[[quoteright:293:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Following_2263.jpg]]

->''"I thought I might go more traditional this time, you know, villain, good versus evil. I need a strong protagonist so that the reader can truly invest, a flawed, broken man searching for redemption, and that is you."''
-->-- '''Joe Carroll'''

''The Following'' is a 2013 TV series created by Creator/KevinWilliamson and starring Creator/KevinBacon.

In 2004, Joe Carroll (Creator/JamesPurefoy), a professor of literature at a small Virginia university, murdered 14 female students. He was eventually captured by Ryan Hardy (Bacon), an FBI agent assigned to investigate the murders, who saved the life of Carroll's last victim in the process. However, while doing so, Hardy was stabbed in the heart and forced to leave the bureau due to his injuries. Hardy later wrote a book about the case.

Nine years later, while awaiting execution, Carroll escapes from prison and Hardy is brought back as a consultant. Despite Hardy's skills, intuition and best efforts, Carroll manages to finish what he started by killing the one victim whom Hardy managed to save. His immediate [[ISurrenderSuckers surrender to the authorities]] reveals that the threat he poses [[ItHasOnlyJustBegun has only just begun]], as he demonstrates that he has recruited an army of followers for the purpose of finishing his work.

On March 4, 2013, the show was renewed for a second season, scheduled to air in 2014 and match the first's 15 episodes. On March 7, 2014, it was renewed for a third season, which was the final one thanks to FOX's cancellation of the show.

Not to be confused with the 1998 film directed by Creator/{{Christopher Nolan}}, ''Film/{{Following}}''.
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!!This show contains examples of [[IncrediblyLamePun the]] [[TitleDrop following]] tropes:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A - D]]
* AbortedArc:
** In Season 2, Lily never really follows through on her "I have many more surprises for you, Ryan" threat. It's possible that [[JustifiedTrope she just dropped her vendetta after learning Luke was alive]].
** In Season 3, Dr. Arthur Strauss (and later Theo) tried to find Strauss' students so they could build their own team of serial killers, but neither of them got around to it. This was justified as well; Strauss was [[spoiler:killed by Theo]] and Theo stopped trying after constantly being chased by Ryan Hardy and the FBI.
** The ending of season 3 [[spoiler:has Ryan fake his death to protect his family, while he goes on a quest to take down the people Eliza works for.]] The show's cancellation means this will never be followed up on.
* AbusiveParents:
** Hoo boy. [[spoiler:Parker's mom not only let the leader of her cult rape her daughter (when she was probably 13), but literally forced her back into the bedroom after she ran out screaming.]] Somehow, she still managed to forgive them, and still loves them. Or so she says.
** Emma had a psychologically abusive and, in her own words, slutty mother, who would put her down even in front of Carroll and Jacob.
** Theo's mom would constantly physically beat him.
* AbsenceOfEvidence: With [[spoiler:Carrie dead]], Ryan absent from court, and with an e-mail discrediting Ryan's statement to the jury, [[spoiler:Dr. Arthur Strauss is declared not guilty]].
* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:When Erin tries to pull a gun on Tom, Tom rushes towards her and tries to take it away. Then the gun goes off, and we see Erin bleeding profusely from her abdomen]].
* AffablyEvil: Carroll himself. It's no wonder he's got himself a gang of groupies.
** FauxAffablyEvil: However, in reality, Carroll isn't friendly at all and quite psychotic. [[spoiler:He even taunts Hardy over his heart problem, and plays the dying screams of Sarah Fuller. Hell, after he has escaped from prison, just watch Carroll's phone conversion with Hardy before he murders his lawyer. He basically toys with Hardy and his lawyer.]]
* AffectionateNickname: Joe calls Mandy "Mouse".
* AloneWithThePsycho: Hardy, Parker and Mike go to check out a suspect at the same time Carroll and two of his followers go to terminate him for being a liability. Parker and Jacob play this trope straight; Carroll takes Mike hostage ([[CosmicPlaything again]]) and tries to break Hardy with a HannibalLecture.
* AllAccordingToPlan: This seems to be the case no matter what. The first thing that doesn't go according to plan is [[spoiler:them not successfully kidnapping Claire]].
** Nicely averted in "Welcome Home," where pretty much nothing goes according to plan. [[spoiler:They do manage to kidnap Mike, but he doesn't tell them where Claire is. And then Hardy kills 5 of the cult members and rescues Mike, making the entire episode a defeat for them.]]
** Everything from "Havenport" onward is a series of defeats for Carroll's cult [[spoiler:with the exception of Debra's murder.]]
* AlphabetNewsNetwork: ANC Cable News and NNC, the two fictional news outlets seen throughout the series.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:In the end, Ryan leaves his family for their safety and continues to hunt down serial killers. And he's clearly got his sights set on Eliza.]]
* [[spoiler:AngstySurvivingTwin: Mark, who was already devastated over the death of his mother]].
* AntiHero: Hardy [[spoiler:and Weston from Season 2 onwards]] are not some of the easiest people to get along with, have a less than flattering reputation with the bureau aside from the fact that Ryan caught Carroll, and Ryan is implied to have a drinking problem.
* AnyoneCanDie: This show could end up being the definition of the trope
** [[spoiler:Debra Parker's death was shocking enough in the first season, but Season 2 somehow took it even farther by killing off ''Claire'' in the opening minutes, despite the general consensus that she had the thickest and most certain PlotArmor outside of the two male leads. However, Claire was only FakingTheDead and was shown to be alive at the end of "Unmasked."]]
** [[spoiler:Emma, pivotal to Carroll's character and a major character show, is killed off near the end of the second season.]]
** [[spoiler:Dr. Strauss, the BigBad of the entire series, gets garroted by Theo Noble one episode after his exoneration scheme comes to fruition.]]
** In one of the most shocking examples, [[spoiler:the tenth episode of Season 3 sees ''[[BigBad Joe]] [[ArchEnemy Carroll]]'' die by lethal injection.]]
* ArchEnemy: Carroll to Hardy.
* ArcWords: "I want my life to mean something."
** "This is my Chapter."
* AssholeVictim: Admit it, you '''wanted''' Emma to [[spoiler:gut her mother after witnessing all the shit she put Emma through.]]
** [[spoiler:Emma herself, for that matter, at the end of Season 2.]]
** Nobody was mourning when [[spoiler:Mark]] finally bit it, especially not after [[spoiler:he just crippled and nearly killed Mike.]]
** In "The Reaping", Mike coldly executes [[spoiler:Lily Gray as revenge for her killing his father]]. But at this point in the show, Mike barely knows right from wrong anymore, the police have been incompetent when it comes to catching the villains, [[BreakTheCutie and he's no longer stable, having been physically and mentally tortured throughout the show]]. Given his state of mind, and the dozens of times [[spoiler:Lily]] has gotten away with everything she's done, Mike figured he'd be doing the world a favor killing her.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: In "Mad Love," Mike accurately guesses that [[spoiler:Maggie has Ryan's sister and that he's going to Brooklyn to save her]] just by knowing the name of the caller.
* AxCrazy: Carroll and his followers, to varying degrees.
* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:When Hardy is captured by Emma, Jacob, and Paul. He's able to get Paul and Jacob too terrified to even get near him, and with quiet observations utterly destroys the bond the three have.]]
* BattleAmongstTheFlames: [[spoiler:Hardy and Carroll's final fight in the season finale ends up setting the boathouse they're in on fire. While Hardy escapes, Carroll is trapped and killed (or so they think) when the building explodes.]]
* BecomingTheMask: In Season 1, [[spoiler:the fake gay couple ends up attracted to each other for real]].
* BehindTheBlack: Practically a staple of the show, given all the times a character is ambushed by someone whom they plausibly should have seen coming.
* BerserkButton: Ryan almost strangles Carroll to death when he reveals [[spoiler:Sarah's dead body]]. Later, he breaks Carroll's fingers and has to be pulled off of him by the rest of the FBI team.
** Don't ever tell Carroll he's a bad writer. Or insult Poe.
* BigBad: Carroll and his following.
** TheHeavy: Emma seems like this during the first few episodes of Season 1, but she [[ManBehindTheMan is revealed to be one of several followers being led by Roderick on Joe's behalf]].
** After [[spoiler:Joe's death]], both roles are taken up by [[spoiler:Theo Noble.]]
* BigBadDuumvirate: Joe is briefly part of two in Season 2: one with [[spoiler:Lily]], and one with [[spoiler:Micah.]] [[spoiler:Neither ends well.]]
