The Following Recap: “The Curse”

The Following Recap: “The Curse”
Original Air Date (Fox): Monday April 8, 2013
Season 1 Episode 12

by Julianne Snow:

In the twelfth episode of The Following titled ‘The Curse’, Claire wakes up in the morning with Joey and attempts to leave the compound. When she gets to the gate, she finds it locked. That’s when Roderick and dozens of the Followers show up to escort her back to the house. Once back inside, Roderick attaches a tracker to Claire’s ankle and shows her the level of surveillance the compound has.

Perspective then shifts to Ryan and Molly, who are at his apartment as Molly checks Ryan’s vitals. Creepily, she warns him not to get himself killed.

At the armory, the FBI and Marshals are checking out the training compound. Agent Weston is back now that he’s out of the hospital. He’s provided a description of Roderick to an artist and they have a vague sketch to work with. Parker shows Ryan the training videos, but the FBI are unsure of what explosives and military training have to do with Carroll just yet. Parker does take Ryan to a section of the armory that has Poe-related paintings all over the walls. The paintings are mixed with symbols from the afterlives of differing religions and Parker coins the new religion of the Followers as ‘Carrollism’.

When perspective shifts to the compound, Carroll is trying to write a chapter about Ryan including questioning what motivates him. When he calls Ryan for inspiration, revealing that he’s struggling with the hero’s character arc, Carroll asks “what defines Ryan Hardy?” Carroll asks him about his father. Ryan chooses not to answer, and instead asks him about the armory, insinuating that he’s getting closer. When Carroll hangs up, Ryan knows he’s beginning to unravel.

In a flashback scene, Ryan and his father are sitting in a car outside of a store. Ryan’s father leaves him to go inside and there is a quick few seconds where shots are fired before the scene flicks back to the present. Once the flashback is over, we are brought back to the armory and the FBI’s investigation. Through some of the footage found within, they are able to connect members of the Following to members of a militia group that disbanded called Freedom13. In the past, the militia had been run by a man named Daniel Monroe, who dealt in black market arms.

At the compound, Carroll questions Roderick and Vince about what the FBI could find at the compound. Vince believes the FBI could find out about Monroe, who actually helped them to find the house they currently inhabit. Roderick on the other hand argues that Monroe’s a friend and would never reveal their location. Carroll, wanting to be completely covered, tells them he will deal with the situation himself, taking Vince and Jacob with him. It appears he’s lost all confidence in Roderick.

Back at the armory, Parker and Ryan try to track Monroe. Instead of finding a direct connection to Monroe, they find property records for a Gloria Fowler, whose son Brian was a member of Freedom 13.

At the compound, Roderick sees Emma lurking near Claire, trying to find a way to talk to her. He taunts Emma about sleeping with Carroll then leaves her to consider what he’s just said. Meanwhile, Claire tells Joey they’ll need to act normally for a little while longer. Roderick approaches Claire and she asks him about the people there. Roderick tells her there are some cold blooded psychos, but that some of them are just groupies. He also reveals that he’s there because he wants a safe place to belong and Claire warns him that Joe can’t be trusted. Later, Claire manages to sneak a peek at Carroll’s novel while she has Joey stand watch at the door.

When Weston, Ryan and Parker roll up to the Fowler house in Maryland, they check out the boarded up property. Weston breaks into the house and they find a kettle still warm on the stove. When they also find an infrared trip wire, they know that someone is in the house. When they enter what appears to be the living room, a guy jumps out and knocks Ryan over. Parker pulls her gun and tells the guy to freeze, but he’s not moving much when Weston decides to beat him anyway. They question the man, who turns out to be Brian Fowler, about Monroe. Weston uses a little too much force when Fowler gets a little mouthy, but Ryan questions him as to why there is a sophisticated alarm system in such a rundown house. Ryan and Weston search the basement and find Daniel Monroe.

Upstairs, Parker tries to make a call but soon discovers the signal is jammed. Hearing a noise, she goes to investigate. When Parker comes back to check on Brian, his throat has been slit and Jacob knocks her out.

