk.) This half-sleeping, half-lucid state of mind helps him to solve cases.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He is very fond of giving these to bad people, a failed example of which ultimately provoked the murder of his family. Especially when he identifies the target's actions with his own past failings.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: A very typical attitude in Jane, which his superiors obviously do not approve.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Though rather scruffy.
• Sherlock Scan: He is capable of amazing feats of observation and induction and although he says he isn't psychic, some people maintain that he must be.
• Shipper on Deck: He openly encourages Rigsby and Van Pelt, and keeps their relationship a secret, but is not above manipulating them by using his knowledge of it.
• Showy Invincible Hero: He's almost always right, but then if he weren't right so often he probably would have been fired years ago.
• Sleepyhead: Usually on his brown couch at the office. Known to sleep through briefings. Justified in that he has chronic insomnia, unable to sleep unless he gets "the good pills" — probably because at home he sleeps on a mattress on the floor beneath the smile painted on the wall by Red John in his wife and child's blood.
• The Smart Guy: He can do basically everything, ranging from observation to other extremely complex matters.
• Smart People Play Chess: Not that he even needs a board or pieces to play. Used as a Running Gag in one episode.
• The Social Expert: Jane's main gift is his voice and ability to get through to people.
• Talking Your Way Out: With varying success. Bad guy pointing a gun and Lisbon not around? Only one thing to do... See Distressed Dude above.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In the first season, Patrick regularly showed a sense of morality overall, even questioning his quest for revenge on a few occasions. By the start of season 2 though, he becomes noticeably more brash and uncaring, even manipulating mournful victims.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Zigzagged. From a legal point of view, Patrick is undoubtedly this on his CBI teammates. At various times, he's talked them into planting evidence, coercing confessions, profiling suspects, and committing entrapment, any one of which could get them fired, if not worse. Bosco lampshades this in "Black Gold and Red Blood." On the flipside however, it must be mentioned that this is normally in regards to serving justice, rather than any personal gain. Plus, it's not as if the law is perfect by any means, especially given how several agents in the C.B.I. worked for Red John.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Tea and eggs.
• Tranquil Fury: Every time he remembers the loss of his family, he becomes very stoic and unemotional, yet you can tell he is boiling.
  • He also lapses into this state while he is exacting his revenge on Red John, although it briefly gives away to reveal the rage burning within him as he chokes him to death.
• Übermensch: Notions of morality and sometimes legality are thrown out the window for his manipulations to solve the case and Jane really doesn't seem to see anything wrong with it.
• Ultimate Job Security: He's so valuable to the CBI that if his antics ever go too far, it's Lisbon whose job will be in trouble.
• Uncle Pennybags: He is very, very rich and can win absurdly large amounts of money in gambling. He likes to give presents to his colleagues and friends at the bureau — for example when he wins at the casino in poker, he buys two large sets of jewelry with emeralds and rubies for Lisbon and for Van Pelt, and he gives very expensive watches to Rigsby and Cho, and he treats them all with dinner and drinks. (Lisbon and Van Pelt then decide to give the jewelry back because it's too much, but the guys are happy to keep their watches.) Another time he gives Lisbon a pony for her birthday.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: As a child, it's shown that Patrick found no joy in conning others, even arguing against it with his father. Unfortunately, the latter's emotional manipulations got to him.
• Unwitting Pawn: Selectively. Red John consistently outmaneuvers him throughout the series, which is lampshaded whenever the Gambit Pileup starts anew. He evens up the game by the season 3 finale. Except it was an accomplice, and Red John probably expected him to die, given that he got said accomplice to pretend to be him.
• Vigilante Execution: His stated goal is to perform one of these on Red John and he makes good on it. In "Red Menace," he arranged one by proxy, framing a biker gang leader as an informant and leaving him in the clutches of his angry minions.
• Waistcoat of Style: Until the Retool, though it comes back briefly towards the end of the show.
• Wealthy Philanthropist: He got filthy rich during his scamming days, but he decided to use his wealth for the good to balance it out. He can also win absurdly large amounts of money in gambling any time he chooses to. He was seen giving money to families who lost their money or entire property (usually because of an error or one black sheep) or who were poor and needed help (e.g., he sent a briefcase full of money to a young woman whose mother was seriously ill and in need of transplant operation which she couldn't afford), or he gave money and expensive stuff he had won in poker to charity boxes that collect used clothes.
• Worthy Opponent: To Red John. Patrick in turn has nothing but contempt for him.
• You Killed My Father: Red John killed his wife and daughter, which is his motivation for hunting him.

Teresa Lisbon

Played By: Robin Tunney

The Leader of The Team, Senior Special Agent Teresa Lisbon of the CBI stands with the impossible task of keeping Patrick in check. Although Jane's antics are annoying and often lands her in deep trouble, she respects him highly, and often supports his theories in the face of skeptical superiors, and even common sense.

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• Abusive Parents/Alcoholic Parent: Lisbon's father was this.
• Action Girl: Often used as a Foil to Patrick's Non-Action Guy.
• Afraid of Doctors: Shrinks in particular. When ordered to see one after a shooting, she arrives late enough to miss almost all of several appointments and is very reluctant to talk even when she does appear. Justified in that particular case, as the shrink in question was deliberately framing her for murder, which she may have subconsciously picked up on.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: There's hardly ever a time when she's not composed.
• Authority Equals Asskicking
• Badass Adorable: She's extremely cute when she's vulnerable yet somehow, she still maintains a toughness.
• Big Damn Heroes: All the time. Primarily to save Jane.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Frequently, Jane often helps out when she asks him to, but normally in ways that are — at best — borderline illegal. At one point she mentions that she wishes some FBI agents would vanish, Jane makes it happen by planting evidence on a suspect to create a Red Herring for them to follow and leave the CBI alone.
• Brainy Brunette: Relatively speaking.
• Broken Bird: As a result of her Dark and Troubled Past.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Tends to fall into this with Jane when Red John comes up, when she isn't busy giving him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech for going too far to try to catch him.
• By-the-Book Cop: In spite of Lisbon's preference for following proper procedures, Jane persistently contradicts her plans and at times directly undermines her authority, usually apologizing immediately afterward. Although she criticizes most of Jane's tricks and revelations in front of him, she also often defends him from suspects (especially those with political pull) or from her very own superiors.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Tries, and usually fails, to keep Jane under control.

• Cool Big Sis: To her brothers, even though she can be aloof at times.
• Cool Aunt: To her niece Annie.
• Cute Bruiser: She's very handy in a fight.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Dead mother, alcoholic father and dysfunctional brothers probably went a long way to develop her Team Mom tendencies. There was also a broken engagement somewhere in there.
• Deadpan Snarker: Whether reacting to Jane's antics or Tasering a violent suspect.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She's a lot more lenient with her team than she used to be, Jane and his wacky schemes in particular.

• Fanservice Pack: In the first season Lisbon was rather frumpy. With season 2, she got the usual upgrades - new hair, better clothes, high heels.
• Five Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic.
• Guilty Pleasure: Whilst hypnotized she admits to enjoying dancing to a Spice Girls CD.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Towards the amnesiac Patrick Jane in Fugue In Red, being that despite having the personality he had when he was the scammer (but without the love for his family), she is convinced that the amnesiac Patrick Jane has the same heart of gold as his normal version, she turns out to be wrong. , when Patrick has no problem stealing half of the money that the original thief stole.
• Knight in Sour Armour: A badass detective who has a very guarded, severe personality,
• The Lad-ette: She grew up among boys, after all. It's implied that she intentionally pushed away girls who wanted to be her friend as a teenager.
• The Lancer: Despite being Patrick's superior, she often ends up fulfilling this role for him.
• Large Ham: Whenever playing the part of psychic.
  Lisbon: Kirk? Kirk, is that you? Yes! I will speak on your behalf!
• The Leader: Type Levelheaded. It's her job to keep everyone on track and focused. It's not easy when Patrick is part of the team.
• Like Brother and Sister: In the initial seasons she had this type of relationship with Jane, eventually subverted in the final seasons, where she develops feelings for him.
• Living Emotional Crutch: To Jane and both of them are this to each other. Lisbon was one of the few people to reach out to Jane when he came to the CBI. She also helps him stay grounded as he calls her his "moderating influence". Lisbon also helps Jane handle mundane affairs and running interference between Jane and the CBI bureaucracy. The only one who can somewhat restrain Jane is Lisbon and the only one who can make him lose his cool if they are in peril is Lisbon.
• Married to the Job: Has little to no social life outside of the CBI. She becomes adorably defensive when interviewed by a visiting camera crew.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The Masculine Girl to Jane’s Feminine Boy.
• Morality Chain: Also to Patrick, whenever his obsession with Red John gets out of hand.
• A Mother to Her Men: By season four, Jane and her agents are so attached to her that they are willing to sabotage her replacement to get her back in charge.
• Not So Above It All: Gives in to Jane's plans a bit too easily sometimes. Especially after their admission in the FBI, becomes a lot more lenient and even admits having fun with Jane's schemes. It probably helps that in the FBI, she's not the team lead, so she's not in a position of being responsible for him the way she was at the CBI.
• One Head Taller: Inverted. Lisbon is a head shorter than everyone. This makes her unquestioned (except by Jane) authority over them all even more impressive.
• Only Sane Woman: Occasionally. She's the most rational when her team gets a little crazy.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: She's a very competent detective in her own right, but Patrick outclasses her by far.
  • Has been getting steadily better at Patrick's trade as of season seven.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: Capable of tackling criminals twice her size.
• Promotion to Parent: Raised her brothers after their father killed himself.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Regularly when Jane crosses the line, but gives a particularly heartbreaking one to him in the season six finale.
• Rejected Apology: Sees Jane's scheme to get one special last case with her as a Moral Event Horizon. When Jane tries to apologize, she shoots him down with a hurtful speech. She later accepts his apology after he breaks into the airplane she's taking to declare his love for her.
• Relationship Upgrade: With Jane.
• The Reliable One: Lisbon always has Jane's back: he calls her his 'moderating influence'.
• Second Love: To Jane after he finally avenges his wife's death.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: As shown on the rare occasion she puts on an evening dress. Jane starts invoking this trope by giving her nice dresses for her roles in his cons post-Retool.
• Standard Cop Backstory: Lisbon was abused by her alcoholic father after her mother's death and raised her three younger brothers.
• Straight Man: To Patrick.
• Strawberry Shorthand: Lisbon's love of strawberries is brought up reasonably frequently. On at least one occasion Jane has bought them for her to apologize, and she has been seen eating strawberries multiple times.
• Suddenly Ethnicity: Though it was already implied with her last name, Lisbon's ethnicity wasn't confirmed until season 4.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She is extremely cold and sharp in the field, but she is secretly much softer than she appears.
• Surprise Pregnancy: Manages to keep this from Patrick of all people, only telling him in literally the last scene of the series.
• Team Mom: As close as you can get to one for a team of adults.
• The Chainsof Commanding: Is often stressed by the politics involved with CBI and dealing with Jane. After the Retool, when she's no longer in charge of a team, she becomes much more carefree.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Van Pelt's Girly Girl.
• Tsundere: Her actions indicate Type B.
• Undying Loyalty: Towards her entire team - but especially towards Jane. For him she's blackmailed one of her closest friends, blackmailed her boss's boss, punched a robber in order to get his case thrown out of court, gotten locked in a box, and repeatedly gotten suspended from the job that is basically her whole life. There's also six months of anger management classes.
  • It goes so far that when Jane buries a man alive as part of a scheme to flush out Red John she isn't even mad at him. This is later lampshaded by Cho in the season 6 finale.
• The Watson: To Jane. She is a stern, serious, Closer to Earth Foil to Jane.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Is often the one to do this to Jane when he goes overboard.

Kimball Cho

Played By: Tim Kang

One of the special agents of the CBI, and probably the most down to earth of the group. Asian-American of Korean heritage. Before joining the CBI, he was an army green beret, and before that he was a gangbanger called "The Iceman", a fact which Jane finds hilarious (in his defense, it is more than a little Cliché and overblown). He's the calm and collected of the group, rarely showing any emotion at all.

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• The Atoner: He enlists himself on the army to atone for his time in the gang.

• Badges and Dog Tags: He was in the U.S. Army as part of the 1st Special Forces Group in Asia before becoming a CBI agent.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Always seen with a suit and tie; but, until he joins the FBI, his shirts are usually shirtsleeved underneath the jacket (all the better to show off his gun-show when interrogating suspects)
• Beware the Quiet Ones: He doesn't say much, but watch out if you hurt someone he cares about.
• The Big Guy: Although not as big as Rigsby, this guy is really tough.
• Bookworm: Reads pretty hefty looking books during stakeouts.
• Brutal Honesty: His stoic personality often leads to cases of this.

• Cowboy Cop: The most likely to enable and even assist with Patrick's more audacious schemes, despite his aloof attitude.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He used to be part of a street gang.
• Deadpan Snarker: With emphasis on the 'deadpan'.
  News reporter: "You don't like being asked questions, right? You know, the team, as a whole seems to have a problem with that."
  Cho: "Was that a question?"

  Interviewee: "I can make one phone call and your career is toast."
  Cho: "That's impressive. The best I can get with one call is a pizza."

  Rigsby "I've sent vibes and she didn't react."
  Cho "Stare at the back of her neck for a few hours, women love that."
• Defrosting Ice King: Extremely gradual (you might even say glacial), but being around Jane's antics has lightened him up considerably since the beginning of the series. Comes to a head after the two-year Time Skip following Red John's death and Cho's joining the FBI: in "Green Thumb" he smiles no fewer than three times and laughs twice.
• Does Not Like Spam: According to Van Pelt, Cho hates pineapple (The Thin Red Line).
• Expy: To a certain extent; he generally seems to be channelling Joe Friday in his speech patterns and demeanor.

• Genius Bruiser: He mainly acts as the interrogator, because he is very persuasive and an excellent listener.

• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Rigsby.
• Hidden Depths: Bordering on The Ace levels.
• In-Series Nickname: "The Iceman".
• Inscrutable Oriental: He's very serious, hardly ever smiles or blinks, and is of Asian descent.

• Odd Couple: With Summer, a quirky and offbeat character.
• Offscreen Breakup: With Elise Chaye.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Wayne's and Summer's red.
• Recovered Addict: Cho is hit by a freaking car during a bust and is given pain medication during his recovery for the resulting back injury. As the episodes go on we see him popping the pills as needed. Eventually he realizes he's getting addicted to them. Cho being Cho, he solves his addiction by flushing the remainder of his pills down the toilet and never takes any again.
• Reformed Criminal: He used to be involved with a gang before going into law enforcement.
• Secret Relationship: With Summer, due to her being his CI.
• Shipper on Deck: Shipped Rigsby and Van Pelt during the earlier episodes. When asked, says he does not ship Jane and Lisbon and thinks they're more Like Brother and Sister. He's wrong.
• The Stoic: He hardly ever blinks.
• Straight Man: Especially to Rigsby and later on season six Agent Wylie.
• Token Minority: The only non-Caucasian member of the team.
• Those Two Guys: With Rigsby, whenever they're not affecting the plot.

