Ryan Hardy doesn’t exactly have a good track record with his recent love interests on The Following, but could new character Gwen finally be one he can trust?
Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) has not had it easy in the love department on The Following. Season 1 saw him struggling with his feelings for Claire, the ex-wife of serial killer Joe Carroll. They truly had a connection, but their lives were more than just a little crazy in that moment. With Joe’s escape from prison, and the kidnapping of her son, Claire had too much to worry about.
Once things settled down, the pair did try to make it work, but season 1 ended with both Claire and Ryan being stabbed by one of Ryan’s ex-girlfriends, Molly, who also happened to be a follower of Joe’s.
At the beginning of season 2, we thought Claire was truly dead, and Ryan seemed to be moving on. He found Lily Gray, a supposed victim of one of Joe’s stunts, who was beautiful, intelligent, and mysterious. But maybe she was a little too mysterious. Lily ended up being her own brand of crazy, and was looking to impress Joe Carroll and get into his good graces.
Ryan quickly found out about Lily’s true intentions, and that obviously put an end to their potential relationship. By the time season 2 ended, Ryan was ready to move on with Claire — who really hadn’t been dead all along — but she knew it wouldn’t work out between them.
Related: The Following season 3 premiere recap: A new following
The Following season 3 premiere took place one year later, with Ryan finally moving on to someone we hope can be trusted. Ryan met Gwen (Zuleikha Robinson) at the hospital where she works as a doctor, and they immediately hit it off. At Gina’s wedding, their chemistry was palpable, and even when Mark Gray’s plan started to come together, she wasn’t scared off.
But is that a good thing? Any normal person would be terrified of the situation in which Ryan currently finds himself. Could this be a clue as to whether or not Gwen is hiding something? After all he’s gone through, why would she be sticking around knowing that so many people around Ryan continue to die?
Of course, it could be that she truly loves him, but even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean she’s safe. On the contrary, she’ll be a target for sure if Mark and his followers find out how much she means to Ryan. Pushing her away may be a good way to keep her safe, but it’s no guarantee, and we’ve seen what rejection can do to a person.
We certainly hope Gwen can be trusted. Ryan deserves to find someone he can confide in, and with his life finally coming together, he’ll be ready to put his past behind him and move on. Gwen is a doctor, which means she could be useful to the team, and is clearly an intelligent person. If she ever gets into a tricky situation, we hope she can think her way out of it despite not having the same training as Ryan and his fellow federal agents.