The Following Recap: “The Poet’s Fire”

The Following Recap: “The Poet’s Fire”
Original Air Date (Fox): Monday February 4, 2013
Season 1 Episode 3

by Julianne Snow:

The third episode, titled “The Poet’s Fire” starts with what appears to be an impromptu street performance of The Raven by a man wearing a Poe mask. As the poem comes to an end, the masked man throws pieces of paper like confetti amid raucous applause. In the background, a suited man walks by, paying no attention to the applause or to what it’s being awarded. The masked Poe approaches the man as he’s purchasing something from a street vendor and pours gasoline on him. After lighting him on fire, the crowd watches in horror and Poe walks away.

The scene switches to the prison, where the task force to catch the Following has been set up. Ryan learns from Parker that there were nine sets of fingerprints found in the house, six of which were found upstairs in the attic room. Ryan brings up a very crucial point – there is no way that the Following can be limited to just six people. Learning that Jordy is awake, they decide to go and talk to him. Parker and Ryan ask him where Joey is to which Jordy answers that he knows he will die in prison. He goes on to say how much he enjoyed killing the girls. Ryan reveals to Jordy that Carroll wanted him dead, but Jordy doesn’t buy it completely and starts to sing. Ryan hits him to make him stop, then stalks out.

The investigators are viewing a video of the street performance, gleaning information about the identity of the victim; Stan Fellows, a literary critic for one of the major newspapers who gave Carroll’s book The Gothic Sea a scathing review.

The perspective changes again, settling us into the farmhouse with Paul and Jacob talking in the kitchen. Jacob is concerned that the tension between Paul and Emma will spiral out of control and asks him to talk to her, to smooth things over. They watch the video of Rick’s performance and the audience is treated to a flashback of Rick talking with Emma, Jacob and Paul in the attic room. The conversation centres on how each of them are going to kill, and while Rick isn’t afraid of blood, he’s decided to use fire. This is where you learn that Carroll wanted them all to find their own voices as death dealers. It flashes back to the present, and to Emma overhearing the conversation between Paul and Jacob (those boys should be more careful, she seems to get the drop on them often). Emma confronts Paul and true to his avoidance pattern, he just walks away.

Back at the task force, the FBI learns that a security camera near the assault caught a car’s license plate. They retrieve the address and go there, hoping to find Rick. After breaking into the house, they find a woman hiding in a closet – Rick’s wife, Maggie, who is terrified that Rick was coming to hurt her. They take her back to the task force and question her about her husband. She reveals that she last received a call from him the previous evening and that they are separated. When asked why she hid, she said that she was afraid of Rick and what he could do as he’d already tried to kill her once. When questioned about the attack, she states that it started when she asked for a divorce but then wouldn’t testify against him in court because he apologized. The charges were subsequently dropped. Parker decides to put her under police protection until her husband is apprehended.

Back at the farmhouse, Emma watches Joey and Jacob play through the kitchen window. Paul comes in to talk to her and tries to call a truce. In answer, she slices his forearm with a knife and tells Paul to stop trying to turn Jacob against her.

Parker is next seen talking to Carroll, telling him that she is impressed with the level of planning that has gone into ‘writing his next book’. She then asks him why his critics have to die. Carroll smiles and asks “oh, has someone been playing with matches?” It appears that Rick’s chapter is all about revenge, but not revenge on people that have done him wrong; Rick’s going after the people that wronged Carroll. The chapters in the books are all tributes to Carroll. Carroll reveals that there are only three people that he holds responsible for his professional failure. Back in the task force’s room, Ryan names those three people: himself, Stan Fellows (the critic) and Phillip Barnes, the Dean of Literature at the college that Carroll taught at.

The perspective flashes to Barnes’ office on campus and to Rick who is waiting for him. Rick asks a confused Barnes why he refused Carroll tenure and then stabs him in the stomach. Watching Barnes die, it’s obvious that Rick is getting a thrill. When the FBI gets to the office, Ryan is concerned that Carroll is baiting him. Ya think?

