THE FOLLOWING: Valorie Curry on Emma’s ‘Miserable Existence,’ Getting Peace, Her One Regret, and More

[Warning: This post contains massive spoilers for THE FOLLOWING’s “Silence.” If you haven’t viewed the hour, go do that, and then come back to see what THE FOLLOWING star Valorie Curry has to say.]

THE FOLLOWING’s Joe has lost his most loyal follower.

For two seasons, members of Joe’s cult came and went, but through it all, Emma stayed loyal to the man she loved. But when he tasked her with bringing in Claire, his ex-wife — and the woman Emma lived with for years when she was undercover as Joey’s babysitter — it ended up being the final task for Emma, and the Claire/Emma confrontation led to the latter’s death.

I spoke with THE FOLLOWING’s Valorie Curry (Emma) about Emma finally getting peace, seeing through Joe, her one show regret, and more….

When did you find out Emma was going to die?
Valorie Curry: Last night, when it aired.

Wait, really?
VC: No! [Laughs]

I was going to say…
VC: I mean, it’s funny, with the finale, they filmed three different endings, so I have no idea who’s dying and who’s not.

I know last season they did the same thing — they filmed multiple endings and you guys didn’t know exactly how things were going to go until you actually watched it…so I’m glad they actually told you, versus you shooting multiple endings for Emma and just finding out like that.
VC: That’s the problem with that joke: it’s way too likely.

So when did you actually find out about Emma’s death?
VC: I found when we were shooting episode 13, so about two weeks before Emma’s death [was shot].

What was your reaction?
VC: I wasn’t really surprised; I was expecting it. I was kind of waiting for that knock on my door. Just because when you’re on the show long enough, you start to see the writing on the wall for when the character is going to get offed.

And I felt like with season 2 of Emma, they really had a choice with writing her, with Joe leaving her and her being on her own and having that choice: she was going to find her core and her agenda and learn to use her power and her strength for her own means, or she was going to fall apart. And unfortunately for her it, it was the latter. And when she did get Joe back, she was disillusioned about him. She still loved him, but she saw him for who he was, in all his failings, and she couldn’t lie to herself; she knew.

By the time they were having that moment in the garage, she knows. She loves him still, but he doesn’t love her the way she loves him. And she was really having a miserable existence. I wanted her to have some peace. And them having made the choice for her to go that route, I think she had run her course as a character.

What were you thoughts on Claire being what killed her versus Joe or Ryan?
VC: Frankly, I was pretty bummed, because while it makes sense for the story, and for it to come full circle, and for the fans, I always thought it would be Joe Carroll. I always thought Emma should die at the hands of Joe Carroll. And I’m sorry, I don’t buy that Claire beats Emma in a fight. But that’s what you get for fighting next to a window.

Yeah, that was something where if they were in a different situation, it’s hard to see how Emma would lose.
VC: Maybe. I don’t know. Apparently Claire’s being doing her [Crossfit] PRX and her boxing personal training while she was in the witness protection and Emma got soft!

How was it shooting the death scene? Were you able to process it being the end, or because of it being shot in a forest, was it more about just getting the scene done ASAP?
VC: It was honestly much more the latter because were trying to shoot quickly, and we didn’t have a lot of time for rehearsing and it was so cold, and trying to get through it. I think I had more of the processing emotional moments when I was shooting my last scenes with James [Purefoy (Joe)], which were the scenes in the garage. He reminded me…[THE FOLLOWING executive producer] Marcos [Siega] yelled at him, because he almost made me start crying, because [James] was like, “This is our last day together.” And I was like, “Oh my God!” My first day was with James, in episode 2 [in season 1], once we came to New York [to film]. It was shooting the book store scene. So that was a little bit tearful. And that was her goodbye. Once she gets to the lodge for Claire, it’s about survival; it’s about life or death. She’s not thinking much about it, or processing things emotionally.

Emma so desperately wanted Joe to love her, so what were your thoughts when Joe did declare his love for her, while tasking her to do something so dangerous?
VC: It’s this weird thing about Emma that’s kind of hard to explain: she can sort of hold conflicting truths in the same space. She knows on a certain level he doesn’t love her the way she loves him, because he’s willing to sacrifice her and send her into possible death to get Claire — a very likely death to get Claire. But at the same time, she can allow herself to hear those words and believe them and take them in…I believe in him because I choose to. So she can choose to take those words in, kind of like food for her, but she knows it’s not really sustaining.

Will we see you in the finale in one form or another?
VC: That is one thing I can honestly say I don’t know. It’s possible you may. 14 and 15 were kind of like one big finale that was broken up into two episodes. And I was frankly surprised by how 14 ended — that’s not how I thought it was going to end. They really moved pieces of the story around like puzzle pieces. I may or may not appear next week!

How do you think Joe might react if he learns about Emma’s death?
VC: I think his reaction, his response, is going to be very telling. And it’s going to answer a question I know I’ve been asked a lot, and I’m sure James has as well over the years: about whether or not Joe really cares about Emma. I think the audience will find out the answer to that. I will also say there is only one person in this world of THE FOLLOWING that mourns Emma Hill. I won’t tell you who [it is]. [Laughs]

Do you have any regrets about things you didn’t get to do?
VC: My big regret is I never once got to work with Shawn Ashmore (Mike). We realized that when we did press in Canada over the summer, and it’s the most we’d ever been around each other, because we had literally never worked together, and we still haven’t. Not only is he the nicest guy in the world, but I think he’s phenomenal, and I think this season has showcased his talent; he’s had such a great arc. I would have loved for Emma and Mike for their paths to have crossed at some point, especially as the two pupils or proteges of Ryan and Joe.

That’s kind of crazy the two of you never shared a scene.
VC: We’ve never worked together. But I hear he’s great.

Since they were each basically the next-in-line for the villain/hero status, that could have been a crazy dynamic.
VC: Either both of them wouldn’t have made it out alive, or they would have fallen in love immediately.

Well, that would have been a hilarious thing to explain to Joe and Ryan.
VC: Emma could have turned states evidence. She and Mike could have run off into the sunset.

If she had lived, do you think there was the potential for her to be less blindly devoted to Joe?
VC: I think by the end she wasn’t blindly devoted to Joe. She was devoted to him, but not blinded, if that makes sense. She knew what she was choosing. It was miserable, but the misery of being with him or the misery of being without him, and she chose the former. I don’t think there was another way out for Emma besides death. And by the time it happened, she wanted it. When she was talking in the car about silence and peace, she was ready to go. She was ready to be released from this whole life that this man has created for her.

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THE FOLLOWING’s season finale airs Monday at 9 PM on Fox.

Related:

THE FOLLOWING: ‘Silence’ Photo Preview
THE FOLLOWING’s Connie Nielsen on the Lily Twist: ‘I Knew This Was Exactly Where It Was Going’
THE FOLLOWING: ‘The Reaping’ Photo Preview

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