Moving season 2 of The Following along nicely, Joe realizes he must leave his hideout after he kills the reverend. He doesn’t leave without a new pet, though. The FBI is on to Ryan’s private investigation and they aren’t happy. Meanwhile, Emma meets up with the new cult, which actually has an unsuspecting member.
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Joe Has a New Pet
Perhaps he’s bored with life in Arkansas after he kills again, or he’s worried about being found out after the reverend’s murder. Or maybe he’s just too intrigued by the new murders by his followers in New York. Either way, Joe decides it’s time to go. Mandy is very upset, more about his leaving than witnessing him killing, which is quite disturbing. It seems Joe was a father figure to her.
Judy, fearing for her and her daughter’s safety, tries to shoot Joe, but always one step ahead of everyone, he takes out all the bullets and almost kills her too, but Mandy stops him. However, when it comes down to it, Mandy kills her own mother in front of Joe. And he couldn’t be more proud of her. I guess the year of brainwashing her worked. The pair burn down the house and drive away.
Hand It All Over
After Ryan almost gets Lily killed at the benefit because he didn’t alert the FBI about his own little investigation, they track him and realize what he’s been up to. Mike, who still has a soft spot for Ryan despite all that’s happened, confronts him at his apartment, where he has found all the files Ryan has and warns him that he needs to be up front with all the information he has gathered, or else the FBI will arrest him.
Ryan lets Mike know his theory about how the DNA was switched at the boat house and that Joe is actually alive, but Mike doesn’t believe him.
Meanwhile, the FBI hones in on the Havenport cult in New Jersey after they track Emma. Five members of the cult are killed and one is captured, but Emma isn’t there, as she’s off meeting the new cult members in New York.
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Joining Forces
Emma keeps calling the Joe hotline to get in touch with Carlos and the new cult members. Mark, who I believe is the nicer of the two twins — if you can be a nice murderer — seems to have a crush on Emma and wants to meet up with her. After all, she was Joe’s right-hand man, maybe she could help them get Joe to show himself to them.
As I said, she meets up with Mark and then goes to meet the rest of the group. She questions why Joe never told her about the plan to switch the DNA and go into hiding. But as we all know, Joe has his reasons for doing things and only allowing certain people to know certain parts of his grand scheme.
Luke, the crazy twin, kills Carlos and then lets Emma know that her Havenport cult was brought down by the FBI. She really has no choice but to join them.
And in true Following fashion, we learn that the surviving subway victim, Lily, is actually part of the Joe Carroll fan club. She gets close to Ryan, who realizes too late that Lily is in on it so that she can hopefully lure Joe out of hiding. Ryan, she says, was going to be a gift to Joe. And wouldn’t that just be the perfect gift?
After she’s found out, she eludes the FBI, and Ryan and gets into a car with Luke, who calls her mother.
That’s quite an interesting little plot twist. But it’s those plot twists that make The Following such a great show and keep us on our toes. However, looking back, it was a little strange how Lily did survive the massacre, as true Joe Carroll followers don’t leave behind survivors.
I have to admit, I did see the Mandy storyline coming. However, part of me thought that at the last minute Joe might kill her too, to tie up loose ends. And maybe he still will later on. But you can see he looks at her with pride and perhaps thinks she can be his next protege.
I don’t really like seeing Ryan so frustrated. You can tell he’s upset with himself. He let his weakness for damsels in distress cloud his judgment, instead of seeing the bigger picture. Lily and the group used that weakness. Let’s just say that I’m pretty pumped to see where this season goes.
The Following airs Mondays at 9pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
