The Following - Season 3 Recap "The Reckoning"

In the season 3 (also series) finale of The Following, we pick up where we left off with Ryan being captured by Theo along with that fellow agent who is now suffering from a gunshot wound.  Theo takes them to an abandoned prison where his plan is to torture and kill Ryan to make him pay for killing Penny.

Meanwhile, Max and the rest of the FBI are in search mode to find Ryan and Theo (oh and that fellow agent too).  They’re reviewing highway cameras to try and figure out where Theo went and how far away he’s gotten.

Theo receives a call from Eliza during this and she informs him that her people want Ryan Hardy alive, not dead, throwing a major wrench into Theo’s plan.  He basically tells her to screw off, he’s doing what he wants and good luck finding him.

Back at the hospital, Mike is still not out of the words as Max comes by to check on him.  It’s there that she reveals to Gwen that Ryan has gone missing but that they’re doing everything they can and will find him.  It’s here that the doctors give good news on Mike and tell them he’s progressing well.

Over in the prison, Theo has begun torturing Ryan by dunking his head in water (similar to how he tortured Penny), and after slitting that fellow agent’s throat, is about to make him suffer more when Eliza and her people show up to sort of save the day.  They take Theo away and begin questioning Ryan about his knowledge of them.  Ryan really does have no damn clue who they are and soon enough, is able to break free and start to escape.  Theo – who had actually begun to get tortured himself – is also able to get away but not before learning (through a pretty thin plot point of seeing Gwen’s ultrasound) that Ryan is about to be a father.  Just as he slips past Ryan, he tells him he’s going after Gwen and the baby and that he’s going to make him suffer now for the rest of his life.

Max – still at the hospital with Mike – discovers Theo’s whereabouts (again, through a pretty thin plot point of hidden highway cam footage) and calls Agent Campbell (Diane Neal of Law & Order: SVU) to inform her.  This is all well and good; however, we’ve just learned that Agent Campbell herself is working for Eliza and her people (major plot twist).  Campbell tells Max she’ll go with her to follow the lead and keeps the information discreet from everyone else in the office.

Able to track down the prison – to Campbell’s frustration – Max takes off the find Ryan who has just gotten free.  She guns down one of Eliza’s henchman who is about to shoot Ryan and the two are reunited to go after Theo who he himself is going after Gwen.  Theo, by the way, captures Agent Campbell and uses her to get to Gwen.

Told by Agent Campbell, Gwen and her security detail are led out of Ryan’s apartment but are ambushed in the basement by Theo.  He shoots and seemingly kills everyone but Gwen to capture and take her away.  Ryan and Max – in a common pattern for this show –arrive just a little too late to find Gwen’s been taken by Theo (though Agent Campbell is still alive).

Getting away on road with Gwen held captive, Theo reveals to her that he’s going to kill her after she gives birth to Ryan’s baby and raise it as his own.  Ryan and the FBI though are able to track him down though by helicopter, leading to a face-off between the two on a bridge above a river.

Theo holds Gwen at gunpoint and it looks as if Ryan’s going to give up to save Gwen’s life, but quickly (seemingly) shoots Theo in the head to save her.  Ryan and Gwen embrace, thinking everything’s way too resolved for this show when Theo gets up (the bullet merely grazing his head) and tackles Ryan overboard the bridge.  To Gwen’s horror, Ryan is still hanging on the side with Theo having gone over.  He tells Gwen he loves her, before letting go and falling in too.

The next day, a search crew is unsuccessful in finding Ryan and Theo who are both believed to be dead.  We find Max and Gwen back at the hospital, sharing the bad news with Mike, who has awaken.  Suddenly, we see an anonymous figure entering the hospital, who looks as if it’s Theo, but turns out its Ryan, having survived the fall.

He heads to Agent Campbell’s recovery room and tells her he knows she was in on it and gets what information he can out of her before killing her.  Ryan’s coming after Eliza and her people.

As he’s slipping out of the hospital, Ryan sees Gwen, Max and Mike together, content they all have each other before walking out of the building.  End show.

Overall, I’d say this was a pretty good season, though the choppy writing and convenient plot points at times certainly effected the quality of the show.  I think it would have been interesting to see where season 4 went with Ryan – now believed to be dead – going after Eliza and her company, unaware he’s alive but…as is the case with shows that just don’t do big enough ratings, they end.