Wayne Rigsby

Played By: Owain Yeoman

One of the special agents of the CBI. He's an arson specialist who quickly becomes attracted to Van Pelt. The two begin a secret relationship in the second season. He's a nice, gentle man who sometimes serves as comic relief.

---

• Abusive Parents/Alcoholic Parent: His father.
• Action Dad: With two kids by season six.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: He always wears a suit as part of his work.
• Battle Couple: With Van Pelt, especially when they start their cybersecurity company.
• Berserk Button: Don't mention his criminal father to him. You'll probably regret it.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's usually a Gentle Giant, but don't go after any of his loved ones or say anything about his father.
• Big Eater: Used to be this, until the actor became a vegetarian in real life.
• The Big Guy: The tallest and bulkiest member of the team (Simon Baker is 5'10", Robin Tunney is 5'4", Tim Kang is 5'8", Amanda Righetti is 5'9", but Yeoman is 6'4".)
• Butt-Monkey: A mild example but he's the most frequently teased, although he takes it very gracefully.
• Character Development: Since his son was born, he's shown to be more responsible a person. Of course, he is still the team's Plucky Comic Relief dude, but he has grown more mature than he's been in early seasons.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: If a someone's in danger and he can do something about it, you can bet Rigsby will not just stand there no matter how dangerous the situation seems.
• Daddy Issues
• Dark and Troubled Past: His father used to be a biker. A fair amount of abuse is implied.
• Demoted to Extra: In the second half of season 6, following Red John's death.
• The Determinator: Shot twice, once in the upper chest. Still gets up, walks around the house, and kills the shooters before they get to hurt Jane or Van Pelt.

• Faking the Dead: The team fakes his death as part of the plan for Jane to meet Lorelei and Red John in the season 4 finale.
• Five Temperament Ensemble: Choleric.
• Gentle Giant: He's very nice, but very big and handy in a fight if necessary, although he doesn't enjoy it.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Cho, who are also an Odd Couple due to their diametric personalities.
• I Am Not My Father: He really doesn't like it when people suggest that he's like his father.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He genuinely wants Grace to be happy with O'Laughlin, despite still loving her, which is why he refuses to attend to their wedding.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Whenever Van Pelt gets a new boyfriend, Rigsby takes a few minutes to explain some things to him.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: A blue-eyed very nice guy.

• New Old Flame: He and Grace hook up again at the end of "Red Velvet Cupcakes".
• Nice Guy: Even when being teased by his co-workers, he's very nice and friendly to everyone.
• Offscreen Breakup: He and Sarah broke up between seasons 4 and 5, although it's mentioned that it's because of him faking his death to attempt to catch Red John.
• Office Romance: With Van Pelt.
• Plot Armor: It's the only explanation how he survives White as the Driven Snow. The son of a bitch takes a shotgun blast at point-blank range, followed closely by a bullet to the upper chest, and he still manages to get back up, walk outside, and return the favor.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Although he has a dark past, Rigsby has a very sunny outlook and can always be guaranteed to provide this.
• Put on a Bus: After the CBI is disbanded in the middle of season 6, he and van Pelt leave and start a cybersecurity firm.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Cho's blue.
• Secret Relationship: With Van Pelt, in season 2. They start it again by the end of season 5.
• Those Two Guys: With Cho, whenever they're not affecting the plot.
• Token Good Teammate: In the earlier seasons, he's this whenever the team begins going off the rails. When they begin investigating whether Lisbon killed a man she once put in jail for pedophilia, Rigsby is the one to argue that if she (justifiably) did the crime, then she can do the time.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Gender-flipped. Do not threaten Grace Van Pelt. He becomes increasingly more violent as he realizes Grace and their daughter have become targets of an Arc Villain in season six.
• You Killed My Father: And he shoots down the man who did it as well.

Grace Van Pelt

Played By: Amanda Righetti

The youngest member of the CBI, special agent Van Pelt is the rookie of the team, and often tasked with research. She begins dating Rigsby secretly on season 2, but they later break up, and she gets engaged to FBI agent Craig O'Laughlin. She kills him in self-defense when he turns out to be Red John's mole. After this she undergoes considerable character development as she learns to cope with what happened: dropping the naivety that defined her in early seasons, learning to express her anger and frustrations, but also working to retain the her sweet side and faith in people.

She is hard-working, very bright and often clashes with Jane about her belief in the afterlife.

---

• Action Girl: Despite being a rookie, she's still a trained cop. Though she spends much of the later seasons (namely season 5) behind a computer.
• Action Mom: As of season six.
• Agent Mulder: Always the one to tell the rest of the team (and especially Jane) to "keep an open mind," whether the subject be religion, spiritual mediumship, Haunted Houses, or Alien Abduction.
• Break the Cutie: Van Pelt has taken a cynical turn following having to kill her fiancé, The Mole for Red John, in self-defense.
• Character Development: About season 1 to 3, she was a subversion to Fiery Redhead at best. Following Break the Cutie event in season 3 finale, though, she starts to grow some beard, with emerging Cowboy Cop attitude and Fiery Redhead temper. At the very least, she is no more the rookie.
  • Van Pelt also has a quieter arc within the first three seasons of going from being uncomfortable with her beauty to having no qualms about using it to get suspects talking.
• Cowboy Cop: Post-season 4 she has this even worse than the others in the team, showing absolutely no mercy for anyone she deems a criminal. Notably, she's the only one who thinks Jane is justified in burying a man alive to get a confession. At one point, Lisbon gets two complaints about her within an hour.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Not as bad as the others, but still troubling. She's raised in Nowheresville and looked down for her gender. Jane also mentions that she has a trauma that she never speaks of to anyone. She also states at one point that she had a sister who committed suicide, although she later claims she made it up; it's left somewhat ambiguous what the truth of the matter is.
• Dead Person Conversation: With O'Laughlin in the episode "My Bloody Valentine".
• Demoted to Extra: In season 6 after the Red John arc ends.
• Fair Cop: To the point where in one episode a man asking to speak to whoever is running the investigation tells Van Pelt that she's too attractive to be in charge.
• Fiery Redhead: Particularly from season 4 onwards. To the extent that it concerns her companions.

• Girly Bruiser: From Season 4 onwards, although she does have her moments in earlier seasons, it's just an emphasis on girly.
• Hide Your Pregnancy: She got Put on a Bus to a hackers' school halfway through season 5. When The Bus Came Back three episodes later, she spent an episode in exceptionally baggy clothes and hiding behind her desk.
• Honey Trap: Whenever a hot lady is needed for an undercover mission, Jane heads straight to Van Pelt.
• Knight in Sour Armour: Starting in season 4.
• The Lad-ette: Similarly to Lisbon, but still different. She has an intense knowledge of American football, due to her father being a football coach, and has some tomboyish aspects, but not as much as Lisbon.
• Meet Cute: How did she and Craig meet? Oh, right, they had a brutal car crash when he was chasing her and Rigsby.
• Ms. Exposition: She's the new girl to the team and apparently has no knowledge of Jane's methods, so she always asks the questions.

• Naïve Newcomer: Initially she's the newest addition to CBI and fits this trope to a T, being friendly and very openminded.
• New Old Flame: She and Rigsby hook up again at the end of "Red Velvet Cupcakes".
• Nice Girl: Bordering on being a Perpetual Smiler at times, especially before her Break the Cutie incident at the end of Season 3.
• Office Romance: With Rigsby, which starts off secret and gets more public as time goes on.
• Put on a Bus: In the middle of season 6, following the disbandment of the CBI, she and Rigsby start a cybersecurity firm.
• The Reliable One: Van Pelt often goes unnoticed and unappreciated for the long hours she spends hunting down files and information for the other characters.
• Secret Relationship: With Rigsby in season 2, although they do also carry it on in public later.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Lisbon's Tomboy.
• The Watson: Being the newest member of the team, she played this role during the earlier episodes.

The FBI Core

Dennis Abbott

Played By: Rockmond Dunbar

An FBI agent dispatched to Sacramento to shut down CBI. Sent from the Austin, Texas office to allay fears of corruption due to the Blake Association's reach in California.

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• Ambiguously Evil: His appearance raised a host of questions, but it now seems he's one of the good guys, if a bit of a dick.
• By-the-Book Cop: Despite initial fears that he might be another of the Blake Association's plants, it seems pretty clear now that he's clean.
  • That said, he sees no trouble with Jane's riskier schemes, almost making him a Cowboy Cop.
• Da Chief: To Jane's new team in the FBI.
• Defrosting Ice King: To Jane and Lisbon, during season six.
• Happily Married: To his wife Lena. To the point of caving in at Blackmail so she'll get her dream job without his Sympathetic Murder Backstory getting in the way.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When he suggests his wife should go to Washington DC alone, to make the executives assessing her stop caring about his past.
• Jerkass: Maybe 'uncompromising' is a better word, but still.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Is more or less absolutely right about everything, if not from Jane's warped perspective. And a little (or perhaps a lot) of uncompromising is exactly what the more-or-less anarchic CBI needed, even if that meant permanent shutdown.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Lets Jane go in order to avoid a bloodbath that probably would have resulted in his death and the deaths of Jane and the entire Core, not to mention Red John's escape.
• Not So Above It All: By the beginning of season six, was seen as a hardass with an antagonistic relationship with Jane. Then Jane gave him something.
  Fisher: A [toy] robot?
  Abbott (gleeful): Not just a robot. It's Voltron, all right?
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Is generally a hardass, but is capable of being swayed.
  • Starts to trust Jane more and more as he sees him crack cases, and can often be counted to provide whatever crazy things Jane needs.
• Scary Black Man: Invoked sometimes in his roles in Jane's schemes.
• Shipper on Deck: Seems to ship Jane and Lisbon of all people. When she considers moving to Washington, he sets the two of them up on a nice dinner (granted, with the premise of looking for a suspect) and even makes comments to Jane implying he needs to man up and tell her exactly what he wants.

• Sympathetic Murder Backstory: Murdered a Zeta commander before he could murder a busload of people during his time in Rio Bravo Station. Is still beating himself up about it several years later, and seems very moved when Jane says he's done the right thing.

Kim Fischer

Played By: Emily Swallow

Some person who works for the FBI

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• Put on a Bus: Left to take care of her mother after Season 6. Unlike Rigsby and Van Pelt, she doesn't return for the finale.

Jason Wylie

Played By: Joe Adler

A computer analyst who originally worked in the lower levels of the FBI. He is recognized by Abbott for his keen initiative and promoted to the main team.

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• All Love Is Unrequited: He has a transparent crush on Vega, who seems more interested in Cho. He finally does get her to agree to a date with him - but she dies later the same day.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Has a knack for carrying out orders before they're asked.
• Mission Control: Tends to stay at the office and send in information to the field agents.
• Non-Action Guy: Wylie normally stays in the office and works the tech, making him this most of the time. However, in "Byzantium," it's revealed that he does keep up on his gun training and he goes out with Cho on a stakeout.
• The Smart Guy: A computer expert who offers some insights on the case.

Michelle Vega

Played By: Josie Loren

Some person who works for the FBI

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• Hypercompetent Sidekick: For Agent Cho
• Killed Off for Real: A startling example. And she only lasted a handful of episodes.
• Sacrificial Lion: Being a fledgling badass doesn't save her from dying from a gunshot wound in her tenth episode.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Averted: At first it looks as though she's only there to round out the cast and replace Fisher, but she actually has a very different story. Arguably, though, she is very similar to Van Pelt's character back in Season 1.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Lasted only 10 episodes during the final season.

The CBI Office

Virgil Minelli

Played By: Gregory Itzin

The first Special Agent in charge of the CBI unit. He's a good agent and a good boss, but does not like Jane's antics much. He resigns the position after Sam Bosco and his team are murdered.

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• But Now I Must Go: His leaving the CBI after a tragic incident has a lot of this.
• The Bus Came Back: He has two guest appearances: one in season 3, when Jane asks him a favor, and one in season 5, in a Flashback episode that shows how Jane started working for the police.

• Da Chief: He likes Jane's results, but not always his methods.
• A Father to His Men: He's never had an agent die during his administration before, and takes it hard when several do in one day.

• Put on a Bus: After retiring.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He does a lot of complaining about Lisbon and Jane's messes but isn't actively obstructive towards them.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Retires after Bosco's team is killed.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He takes the Red John investigation away from Jane and gives it to Bosco to force him to take other cases. This results in a lot of counterproductive conflict between Jane and Bosco, and Red John having Bosco and his team killed, something which Minelli seems to realize is rooted in his decision. To add insult to injury, Jane continues to do a good job investigating other cases even when he does have the Red John case back.

Madeleine Hightower

Played By: Aunjanue Ellis

A Special Agent sent in as Minelli's replacement. She's hard-working and very bright, as Jane remarks just upon meeting her. Madeleine was married prior to her introduction, and is on the middle of getting divorced. She is also the mother of two kids.

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• Action Mom: The episode which introduces her kids has her gun down a Villain of the Week who's been trying to use Jane as a Human Shield.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Generally a management figure, but one who knows how to shoot and is willing to go into the field herself.
• Big Damn Heroes: Along with Lisbon, shows up to save Jane from Kirkland.
• Black Boss Lady: Although she doesn't stay the boss for too long.
• The Bus Came Back: Shows up again in season six.
• Bus Crash: Died along with her two children in a car accident offscreen. Except not quite.
• By-the-Book Cop: Experiences some frustration from having to work with Lisbon and her fellow Cowboy Cops.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She is mentioned to be suspended at one point in season 4, but ever since then she hasn't been mentioned even once.
• Da Chief: She's willing to give Jane and Lisbon a lot of leeway, but lets them know when they're treading on thin ice.
• Fair Cop: A fairly attractive woman, and a tough agent.
• Faking the Dead: To keep her family safe and away from Red John.
• Frameup: She is framed for the murders of Todd Johnson and Manuel Montero.
• I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Does this when she is first introduced to Lisbon, saying that Jane's behaviour is her responsibility.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Especially after having to fake her death.
• Mama Bear: Emphasized especially in the third season to the point when she takes them to hide in the mountains when she is wrongly convicted.
• A Mother to Her Men: Lisbon and the team remain loyal to her, even after she's framed for the murder of Todd Johnson.
• Put on a Bus: Following the season 3 finale.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Is ultimately willing to stand up for her team when others go after them, and when she does come down on them herself, it's out of a desire to obey the rules.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: A politically-connected woman who isn't afraid to call in favors and has a lot of dirt on people, although she tends to reserve this kind of behavior for whenever someone else is trying to use their own connections to harass the CBI (e.g. when Bret Stiles threatens to use a Senator who's a member of Visualize to punish the team for their investigation, Hightower asks if said Senator is still seeing a stripper).
• Stealth Pun: Madeleine Hightower. Madeleine means "high tower".
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Jane.

