The Following - Evermore - Review: "The Death of Joe Carroll"
3 May 2015
Reviews RF The FollowingThe Following - Evermore - Review
Last week on The Following, Ryan continued the hunt for Theo, Theo came face to face with Joe or as good as, and Mark finally returned, but only to follow Daisy.
"You are my real legacy Ryan, and I needed you to know it." Joe
This was surprisingly a rather emotional episode. Not because it was necessarily a sad episode, but because it was the end of a relationship. Joe saw Ryan as a friend, a devoted follower, and to be fair, Joe was right. Ryan had become Joe's follower, he may not have been murdering people or with Joe, but there was always that sense of him needing to hunt and find Joe as if he liked the adrenaline rush he got from doing it. Ryan needed Joe more than Joe needed Ryan.
Seeing Joe take hostages made me hope that he might somehow escape. I was waiting for the moment something would happen that would allow him to do that, but sadly nothing did. Joe's final act wasn't to escape or kill anyone; it was to get Ryan to admit that he sees him as more than a person who he locked up. Ryan did indeed confess this episode to dreaming about Joe and this really made Joe's final act worth it for him. He wanted the truth from Ryan and he got it, he got his wish, and then he didn't mind dying.
Watching Joe die though was painful, and for me in a way heart-breaking. Joe was my favourite character, and it's never nice seeing a favourite die, but what really got me was the facial expressions from Joe when he was being injected with the lethal injection and when he started to feel everything shutting down inside him. Purefoy was excellent in this scene, even without saying anything, the facial expressions said it all, Joe didn't want to die, and Purefoy portrayed that brilliantly.
I can see why the writers decided to kill off Joe, to make Ryan's transition even more believable and genuine, but I have to ask myself was killing Joe a bad decision? I would say yes. They could have used Joe to further develop Ryan's transition. I think what would have been interesting would have been to see Joe teach Ryan how to kill, like his dreams. This would have produced some interesting episodes as that would have meant Ryan would then effectively take on a villainous role, but instead all we're left with is Ryan alone.
"I do whatever it takes to give us what we never had as kids, control." Theo
While a lot of the attention this episode was focused on Joe and Ryan we did get introduced to Theo's sister, Penny. She is exactly like him, which was surprising. She is a hacker as well and also a killer, so they make quite the brother-sister pair. I said previously Theo would be getting help, but I didn't imagine it would be someone so close to home. Theo and his sister are smart, smarter than anyone we've seen previously, and since no one knows about Penny, she can and will be, a huge problem for Ryan and his team.
Theo's plans were finally unravelled as well this episode, him and his sister plan to leave, but can't until they've eliminated the threat they face from Ryan. It couldn't be any more obvious now that Theo and his sister will end up dead come the end of the season, whenever someone says they plan to take out Ryan Hardy you just know it's going to end badly for them. When Theo's arc does come to an end, I can't say I'll miss him. His arc has been different, and enjoyable, but there's been no plot behind it, no sense of purpose or direction.
Summary
The episode was very good, but at the same time devastating, for me, especially. Joe Carroll was an important character to the show, and they could have used him to further develop Ryan's transition from someone good to someone who is turning bad. I'm not sure if the writers considered that, but they should have. Overall, it was an exciting hour of television with the end result being the wrong one.
As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of "Evermore "
I fairly enjoyed this season, besides the Max-Mike drama, and seeing Joe die this week was heartbreaking. I was also expecting something to change some dynamics to shift and Joe to escape but that would be one of those unbelievable pushes that semi destroyed this show in S01.
ReplyDeleteMy heart will break while watching Ryan go through this, Kevin Bacon is so tremendous in this role. He deeply believes in every decision his character makes and he stands completely behind it.
I'm intrigued to see in which direction his character will spiral, will he go nuts or just psycho killer?
I've enjoyed it, but I feel the show has gone slightly downhill since the first season, and ratings will also show that. I don't think this season has a sense of story behind it like Season 1 and kind of season 2.
ReplyDeleteEven though it would have been unrealistic if Joe escaped for a third time I think he could have made Ryan's transition more interesting. He'll be there in his dreams/hallucinations, but it won't be the same. Ryan I think will perhaps go psycho killer. The show kind of foreshadowed that in a dream sequence where Joe was about to teach Ryan how to kill.
What did you think of the episode?
ReplyDeleteS01 had the best flow most certainly, but if I watch a show and be like really? Really? That means it was way to unbelievable! I'm always in for a good twist some stuff shouldn't be done.