When perspective shifts again to the compound, Emma finally decides to approach Claire, who is understandably livid and keeps her from seeing Joey. Emma tells Claire that she considered them friends, but Claire is not having any of it. When she follows Emma out into the hallway, Claire punches her. A fight ensues with Claire taking the lead, but Roderick breaks it up.

In the basement of the Fowler house, Monroe tells Weston and Ryan he has nothing to do with Carroll and his “house of psychos.” He won’t say more about the house until he’s able to talk to a lawyer. An alarm light comes on signaling that someone is in the basement with them. Ryan goes to investigate and almost gets shot by Vince. Ryan knocks him over and when Vince goes for his gun, Ryan shoots him. When Ryan comes back to check on Monroe, he finds him dead and Weston gone. Searching the basement, he finds Weston tied to a chair in a room with bullet proof glass for windows. Carroll is inside the room with Weston, holding a knife in threat against him. Ryan can’t get into the room and has to watch as Carroll torments Weston. Ryan tells Weston that Carroll won’t kill him because he needs him alive so that he can get out of the house. Carroll knocks Weston out and then goes on to talk about the novel he and Ryan are writing. When Ryan says the FBI is coming, Carroll says there’s no point in keeping Weston alive then and threatens his life once again.

Upstairs, Jacob has Parker tied to a chair. She recognizes him immediately and asks about Paul and Emma. Jacob panics slightly, pulling out a kitchen knife and threatening her. Parker continues to talk to him, telling him that she wants to understand him.

Downstairs, Carroll won’t stop asking Ryan about his father’s death. Ryan concedes and tells him the story of his father’s death. In a flashback scene, we see a young Ryan waiting in the car when he hears gunshots and sees a man running out of the store. As Ryan gets out of the car, he runs into the armed robber. He’s sure the robber is going to shoot him, but he doesn’t. He runs off and Ryan goes inside and sees his father bleeding out on the floor, watching him die. When the flashback ends, Ryan tells Carroll that the robber was found three days later, dead of a drug overdose.

In an odd exchange between Carroll and Ryan, Carroll tries to probe why Ryan feels he is surrounded by death and reveals that he thinks it made Ryan want to save people. Carroll reveals that he himself is driven by death.

Their conversation is interrupted when Jacob brings Parker into the basement. Ryan kicks his gun to Jacob and Carroll leaves the sealed room. Jacob lets Parker go and he and Carroll leave. Ryan runs through the basement after them but they get away. When the FBI descends on the scene, they decide to follow up on the members of Freedom 13, thinking there might be more connections to Carroll and the Followers.

Back at the compound, Claire tells Carroll that she read his book and that she doesn’t think his plan is going to work. When she makes fun of it, comparing it the failure that his first book was, he storms out. While watching news coverage of himself, Jacob calls his father in tears, but hangs up after saying “dad”. Carroll encounters Emma pouring herself a drink in the kitchen and joins her, turning to her for the comfort he cannot get from Claire.

Outside the Fowler house, Ryan checks on Weston, who knows he went too far. Ryan offers him a piece of advice, telling him, “you just gotta make sure you don’t do something you can’t live with”. Weston tells Ryan there was nothing he could have done to stop his father’s murder. Again we are treated to a flashback. In it, a young Ryan is holding a gun on the junkie who killed his father, forcing him to inject more drugs into his system. When the addict dies, the scene dissolves back into the present. Parker finds Ryan so that she can introduce him to someone. Leading him outside, she presents him to Sheriff Nelson. It’s Roderick and he’s eager to help (read: interject himself into) the investigation.

DarkMedia contributor Julianne Snow was first lulled into the horror genre by her parents during an ill-advised viewing of Alien when she was only 4 years old. Since that date, it’s been a given that Julianne will watch and read anything that is horror related. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies from Sirens Call Publications and Open Casket Press, as well as The Sirens Call and various other websites showcasing short fiction. She is the author of the Days with the Undead series, which can be found on her website dayswiththeundead.com. Her first novel, Days with the Undead: Book One was published in early 2012 and is based on her popular web serial. Find her on Twitter @CdnZmbiRytr.