'The Following' Season 1, Episode 4: 'Mad Love' Recap

‘The Following’: season 1, episode 4: ‘Mad Love’

In the basement, Paul and Jacob worry about what to do with Meghan, the woman that Paul kidnapped. Emma says that Paul’s recklessness will get the found and urges them to kill Meghan and bury the body behind the barn.

Paul leaves Jacob to kill her as he goes to make breakfast, but Jacob tries to stop him. Paul says he’s tired of all his lies and leaves him behind.

Back at the Matthews residence, Ryan Hardy and Debra Parker analyze the video that Claire Matthews received, trying to glean details from it to try and pinpoint a location. Parker receives a call from Mike Weston who says narrowed it to the northeast.

Hardy and Parker try to reassure Claire that Joey will be fine, and that his being forced to kill animals won’t turn him into a psychopath.

Back at headquarters, Hardy receives a call from his sister Jenny.

A flashback to 2009, Jenny helps her drunk brother stagger into his apartment. She wonders what she’s going to do with him, and he apologizes for drinking so much.

Back to now, he ignores the call in favor of talking to Joe Carroll. He asks him what his game is, sending out amateurs to do his work. Hardy reveals that he killed Rick, and Carroll is excited that he’s back in the game. Carroll quickly realizes that Hardy is on a fishing expedition, trying to get information about Maggie Kester. Carroll informs him that her real name is Margaret Schuller. He recounts the tale how they met, and reveals that she is a very resourceful serial killer, and managed to walk away from it without ever getting caught.

Weston looks up the info and confirms 6 murders from 2002-2005, all attributed to a woman who was never caught. They find a witness sketch, and it matches Maggie.

At the country house, Emma tries to get ahold of Maggie, but she isn’t answering. She leaves a message telling her to call the secure line. Upstairs, Joey listens in and watches to see where they hide the cellphone. He runs outside, ready to play, and Emma says she’ll be with him shortly.

Emma asks Paul what’s going on in the basement with Jacob and Meghan. Paul doubts Jacob will kill her, and Emma gets curious. She says she knows about them “getting their gay on”, but Paul says it has nothing to do with that. It’s because Jacob has been lying about killing. He’s never killed before.

At headquarters, the team watches surveillance footage of Maggie stabbing a guy, stealing his car. They reveal that she purchased rope, tape, flashlights, and magnets.

Hardy gets another call from Jenny.

Flash to 2009 again, he wakes up hung over, and Jenny sits by his bed, saying his doctor called about a missed appointment, and the missed appointments before that. He says she doesn’t have to take care of him, but she feels she does. He insults her, and she leaves saying it hurts too much to be around him.

Back to now, he finally takes the call from Jenny, but all is not what it seems when Maggie Kester takes the phone from her. “I just have one question: how do you want me to kill your sister?”

Maggie says she will trade Jenny’s life for his, but he must come alone and unarmed. She reveals they are in Jenny’s restaurant.

Back in the country, Emma says she still hasn’t heard from Maggie. She tells Jacob to kill her, but he seems hesitant, trying to get Paul to do it. She says he should, since he never has.

Back in 2009, Jacob recounts a tale of his “first kill”, drowning a woman from his high school.

Back to now, Emma feels hurt that he’d lie about that. She’s not sure why he’s even part of this whole thing. He says it’s because he wants to. So she urges him to kill her.

Back at headquarters, Hardy grabs his stuff and readies to leave when Parker stops him. She knows he’s lying, but he says it’s a personal matter and leaves. Weston follows him, trying to figure where he’s going.

Weston confronts him, asking of Maggie has Jenny. Hardy shoves him against a wall, asking if Parker knows any of this. He confirms she doesn’t. Weston says Hardy can’t go on his own and demands to go with him. Hardy warns that he’ll be fired, but he says he can play the ‘traumatized by the loss of a fellow agent’ card, and get off with just a warning. They leave.

They drive to Brooklyn, and Weston tries to make conversation, but Hardy isn’t very talkative. So he stops talking.

Back in 2005, Hardy and Claire Matthews go on a date to Jenny’s restaurant. The girls hit it off.

Back to now, Parker calls Weston’s cell, but he ignores the call, making Hardy realize he’s not so bad after all.