Grade: B+

Overall Grade for the season: B

Notes/Questions:

• So I guess we never find out what happened to Mendez and her family?
• I believe Ryan meant to only graze Theo with his gunshot as he wanted Theo to knock him over the bridge.  As he tells Max earlier in the episode, he can never be happy with the danger in his life, and I think knew Gwen could only be safe if it was believed he was dead.
• For a guy who got stabbed multiple times in the back, Mike looked pretty damn healthy in bed.
• I guess Agent Campbell got what was coming to her?

The Following - Season 3 Recap "Dead or Alive"

We pick up from last week's shocking ending in the emergency room where Mike is being treated after his brutal stabbing by Mark.  Max is - of course - an absolute mess and Ryan arrives on scene to comfort.  The injuries to Mike are bad, really bad, and it doesn't look good for Agent Weston.

Meanwhile, Theo - after witnessing the death of his sister, Penny - we find in the woods contemplating suicide.  It would make sense given she was the only person he ever truly loved, but Theo has a moment and realizes what he has to do.  From this point forward, we're along for the ride.

The first thing he does is go to Ms. Annoyance - Eliza - to set the record straight on their deal.  If he kills Ryan Hardy, her and whomever the people she works for, have to make him disappear.

Back at the hosptial though, we find Ryan and Gwen starting to reconcile, discussing the baby and his plan to leave the bureau once Theo is caught.  First though, that needs to actually happen.

Believing Theo will come after someone Ryan cares about, he puts protective detail on everyone he can think of including his sister.  Who he forgets about though is Agent Mendez, his ex boss.  Turns out she's heading to a safe house herself with a couple bodyguards, but it's not enough as Theo soon gets to her and her wife.  Fortunately, their kids are able to get to the panic room, but Mendez and her partner are left to be tied up and held at gunpoint.

Theo's plan is to have Mendez call Ryan and request he come out to see her, which she does, though Ryan is to clever and smart to realize something is up.  He sets up an offlline team to assist him in rescuing Mendez and taking down Theo.  Ryan knows this is his last chance to get him, and he needs it to finally end.

Once at the safe house, Ryan decides to go in alone and tells everyone to give him 10 minutes to get Theo and the guards away from the house.  Once there, Ryan is able to do this, but ends up getting tricked by Theo and ends up trapped himself.  Daisy meanwhile (who I'm sorry I haven't mentioned) is put in charge of taking out Mendez and her partner, though they're able to escape (despite a gunshot wound) into the panic room with the kids.  Daisy is left to run away herself.

As Ryan is being brought out of the house, he's able to break free from Theo as the calvery shows up.  Theo takes off running and Ryan heads straight after him with Max not far behind.

Long story short, to set up the finale, Max takes out Daisy who was about to shoot her, and Ryan - thinking Theo has gotten away after shooting a fellow agent - is knocked out and taken by Theo as Gwen leaves a heartfelt voicemail on his cellphone.

Grade: B+

Notes/Questions:

• Mike is still in critical but stable condition and we still don't know if he'll make it.
• I actually felt a bit sorry for Theo having lost the only person he loved.
• I'm curious to know what organization this annoying Eliza works for.
• Did anyone else really want to see what that panic room looked like inside? 

The Following - Season 3 Recap "A Simple Trade"

Part of Fox's 2-hour night of The Following, we pick up where the last episode left off with Ryan having to meet up with Theo to exchange Penny for Mike.

When the FBI arrives at Ryan's apartment - questioning where he's been and what he's been up to - Ryan sells a pretty smooth excuse, but not for Max.  She catches onto what he's doing, and after slugging him in the face for not telling her Theo has Mike (she feared he was dead), they make a plan to get Mike back.

Meanwhile, as Mike is being dragged along by Theo, Mark and Daisy, Theo must devise a plan of where and when he will do the exchange for his sister.  He ends up settling on a performing arts theater (where Mark brutally kills the one guy working there), and the place is now turned into a meeting ground for the trade-off.

As Ryan and Max orchestrate their scheme to get Mike back - by not informing the FBI of what's going on - they end up stealing a few supplies from the headquarters.  They fear if the bureau is brought in, Mike will die and Ryan's job will be toast.

Back at the mansion where Mike is being held captive (I know, where do these places come from?), he's able to escape from Daisy but not before Theo and Mark return to find out he's gone.  While Mike is almost able to get out of there, he's caught by Mark and is once again looking likely to be killed but not before Daisy pulls a gun on Mark and shoots him.  She realizes without Mike, Theo will kill her and needs him to survive.  Mark gets away and now we're left with the big showdown of Ryan and Theo.

