The Following S2E15 (Season 2 Finale) - "Forgive" Recap

Joe is still threatening to kill Mike if Ryan doesn't come out but ends up shooting Preston dead instead, having grown tired of his crying. He goes on to say he knows about Claire being alive and suggest Ryan call her since she's probably at the inn. Ryan calls her but then Luke answers the phone. Claire is tied up. Luke tells Ryan to bring Joe to him to an address in New Jersey in exchange for Claire.

Ryan calls Max and has her help him formulate a plan that will allow him and Joe to get away from the FBI so he can save Claire. Ryan then reveals himself to Joe and knocks out the live feed allowing the world (and the FBI) to see inside the church. Ryan tells Joe about the twins having Claire and shows him the photo Luke texted him as proof. Joe is skeptical but finally agrees to cooperate with Ryan and follow his lead out.

The power is cut by the FBI and gunmen with night-vision goggles come in and start taking out the armed followers. On their way out, Joe spots one of his followers and gives him a signal to follow them. Ryan heads out in a squad car with Joe in the backseat and Mike and Ryan promise to follow as soon as they can get away without being noticed.

Luke and Mark make preparations for another family dinner, except for once the guests they are expecting will be alive. Meanwhile, the follower Joe had signalled causes Ryan to crash and the car to flip over. Joe crawls out and the follower cuts him free from his restraints. Joe scolds him for nearly killing him and asks for the man's gun. He shoots the man, Jim, dead and helps Ryan out, calling him "old friend."

Joe and Ryan arrive at the meet-up place and both enter the house armed. They follow a trail left by the twins that leads them to Claire who was bound and hung from a hook. They get her down and she is horrified to see Joe with Ryan. The twins arrive and throw a gas canister to knock them all out and they wake up tied to their chairs for a dinner party. The twins want to play a game called "Truth or Kill Claire."

Luke begins interrogating Ryan and Joe and lets them both know of his plans to kill them slowly once this is all over. Joe reveals to the twins of how Ryan had hunted down his father's killer, killed him, and has been seeking redemption ever since. Mark becomes intrigued by this, asking Ryan why he wants redemption. Ryan says he wants to be forgiven but no one can forgiven. His self-hatred becomes evident and Mark appears mesmerised by this, calling him a "remarkable man." Mark declares that Ryan will be allowed to live and they will kill Mike and Max instead. However, Mike and Max have showed up and begin shooting from outside.

Joe has cut himself loose during the chaos and run off. Luke still has Claire and tries to put her in a closet but she fights him off and runs away. Mike and Mark end up in a scuffle, during which Mike reveals that he was the one who killed Lily, while Mark had been under the impression that Ryan had done it. Luke attacks Mike, saving Mark, and they're preparing to beat him to death but Max shoots Luke dead. Mark drags Luke's body out while Max tends to Mike.

Joe catches up to Claire, apologising for all he has done and begging for forgiveness. She says she would rather be dead than be with him and refuses to forgive him. Ryan arrives and attacks Joe, who is promptly surrounded by him, Max, and Mike, who all have their weapons drawn on him. Joe taunts Ryan, telling him to do it, but Ryan decides to spare him and tells Mike to call it in.

Joe is arrested and though his senior officer is displeased that he wasn't let in on the plan, he is happy with the fact that Joe is now in custody. Ryan also assures him that they will find Mark. Mike asks Ryan why he didn't kill Joe and Ryan tells him that this needs to end. Ryan checks on Claire and she tells him he did the right thing. He offers to pack a bag and come back with her but she tells him that she is his past and they both deserve a future and need to move on without each other.

Max and Mike finally act on their feeling for one another and share a kiss. Joe is escorted out and tells Ryan he should have killed him. He asks Ryan to visit him but Ryan refuses, telling him he will die in prison and fade from him memory every day. Joe tells him, "Good luck with that" before being led into the high security van.

Ryan returns home to an empty apartment, and quietly has dinner before going to bed. He then has a nightmare of Luke's bloody body being in his bed, and Mark telling him he is a dead man. Following that foreshadowing thread, we see Mark pull Luke's body into an SUV and tells the unseen driver, "Thank you for coming. I didn't know who else to call."

The Following will return on FOX for Season 3!