The Following Presents: How not to catch a serial killer!

In the 3rd episode of 'The Following' the FBI is on the hunt for a crazed killer who loves wearing a Poe mask. Their only lead is his abused wife, who is living in fear of him. Luckily, the FBI has a plan for dealing with the situation - return the wife to the home she shared with said serial killer!

Interestingly, the cops had tried this plan once in each of the first two episodes - allowing the target of a serial killer to remain in their home - and in each case the serial killer got into the house and attacked the victim. I suppose they hoped that the third time would be the charm?

Now, it's important to remember that since the woman's life is in danger, there's no possible reason to bring her to her own home unless she's serving as bait for the serial killer. So let's look at the FBI agents' plan.

A - One agent stays in the house with the wife.
B - Two agents sit in a car, chatting.

Somehow, startlingly, this plan doesn't work. And not just because it turns out that the wife was in on it all along, revealing her complicity by murdering her guard. Even if she'd been completely innocent, the killer was still completely free to walk right up to the back door of the house and knock on it. Quite loudly, in fact. If he'd been looking to kill the people inside, he could have simply used his house keys, opened the back door, and shot everyone - the FBI's plan would have done absolutely nothing to stop him.

So, considering the fact that the FBI has essentially unlimited resources in dealing with the serial killer cult, what might have been a better scheme?

A - Two agents inside the house.
B - Two agents in a car, acting as 'surveillance decoys', making the killer believe that the house was only being observed from a single angle.
C-E - Two agents in each of the surrounding houses, watching the yard/house to make sure that no one can approach/flee the house without being apprehended.

If you ever need protection from a serial killer, first make sure that you're not living in the world of 'The Following'. If you are, then make sure you don't go to the FBI for help.

They cannot help.