Stalker - Fun and Games (Winter Finale) - Review: "A heart-pounding episode"

Stalker aired its winter finale last Wednesday, and boy, what an incredible episode it was! I was not able to breathe until the credits rolled, and that cliffhanger must be one of the biggest of the season.

Continuing from last week's episode, it is revealed that Amanda survived, though she is in the hospital. She tells Beth she didn't recognize her attacker, but Beth knows for sure that it's Ray. She reveals that he was her boyfriend, but when she broke up with him, he became manipulative and started dating her sister. However, Beth didn't come back to him so he set the house of her family on fire so he could save them and be her hero. However, the plan failed when the fire spread too soon, killing Beth's entire family. Ray was subsequently put in a mental institution. However, now he is back and his sights set on Beth/Michelle. He first delivers flowers to her with a card saying 'Soon' and then he kidnaps Tracy. Ray is intent on destroying Beth in order to get Michelle back.

Meanwhile, Perry disagrees with Ray's methods, but Ray tells him this is necessary. Perry is intent on not hurting anyone and is later tracked down by Gene, his father's private investigator. Gene makes it clear Perry can still walk away and plead that he is just a troubled kid. However, while Gene and Perry discuss their options, Ray walks in on the hotel room and immediately understands what Perry is about to do. Gene and Ray get into a struggle, and Ray kills Gene. Perry tries to run away, but Ray hits him down and now has another hostage as his fun and games continue.

Since Beth is too close to the case, she is being relieved of her command and temporarily replaced by Vicky Gregg. In the search for Tracy, the TAU discovers the motel where Ray and Perry are staying. There, they find Gene's body, but no Perry or Ray. Instead, Ray has taken Perry and Tracy to a car graveyard. Perry manages to free Tracy, and this upsets Ray and he starts hitting Perry. Tracy tries to hide beneath a car, but Ray finds her. He also calls Beth to taunt her and talk about their first date, making Beth realize where he could be. The team determines his location and find Tracy locked up in the trunk of one of the cars. She immediately tells them to alert Beth because she was a distraction to get the TAU away from her.

Jack alerts Ben, who has gone along to Beth's house. He checks with the security guy outside if everything is OK, but instead finds Ray. Ray shoots Ben and when Beth hears the shot, she comes running down. Sadly, Ray is waiting for her and hits her down to the ground. Jack and Janice arrive moments later to find Beth gone and Ben slowly bleeding out. The episode ends in a cliffhanger when police officers performing CPR on Ben are unable to find a pulse, while Beth wakes up next to Perry's dead body.

Wow, what an episode! This was an intense, scary and heart-pounding episode from beginning to end and Maggie Q did an excellent job! I am glad Perry is dead now, because he had become a bit redundant. I do feel a bit sorry for him, but he got himself into this mess when he got Ray out of the psychiatric facility. All in all, Erick Stocklin did a great job of portraying the creepy Perry. However, Ray is the real danger and this episode showed how crazy he is and how far he is willing to go to get Michelle back. I thought Tracy would be a goner, and I also had my suspicions that one of the team members would die. Neither of my theories were part of the episode, but I am extremely worried about Ben given the last few moments. I am not sure whether he lives or dies, it really could go either way. From what I've heard, Kevin Williamson has a habit of killing off plenty of characters on 'The Following', but since that show has a bigger cast than 'Stalker', he might just let Ben live. Either way, this is no way to leave people hanging. The good news is that the show still has three episodes, but the bad news is that these haven't been scheduled anywhere. Whenever they come out, I'll be sure to write a review on them. For now, all we can do is speculate on what happens next.

What did you think of "Fun and Games"? Are you glad Perry is dead now? What are your thoughts on Beth's temporary replacement Vicky Gregg? Do you think Ben will survive his shooting? And lastly, but most importantly: what will Ray do to Beth? I would love to hear your thoughts and theories in the comments below!

About the Author - Daniel van der Veer

Daniel van der Veer is a Dutch university student studying Psychology. On SpoilerTV he is a reviewer of NCIS, The 100, Stalker, Madam Secretary and the upcoming shows Battle Creek and Odyssey. He also enjoys LOST, Arrow, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, Nikita, The Blacklist, Scorpion and How To Get Away With Murder.

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