The Following - Whips and Regret

Greeting , Followers. Last week we started to put our skis on to jump the shark. It’s getting dangerous here, folks. We need to tread carefully. I’m getting tired of nothing really happening. Even when Claire was kidnapped/walked right into the car, it was rather lack-luster. I realize there needs to be set up, but the first few episodes were so jam packed with action and suspense, that now we’re just wading in the shallow end of the pool. I think a lot of that has to do with how everyone is now assumed to be a follower, so now it’s not as shocking when someone “turns” and reveals themselves.  As I mentioned, Claire, being the dumb idiot I know her to be, gave herself up to Joe to get back to Joey. I don’t really think she thought this through. What’s step 2 in this process? You get to Joey, and then what? You’re stuck with Joe.  We ended with a phone call between Joe and Hardy in which Hardy throws up the white flag and says he’s all done. Well obviously that can’t happen dude, because this whole show kind of rests on you. We also met Molly, Hardy’s ex girlfriend, who SHOCKINGLY is a follower as well.

The phone is ringing and Hardy is waking up from being drunk the night before. Call after call, until he finally picks up and it’s Joe. Of course. Joe doesn’t seem to enjoy the fact that Hardy doesn’t want to play ball. Hardy always seems so surprised when he answers and it’s Joe’s voice on the other end. He always calls from a satellite phone, so it would always say “unrecognized number” or “private”. You know he has your number, so wouldn’t you always answer being ready for it to be Joe? He rubs in the fact that he does have his family back together again, despite the FBI and Hardy’s efforts.

Jacob comes to greet Claire and tells her he will be her tour guide for this evening. He takes her to her room and reassures her that Joey is perfectly fine because he’s seeing after him.

In case you forgot her, this is Molly.

She is handing over journals and a flash drive with video on it of her and Ryan during their times together. She still lives next door to Hardy and says they still occasionally have sex. We get a flashback after she says she has to go to work tomorrow morning of her meeting Joe for the first time in jail. She says that she’s killed more people than Joe has. She’s a nurse and she works in the terminal ward, so it’s easy.  

Hardy has a knock on the door and it’s Parker. She comes in and begs him to come back. He objects for a few seconds and then realizes he has to keep going. They go back to the website they found last week; the recruiting easter-egg in the corner of the screen. They’re getting very close to finding out where the site is function from.

Roderick and Vince (the mustached militia trained guy) meet with Joe to receive thanks for bringing Claire to him. Roderick suggests that since Joe has his family back, they get started. Started with what?! I don’t understand the purpose of this following anymore, other than to randomly kill people. I thought in the beginning it was all about love and death and beauty and now it just feels very random and pointless. Where did the connection to Poe go? That’s been totally forgotten. That was what originally drew me to the series. If Roderick wasn’t such a long name to say, it would make a great cat name. Just sayin. 

Then Roderick has a great bit of dialogue that greatly reflects how the audience is feeling. “ Soon? And that would be when?  Joe everyone in this house, they’re anxious to get started. They’re growing impatient. Joe, do you understand that these people have sacrificed for you? You’re responsible to them.” Joe gets mad and sends them out of the room. Amen, Roderick! We’ve sacrificed our belief of reality long enough. I need something to happen now.

The FBI have pin-pointed the site’s source as a fetish club in New York called Whips & Regret.

Regret indeed. I’ll never totally understand this fetish. Then again, I don’t think anyone understands a fetish unless you have it. I feel as though I’m getting off topic. They are going after Haley Mercury, the club owner. When they find her (after she sort of ran away from them once she realized they were cops) she is clearing her hard drive on her computer.

She says she is absolutely not a part of the Joe Carroll cult. She says that she wants a deal. She offers up Vince’s name before they even really offer her one. She had an inkling that Vince was obsessed with Joe, but she thought he was still ok. They didn’t date. They flogged each other. Hmm…she said he set up her server. She says she can deliver him to them if she’s not going to be prosecuted for anything.

Jacob comes into Claire’s room with a bag full of fun stuff; new dress, shoes, jewelry, the works. He throws her around when she tries to make a run for it. He’s been authorized by Joe to hurt her, if need be. Other than the face of course. The sweet Jacob is officially gone. He tells her to make an effort if she wants to see her son.

As he’s leaving he runs into Emma. She gives him kudos for getting to being on top of Claire-Duty. She’s impressed. Jacob tells her that Joe trusts him and walks away. Emma doesn’t understand, “you’re being weird.” She reminds him of her love. “The Jacob you loved isn’t here anymore. It’s just me now.” Ooo, Jacob. You so twisted! I can’t wait for him to kill Emma. I know it’s coming. It better…

Back at club-hurt-me, Haley brings out a package that was delivered for Vince.

She didn’t know what was in it. Bombs? Are we really going down this path? It feels tired. I’m a little bored with it. Now they’re becoming stereotypical terrorists. That’s a terrible thing to say. But…isn’t it sort of true?

Vince asks Roderick if it’s ok that he go to New York to pick up the package. Roderick says fine, but don’t stay the night. Vince can see that Roderick is upset after being verbally bitch slapped by Joe, so he tries to comfort him.

It doesn’t go so well. Vince asks if Roderick was beaten as a kid. It’s an odd question. Then he says he was just looking for a new friend. Roderick loses control and laughs it up and then beats up the IT guy that was witness to it all. Aww…have you tried turning it off and on again? (Anybody? )

They wire-up Haley. They make the code/safeword of red. Haley is used to such things. They’ve switched the bad bomb and put in a good harmless bomb instead.