* BigBadEnsemble:
** Season 2 has this with Joe Carroll and [[spoiler:Lily Gray]] (though the former gets more screentime).
** Season 3 has Joe, [[spoiler:Mark Gray, Arthur Strauss, Theo Noble, and Eliza.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Hardy saving Mike in "Welcome Home"]].
** [[spoiler:Max twice in "Forgive"]].
* BigFancyHouse:
** [[spoiler:The Cult's HQ]] in Season 1.
** [[spoiler:Lily's country estate]] in Season 2.
** [[spoiler:Lily's ''other'' country estate, used as Luke and Mark's hideout in the finale]] of Season 2.
** [[spoiler:Gina Mendez's safe house]] in Season 3.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Lily Gray]].
* BittersweetEnding: The series ends with [[spoiler:Theo, Mark, Joe, and all of the other threats sans [[KarmaHoudini Eliza]] dead, but Ryan is forced to become a vigilante to track Eliza's group down, and he'll never see his family or friends again.]]
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Agent Riley is the first member of the team killed, in the third episode of Season 1]].
* {{Bookends}}: For Season 1, Ryan confronts Joe at a lighthouse. Joe even ''calls it'' Bookends. He thinks its a masterful literary technique. Claire thinks its a predictable cliche.
* BreakTheCutie: Mike Weston's entire character development revolves around this trope. Introduced as a NiceGuy to contrast with the more violent Ryan Hardy, he gets kidnapped and tortured by cult members, [[spoiler:arrives too late to save Debra, and watches Lily Gray slit his father's throat, all while slowly becoming just as dark and violent as Hardy is. He seems fully broken when he ends up killing Lily Gray instead of taking her into custody.]]
** [[FromBadToWorse It gets even worse for him in the final season.]] [[spoiler:Culminating with him getting stabbed three times and coming within a hair's breadth of death.]]
* BrokenPedestal: In Season 2, Joe eventually becomes this to the Gray family.
* BulletproofVest: Weston seems the only character smart enough to wear one, which ends up saving his life when he gets shot by a follower. Contrast with the scores of policemen who die from being shot by cult members!
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:Parker]] at the end of episode 14. [[spoiler:She runs out of air before she can be rescued.]]
* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Paul's death]] certainly seems to qualify.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with [[spoiler:Gina Mendez, who gets violently stabbed by her ex-wife, but survives and safely retires with her new wife in the third season.]]
* CallBack: Near the end of the Season 2 finale, Ryan eats some Chinese food at his home, mirroring the final scene of Season 1 ([[spoiler:except this time, he actually gets to enjoy the meal in peace]]).
* CartwrightCurse: Hardy seems to believe he's under a version of this: after losing several family members, he's taken to pushing away anyone he might love for fear they'll suffer the same fate.
* CavalryBetrayal: During the standoff between the FBI and the cult trio in "The Fall," [[spoiler:one of the local cops turns out to be another cultist, and two others kill and impersonate members of a SWAT team to get a drop on the others and rescue Jacob and Paul.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Chances are, if there is a small character introduced within an episode, they'll be back in the next one with a bigger role.
** There's a reason why, of all the women lining up at the FBI command center, the camera focuses on the one who's gonna commit public suicide...
** Rick, the guy in the Poe mask in "Chapter Two". Seems like a completely random event at first, but then [[spoiler:he reappears right at the end, douses a guy in gasoline, and lights him on fire. [[RefugeInAudacity In broad daylight in front of a coffee cart.]] And then he becomes the next episode's killer of the week.]]
** Rick's wife [[spoiler:ends up being the next [[MonsterOfTheWeek follower of the week]] after being introduced in the previous episode.]]
** "Love Hurts" introduces Ryan's neighbor/ex-flame Molly. She [[spoiler:turns out to be a member of the cult, but more importantly turns up at Ryan's place after Joe seemingly dies at the lighthouse, and stabs both Ryan and Claire in "The Final Chapter"]].
* ChewingTheScenery:
** Maggie sure did enjoy hamming it up in "Mad Love."
** At the end of "Let Me Go", Joe Carroll does so while providing an exposition of his master plan to Hardy in a manner worthy of a cartoon villain.
*** [[spoiler:During his VillainousBreakdown in the first season's final episodes, he outright ''devours'' the scenery.]]
** Jake Weber was clearly having a ''bit'' too much fun playing Micah.
** Jana. [[AxCrazy That]] [[FauxAffablyEvil is]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing all]].
* {{Cliffhanger}}: [[spoiler:The first season finale ends with Molly literally stabbing both Ryan and Claire in the back in Ryan's apartment mere seconds from the end title.]]
* CoolTeacher: Carroll's public image before he was caught.
* CorruptTheCutie: In the first season, Emma and Co. intend to train Joey in the fine art of psychopathic murder. However, this plot point is pretty much dropped entirely.
* TheCorrupter: Carroll is able to twist just about anyone into being one of his cultists.
* CowboyCop: The FBI team have a tendency to kill cultists rather than arrest them (generally in gun battles, but not always). Ryan and Weston take this to an extreme in the season finale, when they [[spoiler:very nearly beat a captured cultist to death and put out his eye in order to get Parker's location. When they end up arriving just a few minutes too late to save Parker, Ryan kills him in cold blood]]
* TheCracker: Carroll is able to circumvent the restrictions placed on the Law Library computer given to him to research for his appeal in order to access the internet and recruit his followers.
* CrazySurvivalist: A militia group calling themselves "Freedom 13" is a main resource for the cult's weaponry and trained personnel.
* CreepyTwins: Luke and Mark.
* {{Cult}}:
** The titular "following" Carroll has.
--->'''Carroll:''' I prefer to call them "friends."
** [[spoiler:Debra]] was raised in one.
** The Korban camp/community.
** Joe Carroll's Season 2 Cult [[spoiler:after he murders Micah and manipulates the cult members there into worshiping him instead.]]
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:After the FBI cuts the power to the church, and Hardy disarms the bombs, what's left of the Korban cult is slaughtered in a matter of seconds in the Season 2 finale]].
* CuteAndPsycho: [[spoiler:Emma, the nanny, who, despite her shy and sweet appearance, killed her mother and is one of Carroll's followers. There's also Sarah's 'gay' neighbours (also followers) - Jacob, who is actually Emma's boyfriend (warning sign in and of itself) and seemed turned on by her killing her mother, and Paul, who is rebounding from his and Jacob's more-real-than-planned relationship by kidnapping a woman and keeping her in their basement.]]
** A lot of Carroll's followers/groupies are this. Most of the female cultists we've met have been these waifish bright-eyed girls with seemingly-bottomless reserves of Crazy to draw upon.
* TheCutie: Emma [[spoiler:used to be this, to ridiculous degree, although, even then, she was a little weird. Then Carroll got hold of her, and she became the above.]]
* DeadStarWalking: [[spoiler:Maggie Grace is credited as a main cast member in the pilot episode, making it seem that her character, Sarah Fuller, will play a major role in the season. [[SacrificialLamb Sarah doesn't even make it to the second episode.]]]]
* ADeathInTheLimelight:
** [[spoiler:Agent Jeffrey Clarke]] in "Boxed In."
** [[spoiler:Neil Perry]] in "Exposed."
* {{Deconstruction}}: Of ReligionOfEvil and the DarkMessiah. The main flaw in Carroll's plan: he is [[SurroundedByIdiots Surrounded by Psychos]].
* DestructoNookie: Louise and Roderick, to the point where it looked like he really would kill her. Then again, she starts by suggesting they go upstairs and break ''another'' headboard, so it might be par for the course between them.
* {{Determinator}}: In 2004, Hardy got stabbed in the heart by Carroll, but was able to shoot him in the back anyway. Even with a pacemaker, that still doesn't stop him.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: For all of Joe Carroll's [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] pretensions, his cult didn't take that long to implode, because that's what happens when you try to get a bunch of [[SurroundedByIdiots violent unstable sociopaths]] on the same page and working together toward a common purpose (a common purpose, mind you, that not even ''Carroll himself'' seemed to be clear on). Only a handful of people involved have enough sanity to even know what they're doing. The only reason the cult is still around in any form at all is because the cops are even more incompetent.
* DiabolusExMachina: Done several times, but there are a few incidents that stand out.
** In the series finale, [[spoiler:Ryan shoots Theo in the forehead. ''Theo gets back up and manages to shove him off a bridge'']].
