Line #44 YMMV/TheFollowing


1	* AlasPoorScrappy: For some fans, [[spoiler:Tom's death. [[TooDumbToLive Even though he brought a lot of it on himself]], he was one of the few major characters on the show who actually ''was'' a good man, not a DesignatedHero. Considering he got acid to the face before his death, and the fact that not even Max cared the slightest about his death, was very harsh, even for him]].
2	* AntiClimaxBoss:
3	** Many fans were disappointed when Joe and Ryan's climactic fight in Season 1 abruptly ended with Joe becoming trapped in a ring of fire and presumably dying in an explosion. However, this was {{subverted\|Trope}} when Joe turned up alive in Season 2, leaving open the possibility for a more epic showdown.
4	** [[spoiler:Lily Gray]] in Season 2. [[spoiler:For all her power and resources, she dies rather easily, and her big confrontation with Joe never even happens.]]
5	** [[spoiler:Joe Carroll in Season 2. Again. After a brief fight with Hardy, Hardy knocks him to the floor and points a gun at him. Carroll has a VillainousBreakdown and begs Hardy to kill him. He doesn't, and Joe is arrested shortly afterwards.]]
6	** [[spoiler:Dr. Arthur Strauss]] in Season 3. [[spoiler:Despite being the BigBad for the ''entire series'', not to mention Joe's mentor, [[SurprisinglySuddenDeath he's killed very unexpectedly]] by Theo the second he turns his back on him.]]
7	** [[spoiler: Joe Carroll ''again'', presumably for the final time]] in Season 3. [[spoiler: In the end, it isn't a gunshot or an epic fistfight that kills him. After his hostage situation is resolved, he's quietly led to the public execution chamber and lethally injected [[DiesWideOpen as he stares lifelessly at Ryan]].]]
8	* ArcFatigue: Fans are starting to get frustrated over the subplot involving Joe and Ryan's relationship (and [[CreatorsPet Joe Carroll]] in general). Even after [[spoiler:he dies two-thirds of the way into Season 3]], ''he is still on the show'' shoving the new and/or more plot-relevant subplots to the side. It's created a situation in which neither fans who wanted [[spoiler: him written out for Season 3 and feel he no longer fits in the show (obviously he was not) nor fans who love the character and want him to stay (he appears only sporadically and is almost totally OutOfFocus) can be satisfied with his role in the show now]].
9	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Many episodes end with dark metal/electronic/ambient background songs. These have included:
10	** "[[Music/{{Eurythmics}} Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)]]" by Music/MarilynManson (''Pilot'').
11	** "Angel" by Music/{{Sepultura}} (''Chapter Two'').
12	** "If I Had a Heart" by [[Music/TheKnife Fever Ray]] (''Let Me Go'').
13	** "Bad Moon Rising" by Mourning Ritual (''Resurrection'').
14	** "Stand by Me" by Ki:Theory (''Trust Me'').
15	** "Oats in the Water" by Ben Howard (''New Blood'').
16	** "Promise Land" by Hannah Miller [[note]]Not exactly the same genre as the others on this list, but still a very lovely song[[/note]] (''A Hostile Witness'').
17	** "David" by Noah Gundersen (''Reunion'').
18	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Joe Carroll. He's either a brilliant villain who's well-loved for his chemistry with Ryan Hardy and for his ability [[XanatosSpeedChess to quickly make any situation work in his favor]], or he's a boring CreatorsPet with the same death-craving subplots who's stealing the spotlight from other, more interesting killers.
19	* BrokenBase: [[spoiler:Joe's death.]] Some people thought his death was [[AntiClimaxBoss very underwhelming]]; others thought it was a proper way for him to go. Some people are upset about his death and believe the show is doomed without him; others are glad that he's gone and believe the show can finally move forward. And then there are those who, understandably, believe that HesJustHiding. Although the fact that the show has been cancelled, rendering the third season the final one, remedies some of the complaints and makes the questions of his possible survival unlikely.
