The following is my thoughts on The Following:
The Following is basically two shows, one of which is SUPER AWESOME AMAZING, and the other of which is kinda meh. So first I’ll focus on ‘The Following: Murderous Threesome’ and then I’ll complain about ‘The Following: Kevin Bacon, Generic Cop With Secret Pain’.
(Spoilers up to #1.04, Mad Love.)
The Following: Murderous Threesome
I think you can gauge Fandom At Large’s interest in a show based on the number of fanmixes it produces. I only scrolled through a few pages of The Following tag on tumblr and I found two Jacob/Emma/Paul fanmixes. (I also found a lot of confused teenagers embarking on their first polyamorous ‘ship. *clasped hands* It’s like watching babies take their first steps!)
I’m sure there are people out there who “just aren’t into” a storyline about hot serial killers in a triad relationship, but I think we all know that I’m basically rolling around on the floor, mewling, right now.
I absolutely love the claustrophobic atmosphere of the creepily perfect house in the middle of nowhere, filled with three messed-up people who are lying to each other. It’s like a bottle episode every episode and it’s completely wonderful.
I’m mightily impressed by the actress playing Emma - I find her screen presence magnetic - and I also feel a little vindicated in loving Nico Tortorella since Make It Or Break It (heh), since I thought his performance as Jacob in #1.04 was perfectly heart-breaking.
The scene near the end of the episode where Jacob goes down to the basement to find the girl tied up exactly where she’d been before was so eerie, so effective.
It’ll also be interesting to see Jacob’s character development and find out his backstory. I’m guessing he’s an easily-swayed depressive, of the Dylan Klebold type, rather than a psychopath.
I would so love this show to be an interesting portrait of mental illness and how untreated disorders can manifest brutally. Obviously, it’s not going to be this, because the writers don’t even seem to exhibit even the slightest knowledge of mental illness. So, okay, onto my issues with The Following…
The Following: Kevin Bacon, Generic Cop With Secret Pain
Not to get all Pretentious Writer Type on you, but the thing about writing is that coming up with a concept for a story is just the beginning. In order to create a compelling story, you need to figure out your ‘way in’ - whose perspective are you telling the story from? when does your narration of the story begin?
The trouble with The Following is that the writers’ chosen ‘way in’ was terrible. Your story is about a charismatic serial killer cult leader, and yet you focus most of your narrative on a white bread cop with secret pain?
Ugh, I have read so many mediocre crime novels about a noble yet flawed cop who’s haunted by That One Case, and he drinks to kill the pain but it just doesn’t work anymore. Where there’s so much potential for telling a new and exciting story, I get so tired of the unimaginative and the clichéd route that this show takes again and again.
Speaking of missed opportunities, I can’t believe that the writers casually threw in the detail that, in the past, Maggie went on a killing spree and didn’t get caught (!). But instead of getting flashbacks to that (who did she kill? and why?), we get flashbacks showing us things we already knew about Hardy (noble, flawed, drinking problem - yawn).
Sigh. I’ll console myself with the fact that the first few episodes of The Vampire Diaries sucked, too, and hope that Kevin Williamson and co. get their act together sharpish. Failing that: I can be mollified by more serial killer threesome sex scenes. :x
(Spoilers up to #1.04, Mad Love.)
The Following: Murderous Threesome
I think you can gauge Fandom At Large’s interest in a show based on the number of fanmixes it produces. I only scrolled through a few pages of The Following tag on tumblr and I found two Jacob/Emma/Paul fanmixes. (I also found a lot of confused teenagers embarking on their first polyamorous ‘ship. *clasped hands* It’s like watching babies take their first steps!)
I’m sure there are people out there who “just aren’t into” a storyline about hot serial killers in a triad relationship, but I think we all know that I’m basically rolling around on the floor, mewling, right now.
I absolutely love the claustrophobic atmosphere of the creepily perfect house in the middle of nowhere, filled with three messed-up people who are lying to each other. It’s like a bottle episode every episode and it’s completely wonderful.
I’m mightily impressed by the actress playing Emma - I find her screen presence magnetic - and I also feel a little vindicated in loving Nico Tortorella since Make It Or Break It (heh), since I thought his performance as Jacob in #1.04 was perfectly heart-breaking.
The scene near the end of the episode where Jacob goes down to the basement to find the girl tied up exactly where she’d been before was so eerie, so effective.
It’ll also be interesting to see Jacob’s character development and find out his backstory. I’m guessing he’s an easily-swayed depressive, of the Dylan Klebold type, rather than a psychopath.
I would so love this show to be an interesting portrait of mental illness and how untreated disorders can manifest brutally. Obviously, it’s not going to be this, because the writers don’t even seem to exhibit even the slightest knowledge of mental illness. So, okay, onto my issues with The Following…
The Following: Kevin Bacon, Generic Cop With Secret Pain
Not to get all Pretentious Writer Type on you, but the thing about writing is that coming up with a concept for a story is just the beginning. In order to create a compelling story, you need to figure out your ‘way in’ - whose perspective are you telling the story from? when does your narration of the story begin?
The trouble with The Following is that the writers’ chosen ‘way in’ was terrible. Your story is about a charismatic serial killer cult leader, and yet you focus most of your narrative on a white bread cop with secret pain?
Ugh, I have read so many mediocre crime novels about a noble yet flawed cop who’s haunted by That One Case, and he drinks to kill the pain but it just doesn’t work anymore. Where there’s so much potential for telling a new and exciting story, I get so tired of the unimaginative and the clichéd route that this show takes again and again.
Speaking of missed opportunities, I can’t believe that the writers casually threw in the detail that, in the past, Maggie went on a killing spree and didn’t get caught (!). But instead of getting flashbacks to that (who did she kill? and why?), we get flashbacks showing us things we already knew about Hardy (noble, flawed, drinking problem - yawn).
Sigh. I’ll console myself with the fact that the first few episodes of The Vampire Diaries sucked, too, and hope that Kevin Williamson and co. get their act together sharpish. Failing that: I can be mollified by more serial killer threesome sex scenes. :x