The Following- "Guilt"

"Guilt" was another solid edition to the debut season of The Following. This week we got two distinct storylines and also have a huge amount of questions that popped up as well. Jacob is not having a very good day and Ryan and Claire are having an even worse day. Joe's plans are finally falling into place and he is finally on the verge of breaking the will of his nemesis.

Jacob is the standout of the week and we really get a sense of how his experiences with Paul have truly messed him up. The death of Paul both helped and damaged Jacob by allowing him to accept the fact that he can kill but he also lost the one person that he truly loves in the process. The hallucinations are guiding Jacob to do what needs to be done in his mind but he can't fully accept until he "killed" Paul again. It is twisted logic but what can you do. His threat and warning to Emma was absolutely bone chilling and I am hoping that he eventually ganks her but I am sure that it will end up being the other way around.

Ryan Hardy, the American Badass, made an appearance this week in all of his snarky glory. I loved his reaction to the leader of the Task Force, when he was told that he had to call Claire mere moments after being told that their phone lines had been hacked. His "what are you fucking dumb" expression was priceless and makes it seem like he is the only one involved in the case who is actually using their brain. He did everything that actually made sense but he still couldn't come out on top. He is so heavily outnumber at this point that the only way that he is going to beat Joe is if there is a rift within "The Following". Roderick might potentially end up being his greatest ally because there seems to be a growing animosity between Joe and him. Seeing a bit into Hardy's background was great to finally see, no matter how limited our view into it was. His former FBI friend, Tyson, was awesome and hopefully we get to see him, Hardy and Weston team up in the future.  Tyson seems to be one of the only people that will actually call Ryan out on some of his bullshit and also has a close bond with him as well. I hope that this was not a one off appearance because he could come in handy over the next few episodes.

Claire is reaching "Andrea" level in terms of dumbness because she seems to ignore common sense at every turn. Go with the psycho killer to see your son, no problem. Leave a guy that took a bullet to save your life to bleed out on the floor alone, seems like a good idea. Just let her act normal in one episode and all will be forgiven in my mind. I am also interested to see how Ryan's ex-girlfriend is involved in the following and if she was involved from the beginning.

While not the best episode of the series this is another solid edition to the series. This is a series that you need to be watching and is one of the best series on TV currently. Only five more episodes in the season, if you have not seen any to this point, go download them all right now.