The Following season 3 has concluded, and with it, the series has ended. But we think The Following season 4 should have been greenlit.
In our article about The Following’s cancellation, we talked of the show’s decline in ratings and why Fox decided to pull the plug. Figures aside, The Following did deserve another season, and last night’s series finale reinforced that belief.
Related: The Following series finale recap: To protect them
Joe is gone.
The core story of The Following has always been the tete-a-tete between Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) and Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon). Their story, from the very beginning, was central to the plot. Characters came and went, some having made a bigger impact than others, but it was always Joe and Ryan playing this game of cat and mouse.
Season 3 ended that when Joe received the lethal injection and was finally, finally no longer a threat to Ryan, his loved ones, or the rest of the world. Season 3 shook up the entire dynamic of the show, but that didn’t happen until 10 of the 15 episodes were over and done with. The Following season 4 would’ve benefited from a full run without Joe Carroll always looming in the background.
There’s a new threat.
The Following did a great job of introducing a myriad of villains for season 3, most notably Theo Noble (Michael Ealy). But Theo was just a stepping stone, as he was the one who introduced us to a mysterious character named Eliza (Annet Mahendru), who worked for an even more mysterious organization.
While The Following season 3 finale couldn’t possibly provide us with all the answers we wanted before we had to move on from the show, our biggest question — and the one we’re most upset about not having answered — is who Eliza worked for. Not having the answer to this question would’ve been fine if we had been able to look forward to season 4, but with the show’s cancellation, we may never find out who Ryan has now dedicated his life to stopping.
Theo could come back.
Ryan survived the fall, after all. Sure, Theo sustained far more severe injuries, but The Following writers are clever; they could’ve found a way to bring Theo back. But why would they want to? Love him or hate him, Theo was a formidable opponent. He didn’t have the charisma Joe possessed, but Theo’s ability to get to anyone at any time made you want to double and triple check the locks on your doors each night.
Eliza and her mysterious organization would’ve been a great story to follow in season 4, but keeping a bit of season 3 through Theo’s survival would’ve tied the two seasons together. Ryan is off the grid now, but someone like Theo could have easily brought him back into the limelight. Seeing that play out and watching the consequences of Ryan’s actions be revealed to Gwen, Mike, and Max would’ve made for compelling television.
Ryan is rogue.
Everyone thinks Ryan is dead, and so he has the ability to be anyone and do anything he wants. He no longer has to follow the rules (not like he was good at that to begin with), and he can put all of his time and energy into stopping another threat against his family and his city.
Though Joe faded out a few episodes ago, we would’ve liked to have seen Ryan continue to struggle with his hallucinations of the serial killer in The Following season 4. Now that Ryan is not held back by his job or his family, it would be interesting to see him explore his more violent tendencies. With the leash off, would he attack anyone in his path, or would he use his freedom to do good?
We want those happy endings.
In a lot of ways, we were quite lucky with The Following’s season 3 finale. Gina and her family survived (or, at least, we hope Dawn lived through the gun shot — it was just a flesh wound!), Mike made it through his surgery just fine, and Gwen is having a baby! If nothing else, it would’ve been nice to see how some of our favorite characters moved on without Ryan in their lives. Would they have been better off?
The Following season 4 could’ve given us all the Maxton moments we’ve been begging for since season 3. We could’ve watched as Gwen’s belly continued to grow, with Max and Mike at her side each step of the way. Would Max and Mike have quit the Bureau, and if so, what would they have chosen to do? Would they have any inkling Ryan was still alive, and how would they react if they found out he was?
In other words…
There was plenty of story still left to tell, and we would have been more than happy to find out The Following season 4 had been picked up — whether by Fox or another network. Perhaps we’ll be lucky, and Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon will give it a go.
After all, The Mindy Project has been saved. Plus, with a built-in audience and name like Kevin Bacon attached to the project, it would certainly be worth the risk.