** At the end of "A Simple Trade," [[spoiler:Mark manages to find Mike and Max, with no help and presumably no way of locating them, and proceeds to attack them both]].
* DiscOneFinalBoss:
** Carroll is arrested and put back in prison by the end of the pilot -- but there's still his groupies and followers to contend with. And that was part of the plan. [[spoiler:Subverted when Carroll breaks out again in "Let Me Go," and gets away for real to take up leadership of the cult directly.]]
** [[spoiler:Micah. At first it seems like he'll team up with Joe and create a BigBadDuumvirate for Season 2, but then Joe poisons him and takes over the Korban cult]].
** [[spoiler:Dr. Arthur Strauss in Season 3, who is killed shortly after being released from prison and just when it seems like he'll replace Mark Grey as the new BigBad]].
* DiscOneFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:The Lighthouse Lake B&B, owned by Sarah's neighbors -- and also the place where she is taken to die.]]
** [[spoiler:Lily Gray's first hideout]] in Season 2.
** The harbor in Season 3 [[spoiler:where the FBI, Strauss, and Mark Gray clash, resulting in the escape of the latter two and the hospitalization of Max.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
** Carroll's killing of [[spoiler:Charlie]] has some decidedly erotic undertones.
** The same can be said for the episode [[spoiler:"For Joe," where Joe stabs Reverend Glenn with a knife. While his victim's screaming in agony, Carroll's ''moaning with ecstasy''.]]
** Pretty much made explicit midway through Season 2, when Carroll is asked directly if killing gives him a sexual release, and his response is a practically moaned affirmative.ŷ
* DownerBeginning: The second-season premiere depicts the aftermath of the Havenport Tragedy: [[spoiler:Mike Weston has been suspended from the FBI pending a review of his conduct during the investigation. And at some point during the intervening year, Hardy hit rock-bottom, ending his friendship with Mike and becoming something of a Conspiracy Theorist.]]
* TheDragon: Emma at first seems to be Carroll's chief acolyte, but later turns out to just be in charge of her cell of the cult. Episode 6 reveals that the cult is apparently led in Carroll's absence by a person known only as "Roderick".
** DragonWithAnAgenda: Roderick turns into this as it becomes increasingly apparent that Carroll cares more about his personal vendetta with Hardy than the cult's goal (whatever that may be). [[spoiler:Roderick ultimately splits from the cult in "Havenport," and Carroll has him killed.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:When Jordy realizes he's been tricked into helping the FBI against the cult, he starts eating his bandages until he chokes to death.]]
** The first person to be identified as a follower commits violent suicide in public.
** Another follower [[spoiler:swallows a cyanide capsule after their capture.]]
** [[spoiler:Jana blows her own brains out after being identified as a mole for Carroll's cult.]]
** In a more tragic example, [[spoiler:Kingston Tanner chooses to commit suicide rather than kill his son or be killed by him, completely wrecking Joe's endgame in the process.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim:
** [[spoiler:Carlos, who's abruptly stabbed in the neck by Luke because "no one liked him anyway."]]
** [[spoiler:Lily Gray. Mike literally ''walks'' behind her, points a gun at her, and then she gets on her knees. A few minutes later, he executes her]].
** [[spoiler:Carrie Cooke. She's kidnapped by Kyle and Daisy, KilledOffScreen, and then forgotten about]].
** [[spoiler:Arthur Strauss, who's murdered with no foreshadowing by Theo the second he turns his back on him. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Theo, as Strauss's best student, would know to give absolutely no warning and waste no time]].
* DroppedAfterThePilot: Jennifer Mason, who it appeared would be Hardy's main partner, was PutOnABus back to Quantico after the pilot, being replaced by Debra Parker.
* DrowningMySorrows: What Hardy has been doing after capturing Carroll until the start of the show. He then does it again for a few months between seasons one and two. [[spoiler:And again after Joe's execution.]]
* DyingAlone: Ryan Hardy and his friend Tyson have a conversation about this in which Tyson says that nobody wants to die alone. Hardy replies that everyone dies alone and Tyson says that while this may be true, there's no reason to live that way.
* DyingToBeReplaced: [[spoiler:Dr. Strauss. He was the number one SerialKiller the FBI was after, up until Theo brutally murders him. Now Ryan and the FBI are out looking for him]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:E - K]]
* EnemyMine: In "Forgive," [[spoiler:Ryan and Joe team up in order to rescue Claire from the Gray twins]].
* EnfantTerrible: Chris Bowlen, the young son and willing collaborator to his SerialKiller father. It's ''really'' hard to feel sorry for him when Hardy and Weston [[CrossesTheLineTwice decide to Jack Bauer him]].
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Jacob still gets along with his mother...although he's not exactly the baddest of bad men.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
** Emma and Paul both genuinely loved Jacob, who cared about both of them. [[spoiler:Didn't stop Emma from abandoning them, though.]]
** Carroll genuinely loved Claire and Joey, as shown by how emotional he got when [[spoiler:he and Joey finally met face to face in "Let Me Go"]].
** Daisy and Kyle adored each-other immensely, [[spoiler:with Kyle's death turning Daisy into "a broken wing bird".]]
** All members of the Gray family were ruthless serial killers, but they still loved each other like any normal family would.
** Neil Perry loved his dementia-stricken father more than anything in the world. [[spoiler:Getting discovered as a killer by his father is what drove him to SuicideByCop]].
** Joe was very affectionate, comforting, and loving to Mandy.
** [[spoiler:Theo Noble loved his sister deeply and went off the deep end after she was murdered.]]
* [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Evil Has Taste]]:
** Carroll admits that Rick running around setting people on fire while wearing a Poe mask is a bit much.
** Carroll expresses revulsion upon finding out that Claire went to a Music/CelineDion concert.
** For all her... ''issues'', Emma was above hurting Joey (though the fact that he's Carroll's son probably helped with that).
** In Season 2, both Emma and [[spoiler:Joe]] think [[spoiler:Lily]] and her family are completely nuts.
** Kyle and Daisy are remorseless killers, and even they are disgusted and terrified by [[spoiler:Mark Gray]]'s behavior, only going along with it [[spoiler:as part of Strauss's plan.]]
* EvilBrit: Who do you think?
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The other major flaw in Carroll's plan is that he is honestly confused as to why the fact that he has killed a few dozen people would be such a barrier to his attempts to reconcile with his family.
* EvilGloating: Carroll is all about it.
* EvilMentor: Carroll to his followers.
** Particularly Roderick. It's indicated that Carroll took him as an apprentice before he was originally arrested, making him Carroll's first follower.
** [[spoiler:Dr. Arthur Strauss was this to Joe, Theo Noble, and plenty of other infamous killers.]]
* EvilVersusEvil: Joe Carroll vs. [[spoiler:Lily Gray]].
* {{Expy}}:
** Carroll could be considered a younger, less cannibalistic [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter.]]
** Alternatively, he's like [[Series/TheMentalist Red John]], but less camera-shy.
** Or worse, he could be considered to be a modern UsefulNotes/CharlesManson.
** Speaking of Lecter, Hardy is basically [[Film/{{Manhunter}} Will Graham]].
* EvolvingCredits: An interesting example. While main cast members who are absent but still alive are still credited, deceased characters are immediately removed from the opening titles when they are killed. [[spoiler:Nico Tortorella, for example, is pulled from the credits with just one episode left of the first season after his character dies, while Kyle Catlett is credited for the rest of the season despite his character being absent (but alive) during the last quarter]].
** Once people caught on the practice, however, the show started subverting it to keep viewers guessing. [[spoiler:Gregg Henry is listed in the credits for the first eleven episodes despite being killed in the sixth, and Joe and Mark are both still in the credits for the two-part finale, despite both being dead and not present outside of a brief hallucination for the latter]].
* EyeScream:
** Carroll's MO. He's a worshipper of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, and takes the latter's belief that the eyes are the window to the soul a little too seriously. As such, he and his followers tend to remove the eyes of their victims (usually ''before'' killing them)
** The female groupie who has a nice encounter with an ice pick while waiting for questioning.
** In "The Final Chapter," Hardy gouges out a cultist's eye in order to make him tell them where [[spoiler:Parker was buried]].
* FakingTheDead: Carroll [[spoiler:and Claire!]]
* FanDisservice:
** The woman who stabs herself strips down to her panties first - revealing that her whole body has Poe quotes written on almost every inch. FetishRetardant just doesn't quite cover it. Then she stabs herself in the eye.
