The Following Episode 112
“The Curse”
Written By: Kevin Williamson
Directed By: David Von Ancken
Original Airdate: 8 April 2013
In This Episode...
Agents from every law enforcement agency in the country have descended on the armory to dig through every bit of evidence. There are all sorts of files and training videos, and while everyone is identified by an alias, the FBI is able to link several people on the tapes to a militia group known as Freedom 13, led by a violent separatist named Daniel Monroe who is on the FBI’s most wanted list for dealing arms on the black market. The parents of one of the identified militia men, Bryan Fowler, have a property nearby - Ryan, Debra, Mike (who is back on duty but still has major bruising) and some backup go to check it out.
The Fowler house is rundown, practically a crash pad, and loaded with security cameras, alarms, and laser tripwires. Ryan is attacked by Bryan, who is then taken down by Mike and chained to a radiator. A noise from deeper in the house sends Ryan into the basement, where he comes barrel-to-barrel with Daniel Monroe. Monroe has no choice but to drop his weapon when Mike comes up from behind. Monroe is surprisingly helpful for a militant. He promises he has no connection to Joe, other than supplying him with the armory and some of his militia. Monroe wants “nothing to do with Joe and his house of psychos.” This piques Ryan’s interest, but an alarm goes off so he goes to see who else has joined the party while Mike babysits Monroe.
Joe is frustrated. He has writer’s block and Claire tried to escape with Joey (she was caught and put into an ankle bracelet with a 50 yard radius.) He called Ryan earlier in the day in the hopes of alleviating his writer’s block but Ryan wasn’t interested in playing along. On top of that, Vince has to tell Joe that the authorities discovered the armory. While he is adamant that the armory can’t be connected to the house, he is worried that the armory can - and will - be connected to Monroe, who knows about the compound. Joe sends his flying monkeys to deal with the potential fallout.
Cell jammers prevent Debra from making a phone call inside the Fowler house. She leaves Bryan for a few minutes but doesn’t even leave the house when she hears something. Turning back, Bryan’s throat is slit and Jacob knocks her unconscious. Ryan responds to the alarm and finds Vince sneaking about with a gun drawn. Ryan gives him one warning then shoots him dead. He goes back to where he left Mike and Monroe, only to find Monroe dead and Mike missing. In fact Mike is in another room, behind glass and a bolted door. He is tied to a chair and Joe has a knife to his throat. What follows is supposed to be a tense psychological stand-off, but it falls flat. Joe laments his writer’s block and tells Ryan that he needs to know about his father’s murder. Ryan gives in and tells Joe about his father’s death. They both realize that they are fueled by the same thing - death - but in very different ways. Jacob interrupts, holding Debra like a human shield. He makes Ryan kick his gun to him. Joe thanks Ryan for his help with his novel, and the two men leave. Ryan tries to follow, but they are gone before he can leave the house.
As the authorities descend on the Fowler home, and Mike is taken back to the hospital for a quick checkup, Debra introduces Ryan to the local sheriff who has volunteered his men. The sheriff is, of course, Roderick.
While Joe is busy toying with Ryan, Claire and Joey are playing in Joe’s study. Claire sends Joey to be the lookout while she checks out Joe’s computer. The internet is on strict lockdown, but she does open up Joe’s book. Emma interrupts. She is there to make nice with Claire; Claire wants nothing to do with her and is offended that she considers herself to be part of Claire’s family. Claire slaps Emma; Emma returns the favor. The two start fighting in the hallway. It is far more brutal than a catfight (and without any of the trademark hair-pulling) and Roderick has to break it up.
When Joe returns home, he brings a couple glasses of wine to Claire in her room. All the while he is talking cheerily about his day, as if they were still married and he wasn’t a sociopath. Claire has had enough of this. She insults his book, saying it is worst than his first and, apparently it lays out his entire plan, because Claire tells him that his plan will never work. Joe is infuriated and stops just short of smacking Claire. Instead, he pulls himself together, goes downstairs, apologizes to Emma for ignoring her, and fucks her on the kitchen counter.
Dig It or Bury It?
There seems to be a lack of forward motion here. FBI finds a clue. Ryan and company investigates said clue. They find some people who might know something - and then die. They are cornered by followers, taunted, beaten up a bit, and then the followers escape with nary a trace. And yet, I am still hooked on this show.
Flashback to the Future
Ryan recounts the murder of his father. It was 1983. Ryan was 17 years old. His dad, recently retired, runs into the store, leaving Ryan in the car. He is listening to the radio when gunfire makes him sit up straight. He runs from the car and is confronted by the junkie thief, who puts a gun to his head. Ryan is certain he will die, but instead the junkie runs. Ryan sees his dad on the shop floor, in a pool of blood but still breathing. While others called 911, Ryan held his dad’s hand and watched him die. The junkie was found three days later, dead from an overdose of the drugs that he bought with his stolen cash.
Except that isn’t the whole story; that is what Ryan related to Joe. The true epilogue to the story is that Ryan found that junkie and cooked his heroin for him. With a gun to the junkie’s head, Ryan made him overdose.
Prophecies?
The perimeter closes in on Joe, and the house full of psychopaths starts to unravel. Roderick kidnaps Joey to use him as a bargaining chip.