The theater set up is pretty well orchestrated, but after Ryan gets a hold of Mike and Theo gets a hold of Penny, a shoot out and runaway begins with Ryan gunning down Penny.  Theo you can tell is heartbroken by losing the one person he loved, but ends up escaping with Daisy.

With Mike and Max now reunited, the have a perfect moment later on in the parking garage outside FBI headquarters as Mike confesses his love for her.  All is seemingly well and good until Mark surprises and brutally stabs Mike multiple times as Max is left helpless.  It look like she's about to be taken out too but Mike is able to finally gun down Mark himself.  Mike is left in a pool of blood with Max calling for help.

Grade: B

Notes/Questions:

• Gwen does in fact tell Ryan she's pregnant and looks to be giving him another chance if he changes his ways.
• Ryan heads to an AA meeting and claims he wants to change and be better, seemingly ridding the ghost of Joe.
• Did anyone else see that stabbing of Mike coming a million miles away?  It was just too perfect and ideal a moment for nothing to happen.

The Following - Season 3 Recap "The Edge"

*Just as a quick note, it was revealed early last week that The Following had been canceled by Fox.  While there are rumors that the show may get picked up by another network or digital streaming service, it looks likely that these last four episodes will be the last, period.  Stay tuned if there are any changes, but don't hold your breath.  Just enjoy these last remaining episodes of The Following!*

This episode proved to be a set up of sorts for the remainder of the season.  We see Ryan struggling with his alcohol addiction, we see Mark and Daisy teaming up with Theo and Penny, and finally, we see Tom finally being brought down.

Starting off with the first point mentioned, Ryan is certainly struggling with his addiction.  He is going behind both Mike and Max's back along with lying to everyone else to steal a quick drink.  He does, however, surprise Gwen at the hospital wanting to talk.  While it seems like she wants to give him another chance, it doesn't seem that much.  She does indeed ask him later in the episode if he is drinking again, to which Ryan responds he is, but tells her he's going to stop.  The conversation doesn't continue much longer because Ryan has just spotted Penny.  Which leads me to...

The second point of the two evil teams of Mark/Daisy joining forces with Theo/Penny.  While Mark and Theo very much don't like each other, they agree to help one another to get what they want.  First though, Mark and Daisy must help Theo with his Eliza issue.  A meeting is set up, in which Eliza double crosses Theo to have him killed, but Mark, Daisy and Penny help Theo in taking out these assassins.  Theo does in fact end up getting to Eliza, in which she agrees to help him and Penny disappear as long as he brings in Ryan Hardy as well as never speak of the organization she works for.  This is all well and good, until it comes time to get to Ryan.  This all leads to...

The third and final point of Tom.  Tom is used as a mole by both Mark and Daisy to help them hack back into the FBI databse to assist Theo.  The reason why?  They blackmail him with evidence in his accidental murder of Sloan (which he still has the body left in his bathtub) and tell him to cooperate or else.  Tom does do what they tell him and he gets Theo access back into the FBI database, but not before Mark asks him for one more favor, to bring him Mike Weston.

Back to the first point of Ryan spotting Penny.  Him and Max are on a stakeout for Penny after finding out who she is and where her local 'drug' hangouts are.  After hanging up on Gwen, Ryan and Max go after her and it looks like she's seemingly gotten away after Max leaves the scene, but turns out Ryan has snagged Penny himself.  He brings her back to his apartment to get her to talk, but after she resists, the ghost of Joe gets him to snap in which he waterboards her based on her fear of water he had read in her file.  She reveals Theo is working with Mark and Daisy.  Speaking of them...

After getting Tom to bring Mike to them, they end up killing Mr. Tom (so long) with Mark about to finally kill Mike, but not before Theo pops out of nowhere to tell them Mike is his now.  Confused?  Well it's because Theo needs Mike to get to Ryan.  A phone call is made, and now and exchange must be made too.

Grade: B

Notes/Questions:

• I forgot to add, Max realized Tom was the mole by looking at security tapes from the FBI offices.  She tries to call Mike to warn him, but that's when Tom gets Mike.
• I'm still surprised Gwen hasn't told Ryan she's pregnant.  Unless she's not planning to keep the baby...
• How many times is Mike going to get close to biting the dust with Mark?

