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Joseph "Joe" Carroll is the main antagonist of the crime thriller TV series The Following.
He is a narcissistic serial killer who created a cult of killers in order to enact revenge on Ryan Hardy, the man responsible for his arrest.
He was portrayed by James Purefoy.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Carroll was born and raised in the United Kingdom. Carroll's father was neglectful towards Carroll and regularly cheated on Carroll's mother with various women, something Carroll was aware of.
Carroll eventually moved to the United States to study and during his early academic years, met a professor of medicine named Doctor Arthur Strauss. During their first meeting Strauss deduced that Carroll was attracted to death and murder with the latter claiming to believe that it was wrong. Strauss, who was secretly a mentor and teacher to young serial killers, encouraged Carroll to get rid of this conflict and offered to train him to become a more effective killer. Over the next years, Carroll thus became a student of Strauss and learned from him how to effectively remove the eyes of his victims, which would later become his trademark as a serial killer.
Teaching career and serial killing spree[]
After graduating, Carroll became a professor of english literature at Winslow University where he gave lectures about the writings of classic romantic writers Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edgar Allan Poe, the latter of whom was his favorites. He was held in great esteem by his students who praised his skills as an orator and a teacher. During that time he met fellow professor Claire Matthews, who eventually became his wife. Claire became pregnant with Carroll's son, Joey, in 2002. The following year, Carroll self published a gothic novel, The Gothic Sea, inspired by the works of his idol, Poe. The novel was panned by critics and was a commercial failure. Seeing the failure of his book as an insult to his ego, Carroll went on a killing spree, slaying of 12 of his female students. During that time, or perhaps some time before (it's not made clear in the show), Carroll tutored a man named Tim Allen, who killed two people under his tutelage.
That same year, an FBI agent named Ryan Hardy, who was investigating Carroll's murders, theorized that they were referencing Poe. To explore this theory, Hardy met with Claire who recommended her husband. During their first meeting and despite Carroll's innocent façade, Hardy already had suspicions of Carroll being the killer. They eventually met to study the case together and by feigning kindness and compassion for Hardy's hardships and lonely life, Carroll managed to fool him into thinking he wasn't the man he was looking for.
One night, while trying to murder a student named Sarah Fueller, he was confronted by Hardy who was patrolling the neighborhood. A struggle ensued during which Carroll stabbed Hardy in the heart with Hardy responding by shooting Carroll in the back, saving the life of Sarah. Carroll was subsequently arrested, taking the blame for Allen's murders so the latter would remain free, and was placed on death row after being found guilty in court.
During his nine years of imprisonment, Carroll, with Allen's help, who adopted the nickname "Roderick" so he could remain anonymous, recruited people who were either admirers, like-minded individuals and/or unstable people through the internet and prison visits, forming a cult dedicated to serving him. These people were trained and brainwashed so they would become agents completely loyal to Carroll's plan.
Season 1[]
In 2013, a few months before he was to be executed, he breaks out of prison, killing five guards in the process and starting a nationwide manhunt. The FBI asks Hardy, who had retired after his confrontation with Carroll, to act as a consultant in their search to catch the serial killer. After some investigation, during which Hardy realizes Carroll has made accomplices, Hardy arrests him again, but not before Carroll has managed to kill Sarah, the only one of his victim to get away, as a way to torment Hardy. In prison, Carroll reveals to Hardy the existence of his cult of killers, and explains that his plan, which he frames as a new book he's writing, with Hardy as its protagonist, is to get revenge on the FBI agent for capturing him and entering a relationship with Claire. While this conversation is taking place, his followers orchestrates the kidnapping of his son Joey so that they can reunite him with his father.
Carroll then proceeds to play mind games with Hardy, putting into motion several events involving his followers, to torment Hardy and confuse the FBI about his true intentions. Said intentions being to reunite and reconcile with his family. Eventually, using Hardy's assault on him and by blackmailing the warden with his daughter's life, Carroll organizes a transfer out of his prison so that his followers can break him out. Successful, he then joins Roderick, and his son in a manor along with a number of his followers. He is soon joined by his ex-wife Claire whom his followers managed to kidnap despite the FBI and Hardy protecting her.
