Courtesy of FOX

Elena Butler

Staff Writer
@xsmalltowngirl

The season finale of The Following gave us an unexpected, but very awesome, team up between Ryan and Carroll as they attempted to rescue Claire from crazy twins Mark and Luke.

There were so many great moments that contributed to giving this season a more than satisfying conclusion, and it was nice to see all our players in action once again.  Everything came together in the end, and even after taking care of the bad guys we were still left feeling unsafe during the closing scene.

Read on for more details on everything that happened in “Forgive.”

We pick up right where last week left off, with Carroll pointing a gun at Mike’s head and asking Ryan to show himself.  There’s a gunshot, but it’s Preston who’s at the receiving end, after Carroll gets sick of his crying.  Ryan attempts to get in touch with Claire and is shocked to know Luke and Mark have her.  They want Carroll in exchange for her.  Ryan gives Max details about his plans and disables trip wires for the FBI team to enter the church.  He finally comes out of hiding and tells Carroll about Claire, showing him a picture Luke sent him.

The FBI cuts the lights and moves in, while Ryan and Mike take Carroll out through a different exit.  Ryan and Carroll escape but one of the followers follows (heh) close behind.  He attempts to help Carroll by driving their car off the road, but Carroll isn’t happy about his little stunt.  He kills him and helps Ryan out of the car, determined to help free Claire.  Back at the church, Max and Mike go in search of Ryan even though Max is still concerned about his well-being—these two are adorable.

The twins prepare a family dinner for Claire, Ryan, and Carroll.  When Carroll and Ryan arrive at the house the next morning, they find an invitation on the doorsteps.  They walk into the house and search for Claire, but get lured into a room where the twins sedate them all with gases.  When they wake up, they’re both seated at a table, tied to chairs.  Luke brings Claire into the room and when Carroll asks about Emma, he tells him Claire killed her.

I can’t tell if Carroll is angry, confused, or impressed—perhaps a little bit of everything.  Meanwhile, Max and Mike arrive at the location and make their way to the house on foot.

The twins force Ryan to drink and Carroll to apologize by threatening to kill Claire.  Ryan admits that he’s not a good person, especially after Carroll reveals that Ryan avenged his father’s murder by killing the perpetrator when he was seventeen.  Ryan knows there’s no forgiveness for what he did.  By this time, Carroll’s already gotten a hold of the knife and is working on freeing himself.  The twins admire Ryan’s act and tell him they’ll let him live but will punish him by killing Mike, Max, and Claire instead.

And speaking of Mike and Max, they show up just in time and shoot Luke before they’re able to run away.

Somewhere else in the house, Mike is attacked by Mark and he tells him he was the one who killed Lily.  Luke comes in and is about to hit Mike in the head with a board when Max shoots him—actually killing him this time.  Mark drags his dead brother away and Max immediately goes to Mike’s aid.  Meanwhile, Claire is trying to run away when she runs into Carroll.  He tells her that he now understands that they belong together and asks for forgiveness but Claire refuses to do it.  Ryan intervenes and points a gun at him but is unable to pull the trigger even after Carroll asks him to.  The FBI team arrives at the house and they arrest him.

Ryan talks to Claire and asks her to be with him.  She breaks his heart by telling him it’s not going to work and that as long as Carroll is alive he’s always going to be there.  She tells him she’s his past and they both deserve a future but not together.

And while one relationship seems to be coming to an end, another one is starting.  Max and Mike share a sweet moment and he finally goes in for a kiss.

Before Carroll is taken away, he asks Ryan to go visit him in prison but Ryan assures him that he’s going to be making new memories that don’t include him.  Later that night, Ryan has a nightmare about seeing Luke’s body next to him in his bed.  Meanwhile, we see Mark carrying Luke as a truck picks them up.  The episode ends with him thanking the driver for coming and saying he didn’t know who else to call.

And now the big question remains:  Is this new follower someone we already know or someone we’ve never met before?  Very intriguing.  I can’t help thinking it’s definitely someone from Ryan’s life, perhaps Carrie Cooke?

Tell us what you thought of the Season 2 finale.  Did you love it?  What were your favorite moments?  Leave us a comment below, we’re dying to know!

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