Eph’s going the distance.
What They Say:
Identity – Eph concocts a plan to make and distribute a bioweapon; Gus finds an unlikely ally in Angel; Kelly comes after Nora and Zack.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Eph’s arc this season has had him going in some interesting directions and it’s made him a little all over the map in a way, mostly due to the whole drinking angle. While he’s struggled with his home life issues when it comes to Zack and the knowledge of what happened to Kelly, he’s ended up neglecting Nora in a big way. Something that Zack of all people acknowledges in this episode while looking like he’s about to let loose a holy terror of demon dialogue. The kids just looks like pure evil with his expressions and camera angles. With Eph having started to feel like they can really make a difference now, his flight to DC was interesting to see him step up to do what’s necessary. Seeing what he did to Barnes alone made for a good moment for him even if he took it further than he likely expected.
Though he made it out of the city with a pretty bad cover overall, his arrival in DC moves things along in quick fashion here and though that could be a little disconcerting it’s good to see some progress. Even if you expect it to be turned around in a bad way. With a friend of his in the city that’s well connected, he’s given the chance to hook up with a biogenetics developer that could help get what he’s put together in a fast form to really bring the fight back to New York. Though he’s helping Eph in all of this, there’s a disconcerting element about everything because of the differences in the city. We get a little more knowledge in general, such as the President close to being impeached because of a lack of action, but also that things have gotten bad in congress where it’s devolving to fights and some pretty desperate situation. It adds some welcome context to how the rest of the country is looking at the situation but adds in its own tensions.
It’s interesting to see the movements that play out here as Eph tries to use the system while avoiding critical parts of it while undercover since there’s so much at stake and he’s compromised. He gets solidly close to Leigh from Kemerall along the way – and goes so far as to cheat on Nora by sleeping with Leigh in order to ensure that his weapon gets used. It has a lot of positive moments to it though with what Kemerall is going to do but there are some really dark forces at work as Eph makes it clear to them that there are those that want to see New York City – and then the world – to fall to this. It turns wonderfully chaotic and violent towards the end here and while Eph isn’t unscathed he does really take a good hit physically and psychologically.
In terms of subplots, we do get some movement here of interest. One has Gus spending time with Angel and the young woman that Gus has taken an interest in there. There’s some good material there as Gus learns that Angel really is the man he thinks he is, though the two continue to play out their dance of adversary and ally. The crazy moment comes when the young woman gets sent out on a delivery by her father amid all the craziness. While the delivery gives us a little bit of a look at what’s going on out there but it also gives us our bit of action as there’s a minor hallway fight with some strigoi. It’s not a super piece, but it’s well done and adds some of the action that we needed in the show.
The show also gives us a little time with the mysterious new vampire type that has a good look about him, more human than some of the others that are trying to stop The Master. Discovering that he was the one that trained Vaun and the others as fighters are interesting, but it also brings in that he’s got a centuries-old grudge against the Master to deal with as he intends to finish this once and for all. There’re some sharp moments in how he deals with the elders that are here, sniping at them in fun ways, but it sets things into motion for the fight against the Master that will connect with some of our regulars here.
We also get a fantastically fun and scary sequence where Nora, now taking care of Zack more, ends up in a situation where the two of them are heading back to their base in Red Hook in the back of a police car thanks to some help from Feraldo. But as the night hits it becomes very dangerous and we get Kelly and her little spider-kids setting a trap and chasing them into a church. It moves quick and hard in a way that sets a good chill and even a jump in your seat depending on how much you expect. Nora’s also showing some smarts here as while she’s got a gun and smarts, she calls in Setrakian, Fet and Fitzwilliam to come and back them up. The whole piece is wonderfully creepy with the spider-kids movements, the location itself and the coloring of it at night here. Nora shows some good thinking here in general as they try to hold their own though the acknowledgment that what Kelly is now is not something to be trifled with.
While a lot of time hasn’t been spent on Fitzwilliam, it is a surprise to see that his end comes so quickly here as he basically gets his first mission with the gang and gets bitten by one of the spider-kids. He knows what it means and he doesn’t want to become what he knows he will. Setrakian, bless his little old heart, doesn’t waste time here and just deals with it quickly. It doesn’t feel like we got anything truly useful out of him even for the minor amount of time we’ve spent with him so it feels weird to have spent that much time in general in nudging him along for so little payoff. Perhaps it’s all to get his brother into a better position for what’s to come?
In Summary:
The Strain takes a welcome twist at the end here with The Master ascending to his new form and the fallout from that is definitely fun to watch considering the personalities involved. Overall though the episode spends a lot of its time working through some good things and avoiding a lot of the stupidity that, while fun, can detract from the show in some ways. Eph’s journey, Nora’s time with Zack and the other subplots that are going on hit some very good notes throughout. There’s a sense that things are about to shift into a different pattern with what’s underway, especially with what Eichhorst has been working on with Palmer, but in general it feels like New York City is getting closer to really getting crazy – at a time when Feraldo is feeling like they’re making progress. A very good episode all around.
Grade: B+
