It is now the penultimate episode of the season. For the
love of all that is sensible, please move the story ON. Really “vampires are
taking over New York, the good guys can’t stop them” has been the state of play
since the very first episode. So far this entire season is almost skippable.
The show mocks me by recapping all the mini plots that didn’t
go anywhere. Why do you taunt me show? I also may scream if Abraham doesn’t get
that fecking book. I’m not even going to bother remember it’s name now. It’s
going to be The Fecking Book from now on.
So we start moving the plot along with a flashback to
before the whole vampire invasion
I’m just going to weep quietly in a corner.
It’s Ephraim and Nora at the CDC discussing plague and
Ephraim and Nora having sexual tension back when Nora had ideas and opinions
and a point rather than being a babysitter. And yes I mention sexual tension
because no soon have her qualifications been raised than they’re quickly shoved
to the back burner to talk about how hot she is. And how good Ephraim and Nora
are as a couple.
In the present we now learn that Zack’s grandparents
(Kelley’s parents) are alive. Because we care. Honest. Ephraim is concerned
because he wants to focus on stopping the end of the world rather than the
boring side plot that is Zack, while Nora is, again, in babysitter mode. Oh if
only she were a CDC scientist dedicated to saving mankind from a deadly scourge
and not a childminder.
Blah blah emotion, grandmother,
kid-no-one-cares-about-who-needs-to-be-eaten. Family angst, blah. In the end
Ephraim decides to get Zach out the city to his grandparents
Dutch is deeply traumatised after her experiences last episode
and Vasiliy kind of needs to give her space. But he doesn’t and now she feels
guilty because he’s so amazingly wonderful and she was terribad awful and had
the temerity to be attracted to someone else (who, recall, she has a terribad
awful relationship with unlike the awesomeness of Vasiliy). She has chosen to
live with Nikki, she wants a real relationship with her (I don’t hold my breath
because she’s just spent 3 episodes saying how awesome Vasiliy is and has
little good to say about Nikki).
When Dutch goes to see Nikki it seems Nikki is just
leaving with her mother (while her mother provides a narrative of contempt).
Dutch tries to convince Nikki how they will have happy families, but Nikki
decides that the whole saving the world from vampires is totally not her fight
and leaves after a goodbye kiss. I am totally unshocked
Justine and the mayor argue over her plan to tax the rich
to pay the people to defend them rather than have the poor people just line up
and die for their wealthy betters as is their clear moral duty. He demands she
resign or he will have her arrested, and the council seems willing to agree.
Justine has the police in hand and is willing to use them to push the mayor out
Yes, city hall is going to argue about money because the
mayor I the epitome of awful, rather than fight the vampires.
But it’s all solved/complicated by the mayor getting
murdered. Of course Justine is now suspected of being a murderer – yet the
detective is still willing to leave her alone with the mayor’s corpse (who
needs untainted evidence!) She thinks her chief minion, Frank, may be behind
the murder.
Eldritch goes to see Justine and decides he wants her to
be leader – and has used his money and power to elevate her to a position of
power. I love how Justine does not even for a second believe his smary
bullshit, and happily calls out all of his nasty Halliburton-style war
profiteering. He dispenses with bullshit with her and agrees – he’ll make lots
of money but they will win.
In an attempt to actually be topical and interesting,
while Vasiliy is impressed by Justine, Abraham is duly suspicious by anyone in
politics using highly patriotic nationalistic language to inspire people. Anyway
they’re off to see the fence, Cream, who has The Fecking Book and a whole lot
of black gangster stereotypes (the church blaring loud hip-hop is a special
touch). Abraham wants the book but so does Palmer and Cream is actually making
a whole lot of money out of the apocalypse. Of course, Abraham rants that this
is the failing of humanity – and offers to outbid Palmer. In gold.
So Abraham goes to Quinlan and the Ancients for some bank
roll – though they fear Abraham using the book against them. Abraham promised
to give them the book.
Nora and Ephraim go to see Justine to try and get a pass
to get Zach out of the city (having to push past anti-fascist, anti-Justine
protestors) just to hear the vote that empowers Justine’s super special powers
(despite vocal opposition). Justine has a classic “no freedom, more security”
speech
Palmer and Coco are impressed – but Eichorst is concerned
about controlling her. He’s also not going to let Palmer go to the auction for
The Fecking Book – though Palmer, cheered on by Coco, is clear that Eichorst
isn’t spending his money (Eichorst calls her an “ungrateful whore” for this.
Absolutely no-one is surprised that the Nazi is a bigot). This finally inspires
Eldritch to challenge him but he crumbles at when he learns that the “white”
goo they’re getting to keep them alive isn’t permanent – and he now allows the
dismissal of Coco. Though when Eichorst
is gone he seems to think he has a master plan.
Nora and Ephraim do get to see Justine and tell her about
their bioweapon. They also get tickets out of the city for Zach.
Gus and Angel are doing stuff (are you allowed to do
stuff on The Strain?). They’re going to break some people out of prison – a prison
which has a whole lot of vampires. Gus does find a sadistic guard who has
hidden in a prison cell – and leaves him there because he’s not taking orders
from the arsehole any more. He also lets out a lot of his old contacts. He dishes
out Quinlan’s silver-ammo’d weapons. They’re willing to fight for Quinlan
because Quinlan doesn’t care about shinies so they can loot to their heart’s
content. They also brutally murder the nasty prison guard – making noise which
wakes up all the vampires.
Angel also has to kill one of them to convince them to
actually come fighting rather than just run off with the weapons.
Gus goes to Quinlan who reveals a double cross – his job
is to kill Abraham and take the Fecking Book.
If it weren’t far too damn late in the season to properly
develop a theme, I really think The
Strain could have run with the idea that humanity can’t get out of it’s own
way and save itself. Eldritch is too obsessed with his own power and Coco. The
rich on Mahattan island are too entitled and in love with their own wealth to
pay for decent defence. The mayor and his need to play politics. The released
prisoners and their desire for loot and vengeance. Ephraim and his family ties.
Even Quinlan and his drive for revenge above all else. All could be woven into
the story of how humanity can’t get past its own petty problems enough to stop
a real threat.
But it doesn’t. The mayor is just a terrible person (and
a disposable one). Despite Abraham’s vague attempt at a grand speech, Cream is
more of a greedy stereotype than anything else (and it’s notable that we have 2
POC being the most prominent displays of short-sighted greed, even Palmer has
rather long-sighted cunning selfishness rather than self-destructive
carelessness). None of the other plot lines – like Ephraim – are really
developed enough to draw out these themes. Instead of feeling like humanity’s
distractions getting in the way of saving the world, it feels like lots of
mini-plotettes getting in the way of an actual storyline. Not in the least
because absolutely no-one seems to be actually doing anything or be motivated
by actually fighting the vampires
Also got to question how Ephraim can say “let’s drop an
untested bioweapon New York” and absolutely no-one hesitates
And at the end of this episode… uh… has anything
happened? Oh yes, Coco was demeaned, the Black mayor died and Dutch’s same-sex
romance collapsed and Nora was presented as even more as a love interest. Don’t
even try to raise Gus’s army – he has 20 men against a whole city of vampires.