20	* CompleteMonster: [[ManipulativeBastard Professor Joseph "Joe" Carroll]] is a SerialKiller and [[FauxAffablyEvil falsely charming]] cult leader corrupting other killers. With a massive number of bodies behind him, Joe even [[EvilMentor raises his own son to become a murderer]] and tries to kill his ex-wife when she interferes. When his cult is dismantled Joe joins another one, killing their leaders and [[DarkMessiah taking over to twist even more]] into following him in the ways of killing, and ushering in yet another spree. When a televangelist outs him on his show, Joe takes revenge by kidnapping the man's son as well as a church full of people and forces the televangelist to kill an innocent woman before slitting his throat. Attempting one final escape after his arrest, Joe kidnaps a group of people and threatens to kill them lest hero Ryan Hardy admit he loves killing as much as Joe does.
21	* CrossesTheLineTwice: When [[spoiler:Micah]] is on the floor gurgling as he dies from poison, Carroll nonchalantly shushes him.
22	* DesignatedHero: As detailed above, Ryan and anyone in his orbit will inevitably become this as time goes on, since the show seems to share [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality his warped views on justifiable force in the line of duty]]. [[SubvertedTrope However]], the show now seems to be more aware of this, and a big deal is being made about how far Ryan has fallen almost to Joe's level. [[spoiler: In one of his final confrontations with Joe before the latter's execution, he even admits that he gets ''satisfaction'' from pulling the trigger on the killers.]]
23	* DracoInLeatherPants:
24	** [[FanNickname The murder twins]] have been nothing but brutal, twisted, sadistic psychopaths since their first appearance on the show, but that doesn't stop some of the fanbase from squealing over them, even as they torture [[TheWoobie Mandy]], and some of them were actually horrified when Weston beat one of them to a pulp.
25	** Some of the minor cult members count to the point where the fanbase will become delighted as they ''murder innocent people.''
26	** Theo Noble. One of the most dangerous serial killers on the show with a body count as high as Joe Carroll's, and he's the one character almost every fan of the show adores about Season 3. Some even like him ''more'' than Joe.
27	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
28	** Jacob Wells. It helps that he's one of the few cult members who isn't AxCrazy, who's AffablyEvil, and whose character is fleshed out the most in Season 1.
29	** Fans are already taking a liking to Theo, Dr. Strauss's best student. He's the exact ''opposite'' of every other cliché AxCrazy serial killer in the show, he has various PetTheDog ''and'' KickTheDog moments, and his calm, cold attitude makes him quite frightening compared to many other killers. It helps that he's played by Michael Ealy.
30	* FridgeHorror:
31	** According to Charlie, the mercenary Bo is not part of the cult. He has "useful skills," but he's too unstable to be an actual member. Think about that. There are people out there that ''the Carrollists'' consider too crazy to join them.
32	** Joe Carroll was always good at manipulating people, but he's taken a scary level in competence with the second season. It doesn't take him long to insinuate himself into the Korban and assume a position of power. And it coincides with his admission that he's a terrible writer. The thing that caused the rift between Joe and Roderick was the fact that Joe was more concerned with his new art project than tending to the daily workings of his cult. And now, Joe doesn't have that distraction any longer. He's not deluding himself anymore with the idea that he's any kind of artist. [[TheUnfettered Now he's a full-time psycho.]]
33	* GeniusBonus: Many of the main characters share the last names of classic authors ([[Creator/ThomasHardy Hardy]], [[Creator/LewisCarroll Carroll]], [[Creator/DorothyParker Parker]], etc.). What significance this has, if any, has yet to be demonstrated.
34	* HarsherInHindsight:
35	** Allison Mack's guest appearance on a show about a cult became this post-NXIVM.
36	** Joe Carroll mentions to Hardy that [[spoiler:when he dies, so will Hardy]]. Not even two weeks after [[spoiler:Joe's death]], FOX cancelled the show. Meta LampshadeHanging doesn't even ''begin'' to cover it.
