Truths are revealed and several relationships go south fast as the virus spreads further.
What They Say:
It’s Not For Everyone – A Secret autopsy demonstrates the bizarre progression of the mystery virus; Eph and Nora race to find the father of the youngest victim of the plane tragedy; Ansel takes desperate measures to protect his family.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The Strain is a show that certainly packs a lot into each episode and the third episode certainly made it clear that it wants to do that. Just revisiting the first fifteen minutes showed just how many subplots it wanted to work with as part of the larger narrative of what’s going on. Each of these subplots is offering us a different look at things, from the mysterious elder vampires that are working towards their goal, Visily and his realization that things in the city are going wrong and a look at the four survivors that made it off the plane and how they’re transforming. We also get the creepy things with what the victims are doing as they move out into the world and what Setrakian is trying to accomplish. And all of that without taking into account what Nora and Eph are trying ot uncover and realize of the truth of it all so they can face the real threat here and not the viral outbreak they thought it was.
The fallout from the fight with Redfern has the trio panicked in different ways, especially with Jim just freaking out, but it’s good to see how Eph tries to handle it so he can understand what it was he killed while Nora is doing her best to cope and help out. The autopsy that they perform leads to some disturbing visuals to be sure just from the exterior side of it, what with the genitals being gone, and then with the whole real digging into things and excavating the cavity. It’s methodical and a bit icky, but not full of blood gruesome that you might see otherwise. What they do learn is how the body completely rebuilt itself in a very methodical way with its own goal and functions, which includes the nasty stinger that was attacking them. Eph figures out the basics well enough with what it’s doing and that’s the really creepy thing. That it’s figuring out how to reproduce itself and eat its host along the way.
Eph’s realization of the scope of the problem is decently handled as he knows he made a mistake in not listening to Setrakian and he’s intent on getting it all fixed somehow, even if nobody believes them. What’s good is that Jim admits his culpability in all of this in how he let the cabinet through with what Stonehearst wanted and it hits the right kind of emotional notes. Rather than devolve to violence between them or emotion for the most part, it’s more about Jim trying to explain it all and not realizing that what he did could lead to something like this. And is understandable on some level. But for Eph, it’s a loss of trust in a business that requires an immense amount of it and he and Nora basically have to walk away from him at that point. You feel for all three of them as they experience this on top of what they had just been through with Redfern.
Ansel’s story has been creepy enough to be sure as we see him falling apart more and more, but at least his family ends up leaving so as to not be a problem while he recovers from what happened. At least that’s his cover story as he knows they need to get away from him with how erratic he is. The sad part is that they don’t take the dog and leave it with him instead since he claims to want company. Things will not end well for the dog and that just makes us sad. Unfortunately, while she delivers the kids to their parents, she ends up coming back herself since she’s a bit of a needy type and doing what she can to help him. What she discovers there, after a bit, is not pleasant though as clue after clue points towards something awful.
Hair, blood and a broken dog collar sets the mind in motion to be sure. Where does it all lead? To the shed out back of course. With the dog behind it and gutted, that’s hard enough for her by itself, but it’s what’s in the shed that pushes her over the edge. Why do people go in the shed? Why? Interestingly, Ansel has chained himself to try and protect her and it’s like a near-zombie kind of moment where he’s aware of what’s going through and is doing what he can to protect her from himself. It’s a good sequence that definitely makes for some tense moments. But it also takes a hilariously devilish moment as she deals with a pesky neighbor by using her bloodthirsty husband in a way that you could see coming but obviously has you questioning her faith in a lot of ways.
After having no real time with Gus the last time around, he’s dealing with events in his family as well as he can, though there’s a growing sense of unease, especially with how his brother is feeling after all that’s gone done. There’s some decent stuff with his family and some with his landlord as he makes it clear that he’s not going to be treated like some punk. But considering what they had dealt with when it comes to his and his brothers record, it’s interesting to see that he goes back to crime pretty easily by stealing a Mercedes SUV and getting a Nigerian parts stripper. It’s a situation that feels out of place, but it also turns dangerous as it progresses. Sometimes when you don’t know anything else, sticking with what you do know makes the most sense even if it’s the most dangerous.
At Stonehearst, Palmer is joined by Eichorst as an internet wizard named Dutch Velders is being hired to do some dark net work for them in order to get the next phase of the master plan. Velders has an interesting approach in dealing with the old white men here and the kind of generational differences there are, but as we know with both sides, money trumps all and they’re able to get her for what they need. As she says, it’s harder to hide the evil that’s done these days, especially with the way people can make such a stink about things. With their need to start bringing down the internet in the city, events move in that direction and we see a few instances of it later in the episode that leave you wondering where it’ll go. Palmer’s play goes pretty big, especially when he deals with a particular Secretary that can help further their larger plan. But Palmer is still facing the collapse of his body and is struggling with that while also wondering what Eichorst is really playing at considering the promises made to him. A game within a game within a game.
In Summary:
While there’s a lot of material with this episode once again as we see the various arcs moving along at their own pace, the really big takeaway with all of this is Eph’s realization of the reality of the situation. The science side of it is definitely intriguing as he goes through the autopsy and we understand how the bodies are put together. But we also see him and Nora confronted with the reality of what’s going on with it as they find Emma and her father and truly see the reality of it. It’s a schism moment, a perfect ending aspect here that you know will reconnect later, especially as we see Setrakian enter the picture and to begin his role as the mentor of sorts for this while Eph takes on the pupil side in some way. They understand the danger that’s there now and are intent on dealing with it, but that will have its own conflict. Definitely another strong episode in a larger and stronger narrative that has me glued to the screen wanting to see each arc play out to its gruesome end.
Grade: B+
I still can’t believe Ansel’s wife would do that to the neighbor. Granted the neighbor had it coming but really she should not have done that. She seemed kind of worn-out so maybe that is why but still.
I hope we see more of Dutch Velders. Really like her character.