Gina Mendez, The Following

Gina Mendez (Valerie Cruz)

On drama series The Following, Agent Gina Mendez was introduced in the second season when she was put in charge of the FBI investigation of a serial killer and his murderous cult following. She had 2 children with her ex-wife, who was later revealed to be Jana Murphy, one of the followers in the cult. When Gina found out that Jana was one of the followers in the season two finale, Jana stabbed her in the stomach, left her bleeding out, and then killed herself after being caught. Gina was later found and her last scene showed her being transported by an ambulance.

Between seasons two and three actress Valerie Cruz revealed that Agent Mendez wasn’t supposed to be a permanent character on the show to begin with: “I think she was going to be killed probably in the second season at some point”.

Season 3

The third season opened with a one-year time jump and showed Gina getting married to Dawn in the opening scene. However, the wedding was ruined when a waiter, a father whose daughter had been gunned down at the cult shooting, interrupted the reception and threw blood at the brides and their friends.

Gina continued working on investigating the cult following during the season, but eventually retired when she felt the price was too high. Dawn was only seen for five seconds in episode 3×03 during a funeral for a fellow agent. Both Gina and Dawn returned in the first episode of the season 3 double finale when they, along with Gina’s children, were taken hostage in an attempt to lure Agent Ryan out. When they tried to escape Dawn was shot in the stomach, but they both eventually reached the panic room, where the children were hiding. They were not seen again after entering the panic room and since the series was cancelled after the third season, their ending was left somewhat ambiguous, although it was implied that Dawn would survive the gunshot wound.

Appearances:

• 15 episodes.

Female love interests:

• Jana Murphy 💀 (Leslie Bibb, lesbian, guest, 2 episodes, ex-wife)
• Dawn McClane (Kristen Bush, guest, 3 episodes but only appeared for 5 seconds in 3x03, wife)

Relationship story arc with a woman: No

No male love interests

Relationship story arc with a man: No

Male love interest after being identified as a lesbian? No

Filter Relationship Arc:

• None

Storyline during sweeps? Yes

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.