Some decent ends to some pointless characters.
What They Say:
Do or Die – New York begins falling and Eph and Dutch try to finish their new device before the city gets overrun.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As The Strain hits its penultimate episode of the season, we continue to have that sense of many missed opportunities and some pretty uninteresting side stories that we’re still waiting to connect in a meaningful way. I do wish Gus and Angel felt more relevant instead of being a drag and I had hoped Justine’s role could have provided an engaging view of the scale of the problem and hard choices made to try and save the city. And yes, I really do wish we had more of how other parts of the country are handling this. Thankfully, there have been some good flashbacks along the way and some neat areas with what Fet and Setrakian are up to along with some amusing Palmer moments. And I’m not one to turn away from some hilarious amusing and fun erotic moments as we saw with Dutch and Eph last week. It’s like she’s signing her death warrant herself by signing onto Eph.
With some significant losses the last time around with what Eichhorst put into play, Justine is doing her best to try and hold things together in the city. The idea of falling back to smaller and better defended enclaves works right, trying to hold out hope that the CDC or elsewhere can figure out a cure, but it’s getting pushback from those that are ready to cut and run as it’s pretty dire. It’s a tough situation but you can see how Justine is trying to do her best against impossible odds, especially since there are those that don’t really realize that they’re at war and the footing is different for that. Justine has been a bit of a polarizing character for a bit and this just adds to that to some degree but I continue to like how she’s stepping up in a way others aren’t.
Palmer gets some decent material this time around as he continues to try and secure his own best position for power, working someone he thinks he can trust a bit in order to find out about the ship and its cargo. What we do get is a flashback sequence to him in his younger days, with his cane, as he goes to deal with his “secret” father that runs O’Neill Industries. It’s interesting to see how he’s working the foundations of what would become his own financial empire down the line and the kinds of struggles he had to face in a very different day. You can see how he’s basically being bought off here by O’Neill and it works well to illustrate another side of the character that doesn’t excuse his personality but at least explains a decent piece of it with his cutthroat nature and being a bit of a loner.
Eph and Dutch are in an amusing place after having their fun together as there’s a good vibe between them. Of course, that gets tense when Fet shows up to tell them about the cops abandoning the city and trying to get her out only to have her thrown in her lot with Eph and the device. She at least avoids since she and Eph are an item. The two do have some decent time after that underground hunting up one of Kelly’s children in order to test out their theory more and that adds some nice bug hunt tension. Though the relationship side may be a bit forced for some I’m at least glad that they’re not overdoing it in a way with how they’re acting when not fooling around. They’re both all business when it comes to the device and the larger survival game, though she at least has an idea how to monetize it after the Master is dealt with.
Palmer’s mixing of the past and present largely works well to flesh things out a bit but I really do enjoy his attempt to get the box. With his professional crew on hand they execute the mission well and even get Desai in the mix. But the way he’s so confounded by what’s in the crate at first is just priceless as he ends up realizing that Eichhorst has brought in two nuclear bombs to the country. We know what one of them was used for already but leaving that kind of capability and potential in the hands of Eichhorst and the Master is frightening. But it’s just as frightening in Palmer’s hands when taken with what we know of his pats and his years spent working towards revenge on the father that essentially disowned him. Again, I’m no fan of Palmer based on the range of things we’ve seen of him, but he’s definitely a complex and complicated character that you don’t often see in shows these days with the path he’s taken over his life.
In Summary:
The show does a decent subplot with Justine and her few cops making their way out of the city and I like that it crosses and connects with Gus and Angel to help bring their stories together once again. There’s some good tension to them making their way toward the bridge to cross it as it’s packed with cars that have had their passengers consumed already. It’s a small tension sequence with some good effects that helps to winnow the cast a bit, including Angel getting bitten. That just reinforces what a pointless character he was overall. At least Justine had some good story arc material overall before her end is met here and she, like Angel, goes out with a fight. The winnowing of the cast will at least help the budget a bit the next time around for the final season and will make for a pared down finale next time.
Grade: B-