37	* HesJustHiding:
38	** Many people believed that [[spoiler:Joe Carroll]] was still alive at the end of Season 1. They were right.
39	** [[spoiler:Claire]] got this treatment in Season 2, and [[spoiler:was indeed revealed to be just hiding halfway through the season, having been placed under heavy witness protection]].
40	** After the Season 3 episode "Evermore," [[spoiler:the fandom became rife with speculation that Joe secretly survived his execution]]. Sadly, given FOX's cancellation of the show, this is unlikely.
41	* HilariousInHindsight:
42	** Carroll gives his mission statement at the end of the pilot; his ode to Poe, ''The Gothic Sea", was "clearly too avant-garde. Lost in literati pretense. Now my new story... will play to a much wider audience." On April 4th, 2013, The Following's [[DuelingShows rival show]] Series/{{Cult}} was cancelled due to a perceived lack of viewership, while The Following was renewed for a second season, thus demonstrating the validity of Carroll's belief that a straightforward tale of sex and violence would appeal to a much wider audience than something requiring much more investment. '''''Meta beyond imagination.'''''
43	** Not only that, but its ''other'' rival show, ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'', which consistently got praise from critics for being more "avant-garde" than a lot of broadcast shows (including ''The Following''), did rather poorly in the ratings itself, even for NBC. Like ''The Following'', it ended up getting cancelled in 2015.
44	** Joe's meta, future-predicting nature reaches its head [[spoiler: near his death]]. In the episode featuring that event, he makes it clear that [[spoiler: when he dies, so too will Ryan]]. A few weeks after the episode aired, FOX announced that the series has not been renewed for another season. Crosses over with HarsherInHindsight for fans.
45	** Sam Underwood [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiwZJmqcMb0#t=57 has said]] that during the audition process for Season 2, Mark and Luke were advertised as only one character with a SplitPersonality, in order to avoid spoilers. Come Season 3, and [[spoiler: that's exactly what Mark has become.]]
46	* HoYay: Ryan Hardy and his old friend Tyson; their episode is practically dripping with HoYay. Tyson even refers to them as "married"!
47	* IKnewIt:
48	** A lot of fans guessed that [[spoiler:Carroll was still alive before they even showed him in the season two promos]]. They were right.
49	** Likewise, many fans were proven correct when [[spoiler:Claire turned up alive in the middle of Season 2]].
50	* JerkassWoobie: Mark and Daisy. They're both serial killers for sure, but they're also both very lonely individuals who have [[spoiler:lost their loved ones and have no other friends or people to relate to]].
51	* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt:
52	** Pfft! Yeah, like they're really gonna kill off [[spoiler:Debra Parker after she was BuriedAlive]]. ...[[SubvertedTrope Oh,]] [[AnyoneCanDie wait.]]
53	** A lot of fans were convinced that [[spoiler:Claire really died in the Season 2 premiere]], since the writers tend to kill off characters left and right. It turns out that [[spoiler:Mike helped her fake her death before putting her under Witness Protection]].
54	* MoralEventHorizon:
55	** Even some of the most diehard fans of Lily and the murder twins were horrified when they [[spoiler:tortured and killed Mandy before setting her dead body up to eat with them at dinner]].
56	** Theo [[spoiler:murdering his wife and leaving his children behind]].
57	* NarmCharm:
58	** [[spoiler: Charlie's death]] is fairly ridiculous in execution, but the scene itself is shot beautifully.
59	** Many scenes involving the over-the-top-crazy Korban cult in Season 2. It helps that Joe and Emma obviously aren't taking their beliefs seriously.
60	*** The [[spoiler:"PRAISE JOE!"]] scene is especially silly, laughable, and still somehow awesome.
61	* NightmareFuel: This show is just built on it.
62	* ParanoiaFuel: From what the show implies, anyone could be part of Carroll's cult. They are also terrifyingly good at getting into people's homes, even if police are stationed ''inside''.
