maggie grace the following | pinartarhan.com

With the haters hating and lovers loving, The Following has scored over 10,000,000 viewers and if Fox keeps its word of one episode every week, we will be in for a treat. And with luck, second season or not, we will get a cool ending, since Bacon has only signed for one season.

Kevin Bacon-The Following — Kevin Bacon finds creepy Poe masks in Emma’s old place. Yes, he is weirded out like us. Image via zap2it.com.

Episode 2 wasn’t as thrilling as 1, but it was gritty, dynamic and it set a nice little background for what’s more to come. My only problem was that there was too much background for Emma, the babysitter. What I didn’t like about it was that she was so gullible and readily so disturbed that Carroll didn’t even have to remove a finger to impress her.

This has a pro and a con: It shows how it is possible that Carroll (James Purefoy) has such a devoted cult. Many were already ready and willing. The con? We are supposed to believe Carroll is one charismatic and influential psychopath path, but if groupies are groupies without any effort from him, it makes the followers psychotic but it doesn’t add to the hype of the character they are building.

As for Hardy (Kevin Bacon) needing to toughen up, I have to agree with Carroll there. Now, Hardy was never a sissy- and the fact that Grace died isn’t his fault. The bureau is still full of idiots that don’t listen to him. They are getting a little wiser, but Hardy does still need to up his game. For one, Carroll has an army of young and fit psychopaths. But he expects this to happen with Hardy’s heart, something he gave Hardy in the first place, is beyond me. Maybe we should call Tony Stark about that…

I do like the conflicts between the trio, Emma and the two non-gay neighbors. One of the guys is dating her while the other resents her. And I do have a feeling the resenting one does have bi tendencies, to say the least. I’d enjoy it if he took down Emma.

I also like the cult-expert agent, played by Person of Interest’s Stanton, Reese’s former CIA partner, Annie Parisse. She is cool, and whether she turns out to be a mole or not, she is a good addition.

As for Claire (Natalie Zea), Carroll’s ex, I loved the dialogue where Carroll asks whether she quivered with Hardy’s every touch and she says “yeah, it did.” Need I mention Hardy was watching along with other FBI agents and Carroll knowing this?

The only 2 things that will make me hate The Following:

Claire or Hardy turning out to be on Carroll’s side. It’d be the equivalent of Patrick Jane turning out to be Red John, and it is a big no-no. Other than that, Williamson can bring it on!

the following-kevin bacon-james purefoy — The Following starring Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy, Natalie Zea & Shawn Ashmore.

Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) is a “retired” FBI agent who quit the agency after catching the serial killer John Carroll (James Purefoy) whose victims were his female university literature students and were killed brutally, with references to classic horror writer Edgar Allen Poe.

Not everyone wants him back, and he doesn’t want to be back. But when John escapes from prison to kill his only surviving victim, Sarah (Maggie Grace), he doesn’t have a choice. Sarah is heavily protected, and so is Claire (Natalie Zea)-John’s ex-wife.

Even though Ryan Hardy has literally written the book on Carol, things will be even more difficult this time: Carroll has formed a huge following-ready to kill or be killed for him. And Ryan has a battery operating heart, no longer in great physical condition, and the FBI agents working for him won’t always listen, with the exception of fan Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore). Oh, and there is another minor complication-Hardy had an affair with the killer’s ex-wife…

Let there be blood…Kevin Williamson Style

There is anyone who knows to utilize clichés better than anyone else, it is the writer/creator Kevin Williamson. It’s not to say he doesn’t thrown a bit originality here and there, but his signature is to get well-known clichés, make some homage, make fun of them a little, add something from himself and get hits, no matter the genre.

But while the first Scream movie was good to watch, the series became a bore, leading to way too many slashers, several of them written by Williamson himself.

But just when you thought he is all about slashing teens, he came up with Dawson’s Creek, where all the teen problems and angst came together pretty seamlessly, until he decided to go all Melrose Place on us and have all the characters hook up with each other.

But he is great with beginnings, and The Following pilot, to me, is the best thing he has ever done. Admittedly, I was positively biased towards the show. Hello, it is regular Kevin Bacon on TV! And it does have a compelling plot, and I do love a good cat and mouse.

As for the clichés some viewers have been complaining about, well stuff was probably original when Poe wrote them, but today, you need to give the writers a break. I am not saying it is OK to write sloppy and stupid, but The Following makes the best of its material.

And Williamson has picked the best cliché to begin with. And the first fictional serial killer Purefroy’s character reminded me of is Red John of The Mentalist. It made me feel like they were showing how Red John is operating.

I like that the agent didn’t lose a family member of his to the killer (The Mentalist, Se7en, The Watcher…), I like that with his first encounter with the psycho, he got injured right away before going all Taken on Purefroy’s ass. I like that he really cared about Sarah, but got involved killer’s wife. I liked that the killer had an unsuspecting wife and a son.

The pilot was really something, but then again, it is all relative, and it does depend on what you expect. I got what I was waiting for:

A chilling and cool thriller with interesting character interactions, on-the-edge protagonist, and that the fact that the villain is writing his “next novel” with the ex-agent.

So yeah, it’s well worth watching, even if just to check out Kevin Bacon alone.

There are few actors who ace the psycho, the good, the grey, and Bacon is one of them.

P.S. Another cliche that works? Marilyn Manson’s version of Sweet Dreams in a horror/thriller setting.

The Following 1×02 Chapter Two Review: Still cool, and yes, Hardy Needs to Toughen Up. But how?

The Following starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy: Epic Start