page_title: List of The Following characters
section_title: Joe Carroll
hierarchical_section_title: List of The Following characters / Major characters / Joe Carroll
caption_attribution_description: James Purefoy at Comic-Con 2012
context_page_description: The Following is an American television drama series, which premiered on Fox on January 21, 2013 about an FBI agent trying to catch a serial killer and his murderous cult. The series was created by Kevin Williamson and is jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.
  The series protagonist, Ryan Hardy, is portrayed by Kevin Bacon. Hardy initially works alongside Mike Weston, Debra Parker, and eventually his niece Max Hardy to put an end to antagonist Joe Carroll and his cult of killers.
  On March 4, 2013, the series was renewed for a second season to air in 2014, and, on March 7, 2014, renewed for a third season to air in 2015.
context_section_description: Portrayed by James Purefoy. He is a former professor of English literature at Winslow University. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in England and has a half-brother. Carroll's teaching emphasized the romantic period. He believes, like Edgar Allan Poe, whom he admires intensely, in the "insanity of art", i.e. that it has to be "felt". Carroll began making "art" by eviscerating female students. He killed fourteen of them before he was caught by Ryan Hardy. While serving out his sentence at the Virginia Central Penitentiary in Waverly, Virginia, Carroll gathers a cult-like collection of followers who are willing to murder, kidnap, and sacrifice themselves for Carroll to execute his plan of revenge against Hardy. In the season finale, Carroll is apparently killed in a massive explosion outside his lighthouse after a brutal showdown with Hardy.
  In Season 2, it is confirmed he survived and has been hiding. When Joe attempts to return to his old ways, he meets Lily Gray, a follower of him and a brief love interest, as they spend the night at the end of "Reflection", but he leaves her after she drugs him and Joe expresses his contempt for her. He then travels to a cult called Korban and, after manipulating (and later killing) the leader Micah and his wife Julia, becomes the new leader of Korban with the intent of raining havoc on New York. As Joe explains to Ryan, he has moved on from Poe (he has also given up all dreams of becoming a writer) to the Bible (which is ironic as Joe does not believe in God). He starts a "Holy War" with Kingston Tanner, a televangelist who views Joe as the anti-Christ. Joe kidnaps Tanner's son and forces him to kill someone, then has his father get on his knees to admit there is no God. He tries to force them to kill one another, but Kingston kills himself while Joe kills Preston later. In the season 2 finale, Ryan is forced to work with Joe to save Claire from Luke and Mark. Joe is then captured again by Ryan and sent to prison despite his efforts to goad Ryan into killing him.
  After being absent for a few episodes, Joe is eventually seen again when Ryan comes to him looking for information regarding Joe's escaped former mentor, Arthur Stauss. Joe agrees to help Ryan should he visit him every day until Joe's impending execution. When Strauss's favourite student, Theo Noble, convinces a former member of the military to pose as a guard in Joe's prison, Noble and Joe speak via a microphone on the guard's person, and Theo can see Joe through a pair of sunglasses in the man's pocket. When the facility is made aware of the man's presence, Joe strangles and kills him, taking the glasses to make a weapon out of.
  On the day of his execution, Joe kills two guards and keeps three people hostage, and demands that Ryan Hardy attend the execution, otherwise he will kill the hostages. When Ryan arrives, he has to handcuff his hands behind his back before entering the room. Ryan is then attacked by Joe using a stun gun. After coming around, Ryan gets Joe to release one hostage. Joe then gets Ryan to admit that the relationship between him and Joe is the most important in his life, after speaking of how Ryan killed the man who murdered Ryan's father.
  After the remaining hostages are released, all the gates to the cells are opened by Penny, Theo's sister, who was trying to get Ryan killed. One inmate, who Joe had told earlier wasn't worthy of his soon to be empty cell, took Joe into the cell. After killing or incapacitating the inmates, Ryan saves Joe and they kill the remaining inmate. Joe is then executed as planned, as Ryan watches.
  Ryan goes to a bar and drinks that night, ordering two shots every turn, as he imagines that he is drinking with Joe. Ryan's illusions of Joe continue, particularly as he over-steps the lines and tortures Penny.
  Carroll's only published novel, The Gothic Sea, was inspired by Poe's The Light-House, but was a commercial and critical failure.
caption: James Purefoy portrays Joe Carroll.
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