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The Following Review: Date Night

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Okay, seriously, what is Joe Carroll's big plan?

It's something I've been waiting to see revealed or at least hinted at beyond the fact that there is some larger motive involved.

Certainly in "Whips and Regret" Roderick was eager to begin, but Joe kept telling him (and it feels like everyone watching the show) to be patient. It will all happen soon.

Yet, I do wonder if Joe has really been more interested in bringing his family together rather than this gigantic scheme that extended multiple followers and a number of years.

An Undercover Location

His obsession with loving Claire is almost as ridiculous as is her decision to keep running into the cult's open arms. I don't know how he thinks he can condition Claire to feel for him, despite showing some good faith and letting her see Joey.

At the same time, I don't know how Claire actually thought she was going to get her way when she showed up. Hasn't she learned anything? Candlelight dinner and fancy outfits are not going to make everything have a happy ending. Joe is still a killer.

But I'm not so sure if he's as gung ho about the big plan.

I did love the way Roderick tried standing up to Joe and pushing him towards getting things started. Roderick has become a fascinating character. Behind those wide grins is a dark and cold person clawing his way out with violence.

That one scene where he pulled a gun on Vince before attacking a random follower was a bit of a shocker. There's obviously something not right about Roderick, but each move he makes has me itching to know more.

Unfortunately, I feel as if Jacob has made far too much of a drastic turn into evil that makes him less intriguing than his conflicted self. It's as if one moment he's a worried and shaken up guy and then - boom!- he's confident, chilling and in charge.

I'm curious as to how Emma and Jacob's relationship will play out, but I really liked seeing Jacob struggle a bit more.

Meanwhile, Ryan is still struggling to keep up with Joe, although he did discover a massive training ground for followers that included weapons used for some possible attack. Something big must be happening.

Of course, the hunt for clues was through a sex dungeon of kinky fetishes before concluding in a creepy abandoned building. I guess it's unfortunate that bad guys aren't interested in running parts of their operation in Disney World. It'd be a lot easier to see things, that's for sure.

Which really further brings up the notion of something being cliche, especially in this particular genre and story.

Just because Joe decides to imply that something is cliche, almost tongue in cheek, doesn't eliminate it from being cliche. The evil dinner date, the alcoholic hero filled with conflict and doubt, the dark lairs, the crazy cult... none of it feels original in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, I love Ryan Hardy taking out bad guys left and right, as much as I find the suspense and scary aspects of the dark scenes entertaining. Yet, I'm still waiting to see that extra thing that puts the show onto a whole new level.

And, really, until we do get that reveal of the true motive for the massive cult, it's going to be more of the same, including Ryan and the FBI following clues that lead them to random followers, Joe taunting Ryan from a phone and the scary chase that pits good versus evil in the shadows.

It's something The Following does well, but I'm looking forward to seeing more. Am I perhaps as impatient as Roderick? Maybe, but I want to see this story really open it's pages and dive further in.

That said, I am curious as to if Molly will get the chance to kill Ryan and why she gets to be the one to do it. Would Joe really let her?


Editor Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.4 / 5.0 (76 Votes)


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    I just loved the show and I hope this show continues. K. Becon is a great actor,liked the story and all the actors. PLEASE write another show.


    Do watch the show-But do find parts a bit silly All the running around gets them nowhere-Ryan with his bad heart having no food-Only water no wonder hes so slim-That warehouse scene come on get a grip-who would go in that dark place without a bunch of cops


    I still love the show! And normally I dont mind the police work that much (guys its just a tv show) but that thing with running around alone in this warhouse was stupid - i mean didnt they check everything before? And not by themselves?
    Otherwise I think its really interesting.
    Emma always wanted a ,,bad" Jacob now she got him and doesnt like it - I hope he didnt change that much - we havent seen enough of him this episode so maybe he is just like that to Emma. I hope.
    I felt sorry for this poor woman.. she said red so often but I would have let them go aswell ;) It was so good to see that someone can actually help and not be a follower! And I hope Ryan is gonna notice that Molly is a follower... why does she wanna kill him anyway?

    and I want Mike back!




    This show sucks. The plot is making of a killer, a hero with hundreds of followers. It is also mocking of the FBI as the most incompetent agency on earth. There is not one single credible part. I've been waiting in anticipation to have a reason to keep following, but that's it for me.


    This show sucks. The 'plot' is so impossible that I can't suspend disbelief.
    It is only because everything else on monday sucks more this show has my interest.


    This started as a good series but it no longer knows what it wants to do (if it ever did). In an attempt to be unique it is now jumping the shark week after week. It would have been successful and effective as a miniseries.


    I am still enjoying this show but there are some things that are a little silly. Like the incompetence of the FBI. Ryan seems to be the only one that has actually killed someone, a few people actually and he is not an actual agent anymore.
    I too thought it was silly that they all split up at the abandoned house, I was thinking to myself, if I was an FBI agent I would not be going around alone in the dark, even if I had a gun.
    Also I too think that Jacob made a far to drastic turn the last couple episodes.
    I want to know more about Roderick. I think he is as evil as Joe! When they actually go toe to toe one day it will be interesting! I can see Roderick killing him.
    I am still going to tune in.


    Well said Jeff S! The incompetent police work is staggering, and if they're not inept enough then the writers just make everyone involved a part of the, agents become killers, policemen are "followers" and so on and so on. Still, we watch and as I've mentioned before, the show is often truly "creepy" and jump out of your seat scary-though I couldn't help but wonder why on earth everyone would split up at night inside that warehouse and wander around on their own with only a flashlight? Uuuuuhhh, what evil lurks 'round every corner? The shadowy faces in the background were frightening but if you are going to be that stupid and walk around by yourself in the dark with all those KILLERS on the loose...well, you get what I'm sayin'? So why DO we watch when it continues to be more of the same? Well, for one, Joe is definitely charismatic, handsome and full of intrigue, but that can only go so far and its limits are being tested. Kevin Bacon wants to be interesting but they keep putting roadblocks in his way-either let him be ab FBI agent or just go rogue! Geesh. And if Joe is going to control everything then we do not have an let the FBI or somebody step up their game and win one or two of these situations, please. It's like the more we know, the less interesting it has become. And you kill off Jacob's boyfriend, one of the most compelling members of the cult?? Surely Molly will not get to kill Ryan, and I would hope that he just might "get a clue" at some point? Roderick is GAME ON and he just might be stealing the show, so give him more to do. There's an entire episode or two in that face. The writers need to let it loose and not lose the "seed" that got us interested in the first place. If they don't, I'm afraid there may be even more viewers pulling away and there's no lack of things to watch on Monday night. Get to work and let someone succeed besides Joe and his silly band of followers. There's so much there, just waiting to come out...isn't there?


    Ok, let's get past the ludicrous proposition that there could be so many devout followers in a killer cult. What is driving me nuts is that the FBI team in this show has to win the incompetent law enforcement award. There's a huge house of sociopaths living right under their noses. Has anyone noticed unusual activity? Do they order food? The lunatic police chief is one of them. Has no one noticed that he's not doing his job? The FBI repeatedly has one or more of the bad guys surrounded, and they let them get away. Did they even take down the license plates? This show cannot be sustained through many more episodes with us having to watch this preposterously bad police work. I think the acting is ok,though Kevin Bacon needs a bit of a kick in the rear, but the situation has become so far-fetched that it's hard to watch. Can the writers save it?
