The Following - Season 3 Recap "Boxed In"

Wow.

Sometimes I wonder who writes the scripts for The Following because this show certainly goes the distance in undertaking some pretty sick stuff.

After last week's premiere episode, we find Mark (Sam Underwood) planning to kill an FBI agent unless Ryan, Mike and Max confess to their crime of executing his mom and using rogue tactics to hunt down Joe Carroll.

At first it looks as if Mark is going to be successful in nabbing that said 'FBI agent' and have them be tortured at a local auto body shop/torture chamber, but the FBI cracks down on that one real quick, leaving Mark's two followers (this new season's twisted couple played by Ruth Kearney and Hunter Parrish) to resort to Plan B.

Plan B is calling a rather burly fellow named 'Neil' and that said 'FBI agent' is actually FBI Director Clarke - whose been around since last season - while also getting a little backstory on him and his role in covering up Ryan's tactics for catching Joe.

We see in this episode how close knit Ryan has become with not only Mike and Max, but also his new love, Gwen, played by Zuleikha Robinson.  Ryan does seem to have truly moved on from Joe - especially when he's referred to rather humorously as 'the ex we don't talk about' - but still has to keep being reminded of the vital role he still plays in everything.

After FBI Director Clarke is taken at his home - not before his wife is nearly suffocated to death - Ryan, Mike, and Max are faced with the dilemma of confessing to their crimes before their friend is killed.  While Clarke is able to escape from his captors for a short time and tip off Ryan on his location, this episode ends rather tragically with Mr. Clarke literally being tortured and folded like a rag doll to fit into a 'box' our new fellow Neil created.  Not before Director Clarke confesses though to his role on-camera for the world to see in his role in covering up Ryan and Co.'s secret.

Ryan is too late in saving both his counterpart and friend - who we actually find out his the reason Ryan met Gwen - when Clarke had to be taken to the ER about a year earlier for panic attacks about Ryan's cover-up.  Gwen is the Doctor that treats Clarke, and the rest they say, is history.

Pretty sad episode.

Overall, I'd give this week's entry another B+.  Not the greatest, but certainly the show has returned with no shortage of suspense and tension in what Ryan must face this coming season.

Notes/Questions:

• Mark certainly got left out in the cold this week on the action.  I think this guy is going to snap soon enough.
• Nice little exchange between Mike and Max's new boyfriend.  "I'm not here to make friends."
• I suspect we are going to see more of our new friend Neil as it doesn't seem to be set-up as a one off character.
• How much longer until we see Joe?  You know it's eventually going to happen.