ReplyDeleteS02 rebound quite well and I was really intrigued till they made Joe overtake that cult and especially that finale episode with Ryan and Joe going after the twisn. And again I was like o.O
S03 is good so far but lavks of some more intrigue. Theo is a good villain but they are pushing it way to far with his awesome hacking skills.
I know that Ryan going psycho killer is the most likely option but I hope there will be some good in Ryan that will prevail and making him just nuts. But the most likely scenario, Theo kills Gwen and/or the baby, Ryan kills Theo, Ryan will be all over the place.
Great Review Robert!
ReplyDeleteDo we know if there is another season yet? I haven't been paying attention to renewal news lately...
Not yet.We'll know soon within a week!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
ReplyDelete1.I'm very sad Joe died.
2.Gwen will definitely die.
3.Leo's sister will be His downfall.
4.This Max-Mike-Tom melodrama needs to resolve quickly,it's being dragged for way too long.
5.Exceptional performances from both James & Kevin.#respect!
6.Ryan will definitely lose it by the end of the season,they've been hintng it all season long.
Overall,very emotionally draining episode for me.Looking forward to the next one!
I don't think the ending was wrong, if they had found a way to keep Joe alive it would've been too obvious, too cheap. I do agree Joe needs to be there for Ryan's transition and sommething about the last scene tells me he will be, he will help the transition from Ryan's own head in the form of hallucination and I think that could be the best desition they's made yet, one of the scenes I enjoyed most this season was one of Ryan's dream and the relationship they had as friends, drunken, ranting friends, it was amazing and I expect more of that in the future episodes.
ReplyDeleteThanks George (my review was rushed due to lack of time)
ReplyDeleteNo announcement has been made yet for Season 3, but we should know around the 11th May when upfronts start. Looking at the ratings it could go either way.
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteRyan's had terrible luck recently with relationships so I can see Gwen dying as well. Perhaps Ryan will kill Theo's sister which will give Theo a reason to kill Gwen as payback.
I'm not liking the stuff with Tom, Max or Mike. It's so over dramatic, and so uninteresting now. I hope Max and Mike get back together next episode so it can just end. Also, Tom having (had) the laptop seems to be dragging out as well, when are they going to find out, he took the laptop in like episode 3...
I don't mind him dying, but he died too soon. He could helped with Ryan's transition first, then have him killed later on, not before his transition takes place. Still, Joe will be around, but as a hallucination which I guess is better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteSeason 1 had the best storyline I thought. I liked how you knew what to expect, and what the end goal was for Joe as the villain, but also there were some things in season 1 that shouldn't have been included. I'm also still annoyed about Debra's random death.
ReplyDeleteSeason 2 I didn't like much. The cult was alright, and I liked Lilly as a villain, but when Joe took over the cult I felt like I was re-watching part of season 1. Joe should have stayed with Lilly, and the cult should have been a threat to Ryan and everyone by themselves without Joe.
Season 3 started off good, but now several parts are just dragging on a bit too much. The Max/Mike/Tom drama has been going on forever, and I just want it to end. Also, what is Mark even doing now?
As
I still think Ryan's head is the best place for Joe to be in order to help with the transition. His earthly character was way too limited by now.
ReplyDeleteThe cult from S02 seemed so intriguing and could've worked as a story on his own. Joe sticking with Lilly wouldn't feel like him as Lilly was very bossy and Joe wouldn't take that. The major issue was them departing to fast. The show would've benefited from them sticking together a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Mark took that blood killer last week? Debbie I think, but what his plan is totally off. Who knows what crazy stunt the show will pull off till the end of the season.
I hope we'll get a 4th season to conclude the story really good.
It did seem intriguing, but season 2 moved way too fast. Some episodes were awful because they had to have some filler episodes due to the pacing in early episodes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Joe departing too early, Joe was only with Lilly for about 2 episodes. He should have stayed with her a bit longer, I would have liked to see them two working together a bit more...
Mark caught up with Daisy last week to my knowledge. I don't know why he went after her at all to be honest.
A few hours after I watched the episode I was still so sure that Joe didn't die D: and then I read reviews and everybody said he's really dead whaaaatt.. So anyway, still holding out hope that he's not dead or something. The Purefoy/Bacon chemistry is amaaaaaaazing this episode! Nice review!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks you!
ReplyDeleteI didn't want him to did, but wouldn't that be a twist if somehow he faked his death. That would be a shocker, sadly I think he's dead. I can't see them making his death complicated like that.
ReplyDeleteGreat show, but without Joe Carroll they might as well cancel it.
ReplyDeleteWill go down hill from here. Joe was the show!