Luther Wainwright

Played By: Michael Rady

The new Special Agent in Charge of CBI, starting from Season Four. A wise man; everyone in our CBI team seems to like him.

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• Accidental Murder: In the botched pursuit of catching Red John, the FBI accidentally shoot and kill him.
• Berserk Button: Nobody calls Wainwright mommy's boy. When Jane does, Wainwright fires him.
• Bound and Gagged: In the season 4 finale, by Red John.
• By-the-Book Cop: By default, he is this. That doesn't mean he cannot be reasonable, though. Read on.
• Da Chief: He takes a hands-on approach to the team and, while generally approving of Jane's antics, isn't afraid to call him out when he gets too far out of line.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: He gets rather unceremoniously killed by the FBI, accidentally no less.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He is insistent about following rules and urging his people not to overreact to things but he's also very tolerant of Jane's antics, compared to two previous bosses and takes threats and other information seriously.
• Sacrificial Lion: As a punishment for Patrick Jane's antics, Red John punishes him by taking away Wainwright.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: One of the best-dressed CBI agents in the show.
• What the Hell, Hero?: When Jane buries Benjamin Marx alive he doesn't bother disguising his disgust and frustration.
  Wainwright: You shamed us today.

Sam Bosco

Played By: Terry Kinney

He takes over Red John's investigation in the first half of season two. Until Red John's mole, Rebecca, kills him so Jane can be in charge of it again.

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• All Love Is Unrequited: For Lisbon.
• Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: Very hostile towards Jane at first, but he's a good guy who wants to catch Red John and finds more common ground with him.
• By-the-Book Cop: He has an appreciation for the rules.
• Dying Declaration of Love: Tells Lisbon he lives her when he's dying, first grumbling that the doctors had better be right that he's dying.
• Hopeless Suitor: For Lisbon, given that he's married and she just sees him as a colleague.

• Jerkass with a Heart of Gold: He's actually quite a nice guy... he's really just a jerkass towards Jane, who he doesn't like. He eventually warms up to him, though.
• Never My Fault: When the feuding between his team and Lisbon's almost gets three agents killed, he takes no responsibility and blames it all on Jane's lack of professionalism being contagious.
• Only Sane Man: Bosco is a real-world cop who plays by real-world rules and unfortunately doesn't realize that he lives in a TV show where Cowboy Cop tactics work and are often rewarded.
• Sacrificial Lion: He and his team are murdered by one of Red John's followers, so that Patrick Jane and Lisbon's team will get the case back.

Rebecca Anderson

Played By: Shauna Bloom

Bosco's secretary.

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• Believing Their Own Lies: After being exposed she is utterly confident that Red John's murders are some form of enlightenment for the human race, while asserting that she is completely sane, and that he loves her.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Does a good job of faking grief and earnestness, especially in the aftermath of the shooting.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Has a couple of episodes where she's a Spear Carrier for Bosco's team, then just seems to be the person who found their bodies and tells Lisbon everything she can about their recent activities, before her true allegiances are revealed.
• Dark and Troubled Past: And unknown, too, as it's never really revealed (except for a few comments Jane makes that may or may not be true).
• Enigmatic Minion: Little is revealed about her past.

• Mad Love: She's madly in love with Red John.
• The Mole: A Red John devotee willing to kill people she's worked with for months (if not years) simply due to a whim of his.
• Mouth of Sauron: Serves as this during her interrogation scene, relaying Red John's mindset, and how he wants to have Jane as his nemesis again.
• Sassy Secretary: At first, teasing Bosco a bit about cheating on his diet. She turns out to be a lot worse though.
• Walking Spoiler: given her final episode.
• Smug Snake: Utterly confident in her ability to withstand interrogation (although she does a decent job), the superiority of her and Red John's cause, and his love for her. As Jane predicted, he just sees her as a useful but expendable tool.
• Villains Out Shopping: Collects porcelain frogs.
• Yandere: For Red John.
• You, Get Me Coffee: Brings Bosco and his team snacks.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Poisoned by Red John within just a couple hours of being captured despite her assertions that she wouldn't cooperate with any attempt to find out more about him.

J.J. LaRoche

Played By: Pruitt Taylor Vince

The head of CBI Internal Affairs. Due to the nature of his job, a natural antagonist to Jane and the team. Takes the position of CBI chief for a while after Hightower goes on the run.

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• Badass Bookworm: Very intelligent, and very capable of handling himself.
  Hightower: Looks like someone won a few science fairs in their day.
  LaRoche (laughs at first before getting completely serious): I won all of them.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: It takes a lot to intimidate him, and, as his Dark Secret shows, he is capable of frightening things.
• The Bus Came Back: After leaving the post of CBI chief in season four, comes back to investigate Rigsby in season five. Becomes a recurring character.
• By-the-Book Cop: He shows some contempt for some of Jane's manipulative rule-bending actions.
• The Comically Serious: Sometimes, especially when his stoic nature contrasts with Jane's personality.
• Creepy Monotone: And knows how to use it for interviews.
• Friendless Background: The nature of his job, and the guilt he carries make him an isolated person. He seems a bit surprised, and slightly envious, when Jane describes the trust between himself and Lisbon and La Roche notes the level of friendship that would imply.
• Gracefully Demoted: In season 6 after the CBI is dissolved he is reduced to working for the San Francisco Police departments internal affairs, doing the same job as before for half the salary. Nonetheless, it is understood that this is out of no fault of his own and compared to working with Jane and the others at the CBI it is “Drama free”, something he is keenly grateful for.
• Internal Affairs: Recurring Character LaRoche is a heroic version. He's a Creepy Good internal affairs investigator who barks up several wrong trees, but he's a fair man and the show does quite a bit to show that an internal affairs department is necessary. Various criminals have deeply infiltrated the CBI and the heroes do get up to some shockingly improper Cowboy Cop antics.
• Large and in Charge: A pretty huge dude with lots of authority.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He regrets deeply the depths he sank into to avenge his mother's rape. Jane tells Lisbon he's been punishing himself ever since.
• Not So Stoic: In Red and Itchy, he's at his most vulnerable, with his Tupperware gone, and feeling afraid of exposure, more openly ashamed of what he let himself do all those years ago, and self-conscious about how Jane must view him for keeping that.
• Real Men Wear Pink: In his private time he collects delicate figurines and owns a poodle.
• Red Herring: Heavily hinted to be the mole in the CBI in the latter half of the third season. Turns out it's O'Laughlin.
• The Stoic: Keeps a straight, neutral face almost all of the time (even when accusing Jane of having engineered the death of a murderer), although he slips a little when talking about the Tupperware box.
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: A variation, since Jane isn't an outright criminal, but being the head of CBI Internal Affairs means that he'll often be against Jane. Yet he's come to respect him as a detective and they have teamed up more than once.
• Sympathetic Murder Backstory: Or, at least, sympathetic mutilation of a tongue.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Just what does he hide in the Tupperware in his safe? The end of Red and Itchy heavily implies that it's the tongue of his mother's rapist.
• Worthy Opponent: There's a whole vibe of this going on between him and Jane.

Osvaldo "Oscar" Ardiles

Played By: David Norona

CBI's Assistant District Attorney. The nature of his work usually puts him at odds with the team.

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• Amoral Attorney: Gives strong vibes of this, though, so far, he hasn't been caught doing anything wrong. In season five, Brenda tells Lisbon about a certain Farland case. The mention of that is enough to get Ardiles to break the law in order to get some sealed documents for Lisbon.

• The Bet: In "At First Blush", Jane bets him a nickel that he can prove someone Ardiles just finished prosecuting is innocent before the jury gets back (due to having detected signs of innocence cold-reading her during a chance encounter). Jane succeeds and Ardiles ultimately pays up with a half-smile.
• Blackmail: Lisbon blackmails him in order to get her hands at some important documents.
• I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Openly admits to Cho that he'll be going out of way to obstruct the entire team after Cho proves the innocence of a supposed robber who Ardiles was trying to force into being a witness against a gang leader. That being said, he is never actually shown making good on this threat, implying it was just hot air.
• Pet the Dog: When he decides not to press charges against a pregnant Summer after she's arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, even though it would be a good chance to screw over his enemy Cho.
• Properly Paranoid: Correctly suspects when someone is following him.
• Red Herring: One of the suspects of being Red John's Mole in the end of season three. It was O'Laughlin.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Wears fairly nice suits every time he appears on screen.
• Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Downplayed. He does press charges against Jane after he kills a Red John accomplice believed to be Red John himself at the time but he does have strong reason to think that it was cold-blooded murder (due to the actions of Red John's henchmen), even though it wasn't, is amenable to taking the death penalty off the table and doesn't come across as too harsh or aggressive during the case, or overly bitter about losing.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He's more affable after the season six Time Skip and two years in private practice, showing respect for Lisbon and her abilities, and a certain reasonableness when hiring Rigsby and Van Pelt to help him out. That being said, he does vow to "destroy" whoever has been hacking his phone and spying on him.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's prepared to run a somewhat flimsy prosecution against a reformed gang member whose son needs him as a caregiver, but does this because he is convinced that the man will testify against his old gang if Ardiles pushes hard enough. Cho disagrees with this, feeling it's both immoral and unlikely to succeed.
• You Have to Believe Me!: His talk about his phone being hacked and people following him in season six comes across a bit like this.

Brenda Shettrick

Played By: Rebecca Wisocky

The head of CBI's Media Relations Unit.

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• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: One of the nicer CBI officials, but ultimately a highly corrupt one.
• Butt-Monkey: It's subtle, but many jokes are made at her expense, due to her Slave to PR tendencies.
• Drunk with Power: While cold-reading her, Jane speculates that, after having previously been more of an idealist, she started getting hooked on power and authority while serving as the managing editor (the second highest position) at a local newspaper.
• Gossipy Hens: In season five, Jane tells Lisbon to go search for someone whose business is to know about everyone else's business. Cue Gilligan Cut and Lisbon is talking to Brenda.
• Hidden Depths: Discussed when Jane cold reads her in her final episode, with it being noted that she loves horses and he guesses that she came to California with romantic ideas about being a writer and falling in love, but couldn't write and had unrequited feelings for someone, causing her to seek power as a void after going into the media world, trading favors until she became a self-interested phony. Brenda's tears at the end of the scene imply that he's right.
• The Mole: Has been feeding Tommy Volker information about Lisbon's investigation. Was also responsible for passing info to suspects in a number of CBI cases, causing those cases to go south, until she was finally caught.
• Pet the Dog: It's hard to tell how much of its genuine, but she sometimes stops jabbering on about the public relations aspect of a case displays sympathy for the victim, such as the man forced to wear a bomb vest in Strawberries and Cream
• Plucky Office Girl: Mainly a desk worker, and generally upbeat except during PR crises.
• Red Herring: One of the suspects of being Red John's Mole in the end of season three. It was O'Laughlin. Ironically she later turned out to be a Mole herself, just not to Red John.
• Slave to PR: Throws Jane's anti-hero's tendencies into nice contrast.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Is very reluctant to tell Tommy Volker about Marvin Pettigrew.

Raymond Haffner

Played By: Reed Diamond

Lisbon's temporary replacement in Season Four.

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• All Love Is Unrequited: Possibly. While it might just be professional respect and friendship, he's hinted to have feelings for Lisbon. He asks her to quit the CBI and go into the private sector with him, and visiting her in the hospital while saying he hopes someday they can get to know each other better. Lisbon sees him as a friend at best, and an object of suspicion at worst.
• Berserk Button: He gets a bit sensitive about Visualize being criticized.
• The Bus Came Back: He reappears in season 5.

• Chekhov's Gunman: Shows up in one episode in season four, and for guest appearances in season five. Is one of the seven suspects of being Red John.
• Church Militant: Is a part of Visualize.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Apparently died in the explosion in Jane's house.
• Genre Savvy: Quickly realizes that Jane is going to go behind his back a lot (but will get results) and will be working to sabotage him out of resentment for his stepping into Lisbon's shoes, something he attempts to stop by giving Cho a spot on his team and asking him to use his knowledge of Jane to help Haffner understand him better.
• Good All Along: He's the only one of the final seven Red John suspects to never be implicated in any crimes besides possibly being Red John, and he isn't Red John.
• Graceful Loser: Although a bit frustrated by being humiliated and discredited by Jane in order to get Lisbon back, he does give a somewhat respectful smile to him before leaving, and doesn't seem too bitter about it in later episodes.
• Private Investigator: In his later appearances, on behalf of Visualize and various other clients. He comes across as a little more hardboiled in those episodes, but good at what he does.
• Put on a Bus: When Lisbon is restored to the team in "Little Red Book".
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Somewhat. He tries to develop a good relationship with Jane when they're working together, and isn't too embittered over Jane sabotaging him when he reappears.
• Rhetorical Question Blunder: Finds out just why Lisbon and Jane are so wary of him with a seemingly jocular question. Seeing the answer in Lisbon's reaction naturally causes him to take offense.
  Haffner: What is with all the secrecy? Seriously, why are you always holding out on me? You don't think I'm Red John, do you?
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Jane. Interestingly, it's on Jane's side in their first episode, and on Haffner's in "The Red Tattoo" when working with the team to solve the mysterious death of a Visualize member.
• Trouble Entendre: His conversation with Lisbon on Black-Winged Red Bird plays out like this, although it is not known whether he actually meant any threat.
• We Used to Be Friends: He has a friendly relationship with Lisbon that is strained (at least on her part), with the revelations about his ties to Visualize and the suspicion that he might be Red John.

Gale Bertram

Played By: Michael Gaston

The director of the CBI.

