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The Following Scoop: Valorie Curry Previews "Next Level" Madness

Exclusive! The breakout star of the Fox serial killer hit series sounds off on viewers' complaints over the FBI's constant fumblings

By Tierney Bricker Mar 11, 2013 7:39 PMTags
THE FOLLOWING, Nico Tortorella, Adan Canto, Valorie CurryFOX

"Everything is just about to go to the next level."

As if you needed another reason to tune into Fox's serial killer hit series The Following, which was just picked up for a second season (huzzah!), breakout star Valorie Curry tells us tonight's episode is one of her favorites and it's "going to change on both sides of the story, the FBI and the cult side, in terms of how characters relate to each other."

We chatted with Curry about the complicated relationship between Emma and Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) and what to expect from the cult leader now that he's finally out of jail. Plus, how does Emma feel about Claire (Natalie Zea), and what does Curry think of all the backlash in regards to Ryan (Kevin Bacon) and the FBI's constant mistakes? Find out...

E! Online: Judging from the final scene in last week's episode, Joe and Emma have a very strong connection. Where is that dynamic heading in upcoming episodes?
Curry: They do really have an intense connection. Obviously, Emma has an incredibly intense connection and intense feelings for him, and what's going to be interesting is that these two people have such a history, but at the same time they've been apart for years. She hasn't been able to even visit him in prison when she started nannying for Joey, which is why the feeling was so heightened when she finally saw him outside of the house. So they're sort of seeing each other for the first time. She's an adult now; she's not a child anymore and he has his own plan and his own mission that goes beyond necessarily Emma. They're going to kind of have to find their way around each other, and figure out who they are to each other.

We're excited to see the dynamic between all of the followers in the house. Are they all jockeying for Joe's attention?  
It's this mansion full of people who really have this same level of devotion to him and everyone is vying for a position. Everyone wants to be close to him, everyone wants to be recognized by him, and everyone is psychotic! There's just a certain amount of walking on egg shells around each other that's going to happen among the cult members, because nobody knows sort of the boundaries just yet.

Emma was used to being the ringleader with Paul (Adan Canto) and Jacob (Nico Tortorella), but now she's in a house full of followers she's never met before. What is her standing there?
Last week it was her sort of meeting new people and being out of her element for the first time, and that's just going to be explored even more. They're all new to her. She didn't really have any idea of how big the world was, I mean her role was always so isolated when she was with Joey and with the guys. This is a whole new world to her and these are all people who don't have experiences with her. They don't know whether or not to be scared of her or to respect her, so she has to learn to assert herself in this world.

What will we see from Joey in tonight's episode? 
As we are starting to see, Joey is a smart cookie. He's the son of Joe Carroll, he's not an idiot and he's going to start questioning even more. He's going to start becoming sort of more assertive and combative where he wants to be. I mean he's in a house full of strangers. The jig is up, the facade is over in terms of living with the babysitter and the two guys in a house. He knows who his dad is, so there's going to be a lot more frank conversations trying to explain things to Joey and bring Joey into this world.

We're interested to hear how you think Emma feels about Claire, this woman she has spent so much time with, but is the wife of the man she loves.
It's actually a really sort of fascinating feeling that Emma has toward Claire, and it's one of her more kind of crazy relationships. As a person and as a person she lived with, she respects Claire. Claire is a strong women, Claire is intelligent, Claire is powerful in her own way, and Emma does not dislike her. At the same time Emma would just love to dispose of her and slip right into her role with the family, that's kind of her thing. She can hold these opposing truths and like somebody, but at the same time be more than happy to get rid of them, and Claire is at the top of that list.

Some people have expressed some frustration over the fact that the FBI is, well, always about five steps behind the cult. Does that shift at all in upcoming episodes?
The cops have to be a step behind whenever you have a television show! You're going to see, as well as what you've already seen in the last episode, the frustration of the FBI; Ryan Hardy sort of destroying the rule book trying to capture, and that's only gonna escalate as the stakes get higher and the frustration and anger increases, because it is personal between Ryan and Joe. If it was just business, maybe the FBI would be doing better.

The Following airs tonight at 9 p.m. on Fox.