3.8 Kill The Messenger There hasn’t been much of that this season, but it seems like the show is slowly coming back around to giving us what we wanted all along, which is Joe and Ryan together, either as a sort of Hannibal and Clarice or as antagonists. The recurring dream sequences have been one of the better parts of the season, either from Joe’s perspective or Ryan’s perspective, and it’s helped keep that weird relationship in focus even when Joe’s not on screen, or Ryan’s being fussy and not visiting his BFF (best felonious friend) in jail. The codependency isn’t a very novel element—after all, Hannibal and Clarice, or Hannibal and Will Graham—but it is a fun one. Just watching Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy talking back and forth is a lot of fun, and the fact that Barry O’Brien’s script gives them some fun stuff to chew on helps quite a bit. But it also enlivened Theo’s conversation-by-proxy with Joe, as well. Purefoy is just great as the villain, and the flashbacks to Joe and Theo’s first meeting were entertaining because Joe got to talk about Poe again. It’s also nice to see Joe and Theo match wits, even if they both use vastly different methods to get the job done. Joe used his Followers, and Theo uses his laptop, but they both have essentially the same techniques to cause chaos and horror. It’s only natural that Joe should immediately identify Theo as his number one enemy for Ryan’s affection and respond accordingly, even if Joe can only kill Theo’s newest surrogate Gary (Evan Hall). Not that the FBI needs to chase a fake lead at this point. After all, they’re struggling to play catch-up to Theo, despite his increasing amount of mistakes (or at least trusting in the wrong people to help him break Strauss’s code). Theo is a shark that’s been dragged up onto the beach, and he’s thrashing around and lashing out in desparation, trying to slip back into the cool dark water where he’s most comfortable, and where he’ll be better able to get his revenge on Ryan Hardy. Assuming, of course, he’s able to survive his increasing encounters with Joe Carroll, who appears to have some sort of plan to go out with a bang if nothing else. Another pretty sharp, pretty good episode for The Following. The violence is sudden and sharp, and the final moments, where we focus on Joe turning a pair of sunglasses into a makeshift push knife, offers a hint at the ominous, bloody dealings yet to come. You know Joe’s going to use that knife on someone, and David Tuttman has really emphasized just how much Joe continues to enjoy killing by showing a tight close-up on James Purefoy’s face after breaking Theo’s patsy’s neck with an orgasmic smile on his face. I think, depending on Joe’s plan, we’ll all be pretty pleased with how things work out, especially if Joe goes on another rampage. US Correspondent Ron Hogan is always glad to spend quality time with Joe, even if Ryan isn’t so keen on the idea anymore what with all the murdering and ruining of life. It makes for a much more interesting day. 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.
