If you thought last night’s episode of The Following was going to follow up on the reveal from Unmasked, Claire Carroll being totally alive and worried about Joe not being the dead one, you’d be wrong. Teacher’s Pet attempted to tie up loose ends from season one, starting with how Claire and Joey (Joe’s kid whom I’ve entirely forgotten about up until last night) ended up witness protection. In the flashback, Claire is adamant in telling Ryan Hardy that she didn’t really die in the OR, but she doesn’t get her wish. Instead, the night that Hardy believes Claire dies, he’s told by Mike squeezing out a few crocodile tears as a response to “how’s Claire?”. Yeah, that’s all it took.
Back in present day, in the saddest Holiday Inn Express room you’ve ever seen, Claire gets caught up on the little Team Rogue knows of Joe’s whereabouts and who Lily Grey is. In the end, Claire gets in line behind Hardy and Mike, people who are very into killing Joe Carroll dead this season. Best of luck, you crazy threesome!
Speaking of Joe, now that he’s has successfully taken over Korban cult, Emma demands to be included in all plans of murdering and overthrowing others. I have a feeling she might end up like Julie, Micah’s dearly departed wife. Under Carroll’s cult leadership, the bunker killers are released, which would be a scary moment – oh no, killers, they look like regular people too! Except Beth from The Walking Dead is one of the supposed psychopath murders among them, I feel like she might sing me to sleep before she got a good stab in. Doesn’t Darryll do all your killing? Get out of my guilty pleasure show Beth!
A lot of the focus of the episode is on Carroll and his task of convincing the cult he’s their leader, Praise Joe. Unsurprisingly, people who’ve been known to join a cult generally roll with the nutso punches, except Tiffany – you remember her, girl who stabbed her own Mother when she threatened to call the cops on Joe? She’s having second thoughts now.
Later, Hardy meets with Dr Strauss again, for some reason he thinks he’ll the one to break him. Maybe if Hardy challenged Strauss to a dance off, actually I’d watch the shit outta that. Anyway, Strauss rambles about Carroll, all things we’ve been told before, he does calls out Hardy on his obsession with Joe. He calls him a wannabe psychopath. Sick burn, old serial killer of women. Not taking too kindly to his words, Hardy uses his new non-trusty worthy, bang buddy Carrie Cook, to turn the tables on Carroll. They reveal the news that Dr. Strauss is in custody and helped Carroll fake his own death. Carroll calls Janna, unaware she blew her brains out last week, and really ends up calling Team Rogue. Smooth move exlax, playing right into Team Rogue’s plan, Carroll is a narcissist, basically giving away his new master plan to Hardy. Poe is over, religious cults are in. For as long as Carroll talks, no trace is made. But Team Rogue succeeds in getting Joe about as pissed as I do when HBO Go buffers mid-show.
The bunker killers are turned loose on NYC, we’re privy to their death selection process. Heads up, if you’ve ever called a chick ‘wide load’ in high school, you in danger of being shanked and whispered “No Redemption without Blood”, Joe’s latest catchphrase.
Much like how she ruins everything on The Walking Dead, Beth ruins it for her merry band of murders when she gets made on a City camera. Team Rogue quickly puts together that she’s going back to the job that fired her two years ago, to spread the good word of JC, still unsure here if they’re bastardizing the bible some more or if it’s literally Joe’s initials.
Beth follows a lady to the bathroom, and gets fucking owned by her, she shoves her into the wall and runs out, where Team Rogue is waiting. Hardy gets Beth to drop the knife, only to get her throat slit immediately by her cult buddy. Who in turn gets shot, cause anyone who knows something about Joe Carroll’s whereabouts, always gets three to the chest before saying anything something useful.
Next week, Claire shows up just in time to ruin Ryan’s new relationship with the crooked smile journalist, Carrie Cook. And the return of Lily Grey, finally. Thought we left that plot in the dust.
Join me next week for new recap of The Following!
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