You are totally right. I still see the carrot in front of me. Sick storytelling.
They should move to 12 episode cycle. I will only check next first 4 eps.
But it is like to quit smoking. You always say it's the last on until the next is in your mouth.

This show has a very compelling battle going on between the hero and villan, that gets ruined by 20 episodes of generic, poorly written procedural episodes that barely mention the main storyline. But then they throw you 2-3 episodes about what the show was based around, and they draw you back in only to leave you with another Red John cliffhanger.

If next season plays up the Red John story in the first two episodes, then slips back into pointless episodes like this season did, I'm out.