bill bodkin fills in …
The Low Down: The FBI (Kevin Bacon, Shawn Ashmore, Annie Parisse) is closing in on Joe Carroll’s (James Purefoy) cult. Bloody and boozed up, Joe puts into effect his “Masque of the Red Death” plan of action. Mayhem ensues.
The Body Count: 5 civilian casualties, one reporter, about 5 cult members, two state troopers and our boy Jacob (Nico Tortorella) — so we’re going to say 14 people bought it.
Favorite Performance: James Purefoy has been awesome all season long, but tonight, he was awesome. He beautifully portrayed Carroll as a man on the verge of losing everything — which makes him even more dangerous.
The Supporting Scene Stealer: In his final appearance on The Following, Nico Tortorella really stole the show. His character Jacob has run the emotional gamut this year — he’s been everything from a sniveling bitch to a homicidal maniac. Tonight, his swan song, we saw him as a disillusioned man, betrayed by every family he’s ever known. So he decides to make one final pitch to Emma (Valorie Curry) to run away with him and start a new life. Instead of a new life, he gets a knife to the throat.
The Best Part of The Episode: “The Red Death Riot” at the community center was an absolute nail biter. Rarely do we see scenes this intense and suspenseful on network television. The fact we don’t know who is really in Carroll’s cult, outside of a few key members, really made the scene even crazier. Out of nowhere random cult members would just kill someone … damn.
The Part We Could’ve Done Without: I thought the one cult member hanging himself in the mansion wasn’t really a great part of the episode. I get it, it was part of the cult’s plan, it was a diversion, but it didn’t really resonate as good as it could’ve.
The Little Thing We Loved: Annie Parisse’s cries for help as the screen fades to black and the title card pops up. It was chilling.
Final Thoughts: This was a crazy good episode. It was a non-stop thrill machine of an episode, however, I don’t think it pulled a Walking Dead and has set the expectations for season finale too too high. I knew that Jacob had to go and it was a really well-written exit for him. The burial of Annie Parisse’s character was completely unexpected and it’s going to add an exciting wrinkle to the finale.
I disagree on Jacob’s death. I felt his character had grown a lot, including establishing his family. I was really hoping he would have killed Emma. I hate her so much. I really want her to die a brutal death.
I wonder how they are gonna keep this up for season two.