Following a New Path

“You won’t be seeing me any more, Joe. I’ll never give you that. You’re going to die in prison. And as you whither away in there, you’re going to be fading from my memory every day a little bit more. Because I’ll be making new memories in a new life that doesn’t include you.” — Ryan Hardy, "The Following"

"The Following," the creepy FOX horror/thriller, wrapped up its second season last night. It's never been as good, or as compelling, as the pilot promised — or as FOX wants it to be. But in the way the second season ended, there might be an opportunity. The show has been renewed for a third season, but its ratings have declined. So the show needs a shake up if it's going to continue.

In a lot of ways, the season two finale cleared the deck. Now it's just a matter of what the show can do with that cleared deck and a new lease on life. Here's a few suggestions:

1. Ryan can't be done with Joe, but it could be more fun. At the end of the episode Ryan said he'd never see Joe again. That's unrealistic — both because Joe is a major character and because James Purefoy is one of the better actors in the show. "The Following" will never be "Hannibal" because it doesn't have the writers, characters, or creativity. But they could take a page from Thomas Harris and have Joe consult on cases with Ryan from behind bars. I thought that's where they were going in season one, and at this point it might work better going forward.

2. Keep the core three — Ryan, Mike, and Max — on the fringes of law enforcement hunting bad guys. They have a good rapport, they work well as a team, and this might be the best formula. Though I hasten to add that I hope Ryan's act of not killing Joe will help dial back the "24" level anti-hero stuff going on in this show. We can use fewer cults, and more interesting bad guys.

3. Be bold. In the Thomas Harris novels, Will Graham was replaced by Clarice Starling. Perhaps season three of "The Following" should move away from Ryan as the focal point and turn to Max. She is interesting, works well with Mike, and is played by a good performer. If the show really wants to shake up the formula, it might want to be bold enough to dispatch Ryan.

We'll see, likely next January, where the show goes from here. But for the first time since the pilot, I see potential in future stories with this show.