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• Da Chief: Willing to interfere with or help various investigations depending on his mood and motives. This also applies to smaller issues (like refusing to authorize the budget for Van Pelt to attend a computer crimes seminar until he's in a good mood and feeling grateful to the CBI after Jane teaches him how to hide his poker tells).
• Dirty Cop: One of the dirtiest. Works for Blake Association.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Killed rather suddenly after revealing everything he knows to Jane.
• Establishing Character Moment: His first scene has him arriving at a crime scene, talking about how the bureaucracy and field investigators at the CBI need each other, showing confusion when Jane asks why he's there in person besides to show off for the cameras (Bertram says there isn't any reason besides showing off for the cameras, although he does try to justify this), then trying not to take offense at Jane's flippant personality and comments. Later, it's implied that he was lying (which also sets the stage for some of his future episodes), as Bertram was involved in a business deal with the victim and is afraid that people will suspect corruption due to the murder.
• The Mole: Confirmed, though he claims to be 'just a humble footsoldier' in the Blake Association.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Gradually subverted. He can have moments where he's at bat for the team (especially in the third season), has logical reasons for disagreeing with them and isn't afraid to tell off Jane for screwing things up or making unreasonable demands. As time passes though, he shows a more self-centered and political side, while getting colder towards Jane and the team, even before he becomes a Red John suspect.
• Red Herring: One of the suspects of being Red John's Mole in the end of season three. The strongest of all the others, since the assassin entered his room in the hotel... but she was actually just heading down to O'Laughlin's room through the balcony. Is on the final list of Jane's suspects, and is thought to be Red John for quite a while, but it turns out to be Sheriff McAllister.
• Slave to PR: Quite a few of his decisions are based on how the public will perceive them, or is perceiving the CBI at the moment.
• Sleazy Politician: A cop version, who is willing to throw people under the boss, and cover-up colossal mistakes when things get too ugly.
• Slimeball: Has one of the most grating personalities on TV. You might even call it a Michael Gaston specialty.

• The Sociopath: Not much a reveal, but still.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Is killed soon after luring Jane to Red John's trap.

Brett Partridge

Played By: Jack Plotnick

A macabre-loving CBI forensic technician specializing in Red John's murders.

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• All There in the Manual: The original script of the Pilot describes him as similar to Ricky Gervais.
• Back for the Dead: Returns in season 6 to be killed in the opening episode.
• The Bus Came Back: After two seasons without him, he returns in season 5.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He gets a bit overexcited at the sight of an interesting crime, but he does seem to know a lot about his occupation.
• Creepy Mortician: The CBI's resident example.
• Cloudcuckoolander: His execution of a crime goes a bit off in the "Pilot".
  Partridge: He waits for her, expecting her to come in alone. Only thing, her friend Tannen chose the wrong night to come over for a Richard Gere and ice cream orgy. So Red John zaps them both with his trusty stun gun and grabs a five iron from the bag here, and BAM! Crushes Tannen's skull. Then takes his sweet time dealing with Alison how he likes.
• Dark Is Not Evil: A complete gore freak, although not explicitly evil. He later turns out as one of the 7 suspects of being Red John as of the season 5 finale, and at the Season 6's premiere, after being killed by Red John, is revealed that he was indeed a member of the Blake Association.
• Deadpan Snarker: Every time he is unimpressed with Jane's knowledge about Red John.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Killed quickly an abruptly while serving as a major suspect.
• Dirty Cop: A part of Blake Association.
• In Love with Your Carnage: Admires Red John's murder style and considers it a work of art. Naturally, Jane isn't amused.
• Jerkass: Downplayed. Bizarre quirks aside, he seems to be a somewhat friendly guy, but his notable personal enmity with Jane often brings out his sarcastic side.
• The Mole: Worked for Red John's cult.
• Meaningful Name: His surname brings to the memory the painting A brace of partridge by William Blake, the author of the poem The Tyger which Red John is famous for uttering. This not only increases Partridge's profile as a Red John suspect, but later highlights his membership of the Blake Association.
• Nausea Dissonance: He seems genuinely puzzled when his enthusiastic description of death by incineration makes Jane feel sick.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Admires everything related to forensic science and death in general, to the point he almost squees at seeing a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion.
• No Name Given: A variation: his name is never explicitly said until Season 5, but it is always visible on his ID card.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Jane delivers one to him in the Pilot.
  Jane: You know what your problem is, my friend? You enjoy your work a little too much. You're a ghoul. If you don't get horny reading Fangoria, I'm Britney Spears.
  Partridge: I-I resent that!
  Lisbon: This is you trying to redeem yourself, is it?
  Jane: [to Lisbon] I'm sorry. He irks me. He's irksome.
• Red Herring: Partridge is pointed as a Red John suspect as soon as his second apparition, and the number of evidence only increases as the series advances. However, he is not Red John, and in fact gets killed by him in the opening episode of Season 6, but he is revealed to be a part of his cult.

Rick Tork

Played By: Joshua Bitton

A CBI agent on Haffner's team who late becomes an FBI agent who works with Abbot's team.

• Back for the Finale: Appears once at the start of season four, then for the shows two-part finale.
• Big Damn Heroes: One of the many agents to set a trap and arrest Lazarus in the finale.
• Determinator: He's upset by Jane being kidnapped by Lazarus on his watch and insists on joining the attempt to rescue him despite a sprained or broken wrist and a possible concussion.
• Innocently Insensitive: He proposes a trap to have Jane smoke out Lazarus with a fake psychic prediction on TV, then realizes how similar this is to what caused Red John to kill Jane's wife and daughter, leaving Tork chagrined.
• Oh, Crap!: Once he figures out he was tricked into Saying Too Much.
• The Napoleon: A very short man whose very temperamental about it and physically attacks a friend and fellow agent Jane tricked him into thinking had insulted him.
• Saying Too Much: Accidentally lets Lazarus know about Jane and Lisbon's wedding while answering a phone call, although he quickly realizes this, which helps catch the killer.
• Sixth Ranger: In the last two episodes, where he helps out the team due to them being short-handed after Vega's death during a serial killer case.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Suggests delaying Jane and Lisbon's wedding to deal with the serial killer threat. While obviously this wouldn't have been the finale the fans wanted (and ultimately proves to be unnecessary) it was a somewhat understandable precaution.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Jane claims that making him blow his stack over his height was therapeutic and while this initially just sounds like Jane being a dick and trying to justify himself, Tork is a lot calmer and happier when he shows up again years later.

Ron and Karl

Played By: John Troy Donovan and Karl Sonnenberg

Minor CBI agents who frequently appear across the course of the show.

• Back for the Finale: Both men disappear after The CBI is dissolved but show up to attend Jane and Lisbon’s wedding.
• The Danza: Karl has the same name as his actor.
• Only One Name: Neither ever gets a surname.
• Spear Carrier: Frequently appears on raids or around the CBI office but are rarely if ever given anything to stand out.

Marlon Hicks

Played By: Dominic Hoffman.

A member of Bosco's team.

• Jerkass Realization: He’s pretty hard on Rigsby, always calling him insulting nicknames from Sesame Street (demonstrating how he sees Lisbon’s team as a joke), but seems grateful and a bit guilty after Rigsby saves his life.
• Killed Offscreen: He isn’t present with the rest of Bosco's team during the shooting but gets found dead with a Red John smiley face nearby at the office of a lead.
• Mauve Shirt: He is the only one of Bosco's team to get memorable dialogue or interactions with Lisbon's team.

Nick Martinez

Played By: Andres Perez-Molina

Another member of Bosco's team.

• Hyper-Awareness: In the only scene he gets any focus in, he is sent to check out an area that's believed to have a kidnapping victim (while disguised as a homeless man), then report on everything he's observed, doing a fairly good job.

Roy Carmen

‘’’Played By:’’’ Christian Clemenson

A therapist for the CBI office who deals with Lisbon after the shooting of a Red John accomplice.

• Culturally Religious: Jane profiles him as a lapsed Catholic due to how he doesn't come across as a believer, but has an old cross in his office and a fondness for religious symbolism.
• False Friend: He talks a good game about just wanting to help Lisbon move past a traumatic experience but at the end of the day, He’s Gaslighting her in exchange for money and plans to frame her for murder to discredit her testimony against a millionaire murderer.
• No Sale: After being caught, he tries to rat out his boss in exchange for a cushy deal, and is unsympathetically rejected due to His employer already being caught. His reaction, is one of unease and defeat.
• Pet the Dog: Possibly, he does try to stop Lisbon from killing herself when she and Jane throw a Batman Gambit to make him think his Gaslighting has worked. Letting her kill herself would have achieved the same result as framing her, but Carmen does try to talk her down, apparently due to Even Evil Has Standards, but possibly out of Pragmatic Villainy.
• Psycho Psychologist: Can sound a bit creepy in his discussions that a murder victim deserved it, and killed the man himself and is framing Lisbon.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: An intellectual man with glasses, Although he also turns out to have Four Eyes, Zero Soul.

The Villains

Red John

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

A mysterious and dangerous Serial Killer who murdered Jane's wife and child after the former, in his capacity as a television "psychic", gives a phony and insulting psychic profile calling Red John "weak". It was the last time he would murder for his original pathology (torturing and killing women)- all his victims in the series are either to cover his tracks or to mess with Patrick Jane, or otherwise to avenge an "insult" such as "cheap imitations" of his work.

While Jane is hell-bent on tracking Red John down and killing him, Red John seems fascinated by Patrick and doesn't make any attempt to kill him, instead playing subtle Criminal Mind Games and acting mostly either to screw with Patrick or cut off any leads that might come back to him. Neither his identity nor his goals are confirmed until Season 6 but, unusually for a Serial Killer, he seems to be at the head of an entire network of murderers and serial killers, many acting independently but seemingly ready to kill or even die for him.

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• Attention Whore: As Jane notes, Red John is a showman, he loves the attention he gets from the crimes he's committed and the reason he's so fixated on Jane is that Jane gives him the most attention out of anyone.
• Ax-Crazy: A sadistic Attention Whore that kills For the Evulz. He's high-functioning when it comes to this but he doesn't hide that he enjoys his work as much as the attention cast upon them.
• Antagonist Title: Few episodes mention him, even fewer deal directly with him, and only three can be confirmed to actually show him on camera^* not counting the ones where McAllister appears but isn't identified as Red John (one where he was wearing a mask, one where he's only partly shown as he's committing a murder, and the third where his identity is finally revealed), but every episode has some reference, however vague, to the colour "red" in the title, to show that he is still the main villain.
  • Four episodes actually feature the name "Red John" in the title: "Red John's Friends", "Red John's Footsteps", "Red John's Rules", and the very last Red John episode, where he and Jane finally have their showdown, is simply called "Red John".
• Arch-Enemy: Jane considers him to be his; Red John, for his part, seems to treat Jane more as a one-sided Friendly Enemy.
• Bad Boss: He has no qualms with killing off pawns who have outlived their usefulness.
• Berserk Button: He clearly doesn't like people talking bad about him on television, as Jane, Kristina, and Panzer can assure you.
  • Additionally, the one thing that infuriates Red John more than people bad-mouthing him are those who make cheap imitations of his work. The fake Red John killers in the season 2 finale find this out the hard way.
• Big Bad: For the vast majority of the series.
• Calling Card: A smiley face painted on the wall in his victims' blood with a rubber glove, always clockwise, and always placed so that whoever was meant to find the body- usually a family member- will see it before finding the victim, so that they'll know what happened first and dread confirming it. Twice he has painted his victims' toenails in their blood as well- Jane's wife, and later a young girl to lure Jane into a trap. Also, the William Blake poem "Tyger, Tyger", used by both him and his accomplices, possibly to identify each other. Goes into Black Comedy territory when it's revealed to also be the password of the corrupt law enforcement fraternity that he started.
• Card-Carrying Villain: When Jane calls him an "evil, sexually perverted sociopath with delusions of grandeur" Red John admits he has to own up to the "evil, sexually perverted sociopath" part. He does get annoyed when Jane says he only has "delusions of grandeur" instead of just being grand.
• Chekhov's Gunman: He made his first "official" appearance in the second episode of the series, and was revealed in the episode "Red John" to be the Big Bad himself.
• The Chessmaster: He's almost constantly at least one step ahead of Patrick and the CBI, and only really makes a few mistakes in his last appearances (one of his last victims sees his tattoo and is able to tell Patrick about it before dying, and he then lets Patrick choose the location of their meeting, which gives Patrick the opportunity to hide a gun there before the meet.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: What he does to his female victims, his preferred targets. As of season 5, it's confirmed he's committed at least one rape as well, though given that it's never been confirmed he's raped any of his other victims despite the torture, it seems likely that he did it specifically for this reason.
• Dirty Coward: Revealed to be this in the end. Once he's shot by Jane, he attempts everything he can think of to avoid his death, from trying to manipulate Jane, to running, to calling 911 when cornered, to finally flat-out begging Jane to spare him and admitting that he's terrified to die.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Perform cheap copy-cat killings of his work? He'll shoot you dead. Insult him on state television? He'll either kill you or he'll kill your entire family. But for the love of God don't try and empathize with him on national television, unless you want to be brainwashed into believing you are dead.

• The Dreaded: He is feared by almost everyone who knows of his existence, including other serial killers.
• Evil Counterpart: To Patrick Jane. Lorelei calls him no different, saying she's surprised they aren't the best of friends since they're both so smart, manipulative and always have an angle to control people. In one instance when Red John's face is obscured it's showed that they even sit and drink their tea in the same way.
• Evil Old Folks: Red John has a twenty-plus year career, so it's a fairly safe assumption he's this. Confirmed when he's revealed to be Sheriff Thomas McAllister, played by fifty-seven year old Xander Berkeley.
• Expy: The Red John character shares many similarities with the similarly-named "Jack of All Trades" (Dennis Christopher of It), the main antagonist of the 90's series Profiler. Like Red John, Jack had a number of body doubles/aliases and later cooperated in his own manhunt by posing as a Sheriff.
• Faking the Dead: Faked having died in the explosion in Jane's house... only to really die one episode later.
• Faux Affably Evil: Leaves a polite note starting "Dear Mr Jane", to tell Patrick he has just murdered his family. Whenever they interact afterward, Red John is always highly polite to his nemesis, though this only serves to highlight how soulless Red John really is.
• Friendly Enemy: He always treats Jane in a very cordial way and he uses his pawns to extend "offers of friendship" to him. Jane, not incorrectly, interprets these offers as just attempts to break him completely.
• The Ghost: He never appeared in person until the second season, and even then he was disguised when he showed up.
• Hidden Villain: His true identity was the show's Driving Question until halfway through the sixth season.

