In his review for Entertainment Weekly, James Hibberd expressed disappointment over the reveal, calling McAllister "shockingly dull" and comparing the story with the film Seven, in which the mystery of John Doe carried on for a few hours as opposed to the series' "100 hours and five years", which he deemed "maddening".[4] While acknowledging that a degree of disappointment was inevitable, Hibberd was dismissive towards Heller's remarks that "once the curtain is drawn back from these evil Wizard of Oz characters, they tend not to be very interesting dinner companions",[2] noting times when mystery villains can indeed be compelling, including Bradley Whitford's character from the season 3 finale "Strawberries and Cream".[4] However, Hibberd was positive about Red John's death, saying Baker "rocked" the scene and praising how the scene ignored the common TV cliche of having the protagonist be "above murder."