Television Review - The Following: "Chapter Two"

The pilot episode of The Following felt like a warm-up; it hadn't even gotten to the meat of its plot yet, which was the fact that serial killer Joe Carroll was conducting his murders from jail. That is the premise of the show, after all, and since Carroll was busy breaking out of jail in that first episode just to get thrown back in it, it seems "Chapter Two" is now an exploration of how Carroll can pull the strings even in the slammer. And it's also an attempt to mix Claire Matthews (Natalie Zea) into the show moreso than she was in the pilot; as Carroll's ex-wife and investigator Ryan Hardy's lover, it's hard to believe that her relationship with Carroll wouldn't factor into the series somehow.

"Chapter Two" focuses on the hunt for Claire's son (the child of Carroll), who was taken at the end of the first episode by his babysitter and the fake gay guys who started the whole investigation. These ties to the outside world are ways in which Carroll's personality and guile are supposed to shine forth. He's influenced the babysitter Emma (Valorie Curry) into doing these terrible things for him because of his prior connections with her during a book signing, and he also introduced her to her new boyfriend  Will (Nico Tortorella).

All of these things come into play in "Chapter Two" as parts of the backstory; The Following certainly has to explain how some individuals are roped into taking Carroll up on his madness and obsession with Poe. Like the pilot, there are many flashbacks to events from the past, some that work and some that don't. Unfortunately The Following has yet to convince that Carroll is as tricky as the show wants him to be; flashbacks with Emma and Carroll don't do much to elicit their connection, and Emma's inevitable killing of her mother is very rushed considering she comes off as a stereotypical bad parent.

The connection between Claire and Hardy, however, is working on a much slower pace. The flashbacks where he's simply there in the room, where the romantic interest hasn't really blossomed from a friendship yet, are good ways into Hardy's life, because for the most part he's an elusive character who shows little emotion. That relationship will develop over time, and The Following isn't trying to push it forward too fast.

But "Chapter Two" is a slow episode because of this exposition. It relies on the flashbacks for plot when really the episode should be moving forward. The missing child hasn't been recovered yet, and the only explosive scenario involves the corrupted cop from the last episode as he breaks into Claire's room and tries to kill her. Of course Hardy saves the day and everything is right with the world for now, but the episode doesn't follow the pressing issues like where the child is, or even Carroll himself.

The Following needs to work on Carroll as a person. He's smart and quick-witted, but where is this all coming from? And though "Chapter Two" tries to show how he recruits his allies, it doesn't explain how a) Carroll is so convincing and b) how the others are so gullible. There's more to the story than this, and I have a feeling that the show is getting there, but "Chapter Two" doesn't do much more to build off the pilot. There's work to be done with all of the characters, and that's somewhat limiting what fear of Carroll the audience might have.