• I Take Offense to That Last One: After Jane gives him a Shut Up, Hannibal! speech.
  Red John: "Evil, sexually perverted sociopath"? I guess I have to own that. But, uh... delusions of grandeur? No. I have no delusions.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: His luck finally runs out in season six when Jane finally catches and executes him, all the while John is pathetically pleading for his life.
• Lack of Empathy: Seems unable to care about anyone but himself and has no qualms about sacrificing his loyal underlings at the drop of a hat.
• The Man Behind the Man: A freaky amount of murderers and serial killers are actually controlled by him.
• Manipulative Bastard: Is able to get both his serial killing 'apprentices' and other members of the Blake Association to do pretty much whatever he wants.
• Monster Misogyny: He primarily torture-murders only women and girls (when he does murder a man, it's usually for a specific reason, or it's just incidental to a larger plan). He murders Jane's family (a wife and a daughter) and he does crazy things like brainwash women into thinking they are dead.
• Narcissist: He just can't get enough of himself and how "amazing" he is.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: When in his civilian guise of Sheriff Thomas McAllister, he comes off as, if not quite buffoonish, at least normal, especially in his first encounter with Jane.
• Psychic Powers:What he claims to possess as Jane prepares to strangle him.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Despite his cultured nature and being well into middle age, it's revealed that he's this at the core. He throws away people's lives like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass and reacts to the attention his murders bring with the same sort of glee as a petulant, fame obsessed six year old.
• Revenge by Proxy: His murder of Jane's family.
• Serial Killer: Though semi-retired; most of his recent victims are really just covering his tracks, or messing with Jane. When active his victim type was young to middle-aged women.
• Serial Rapist: Implied. There is at least one confirmed victim that Red John raped and left for dead, but it's ambiguous about whether or not he did this to his other victims. Considering that he primarily killed women, and that his early crimes were sexually sadistic in nature, it wouldn't be surprising if he did rape them. Jane even refers to Red John as a "sexually-perverted sociopath."
• The Sociopath: Self-centered, incredibly sadistic, and having an extreme Lack of Empathy.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He has a very quiet, unassuming voice. Turns out that isn't his real voice though, and he's capable of switching at will between his regular speaking voice and his high, squeaky one. His real voice is more raspy.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: He spends years as a terrifying enigma who is so intelligent, resourceful and ruthless that even other serial killers are frightened of him and is discussed in terms that make him sound more like an unstoppable demon than a man. Then he shows up and... he's a perfectly ordinary, middle-aged man.
• Undignified Death: He dies desperately using every track he can to save himself and finally resorting to just pathetically begging Jane to spare him, showing himself as a coward. Not the most dignified end for a man who fashioned himself as a terrifying, unstoppable entity.
• Villainous Rescue: Red John saves Jane from his copycat killer in the second season finale.
• Villains Want Mercy: Tries everything he can think of to convince Jane to spare him. He tries to invoke If You Killed Me You Will Be Just Like Me by telling Jane the murder will weigh on his soul. That doesn't work. He then tells Jane that he will tell Jane how he got the list of seven possible candidates. That doesn't work either. As a last ditch effort, he resorts to flat out begging and pleading for his life. It still doesn't work.
• Weaksauce Weakness: For someone who has borderline supernatural powers (...not unlike Jane's) him being deathly afraid of birds is an extremely mundane weak spot.
• We Are Everywhere: Twice was able to kill an accomplice held in the CBI building, both under tight security, once and possibly both times using another accomplice. Tracked down and killed an informant before Jane could find him, knows and associates with other serial killers scattered throughout California and possibly the local Church of Happyology, and seemingly was tracking Jane throughout the season 2 finale with the latter being none the wiser. The team haven't noticed it, but he also has access to their security cameras and monitors them constantly. Has moles or allies at seemingly all levels of law enforcement, from a sheriff's deputy to the coffee girl at the CBI and even an FBI agent.
• We Can Rule Together: Offers this to Jane in the season 4 finale, though it's really just an effort to turn him into another pawn.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: It's revealed through the notes of Jane's psychiatrist that he has one big fear he tries to deny. Turns out he suffers from ornithophobia, otherwise known as a fear of birds.
• Wicked Cultured: Red John listens to Bach and quotes William Blake's poetry.
• Worthy Opponent: He appears to view his entire "feud" with Jane as little more than an amusing game against a "fun" and challenging opponent. The patronizing praise he gives Jane is the closest he's ever gotten to showing anyone genuine respect. Jane does not reciprocate.
• Would Hurt a Child: He murdered Jane's daughter.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Two of his accomplices thus far have been killed by him, either directly or through another accomplice, because they were caught and before they could identify him, the first by fast-acting poison, the second by being set on fire. Also murdered another associate and his hooker, though that was because the former actually tried to rat on him. Yet another associate was murdered because she found out Red John had killed her sister and tried to take him out, only he was too strong and turned the tables on her.

Bret Stiles

Played By: Malcolm McDowell

The head of Visualize, a Church of Happyology in California. Besides Red John, he is one of the few criminals whom Jane fails to bust so far. Well, he's not exactly criminal, but shady and manipulative enough that we cannot consider him the good guy either. He's shown to have connections here and there; in fact, he knows Red John's network enough that he is able to tell Jane where Kristina Frye is.

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• Affably Evil: Though he is a cult leader who may be involved in some very serious criminal activities, he is always polite to Jane and the rest of the team whenever he sees them. Thus far he has yet to do anything obviously evil on-screen, and seems to be a genuinely pleasant person in his day-to-day life.
• Badass Preacher: He's a very well-connected man who is nearly impossible to intimidate, but finds intimidating others fairly easy.
• Berserk Button: Bret doesn't like it when people he trusts lie straight to his face. He offers his lawyer the chance to deny murdering one of his cult members who the lawyer was having an affair with; he denies it, and Bret slaps the taste right out of his mouth, being almost as good as Jane when it comes to seeing through deception.
• Blackmail: He has his followers make Confession Cam's to confess their secrets and every time a Visualize member leaves the church, threatens to release those videos if they ever badmouth him.
• The Bus Came Back: In "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts", he's back in California, after having left in his most recent appearance
• The Chessmaster: It's hinted that everything that happens at Visualize, including several murders, is under his direction, but there's never a clear enough connection to actually charge him.
• Church Militant: People are willing to kill at his directions.

• The Corruptor: He' implied to be this, given the number of Visaualize members involved in various crimes.
• Dating Catwoman: In "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts," he openly hits on Grace. She considers it... but turns him down.
• Deadpan Snarker: He isn't afraid to hold back on the witticisms.
• Devil in Plain Sight: He is under investigation by the FBI and the CBI consider him a highly suspect character; his church is thought to be involved in a number of criminal activities and is generally considered a cult at the very least. Yet nobody has been able to prove anything and the members and supporters of his church are prepare to defend him, violently if necessary.
• The Dreaded: Senior members of Visualize live in fear of him and during his Frameup gambit are initially too cowed to dare installing another leader in his place. They only change their minds due to thinking that the case against Stiles is airtight and show visible terror when he does return, free as a bird, right after they've voted in a new leader. After the murderer is arrested, he notes to Patrick;
  Stiles: There are many fearful men hiding from my wrath tonight. It's a good feeling.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Despite being a major character and recurring antagonist ever since the second season, Stiles is killed off by a bomb planted by Red John with little fanfare. Though Stiles did say he was sick and had a month to live at most anyway, it's more than a little jarring to see him go out this way.
• Evil Counterpart: He is essentially a version of what Patrick Jane could have become if he had not had the grounding and morality-reinforcing influences of either his wife and daughter (Stiles is notably unencumbered by any kind of family relations outside of his cult) or his work with law enforcement, and instead devoted himself wholeheartedly to his psychic con-artistry. This is likely why, despite frequently coming into conflict with each other, Jane and Stiles seem to otherwise get along quite well and have a healthy mutual respect.
• Frameup: In "His Thoughts Were Red Thoughts," he frames himself for the murder to weed out disloyal members of his inner circle. As it turns out, all of them are disloyal to varying degrees.
• Friendly Enemy: With Jane. They're technically on opposite sides of the law pretty much every time they come into contact, but they seem to be on fairly good terms most of the time.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Possibly. Red John was once a member of Visualize, and may have unlocked his murderous instincts during those days, as well as his trademark blood smiley-face, given that one episode shows stiles rubbing blood in a similar pattern on a Visualize members face as a kind of baptism.
• Klingon Promotion: Heavily implied to have murdered the Founders of Visualize in order to take over himself.
• Like a God to Me: His followers consider him a God.
• Manipulative Bastard: He's good at getting people to do what he wants, and/or fooling them about his own intentions.
• The Matchmaker: Stiles arranges marriages between members of Visualize and others, often outside of the church. Considering that at least one of those arranged fiancees outside of the church was a millionaire who would have brought his assets into Visualize, It's heavily implied that Stiles does this for mercenary reasons.
• Put on the Bus: At the end of "The Blood On His Hands", he retreats to Indonesia to open Visualize branch there.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Visualize has members in high places and he isn't afraid to use them when the CBI's enquiries get to be more than he's willing to divulge.
• We Are Everywhere: There are Visualize members scattered throughout politics, law enforcement and celebrity circles.
• Worthy Opponent: He and Jane have this dynamic.
• Your Days Are Numbered: In season six he's dying and has only a month to live at most.

Erica Flynn

Played By: Morena Baccarin

Formerly in charge of the matchmaking service, Symphony, Erica first came into contact with the CBI when Jane deduced she murdered her husband for trying to sell their company. Manipulative, intelligent and charming, she's one of the few villains who poses a challenge to Jane.

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• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Seems like a friendly and caring person. She isn't.
• Boyish Short Hair: It's barely any longer than Jane's in her first appearance but grows longer in her later ones.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: She's quick to betray people if it will benefit her.
• Crazy-Prepared: Has multiple escape plans in effect during her second appearance.
• Consulting a Convicted Killer: Offers the police help with a case for a furlough from prison in her second appearance, although everyone can tell that she's just trying to escape somehow.
• Dating Catwoman: With Jane. She even attempts to persuade him to run away with her and some stolen money in her final appearance.

• Femme Fatale: One of the biggest in the show. She's not afraid of using her sex appeal to divert anyone posing a threat to her.
• Graceful Loser: She manages to keep a calm, almost respectful expression even while being arrested in her third appearance.
• Karma Houdini: Zig-Zagged; she's arrested for her crime and tried for manslaughter between her first and second appearances, but when she comes in to consult a case with the CBI, she escapes.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: In her third appearance, she tries the same trick but is arrested and told she will face a full sentence for her husband's murder.
• Manipulative Bitch: Plays the main cast like a fiddle every chance she gets.
• Romantic False Lead: Has strong chemistry of Jane, but she's listed under "villains" for a reason.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Brooke Harper the con woman from Miss Red, they're both charming and manipulative with a strong attraction to Jane. The end of Miss Red also implies Brooke will pull a Karma Houdini.
• Worthy Opponent: She and Jane enjoy the opportunities to go against each other.

Tommy Volker

Played By: Henry Ian Cusick

To the outside world, billionaire Tommy Volker is an affable philanthropist, on the inside, however, he's a cold-blooded and sadistic Corrupt Corporate Executive whose greed led him to wiping out an entire Amazonian village. Slippery enough to avoid paying for his crimes, Lisbon is still determined to bring Volker to justice.

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• Arc Villain: In season five.
• Arch-Enemy: To Lisbon.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He’s relatively quick to drop his charming demeanor when he gets angry.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: One willing to kill a whole village that was threatening to reduce his profit margin.
• Deadpan Snarker: A habit that quickly gets on Lisbon's nerves.
• Evil Is Petty: In response to Lisbon accusing him of his past crimes and turning his assistant into a witness, he has his assistant murdered, arranges it to look like a suicide, and forges a suicide email laying the blame for it on Lisbon.
• Faux Affably Evil: He behaves all friendly and amiable, but it doesn't take much to see through the act.
• Jerkass: Utterly nasty to anyone who poses a threaten him.
• Karma Houdini: Notable in being one of the few villains to get away with his crimes by the end of his episode. He is finally arrested in "Little Red Corvette". A season 6 episode states that he remains in "federal lockup" a full three years after his arrest, implying he was convicted.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Powerful enough connections that an agent in Homeland Security tries to dissuade Lisbon from going after him due to the politicians he’s in bed with.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Bribes all kinds of authority figures.
• Smug Snake: Confident in his ability to escape arrest.
• The Sociopath: He's referred to as such in the show. His chilling habit of personally watching his hitmen murder his victims, lends credence to this.

• Villain with Good Publicity: Viewed as a pillar of society.
• Villainous Breakdown: Goes through a steady one in Little Red Corvette as Lisbon and the team get closer and closer to exposing his crimes. This culminates in him personally trying to murder a little boy who witnessed one of his crimes, despite Volker's habit of never getting his own hands dirty.
• Would Hurt a Child: After a hitman refuses, Volker goes after a kid himself. He doesn't get the chance, though.

James Panzer

Played By: David Paymer

A serial killer investigator particularly interested in the San Joaquin Killer. Jane figures out he's actually the San Joaquin Killer on episode eight of season 4, and he's killed by Red John by the end of the episode.

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• Attention Whore: Like Red John, he seems to have a pathological need for attention, even writing a blog devoted to his Serial Killer persona.
• Bald of Evil: Well, mostly bald, he's still got a little hair left on the top.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Once Red John is supposedly dead, Panzer attempts to convince people that the San Joaquin Killer is an even bigger threat. Not only is he wrong, he doesn't even survive his first episode.
• Bullying a Dragon: In his defense, when he mocked Red John he did believe the man to be dead, unfortunately for him, he was very, very wrong.
• …But He Sounds Handsome: He spends a lot of time hyping up the SJK as an amazingly intelligent mastermind killer, ostensibly to warn the public of the threat he poses but in reality to stroke his own ego.
• Calling Card: Part of his modus operandi was to put small objects over his victims eyes, like pebbles and bottle caps. His last victim had her eyes completely gouged out.
• For the Evulz: He claimed that SJK was a "purist" who killed purely for the pleasure of watching the life drain from his victims' eyes. While this could be part of his motive, really he's more in it for the attention.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: A bespectacled man who not only enjoys killing, but revels in the emotional suffering he causes.
• Karmic Death: Killed by another Serial Killer.
• Manipulative Bastard: In addition to convincing most people he's just a concerned investigative crime reporter who wants to warn people of the danger of the SJK, he also manipulates the parents of the first girl he killed into thinking the same about him, basking in their anguish whenever he visits them.
• Narcissist: When you're a Serial Killer and you're writing a blog about yourself and hyping up your image on national television you know you've got an ego.
• Serial Killer: Killed at least six girls.
• Slashed Throat: How he kills his victims.
• Small Role, Big Impact: His death reopens the Red John Myth Arc.
• Smug Snake: Taunts Red John on television. Is dead by the next day.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: He looks completely unremarkable, just a regular, podgy middle-aged man.
• Would Hurt a Child: His victims ranged from sixteen to twenty.