** Sarah is taking her clothing off and sees herself in the mirror, then you notice the scar on her chest... and the other scars on her stomach.
* [[FauxActionGirl Faux]] DarkActionGirl: Emma. She gets taken out by [[spoiler:Roderick]], and [[spoiler:''Claire'']], of all people, manages to pin her against the wall in a soon-to-be CatFight. Getting into a real knock-down, drag-out brawl [[spoiler:swiftly results in her death]].
* FinalGirl: Sarah was this in Carroll's original series of killings. [[spoiler:Subverted in that he finishes her off after he escapes prison.]]
* {{Fingore}}:
** In a less gory example than most, Hardy breaks Carroll's fingers to make him shut up.
** [[spoiler:In a flashback, Carroll's appeals lawyer attempts to fire him as her client. Carroll sends one of his followers to cut off two of her fingers.]]
** In episode 8, [[spoiler:David pretty much ''bites off his thumb'' in order to take the CyanidePill sewn into the base of it.]]
* FirstEpisodeTwist:
** The existence of Carroll's cult, [[spoiler:the fact that he kills Sarah, and that her neighbors are both not gay and part of the cult.]]
** In the Season 2 premiere, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Joe's still alive]].
* FirstNameBasis: Carroll insists on being called "Joe".
** A cultured professor and demanding serial killer like him being so informal about his first name? Could it perhaps only be because it's so close to POE.
** After four episodes of rebuffing Weston's attempts to bond, including a specific attempt to invoke this trope, Hardy finally calls him "Mike" after he [[spoiler:defies Parker to help Hardy save his sister and]] saves his life.
* {{Flashback}}: Used like crazy throughout the first season, to the point where you'd swear this was a Creator/JJAbrams [[Series/{{Lost}} prod]][[Series/{{Revolution}} uction]]. Becomes much less frequent in Season 2, however.
** FlashbackWithinAFlashback: Debra's past is revealed this way in "The Fall."
* ForTheEvulz: Carroll and his cult basically operate using this M.O., while masking their ideals using Poe's work.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The episode "Silence" not-so-subtly foreshadows [[spoiler:Emma's death via her speculative monologue on the experience of dying]].
* FriendlyEnemy: Carroll comes off as this to Ryan in Season 2, even repeatedly calling Ryan his only friend. Ryan doesn't share it.
* [[CaliforniaDoubling Georgia Doubling]]: For Virginia.
* AGodAmI: When you're truly passionate about a subject, you can be enthusiastic about explaining the minutia to others in ways that make them get it so much that they adore your delivery. Joe got it in spades due to his eloquent class discussions, to the point that his love of Poe was, to him, validated so much that, society be damned, he felt it was his inherent right to live in a manner that he felt Poe would approve of. Then he was proud enough to write a novel in the vein of Poe's unfinished work that he truly felt ought to have the same impact on a wide scale that his lectures had for a few hundred students, and when that effort failed he felt justified that those who didn't get it are less than him and deserve to die. Since he has so many young minds already eating up everything he said, it [[IncrediblyLamePun follows]] that he'd coerce others to also live out what he's gleamed to protect himself from punishment. The director seems to have explicitly made Purefoy lampshade Carroll's ego by making him grin broadly every time his cult members gush over him.
* {{Gorn}}
* GreatDetective: Hardy is an interesting one. He has the makings of being one, but due to the his faults and heart problem, he isn't what he used to be. Carroll, however, is planning for Hardy to return to this.
* HannibalLecture: Natch.
* HappilyMarried: Joe Carroll and Claire Matthews appear to be this in the flashbacks that take place pre-murder spree.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Carroll says this word for word when he orders the death of the cult's arms dealer.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: A major theme for both Ryan Hardy and Mike Weston. They may still be the good guys, but they edge closer to the dark side with practically every episode. And in the Season 3 episode "Evermore," Hardy finally admits that he finds satisfaction in killing people.
* HeartbeatSoundtrack: Heard anytime Hardy really exerts himself, due to the damage his heart has endured at Carroll's hands.
* HollywoodAtheist: Joe Carroll, a notorious serial killer who also founded a cult which believes killing is an art from. Micah, who leads another cult based on willing human sacrifice, has also been implied to be one.
* HomePornMovie: In a sense. [[spoiler:Molly, who is Hardy's old flame, next door neighbor, ''and'' a planted Follower of Joe's, had taped every sexual encounter she had with Hardy without him knowing. [[PresentDay Sometime later]], she gives these tapes to Carroll who watches one of the tapes.]]
* HopeSpot:
** "The Siege" is full of them. They get progressively worse, until [[spoiler:Hardy is taken hostage right after finding Joey]].
** In "A Simple Trade," [[spoiler:Max and Mike finally rekindle their relationship and share a [[TheBigDamnKiss Big Damn Kiss]]...just before [[DiabolusExMachina Mark Gray comes out of nowhere and stabs Mike]]]].
* HotForTeacher: At least some of Carroll's groupies may have experienced this.
* HumanSacrifice: In Season 2, [[spoiler:Emma has her wrists slit in a ceremony by the ReligionOfEvil (but luckily for her, it turns out the sacrifice only requires blood, not death)]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: Hardy at times, especially when around Mike. He keeps trying to convince Mike not to be like him, yet he continues to be reckless (and sometimes idiotic) whenever he's around him. He really shouldn't have been surprised when Mike [[spoiler:executed Lily Gray after she surrendered and was on her knees, something Hardy himself did to Alex (in front of Mike, no less) back in Season 1]].
** Also Emma. She claims her mother was a slut and would have sex with multiple men, but she's no better. She has sex with Jacob, Jacob and Paul together, a member of Korban, almost with Mark, and even Joe himself, who's old enough to be her father, more than once
* HypocriticalHumour: One of the male followers of SerialKiller Carroll expresses his desire to snap a kidnapped child's neck, then protests two other followers sharing a room due to the bad example it'll set for said child. Granted, his real reason was jealousy, but still, working with a sadistic killer, kidnapping, and wanting to hurt a kid is maybe just a bit worse than an unmarried couple sharing a room while a child is living in the house.
* IdiotBall:
** Whenever a cultist tries an ISurrenderSuckers on Ryan, or tries to go "what are you going to do, you're an FBI agent and can't torture/kill me", they never seem to remember [[CowboyCop what kind of character Ryan is]] [[BerserkButton or how easy he is to anger]].
** Held often by the FBI.
** In the episode "Havenport," Weston recognizes Sheriff Nelson [[spoiler:as Roderick]] and, instead of discreetly warning Hardy or Parker, tries to take Nelson down himself...in a building full of deputies who could (and do) misinterpret the situation. Naturally, Nelson gets away.
** In "Silence," Emma could have succeeded in her plan to [[spoiler:kill both Claire and Robert, had she not elected to shoot Robert first, thus allowing Claire to get the drop on her]].
** Tom's favorite sport. He steals Mark's laptop from a raid after he discovers [[spoiler:Mike and Max]] having sex. Then he finds out that [[spoiler:Mike executed Lily Gray]]. Instead of turning the laptop in as evidence, he keeps it for no valuable reason. Later, [[spoiler:he destroys the laptop after the FBI starts to track it]]. Even later, he accidentally [[spoiler:kills Erin, ''an FBI agent'', when she thinks he's the mole they were looking for]]. Finally, [[spoiler:he goes along with Mark's blackmail and brings Mike to him--instead of listening to Mike's advice that they can take Mark out together--and is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killed]] as a result]].
** In "A Simple Trade," [[spoiler:upon reuniting with Theo after being held prisoner by Ryan, Penny insists on going back immediately and killing Ryan as revenge for torturing her, even though Ryan is pursuing them. [[TooDumbToLive She ends up dead because of this]]]].
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:Carroll's cult kidnaps the daughter of Carroll's warden in order to coerce him into helping Carroll escape prison.]]
** [[spoiler:He pulls something similar in Season 2, kidnapping the son of a televangalist who called him out, but it seems Carroll wants him for more than just leverage. He forces him to choose between killing a female Korban member or dying himself, and he chooses the former.]]
* ILetGwenStacyDie: Though he was able to save her life before, [[spoiler:Hardy was unable to save Sarah Fuller from being killed by Carroll the second time around.]] Repeated to a brutal degree when [[spoiler:Debra suffocates before Hardy can find her burial site]], and ''again'' when [[spoiler:he doesn't manage to locate Agent Clarke in time to stop Neil from [[CruelAndUnusualDeath boxing him up]].]]
