THE FOLLOWING Recap Episode 8, "Welcome Home" (SPOILERS): Joe Carroll Enjoys Freedom, Emma Hill, Mike Weston Meets The "Followers," We Finally Meet Rederick

Last week's episode of The Following entitled "Let Me Go" was one of the series' best. We see just how Joe Carroll can play the FBI and we were even introduced to his group of "Followers" at the end of the episode. Where would the next episode go from there? Well, on Monday we did an episode 7 recap and an episode 8 preview. So we had a little hint as to what "Welcome Home" would be like. But even with the help of an advance clip, we could not predict just how intense Monday night's show would be. To sum it up: We finally got to meet Roderick and it was well worth the wait. (SPOILERS TO FOLLOW)

"Welcome Home" opens how "Let Me Go" ended: with a Joe and Joey interaction that is terrifying yet heartwarming. Carroll is enjoying his new surroundings on the reclusive estate in upstate New York populated by his followers. Maybe the happiest of them all is Emma Hill. Suddenly a sheriff's vehicle pulls up and it turns out to be the elusive Roderick. A brief flashback tells us that Roderick actually killed two of the women whom Joe was convicted of murdering. He owes Joe and has been paying him back ever since.

Meanwhile, the FBI is clearly shaken up by Carroll's escape and has brought in a new lead agent, Nick Donovan (played by Mike Colter). As usual, the new boss does not take kindly to Ryan Hardy and tries to keep him away from the action. He soon learns that this is a mistake. The "follower" in custody, David, asks for Hardy, so Donovan accompanies him to the interrogation. Not much is learned, but David manages to commit suicide with a cyanide pill hidden under the skin of his thumb. After Hardy gets Mike Weston in trouble for hacking into Donovan's e-mail, the young agent is sent home where Charlie and Louise kidnap him. With the help of Roderick and some other goons, they try to get Weston to reveal Claire's location. He does not submit and ends up in a fight to the death with the intimidating Charlie. Luckily Hardy and Parker track down their missing friend and rescue him, killing five "followers" in the process.

Back at the mansion, Charlie is so distraught over his failure that he asks Joe to kill him. It is one of the most intimate scenes in television history if you ask me. So it seems like we say good-bye to an extremely compelling character in Charlie to make room for Roderick, an extremely insane character. We see how nuts he is when he almost kills Louise just for fun as Joe and Emma FINALLY get it on upstairs.

By the way, Paul and Jacob were mentioned earlier in the episode, but not seen. It Looks like Emma is over the loss of her closest friends.

Stay tuned for any and all updates on FOX's The Following. Expect a short recap and preview on Monday before episode 9, "Love Hurts."