RIP, Ryan & Claire's Love On 'The Following'

There may be plenty of knife-wielders and sociopaths on each season of The Following, but that's not the only reason why we tune into the Fox thriller — we also watch for the love stories. In Season 3, our hero Ryan Hardy has a brand new one. He's dating a sweet doctor named Gwen, who doesn't give off too many murder-y vibes... even if that means very little on this show. Gwen and Ryan are a cute pair, but let's be honest — their relationship doesn't hold a candle to the epic love story that was Ryan and Claire. I can't be the only one who misses these two, right?

Ryan and Claire's love was never easy, but, oh boy, was it fun. Claire and Ryan met when Ryan was investigating the college where Joe Carroll worked, and sparks flew instantly despite the series of obstacles in their way. Not only was Joe a crazy, Poe-spewing serial killer, he also happened to be Claire's husband. Needless to say, things got plenty awkward when Ryan captured Joe and fell in love with Claire — not to mention exceedingly dangerous for Claire, whose ex-husband wasn't thrilled with her dating the guy who locked him up on death row. It was hard to blame Claire for faking her death in Season 2 — she needed to keep herself safe — but it was a particularly sad way for her relationship with Ryan to end.

Clearly, Ryan and Claire have had plenty of ups and downs, but when things were good, they were good. Check out this graph of Ryan and Claire's epic, ill-fated romance.

Image: Fox; Dawn Foster/Bustle