The Following - Season 3 Recap "Demons"

This was probably one of the more sub-par episodes for the show this year.

We catch up with Ryan pretty quickly in what happened last week after he fell off the wagon.  Turns out he got really drunk, and cheated on Gwen with some random blonde.  Yup, Ryan you dog.

Once arriving home to a scared to death Gwen, Ryan reveals what happened and Gwen finally decides no more.  She leaves the apartment and tells Ryan she's done.

We catch up with our boy Theo who is still on the hunt to find one of the Straus' students who can assure him a clean slate.  This whole storyline is getting a bit ridiculous and hard to follow as we end up with Theo and his sister in almost a Eye Wide Shut-type setting where we finally meet Eliza.  She's the one who can help Theo and he assures her he can and will kill Ryan Hardy before he catch either of them.  That's his gift to her in order to get his clean slate.

Meanwhile, Ryan is way off the wagon and starting to lose it but needs to focus on the job.  We learn a lot about Theo's past in this episode including the fact that his whole family was killed by request from HIM to a serial killer.  Ryan goes on the hunt for this Oleg character who is nothing more than a complete nutjob that's afraid of mirrors (Tooth Fairy anyone?).  Once in custody, are said nutjob reveals that he killed Theo's family because he could tell the boy had the same darkness and thirst as he did.  He made sure to leave his foster sister alone though (Penny) so that the two could survive together.

We also catch up with Mark and Daisy who look to be getting pretty close.  They're still on the hunt for that laptop - you know the one Tom, Max's boyfriend, stole - and track down the fact that it's located in the FBI headquarters.  Daisy knows they need help and reaches out to Theo for assistance.  Looks like everyone is going to become one big happy family next week.

Finally, in a rather cliche and sudden turn of events, that female FBI agent (other than Max) who's been hanging around all season?  Well, she gets shot and killed in Tom's apartment because she's investigating the raid he did on Mark's house the day that laptop was stolen.  She realizes Tom's the one who's been lying and...well, stuff happens.

Overall, I'd say this was a pretty so-so episode as Ryan is now having visions of Joe which whenever a show takes that route with a prominent character it doesn't end up well.  Also, Theo's motivations are starting to feel a bit thin and I hope the writing team starts to tighten things up next week as I can threads of this thing starting to fall apart.

Grade: C+

Notes/Questions:

• Theo's sister, Penny, is really annoying.  She seems like nothing but a mooch that lives off her brother's genius.
• Mike and Max once again growing closer.  I wonder how long Tom's going to stick around now that he just killed a fellow co-worker by mistake.
• Why did that said female FBI agent pull her gun on Tom anyway?  Did she really think he was going to hurt her?
• So Gwen is out of the picture...but she's still pregnant with Ryan's baby.  Uh oh.

The Following - Season 3 Recap "Evermore"

In the series history of The Following, this was probably one of the most tension-filled, game-changing episodes for the show. We finally witnessed the death of Joe, Ryan finally admitted the true 'satisfaction' he gets from killing (while also showing it) and we also learned Theo must kill Ryan in order to save himself.

Our episode begins with the set up being done for Joe's execution.  We find Joe in his cell, still sharpening that set of sunglasses he stole to use as a weapon.  Once taken to an examination room to ensure his 'procedure' goes accordingly, Joe quickly overtakes the prison guards and takes hostage a few innocent bystanders.  As he states, "You didn't think it would be easy to kill me, did you?"

Meanwhile, we find Ryan watching coverage of the planned execution on TV.  Of course he hasn't been able to sleep and looks visibly shaken by the events going on.  Gwen tries to talk him into going out for the day (and tell him about the baby) but Ryan wants to stay busy with work until the execution is over.  Once again, showing the disconnect that exists now between the two now.

Our good buddy Theo by the way is searching through a meth house looking for a girl who is still unknown to us.  He finds her, past out with another man in bed (who he quickly disposes of when threatened) and brings this girl back home.  We later learn that this girl is indeed his sister and his well aware of who and what Theo really is.  Turns out Theo took captive an expert symbol reader in order to break Straus' code to which no avail.  Theo states the key is to break the code so he can find a student of Straus who can fix the mess he's now in.  They key though is Ryan Hardy.  With Ryan dead, Theo has leverage to give to this individual that the mess can be cleaned up (we'll probably find out more on this next week).

