Before this season of The Following began, those involved with its inner workings assured audiences that the show was going to be different.  Not so randomly gory, for one (so, fail), and that there would be more twists (also fail).  The real twist is that The Following has essentially abandoned its entire season one premise, but replaced it with nothing.  The followers are all dead, not a single person has mentioned Edgar Allan Poe, and now Joe Carroll casually drops that he isn’t a writer, or at least, a very good one.  What?  Hit the jump for more.

The Following toyed with something interesting in “Reflection,” and then abandoned it.  But for a minute there, the idea that Ryan and Joe might be on opposing trajectories — at least for now — was a good one.  Joe rejects Lily’s offer of a torture chamber, complete with sacrificial lamb, while Ryan essentially goes on a killing spree.  But in the end, Joe was Joe, and Ryan is, well, a mess.  Hit the jump for why “Joe seems cool?”

The Following is best viewed in a communal setting, because its real value is providing viewers with plenty of snide remarks on the ineptitude of the FBI, and suggestions about if and how characters will be killed off.  It’s nearly a game, to guess if someone will be bludgeoned, gutted or garroted to meet their end, and discerning whether new characters are friends or foes.  The show plays its foreshadowing both ways: sometimes obvious situations remain obvious, or they are their exact opposite.  Hit the jump for more.

Unlike last week’s meager offering, this week, The Following actually twisted things up and proved capable of a few surprises.  The Following is often ridiculous, so what saves it has to be its twists and its frights.  “Trust Me” also continued to build up a new following — one that is about the cult of Joe, not about the cult of Poe.  So while the main relationship between Joe and Ryan remains the same, the show is at least setting up something new with these new followers, led by one tough mother.  Hit the jump for more.

This season on The Following, a lack of Joe Carroll has lead to his cult finding new, artistic ways to draw him out; or at least, pay homage to the man who inspired them to kill, kill, kill.  Without Joe to tango with, Ryan is also left unsure of what comes next, though finds himself still caught up with the remnants of followers, all searching for something to bring them together (or against one another) and give meaning to their mayhem.  (Even Ryan considers himself “crazy” in his obsession with Joe, especially since it was a follower who killed Claire, basically allowing Joe to win that rivalry).  Hit the jump for why I am tired of this dystooooopian squalor (and that accent).

It seemed like The Following left very little room for a following season last year, when it killed off 98% of its cast, including (seemingly) its main villain.  Yet here we another, another year and another stab (literally) at Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and the Cult of Joe Carroll; (James Purefoy) or as Weston called them, “Carrollers.”  There are a lot of new characters to replace the carnage of the first season’s finale, but the dead weigh heavily on Hardy’s shoulders, and their numbers are added to almost immediately at the start of the new season.  Hit the jump for how the Carrollers are wrecking havoc now.

Weirdly, the least interesting part of The Following is that which was set up initially as the reason the watch: the interplay and stories of Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and Joe Carroll (James Purefoy).  Some of you have mentioned in the comments how Hardy is a lot like Jack Bauer from 24 – he always saves the day in the last minute, throwing himself body and soul in the job, carrying the weight of the victims on his stooped shoulders.  Carroll, now re-incarcerated, hasn’t really had much to do in the last few weeks, instead getting his kicks vicariously through his following, some of whom are interesting (the love triangle) and some of whom are terribly boilerplate (Maggie, despite Carroll’s protestations otherwise).  Hit the jump for the good and bad of the series, and my final judgment before moving on.

The Following drew big numbers in the ratings with its premiere last week, and delivered during its initial hour an incredible number of plot points and situations (and gruesome murders) to keep us interested.  While many (myself included) lamented the shoehorning of Poe with awkward expositions to explain the motivational canvas serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) was using to exact his evils, the actual idea of “the following” that he had amassed to do his bidding seemed worthy of further viewing.  This week the show pushed Poe to the background slightly (though his work was probably still too present) and focused more on the following itself, which presented a few surprises.  Hit the jump for what went right, and why I wish they would stop harping on Nevermore.

Despite the network’s protestations otherwise, there are many things about The Following that feel specifically like network television.  At the same time, it has some genuine twists and jumps and set ups that certainly lend one to believe the show may be more than initially meets the eye (if you still have yours).  The series comes from Kevin Williamson, who has had a hand in so many cultural touchstones, from Dawson’s Creek to Scream to the Vampire Diaries, it’s nearly unfathomable to figure how he could not have a hit with this one, particularly with Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy (Rome) as acting anchors.  Plus, the formula combines some of our biggest cultural fascinations – serial killers, cults and, well, Kevin Bacon.  Hit the jump for a recap of the series’ premiere episode, which seems promising.