63	* ReplacementScrappy: Gwen for Claire. Unlike Claire, who proved to be a bit of an ActionGirl when necessary and was a key character for the plot, Gwen is just a normal, boring, nosy SatelliteLoveInterest who constantly whines about Ryan's job and isn't relevant to the plot at all.
64	* RetroactiveRecognition:
65	** In the first season: [[{{Theatre/Hamilton}} Angelica Schuyler]] is Carroll's attorney. [[Series/HowToGetAwayWithMurder Nate Lahey]] and [[Series/LukeCage2016 Luke Cage]] are FBI agents.
66	* TheScrappy:
67	** Emma. She's a {{Manipulative B\|astard}}itch who has no problem [[AllWomenAreLustful having sex with virtually every man she runs into]], including ''Carroll''. She [[spoiler:leaves Paul and Jacob to die after the FBI storms their hideout]], she doesn't give a damn about anyone except Carroll, and she's more than okay with doing anything he tells her to do, even if ''she knows'' it's not right. But what really turned her into TheScrappy was when she [[spoiler:slashed Jacob's throat, even after he practically begged her to come run away with him]].
68	** Tom. Some people already didn't like him [[DieForOurShip for getting in the way of the Mike/Max relationship]] and for having little chemistry with Max. Then he started playing with the IdiotBall, and he constantly committed one dumb act after another until he [[spoiler:wound up putting Mike's life in danger, and ended up getting killed in the process]].
69	* ShockingMoments:
70	%% Reaches epic proportions in the second half of "The Siege".
71	** "[[WhamEpisode Evermore]]" in spades, culminating with [[spoiler: the quiet, somber death of the BigBad]].
72	* SophomoreSlump: Season 2 wasn't as well-received as Season 1, in large part due to TooBleakStoppedCaring, predictable twists, and for having several side characters who either weren't as interesting as Season 1's supporting characters, [[WeHardlyKnewYe or didn't last long enough for the audience to see their full potential]].
73	* {{Squick}}: When Joe kills [[spoiler:the Reverend in Season 2 (his first kill in over a year)]], he basically has an ''orgasm''. Yeek.
74	* TakeThatScrappy: In Season 2, the new Followers don't think much of Emma.
75	-->"Why don't you like Emma?"
76	-->"No one likes her. She's unlikable."
77	** Later, in Season 2's penultimate episode, [[spoiler:Emma's RasputinianDeath at the hands of Claire: stabbed in the gut, thrown out a window and then finished off with a wooden stake]].
78	** [[spoiler:Tom's death for many fans. He ended up digging his own grave by thinking Mark and Daisy wouldn't double-cross him after giving up Mike.]]
79	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
80	** [[spoiler:Debra's death]] disappointed a good amount of viewers who hoped that [[spoiler:she]] would have been [[EvilAllAlong revealed to be a Follower]].
81	** The show has a habit of killing off interesting Followers ([[spoiler:Louise, Jacob, Roderick]]) and keeping idiotic or boring ones around (Emma and Joe himself).
82	*** Possibly FridgeBrilliance: the "interesting" ones are the ones whose unstable personalities are causing conflicts with Joe's Master Plan. Getting rid of them steers things relatively back on track, and leaves Joe with people he can more easily control.
83	** Special mention to [[spoiler: Jacob's death. He spends the entire first season trying to decide if he really wants to be in the cult, and then, when he finally leaves, Emma unceremoniously kills him for no reason other than pure shock value. Waste indeed.]]
84	** Season 2 has [[spoiler:Carlos]], who gets stabbed in the neck for no reason at all, and [[spoiler:Giselle, a fairly competent DarkActionGirl who easily could've replaced Emma's role in the show as TheHeavy]].
85	** In Season 2, [[spoiler:Lily Gray]]'s death disappointed some fans who wanted [[spoiler:her to confront Joe and maybe even become the main BigBad for Season 3]].
