The Breakdown
Joe has killed Preston and not Mike. Joe is growing impatient in waiting for Ryan to come out. Joe is tormenting Ryan about he knowing that Claire is alive. Ryan calls Claire and Luke answers. Luke wants Ryan to bring him Joe alive. Ryan disables two entrances that were rigged with explosives for the FBI to come in. Ryan has now shown himself to Joe. Ryan tells Joe that Claire has been taken by the twins, Joe does not believe him as he sent Emma to get her. Ryan shows Joe a picture of Claire bleeding that Luke sent to him.
As Ryan gives the FBI the signal to cut the lights, he and Mike sneak Joe off in an unmarked police car with Max’s help. When the FBI turns the power back on they wonder where Mike is, Joe and Ryan are. Max and Mike are going to follow Ryan and a handcuffed Joe Carroll.
As Max and Mike jack a police car to follow Ryan and Joe, Max asks Mike if he OK being that he nearly died. Mark and Luke take Claire to an abandoned house that their mother gave to them. They tell Claire to rest up because they are about to have a family dinner. As Ryan and Joe make their way to the place that the twins have sent directions to via Ryan’s phone, Joe asks if Ryan just intended to turn him over to the twins and let them kill him. Ryan says yes and if they don’t (kill Joe) he will be there. Joe tells Ryan that after he dies he hopes that he (Ryan) and Claire will be happy together. Joe thinks that he and Ryan are cut from the same fabric. Suddenly another car runs into the car that Ryan is driving. A man named Tim tells Joe that he came to his rescue as he noticed Ryan taking him out of the church. Joe asks Tim for a gun and tells him that he shouldn’t have saved him and then shoots Tim. Joe grabs Ryan out of the turned over car and drives off in Tim’s van.
CR: Sarah Shatz/FOX
Ryan and Joe get to the house and do a sweep of it. They find a room and music comes on, then a recording. The recording is of one of the twins saying that he had faith that they would come but Mark felt otherwise. Ryan and Joe then hear a screaming Claire. They run into the room and rescue her. One of the twins stand in the doorway (with a gas mask on) and the room fills with gas and the three fall to their knees.
Joe and Ryan are taped to chairs at the dinner table. The twins come out and sit Claire down. Luke asks Ryan if he wants a drink, Ryan replies “no”. Luke grabs a revolver and puts one bullet it in and pulls the trigger next to Claire’s head. Max and Mike finally get a mile away from the house and are on their way in. Luke tells Ryan that we ask a question and when you lie I’ll shoot at Claire you only have 5 more chances. He asks Ryan again if he wants a drink and Ryan says yes. Luke then pours a perfectly good bottle of Grey Goose into Ryan’ mouth but mostly on his head. This line of questioning then goes to Joe, and upon another lie, Mark shoots another empty round at Claire. Joe brings up the subject of Ryan getting revenge for his dad’s murder as a child. As Joe is telling the story he grabs a knife on the table and is trying to cut himself loose. As Ryan is admitting to getting revenge for his father’s murder, Mike shoots through the window hitting Luke. Joe gets free and Mark runs out with Claire. Max equips Ryan with a gun and they go after Mark and Claire.
Luke and Claire run through the house, and when Luke is trying to get Claire down a set of stairs, she kicks him down the stairs. Mike runs around the house looking for the twins and Mark finds him. The two fight for a minute and Mike gets the upper hand and holds Mark at gunpoint. Mike tells Mark that he killed his mother without blinking. Mark still thinks that Ryan did it. Luke comes and knocks the gun out of Mike’s hand by hitting him with a piece of plywood. Mark tells Luke that Mike killed their mom and Luke hits him again. Max comes in and shoots Luke, Mark grabs the gun off of the floor and shoots back at Max. Max runs for cover and Mark drags Luke off. Claire is running through the house and Joe finds her. Joe tells her that he is sorry for what he has done and wants her to forgive him and to tell Joey (their son that we haven’t seen in a year) that he is sorry. Max, Mike and Ryan corner Joe. Ryan points his gun to Joe’s head. Max and Mike give him the OK to shoot him. Joe also screams at Ryan to “DO IT!” Ryan pulls the gun away tells Max to lock Joe up.
CR: Sarah Shatz/FOX
The FBI finally comes and gets Joe. Mike asks Ryan why didn’t he shoot Joe. Ryan tells him that he needs this to be over. Ryan wants to pack a bag and stay with Claire. Claire tells him no. Claire tells him that they have to make separate lives without each other and Ryan is shocked. Mike kisses Max and she sounds like an out of control school girl wondering what took him so long. As Joe is being placed in the transport van, Joe asks Ryan to come visit him. Ryan tells him no, this is over and he will move on while Joe dies in a jail cell. Ryan gets home eats some Chinese food and goes to bed. Ryan wakes up and feels a pool of blood next to him. He hears and sees Mark behind him telling him that he is going to die. Ryan then wakes up to notice that it was a dream. In the middle of nowhere Mark and his dead brother get into a car. Mark tells the driver that he didn’t know who else to call.
The Analysis
SO after freeing this woman, not once, but twice from her serial killer husband and saving her life, this is the thanks that Ryan gets??? What the hell? I understand what Claire just went through was hard, but she could at least gave Ryan the “give me some time line” instead of breaking his heart in front of all his little cop buddies. Out of everything I am upset by this the most.
Now, while watching this episode I had to made sure that this was the finale, as I called another show I recap a finale when it wasn’t. This was actually a damn good episode. Now, The Following has been renewed, and with Joe even admitting that he doesn’t have the energy to break out (of jail) again. Where will this TV show go? Mark is the easiest option, but I feel that the writers killed off his mother and dropped them from the story-line so quickly because the twin’s “crazy” wasn’t as good as Joe’s “crazy”. We could also see Ryan and Joe being Dr. Hannibal Lecter to Clarice/ Will Graham as well, as the two looked good teaming up in order to save Claire. Who knows?