By now, Joe's prison takeover has made the news and Ryan is requested to come see him or else all the hostages will die.  Ryan begrudingly accepts Joe's request and soon enough is in the custody of Joe (not before getting one hostage to be released).

After being tazed and knocked out, Ryan is tied up and laced at the neck like the hostages with Joe demanding a confession about Ryan's true feelings.  Joe wants Ryan to admit he 'likes' killing people and that he himself is his real soul mate.  Ryan of course denies all this at first, but once Joe begins to operationally take one of the hostage's eyes out, Ryan confesses to the truth.  That killing brings him satisfaction, and that Ryan has dreams of Joe where they are the best of friends.  Joe relents his takeover, telling Ryan how proud he is of him and gives himself up.

Everything is looking all great and peachy until Theo's sister (who conveniently is just as good with a computer as he is) opens the doors to the cells holding other prisoners as Ryan, Joe and the other hostages are trying to leave.  She also locks out help from coming (Mike and Max are on standby), leaving Ryan and a tied up Joe to take on the fired up prisoners.

While Joe is humorously taken by a pissed off inmate, Ryan is left to handle the others on his own.  He quickly takes down a few, but after getting knocked down as one hostage is hurt and the other (a girl) is led away to seemingly be raped, something snaps inside of Ryan and he goes on a full-fledged killing spree.  He brutally takes down the other inmates as being splattered by blood.

Joe is also about to be choked to death by his pissed off prisoner but not long before Ryan actually SAVES Joe and takes down the final bad guy.  Mike, Max and Co. conventinly (finally) show up to restore order and put Joe back on-track to be executed.

In the closing five minutes, Ryan tells Gwen he needs closure on Joe and needs her to understand that (still no mention she's pregnant even though she's tried to tell).  Joe is laid out to be executed by lethal execution but not before happily seeing Ryan there to witness him go, quoting the Raven in his last words "Evermore".  Ryan looks disturbed as Joe's execution goes through and were left with our final look at a lifeless Joe Carroll.

Ryan wraps up his day at a bar, ordering two scotches, with one for him and the other for Joe.  He sees an illusion of Joe as his falls of the wagon to take a drink, and then proceeds to order another, setting up what is sure to be his demise.

Grade: A-

Notes/Questions:

• That poor attorney girl just couldn't catch a break, huh?  I bet she quits her job soon enough.
• Liked how Ryan told Mike and Max to take care of each other if something happens to him.
• No mention or showing of Max's boyfriend this week.  Is she even with him anymore?
• Even though Joe's now dead, he looks to be prominent the rest of this year in visions.  I hope this show knows what it's doing in that aspect.

The Following - Season 3 Recap "Kill the Messenger"

I would say of all the episodes I've watched for The Following over its nearly three year run, this one was certainly one of the most well laid out, well constructed episodes.

We start off with Ryan being terrorized by Theo via cyber attacks.  He's screwed with his credit cards, listed his car as stolen and even put Gwen's medical career in jeopardy.  Ryan knows Theo is coming for him and must find him and stop him before it's too late.

We also learn Mike is still onto finding Mark and has a search going on for a missing laptop that wasn't found at his safe house.  You know, the laptop that Max's S.W.A.T. boyfriend has been holding onto and using to spy on her?  Well both Mike and Max track it down in the FBI building, only to lose the signal right as Mr. S.W.A.T. boyfriend destroys it.  This is going to end well...

Theo meanwhile is up to something as he breaks into Straus' former (now deceased) attorney aide's office to find a code book his teacher left behind with the location of all his students.  While this is certainly a head scratcher, Theo then makes it a point to befriend a former military member who he takes on a trip to both hurt (and kill) the man responsible for ending his career in the service.  We're not really sure where any of this is going until we learn what this former military guy does for a living...he's a security guard at Joe's prison.

Poor Joe's been feeling shunned and broken hearted about Ryan not coming to see him.  His attention peaks up though when this military member/security guard reveals himself to be working with Theo who begins to communicate with Joe through the guard.  Theo wants to know what the code is to locate all of Straus' students and believes Joe is the one who has it.  Joe's not falling for the mind games, and gets amusingly protective of Ryan Hardy when Theo says he'll kill him for Joe.  Joe also wants to know details about Ryan's new love, Gwen, which he does in-fact get.  Long story short, Joe refuses to help Theo, seamlessly kills the guard and sets up Ryan to pay him a visit.