Richard Haibach

Played By: William Mapother

An allegedly reformed pedophile introduced in season 4 who is constantly wrongly suspected of more serious crimes. He has a particular grudge against Lisbon and Jane as he feels they are harassing him, and is eventually kidnapped and tortured after Jane frames him as a Red John suspect. In season 6, he snaps and starts targeting the former CBI teammates in revenge.

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• Abusive Parents: All but stated to have been sexually abused by his father.
• Ambiguously Evil: Most of his appearances consist of him being accused of everything from child murder to being Red John himself, but while he was convicted of child abuse in the past he claims to have reformed and is usually cleared of wrongdoing by the end of each episode.
• Brother–Sister Team: He and his sister Hazel worked together to target the CBI.
• Create Your Own Villain: While already a creepy voyeur, he only starts looking for revenge against Jane and the core CBI team after their involvement in his life leads him to be arrested and tortured.
• Fingore: Plans on chopping off Jane's fingers with an axe before killing him. He gets shot by Rigsby before he has the chance.
• Never My Fault: While he does have a point when he blames the CBI for framing him as a possible Red John suspect, he never once acknowledges that he was offered CBI protection and declined it.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: This man is surprisingly ruthless despite looking like a voyeur freak. If not for Rigsby's blatant Plot Armor, he would have succeeded at killing Jane, Van Pelt, and Rigsby all.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Jane's involvement in his life leads to his arrest and later torture, he formulates a complex plan which leads to the deaths of Oscar and JJ LaRoche, and the near deaths of Rigsby, Van Pelt and Jane.
• Tragic Villain: It's implied that the sexual abuse he endured as a child at the hands of his father caused him to be a pedophile.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Several seasons of being harassed and eventually tortured turn him into the murderous bastard everyone kept accusing him of being.
• Took a Level in Badass: Apparently was able to plant trackers on all of the former CBI agents who had been harassing him in season 6, including the main cast, and masterminded the abduction or murder of several people- including the kidnapping of Van Pelt- with the help of his sister. He and his sister very nearly kills Van Pelt, Rigsby and Jane as well, even after they capture them.
• Villain Has a Point: Not that he is an ethically pristine person, but he does, however, have a valid case when he accuses Patrick Jane and the CBI team of ruining his life. Everything Patrick Jane does to him will definitely not stand in the court of law.
• Who's Laughing Now?: When Jane's plan actually goes wrong and Richard manages to get the drop on him, Haibach's doesn't hold back in rubbing Jane's face in the fact he's not as smart as he thinks he is.

Michael Ridley

Played By: Titus Welliver

A prominent member of an equity firm and secretly the mastermind behind a ruthless ring of human and organ traffickers.

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• Arc Villain: Of the human trafficking arc in the latter part of season 6, and the closest thing to a Big Bad the end of season 6 had.
• Bad Boss: Has no problems killing any of his employees if they become liabilities to him, and while he does seem more cordial with Anthony, Ridley has no problems intimidating Anthony into following his orders suggesting that he view Anthony as expendable as the rest of his employees
• Beard of Evil: He sports a shaggy beard and is one of the most callous and amoral characters on the show.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He runs an equity firm, buying and selling smaller businesses, which he uses to obscure the fact that he technically owns vehicles and clinics used by the trafficking ring.
• Dirty Coward: Janes gets him to talk by threatening to harvest his organs; although responsible for the kidnapping and deaths of countless young women, he folds quickly when it comes to his own skin.
• Faux Affably Evil: While he may seem polite and pleasant, he is responsible for a huge number of abductions and murders and is utterly remorseless about his actions to boot.
• I Have Your Wife: Isn't above threatening the families of his employees to stop them from talking, to the point of basically ordering them to kill themselves if they want their loved ones to live.
• Lack of Empathy: Has a seriously bad case of this. While he may not be overtly sadistic like the previous villains, he shows zero remorse for all the murders that he committed and even considers his work to be in the service of a "higher cause" because he is saving the lives of rich and powerful people.
• A Million Is a Statistic: Thinks the victims of his ring don't matter because their organs go to prominent individuals like scientists and businessmen who matter more. He really believes it, too.
• Moral Myopia: Thinks the lives of "important" people like himself and his wealthy clients matter more to the world than all the girls he has murdered.
• Never My Fault: Not only does he flatly deny any wrongdoing, he honestly thinks that what he did wasn't wrong because he doesn't regard any of his victims as important people.
• Smug Snake: Downplayed. He is fairly civil to Lisbon and Jane most of the time, even when they are accusing him of heinous crimes. He still doesn't think he'll get caught, though.
• The Sociopath: Ridley shows no remorse in trafficking and murdering girls whom he views a worthless, while also having no problems having his own men killed.
• The Stoic: He is cool, calm and collected through his appearances and rarely shows much emotion. He shows some genuine fear when his life is threatened, of course.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Nearly everyone who works for him who gets chased or caught by the FBI winds up dead.
• Villainous Friendship: Downplayed. While their relationship may just simply to be on a professional standpoint, Ridley does seem to be concerned for Anthony's life when he thinks Jane has just murdered him. Then again, Ridley could just be worried that Jane may kill him next

Lazarus

Played By: Aubrey Deeker

Joseph Keller Jr. AKA Lazarus is a serial killer who clashes with the cast in the series final arc.

• Berserk Button: Viciously threatens anyone he perceives as a fake psychic.
• Car Fu: Rams Jane's car with his own in order to kidnap him.
• Dead Guy on Display: Well not quite in display, but he keeps his father's corpse in his closet.
• Eccentric Exterminator: Jane profiles this as his day job.
• Final Boss: He serves as the sole killer of the final three episodes of the show.
• Friendless Background: Jane correctly profiles him as having been this by his own choice, speculating that he felt disgust at having to listen to the sound of the other kids eating in the cafeteria.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: He gets several burn scars from a fire in a fight with Jane.
• Hearing Voices: He describes this as a driving force behind his crimes.
• I Shall Taunt You: He leaves some of his bodies out in the open to taunt the police once their on his trail.
• Insane Equals Violent: The man's murders are seemingly driven by insanity rather than simple sadism, and he killed at least eleven people.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: He surrenders and lets himself be arrested when surrounded by armed and ready cops.
• Pretty Little Headshots: He finishes off his first onscreen victims this way.
• Punk in the Trunk: He hides in the trunk of the judge going to preside over Jane and Lisbon's wedding.
• Ritual Magic: Believes that the blood taken from his victims keeps his father's spirt on Earth.
• Stranger Behind the Mask: Despite a bit of teasing, when he does show up in person (halfway through the second of the three episodes where he kills people in) he isn't anyone the team has met before.
• Two-Faced: For much of the finale, as the burn marks on his face gradually grow worse from not being treated.
• Villainous Lineage: His father was a serial killer too.

Dr. Linus Wagner

Played By: Željko Ivanek

A psychiatrist, and the shows second killer (with the first being a minor character exposed by Jane within the space of the opening scene).

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• Bald of Evil: A bald man and unflinching murderer.
• Consulting a Convicted Killer: Briefly assists the CBI investigation when Jane has been kidnapped in exchange for having his death sentence commuted to life in prison.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Wagner is a murderer who often has a shadow covering (if not obscuring) part of his face.
• Fake American: His actor is Slovenian.
• Psycho Psychologist: He is motivated by altruism, but is nonchalant and menacing as he discusses murdering people to further his work.
• Spotting the Thread: Quickly realizes that Jane, while seeing him as a patient, is lying due to his story just being a rehash of Johnny Cash's early life.
• Starter Villain: The main murderer of the shows first episode.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Embezzles form his practice to fund charitable efforts and didn't hesitate to murder a man who threatened to stop this.

Charles Milk

Played By: Matt Baker

Tommy Volker's chief assassin.

• The Dragon: Volker's senior assassin, and the one who kills multiple victims for him.
• Eviler than Thou: To Volker's other hitmen, Donald Clyde and Mark Costa, who seem to take less pleasure in what they do, and both refuse to harm children.
• Laser-Guided Karma: As soon as Volker decides that He Knows Too Much as the FBI close in on Milk, then his trusted killer becomes as expendable as anyone else and is gunned down by Volker's order.
• The Sociopath: Jut like his boss. He strangles people to death with no remorse and hints of pleasure.
• Would Hurt a Child: Casually orders Clyde to murder a little boy who saw them at work.

Anthony Tremel

Played By: John Hensley

Michael Ridleys henchman.

• The Dragon" He's the one who kills anyone who poses a threat to Ridley.
• Even Evil Has Standards: While it may have been Pragmatic Villainy, he hesitates to detonate a bomb that will kill a witness due to FBI agents being in the blast range as well.
• Morality Pet: He's seen walking his pet dog in one scene when his boss calls him with orders.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: He's capable of organizing and/or committing hits inside of prison without leaving a trace.
• Tattooed Crook: Has a distinctive tattoo on his arm.
• They Look Like Everyone Else: An utterly menacing professional killer for a horrific enterprise who has the look of an earnest, normal young man.
• Undying Loyalty: If Ridley asks something, Anthony will do it.

Donny Culpepper

Played By: Stephen Warshofsky

A career criminal who is a person of interest in one case, and hired by Jane to rob LaRoche's safe in a later one.

• Offstage Villainy: He's been implicated in multiple murders prior to the show.
• Only in It for the Money: Dislikes Jane after their first meeting, but he'll work for him in exchange for a payoff, and later is implied to have sold Brenda Shettrick the information about what was in LaRoche's safe.
• Perma-Stubble: The guy could use a shave.
• Red Herring: In his first episode, where he's suspected of robbing a gem dealer.
• Taking You with Me: After being caught outside LaRoche's house, he threatens to testify against Jane unless he gets the case against him dismissed.

John Hutten

Played By: Paul Schulze

A bank robber who the team goes after in season 5, and is later a suspect in Haibach's attacks on past CBI agents.

• Boxed Crook: Ends up helping the FBI capture other bank robbers in exchange for his time being reduced to house arrest.
• Consummate Professional: A skilled, meticulous robber who is caught through no fault of his own.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: After he becomes a Boxed Crook for the FBI.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: The victim who turns up shot during his robbery wasn't killed by Hutten or any of his men.

Steve Rigsby

Played By: William Forsythe

Rigsby's father, and a career criminal who is involved in two of the gangs investigations.

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• Arch Nemesis Dad: He and Wayne Hutt heads a lot, although there is some love.
• Blood Knight: He loves fighting, and makes a point of refusing fistfights while showing off his knife.
• Honor Before Reason: He's very reluctant to give the police any useful information even when it would be in his interest too.
• Instant Death Bullet: Averted He's shot and takes hours before the bullet shifts around enough to kill him.
• Manipulative Bastard: Tricks his son into arresting a rival cigarette smuggler while pretending to help him with a case in one episode.
• Noble Demon: A ruthless, unrepentant criminal, but one who seems at peace with who and what he is, and is willing to work as a bodyguard to try and protect a (honest) friend from other criminals.

Benjamin Marx

Played By: Aaron Lohr

A financial manager and killer the team encountered.

• Amoral Attorney: He's also a lawyer.
• Buried Alive: He killed his victim this way and Jane does it to him to get a confession, for which Jane is temporarily fired.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Jane later frames him as a Red John suspect, which inadvertently gets Marx kidnapped, his fingers cut off, and his face burned off with a blow torch.
• Off on a Technicality: He was out on bail and facing acquittal when he was killed, although it was more due to blatantly illegal and unconstitutional torture than the average, minor technicality.
• Sadist: Jane profiles him as one. Considering that he deliberately and pitilessly buried his victim alive despite having multiple opportunities to kill him more painlessly, this is probably true.
• Stealing from the Till: Stole millions of dollars from clients, including widows and orphans based on a comment from Van Pelt.

Jason Lennon

Played By: Christopher Cousins

A trustee at a woman's shelter and accomplice of Red John.

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• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Comes across as a pilar of society and caring man until the end of his first episode.
• Convenient Coma: He spends several months comatose after being shot by Lorelei.
• Defiant to the End: When he has reason to believe Lorelei might execute him (and that even if she doesn't he'll be arrested) he spitefully reveals the truth with obvious malice. Subverted in his second episode, where he tries to beg a little while being poisoned in the hospital, despite his killer pointing out how he has nothing to look forward to besides prison and being a pariah.
• Evil Gloating: Displays visible amusement and sadism as he finally admits to his role in the death of Lorelei's sister.
• Knee-capping: Suffers this at Lorelei's hands.
• Serial Killer: Five women disappeared form his shelter and while one of them was delivered to Red John, its implied Lennon may have killed others himself.
• Sickbed Slaying: Kirkland poisons him in his hospital room as soon as he wakes up.

The Federal Agents

Craig O'Laughlin

Played By: Eric Winter

An FBI agent that serves as Van Pelt's love interest in season 3.

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• Affably Evil: Once his true nature is revealed.

• Badass in a Nice Suit: A tough field agent and a good dresser.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He pretends to be a good boyfriend for Grace when the reality is he's working as a mole for Red John.
• Dead Person Conversation: With Grace, in season 4.

• Face–Heel Turn: On the season 3 finale.
• Fair Cop: Van Pelt certainly thinks so.

• Honey Trap: Ultimately turns out to be a male version.
• Meet Cute: How did he and Grace meet? Oh, right, they had a brutal car crash when he was chasing her and Rigsby.

• Nice Guy: Just a cover, though.
• Posthumous Character: In "My Bloody Valentine".
• Romantic False Lead: It's always evident that Van Pelt and Rigsby still have chemistry, but O'Laughlin ends up proving the false part in a particularly chilling way.

Susan Darcy

Played By: Catherine Dent

An FBI agent assigned to investigate the San Joaquin Killer. She's later assigned the Red John case after Red John kills the San Joaquin Killer.

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• By-the-Book Cop: Doesn't like stepping out of line.

• My God, What Have I Done?: Her career went down and she loses herself after accidentally killing Wainwright in the season 4 finale.
• Put on a Bus: After suffering a nervous breakdown in the season for finale.
• Ship Tease: With Wainwright, at times.

Alexa Schultz

Played By: Polly Walker

An FBI agent who takes over Darcy's investigation in Season 5.

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• The Man Behind the Man: Was acting on Kirkland's behalf.
• Mysterious Watcher: Is the one who asks Minelli for reports on Jane.
• The Rival: Shows signs f being this to Bertram in her first appearance.

Reede Smith

Played By: Drew Powell

One of Schultz's agent, partner with Mancini.