* ISurrenderSuckers: Carroll surrenders to the FBI, which they initially interpret solely as a means to keep Hardy from strangling him to death. Only when he is interrogated at the prison he escaped from does he reveal that his capture was part of his plan.
* IWantThemAlive: [[spoiler:Lily]] has a more reasonable version in "The Reaping." She tells her mercenaries that they can kill all the cultists, she just wants Joe brought to her alive. Ultimately [[spoiler:it isn't trying to take Joe alive that makes them fail, but the sheer number of cultists and the actions of Ryan]].
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: In "The Final Chapter," Hardy does this to a Follower in order to make him tell them where [[spoiler:Parker was BuriedAlive]]. It works, [[spoiler:but she's dead by the time they get there]].
* JackTheRipoff: Jordy seems to believe that the best way to honor Carroll is to copy his work exactly. The other cultists believe they're meant to find their own way.
* JumpScare: When Hardy is attacked by the man in the Poe mask in "Chapter Two".
* KarmaHoudini: At the end of Season 1, [[spoiler:Emma and an unknown number of other cultists are still on the loose]]. [[SubvertedTrope By the end of Season 2, however]], [[spoiler:every known member of Carroll's cult is dead or in prison]].
* KillItWithFire: Rick.
** [[spoiler:Carrie [[PunnyName Cooke]]]] is burnt alive in a van by Kyle and Daisy.
** [[spoiler:Carrie was dead before the fire. They burned her body with the van. Kyle shows Ryan his knife moments later and taunts him with fact its covered with Carrie's blood.]]
** [[spoiler:Theo Noble kills a business executive with a welding torch during his first moments onscreen.]]
* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Louise]] is shot by Hardy, while in the middle of saying [[TooDumbToLive she doesn't think he's got the guts to]].
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: Carroll does this to Hardy after hitting him with a two-by-four and then [[spoiler:proceeding to taunt him with the now-dead Sarah, lowering her body from the ceiling.]]
* KnightOfCerebus:
** Carroll was this in the first season, as whenever he had shown up with a full plan in effect, things would have gone [[FromBadToWorse from bad to even worse then before.]]
** Come season 2, however, [[spoiler:Lily Gray]] and Micah and his cult of batshit insane people are shaping up to this.
** [[spoiler:[[OneManArmy Theo]] [[TheHeavy Noble]] is this for the third season, and one of the most dangerous yet.]]
** [[spoiler:Eliza's organization is a group meant to protect the richest Serial Killers in the world. This group is thought of as untouchable.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:At the end of "The Reaping," Lily doesn't even try to attack Mike when he sneaks up behind her with a gun on her. She gets on her knees and immediately surrenders. Mike still kills her anyway]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:L - R]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: Anyone who aids Carroll and is subsequently killed (usually by the cops, Carroll, or another follower). [[AmoralAttorney Olivia]] comes to mind.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler:Lily Gray is the leader of another cult.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** Carroll's little speech to Hardy at the end of the first episode is just a little bit meta, don't you think?
** And then there's ''this'' exchange, which sounds like a reaction to a studio note:
--->'''Hardy:''' Nobody likes me.\\
'''Weston:''' Well, you're kind of inconsistent and extreme.
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: By season 2, it isn't hard to root for Joe Carroll and whomever's else is helping him. Sure, he may borderline on being both FauxAffablyEvil AND AffablyEvil to his followers, but by season 2, there are even worse people out there than the mass murdering socio-psychopathic SerialKiller like Joe Carroll.
* LoveTriangle: Carroll, Claire and Ryan is a very twisted one. Also [[spoiler:Emma, the nanny, and the "gay" neighbours, who are all a part of the cult. Interestingly, it's not the girl who's in the center of the last one. Seems to develop into an OT3 by the end of episode 4.]]
* MadArtist: Carroll, who considers it all to be a story he's making with Hardy cast as its hero. Also, Rick, in a way, given that he's a busker who recites Poe's works in between his bouts of setting people on fire in broad daylight.
* MadLove: Name-dropped as the title of episode four, which focuses on a M-M-F [[LoveTriangle triangle]] of psychopaths. The trope itself zig-zags all over the place until [[spoiler:they all get cozy together at the end]].
* MadnessMantra: The young woman at the FBI command center repeatedly chants, "Lord, help my poor soul" (Poe's supposed last words). [[EyeScream Then she stabs herself in the eye the way Carroll did to his own victims.]]
* MadeOfIron:
** Mike not only survives [[spoiler:getting stabbed in the back four times, but he ''still'' managed to pull out his gun and kill Mark Gray before passing out]].
** And then there's [[spoiler:Theo, who survives '''''getting shot in the forehead'''''.]]
* MamaBear: Lily Gray is this [[spoiler:to CreepyTwins Luke and Mark]].
* ManOfWealthAndTaste: [[spoiler:Following his escape from prison]], Joe Carroll seems to be enjoying this life style, always having a nice glass of wine of some kind.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Jacob smothering the mortally wounded Paul to death at Paul's request so that he can meet up with Roderick without Paul slowing him down.]]
* MetaFiction: Carroll's first book didn't sell too well, which he attributes to it being, "clearly too avant garde". His next one? He spent a lot of time online, and it seems he found TV Tropes...
** MetaGuy: As a result, Carroll ends up taking his trope to borderline FourthWallObserver levels, sounding less like a serial killer and more like a common troper summarizing a work.
* MetaTwist: DoubleSubversion. The last few minutes of the Season 2 finale [[spoiler:clearly set up a similar cliffhanger to the first season's. However, this time Ryan Hardy ''isn't'' attacked by an intruder... That is, until he wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Mark Gray in his room... Except it's just a nightmare, and the real Mark is elsewhere]].
* MidSeasonTwist: [[spoiler:Carroll escapes, kills his lawyer, and leaves to a gothic manor where an entire house load of followers reside. He also meets his son for the first time.]]
** Another in Season 3: [[spoiler:Dr. Strauss gets suddenly, violently murdered by Theo Noble at the culmination of his schemes.]]
* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Carroll, obviously. [[spoiler:He even manages to escape thanks to the plan he created in prison.]]
* MummiesAtTheDinnerTable: Luke and Mark, though not because of denial but because of their nightmare-inducing sadistic glee, first with a couple they kill and later with [[spoiler:Mandy]].
* NeverFoundTheBody: Played with. [[spoiler:When Carroll is seemingly killed in an explosion in the season finale, they do find partial remains, but Hardy points out that Carroll killed some random civilian earlier, and demands DNA tests to make sure it's not him. By episode's end, it appears it really was Carroll. ''And then in Season 2'', it turns out it '''wasn't''' Carroll and that the evidence was manipulated by someone in the FBI]].
** ''We'' never see [[spoiler:Claire's]] body after she's stabbed in the first season finale, but Hardy takes Weston's word for it. Turns out she's alive and well.
** By Season 3, the FBI have gotten wise to this, and Mike refuses to call off the search for [[spoiler:Mark Gray]] after the latter takes a seemingly fatal dive off of a cargo ship with a serious bullet wound. [[spoiler:He's right.]]
** We never find out whether or not [[spoiler:Theo died after falling off the bridge alongside Ryan. But considering he managed to survive a bullet to the head...]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Amusingly, [[spoiler:things fall apart for the cult ''after'' Carroll escapes and takes over.]]
* NobleDemon: [[spoiler:Charlie promises Joey that the warden's daughter Dana will be OK. Dana is found in a cage unharmed next to a cell containing the body of the psychotic mercenary working for the cult.]]
* NotQuiteDead:
** If you thought [[spoiler:Joe Carroll died in that fiery explosion at the end of Season 1]], think again.
** Same goes if you thought [[spoiler:Claire Matthews really died of her stab wounds at the beginning of Season 2]].
** And again if you thought [[spoiler:getting shot and falling off of a freighter was enough to kill Mark Gray.]]
** Lastly, there's [[spoiler:Ryan, who falls into rushing waters. He survives, although has a limp afterwards.]].
* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: InUniverse. Before he was revealed to be a serial killer, Carroll wrote a novel called ''The Gothic Sea'', an {{Homage}} to the works of his hero Creator/EdgarAllanPoe. The book was hated by critics and flopped when it was released. After he was caught however, it became a national best seller.
* OhCrap: Hardy's team has this reaction in "The End is Near", when they figure out what the references to "Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath" in Joe's message means: [[spoiler:The cult has infiltrated the evacuation center, and they are about to engage in terrifyingly random violence against innocent people...and they have no idea who they are or how many are there.]]
