Other than Clare coming face to face with Joe as he tries to "win" her back, the momentum kind of came to a standstill with the bulk of the episode focused on Ryan and the Feds tracking one of the Cult members to an Armory where they train their prospective followers. There was one interesting new development and that was Roderick. I think he is more than a "follower". I think he believes he has a partnership with Joe and is the only reason I can think of that would allow him to question and interrogate Joe in a manner that would belittle him in the eyes of the other followers who happen to see this. Roderick won't be long for this world as he will become expendable.

I'm still a fan of the series, but I do understand and get why a lot of people are starting to get a little annoyed with certain parts of the show, namely the depiction of the Feds and Cops. They really are being portrayed as dumb and stupid because they can't even do the simplest things right. Everything can't be by the book or they wouldn't be able to move or sustain the plot for very long. If the Feds were solving everything, the show and the series would have been over by the second episode. So, those in law enforcement are required to continually botch things to keep giving the Hero of the show another opportunity to save the day. And it's not just on this show, but any and every show in existence in this genre. Even 24 was a victim of this as well, but that didn't stop me from loving every hour of that show.

Interesting back-story regarding Ryan. It says a lot about someone that forces his dad's killer to continually inject heroin to OD, rather than just pulling the trigger. And the fact that he was 17 years old says even more. You would think he would have rage in him and just kick the door in and start shooting (the gun that is) as his retribution. As for the others, I'm still convinced that Jacob will save Joey and Claire. Well, he will try anyway. The fact that he reached out to his father tells me that doubts are starting to creep him. Loved Claire punching Emma in the face. She had it coming....has plenty more coming.

I have been willing to overlook some pretty big missteps with the writing because for the most part the show has been a fun, guilty pleasure. But I can't get over the stupidity of the final scene involving the 'Follower' that turned herself in to the Feds. Having them all turn their backs on her after saying she was "clean", only to have her pull out a hair pic and stab one of the agents is pushing the believability factor way too far left to stay credible.

The other thing that is starting to rub against me the wrong way is that Joe is clearly losing his mind, and yet his 'Followers' do nothing to save themselves, especially Emma, who is okay with it all. They all are. Actually, the only one that sees Joe for what he truly is is Roderick, which led him to kidnap Joey to save himself. Didn't happen. He's done now. I was right about Jacob letting Joey escape. But why he chose to return to the compound is beyond me.

I knew the Emma would be the death of Jacob. I saw it coming a mile a way. I was just hopeful that he would have gone out in grand fashion trying to save Claire. So, I was a bit disappointed in that he went quietly into the night after telling Emma he was leaving the group. FOX sure wasn't shy about showing her slashing his throat. This season has been one for pushing the envelope of on-screen carnage. Well, I can already tell you what next week will be. With Agent Parker buried alive, the entire hour will be about racing against the clock to save her, which is just another stall tactic from the writers. I fear the are already running out of steam, just based on this episode and last weeks as well.

As predictable as this episode was, it was still entertaining at least. The ending with Ryan's former "girlfriend" was by far the most transparent plot device. I saw this coming a mile away. About the only thing that was "surprising" was that they killed off Agent Parker as they arrived too late to save her. As for Joe Carroll, they may have said that he was "dead", but I don't buy it. The ending with both Ryan and Claire getting stabbed is a good cliffhanger to launch into the new season. Emma with that long red hair and glasses makes her both weird looking and incredibly hot. I'm just so use to her with short hair.

I think the writers missed an opportunity for some much needed payback for not just the characters, but for the viewers as well as they should have had Ryan throw the sniper into the grave previously occupied by Parker to bury him alive. Now THAT would have been just in seeing him go through the same dread that he put Parker through.