86	** In Season 3, some fans were hoping for [[spoiler:Neil Perry]] to stick around for quite a while, since he was a calm, FauxAffablyEvil killer [[BewareTheQuietOnes who never rose his voice]] and was brushing against a HeroKiller status. Instead, he commits SuicideByCop in the second episode he appears in.
87	** [[spoiler:Dr. Arthur Strauss]] was set up as the BigBad for Season 3, and considering that [[spoiler:he's Joe's mentor]], he could've proven to be a terrifying villain. Instead, [[spoiler:he was [[DroppedABridgeOnHim garroted to death]] in the episode ''directly after'' the one where he finally got out of prison for arguably the same reason Jacob was killed: shock value]]. That being said, [[spoiler: Theo Noble, his best student and the one who killed him, is turning out to be as terrifying and competent a villain as Strauss could have been.]]
88	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Early on in Season 3, Tom finds out via laptop recording that [[spoiler:Mike executed Lily Gray]]. Instead of delivering this information to the FBI as evidence or even using it as blackmail against Mike, he's forced to [[spoiler:smash the laptop]], and this bit of detail is all but forgotten about. [[spoiler:The laptop itself, however, did play a key role later on when Tom is forced to kill an FBI agent because of it, and he ends up delivering Mike to Mark in exchange for the incriminating evidence against himself.]]
89	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The villains are AxCrazy homicidal maniacs who gleefully commit ''very'' brutal on-screen murders and we see a lot of the story [[VillainProtagonist from their point of view]]; by and large they are selfish, unrepentant and prone to MoralMyopia, and their competence ranges from Villain Sues to {{Big Bad Wannabe}}s (Joe himself starts as the former and devolves into the latter). The ''heroes'', though, are not the most comfortable people to follow either: Hardy is a vengeful KnightTemplar prone to ProtagonistCentredMorality who allows the villain to dictate his moves; the FBI have many fair WhatTheHellHero critiques to make of him, but they tend to be incompetent and stupid in their own right as both they and Hardy get many minor characters killed; Agent Weston and others become steadily more brutal due to Hardy's influence; and civilian characters (whether major like Claire or one-shoters) are out of their league and make dumb decisions to varying degrees. It becomes difficult to root for anyone the longer the story goes on, particularly since the series so often relies on FridgeLogic and DiabolusExMachina to move things forward. As a result, the ratings took a big knife to the gut in season two (and cut down to less than half in season three), albeit no more so than anything else that aired on Fox in calendar year 2014.
90	* TooCoolToLive:
91	** [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceDoorSlam Jacob Wells]], the only cultist who had a heart, who eventually knew what was right from wrong, and who was arguably one of the nicest villains in the entire series.]]
92	** [[spoiler:Micah, the [[EvilIsHammy over-the-top]] FauxAffablyEvil cult leader who wanted to be "famous" like Joe and Lily.]]
93	* TheWoobie:
94	** Meghan Leeds and Olivia Warren in Season 1.
95	** Ryan himself definitely qualifies, with his dark and troubled past (even before he ever met Joe Carroll), his guilt at not catching Joe sooner, his inability to save Sara, his reputation as a loose cannon amongst law enforcement, his alcoholism, and his inability to let anyone near him demonstrate how utterly ''broken'' he is.
96	** Little Joey becomes this throughout the first season.
97	** Mandy. Yes, she did choose Joe over her own mother and join Lily rather than simply fleeing the compound, but she's still nothing more than a young girl who was under the influence of her cult member-mother and the cult leader himself, whom she lived with and became attached to.
98	** Preston Tanner. His possible lover is murdered right in front of him, he's kidnapped by the Korban cult, he's [[spoiler:forced to kill a woman so Joe won't kill him, and then he gets to watch as his father slits his throat right in front of him. And then Joe shoots him in the head because he couldn't stand him crying]]. And all because he was the son of a man who called out Joe on live TV.

Context YMMV / TheFollowing