The scene changes to the farmhouse and we see Paul watching Emma, Jacob and Joey outside taking photos. In a flashback we learn that it was Carroll’s idea for Jacob and Paul to play a couple, despite the fact they felt they could trick Sara into trusting them as straight men. Knowing that it was Carroll’s idea, they concede and kiss. Back in present day, Paul takes the keys and stalks outside. Getting into the car, Jacob warns him that he can’t leave, that his picture will be all over town. Paul calls Jacob a liar and drives off.

At the prison, Weston and Ryan are talking about Rick. They learn that he purchased toys from his credit card statement. They talk to Maggie, asking him why he would have purchased toys; toys that Ryan has confirmed are ones that Joey regularly played with. Rick picks a coincidental time to call and Maggie picks up; the hope is that the FBI can trace the call. After determining that Ryan is in the room, Rick lets him know that “it was all for him”, then hangs up. Deciding that Maggie will be safe at home with a guard, they opt to take her there. Ryan wants to go, but Parker demands that he get some rest instead. Weston offers to take Ryan to watch Maggie’s house in his rental car, without Parker’s clearance or knowledge.

Emma and Jacob are now worried that Paul will blow their cover and the plane. Their faces are all over the news and they have to be careful. In a local shop, Paul is scoping out women. He spies an employee named Megan and convinces her to go out with him after her shift.

At Maggie’s house with Agent Reilly (Billy Brown), Weston calls to let him know that he and Ryan are outside if he needs back-up. He then proceeds to engage Ryan in conversation, driving Ryan out of the car for a walk.

Paul is with Megan and they are kissing. She tells him that she won’t have sex with him and he appears to be okay with that, until he puts his hand around her throat and squeezes when they resume kissing. Megan gets upset, decides it’s time to leave. Paul acts contrite and begins to help her into the car but smashes her head against the side of it instead.

Parker talks to Jordy again, hoping to trick him into telling her something. She tells him that Carroll wants to talk to him, but that she’ll only let that happen if Jordy talks to her first.

Maggie is talking to Agent Reilly at her house, but gets startled when there is a knock at the backdoor. Reilly goes to investigate but finds no one there. The phone rings but it’s just Weston. Reilly tells him that there is someone in the backyard and Weston goes to collect Ryan.

Jordy reveals to Parker that he doesn’t know where Joey is, that no one know the entire plan. He does let it slip that Rick’s wife knows where Joey is. Parker frantically calls Weston and Ryan (which I did find a little odd… Why not call the Agent with Maggie?). At the same time, Maggie gets a text on her phone, which is read by Reilly. It simply says “now”. As Reilly turns, Maggie stabs him in the neck, then leaves with Rick out the backdoor. Ryan and Weston find Reilly, and then see the open backdoor. Ryan runs after the pair, only be assaulted by Rick in the backyard. Rick is shot dead in the process but Maggie gets away. Coming back to the kitchen, Ryan learns that Reilly is dead.

The next morning, Emma and Jacob find that Paul has brought Megan home as a captive to even out the couples. She’s tied up and struggling against her binds. Paul asks Jacob if Emma knows that he’s a liar and through a flashback the audience learns that Paul and Jacob didn’t just act at being a couple in public.

Parker is mad that she was fooled by Maggie, but Ryan completely understands it; Carroll fooled him after all.

Jordy, in one final act of contrition for revealing a vital piece of information, tears the dressing off his shoulder, swallowing the gauze, asphyxiating himself.

Claire receives an email. In it is a video that shows Joey with Jacob, killing bugs with a magnifying glass. Jacob hands Joey a jar with a mouse in it and offers him the lid. Joey tells Jacob that he doesn’t want to put the lid on because it will kill the mouse, but after some cajoling he does it, stating that “I’ve never killed anything before.” It’s an innocently chilling scene… Off camera you hear Emma tell Joey to wave to the camera and say “Hi, Ryan”.

This show is really beginning to get intense. As a reader of Poe there are many things that I am getting out of it that are just brilliant and unexpected. I did stumble across this site a few days ago and I’ve been slowly investigating it. It’s more than a little creepy, but it demonstrates the depth that the show is intended to be understood with. If you want to check it out, you can find it here.

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.