* OneSteveLimit: Briefly averted in the episode where one follower starts specifically targeting women with the same full name as Carroll's wife, of whom there turn out to be a fair number.
* PayEvilUntoEvil:
** Hardy killing [[spoiler:Alex]] in Season 1 as payback for [[spoiler:burying Debra alive]].
** Mike killing [[spoiler:Lily Gray]] in Season 2 as payback for [[spoiler:murdering his father]].
* PetHomosexual: [[spoiler:''Invoked.'' Sarah Fuller's gay neighbours are Carroll's plants, deliberately pretending to be both gay (a bit too well, but that's another trope) and her friends to put her at ease and make her find them non-threatening.]]
* PhoneTraceRace
* PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou: One of the most evocative scenes of the first season has Charlie Ward begging Joe to kill him for his failures with Claire and allowing his hideout to be found by law enforcement. Joe hesitates, due to his God complex in not wanting to take what turns out to be one of his most trustworthy pawns off the board, but ultimately does what he enjoys doing.
* PlotArmor:
** The closest one can get to an in-universe example, as [[BigBad Joe Carroll]] is simultaneously writing and enacting a novel about [[AntiHero Ryan Hardy]]. As he wants Hardy to live until the book's climax, he makes sure his plots and his minions hurt him but don't kill him off before that. From time to time, it seems Hardy acknowledges this effect. The armor is solid, as far as Carroll is in full control of events.
** By Season 3, [[spoiler:Joe Carroll loses his armor, whereas Mike, Ryan, Max, and Claire]] have all managed to survive seemingly perilous odds.
* PoliceAreUseless: A stand-out moment being in Episode 6, where the FBI [[spoiler:somehow manages to bungle a siege they really have no business screwing up.]]
** In the second season, Hardy seems to be convinced of this trope. So much so that he wants nothing to do with FBI while conducting his own independent investigation and goes out of his way not to assist them in any way.
* {{Polyamory}}: [[spoiler:As of Episode 4, it's looking like the Emma/Jacob/Paul love triangle is resolved.]]
* PsychopathicManchild: Jordy Raines.
* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Used in "Love Hurts"
* ARealManIsAKiller: [[spoiler:Jacob]] never has actually killed anyone. Or has he? [[spoiler:As of episode 9, he has; see MercyKill.]]
* RealityIsUnrealistic: [[spoiler:Theo survives getting shot in the head and proceeds to tackle Ryan off a bridge]]. As ridiculous as this sounds, there have been many cases where someone not only survived a gunshot wound to the head, but still remained conscious. [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1171911/Woman-shot-head-husband-makes-tea-police-bullet-passes-safe-zone-brain.html Tammy Sexton, in particular, was conscious enough to make herself and some police officers tea]].
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Hardy absolutely ''burns'' Carroll with one in the season finale. Pretty much calling him nothing more than a no talent hack groupie of an overrated no talent hack and that if he wasn't a SerialKiller, no one would give a damn about him.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Jacob decides he can't stand being part of the cult anymore and tries to leave, only for Emma to kill him.]]
* RedShirtArmy:
** The police, including SWAT officers, to a ludicrous extent.
** Carroll's new cult in Season 2 wears ''all red''. {{Foreshadowing}} much?
* ReligionOfEvil: Carroll made an entire pseudo religion based off the works of Poe. Parker eventually takes to calling it "Carrollism" or as Weston puts it, Carrollers.
** The second season brings us a suicide cult even more fucked-up than Carroll's, and one where the members are ''excited'' to be chosen as a HumanSacrifice!
* RevealingCoverup: Roderick removed the cult's hideout from county records to keep it hidden. This turns out to be the absolute ''stupidest'' thing he could have done, as comparing those records to satellite photos makes it as obvious as a gunshot wound once the FBI started looking for it carefully.
** ...Too bad he didn't give that more thought; erasing a dozen or so estates from the records would forced the FBI to divide their resources.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:S - Y]]
* SadisticChoice: In "Silence," Joe forces [[spoiler:Kingston and Preston Tanner to choose between trying to kill each other or being both killed by Joe's men. Kingston eventually [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]] by killing ''himself'']].
* SanityHasAdvantages: As noted elsewhere on this page, the problem with Carroll's plans are that he and all of his followers are totally nuts.
* SanitySlippage: Mark was never sane to begin with, but [[spoiler:the death of his mother and his twin brother]] really drove him off the deep end, to a point where he now suffers from schizophrenia.
** Hardy starts to suffer this from [[spoiler:Debra's death]] onward. By Season 3, he's [[spoiler:suffering from vivid hallucinations and night terrors involving Joe Carroll.]]
* ScaryBlackMan: Bo, the mercenary employed by the cult in episode 7.
* SelfMadeOrphan:
** Emma's first kill was her overbearing mother.
** Mandy, though it doesn't work out as well for her.
** Theo has his friend Oleg Vukovich aka "The Madman" murder his mother and all his siblings with the exception of Penny.
* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:In hindsight, Kingston Tanner killing himself to save his son was pointless, since Joe ended up killing Preston anyway shortly afterwards]].
* SerialKiller: Carroll, Carroll's followers, Arthur Strauss, Theo Noble, Lily Gray, Mark Gray, Luke Gray, Kyle & Daisy Locke, Andrew Sharp, Neil Perry, and Duncan Banks are all examples from this series, [[spoiler:and Ryan Hardy becomes one after he murders Penny, since he also killed the man who shot his father and Alex Lipton]].
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Jacob's character arc. He spends the entire first season stuggling over whether or not he wants to be a part of the cult, and when he finally decides to leave, Emma kills him.]]
* SherlockScan: The moment Hardy spotted [[spoiler:the photo of Sarah's neighbors]], he instantly knew something was wrong.
* ShipperOnDeck: As incensed as Carroll seemed to be about his ex-wife's perceived infidelity (or perhaps ''because'' of it), he has quite the fixation on Claire filling the role of Hardy's love interest in his story.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: After spending all of "Boxed In" desperately searching for [[spoiler:Agent Clarke, the FBI finally finds him in the end. ''[[DeadMansChest Stuffed inside a metal box]]'']].
* ShowerOfLove: Defied. [[spoiler:Emma tells Paul they won't be having sex in the shower; and they leave their undergarments on anyway.]]
** [[spoiler:And then it's played straight. They either had sex with Jacob in the shower, or immediately after they got out, judging by how the next episode opens.]]
* ShutUpHannibal:
** A non-verbal example; see {{Fingore}} above.
--->'''Hardy:''' If this book ends in anything but your death, you better plan on a rewrite.
** As noted in below, Hardy manages to troll Carroll in s01e13, and starts mocking him. When Carroll tries to turn it around and resume a HannibalLecture, Hardy just hangs up on him.
* SlashedThroat:
** [[spoiler:How Emma kills Jacob.]]
** [[spoiler:How Lily and Mark kill Mike's father.]]
** [[spoiler:How Kingston Tanner kills himself.]]
* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Deadly serious, with barely even a hint of comic relief to spare. Indeed, most of the comic relief that does exist comes from ''Carroll.''
** However, as of some latter episodes of season one, the comic relief switches around from mostly from Weston and Hardy.
* SmugSnake: A huge amount of the cultists are incredibly smug even when caught, as many are Nietzsche wannabes who think of their deaths as part of Joe's ultimate plans. They have a tendency to either commit suicide or be killed in a hail of gunfire.
* TheSnarkKnight: Carroll. A perfect example from episode three:
-->'''Carroll:''' Oh dear. Has somebody been playing with matches?
* SociopathicSoldier: Cult member Charlie is a former soldier who was discharged for psychological reasons, and has since killed at least four people for no other reason than wanting to.
** The cult actually seems to have several former soldiers and PMC members among its ranks. [[spoiler:It is revealed later than many of the cult members were recruited from a disbanded survivalist group]]
* SociopathicHero: Mike and Ryan are borderline versions of this. While they mostly have very little empathy for the murderers they hunt, they care greatly for civilians and their personal loved ones.
* SpiritualSuccessor: There's evidence that "serial killer who works through a cult of slasher groupies" is where Kevin Williamson wanted to take the Scream franchise in Scream 3 and again in 4, 5, and 6, before he was replaced each time. The pilot could've easily worked with horror movies instead of Poe and Sidney in place of Maggie Grace's character.
* StrawNihilist: The central philosophy of Carroll's cult seems to be a twisted reading of Nieztche's philosophy: they talk about creating their own morality and killing those weaker than them simply because they can.
