NOTE: Spoilers
Learning more about Joe this week, we're shown his place of hiding and the family he's been living with for some time now - his former prison pen pal Judy and her daughter Mandy - and while they're convinced he's ready to put his past behind him and start afresh, we wonder at this point if he's truly going to be able to get out of the murderous cycle he's been stuck in for so long - he's put off making a kill for a year, but he must have some pent-up frustrations that are just ready to boil over.
Luke lights a cigar / ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co.Elsewhere, the twins Luke and Mark - both played brilliantly by Sam Underwood - are categorically the creepiest addition to this season of the series, and as they seem to continue to pay homage to Joe Carroll, it's clear that they're not a part of the cult and the members who were left behind, as Emma and those original cult survivors still believe Joe Carroll is dead.
Taunting Ryan Hardy with a phone call to the ex-officer, the twins' phone is traced when Ryan enlists the help of his niece Max, and he tracks them down to the family home where they earlier made another pair of kills.
The FBI are frustrated with Ryan's moves / ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co.Angered and frustrated, the FBI threaten Ryan with arrest when they realise he's being following the murders on his own, but he refuses to let them know where or who he got his information from.
When the twins threaten to take the subway survivor's life - who Ryan's been getting close to - he rushes to defend her, demanding the FBI officers on the scene be on their highest guard to keep Lily alive.
Ryan and Lily get close / ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co.The eerie Joe Carroll masks make a return as the twins trap Lily and one of the guards in a corrider, though she manages to escape when Ryan comes to her rescue, and he manages to shoot Luke who seems excited and fascinated by the entire situation - "Ryan Hardy just shot me!" he exclaims with a sinister cackle.
As the season continues to get darker, this episode seemed to be a bit of a slow burner until the last ten or so minutes.
Joe makes his decision on whether or not he wants to leave his life as a serial killer behind, and I can't wait for him to come back into the main picture, confronting those who he left behind as well as the new wave of murderers.
Emma and the surviving Carroll cult members are confused / ©2013 Fox Broadcasting Co.How will Emma react when she comes face to face with the man she loved and has mourned for so long?
The Following continues on Sky Atlantic, Tuesday February 4 at 10pm.