In the last episode of The Strain, Eph and Nora showed up to find the dead little girl had come back to life and were saved by Abraham Setrakian, who lobbed off the head of the little girl and her dad. Now, Eph and Abraham prepare to set out to take down the vampires but will anyone help them?
The Nazi Vampires
The novel that The Strain is based on opens with a grandmother telling her grandson a legend about a man who ended up becoming the evil that is The Master. In this episode, we finally get the back story – or at least the start of it. We already learned a few weeks ago that Abraham was in a concentration camp and one of his guards is the evil vampire Eichorst.
While we don’t see Eichorst in these flashbacks, we learn how Abraham and his brother ended up in the concentration camp and see Abraham as he first sees The Master in all his gory, murderous action. There is a lot more of this past story to tell and it should really open up the mythology of the show.
Two Down…
There were four survivors from the plane and we learn this episode that The Master let these four people survive so that they could start to spread the disease while the dead were changing and rising. The first of the survivors, the pilot, was the first to completely turn and Eph already killed him. The second died in this episode with Ansel.
Of course, Ansel chained himself in his shed to save his wife, but it didn’t matter because she dropped their kids off at his sister’s house and then hung herself, committing suicide. That is when Abraham and Eph showed up and found her before heading outback and Eph shot video on his phone of Abraham killing Ansel and the bad neighbor from last week so he could prove there is an outbreak.
Two to Go…
That leaves two survivors to go in Boliver and Joan. We get both of them back in this episode and they are finally changing as well. For Joan, she has started to change and spends a lot of time sniffing her young children before their nanny smartly gets them out of the house. Don’t be surprised if Joan is the next visit on Abraham’s list.
Then we have Boliver. Ruby calls a new doctor in to help him since he is losing his sanity (not to mention his testicles). Sadly, Boliver doesn’t want help and kills the doctor. Ruby then, to protect her client, gets a cleaner sent in to cover up the murder but Boliver kills him as well. Boliver is a pure monster now, but unlike the other survivors, he seems to be still able to function as a killer and not as a deranged animal. He will become a major player on the evil side of things as the season wears on.
Speaking of Boliver, the first news that a major eclipse is coming was mentioned on the radio in this episode. There is also the fact that Boliver has a concert lined up to play during the eclipse. Does anyone else think that concert will be nothing more than a major bloodbath?
The CDC
Remember that video that Eph shot? His entire goal is to trust his boss at the CDC and get the quarantine on. He shows the video to his boss, who is very disturbed by what he sees. He claims he will cancel his appointments and get something rolling on this but Jim is there and warns Eph that isn’t what is happening.
Eph’s boss knows that Eph did something to the pilot, and despite watching the video (which includes the giant tongue), he is turning Eph in and still turning a blind eye to the epidemic. It is a smart thing to put the heroes on their own when it comes to tension, but Eph’s boss is too dumb for words. At least Jim is on his way to redemption.
Vasiliy Fet and Nora Face Off with Vampires
These two characters didn’t do it together, but this was really a turning point where the army that will battle The Strain starts to form. Of course, last week Nora said she would rather die that kill the infected, but her opinion will have to change after this week. She visits her mother in the assisted living center, where she is conflicted because her mom wants to go home but Nora has no time to care for her.
That changes when a vampire attacks the assisted living center and starts killing people. Nora finally grabs her mom to take her home. I think what is most interesting about this is that Nora’s relationship to her mother can be slightly compared to Gus, who feels very strongly about taking care of his mother at all costs.
Finally, we get the best scene in this entire episode of The Strain when Vasilit Fet heads into the underground tunnels to figure out what is spooking the rats. It is there that he comes face-to-face with a hoard of vampires, probably the dead from the plane, and barely escapes with his life. Fet is about to become a major player in the hunting of the new vermin that has infected the city.