* StalkerWithACrush: Charlie was assigned to follow Claire everywhere, and has since developed feelings for her. Carroll doesn't seem to care.
** Carroll for Ryan: From the moment they meet Carroll seems to find Ryan fascinating. When Ryan's stops him in the flashback Carroll's every action from that moment on is to draw Ryan back to him: the cult; the book; even his ex-wife are all bait to bring Ryan to him. He even goes so far as to [[spoiler:set up one of his cultist to be Ryan's friend with benefits; has her report to him about Ryan's well being and has her bug EVERY room of Ryan's home so when he escapes he has video of everything Ryan has done that he can watch at his leisure. Including having sex.]]
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:Kyle]] gets shot in the back by Ryan [[MadeOfIron and walks it off]]. Later on, after exerting too much energy and not being treated properly, the wound worsens and slows [[spoiler:Kyle]] down to the point where [[spoiler:he can't flee from Ryan and is forced to let himself be shot]].
* TalkingDownTheSuicidal - [[spoiler:Hardy does this to Jordy and tries to do this to the Icepick Lady.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: [[spoiler:Double]] Subverted, Joe abducts televangelist Kingston Tanner and his son Preston, and tries to force one of them to kill the other on a live internet feed. Preston tries to stab Joe only to get pistol-whipped to the ground by a follower. [[spoiler:However, Kingston slits his own throat to save his son, symbolically defeating Joe by proving that people are ultimately good, rather than evil as Joe believes.]]
* TakeThatCritics: Done in-universe in episode three. The murder that starts the episode (which was also the final moment of the previous one) is that of a critic who was especially harsh towards Carroll's novel. Hardy feels that was unusually [[EvilIsPetty petty]] of Carroll.
* ThatManIsDead:
** [[spoiler:Jacob]] tells [[spoiler:Emma]] "The [[spoiler:Jacob]] you loved isn't here anymore."
** [[spoiler:"Mark Drowned: I'm Luke."]]
* ThousandYardStare:
** David tries one on Hardy in episode 8. He's unimpressed.
--->'''Hardy:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Are we having a staring contest?]]
** Mike is similarly unimpressed, and just chuckles and points out how completely ''nuts'' the guy is.
* TitleOnlyOpening: Just a black card with the title ominously fading in. Also shown again at the end of every episode.
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler:Jacob]] is the only cult member who isn't a psychopath and hasn't killed anyone. He even shows signs of a conscience. However, he's ashamed of this and doesn't want to let his friends down, and they resolve to help him get past his hangup.[[spoiler:When he finally does kill someone, it's a MercyKill of the mortally wounded Paul.]]
** Charlie has some shades of this as well. At the very least he has some code of conduct and seems to be a man of his word. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, being the only good person in a group of psychos isn't safe...]]
* TooDumbToLive:
** A common problem with Carroll's followers: due to being sadistic and insane, they can't help but gloat and be smug about their murderous plans, and as a consequence they end up making fatal mistakes and trolling people they ''really'' [[BullyingADragon shouldn't be trolling]]. But Alex from the Season 1 finale takes the cake. Let's review: you've been captured by Hardy and Weston, and they would ''really'' like you to tell them where Debra Parker is. Hardy's a certified badass not above Jack Bauer-ing suspects if the situation calls for it, and Weston's a recovering torture victim who is looking for some payback. Then, after they fully demonstrate their willingness to beat you to death, by breaking your leg and ''gouging your frigging eye out,'' you decide to taunt them when [[spoiler:they don't get to Debra in time.]] At what point in your thought processes did that seem like a good idea?
** In Season 3, [[spoiler:Penny falls victim to this, due to her refusal to flee the theater until she gets revenge on Ryan for torturing her. It's no surprise when Ryan catches up and shoots her]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Deconstructed with Weston. Though at first he's little more than a dogged, eager assistant to Hardy, he gets a lot more badass after he's beaten up by Roderick, and moreso after [[spoiler:Debra dies.]] It's clear that the latter severely disturbed him, and he gets so carried away with violence that he manages to worry even [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique ''Hardy.'']]
* TookALevelInKindness: Well, not exactly kindness but [[spoiler:Carroll, of all people, seemed to have more or less softened up in the year he was supposed to be deceased. Whilst he still maintains his bloodlust, he generally seems more laid back than he was once. That is, until Lily and the twins entice him out of hiding.]]
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The promos for season 2 pretty much confirm [[spoiler:that Carroll is alive]].
* {{Troll}}: Carroll loves to call Hardy just to give him a HannibalLecture. In episode 13, Hardy manages to troll Carroll [[spoiler:mocking him over the fact that Roderick has been arrested, and that Roderick kidnapped Joey. Then he just hangs up on Carroll, who does not take any of this well.]]
** It also backfires in episode 12. Carroll calls Hardy, who reveals they found the cult's armory/training ground. Carroll and the other cultists quickly realize this means they're screwed.
* TrueCompanions: Ryan, Mike and Max, as of mid Season 2 onwards.
** On the villain side, Lily's cult who she considers her children and family.
* {{Ubermensch}}: Check out Carroll's flashback lecture in episode three about "making your own morality". Though he's probably just pretending to be this in order to give himself and his followers an excuse for their actions.
* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler:Turns out Rick's scared wife, Maggie, is not only a follower too, but was a serial killer long before Joe started 'making friends'.]]
* VillainousBreakdown:
** Carroll steadily starts having one [[spoiler:once he breaks out of prison for real. In episode 13, he totally loses it.]]
** [[spoiler:Roderick]] throughout "Havenport."
** [[spoiler:Lily]] at the end of "Fly Away," after [[spoiler:Luke is (seemingly) killed before her eyes AND Joe rejects and abandons her]].
** [[spoiler:Theo Noble]] in "A Simple Trade," after [[spoiler:watching his sister die right in front of him]].
* VillainousFriendship: Carroll and Roderick's relationship. [[spoiler:Carroll even took the blame for two people Roderick killed just so that he could stay out of prison and have a chance to make something of himself.]]
** This friendship becomes more and more strained as time goes on (see DragonWithAnAgenda above).
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Roderick is a well respected small town sheriff.
* WeaponSpecialization: Carroll told his followers to find their own voice (gimmick) for their killings.
** PsychoKnifeNut: Carroll, naturally. Most of his followers follow suit, such as Emma (well, Paul thinks so, as would [[spoiler:her dead mom]]), Jordy, and even [[{{Pyromaniac}} Rick]] has a moment to suggest a new appreciation for knives...
** {{Pyromaniac}}: Rick prefers fire to knives, though he did use a knife for one of his killings.
** ToThePain: Maggie, Rick's wife. [[spoiler:She wants Hardy's sister to watch his death occur after placing electromagnetics around his chest in order to stop his pacemaker. She believe that seeing Hardy's slow and painful death would be the only punishment for her. Of course, she changes her mind when she reminds Hardy that there a lot of knives in Hardy's sister place of business.]]
** GunNut: Hank. While only given a little screen time so far, he has been shown to have a fully stocked gun rack, and brings a tote bag full of handguns when he goes to meet Emma, Jacob, and Paul. [[spoiler:He also seems to be handy with hedge clippers.]]
** ImprovisedWeapon: Seems to be Paul's preferred tactic. [[spoiler:So far he's killed two people with a hoe. Also, when Megan escapes from the basement and Emma and Paul have to chase her; Emma takes a knife, Paul goes unarmed.]]
** NeckSnap: The twins Mark and Luke favor this and/or strangulation. Since they pose their victims afterwards in re-enactments of scenes from Joe Carroll's book, they're clearly trying to keep the bodies as intact as possible.
** JackOfAllTrades: Theo Noble is skilled in many forms of murder. So far we've seen him use razor wire, hatchet, gun, and blowtorch.
* WeAreEverywhere: Though no one in the cult has said this yet, it certainly seems to be the case.
** David says as much in episode 8 from Season 1. Hardy and Mike both point out he's paraphrasing Bundy. Quite badly too.
* WhamEpisode:
** "The Siege": [[spoiler:Joey makes contact with his mother, tries to escape and nearly succeeds. The FBI manages to find Emma, Jacob, and Paul's hideout. Hardy tries to rescue Joey, only to be captured just as the cult goes into a standoff with law enforcement.]]
** "Let Me Go": [[spoiler:Carroll escapes (for real this time), and meets with the rest of the cult. It's also finally shown just how large the cult really is]].
