Love in a nuclear winter.
What They Say:
One Shot – Quinlan and Fet discover that stealing nuclear warhead isn’t easy when they encounter an unexpected enemy. Eph and Alex concoct a new weapon to use against the strigoi. Zack does stuff.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The Strain spent a good part of its last episode giving us a look at some of what the Partnership is after when it comes to the blood work but also the desire for a certain flavor with the pregnancy side of it. The show slowed down a lot because of this as it spent a good bit of time with Dutch and exploring this side of things. A lot of it could have been covered more tightly and effectively and accomplished the same but that’s not how The Strain rolls. Instead, we had nothing with Fet in this episode, the Master and his plans, and only a bit with Eph and the group he’s now aligned himself with that has given him his spark back in resisting. While Eph’s downfall after what happened with Zack is understandable there’s not a lot here in this situation that really makes it click as to why he’d get back on track so easily.
With the main cast having spent so much of its time in the city it feels weird to see Fet in North Dakota, though he does fit in his own way while on the hunt as they get closer to finding a nuclear warhead. The group dynamic that we see play out leans heavily into the stupidity of character moments, such as their new friend believing that the CO and the others back at the secret base wouldn’t care about giving up the weapon because the end of the world is here. It’s so flip and takes such a weird view of the end times that it’s hard to process. You almost expect Quinlan to just start smacking people around because they’re being as ridiculous as they are. The potential in term of story is good but the execution continues to be the weak link when it comes to The Strain.
The discovery that the strigoi have seemingly been there already as Cap’s compatriots from before he left are outside and dead makes for what should be a good time. A little bug hunt of sorts going inside as the cover is open and the missile visible but the uncertainty of what’s down there is the kind of thing that can click well. Quinlan’s overeager though and his looking down into it (which isn’t anywhere near as deep as it needs to be) has him getting shot by someone. For such an ancient warrior his eagerness is once again causing way too many problems for him. It is a decently tense situation as set up with Quinlan getting himself put back together while being stuck in place and then having Fet coming in through the back door so to speak to try and put the situation into a better place. It’s definitely fun to see him back in a tunnel again as he does seem a lot more natural in there.
Eph and his group in Philly are making a bit of progress in trying to strike back against the strigoi as they’ve put together a rat poison mix that should serve as a blood thinner and cause some real damage. The problem, of course, is getting the mix into the blood before it’s pumped into the building. That has a weak ass plan put into play to get it done but it does what’s needed. In a way, I keep feeling like the old 1980’s V series showcased resistance and events like this a whole lot better than what this series is done. Now those guys knew how to fight back. The tension is just so poorly put into place here and without a good bit of buildup, and a lack of compelling characters, that it’s just fairly meaningless in a way, especially knowing this is the end run of the series.
The episode also gives us some bad Young Zack in Love material. ugh.
In Summary:
The Strain moves through a few things here but it gets mired down in the problematic stuff, especially when it should feel like we’re ramping up the intensity. Fet and Quinlan’s story has some nice beats to it overall with what it does but it’s just a stepping stone to the next problem that they have to solve more than anything else. A lot of time is spent on Zack and his new girl Abby as you can see that being the thing being seeded to turn him from the Master’s path but it’s just oh so predictable. Eph and his group make their first real strike against the Strigoi but it had so little tension that it simply falls flat even with what it does accomplish. A lot of meh.
Grade: C
