The Following: Season 1

Infamous serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) escapes from prison and Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon), a retired F.B.I. agent responsible for capturing Joe, is pulled back into the field to assist the manhunt. The police secure both Claire Matthews (Natalie Zea), Joe's ex-wife and mother of his son Joey (Kyle Catlett), with whom Ryan had an affair, and Sarah Fuller (Maggie Grace), the only one of Joe's victims to survive. Assisted by FBI agents Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) and Jennifer Mason (Jeana

Special Agent Debra Parker (Annie Parisse), an expert on alternative religions, joins the case, replacing Agent Mason, as the hunt for Joe's son intensifies. Joe's prison guard protégé Jordy (Steve Monroe) makes his first kill, slaughtering three college girls in their sorority house. Claire tries to discover Joey's whereabouts from Joe, but the interview only serves to reveal her prior relationship with Hardy to everyone. Joey's nanny-turned-kidnapper Emma Hill, having convinced him that he's o

Ryan Hardy and his team obtain video footage of the immolation incident and he recognizes the victim (Todd Faulkner) as a literary critic who gave Joe Carroll's book a scathing review. Emma, Paul and Jacob continue to keep Joey at the house, but Paul confronts Emma about her relationship with Jacob, and she cuts his arm. He leaves the house and picks up a convenience store worker, Megan (Li Jun Li), later knocking her out to kidnap and hold her hostage at the house. Rick Kester (Michael Drayer),

Emma sees Paul's captive, Megan, as a threat and instructs Paul to kill the woman. Paul hands the knife over to Jacob and threatens Jacob with his menacing secret. Maggie is disclosed by Joe as his follower. Joey locates the phone Emma used to leave a voice mail for Maggie. In a brief conversation with Emma about Jacob, Paul reveals to her that Jacob has been lying to them, and has never actually killed. Ryan Hardy and his team see Maggie in a surveillance footage stabbing a victim in a parking

Joey gets his hands on the hidden phone, while Emma, Paul and Jacob relax in the bedroom. He manages to have an informative conversation with Claire, before Paul pulls him away from the phone. Caroll's attorney, Olivia Warren (Renée Elise Goldsberry) is seen in the department, while Paul continues to convince Jacob to kill Megan. Warren addresses Caroll's "The Following" allegation by quoting Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" in her press conference that triggers a follower to start his missio

While being held captive with Megan, Hardy is able to cause dissension among Emma, Paul and Jacob. Emma sneaks Joey away while Paul and Jacob scuffle with Hardy; Paul is stabbed by Hardy, who takes the opportunity to help Megan escape. Emma is caught by Weston, who is shot by a local policewoman later revealed to be working with the mysterious "Roderick". Paul and Jacob are able to escape with the help of other Followers disguised as FBI agents. Faced with this turn of events, Hardy, Parker and

Carroll's lawyer, Olivia Warren, is able to arrange his transfer to another jail. The FBI are wary of the transfer and monitor every step, save for the actual exit of the van. Frustrated, Hardy begins to suspect that Carroll either has Followers inside the system, or that he is coercing someone to do his bidding. His suspicions are confirmed when Weston realizes the tape of the prisoner loading bay has been doctored. They quickly identify the prison warden as the likely culprit, learning that hi

Distracted by the search for Joey and unable to find any leads in Carroll's escape, the FBI lose faith in Hardy's ability to catch him and his followers and usher in a new agent to oversee the investigation. As Hardy and Parker become frustrated with having to play office politics whilst conducting a manhunt, Carroll's plans escalate even further as he puts its next stage into action. Carroll selects Agent Weston to be the victim and has his followers abduct him. With Weston in their captivity,

Carroll reaches out to Hardy with an unusual request, and despite the threat of swift and violent retribution if his demands are not met, Hardy realizes that he might be holding onto a bigger bargaining chip than first thought. Joe sends followers Amanda Porter and Louise on a mission to kill women named Claire Matthews in an effort to force Joe's ex out of hiding. After two of three remaining Claires are killed, Amanda tracks the third one down at the same time Ryan does. After killing Louise,

Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Carroll finds her, Hardy must outsmart a group of followers and move Claire to a safe place. Jacob and Emma are reunited, but the meeting turns sour. Roderick goes after Claire, along with two military followers, Ryan and Claire manage to escape and go to Ryan's friend Tyson's home. Tyson reveals to Claire that after Ryan and her ended their relationship, he introduced Ryan to a friend named Molly, though they did not last very long as Ryan was onl

Claire is abducted by Carroll's followers, but Hardy and Parker refuse to let her go without a fight. Meanwhile, the FBI look inward, investigating the connection between one of their own safehouses and a crime committed by a member of Carroll's cult. They find a lead to a bunker, to which they find out that it's a boot camp of followers and are forced to kill the followers in training. Claire is forced to have dinner with Joe. She asks to see her son but Joe refuses, which causes Claire to stor

Hardy, Parker, and Weston seek out a militia leader with ties to Carroll's cult. Meanwhile, Joe has hit a roadblock with his book as he struggles to understand what motivates Hardy, and takes Jacob and Vincent to kill the militia leader before he can talk. While Claire tries to escape with Joey, they are blocked by various followers and Roderick puts an ankle monitor on her. Afterwards, Claire discovers Joe's book and is reunited with Emma, which turns sour and results in the two physically figh

After being recognized at a police station by Weston, Roderick is forced to go on the run, and his disagreements with Joe come to a head when he abducts Joey as "insurance" against Carroll and the FBI. Roderick is caught by Ryan and says he'll give up Joey if he gets his freedom. Ryan releases him, but Roderick is killed by Joe's followers for his betrayal, and Joey is rescued by Hardy and Weston after a standoff with Jacob. Claire takes advantage of Joe's affections of her and seduces him befor

Frustrated with his writing, drinking heavily and taking numerous medications and bleeding from his open wound, Joe becomes increasingly unstable, and his erratic behavior destroys morale among his followers, especially Jacob. As Hardy and the FBI launch a raid on their compound, the cult retaliates with an attack on an evacuation center in Havenport, giving Joe the chance to get away safely. With Hardy distracted at the evacuation center, cult members capture Parker and bury her alive. Emma and

An angry and injured Joe Carroll escapes with Claire to a secluded island lighthouse. While investigating Parker's whereabouts, the FBI are attacked by a sniper, who Hardy and Weston capture and torture. The two finally discover Parker's location, but they arrive too late and find Parker has suffocated. Enraged at Alex for mocking Debra's death, Hardy shoots him in cold blood. Hardy discovers Carroll's unfinished manuscript in her coffin, which leads him to a location where Emma drugs and captur