The Following

Season 1 Episode 4

Mad Love

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8.3
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126 votes
5

EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

Maggie goes after Ryan on her own initiative, while Paul tries to undermine the growing relationship between Emma and Jacob. In flashbacks, Ryan and Claire pursue their own forbidden relationship.

FAN RECAP

TV.com Episode Review

  • The Following "Mad Love" Review: There's No Need to Drag 9/11 Into This 89

    The Following "Mad Love" Review: There's No Need to Drag 9/11 Into This

    It's almost like The Following is aware that this is the point where we decide whether to keep watching or delete the series recording from our DVRs.

    By Nick Campbell, Feb 12, 2013

    • Fan Episode Reviews (5)

    SUBMIT REVIEW

    • One bad scene!

      8.0
      By angelatuel, Mar 05, 2013
      Soooo disappointed with how Joe killed his lawyer... With his INJURED hand. She's on the driver side yet can't get out? She's not bound yet can't fight against a gauzed stump choking her? I love this show, and I don't know if it was editing, but that scene was awful.

    • Mad Love

      9.5
      By TrueTvWatcher, Feb 22, 2013
      Mad Love was a superbly entertaining episode of The Following. I liked the character growth and plot developments. There was a lot of great scenes and some horrific. Events unfold and lives are threatend. It was interesting to watch the story lines interweave. There were definitely many surprises and I look forward to watching what happens next! !!!!!!!!

    • mad love

      9.0
      By shawnagullife, Feb 13, 2013
      One of the better episodes

    • The Following.

      8.5
      By Dec1964, Feb 12, 2013
      I thought this was a good episode, although very slow moving in some parts. So glad Mike shot Maggie, but how many other followers does Joe have & yes that hostage could've gotten away but she didn't.

    • A 60 Minute Waste of Time

      3.0
      By ARAP, Feb 12, 2013
      The Pilot was great, Chapter Two was bad, The Poet's Fire was decent, Mad Love was really bad.



      Why? It failed to do what the Pilot and third episode managed to do so well- develop the characters and story arc in a meaningful and powerful way. The Pilot did a good job of introducing the characters and the Poet's Fire did a good job of delving deeper into the characters' relationships and personas. Mad Love was a huge step backwards.



      The flashbacks were meaningless... literally. What did we learn from them? The flashbacks told us that Jacob had lied about never killing anyone, but we already knew that. They told us that Ryan had a sister named Jenny, but we already knew that. The flashbacks told us that Ryan broke it off with Claire. But we already had a pretty good idea that that was what happened. So the flashbacks failed miserably.



      Also, this episode in particular strayed from what makes the show so intriguing and interesting to watch, that being the shock and scare factor. There was nothing particularly dark about this episode, and Maggie was going to kill Ryan with magnets... I mean seriously, that's gotta be the single lamest way to kill someone possible. And I don't think there was any doubt in anybody's minds that Mike was going to come in and save the day just in time. And that described the entire episode... Predictable. This storyline was predictable and amounted to nothing. All of that buildup, and at the end she was killed and Ryan's sister is going to So say goodbye to yet another supporting character.



      The Emma, Jacob, Paul storyline was predictable as well. Once we knew that Jacob had never killed anyone before, it was fairly obvious that he wasn't going to be able to kill the woman here. And after all the buildup, he just carelessly let her go. And instead of running like hell (the smart thing to do), she decided to hide and get caught. And she ended up in the same exact place that she was in at the start of the episode.



      Honestly, I want to like this show. I really do. Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy are both extraordinary actors and the premise of the show is very interesting. But this episode was nothing but a gigantic waste of time, because, after all, the FBI is no further along with their investigation, that girl that Paul kidnapped is no closer to being dead, and Hardy's sister is going to disappear and be gone from the picture just like she was before.



      If the writers can stick to what makes the show great instead of trying to intensify the crap out of something that just doesn't warrant it, they could have a hit on their hands. But this just doesn't work. I'll be watching next week in the hopes that it will get better, but hope can only do so much. And also, I can't be the only one bothered at the ridiculous amount of commercials. It seemed as though there was a commercial every five minutes and it really broke up the storyline.



      Here's hoping that next week will be better...moreless
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    Cast & Crew: STARS

    Kevin Bacon

    Kevin Bacon

    Ryan Hardy
    Natalie Zea

    Natalie Zea

    Claire Matthews
    Annie Parisse

    Annie Parisse

    Debra Parker
    Shawn Ashmore

    Shawn Ashmore

    Agent Mike Weston
    Valorie Curry

    Valorie Curry

    Emma Hill
    Nico Tortorella

    Nico Tortorella

    Jacob Wells
    See All Cast & Crew

    Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

    Susan Misner

    Susan Misner

    Jenny

    Guest Star

    Virginia Kull

    Virginia Kull

    Maggie Kester

    Guest Star

    Michael Drayer

    Michael Drayer

    Rick Kester

    Guest Star

    Chinasa Ogbuagu

    Chinasa Ogbuagu

    Agent Deirdre Mitchell

    Recurring Role

    See All Cast & Crew

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    Watch Full Episodes: The Following

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    Season 1 Episodes

    See All
    Ep 15
    The Final Chapter
    Ep 14
    The End is Near
    Ep 13
    Havenport
    Ep 12
    The Curse
    Ep 11
    Whips and Regret
    Ep 10
    Guilt
    Ep 9
    Love Hurts
    Ep 8
    Welcome Home
    Ep 7
    Let Me Go
    Ep 6
    The Fall
    Ep 5
    The Siege
    Ep 4
    Mad Love
    Ep 3
    The Poet's Fire
    Ep 2
    Chapter Two
    Ep 1
    Pilot

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