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• Alone with the Psycho: Inverted. His conversation with Kirkland in the park played it like Kirkland was the psycho. While Kirkland does have a nasty case of Knight Templar, Smith turns out to be more dangerous than him.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Turns out to be one of the seven people Jane thinks might be Red John.
• Dirty Cop: Works for Blake Association.
• Dramatic Irony: He understands he is in danger when the cop who is supposed to be helping him tells him the same thing he told Kirkland.
• In the Back: Makes Kirkland run away from the van so he can shoot him in the back — and tell everyone Kirkland was trying to escape.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: His introductory episode has him being hot-tempered and abrasive towards the CBI over a botched sting operation that was largely the FBI's fault, while he evolved into a more self-deprecating and affable character in his later appearances, before being revealed as a member of the Blake Association who's been knowingly -albiet reluctantly- abetting Red John since before he ever met the team.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: When he becomes a target of Blake Association, he quickly calls the CBI and surrenders.
• The Mole: Works for Blake Association.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Lower-level FBI officer, looks more like Dumb Muscle than a thinker - but is the one who offs Kirkland after the latter is arrested
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Man can look dumb if he wants to.

• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: A target of Blake Association for that, although he has managed to escape for now.

Robert "Bob" Kirkland

Played By: Kevin Corrigan

A Homeland Security Agent who's been introduced in Red Dawn. Has been pursuing the Red John case for a while and is very interested in Jane's progress.

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• Alone with the Psycho: Played straight when he corners Jane in the parking lot to kidnap him, and subverted in a conversation with Reede Smith about certain William Blake poems: viewers thought Kirkland was a part of Red John's organization and Smith wasn't, but it turned out to be the exact opposite.
• Devil in Plain Sight: To the viewership, at least... he's evidently shady after killing Lennon.
• Dirty Cop: He's one of the few who isn't a member of the Blake Association, but he is a vigilante hunting Red John by whatever means necessary, including torture and murder.

• Face Death with Dignity: Realizes what's going to happen to him as soon as Smith stops the van, and forgoes Smith's small talk, telling him to just get on with it. Smith still makes him run away so he can get to shoot him in the back.

• Good All Along: For a given value of 'good,' but he's definitely not working with Red John, the Blake Association, or any other bad guy.
• Hidden Villain: While Jane doesn't trust him entirely, most of the team has no idea what he's up to.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Throughout the Red John Arc And the audience doesn't know exactly what he wants either. Earlier, he tells Lisbon to back off the Tommy Volker investigation in a way which could either mean he is either chasing Volker and concerned for Lisbon, or is covering for Volker, with neither of the following episodes with Volker revealing which, or featuring Kirkman at all.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: His ultimate motivation.
• Mysterious Watcher: Has been following Jane's career in the CBI from the very beginning.
• Not So Stoic: In "Red Listed".
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Ultimately subverted; he rejects Jane's offer to go after Red John together, pointing out that they can't both kill Red John, and he's not willing to let someone else have the satisfaction of that. Once he's arrested though, he does imply that he'll be willing to help him track down Red John just so someone can kill him now that he won't be able to.
• Red Herring: A big one at that. Strongly hinted to be working for Red John, if not Red John himself. Turns out he's actually after revenge against Red John. Also, he ends up going after Jane's fake list of suspects. He's understandably pissed when Jane tells him about that.
• Remember the New Guy?: He has been watching Jane since before the series started, but he has only shown up by Season Five.
• Revenge: Actually his motivation.
• Shadow Archetype: Kirkland is what Jane would have become if Jane doesn't have Lisbon. Where Jane is merely a consultant, hates politics, and restrains himself for the sake of Lisbon, Kirkland is a cop, takes politics and connections very seriously, and doesn't care who he has to hurt to get to Red John.
• The Stoic: Whether being helpful, threatening or sociable, his face betrays little emotion.
• Oh, Crap!: When he realizes the Red John suspects he's been after are fakes.
• The Unfettered: Wants revenge against Red John, and doesn't care who he has to hurt to get to his goal.
• You Killed My Father: Revealed to be looking for revenge against Red John for the death of his twin brother.

Steven Wench

Played By: Joseph Will

Introduced as "Brother Steven", a teacher at the Visualize College, he is later revealed to be an undercover FBI agent working with Laughlin.

• Character Tic: Still reaches for his sidearm when he hears a shot or something that sounds like one.
• Feed the Mole: Jane tells him that Stiles has almost certainly noticed his Character Tic and ID'd him, yet has let him stay in the church presumably for this reason. Steven admits that he has in fact failed to get any useful information for a suspiciously long time.
• Fair Cop: Although the "Cop" part isn't evident in his first appearance.
• The Mole: He's undercover trying to bring down Stiles.
• Mouth of Sauron: Serves this role to Stiles in his first episode, when the CBI is visiting the Visualize temple.

Gabe Mancini

Played By: Ivan Sergei

An FBI agent who works with Smith early in Season 5.

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He vanishes without a trace after the third episode of season 5 despite being Smith's partner and having been getting friendlier with Lisbon.
• The Gambler: He introduces Lisbon to a law enforcement poker game.
• Genre Savvy: After reading that Jane had planted evidence on an (unsavory) suspect to distract the FBI with him, he knows what's coming when Jane claims that a red bead (supposedly an identifier for Red John's cult) is in his pocket.
• Hot-Blooded: Jane finds it very easy to provoke him, and near the end of his first episode, has Mancini chasing him through a courthouse, trying to pummel him.
• Unwitting Pawn: Jane finds playing him easy and fun in Mancini's first episode.

Agent McClay

Played By: Sean Mc Clay

A member of Kirkland's Homeland Security Team.

• Ambiguous Situation: He does some shady stuff for Kirkland, like breaking into Jane's house and stealing his Red John files but it's unclear about whether He knows Kirkland wants to kill Red John to avenge his brother or is Just Following Orders.
• The Danza: He has the same last name as his actor.
• Number Two: To Kirkland.

Bill Peterson

Played By: Dylan Baker

The unscrupulous head of the San Antonio DEA, and a former boss of Abbot.

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• Ambition Is Evil: Jane speculates that he hopes to become head of the DEA someday by screwing over the Abbots and calling in political favors.
• Blackmail Backfire: He tries to blackmail Abbot over his Dark Secret. His demands are refused and it just makes him an enemy of Jane, who ends up bringing him down.
• Dirty Cop: He's been pocketing money from raids on drug deals for years and tries to first blackmail, then sell out Abbot.
• It's All About Me: Finding out that one of his men is a cartel enforcer who has sabotaged countless raids and murdered another DEA agent has him quickly start obsessing not about the security risk, the death of his agent, or the sense of betrayal, but merely how to avoid being blamed for letting the mole operate undetected for so long.
• Opportunistic Bastard: When determined to screw over Abbot he first bothers to find someone who will help him benefit from it personally and politically first.
• Pointy-Haired Boss: He doesn't seem to monitor his team well enough or care about them.
• The Sociopath: Jane pegs him as one and he does indeed seem to care about no one but himself.
• Sore Loser: When being arrested he spitefully gloats about how he's already brought down Abbot, only for it to quickly turn out that he hasn't after all.
• Stealing the Credit: Demands that Abbot give him the credit once he arrests the corrupt agent in Peterson's office, or else he'll get Abbot arrested and ruin his wife's senate confirmation. They ultimately refuse.
• Wine Is Classy: Tastes wine as a hobby.
• Workaholic: Puts in sixty hours a week.

Agent Collins

Played By: Shannon Mc Clung

An FBI agent at the Dallas Field Office.

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Doesn't reappear in season 7.
• Spear Carrier: Carries out tasks too small to bother showing the main characters on for the later half of season 6.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Fischer tells him there will be a "note in his file" after he accidentally lets Jane out of the building without permission.

Ken Spackman

Played By: Tim Griffin

An FBI agent in Dallas specializing in organized crime cases.

• Badass in Distress: He's wounded during a raid in his second appearance and barely survives.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He clashes with the entire team a little and especially resents Jane's presence.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He's not as openly skeptical of Abbot's team in his second appearance.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Wears smooth gray suits.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He chews out Jane for causing a suspect to panic and run both because they don't have enough evidence at that point and because the suspect escaped.

The Local Police

Sheriff Thomas McAllister

Played By: Xander Berkeley

• Bond One-Liner: After he shoots the killer from "Wedding in Red" outside of a church, he dryly quips that now the man is talking to Jesus.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Made a single appearance, in the episode after the pilot, and was never seen again for five seasons. Then Season Six reveals him to be Red John.
• Dirty Cop: In his debut appearance, the CBI team doesn't really trust him, and suspects he might be the criminal of the week, which he isn't. But as Red John, however... oh yes. He is quite dirty.
• Good Samaritan: In his first appearance, he ruins a string operation where Van Pelt is trying to lure out a killer when he shows up to offer her a ride, telling her that she shouldn't be alone out there with a dangerous killer on the loose. Of course, considering that he's Red John, even if he wasn't the criminal of the week he might not have been planning on actually taking her somewhere safe.
• Manly Men Can Hunt: He discusses being a long-time hunter in "Wedding in Red", with Jane talking about gutting and skinning the animals to test his reactions, while considering signs that he may be Red John. IN a later episode, he's seen watching deer through his gunsights from his patrol car.
• Sherlock Scan: He conducts one over the body of the victim in "Wedding in Red", helping figure out he's a pizza delivery man due to the mans scent and clothing.
• Spanner in the Works: In his first episode. He arrived at a restaurant to help the staff eject a drunken customer, with his car's lights causing the killer to smother the kidnapping victim (who was meant to be raped and then killed elsewhere) in a panic when she tired to make a sound and then hurriedly drive away (McAllister noticed the truck but didn't think anything of it at the time).

Oscar Cordero

Played By: Joe Nieves

A SAC PD detective appearing in season six.

• Bodyguard Betrayal: Kills Bertram, who he'd seemingly been helping out for the last two episodes on behalf of Red John.
• Cop Killer: Murders a policeman while on the run.
• Dirty Cop: An unrepentant follower of Red John.
• The Dragon: Serves this role to Bertram, and Mcallister at certain points in the conclusion of the Red John arc.
• Instant Death Bullet: Averted, he's seen stirring on the ground a little after being shot twice in the stomach by Jane, although its left unclear if he ultimately dies from them.
• Leave No Witnesses: Spends a while trying to kill Reede Smith so he can't talk to the CBI.
• Obviously Evil: Introduced talking about how the shooting of Kirkland was completely justified (when the audience had been shown it was cold-blooded murder) and then going into a rant about the nerve of unarmed prisoners who make cops shoot them by trying to run away.
• One-Steve Limit: Considering that another Oscar (Ardiles) also appears on the show.
• Perma-Stubble: Looks a little unshaven.
• Punk in the Trunk: He smuggles Bertram past the police in the trunk of his car.
• Smug Snake: Oozes with smarminess from the second he first appears.

The Recurring

Summer Edgecombe

Played By: Samaire Armstrong

A prostitute who appears on Season Four and becomes a recurring character. On her first appearance, she withstands Cho's stoicness, insisting that if she were to cooperate Cho ought to show common courtesy. At the end of the episode Cho gives her a job as an informant. And later on they date. And then break up.

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• The Bus Came Back: One episode in season 5, she's pregnant and getting married.
• CloudCuckooLander: Expresses herself a bit oddly, and without too much respect for conventions.
• Happily Married: In her season 5 appearance.
• Honey Trap: Sometimes used by the team to lure out men.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Although she states that she's not a hooker repeatedly.
• The Lad-ette: Deconstructed in the end. Her impulsive, frattish behavior forces Cho to break up with her, because it might be dangerous to his job as a cop.

• Non-Action Girl: She isn't a fighter and knows it.

• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Cho's blue.
• Robbing the Dead: Her first meeting with the team comes when they're tracking a purchase of the victims credit cards and find out that Summer (who also called in the crime) stole it from her body.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: with Cho.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: At least, until the Big Damn Kiss in episode 14.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Cho again. They do.

Walter Mashburn

Played By: Currie Graham

A millionaire that appears in two episodes so far, "Redline" and "Red Hot".

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• Big Fancy House: Owns one. Or several, actually.
• Blind Driving: Subverted. He allows Jane to demonstrate his skills by having him drive with a blindfold, guiding himself only by Mashburn's involuntary reactions in the passenger seat. It goes just fine - until they get out of the car, Jane "forgets" to leave the parking brake on, and... it really doesn't end well for the car.
• Chick Magnet: The money helps, though.
• Idle Rich: Shows some aspects of this.
• Millionaire Playboy: In spades.
• Nice Guy: When he wants to.

• Red Herring: He was shown on Jane's list of suspects for a brief moment, but was dropped as a suspect by the season 5 finale.
• Romantic False Lead: For Lisbon.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: One of the reasons why he assists Patrick in his first appearance.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Lisbon. At least until Red Hot.

Kristina Frye

Played By: Leslie Hope

A proclaimed psychic whom Jane repeatedly calls out for being a fraud though he does seem to care for her. She insists not only that she is a genuine psychic, but that Patrick is a real psychic too, albeit in denial and one who was a really a con-artist in the past.

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• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Never really mentioned after being found mentally broken.
• Dead Person Conversation: Claims to be able to do this.
• Fate Worse than Death: Whatever it is that Red John did to her, it left her believing she's dead.

• Mind Rape: A victim of this.
• Phony Psychic: Jane certainly believes so... though there was that one time when she knew information about a waiter that she couldn't possibly have known through body language. It's never made known just how she did it.

• Put on a Bus: Has yet to be seen again after being rescued from Red John's captivity in season three.
• Romantic False Lead: For Jane.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Jane.

Dr. Steiner

Played By: George Wyner

A humorless medical examiner with the Sacramento County Coroner's Office. Spars with Jane once a season.

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• The Comically Serious: Naturally, this causes him a great deal of frustration when put into contact with Jane.
• The Coroner: A long-serving, professional one, who Jane enjoys messing with.
• A Day in the Limelight: "The Red Mile." which is also his final appearance.

• Face Death with Dignity: When he gets sick he simply wants to keep doing his job and perhaps contribute more to a case for once.

• Soap Opera Disease: He's badly sick, but it's never said what with.
• Stay with Me Until I Die: Asks this of Jane because he doesn't want to be autopsied.
• Suicide Is Painless: Played with. Steiner seems either in pain or afraid as the end is coming, and Jane puts him into a trance with a coin trick until he dies.

Sarah Harrigan

Played By: Jillian Bach

A public defender who was being interviewed by Erica Flynn the night she killed her husband, thus becoming her alibi. She begins dating Rigsby, and after a few months later they're both shocked upon finding out she's pregnant. She becomes the mother of their child, Ben Rigsby, towards the end of the season.