However, despite Carroll's attempts, Claire refuses to rekindle their relationship and remains defiant of him. His lack of long term plan for the cult, focus on the writing of his book and his family, lead to frictions with his followers. This culminates in a violent altercation with Roderick, who abandons him and kidnaps Joey to use as leverage to bargain with the FBI. Hardy succeeds in rescuing Joey, and Carroll, enraged and with the FBI closing in on him, orchestrates a mass murder in the town where he was hiding, in order to distract the FBI to facilitate his escape. Taking Claire with him and leaving clues for Hardy to find, Carroll takes refuge in a lighthouse where he intends to murder Claire for not returning his feelings and to further torture Hardy before finally killing him and escape by boat. Hardy however, foils his attempt and a fight ensues between the two in a cabin near the lighthouse. During the struggle the cabin catches fire and eventually explodes due to the tanks of gas held there. Hardy narrowly escapes and he and the FBI presume Carroll to be dead due to finding a burned corpse with DNA matching Carroll's. Shortly after coming home, Claire and Hardy are attacked by one of Carroll's follower, and Claire seemingly dies in the attack.
Interlude between Seasons 1 and 2[]
In reality, the body belonged to Carroll's brother, who he had planted to fake his death. Injured during his fight with Hardy, he seeks refuge at Strauss' house where his old mentor heals his wounds and shelters him. A month later, he meets with a female admirer of his and her daughter, Mandy, and starts living in hiding with them.
Season 2[]
A year later, another cult of killers led by Lily Gray, who act as the latter's makeshift "family", starts committing murders in New York with the purpose of establishing contact with Carroll and force him out of hiding. In parallel to this, a reverend accidentally discovers Carroll’s real identity, leading Carroll to kill him, his first murder in a year.
Following this, Carroll plans to leave his hideout, but his follower opposes his decision. Deciding to kill her and her daughter Mandy, he is preceded by the latter, who kills her mother, as she wanted to follow Carroll and "see the world". Having grown attached to her, Carroll takes her with him.
After meeting with another one of his follower named Jana, who gives her information regarding his own cult and something named "Korban", Carroll is contacted by one of his most loyal follower, Emma, who Lily and her family recruited to create a link of confidence with Carroll. Emma informs Carroll that Lily can be trusted and he then meets her and her cult at her home. She explains that she wants to become his benefactor. While initially reluctant due to not wanting to be "controlled", Carroll accepts and has sex with Lily, seemingly cementing the start of their relationship. Carroll's opinions soon shift when Lily revealed that she wanted him to go into hiding in another country with her, as Carroll had other, and grander, plans. Before Carroll could make his escape a hostage situation involving Ryan Hardy ensues. The latter, suspecting Carroll to be alive and determined to kill him as revenge for the death of Claire, has captured one of Lily's "children", and offers to give him back to Lily in exchange for Carroll. Lily seemingly accepts, with Carroll willing to serve as bait, only to be drugged by Lily as a safety measure, since she doesn't want to risk his life. After being woken up by Emma, Carroll kills two of Lily's children who were guarding him, and flee with Emma and Mandy, mocking Lily and her family over the phone while doing so.
Carroll and his two followers make their way to Korban, revealed to be another cult, albeit a more peaceful one, who Carroll had sent one of his followers to infiltrate with the plan of incorporating the members of Korban into his own cult. Carroll's initial plan to take over is put in disarray when the leader of the cult, Micah, and his wife, Julia, refuse to afford him a special treatment and have Emma perform a blood sacrifice without her consent, in order to establish dominance on Carroll. Micah explains that he is an admirer of Carroll and his cult and plans on using him to become as widely known as the serial killer. Despite Julia's displeasure over this decision, Carroll plays along and using his charm and perceptiveness to appeal to Micah's ego, soon evicts Julia of her position of authority when she starts opposing her husband's decision more strongly. Eventually, Carroll offers to Micah to test Julia's loyalty by making her believe Micah was going to kill her for disobeying him. When she "fails" said test by attempting to shoot Micah with a gun (who had no bullets and planted as part of her test) Carroll murders her on Micah's orders. After deceiving Micah into releasing his message to the world, Joe poisons him to take over Korban once and for all. Carroll then begins to shift the cult's opinions and views into ones more closely linked to his own philosophy of murder and death, so as to turn the members into more violent pawns to fulfill his plan, manipulating the words of the Bible among other things to ease this transition. He reveals to Emma that said plan consists in spreading fear around the country through the actions of his cult to achieve a form of immortality by "living forever in infamy". At the same time, Carroll, thanks to a hidden message in a news report, realizes that his former wife, Claire, is actually alive and is trying to force him in the open.
