"The Following" Season 3 Episode 1 titled "New Blood," aired Mar. 2, Monday, on FOX. This season's first episode opened to a joyous wedding, but the high spirits did not have much time to rejoice. Soon enough, someone dumps blood onto Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon).
Spoiler alert: This review recaps the highlights of "The Following" Season 3 spoilers.
A year has gone by since the events of "The Following" Season 2 finale. Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) is not visible around, but his presence is palpable as always. FBI Agent Gina Mendez (Valerie Cruz) has found new love, and their wedding is the Season 3 opener.
Ryan talks about love and not letting go, when someone from the catering crew throws blood on him. This character turns out to be a follower of Mark Gray (Sam Underwood), the getaway van driver in the cliffhanger moment of "The Following" Season 2 finale.
The FBI found the words "Ryan Hardy Lies" and "Max Hardy Lies" in recent killings. This tells the audience (and the protagonists) this is not Joe Carroll at work. It appears "The Following" Season 3 is about an additional big enemy for Ryan Hardy.
Max Hardy (Jessica Stroup) and Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) is reconnecting in "The Following" Season 3 Episode 1. The couple has spent time apart during the past year, but Luke is inadvertently pulling them back together.
Ryan himself has a new love interest in the show's new chapter, and her name is Gwen. Zuleikha Robinson of "Homeland" and "Rome" is portraying the role. She's a series regular according to a Deadline.com report.
Mark has two other followers: Daisy and Kyle. The two talk about losing everything if they quit now. It also appears they know something in the big picture that Mark doesn't. It seems their primary role in "The Following" Season 3 premiere is to keep the audience guessing.
The old conflicts in "The Following" Season 3 are easy to spot: Ryan's personal relationship, Mike's dark baggage, and not knowing who to trust now - among others. There are new faces, and their links to the main plots of this new chapter have yet to be revealed.