Chasing a serial killer and his cult took a noticeable toll on Ryan Hardy, but it also had a dramatic effect on The Following's Mike Weston.

When the Fox series returns for a second season, James Purefoy (Joe Carroll) has been presumed dead for nearly a year. Although Ryan (Kevin Bacon) believes the killer is still alive, he appears to be in a marginally better place than he was when he was embroiled in the chase. The young Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore), however, has spiraled downward.

"Mike is no longer working directly with the FBI, he is under review," Ashmore revealed in a behind-the-scenes interview. "Obviously Mike and Ryan kidnapped, tortured and killed a detainee and so the repercussions from that, along with Deborah being killed, is really weighing on Mike. So when we come back we find Mike in a much darker place. I think he sort of in turmoil and he's also in a bit of limbo - not knowing where he stands with the FBI, not knowing where he career is going - and I think emotionally he doesn't know how to move on."

After a new killer and his followers execute a dramatic subway attack while donning James Purefoy masks, the old team is thrown back into the fray once more. As Hardy investigates the recent murders and reacts to his old nemeses'' upcoming reemergence, he displays a different attitude towards the younger agent.

"There is some trauma that [Mike] is suffering from when we start the season - he's sort of straddling the good and bad of his profession," explained series creator Kevin Williamson in a new featurette. "Ryan Hardy wants to push Mike away because he doesn't want to see Mike become him."

Scroll through the Spoiler TV gallery above to what the premiere episode, titled "Resurrection," has in store for the two agents, and click the video below for a preview of season 2.

The Following returns at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 27 on Fox.


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The Following, Fox, Television