2.9 Unmasked The takeover’s been pretty obvious from the beginning. Joe’s been kind of obvious about it with the way he got Micah’s ear, Emma’s in on the game, and while Mandy has been off screen for a few episodes, she probably knew it was coming too despite being kept in the shadows pretty consistently by her father figure. However, when Joe finally made his move on Micah, it was really satisfying. Joe worked a classic confidence angle, gaining Micah’s trust, finding out what made him tick, then using that against him to take off the head of the organization and install himself as the new chief of Red Robes Inc. It’s been quite a pleasure to watch, and not just because Jake Weber is killing it whenever he gets to deliver some crazy religious babbling. James Purefoy seems to be having a lot of fun as the ironic observer, rather than the observed. Joe is actually telling jokes (joe-ks) and being the charismatic, witty fellow he was supposed to be in the first season, but wasn’t. Joe’s ironic-ish delivery of the religious rhetoric he wrote for Micah peppered with his own Joecentrism ended up being some really good, surprisingly amusing stuff, particularly when Joe compares himself openly to the other JC. What isn’t funny is the way The Following stages its violence. Without fail, it is one of the most violent shows on television, and rather than trying to reduce the impact of that violence, The Following tries to heighten it. When Carrie Cooke goes to her book signing only for Emma, Robert, and Lance the insane cult ear-cutter show up, we know what’s going to happen. The knives flash and throats are cut with expedience. People are stabbed multiple times, thrown down stairs, and generally carved up like Sunday roast. It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s very entertaining, and it’s ultimately meaningless since it was only arranged to make Carrie get the word out about Joe. Still, it’s really well-staged by director Nicole Kassell and the show’s technical crew. It feels appropriately big and impressive, while still being kind of chaotic. Ditto Joe’s sudden but inevitable betrayal of Micah and takeover of the cult, executed in grand style. Joe has some great facial expressions throughout. All in all, it’s just the sort of huge gesture that Joe would do to get public attention again, so it’s very fitting. That’s the best thing about The Following, it can be both legitimately entertainment, campy entertainment, and brain-rotting entertainment within the same episode. Read Ron’s review of the previous episode, The Messenger, here. US Correspondent Ron Hogan is sad to see Jake Weber leave the show, but maybe there’s still time for that Jake Weber/Steven Weber Simon and Simon remake. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
