Kevin Bacon’s Ryan Hardy seems to be in a really good place when the third season of The Following picks up. In this first look at the new season he’s seen getting lovey-dovey with new romance Zuleikha Robinson (Lost, Intelligence). But this being a serial killer thriller and all, the quiet moment doesn’t last. “Where there was hurt, there’s comfort. Where there was dark, there’s light,” narrates Hardy. And then BLAM, cut to black and screams and the shadowy title card.

The most depressing bit of this tease is that we see Hardy’s niece Max Hardy with another man as Mike Weston looks on with a tinge of remorse. WHAT HAPPENED THERE?!

The Following returns in January on FOX.