Look, I’ve read the read the critics’ reviews (well, they got to see through episode four…) and I know what the pros think. And that’s fine; everyone believes its an average show. But going into The Following, I sort of figured what I was getting myself into: a gory thriller reminiscent of The Vampire Diaries‘ heyday. And guess what? The Following delivered. A lot of the criticism seems to stem from the fact that the show is taking itself way too seriously, but what I’ve always admired from Kevin Williamson as a writer is that… well, he doesn’t exactly write that way. In fact, the episode proved it tonight, and it’s very much a show that is aware about all of the chess pieces it has strewn out on the board — from the cliché washed up ex-cop, the nasty and entangled relationship he shares with the criminal, and that criminal’s love affair with watching souls escape from the “windows” of a human body.
I don’t know of any other way to express that after the entirely too blatant final scene between Ryan and Joe where the latter explained meticulously that everything that’s happening is a story. What’s a story without a love interest? A flawed hero? I’m well aware that if the characters are not fleshed out entirely, then the entire meta factor of the scene may very well become moot at some point. But at the exact same time, I’m all too ready to allow the show to entrance me week after week.
It’s not just the ice pick to the eye. It’s not just a serial dog killer. Or any of those moments that caused me to flinch away, though it is those things. It’s just good ol’ fashioned thrills and chills tied together decently with a love of literature, specifically when it comes to Edgar Allen Poe. And I’m sort of okay with that.
Thank goodness, too, because I was looking forward to this series for some time now… being a fan of Kevin Williamson’s as I am (and seeing how much Vampire Diaries disappointed me for a time).
What more can we expect from a broadcast series than decent writing, good acting, and breakneck pace?
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Like u,the moments I flinched (jumped even) were not the scenes with the victims.I mean they were scary especially the scene where the woman killed herself.But I found the scenes were nothing was really happening to be the scariest.The quiet moments where I was expecting sth to happen,but it turned out to be nothing (violent and bloody).And that's what good thrillers are supposed to do.To keep u at the edge of your seat expecting sth to happen,to pull you in so masterfully that the slightest noise would make you jump.The violence,blood and special effects come second for me.And that's what this thriller did.I was glued to my screen,when KB was looking for the girl at the building,when the cops were trailing the blood drops at the guys' place,when James was talking to Kevin after they had caught him and the sound of his handcuffs made me jump.The violence,yes it was there and it was great.But the show managed to frighten me more with the scenes I mentioned.A+++ for me.
I know that the people who have already watched the first few eps said that the show is not that great after the pilot,but I don't really care.The last time I listened to reviewers' opinion about an upcoming great ep and they turned out to be right was with tvd's 'The End of The Affair'.After that ep,the episodes that the reviewers were praising as magnificent were a total disappointment.I only watched the pilot of the following.And I loved it.And it doesn't seem possible to me that the next eps will be mediocre.
And yeah,KW's absence from tvd is more than obvious and extremely painful.
Love the show at first but it's getting a little too violent for my taste. Love Kevin Bacon but wow it's getting very bizarre and too intense to watch. They need to tone it down a little for prime time or they will lose this viewer. Hate to stop watching because of my love for Kevin (seeing him on TV every week has been awesome) but there is way too much sicko stuff happening that doesn't need to be shown. We would still get the point without all the gore.