'The Strain' was much improved from last week. Still, it wasn't as good as the last week. It is too wrapped up in the mystery to give us much and it is kind-of having an identity crisis. Through all that, the show is still showing a lot of promise and it gives us a much darker look at a vampire story than anything else on TV.
The story this week was much more focused on progressing the story. It also gave most of the characters a moment to shine. Eph dealt with some family problems. I don't know why they keep attacking this story, but it is really the only boring moments in the show. Meanwhile we learn a little more about Jim (Sean Astin) and why he is helping the Stoneheart Group. This really added some depth to his character. Instead of making him a straight-up bad guy, they gave us sympathy for him. He is only in this position because he loves his wife and wants to help her. Vasiliy still wasn't featured too heavily, but his scenes were some of the best. He was only there to help take care of a rat problem, but seeing how he handled it was awesome. Abraham also got a little more to chew on. He is starting to get rid of the vampires it seems. Perhaps the biggest development was the worsening conditions of the 4 survivors. While Joan was absent, we did get to catch up with the pilot, Gabriel, and Ansel. Ansel was perhaps the worse, as you saw he was the person his family depended on. And when you see him give into his vampiristic instincts, you just feel for his family. Gabriel also was worsening. You saw his body just give up on him. Completely bloody eyes, losing his hair, pale skin, and certain parts falling off really showed how tough a change it is to vampire. The pilot was also fully completed his change into a vampire. The story seemed to still be setting up slowly, but there were some developments this week. They weren't huge, and I am not sure how I feel about the slow build, but at least we are moving forward.
The characters that we haven't had much time with got a chance to shine and scare. The freaky opening scene and a later scene showed how deadly (pun intended) Eichorst really is. Vasiliy Fet was really humorous in the way he handled dealing with the father and daughter. While he clearly disliked the father and treated him as such, he also was very charming with the daughter. And we got a reason to care about Jim this week. It was awesome to see him not actually be a bad guy, but just a guy in a bad situation. Abraham, after being mostly absent last week, got a little more to do this week. Whether it be play a goofy old man in a courtroom to gruff old man, he played a big role. I also like that he seems to be trying to take care of the vampires in the coming weeks. And even though we haven't been given a reason to like Gabriel, you got a reason to at least feel bad for him this week. It was nice to see some of the other characters besides Eph get some time this week.
The horror was, as usual, the high point of the episode. The opening scene was particularly chilling. You see Eichorst put on his face, and it really makes his character all the more creepier when you see his plastic face. There was the scene where Ansel drank the blood that was also pretty creepy. Seeing the tongue actually drink the blood was the creepiest part. The pilot turning into a vampire and attacking Eph's crew was really cool. These guys clearly didn't know what they were dealing with, and neither did the pilot. It was just a good ole horror sequence. Perhaps the most shocking part was when you saw Gabriel go full-on Ken (Barbie reference) mode. It was shocking and really unexpected, but also just awesome. The horror aspects are where this show really succeeds.
'The Strain' still struggles with some aspects. It wants to deal with family drama, while also attacking a virus and dealing with the mystery of what's going on and its past. The family drama is easily the weakest part of the show and if I am correct is a major part in the books, meaning it needs to improve. Still this show continues to show flashes of greatness. I believe once it pulls the cast together in a more cohesive way and really just nails down onto the vampire mystery and fighting it, the show will be all the more better and potentially one of the best on TV.
Highlights:
| The Score: 7 out of 10 Even though it flashes signs of greatness, 'The Strain' proves it still needs some work to get there. |