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• Brainy Brunette: A smart, dark-haired woman.
• Hello, Attorney!: Even before she ends up with Rigsby.
• Hidden Badass: She can act shy and lovely, but can kick serious ass in court. She actually takes great pride in her job.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The height disparity between her and Rigsby is quite funny
• Married to the Job: Prior to meeting Rigsby.
• Nervous Wreck: A bit overwhelmed by things.

• Offscreen Breakup: She and Rigsby break up between seasons, after he fakes his death on the season 4 finale.

Lorelei Martins

Played By: Emmanuelle Chriqui

A minion of Red John and self-proclaimed lover of Patrick Jane. She reaches Jane in the season four finale after he gets deliberately fired from the CBI by Wainwright.

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• Affably Evil: Fairly friendly even after being exposed, and doesn't quite realize that she's the bad guy.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: After being exposed she remains aloof during Jane's attempts to convince her of Red John's untrustworthiness.
• Anti-Hero: Once she turns against Red John.
• Broken Bird: Having a drug addict mother and an absent father, Lorelei's sister Miranda was the only person who she really connected with. However, Miranda was brutally raped and murdered by Red John, allowing him to manipulate Lorelei into his circle.
• Cool Big Sis: To Miranda.
• Dark Action Girl: A formidable adversary, but on the side of Red John, at least initially.
• Dating Catwoman: With Jane. Unlike his flirtations with Erica Flynn, it's hinted that Lorelei left an impression on him.
• Dead Man Writing: A variant, in that she recorded for a message to Jane for Red John before he killed her.

• Dropped a Bridge on Her: Killed by Red John offscreen. We only see the body.
• Femme Fatale: Introduced seducing Jane.
• High-Heel–Face Turn: What gets her is the fact that Red John killed her younger sister, but the fact that she fancies Jane doesn't hurt it.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: After she makes sure that Red John killed her younger sister indeed, Lorelei goes out to kill him. By the end of the episode, she's dead.
• Karmic Death: Jane's only comment to seeing Lorelei's body is that she had it coming.
• Kick the Dog: Shoots a man that knows who Red John is before Patrick can interrogate him. In front of him!
• Long Lost Sibling: Her sister Miranda, who was sold by her mother as a toddler. They find each other again as young adults and become very close... and then Miranda's killed.
• Ms. Fanservice: She wears relatively revealing clothing in a couple scenes and has a somewhat sensual presence.
• Revenge Before Reason: Upon finding the truth about Miranda's death, instead of telling Patrick Red John's identity, she believes she can take him out all by herself.

Judge Manchester

Played By: John Rubinstein

A Federal Judge who appears in season 5.

• Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: While he's introduced annoyedly announcing to the FBI and CBI representatives that he will only give the case to whoever annoys him the least during the meeting, he does listen reasonably and objectively to the two sides arguments.
• Brutal Honesty: Openly calls out the FBI and CBI for having probably covered up the death of Wainwright and dragging him into the debate in its aftermath at a time they're trying to dance around the issue.
• Evil All Along: Maybe. His name appears on a list of Blake Association members in Season 6, but this might have been misleading (since Jane had faked at least part of that list to make Abbot think he had more useful knowledge than he did), a continuity error (given that several of the other names, such as Brenda Shettrick and Rosalind Harker, had shown strong signs of not being part of the Blake Association) or only have meant that he was involved in a minor way without knowing the true scope and goals of the group. Either way, it isn't plot relevant, and he never shows any signs of corruption or following someone else's agenda in he episodes where he does appear.
• The Gambler: Takes part in a poker circle with Lisbon, Betram and various other political and law enforcement figures and is able to figure out Bertram's poker tells.
• Informed Attribute: His membership in the Blake Association is only based on his name being on list.
• Only One Name: He's one of the few recurring characters whose first name is never mentioned.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Whether or not he actually is a Blake Association Member, he does help out the team while sticking to the book during his season 5 appearances, giving them the Red Joh case back (at a time when there's no specific indication Red John wanted them to have it) after they make a good case for why, and contributing to the investigation into Tommy Volker and his main hitman.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: He tells Lisbon that she's childishly naive when she asks him for a warrant against Tommy Volker's Dragon, but does sign it anyway after she asks him if it's better to be naive than cynical and persuasively states that she has a good case.

Rosalind Harker

Played By: Alicia Witt

A blind woman who was once in a relationship with Red John.

• Blind and the Beast: While Red John lacked the physical "beast" attributes, her relationship with him has shades of this.
• Informed Attribute: Her name is seen on a list of Blake Association members even though she isn't a law enforcement member, and earlier episodes had seemingly established her as not being an accomplice of Red John.
• Living MacGuffin: In season 4, when she is brought in to feel the face of a man who Jane shot (a man claiming to be Red John) and tell him whether the man was her old boyfriend "Roy". He isn't.
• The Lost Lenore: Red John serves as a male version of this to her, with Rosalind having a hard time accepting that he was a serial killer and that he really is gone, showing a sense of loneliness when she reappears on the show.
• Morality Pet: Downplayed, but the fact that Red John never does kill her despite the liability she poses towards him hints at some genuine affection.
• Nice Girl: Even when reluctant to believe the CBI that Roy is Red John, she does help provide some information that helps safe the life of a kidnapped victim when asked to think back on what he'd said, and is never bitter or hostile towards Jane or the authorities when she reappears in the show.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music: Happens a few times when she's playing classical music on her piano during ominous discoveries.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Vanishes from the show after Red John visits her again and leaves a dead body at her house for the police to find.

Jason Cooper

Played By: Robert Picardo

One of the senior Visualize “Cardinals.”

• Easily Forgiven: Stiles pardons him for his attempted "coup", although this might be out of simple pragmatism and knowing to keep an eye on him.
• Mouth of Sauron: He serves as the church's representaive in dealing with the authorities when Stiles is either unavailable or on the run.
• Oh, Crap!: Looks like he's seen a ghost when he finds out that Bret Stiles has been released from custody right after he'd tried to replace him.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Becomes this to Stiles in his later appearances, likely due to being aware of how precarious his situation is.
• Rank Up: He takes over the church after Stiles dies.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: He tends to wear fancy suits.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Wears thick glasses and manages a lot of Visualize's affairs.
• Smug Snake: He can get a little smarmy when going on about Visualize or limiting his helpfulness to the police in his later appearances.
• The Starscream: He's a passive version, as he tries to get himself voted in as the new leader of Visualize when Stiles is arrested (and clearly has the votes to do so), but doesn't take nay steps to get Stiles out of the way himself.

Tommy and Annie Lisbon

Played by: Henry Thomas and Madison Mc Laughlin

Libson's youngest brother and his daughter, who work as bounty-hunters.

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Tommy becomes this when he and Annie try to collect a bounty who is a suspect/witness in one of the teams investigations.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Tommy does have a bumbling moment or two, but despite his sister's concern, he is a somewhat savvy and capable bounty hunter.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Tommy has gone through a lot of jobs before settling on bounty hunter, which he is convinced is right for him, to Lisbon's skepticism. It apparently sticks, as he's mentioned as still being a bounty hunter in the series finale, set about five years later.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Annie doesn't like being called by her full name (Annabeth).
• Hero-Worshipper: Annie wants to be like her aunt when she grows up.
• Little Miss Badass: Annie is fourteen, good with a shotgun and eager to help out her dad.
• Missing Mom: Annie's mother left them sometime ago.
• Noodle Incident: Tommy is estranged from his two brothers, with Lisbon making it her last wish from them to reconcile when she thinks she's been poisoned, but the circumstances are never explained.
• Struggling Single Mother: Gender Flipped with Tommy, whose wife left him and Annie.

Pete and Samantha Barsocky

Played By: Mc Gainey and Tangie Ambrose

Old carnie friends of Patrick.

• Big Fun: Pete is a hulking man with a bit of a gut (particularly in his first appearance) who is fairly jovial and welcoming.
• Because It Amused Me: They help Jane and Abbot against Bill Peterson essentially for the fun of it.
• Black Gal on White Guy Drama: Averted. Pete is white, Samantha is black and this is never commented on at all when they appear.
• Cool Uncle: They're protective of their nephew (who is suspected of the murder of his wife in one episode) and are seen happily playing with him and his daughter after he's cleared.
• Happily Married: Seem content and at ease with each other.
• Honor Before Reason: For a twisted definition of honor, as they're very reluctant to directly cooperate with the police on any matter.
• Intergenerational Friendship: They're about the age of Patrick's father, but have a good rapport with him and are the first people he tends to see whenever an investigation requires visiting people from his old carny days.
• Noodle Incident: Samantha slaps Patrick over something that he did in Detroit during their first scene together.
• Shipper on Deck: They can tell the relationship between Jane and Lisbon and encourage it in their final appearance.
• Western Zodiac: Their second appearance shows Samantha to be a believer in Zodiac signs.

James "Jimmy" Lisbon

Played By: Rob Belushi

One of Lisbon's brothers.

• The Gambler: Plays poker as his main source of income.
• Middle Child Syndrome: The middle brother in the family, and noted as an underachiever.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Teresa was the one who raised him, and he seems a little hopeful for her approval, while resentful that she only ever contacts him when she thinks he needs help, as opposed to congratulate him for doing something right.

Daniela Welker

Played By: Zuleyka Silver

A victim of Ridley's trafficking ring.

• Big Sister Instinct: Her sixteen year-old sister was taken with her, and not rescued at first, causing Daniela to spend a long time worrying over her.
• Damsel in Distress: She was abducted and marked for organ harvesting before the CBI rescued her.

Angela and Charlotte Jane

Played By:' Maxine Bahns (Angela), Isabella Acres (Charlotte), Dove Cameron (hallucination of teenage Charlotte)

Jane's late wife and daughter.

• Big Sister Instinct: Angela looked out for her brother Danny, and on her wedding day showed up to bail him out of jail in her dress (although she wasn't very happy about it).
• Helpful Hallucination: Charlotte appears as one in one episode, presumably as a result of her father drinking drugged tea, providing him a little nudging on the case and with letting his vendetta ease up.
• The One Who Made It Out: According to Jane, Angela wanted out of the carnie lifestyle even though her family was "carnie royalty". She, along with Jane, ultimately did escape that world, although no details are provided about how or when that happened.
• Morality Pet: When they were alive, they appear to have been one of the few redeeming elements of Jane's former life as a psychic con artist; his love for them was deep and genuine, and most of his acts based around a sincere desire to give them a good life.
• Posthumous Character: Killed by Red John prior to the start of the series.

Lena Abbot

Played By: Christine Adams.

Abbot's wife, whose application for a prestigious job is threatened by his past.

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• Happily Married: She and her husband are very close and willing to sacrifice a lot for each other, while arguing about which one should make the sacrifice.

Dr. Sophie Miller

Played By: Elisabeth Röhm

A therapist who helped Jane deal with the trauma of his family's death and is a suspect in an early case.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: When commenting on her divorce, she tells Jane that she is drawn to "controlling but damaged and emotionally unavailable men."
• Back for the Dead: Her second appearance, in season 6, is just as a corpse and a voice on a tape recording after Red John murders her.
• Believing Their Own Lies: She's been faking research data for a "morality engine" to eliminate violent impulses, but does spend a while telling herself that a genuine breakthrough is really around the corner and this is just to buy time.
• Dark Secret: In her introductory episode, she spends a while trying to hide the fact that an experiment she took part in was a fraud.
• Decapitation Presentation: Red John cut her head off and left it in her oven for Jane to find.
• I Owe You My Life: Jane apparently feels that he would have committed suicide eventually if not for her therapy.
• Spanner in the Works: Red John consults her as a patient and kills her, in order to taunt Jane and steal her files on him to get under his skin, but unknown to him, Sophie left behind a tape recording describing her thoughts after this first meeting, giving Jane more information to use in identifying Red John, such as that he has some phobia, and the way he carries himself.

Karen Cross

Played By: Missi Pyle

A TV show host and former prosecutor involved in two of the teams cases.

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• The Ace: She has a spotless conviction record and the one case she prosecuted that was overturned on appeal turns out to have been overturned because of false evidence. That being said, Lisbon seems to think she she might have cheated a bit to win some of those cases.
• Amoral Attorney: She prosecuted criminals but resigned during an investigation for ethical violations.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: She wants Jane as a guest on her TV show. When he actually does get on there, chaos (and hilarity) naturally follow, to the point where she changes her policy to avoid having live audiences specifically in response to how that turned out.
• Unwitting Pawn: James Panzer uses her to maximize his media exposure and foil a CBI attempt to trap him during his second appearance.

Judge Patricia Davis

Played By: Amy Aquino

A judge who Lisbon appeals to during the Tommy Volker investigation.

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• Reasonable Authority Figure: She manages to be both this and an Obstructive Bureaucrat. She refuses to issue a warrant against Charles Milk when Judge Manchester is willing to do so, and is reluctant to sign a warrant to search Volker's office in the next episode. However this is because she's holding Lisbon to a realistic standard of probable cause and Volker has covered his tracks well, and she does sign the second warrant when Lisbon claims to have hard evidence. The fact that she remains friendly and personal with Lisbon throughout it all helps.

Stan Lisbon

Played by: Derek Phillips

The eldest of Lisbon's younger brothers.

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Enjoys bringing up embarrassing stories about his sister.
• Loan Shark: He owes thousands to one due to debts from his most recent child and some business troubles/
• Massive Numbered Siblings: He grew up with three siblings and has five kids of his own.

Brother David

Played By: Steven Hack

A Visualize member who seems to serve as a recruiter.

• Cloudcuckoolander: The Visualize member who seems the most off.
• Brainwashed: Urges Jane to take part in our "Immersive Visualize Program" after a talk with him.
• Plucky Comic Relief: His two appearances have him trying to convert members of the CBI and being brushed off with annoyance.

Tom and Terri Maier

Played By: David Carey Foster and Ely Pouget

The parents of the San Joaquin Killer's first victim.

• Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: Jane posthumously frames Tom for Killing Panzer in order to take the heat off the Red John investigation. This is ultimately portrayed as being an odd act of kindness rather than a Kick the Dog moment though, as Terri had felt angry and more bereaved by his suicide, while feeling that he'd avenged their daughters murder but been left guilt-ridden by taking a life gave her a sense of closure, and let her forgive him for leaving her alone like that.
• Driven to Suicide: Tom, due to lingering grief for his daughter and realizing that a man he trusted was the killer.
• Outliving One's Offspring: And its clear that it's hit them hard.

Senator Eileen Dawkins

Played By: Judi Evans

A Senator whose in Lisbon's season 5 poker circle.

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• The Gambler: Seems to be one of the better players in the group.
• Spear Carrier: She appears in three episodes, but just to play cards and make conversation with Lisbon, Bertram and Manchester, never appearing outside of their poker games or having any impact on the show's ongoing plot or Mystery of the Week.

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