The Following, episode 12, The Curse
Episode twelve titled, “The Curse”, starts off with Claire trying to make a run for it with Joey first thing in the morning, only to be met at the gate by Roderick and a group of the followers. Good try, bad call. Now Claire’s on house arrest courtesy of sheriff Roderick. Creepy Carroll informs Claire that trust must be earned.
In New Jersey, Hardy and the FBI are checking out the cult’s training grounds. A beat up Weston is back and looking worse for the wear. He gives Hardy a good break down of Roderick’s appearance and accent. They find videos of the activities that were performed at the armory, and a sensitive Hardy looks away. The familiar, deranged scrawlings are found on the wall inside the dark tunnels. Religious connotations are now being pulled in. Apparently if you kill yourself, you reach the highest level of the Parker coined term, “Carolism”.
Poor Carroll is having a hard time writing his novel. Aww. A cult leader and serial killer having trouble with focus? I can’t imagine… Who does he call in the midst of his concentration woes? That’s right. Hardy. In an almost comical turn of events, Carroll asks Hardy to tell him his motivation, but he prods Hardy with his personal life and we find out that there’s something up with Hardy’s father. Hardy effectively turns it around on Carroll and pins him down for being frustrated due to the FBI finding the armory. There’s a quick flashback to a younger Hardy with his father, but it’s cut off before we can see much.
Danny Monroe, a black market arms dealer connected to a militia in West Virginia, is now being connected to Carroll. McKinley seems to be saddling for second in command by getting on Carroll’s good side while there had been tension between Carroll and Roderick. Now Roderick’s guy, Monroe, is being sought by both the FBI and Carroll, and Carroll wants him dead. Jacob sees an opening to prove himself, and steps up, offering to kill Monroe. Carroll decides to do it himself, and with a little snark, he lets Roderick know he’s not happy with his recent performances.
Weston is a little unstable, and rightly so, but he’s also cagey and on edge. Hardy and Weston leave to talk to someone who knows Monroe.
Emma is prowling around the house, watching Claire. She wants to talk to her, but are we seeing guilt in the cold-hearted killer? Doubt it. Roderick steps in and attempts a conversation with Claire. He leaves with Claire planting a seed of doubt in his head, saying that Carroll can’t be trusted.
When Hardy, Parker and Weston reach their destination, nobody’s home. Weston breaks in, showing even more unpredictable behavior. Inside, the three of them must navigate a dilapidated house. Someone bursts in on them, pushing Hardy to the ground, but Weston beats the man unconscious before anything else can be done. Weston has clearly been deeply affected by the torture.
During the interrogation of the man Weston attacked, he lashes out against him again. There is more exploration of the spooky, dark corridors as they check out the house. Hardy comes face to face with Monroe. Upstairs, Parker hears a noise and Jacob shows up, killing Fowler and knocking Parker out. This is not at all the timid Jacob we once knew.
As Joey watches out, Claire takes a peek at Carroll’s novel. Emma comes in and asks to talk to her. Claire threatens Emma about staying away from Joey and a catfight ensues with Claire taking the upper hand.
With Monroe tied up, Hardy and Weston start asking him questions about Carroll. They are interrupted by a red flashing light that signals someone coming. McKinley begins firing and Hardy is forced to shoot. He goes back and finds Monroe on the floor, and soon, Weston tied up and locked in a room with a window. Carroll steps out from the side, holding a large knife.
We are seeing an unhinged Carroll for the first time. He’s falling apart slowly, and his obsession with Hardy and the novel have taken over. Hardy begs for Carroll to spare Weston downstairs as upstairs, Jacob has Parker tied up. Jacob tells Parker he’s going to kill her. Carroll is determined to make Hardy tell the story about him and his father, forcing him to suffer through his memory of watching his father die when he was only a kid. Watching people die and death in general is a theme for Hardy. He couldn’t save his father, so he continues to try and save everyone else. Carroll sees a parallel between him and Hardy by saying through death they see life. After a tense moment, Jacob and Carroll get away.
In the end, Carroll comes to Claire and she criticizes his latest novel, prompting him to stop himself from hitting her and leave. Jacob’s picture is plastered all over the television and he places an emotional call to his father. Carroll goes to Emma and they throw down in the kitchen. Parker brings Hardy to meet a particularly helpful police officer, Sheriff Nelson, aka Roderick. Well, well. Now isn’t this interesting.
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Posted by Amber Keller
on Monday, April 8th, 2013. Filed under Dark TV, Headline, Images.
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Tags: creepy, cult leader, dark, death, fox, guilt, serial killer, the following