Vince arrives at the club and they send in SWAT to check his car. Wouldn’t you throw a GPS tracker on his car? Wouldn’t that be the smart thing to do? But that’s being too obvious. He pounds on the walls yelling he doesn’t hear enough sex as he makes his way to Haley’s office. She agrees to hold the door open for him. SWAT says they have a clean shot, and Parker says to wait. WTF is it gonna take you guys? We could all learn from Carl in Walking Dead a little bit with, “I did what I had to do.” Vince tells her to get in the car and she works the word red into the conversation 3 times. I’d be pissed if I was her. He pulls a gun on her after she keeps refusing and they just let him drive off with her, following. Idiots. Way to make your job way harder than it needs to be.

They pull up, not to the house, but to an abandoned armory. They go down a collection of dark hallways and finally come to the training room. Vince says that people that need a bit more discipline come here. He tries to make a move on her, and pulls out the wire. He’s shocked. He talks into the mic and tells Hardy that she’s a dead woman because of him. Hardy and Parker rush in and hear screaming. They try and go down hallways to hear a creepy squeaky chair coming from the darkness. Haley is on it, but she’s alive. She says Vince is gone. See, this where that GPS on his car would serve the purpose you had hoped! Why don’t you listen to me Fox!!

Haley gives them shit for not coming in when she said red. Vince told her that it would take them more time to help a person who’s alive vs one that’s dead. That logic doesn’t make sense to me.

 

Claire made an effort. She’s arrived for her private dinner with Joe. He explains that he’s wired to have a need to kill, and rather than try and ignore it, he’s going to embrace it. He’s bound and determined to make her love him again. All she wants is Joey. She says the only way that she could ever see any of the man she married in him now, is if he lets her see Joey.  Joe says Joey is his only card for leverage so he’s going to keep Joey away from her for now. He goes to kiss her and she says no.

Damnit, he is handsome. That’s all.

Back at the armory we see a variety of weapons and detonators. Hardy finds a log full of physical stats, medical stats and the like on their followers. One SWAT guy, off on his own (which I’m sure is against protocol) finds something.

Caged up are 3 people. They beg for release. The guy radios over and says he found victims. He tries to break the lock on the door. Hardy then sees in the notebook a mention of “Deprivation. Lock down. 2 weeks.” They then realize the people in the cage are followers, and they’re being tested and conditioned. They try and tell him to not break the lock. But instead of waiting and listening after he asks, “what did you say?” he keeps breaking down the lock, until they get out and attack him like zombies from Walking Dead.

Now we get a series of dark hallways, and random beams of light from flashlights. It’s disorienting, which is the point.

Wait a minute..that’s my birthday on the board. A few years too early, but my birthday! 4/20! What is happening!? Do they know me? Are they behind me? Joe? Is that you? Please don’t hurt me.

Parker is trying to find the source of the gunshots that were fired.

Holy shit! That’s creepy. It’s not acknowledged either. She’s only in frame for a few seconds. Then there’s a noise and she’s gone. Parker trips over the body of the dumbass SWAT guy who opened the gate. Yeah, I don’t feel sorry for you . You should’ve waited to hear her repeat the command before acting. Parker is attacked from behind and between her and Hardy they take out all 3.

Roderick comes to visit Joe and Joe tells him that Vince called in a panic. He suggested to Joe that they shut down satellite remote immediately because of the FBI finding the server in New York. Joe says that because they found the server, they have obviously found the camp (armory). Roderick refuse to believe they could find the camp, he even says it’s impossible.  Joe says Vince would’ve lead the FBI there, and Roderick says, “Vince was just making a run.” For some reason Roderick doesn’t want to admit that there’s a possibility that the FBI followed Vince? Roderick has to admit that he gave Vince permission to go to New York in the first place, and for that he gets a swift punch to the face. “You don’t make any decisions anymore, Roderick. I’m here now. If you ruin this for me…” Roderick defiantly stands up and says, “Don’t you mean, for us?” Yeah, I’m seeing Roderick as a potential to be the killer of Joe. He has a point though. This was supposed to be a collective effort. Now it’s not.

Joe knocks on Claire’s door and tells her that in his heart he believes she will love him again, and then stands back to let Joey run in.

I almost feel bad for Joe. Holy shit…am I turning into a psychopath? Maybe it’s because he’s so handsome and charming. Damnit, I would be a horrible character in a TV show/movie/book. I’d totally fall for it. I gotta work on that. Finally, maybe now Claire can stop bitching. I’m sick of listening to her.

Joe goes and watches one of the videos that Molly gave him. It’s one from 2011, so recently. She puts the move on a drunk Hardy and they have sex. We then flash to Hardy walking into his actual apartment. He hears some clinking and…

Molly is in his apartment. She brought him his mail and tries to empathize with him. She’s trying to weasel her way back in. We get a flashback to the Molly Visiting Joe scene. Molly says her condition for moving to New York and getting close to Hardy is that she gets to be the one to kill him. Oh man. Here we go.

Is anyone else annoyed? I need something to happen. Quickly. I’m also very confused how this will go into a second season. This can’t possibly be a drawn-out show. I’ve read in interviews that there could potentially be a new serial killer next season. That would make no sense. Hardy’s whole life has been about Joe. It would feel incredibly ridiculous for some new person to just show up and all of the sudden be Hardy’s whole world. Til next week, I think we have 4 more episodes to go!