‘The Following’ season 3 spoilers: Will James Purefoy appear in final episodes?

“The Following” as a series has revolved mostly around the struggle between Joe Carroll and Ryan Hardy. They have been diametrically opposed as enemies, but at the same time there was a cosmic sort of energy that kept the two of them constantly in the same sphere.

Of course, the relentless struggle for the show behind the scenes was this: How long do you keep a character like Joe alive? He is the principal villain, but there is only so long that a man like him could live without the show losing any semblance of reality. That breaking point came last night. Joe put up a fight, but eventually he was given the lethal injection. As a result of this, Ryan turned to the only real coping mechanism that he knows: Alcohol. He resorted to drinking, and this sets up a very dramatic final few episodes as some of his old demons rise to the surface. (It is probably for that reason that “Demons” is the title for the next new episode of the show.)

So is it possible that James Purefoy will be back on the show soon in some form? You better believe it. According to TV Guide, he will continue to turn up in Ryan’s imagination, much in the same way that we saw the character last night at the bar with Ryan. Maybe he will be the devil on his shoulder.

By the end of this episode, maybe we will get a sense just where Ryan’s story is going. Not only that, but maybe we will also have an opportunity to learn a thing or two about if Theo will be around as chief tormentor until the finale.