"The Following" - "The Poet's Fire" Quiz

Answer: Literary critic

The episode opens with a man in an Edgar Allan Poe mask having a reading of "The Raven". The reading over, he strolls up to a man at a cart buying his lunch, no doubt, and douses him with gasoline. The masked man then sets the second man on fire, killing him in a gruesome manner. We later learn that the dead man was a literary critic who ripped apart Joe Carroll's book because it just wasn't any good.

In my opinion, if you can't take criticism, don't bother publishing.

Answer: Nine

Aside from the dead body of Emma's mother and the creepy masks that they've found in what they dub as the cult 'clubhouse', Agent Parker mentions that they've found nine different sets of prints in the house. Emma's are obviously one of them, as are revealed characters Paul, Jacob, and Jordy Raines. One set belongs to our masked killer, but four sets of prints remain unidentified.

Answer: Stab him

Maggie is found in her house hiding in a closet. When Ryan Hardy opens that closet, the first thing that Maggie does is comes after Hardy with a knife. Not a good way of introducing yourself to a federal agent, or the consultant to a federal agency, anyway. Maggie claims that she was hiding because Rick frightens her and he still has a key, though they've been separated for quite some time already. Isn't it time she switched her locks?

Answer: Yes

Maggie was scared of Rick as she had filed for divorce some years ago and he had stabbed her in response to that. She had been hospitalized, but, charges were never levelled against Rick because Maggie refused to testify. Rick had apparently been very contrite and he sad it would never happen again. Nevertheless, Maggie was still scared of him.

Answer: She cut him with a kitchen knife.

Emma creeps me out, honestly, there's no emotion behind her eyes and that's a scary thing.

Paul goes to talk to Emma to try and smooth things over with her. Jacob and Emma have a relationship and Paul is probably feeling a little left out of the deal because Emma is being nothing but antagonizing towards him. Jacob, blinded by love or lust, obviously has no clue, or pretends he doesn't, but Paul, who is clearly actually in love with Jacob wants to make things right. Emma's response to the talk is to slice open Paul's forearm with a carving knife that she has in her hand.

Answer: Dean

Dean Philip Barnes is on Joe Carroll's hit list because the Dean denied Carroll tenure at the university. It doesn't matter what the reasoning behind the denial was (perhaps there were more qualified candidates, ones that could actually write good books), Joe Carroll despises the man and that's why Rick is sent after him.

Answer: No

Dean Philip Barnes is the first person that Rick has ever killed with a knife. In a flashback, Rick confesses to Joe Carroll that his preferred method of execution is with fire, and Carroll says that it's perfectly fine. In another flashback, the gang teases Rick for not being one who kills by stabbing, and someone points out that you can't remove the eyes with a burnt victim. Emma claims that it's possible, but Paul counters that it's not necessary; removing the eyes was Joe Carroll's M.O. and everyone can find their own signature way of killing people.

Answer: Wine

Paul is flirting with Megan, and he tells her that he's looking for wine. Megan informs him that they don't sell wine, but they do have some beer instead. Paul and Megan make a date for when Megan gets off work, and Paul buys the beer. Obviously, Megan doesn't watch the news because Paul's face has been plastered all over it saying that he's wanted and extremely dangerous.

Answer: Makes him lunch

Ryan Hardy and Joe Carroll meet at Carroll's house when Claire and Joey aren't around. Ryan seems charmed by Joe's charisma and Ryan gets a copy of Joe's book, signed by the author himself. They sit down to have a scotch or three and have a mano-a-mano about Ryan's life and how lonely it must be to be an FBI agent, but also rewarding to be able to help so many lives. Ryan might have suspected that Joe was involved in the murders before he stepped into Joe's house, but after talking with him, I'm sure that muddied the waters and made the case a bit more confusing for Ryan Hardy to crack.

Answer: Gauze

Jordy Raines, traumatised that he's revealed something as important as the fact that Maggie is a part of the crew, starts blubbering in his hospital bed. He leans over and starts pulling the gauze from his gunshot wound dressing with his mouth. While crying that he's sorry, he continues to chew on the gauze, swallowing it bit by bit until he dies, which, mercifully, is not shown on camera.