Carroll subsequently orders his new followers to commit a series of random killings to instill fear in the American public and when a famous televangelist, Kingston Tanner, tries to discredit Carroll on TV, Carroll chooses him as the victim of his final plan to make history. Carroll has Tanner's son kidnapped and forces the son to kill a member of Korban. He later traps Tanner, his son and an entire congregation inside a church rigged with explosives, where he broadcasts his last monstrous act: to force father and son into a decision where one either kill the other or both of them are executed on the spot. Refusing to play Carroll's game and to the latter's surprise, Tanner chooses to slit his own throat instead. Taking hostage Hardy's partner, Mike Weston, who had both infiltrated the church to defuse the situation, Carroll learns from Hardy that Claire is being held hostage by Lily's twins who want revenge on Carroll for betraying their mother. Carroll accepts Hardy's offer to team up, the FBI agent needing Carroll to infiltrate the twins' hideout, and they go rescue her. After a fight where one of the twins is killed, Carroll corners Claire, and, seemingly apologizing for his conduct, orders her to forgive him for everything he's done. Another fight with Hardy takes place, where Hardy, having Carroll at gunpoint and with Claire and Carroll both asking him to pull the trigger, opts not to, preferring to end the cycle of violence here and there. Carroll is then arrested.
Season 3[]
Now back in prison Carroll is solicited by Hardy, who requests his help in finding Arthur Strauss. Strauss had attempted to kill Hardy in Season 2 but escaped judgement thanks to his students murdering the only other witness and is planning to leave the country. Carroll accepts on the condition that Hardy visits him every day until his execution. After finding Strauss' body, Hardy theorizes that the doctor was likely murdered by his "star pupil" and asks Carroll's help in identifying him. During this meeting, both learn that Carroll is to be executed the following week.
Awaiting his execution, Carroll learns that Hardy has declined his invitation to his execution and is visibly angered by this revelation.
Two days before he is to be executed, Carroll is contacted by Strauss' killer, Theo Noble, who is searching for the code to Strauss' secret contact list, who offers him revenge on Hardy and for his murders to be made in his name, in exchange for information. Carroll declines, having his own plan in mind.
On the day of his execution, Carroll takes prison's personnel hostage to force Hardy to have a heart to heart conversation with him. Once Hardy is at his mercy, Carroll threatens an hostage to force Hardy to admit he enjoys killing and that their relationship is the most important one in Hardy's life. Hardy admits he dreams about Carroll and him being friends and of Carroll teaching him to kill. After agreeing to end his hostage taking, the inmates released by Carroll attack him and Hardy and they fight them off together, with Hardy saving Carroll's life from another inmate's hands. Afterwards Carroll explains to Hardy that he has achieved his goal of becoming immortal by making Hardy his "legacy", having traumatized the FBI agent so much that Carroll will, figuratively, live through him after his death.
A few hours later, Carroll is put to death by lethal injection, with Hardy witnessing his execution.
Carroll continues to exist in Hardy's psyche, appearing as an hallucination who acts as an adviser and confident to him.
Trivia[]
- James Purefoy, who plays Carroll on the show, stated in interviews that he took inspiration from real life serial killers for his portrayal, most notably Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.
- Furthermore, to prepare for the role, Purefoy spent a week in a hotel watching documentaries and listening to audio tapes of serial killers, mainly of Bundy, for 16 hours a day.
- Carroll is inspired by and shares many similarities with Hannibal Lecter (more specifically his original depiction in Red Dragon), being a manipulative serial killer with a God complex who plays mind games with his archnemesis while in prison and tries to get him to admit that they are kindred spirits.