A Face Off Between Jim Moriarty (Sherlock BBC) and Red John (The Mentalist)

[SPOILER ALERT!]

Whom do you choose for carrying out your ‘villainous’ fantasies? Moriarty, a sadistic ‘consulting criminal’ is featured as an antagonist in the 9.2 rated TV series ‘Sherlock’. On the other hand, we have Red John, a psychopathic serial killer, featuring in ‘The Mentalist’.

Moriarty is said to have a sarcastic and cynical sense of humor (like Sherlock) and is extremely difficult to read due to his incredible capability of introducing sudden changes in behavior. Sherlock himself failed to anticipate his next move each time and claimed him to be the ‘Napoleon of crime’. Moriarty, bereft of any empathy and highly manipulative, successfully played Sherlock to his tone, eluding him for a numerous times. He is definitely the type of person you contact when you have evil motives.

But then you have Red John. Or should I say Roy Tagliaferro? A master of aliases, the only thing which prevented him from being killed by the greatest mentalist was his hidden identity. He is a showman, an artist, as mentioned by Jane himself, as was evident from his smileys self-drawn using his victim’s blood. He killed more than 20 times without a flicker of empathy for a single one. When one watches ‘The Mentalist’, one is simply enthralled by this character. His calculated moves, the way he eludes the CBI, the Homeland Security and Patrick Jane himself for years, its wow.

Unlike Moriarty who prefers not to ‘dirty his hand’, Red John sadistically killed his victims without raising a pulse. Both exercised enough precaution, enough to leave deductive experts as Sherlock and Jane with faces buried in their hands. They were outsmarted just when their self-confidence exceeded the bare limit. Both had a vast network and skilled foot soldiers.

But I have to say Red John has an edge over Moriarty. I cannot term Moriarty as ‘professional’. His cunning moves does not hide his childish obsessive behavior with Sherlock which is deemed unnecessary on numerous terms. He has people doing his work for him as he remains the play-maker. Red John is professional to a great extent and does not indulge in killings just to spice up his rivalry with Jane.

Moriarty, on the other hand, influenced one of the most powerful person of the British Government (Mycroft Holmes) and several other officials and authorities. So we have skills and intuition on either side. But if I had to choose, Red John would be the one. ‘The Mentalist’ has a rating of 8.1 on IMDb, quite low I would say compared to its content. People should watch it and they wouldn’t run out of suspense and plot twists. It is on equal terms with Sherlock. After all, a potential criminal of high caliber is what spices a series up more than detectives and mentalists.