The Poet's Fire (4 Feb. 2013)

Ryan's belief that that Joe Carroll has more acolytes than the six they have so far identified is proved correct when a street performer - wearing an Edgar Allan Poe mask - sets a man on ... See full summary »

Director:

Liz Friedlander

Writers:

Kevin Williamson (creator), Adam Armus,

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Natalie Zea, Annie Parisse

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Bacon	...	Ryan Hardy
Natalie Zea	...	Claire Matthews
Annie Parisse	...	Debra Parker
Shawn Ashmore	...	Mike Weston
Valorie Curry	...	Emma Hill
Nico Tortorella	...	Jacob Wells
Adan Canto	...	Paul Torres
Kyle Catlett	...	Joey Matthews
James Purefoy	...	Joe Carroll
Billy Brown	...	Troy Riley
Virginia Kull	...	Maggie Kester
Steve Monroe	...	Jordy Raines
Michael Drayer	...	Rick Kester
Li Jun Li	...	Meghan Leeds
Dean Alai	...	Agent David Sims

Storyline

Ryan's belief that that Joe Carroll has more acolytes than the six they have so far identified is proved correct when a street performer - wearing an Edgar Allan Poe mask - sets a man on fire and then disappears into the crowd. Using CCTV, they soon identify the attacker as Rick Kester. They question his wife who says her husband, from whom she is separated, is dangerous but that she also has little idea where he might be found. Ryan realizes that the dead man was one of Carroll's critics. Meanwhile, relations among Joey's kidnappers continues to deteriorate. Paul and Emma continue to bicker and Paul decides to leave the house, returning later with someone in tow. Flashbacks reveal a new reason Paul may not like Emma.

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Plot Keywords:

critic | flashback | cellphone video | year 2011 | university | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 2013 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bonanza Productions, Outerbanks Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

User Reviews

First misfire in a promising series

I will preface this review by saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed the first few episodes of The Following. The premise is dark and stylish, the acting is classy from James Purefoy who is marvellously malevolent as Joe Carroll, and also particularly from Valorie Curry who has quickly established a seriously unsettling character in Joe's deranged apprentice Emma. Kevin Bacon is also well cast as Starling-esque FBI agent Ryan.

However having so quickly and effectively established an atmosphere of terror, constant suspense with the idea that every character encountered so far could potentially be part of Carrolls' following, the decisions made by the FBI task-force in this episode are strikingly stupid. After arresting and detaining suspect Maggie Kester, who attempted to attack Ryan WITH A KNIFE they decide after a few hours that she's OK to go back to her own home, not a safe house, not a motel, but her own home with only one officer in tow in case her already established "follower" husband returns. This then leads to the painful process of the characters slowly piecing the threat together and to no-ones surprise they are too late in acting on the info to do anything about it.

To me this was a real disappointment as I felt it cheapened the established characters, by gleefully walking them into a fairly obvious trap. The trap lacked the sophistication that has been present so far, and the fact that protagonists just walked strait into definitely made me care less about the characters. However the rest of the episode was pretty good particularly the afore mentioned Valorie Curry whose character has a murderous intensity as well as psychologically-damaged depths, which she plays beautifully without going to far over the top.

I'm hoping this episode was just a blip in what has been a great series so far.

Thanks for reading, PC

Nevermore…….