The Following - The Edge/A Simple Trade - Review: "You Don't Have to do This"

The Following - The Edge/A Simple Trade - Review

Last week on The Following, Ryan lost his true self after struggling to deal with the aftermath of Joe's death. Ryan, Max and Mike gained a new lead on Theo, and Gwen reveals that she is pregnant but decides to leave Ryan.

"You're in my custody" Ryan

Ryan was already sent over the edge last episode, struggling to move on from Joe, but this episode he plunged to new depths and in doing so nearly cost Mike his life. Ryan wants to catch Theo, you can feel the urgency in him, so decides to capture and torture his sister Penny. When you look back to previous seasons, what Ryan did isn't surprising. He's beaten people up with poles before, so Penny in a way got away lightly, although since drowning is a personal fear of hers, maybe not so much.

Mike though, thanks to Tom, was in Theo's custody. This led onto an interesting, but familiar hostage situation. We have seen a few hostage situations previously, someone having one of Ryan's friends, usually Mike. Ryan and Theo's standoff though in the theatre was epic, and was in fact there first proper introduction. Sure they have known of each other’s existence for a while, but they have never come face to face, within inches of each other. I have never appreciated Michael Ealy's portrayal of Theo, but that theatre scene won me over. The interplay between him and Bacon slightly reminded me of the banter between Purefoy and Bacon, which I enjoyed.

Theo and Penny's reconciliation lasted all of 5 minutes, when, in a stupid, but deadly move, tries to eliminate Ryan as payback for torturing her. This was one of the more pathetic, and unsatisfying deaths of a recurring character ever on the show. Firstly, she started shooting at Ryan in a hallway, Ryan, who is there to kill, not capture them. Whilst other FBI agents would capture them, Ryan has turned into a killer, and I have no doubts he would have killed them both given the chance. Secondly, why would Penny run down the corridor to try to escape knowing full well, Ryan would have a clear shot at her back; she created an easy target for him. Also, Theo could have covered her whilst she made it to him; it was a poorly executed scene and was nothing short of poor, for a death scene.

Speaking of Tom, his lies were finally uncovered this episode. After weeks of waiting for him to be exposed, he finally was. Tom, after just killing Sloan goes into a state of panic. He's not a killer, but this episode he sure acted a lot like one involving himself with Mark and Daisy. You could say he didn't have a choice, but he did. He was merely a pawn to them and Theo. Theo needed access to the FBI servers, and Tom had access, Theo, Mark and Daisy used Tom, and he let them. Tom even decided to turn on Mike, after Mark requested him. Tom isn't a smart man, and that got proved this episode. He and Mike could have easily taken out Mark and Daisy; it would have been the better option and more importantly he would have survived if he just sided with Mike. Tom though got what he deserved, a painful, but quick death. He wasn't a bad character, he just had no likability about him.

"I'm pregnant" Gwen

Gwen this episode reveals to Ryan that she's pregnant. This was a shock to Ryan, as he knew that he could, if he wanted to, give up the FBI like she told him to do and live a fairly pleasant life with his child, and her. Ryan though isn't that person to settle down. He enjoys catching these killers, and like Gwen said he will never stop, there will always be someone else to pursue. Catching these killers such as Joe and Theo is in his DNA. It's actually what makes Ryan such an interesting character, his ability to feel unemotionally scarred by these horrific events, enough so to continue doing what he's doing. If it was anyone else, who has been through all that Ryan has, they would have run a mile.

Ryan now has lost the woman he loved, but, to be honest, that's probably best. I had originally pictured Gwen dying, whilst that's still a possibility since Theo could use her as leverage, I hope she's gone for good. I like Gwen, but I don't want to see her die. Someone who is not corrupted by revenge has to survive this season and that's her. As next week is the series finale, I could see Ryan sacrificing himself for Gwen if she was captured by Theo. That would be devastating, but also a fitting end for the character.

Elsewhere, Mike and Max, after a long and horrific day, finally reconcile their relationship. Sadly for them, it didn't last too long after Mark showed up and stabbed Mike 4 or 5 times in the back. At that moment I was thinking, finally they're back together, now this melodramatic drama we've been seeing from them can stop. I was glad, but then Mark stabbed Mike. Mike though did manage to kill Mark which is what he intended to do right from the beginning.

I have, to be honest, I hope Mike dies. I love Mike as a character, and would be upset if he did, but realistically the good guys can't always win. Sure, Ryan and the rest have lost a lot of good people, but Mike's death would be huge, huge enough to give Ryan and Max the boost they need to clear out the mess that is Theo and Daisy. Mike though will probably live, because he never seems to die, even though he's been seriously injured countless times. If he were to die it would be a fitting way to end his chapter, having him go out on a high note killing the man who brought him agony.

Lastly, I just want to add that Shawn Ashmore was brilliant this episode, in particular the scene between Mike and Tom in the car. Mike didn't want to die, but knew he would, given that Mark was waiting for him. It was very emotional scene, and Shawn did the character justice by bringing a powerful performance to the table fueled with emotion.

Summary
It was an intense and action-packed two-hour episode, which offered a lot of dramatic and thrilling scenes. The show also cleared out some supporting cast by adding three to the death toll, most notably Mark. This episode did feel like a penultimate episode before a series finale, tying up most loose ends, and wrapping characters arcs up, which isn't a bad thing. I just hope, even though it's unlikely, that the season won't end on a cliff-hanger. Overall, this was a jam packed, thrilling 2 hours of television that sets the finale up nicely.

As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of "The Edge/A Simple Trade"

About the Author - Robert Fruin

Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are Grey's Anatomy, The Walking Dead and The 100. Some other interests include Cycling, Kayaking and Photography.Robert is currently reviewing Aquarius, Black Sails, Helix, Intruders and Z Nation. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.

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