'The Following' Season 1, Episode 8: 'Welcome Home' Recap

‘The Following’, season 1, episode 8, ‘Welcome Home’

Joey wakes up and finds Carroll watching over him. He tells his son that he knows he’s afraid of him, but he hopes it will change and that he’ll get another chance. He says Claire was supposed to be there as well, but things didn’t go to plan.

Emma leads Carroll to his following, for him to address them. A group of over two dozen people eagerly awaits his words.

In the prison, the FBI team has a new boss, Nick Donovan. He was sent in from Quantico to keep tabs on Hardy and Parker.

Hardy wants to talk to David again, but Donovan insists he do it himself, and tells Hardy to step down and stay a consultant.

In the cult mansion, Emma is surprised by the number of followers there. Carroll asks her about Jacob and Paul, but she says she hasn’t heard from them. As they talk, a police cruiser pulls up, sirens blaring. The sheriff walks out, and walks up to Carroll, pulling him into a hug. It’s the elusive Roderick.

Inside, Carroll thanks Roderick for all he’s done, and Roderick says that he owes Carroll.

Flashback to 2004, Roderick visits Carroll in prison, saying he killed two of the girls that Carroll was charged for. Carroll says it doesn’t matter, and that Roderick will pay him back one day.

Back to now, in the prison Donovan tells Hardy that David refuses to speak to anyone except Hardy, and asks him to sit in with him during the interrogation. They go into the room, and David ignores Donovan and speaks directly to Hardy. David asks how Hardy liked the plot twist, and he said it was boring. Hardy asks about Carroll, and he says that they’ll never find Carroll.

David, after saying that more people will die tomorrow, leans forward and takes a bite out of his hand, ingesting something. He begins to convulse as blood pours from his mouth. He dies.

In the mansion, Roderick shows Carroll the tech center, manned by Charlie. Charlie apologizes to Carroll for failing his mission with Claire, and Carroll tells him it’s alright.

Roderick ushers him forth and shows him to his ‘inspiration room’, a study set up for him. Carroll asks how many people are there, and Roderick says he’s been recruiting, so there are the one’s he’s met, and at least a dozen more. Carroll praises Roderick’s strategy, being the sheriff of the small town where they are located.

He says they’re eager to get started, but they need Claire first. Roderick says she’s in protective custody, but he can find where she is; by going through the FBI.

In the prison, Weston gives a report on the pill that killed David, and how it was sewn into his skin, an old military tactic, which led him to find David’s military record, and found he was investigated for lethal fighting in Iraq.

Donovan comes in, angry that someone hacked his email. It was Weston, under Hardy’s command. Donovan sends Weston him, and Hardy isn’t pleased.

At his hotel, Weston notices a group of guys loitering in the parking lot. Feeling uncomfortable, he rushes inside. He sees a woman get on the elevator, and decides to take the stairs, feeling unsafe. He runs up to his room, and is met by Louise and Charlie.

Hardy tries to call Weston, but gets no answer. A trace on his cell reveals it to be in his hotel room, so Hardy drives over there. He finds Weston’s car still in the parking lot, and is concerned when he sees his room’s door open, and the room inside destroyed.

Back at the mansion, Emma and Carroll are enjoying some booze, getting a little tipsy. Emma starts flirting, and Carroll lets her. When she goes to make her move, one of the followers interrupts them and says that Roderick called and says everything is going to plan.

Emma asks about how Carroll met Roderick.

In 2003, Carroll ushers Roderick into a basement room where he was a woman bound to a table. He pulls out a knife, and gives Roderick a play-by-play lesson on killing his victims.

Back to now, Emma tries again, but Carroll tells her that he loves his wife, shooting her down.

Charlie, Roderick, Louise, and a handful of other followers bring a hooded Weston into an empty shipyard.

Parker meets Hardy at Weston’s hotel, and they go over the surveillance footage. Hardy points out that they could have killed him, but they didn’t, so they must want something. They try to ID the victims, and Donovan hijacks the conversation, saying they can’t make out the license plate, only a partial, so there were 9 possible matches. They list where the cars were spotted, and Hardy hears “shipyard”, and knows that’s where they must be. He and Parker head over there.

In the shipyard, Roderick tells Weston that they are going to play a little game, where they ask him questions, and if he lies, he gets hurt. They ask where Claire is, and he says he doesn’t know, so Charlie punches him and it turns into a brawl.

Roderick separates them, and asks again. Weston still doesn’t know. So Louise brings out some metal rods, and Charlie goes wild on him.

Hardy and Parker arrive at the shipyard and find the car. They split up.

Weston is on the ground, barely conscious, but still denies knowing anything, so Roderick calls for the final round of the game.

Outside, Hardy sees a guard and follows him inside.

Roderick makes Weston get up, and Louise hands him and Charlie some large knives. Weston goes for Charlie, but ends up with a knife stuck in his gut. Louise takes the knife from Weston and prepares to slit his throat, but Hardy shows up and starts shooting. He takes out a few of the followers, but the rest flee.

Donovan and the FBI show up, and Weston is loaded into an ambulance. Donovan tells Hardy that he’s likely to survive, and he says he’s going to head to the hospital and wait for him.

In the mansion, the survivors from the brawl, Charlie, Roderick, Louise, tell Carroll that they are down 5 guys and got no answers. Charlie apologizes to Carroll for letting him down again. He hands Carroll a knife as Louise lays out a tarp beneath him.

Carroll pulls Charlie into an embrace and buries the knife deep into his side, and holds him close as he dies in his arms.

In the hospital, Hardy watches over Weston as he sleeps. Parker shows up and Hardy says that Weston kept repeating “I didn’t tell them anything” and asks Parker what it means. She reveals that Weston is the only one on the team who actually knows where Claire is.

In the mansion, Roderick is out of sorts and Louise tries to get him into her bed with no luck.

Upstairs, Emma brings Carroll a change of clothes and some towels. She helps clean Charlie’s blood off of him, and tries to seduce him again. He tells her that he loves his wife, and she says that his wife isn’t there.

Downstairs, Louise tries harder to get Roderick in the mood. She asks what she can do, and he stands up and chokes her.

Upstairs, Carroll and Emma start to get hot and heavy.

Downstairs, Roderick lets Louise go, who seems furious… but then super turned on.

Upstairs, Carroll and Emma strip and climb into bed.

In the hospital, Hardy watches over Weston still.