Ryan has no interest in speaking to Joe other than to find Theo but proceeds to freak out when Joe mentions Gwen's name.  Ryan leaves in terror but is comforted to know Joe is to be executed the next night.

He gets back home (and almost takes a drink) but stops when he hears Gwen in the bathroom.  He tells her he had to go talk to Joe, but that everything will be alright.  Little does he know though, Gwen just found out she's pregnant.

Finally, back at the prison, we find Joe seemingly sleeping before his last night alive.  But turns out, that guard he killed?  He had a pair of sunglasses in his pocket...and Joe got a hold of them.  A perfect object to turn into a weapon.

Grade: A-

Notes/Questions:

• I forgot to point out that we catch up with Daisy in this episode now working in Atlantic City.  Mark tracks her down though, and is about to kill her, but she tells him she knows how to get to Mike Weston.  And yeah, Mark is still crazy.
• So Max is no longer mad at Mike?  Does she even interact with her real boyfriend anymore?
• You have to love how Joe treats Ryan like he's his soul mate.  It's amusingly funny.
• Next week, everything hits the fan as Joe is to be executed, but he's not going quietly.

The Following - Season 3 Recap "Flesh & Blood"

This week's episode of The Following centered mainly on the hunt for Theo while also giving us some lengthy time with our still favorite serial killer, Joe Carroll.

Starting off with Joe, we find him day-dreaming about easily escaping prison before coming back to reality and realizing he really does have no way out of this one.  We learn with his execution fast approaching, Ryan has declined to attend the proceeding which both angers and frustrates Joe.  Why isn't his other half going to be there to watch him say goodbye to the world?

Meanwhile, we find Theo still cleaning up the close call from last week.  He's been able to stay just ahead of the FBI, but not for long.  After a nosy (now dead) neighbor aids in the FBI's search along with Max tracking down his false identity, Theo realizes he's been found and the family he's built is now just...in the way.  In a pretty sick and twisted scene, our new serial killer decides in order for him to escape and not be caught, he needs to kill his own family to keep himself secret.

Ryan, Mike and the rest are once again just a little too late in getting to Theo's residence.  While the kids are still alive after being given a posionous injection, his wife is not so lucky as she's found murdered (though Theo was nice enough to not let her feel any pain).  Soon after, Ryan gets a threatening phone call from him and told that he better watch himself or he'll come after everyone he cares about.

I also did want to mention the cracks that are starting to form in not only Ryan's personality but his relationship with Gwen.  We saw in this episode how Ryan is struggling with losing his attachment to Joe ontop of how his commitment to the job is affecting things at home.  In a rather humorous scene, Gwen's boss is having dinner over and begins arguing AGAINST the execution of Joe Carroll, leading Ryan to lose it and kick him out of the apartment.  This also puts Ryan further in the doghouse with Gwen, making things not look anymore optimistic anytime soon.

Grade: B

Notes/Questions:

• Did anyone else think that daydream sequence with Joe escaping was real?  I kept thinking, "There's no way he break free again."
• Not much interaction between Mike and Max this week.  I wonder if by next episode they'll have patched things up.
• As freaky as Theo may be, man that guy is crafty.

The Following - Season 3 Recap "The Hunt"

*Note* - I just want to apologize for not recapping the past two week's episodes.  I've been dealing with a personal matter.  Thanks guys.

In this week's episode, we get a good look at how our new killer - Straus' "best student" - orchestrates himself in keeping his identity hidden.

The episode begins with our psycho killer from last week, Duncan (you know, the uncle who killed his own niece's parents and laughed about it), being transported to a facility, only to escape when our 'best student' ambushes and kills the two officers in-charge of the transport.

Turns out our new killer needs to tie up some loose ends to protect himself from the mess Straus put him in.  He makes it clear to Duncan that if he helps him accomplish what he needs to do, he'll let him live.  If not, bye bye Duncan.

Meanwhile, Ryan is still trying to track down who this 'best student' is by going to Joe to get more information.  Joe is little to at all helpful, but news comes that Mr. Carroll is set to be executed in 7 days.  Not much time for Ryan to use his new asset to track down the killer.

Back at the FBI office, we find Max still recovering from her beating a couple weeks back and not doing a very good job at 'limited duty'.  She's sent on a profile to look into an IT company where it's believed the hacker (our 'best student') got into the FBI database and helped Straus go free for his court hearing.  Mike on the other hand is starting to get some attitude from Max's SWAT boyfriend as he not only knows her and Mike slept together, but also that he's behind some rogue-style executions.