** "Havenport": [[spoiler:Roderick's cover is blown, which triggers a VillainousBreakdown that causes him to betray the cult and kidnap Joey in order to gain leverage with law enforcement. The FBI finally rescue Joey when Jacob decides to let him go. Roderick gets killed by the cult when they try to retrieve Joey themselves. Claire is able to convince Carroll that she might be on his side, only to stab him; this causes him to finally give up on wooing her, and deciding to kill her instead.]]
** "The End is Near": [[spoiler:The FBI finds the cult's headquarters, but the cult's already scattered by the time they arrive. Several cultists cause a massacre to provide a diversion so that Carroll can escape with a captive Claire; during the chaos, Parker is kidnapped by a couple of cultists and BuriedAlive. Meanwhile, Jacob decides to abandon the cult, but when he tries to get Emma to leave with him, she kills him.]]
** "[[SeasonFinale The Final Chapter]]": [[spoiler:Parker dies before Hardy and Weston can save her. Hardy finally confronts Carroll, and Carroll is killed in an explosion (the FBI appears confident they found at least some of his body). Hardy and Claire return to Hardy's apartment, and are attacked by Molly, who stabs them both, seconds before the screen cuts to black.]]
** "[[MidSeasonTwist Sacrifice]]": [[spoiler:We are introduced to a cult of people worse than Joe's following, and they show they mean business by "mock sacrificing" Emma, nearly killing her and pissing off Joe Carroll even more. But then the real [[TitleDrop sacrifice]] is revealed as Lily and Mark Gray arrive at the house of Mike Weston's father and kill him over a taped video call in retaliation for Luke, whom they mistakenly believe was killed by Weston. The episode ends with Weston crying while Hardy tries to console him.]]
** "The Reaping": [[spoiler:Hardy lets himself get captured by Carroll. Carroll successfully convinces Preston to kill someone in exchange for his life. Lily Gray's commandos attack the Korban cult, killing dozens (although Emma, Joe, and several others manage to escape). Hardy frees himself and kills most of Lily's commandos. It all ends with Mike killing Lily Gray while she's on her knees with her hands in the air in front of Hardy and Max, indicating that Mike is broken beyond repair. Oh, and Claire gets Carrie to tell Joe on live TV that she's still alive]].
** "Silence": [[spoiler:Joe Carroll and what's left of the Korban Cult break into a church and take everyone hostage. When Kingston Tanner confronts him, Joe tries to force him and his son to kill each other, at which point Kingston chooses to kill himself. Claire flees from FBI custody to try and find Joe, but she runs into Emma and Robert instead. Emma kills Robert, Claire kills Emma, and shortly afterwards, Mark and Luke show up and kidnap Claire. Lastly, Ryan and Mike sneak into the church, but Joe captures Mike, fully prepared to kill him if Ryan doesn't show himself. He doesn't, and then a gunshot goes off...]]
** "A Hostile Witness": [[spoiler:Kyle and Daisy kidnap and murder Carrie Cooke. Dr. Arthur Strauss is declared not guilty in trial due to Carrie's death and an e-mail discrediting Ryan's testimony. Kyle, having sustained a gunshot wound, commits SuicideByCop. At the end, Ryan, Max, and Mike find Mark, Daisy, and Dr. Strauss. Mike leaves Max to go after Mark, which leads to Daisy subduing Max and resulting in her and Strauss getting away. Just when Mike is about to execute Mark, Ryan persuades him not to, giving Mark enough time to escape before they can apprehend him.]]
** "Reunion": [[spoiler:Dr. Strauss is reunited with Theo, his best student, who proceeds to violently strangle him to death for forcing him to come out of hiding. And Tom, who's still spying on Max with the laptop he stole, overhears Max confessing that Mike executed Lily Gray]].
** "Evermore": [[spoiler:Joe organizes a hostage situation on the day of his execution, demanding a final confrontation with Ryan. Ryan finally confesses to Joe that he gets satisfaction out of killing the Followers and other killers, and later demonstrates this by killing several prison inmates in ways almost as brutal as Joe's. Then, in the final moments of the episode, Joe gets taken back to his scheduled execution... and ''dies''. No escape plan and no higher scheming: the BigBad dies slowly and helpless while staring into the eyes of the man he obsessed over.]]
** "The Edge": [[spoiler:Mark and Daisy find Tom with Theo's help. They force him to hack into the FBI mainframe and deliver Mike Weston to them in exchange for the evidence regarding the laptop he stole and Sloan's murder. Tom follows through with it all--and is promptly murdered. Meanwhile, Ryan finds Theo's sister, Penny, takes her to his apartment, and begins to torture her. Shortly after she gives up information regarding Theo, Theo contacts Ryan, telling him he's willing to trade Mike for Penny]].
** "A Simple Trade": [[spoiler:Penny and Mike are both rescued, but Daisy tries to kill Hardy and fails. As Theo and Penny begin to flee, Penny decides to stay behind to try and kill Ryan. She fails and is promptly shot to death. Theo, having no one (besides Daisy) left, decides he's going to kill Ryan once and for all. After the rescue, Mike and Max finally admit their love for each other, only for Mark to ambush Mike and stab him in the back multiple times. As Mark gets ready to kill Max, Mike uses his last ounce of energy to kill Mark, shortly before he passes out.]]
* WhamLine:
** "Love Hurts"
--->'''Claire:''' [[spoiler:Take me to my son]].
** "Havenport"
--->'''Carroll:''' [[spoiler:I am afraid that it is time for Claire to die.]]
** "The End is Near
--->'''Emma:''' [[spoiler:I love you, Jacob. But I love Joe too. And I don't know how to love you both.]] ''[[spoiler:[slits his throat]'']]
** "Kill the Messenger"
--->'''[[spoiler:Mark:]]''' [[spoiler:Mark drowned. [[SplitPersonalityTakeover I'm Luke.]]]]
* WhamShot:
** In the Season 2 premiere, the camera follows a bearded man walking in the shadows toward a house. When he gets in the door, [[spoiler:it pans to reveal Joe Carroll, revealing that he survived the explosion in the first season finale.]]
** An InUniverse example: one shot of the security tape from the subway murder instantly drives home for Ryan that [[spoiler:Lily is part of the cult.]]
** In "A Simple Trade," just after Mike kisses Max inside her car, Mike veers his head backwards, [[spoiler:and we see Mark standing behind him]].
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim:
** In "Let Me Go," [[spoiler:as Carroll is about to escape, he has Hardy at gunpoint, but lets him live. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as Carroll still has plenty planned for Ryan to go through.]]
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in "The Reaping":
--->'''Robert:''' Why doesn't Joe just kill Ryan?\\
'''Emma:''' [[IdiotBall Joe loses the ability to think clearly around Ryan.]]
** Averted in "A Simple Trade." After missing his chance several times, [[spoiler:Mark catches Mike inside a parking garage and wastes no time stabbing him in the back.]].
* WickedCultured: Joe Carroll, of course. Well he ''thinks'' he is. Hardy and Claire both think he's just a depraved sociopath with a huge ego, and they're probably right.
* XanatosSpeedChess:
** Carroll is a master.
** Theo Noble is even better at it. Fitting, since he was considered the best student of the man who trained Joe.
* YankTheDogsChain: The end of "A Simple Trade." [[spoiler:Penny is dead, Daisy, Theo, and Mark are all on the run, Ryan is going to rehab, Gwen tells Ryan she's pregnant, and Mike and Max tell each other that they love one another. Right before the episode ends, Mark shows up out of nowhere and brutally stabs Mike in the back]].
* YouHaveFailedMe: Subverted in "Welcome Home". [[spoiler:Carroll doesn't kill Roderick or the others for failing to learn where Claire is. While disappointed that Charlie has now failed him twice, he doesn't kill him either. Charlie, however, ''insists'' on being killed as punishment for his failure.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
** In "Let Me Go," [[spoiler:Charlie kills mercenary Bo after the latter finishes his role in Carroll's escape.]]
** Also in "Let Me Go," [[spoiler:Carroll kills his lawyer after she helps him escape from prison.]]
** In "The Edge," [[spoiler:after serving his purpose to Theo and Mark, Tom is promptly rewarded with some acid to the face and a bullet to the head]].
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Debra, Hardy's new superior, keeps on telling him not use any word relating to the word cult. He later finds out she's the head of the FBI cult [[note]]sorry, "Alternative Religions"[[/note]] unit.
** This also might have something to do with Parker's history and [[spoiler:her growing up in a cult]].
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