There's more to the story with Jacob (l, Nico Tortorella)

and Paul (Adan Canto) on The Following.

If you lost faith in a gay presence on Fox’s new drama The Following once it was explained that the gay couple (played by Nico Tortorella and Adan Canto) was only pretending to be gay as part of a kidnapping plot, you’ll want to be sure to tune in to tonight’s riveting episode where things may not actually be what we’ve been led to believe.

As we enter episode 3, Jacob (Tortorella) and Paul (Canto), along with the third part of the triangle, Emma (Valorie Curry), are all followers of serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy). Under his orders, they have kidnapped Carroll’s young son from his mother (Natalie Zea) and have the boy hidden at an undisclosed house. But what happens when Jacob and Emma start sleeping together? Well, supposedly straight Paul starts acting like a pouty, jealous lover.

So what exactly is going on here? Can series lead Kevin Bacon help us figure it out?

The other Kevin - out series creator Kevin Williamson - told us recently that what’s happening between Paul and Jacob is not as much about sexuality as one might think. “It’s not about whether they’re gay or straight or bi-sexual but it’s about whether they’re in touch with reality,” he said. In terms of Paul, he explained that the character has “posed as a gay man for two years, and he’s not really sure what’s reality and what’s not. I think what’s really happening in that house of three psychos is that they really need to come together as human beings and sort of figure out how to comfort each other.”

We jumped on the phone last week with Tortorella and Canto to talk about tonight’s episode and get their take on the sexuality of their characters.

How long will Emma (Valorie Curry) be calling the shots? (with Canto)

AfterElton: The episode talks about moral codes and finding your own voice. How does that pertain to your character?

Adan Canto: I think that’s what Paul is all about is finding his voice…he’s very used to being with Jacob having been with him for the past three years and in that structure he found his voice. We move onto the next phase and take little Joey with us and here comes Emma and everything goes awry. This guy loses his voice and he has to struggle with himself because he finds himself alone. Jacob and Emma leave him aside [and] he has to find his voice. He has to find his place.

Nico Tortorella: Jacob, hundred percent, has a moral code, and I think what rules, first and foremost, is his love. That’s kind of what totally drives his character. We joke around that Emma is kind of the brains, I’m the heart and [Paul’s] the brawn. That’s how it all works between the three of us.

AE: At this point, it seems that Emma is the one in charge of the threesome. Is there a power struggle coming?

AC: Yeah. That’s inevitable. Everybody wants to be the closest to Joe. There has to be a power struggle. We do recognize that with there being a lot of people in the family, or cult, that there’s more strength in our family. But we do want to be the closest.

The cast of Fox's The Following

AE: Kevin has referred to Jacob, Paul and Emma as ‘the three psychos.’ Do your characters see themselves as villains or bad people, or do they think they’re doing the right thing?

AC: No, absolutely not. I think they’ve just totally given into this devotion towards this way of life that the following, that the cult, gives them…they are regular people who have a void, and they have to fill it somehow. Joe Carroll was the man who gave it to us.

NT: I think all of us feel a little differently about it. I don’t think Jacob would ever call himself a psycho. I think Emma would probably call herself a little bit deranged. Then there’s Paul that is just on the other end of the spectrum, that would probably consider himself crazy. I know I want these characters to win. I don’t look at them as bad people.

AE: We get to find out a little bit more in this episode about Paul and Jacob in some of the flashbacks. What can you tease?

NT: I mean, I’ve been living in a house with Paul for the past three years, pretending to be in this relationship…when you spend that much time with anybody, your relationship is going to grow into love and appreciation and caring for each other. Whatever comes after that is just part of it.

"Like, I'm not gay and stuff, but I'm getting pissed off you keep sleeping with my BF!"

AE: And after what happens in the episode, should we not jump to a conclusion that there is a gay element at play here?

NT: I think Jacob would be the first one to say that he is not gay just because he doesn’t like the word. But there are definitely elements, 100 percent.

AC: Well, I think it’s kind of inevitable to separate sexuality from love and affection. Even if you don’t go through the whole thing. Sexuality is pretty much the basis of everything and who we are as personalities. I don’t think it’s particularly about sexuality but this passion and this devotion for this cause.

AE: Should we trust what we’re seeing onscreen? Things are not always what they seem in a show like this.

AC: [laughs] Absolutely! There’s going to be a lot of that, a lot of twists and turns. Things happen and you can’t believe that they’re happening. There’s always that risk of letting the audience in on what’s really happening, and then you realize that’s not what’s happening and it’s really something else.

AE: So far, the Jacob/Paul/Emma piece of the story seems to be a little bit on a separate track. Can we expect things to collide soon?

NT: Yeah. Absolutely.

AC: I think we can certainly expect that. It is a family, and there will be moments where the whole family comes together. It’s like Thanksgiving. Just a bit more bloody.

The Following airs Mondays at 9pm on Fox.