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?

Whips and Regret Review

Editor Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.4 / 5.0 (76 Votes)

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.

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