Eldritch Palmer Keeps the Faith

Last week on The Strain, it looked like The Master finally turned Eldritch Palmer into a vampire in exchange for services rendered. That was a misdirection for both Palmer and the audience. All The Master did was cure Palmer of his ailments and Thomas Eichorst showed up to spring the bad news on the rich man that he had more work to do. Eichorst left the door open for a chance at a turn later if he continued to serve them well.

Palmer then set out to clear out the pawn shop, including taking the prized heart and leaving it in his own collection in his penthouse. Palmer did face another disappointing turn when his assistant Mr. Fitzwilliam quit on him and warned him never to come looking for him. Don’t think that The Strain has seen the last of Mr. Fitzwilliam, which is a character with a lot of mysteries surrounding him.

Finally, Palmer set out to impress The Master by paying a visit to Secretary Pierson when he learns that she is planning to quarantine Manhattan after witnessing the evidence that Eph released. When she refuses to bend to his will, he tosses her from her balcony and then he and Eichorst bully CDC director Dr. Barnes into keeping Manhattan open and working for them. It appears that The Master has officially taken control of the government, at least in Manhattan.

Gus Meets the Elders

The vampire militia has Gus underground, held captive. Gus spends the entire episode fighting and trying to escape. He finally gets away from Quinlan and runs, but ends up in a room surrounded by The Elders, an ancient and respected race of vampires. Quinlan tells Gus that The Master and Eichorst broke a pact and revenge must be taken. They want a human soldier who can walk in the daylight and massacre the vampires. When Gus compares it to a turf war, Quinlan offers Gus the chance for revenge and a lot of money. Just like that, Gus is nothing more than a hired mercenary, a very disappointing decision for his character.

Attacking the Master

The survivors decided to do the same thing they did two weeks ago and take the battle to The Master once again. This time they leave no one behind, as Eph is convinced to take Zach (Ben Hyland) to fight by his side in order to protect him better. Eph and Fet realize that The Master is living in Gabriel Bolivar’s building and has an army of his vampires there to protect him.

Things go much better this time around, as Fet, Dutch and Nora fight the main vampires while Abraham, Eph and Zach go looking for The Master. A fantastic fight occurs with Eichorst taking on Fet and Dutch, a battle that leaves Eichorst the worse for wear. Meanwhile, Nora battles Bolivar and actually does some damage to his tongue.

Abraham finally finds The Master and the two face off. This time around, they have a plan, with Eph and Zach running around the room, busting out windows to allow the sunlight to blast in on The Master. Despite this, he is able to fight off the sword attacks until Eph is able to tackle The Master, sending him out into the direct sunlight. While The Master smokes and simmers, he is able to slither down the building and escape, alive.

Returning Home

Before they leave, Zach pretends to have an asthma attack so they have to return home to get his inhaler. While there, Kelly shows up and Eph shoots at her to make her leave. Zach sees that his mom is now a vampire and he is devastated. The show ends with them traveling across the bridge, leaving Manhattan, with Abraham giving up, telling everyone that the sun can’t kill The Master and that they have lost. It was a very down ending, but no one important died in the final episode and the danger is greater than ever when the season two returns in 2015.