Guilty pleasure
Implausible, irritating, manipulative and downright annoying at times, The Following is a guilty pleasure. It’s a serial thriller hardly anyone admits they watch, let alone like, but which racks up sizable numbers in the weekly ratings.
It reaches its season’s end Monday with a finale titled Forgive, but don’t think the story will be big on forgiveness. Kevin Bacon’s hardluck gumshoe Ryan Hardy decides, against his better judgment, to work with his nemesis Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), to help save the woman they both love, but it’s not an agreement that will last. One of The Following’s selling points is the way good does not always triumph over evil. The finale’s details are tightly under wraps. There have been hints in recent episodes, though — the death of a major character one week, the life of another hanging in the balance the next — that it won’t end well.
The Following hails from Kevin Williamson, writercreator of the Scream movies, and the series shares Scream’s penchant for sudden frights and emotional scares. As a series, it inspires passion and hatred in equal measure. That’s unlikely to change. (Fox, CTV — 10 p.m.) ❚ The Blacklist is not just a tighter thriller than The Following; it’s arguably more fun to watch, thanks to James Spader’s performance as criminal mastermind Red Reddington. Linus Roache guest-stars in Monday’s episode. (Global — 8 p.m., NBC — 11 p.m.)