Ok… a lot happened here. And while there’s a definite epic moment, there’s also some Problems.
Vasiliy, Roman and Quinn have arrived in New York and fight their way towards Manhattan island, killing Strigoi and planning to cross the bridges. Eichorst has recruited Desai to help him catch his “terrorists” and Desai has the excellent plan of blowing up every bridge connecting Manhattan island to the mainland.
Okkkk so yes it will be hard for Vasiliy to sneak his nuke there now. But wouldn’t it be easier for the Master to… leave? I mean, he doesn’t actually have to be present anywhere to carry out his nefarious deeds. Why stay still at all?
Anyway, Eichorst praises Desai saying it was even better than what Palmer could have managed - which he then takes back realising the Master in Palmer’s body may take offense at this. The Master doesn’t - instead describing Palmer as a “quisling” to his own kind. Ooookkk… Desai is right there. What does that make him? And, hey, Quisling was a Norwegian ruler who betrayed Norway to the Nazis, so, was that a snipe at Eichorst too?
I am also concerned that Roman seemed… reluctant to engage the strigoi… which is especially an issue with everything else that happened in this episode.
The Master has not been happy with Eichorst this episode since he’s pretty much failed at everything. Eichorst makes a big dramatic display of sacrificing himself to the Master’s wrath - but the Master instead taunts him with Abraham winning and Eichorst giving up to chivvy him into getting back into the fight already
Abe and Dutch get Abe’s stuff back and hold up in a church - but Abe is clearly not feeling well; particularly after being experimented on when he was in the facility, he is feeling his advanced age. Dutch is duly worried, especially when Abe starts babbling and ripping up the Lumen so he can paste the pages to the wall… yeah that’s concerning. And then Abe collapses.
Thankfully this is when Ephraim and Alex arrive after spending a little time angsting about Zach (aaaergggh. No-one cares) which is helpful because Abe needs a doctor. Ephraim is an arsehole to Dutch about leaving Abe alone when he was the one who abandoned them while she and Abe were actually locked up in camps. She gives him hell for it, most appropriately
They need medicine so it’s off to Gus - yes everyone on this show is reuniting at last! Creem objects to them giving away medicine without trade but Gus stares him down again and joins them back when they go to help Abe
Abe promptly gives Gus hell for just trying to “get by.” Because this is how atrocities happen, people don’t fight back, they get by, by being silent, by seeking comfort and then by collaborating. I can see entirely where Abe comes from here because of his context - as a man who suffered through the concentration camps, he knows very poignantly what it means for good men to do nothing.
What I don’t like is that when he wakes up he doesn’t have the same acid tongue for Ephraim. Instead he’s all comforting over Ephraim’s nuclear son and how it’s all the Master’s fault and how Ephraim shouldn’t blame himself. Even Dutch, overhearing this, decides to take back her own ripping strips from him for abandoning them. Blah, give Ephraim the same shit he deserves
What Abe does insists on is Ephraim follow his recipe to get him some of the white because he’s 95 years old and definitely dying. Ephraim doubts him and Abe finds his fire again to tear him a new one for doubting Abe AGAIN. Ephraim backs down and promises to do as he’s damn told for once. It does put him out of the building though
Creem is finally done with Gus intimidating him so decides to sell the gang out to the Master. Unsurprisingly this ends up with Creem dead and vampires so they can then get all the information directly out of his head. No, holding a grenade doesn’t scare the Master with his strength and speed.
So Creem is dead. Eichorst and Creem go to take Abe (with no army? Really? Just these two) who is left alone with Alex… who Eichorst kills as well. Really?!
Eichorst fights Abe who is far too weak to fight back - but luckily Gus has been feeling all guilty after Abe chewed him out so he and his cousin arrive to save Abe… and his cousin ends up dead as well.
It looks like Gus might die as well - only to have Abe stab Eichorst. Even this is not enough to kill the nazi - he turns around and he bites Abe… and Abe drops his bottle of blood thinners. The blood thinners Ephraim told him not to take a lot of. The blood thinners he told Abe he used to poison the Strigoi
The bottle is empty.
Eichorst falls, gasping as he’s poisoned and Abe has an epic speech for the Master, looking through his eyes, about how he’s nothing but a parasite and humanity will rise up and destroy him. And to Eichorst he has another message: Abe is not a number and he cuts of Eichorst’s head
This is the awesome moment we’ve been waiting for - and Abe always drops some excellent cutting lines about standing up and being counted and getting shit done. Abe is now and always awesome
But is he dead? I’m worried here because he was bitten - and he took a blood thinner overdose. Maybe if Ephraim shows up with the White?
But can we talk about the death toll this episode? Gus’s cousin, Alex and Creem? Shit Roman you better keep your head down! This show has a few recurring POC and managed to slaughter a significant portion of them really quickly… And was it necessary? Killing off Alex in particular is disgusting - it was so dismissive, so unnecessary, it did nothing, it achieved nothing and this character was being developed and could have been an excellent addition to the plot line. But she was just killed off for what, minor angst? This pattern cannot be ignored - and this many POC hitting the dirt in one episode is questionable
