Earlier this week, The Following‘s Kevin Bacon tweeted something that has us all a little worried for our favorites. Could someone big not make it out of season 3 alive?
Death is but another day on the job for Ryan Hardy and Mike Weston, and the cast and crew of The Following are probably quite used to dealing with death on the show as well, but there are always those few goodbyes that stand out. The Following season 1 saw Debra Parker (played by Annie Parisse), Jacob Wells (Nico Tortorella) and Paul Torres (Adan Canto) all bite the proverbial bullet, and season 2 was no picnic either. We said goodbye to Emma Hill (Valorie Curry), Lily Gray (Connie Nielson), and Luke Gray (Sam Underwood), amongst others.
So, we don’t get too worked up when we hear about death making an appearance on the show. No matter what hints we might get, we try not to worry too much about our main characters. However, when one of the shows stars refers to “real tears,” we do start to worry. About everyone. Here’s what Kevin Bacon had to say:
Real tears on set last night. But I guess the reason is a spoiler. #TheFollowing @MSiega @ShawnRAshmore @JamesPurefoy @JessicaLStroup
— Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon) March 11, 2015
This begs the question: Who could it be? Let us round up the most probable characters and discuss why we think it could be them.
The most likely victims (in order of likelihood):
In the interest of full disclosure, we only included characters that have been around since at least season 2, as we believe if “real tears” are being shed it has to be a character that’s been around for a while. Without further ado, here are our most likely victims.
Joe Carroll
He’s on Death Row, he committed and conspired to commit at least hundreds of deaths, and he’s been caught red-handed on more than one occasion. Unless the creative forces behind the show really want to keep his character around, we can’t imagine he’d make it out of season 3 alive. They’ve already shown that they are willing to take steps to fill the void left by the ultimate serial killer in the first two episodes of The Following season 3, and maybe it’s just time to finally move forward from the legacy of Joe Carroll.
Max Hardy
Of the main 3 characters, Max is the most expendable. The growing friendship between Ryan and Mike has provided the backbone to the series, showing that despite the crazy circumstances of their lives, and sometimes because of them, the two need each other to get from day to day. When Max was introduced last season, we saw how well she worked into their dynamic, but ultimately, she adds to their dynamic, rather than creating an entirely new aspect on her own. We would definitely hate to see her go, but it would be easier to tolerate than saying goodbye to Ryan or Weston.
Gina Mendez
We have just started to get to know the agent in charge, as her story had a heavy influence on last season’s mystery, what with her own lover being a follower and mucking up her plans to catch Joe Carroll. This season began with Gina marrying a totally different woman, and while we would like to think her death wouldn’t affect us as strongly, it has the potential to. Especially if she becomes a more vital part of the team as season 3 rolls on.
Mike Weston
Okay, so this writer is broken up just even thinking about Mike Weston dying. He’s already had some close calls (remember how many times he was beaten up in the first season?), but as time passes we have become more and more involved in how his and Ryan’s lives seem to have the same trajectory. It would be a shame to put an end to all that growth, not to mention pretty devastating to Mr. Hardy, just for shock value. If The Following is even considering moving on to season 4, we can’t imagine they would do so without Mike Weston.