They arrive at the restaurant, and Hardy says he’s going to leave the side door unlocked, and if they take too long coming out, for Weston to go in there and do whatever it takes to save Jenny. She’s the priority, not him.

Hardy goes inside looking for them, but just finds a note next a chair with a blindfold on it. The note says to put it on, so he does and sits down.

Maggie talks to him, and forbids him from removing the blindfold. She says how much fun she’s had learning about Hardy’s early years, but when he hears Jenny scream, he takes off his blindfold, prompting Maggie to knock him out.

Back in the country, in the basement, Jacob, not wanting to kill Meghan, removes her muffle and gives her water. She pleads with him to let her go. She proposes that if he cuts her a little, a lot of blood will pool, and he can tell his friends that he killed her and took her out to bury her. But he says his friends will never believe it.

Back in 2009, Jacob meets with Carroll, confessing that he can’t kill anyone. Carroll says it can be their little secret, and that Jacob can kill when he’s ready.

Back in the basement, Jacob grabs the knife and holds it to Meghan’s throat, ready to kill.

Back at the restaurant, Hardy comes to, strapped to a table, with Jenny sitting nearby. Maggie promises not to kill Jenny, but is going to make her watch as she kills Hardy.

Back in 2005, Claire says how much she liked meeting Jenny and learning about Hardy’s past. She pushes him to open up, so he does. His mom died when he was 14, from leukemia. He did was a cop and killed in a hold-up. He had an older brother that was a firefighter who died during 9/11.

Back in the restaurant, Hardy struggles against his restraints.

Back in the basement, Jacob cuts Meghan free, and tells her to get out as fast as she can. She sneaks upstairs and flees out the backdoor, alerting Emma, who grabs a knife, and Paul, who joins her. They chase her outside.

Meghan hides herself in the barn, and Paul nearly stumbles upon her when Emma calls him away. Thinking she’s safe, Meghan tries to run for it only to get cornered by Emma and Paul, who proceed to stab her. “Relax, it’s only a flesh wound.”

In the restaurant, Maggie rips open Hardy’s shirt and tells him that it’s very easy to interrupt the function of a pacemaker, through the use of magnets. She tapes magnets to his chest as Jenny screams and he gets woozy.

Maggies makes sure to tell him that she’s not killing him, and that’s it’s Carroll. She’s just interrupting his pacemaker, and allowing Carroll to finish the kill he started. She thinks it will make a great chapter in the book. Maggie cuts his hands free and he falls off the table, unable to move due to lack of circulation.

Weston sneaks in the backdoor as Maggie drags Jenny closer to Hardy. He pulls a gun, and warns her to stop. She draws her knife, and he shoots her. She drops to the ground, and West removes the magnets from Hardy just in time.

Back in the country, Paul and Emma are caked in mud and decide to clean up. Emma says they both love Jacob, and decides to help Paul clean up. They kiss and get into the shower.

In the basement, Jacob finds Meghan alive, bleeding, and restrained once again.

Back at the restaurant, the EMTs confirm Hardy’s pacemaker is functioning. Weston reveals that Maggie had her cellphone on her, and they can pull location info off of it. Then he says that Parker knows, and he’ll likely get suspended for the stunt they pulled.

Hardy tells Jenny that she would probably be safest if she left the area for a while, she thinks Miami would be nice. Then she asks about Claire.

Back in 2005, Hardy tells Jenny that he told Claire they needed time. Jenny says that Hardy loves her, and the breakup was a mistake. Hardy believes that if he sticks around, he’ll always remind her of Joe Carroll.

Back to now, Jenny says Maggie was right… and that their family is cursed, and they shouldn’t spend it alone.

In the country, Jacob, crying, goes to apologize to Emma, but finds her in the shower with Paul. They tell him they won’t give up on him, and bring him into the shower with them. They all embrace.

At Claire’s house, Hardy reveals that they were able to locate where Joey is being held. Duchess County in New York. He tries to excuse himself, but Claire urges him to say.

Back in 2005, Jenny asks what Hardy thinks he deserves, but Hardy says neither he nor Claire are ready for a relationship.

Back to now, Claire offers to make him breakfast. Until they get the address.

Back in 2005, Hardy says he’s no good for her or her son, and is a constant reminder of Carroll. And he’ll leave her because he loves her.

Back to now, Claire begs him to stay. He declines, and leaves.