Elena Butler
Staff Writer
The charm of Joe Carroll is inescapable and this week’s episode of The Following proved just that. After being taken in by a new cult called Corbin, he’s essentially managed to turn its leader into his puppet—making him do what he wants by having him believe he’s still making his own decisions. It’s awesome and scary but vastly entertaining to watch. As for Ryan, he continues his search with the help of Mike and Max, while they also try to figure out who’s the mole in the FBI.
“The Messenger” picks up on a sad note, with the funeral of Mike’s father. Immediately following the title card, we head over to the cult camp where Mandy has made a new guy friend and Emma complains about her near death experience. Carroll still has plans to take over the whole thing and having past the test, they’re all officially welcomed into the family by Micah.
Back at the cemetery, Ryan runs into an old pal—a journalist looking for scoop. In flashbacks, we see that she went as far as sleeping with him to get intel about Carroll. Later at Mike’s home, Mike thanks Max for being there for him. And, Ryan is offered the chance to work with the FBI once again and be sanctioned off the books. He agrees to help the FBI director, Tom Franklin, and work exclusively with him and the CIA to track down Carroll.
photo courtesy of FOXMeanwhile, Carroll finds out that Micah’s intentions are to kill in the name of his religion and the goal of his people is to ascend to the 9th planet and begin their real life there—it’s as crazy as it sounds. When Carroll questions if his people are willing to kill, Micah shows him where he keeps his most dangerous cult members—secluded underground. He asks Carroll for advice on how to convert some of the cult members who still have doubts about Corbin’s beliefs.
Ryan and Max find a doctor who worked with Carroll when he was in college and helped him after the lighthouse incident. Ryan goes to him for information and to plant a bug in his home. The female journalist shows up later and Ryan hears when the doctor attacks her. He goes in to help but is taken by surprise by the doctor’s apprentice and gets captured. Ryan finds himself in an operating room where the doctor is getting ready to perform surgery on the journalist. In the meantime, Max tries to get a hold of Ryan after losing his signal and immediately knows something went wrong.
Back at the cult camp, Julia advises Micah to be careful with Carroll but he’s already too wrapped up in Carroll’s charm to listen. That night at a party, Micah takes care of the followers who aren’t on board with his plan by poisoning them during communion. One of those followers is Mandy’s new guy pal. Micah tells everyone not to be afraid because those who died have been called home and everyone believes him. Julia accuses Carroll of manipulating Micah into killing his own people but Micah insists it was his own doing.
photo courtesy of FOXMeanwhile, the doctor tells Ryan that Carroll visited him after the lighthouse incident and stayed with him for a month before leaving. His apprentice is about to begin his operation when Mike and Max show up at the house. Ryan is able to free himself and the journalist. Later, they tie the doctor down to the operating table and question him about Carroll, while torturing him in the process. He confirms Carroll has a woman in the FBI who is helping him.
We head back to the camp where Carroll tells Emma he knows how to keep Micah under control by using his narcissism against him. The episode ends with Carroll deciding it’s finally time to announce to the whole world that he is alive.
There you have it. Carroll is now one step closer to having a brand new cult following his every command. What did you guys think of this week’s episode? When do you think we’ll see Lily again? Are you excited/scared/nervous to see what Carroll has in store for Ryan and the rest of the team? Leave us a comment below and tells us your thoughts.
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