We catch up with our 'best student' and Duncan in tracking down the person responsible (Luis) for creating Straus and others' fake passports.  They need to find this person and kill him while also destroying all evidence of his activity as this can all be traced back if discovered.  They just miss him at a poker game with his buddies, which leaves one left dead with no hand and the rest brutally murdered.

Once Ryan and Mike get to the scene (which once again they are too late), they're able to track down Luis to his girlfriend's house.  They find the girlfriend dead with Luis missing (taken by Duncan to a warehouse where the passports and other evidence is produced).  They need to reach Luis before Duncan executes him in hopes of finding out who this 'best student' is.

Oh, and you know that IT company Max is visiting?  Well it turns out that's where our 'best student' hides his gainful employment.  He's onto Max and the rest of the FBI in hunting him down, and does an admirable job of framing another man in the office as the one who hacked the FBI servers.  This is all working, until another employee at the company informs Max that they got the wrong guy and he knows how to find out who.  Our best student quickly takes care of him and is about to kill Max too before the police show up after Max called in the murder.  Another close one for a Hardy.

Finally, back at that warehouse, Luis is close to being executed but not before Ryan, Mike and Co. show up to save him and kill Duncan in the process.  I actually thought Ryan was seriously injured when he took that rifle shot to the chest, but of course, bulletproof vest.

What we're left with is Ryan still having no clue who this 'best student' is but knowing he's far beyond better than Joe in covering his tracks and remaining hidden.  Ryan better find something soon though as this guy looks well on his way to vanishing.

Grade:  B

Notes/Questions:

• I have a feeling Mike and Max's FBI boyfriend are going to have it out.  Just a hunch.
• Where did Ryan's new girlfriend dissapear to?  She wasn't seen this entire episode.
• So Joe's got 7 days to live, huh?  I wonder if a prison escape his on the way courtesy of our 'best student'.
• It's still laughable at how the FBI is always missing these brutal killings by just a couple hours.  How much bad luck can you have?  But this is a TV show.

The Following - Season 3 Recap "Exposed"

Continuing last week's events of the murder of FBI Director Clark, Ryan Hardy and Co. are on a hunt to find the killer responsible.

As Ryan is questioned by both his own bureau and the media in regards to Clark's video - where it was revealed to the world that Ryan carried out a black ops team to capture Joe Carroll - he vehemently denies all accusations and declares to Mark and his followers that he's coming after him.

We learn are new friend Neil - you know, the guy who likes to twist and turn people for fun and put them in boxes - is actually a wood-shop owner who comes off to people who see him as a very 'nice' guy.  We also learn that he doesn't like it when an assisted living aide for his father neglects to keep an eye out, leaving Neil to rescue his dad from almost getting hit by a car.  This isn't taken too well and Neil decides he wants a new home health aide because the regular one 'didn't show up for work.'

While this episode was fast-paced, I found myself at times sort of bored by it.  Maybe it was because the hunt for Neil was rather boring and the character himself was pretty 'black & white' to begin with, didn't make the chase for him any more exciting.

A few other things going on in this episode: Mark is still definitely losing it, as he decides to kidnap two reporters in hopes of getting the real story out of what Ryan did in killing his mother, which no one seems to care about anymore.  This obviously doesn't end well and both reporters are killed.  Our newest psycho couple also aren't who they seem to be as we learn they're secretly working for...'someone', who has a master plan at work.  Finally, Max decides she's done covering up for Ryan and Mike and wants no part in their 'unconventional' tactics in doing their job.

This episode concludes with Neil being caught and killed of course (and his poor father witnessing his son kill) as well as Mark realizing his psycho couple is on to something and needs to keep a watchful eye on them.

Overall, I'd say this was another solid episode though the writing team better start to reveal what's really going on here fast as the train seems to be moving rather slowly in who's really pulling all the string here.

Grade: B+

Notes/Questions:

• So sparks are flying again between Mike and Max?  Good for them, though Max's new boyfriend doesn't seem to like that too much.
• What is this new psycho couple doing in Max's apartment, and why are they setting up cameras?  What are they planning to do?
• Mark has gone absolutely nuts at this point and is sort of becoming a one note character.  I have a feeling he'll be biting the dust rather shortly.
• Ryan is feeling like he has blood on his hands for the death of his friend...doesn't he always feel this guilty though when someone dies?