'The Strain' has been rocky since it started. However, it is still one of the better shows on TV, and this episode took a step in the right direction. It kept the show interesting throughout the run time, all while providing interesting story and fantastic horror sequences. It found a good mix.
The story went three different directions this week.. The started off with a fantastically chilling opening. We followed Joan's husband on his trip home from the airport and found out all about their marriage from this scene. When he got home everything went downhill. He met the vampires and there wasn't much of him afterwards. Eventually Joan's children made their way back home, only to encounter their infected mother. This in turn led to a meeting with an assault group that left us with a lot more questions then answers. As for Eph, he was off making a plan with Abraham on how to destroy all the vampires. This led to some very interesting sequences with Jim and Eichorst. Jim was particularly interesting this week, with him having to decide between helping his wife and destroying what he helped start. But perhaps the most interesting story this week was the history of Eichorst and Abraham. I was against the flashbacks a couple weeks ago, but they really created an interesting story this week. We got to see a little more of what made them enemies. I really liked how Eichorst somewhat toyed with Abraham in the concentration camp. The most intriguing thing from this story was that Abraham is the one who created the box that the Master traveled in. This was just a really good story and I also really liked how Eichorst seemingly took a liking to Abraham, whereas now in the future they clearly hate each other.
The horror was potentially the best of the series this week. All of it was creepy and had a huge WTF factor. The episode started out with it. We see Joan just about completely transformed and attacking her husband in the cab. The backlit scene of her was super creepy. Perhaps the freakiest part was the meeting with the kids. They obviously had no clue what happened to her, and seeing her toy with her prey with amazingly chilling. Then the little splinter cell group that came in was just a good-ole fashioned what-the-heck scene. They have obviously dealt with vampires before. Seeing how they dealt with the vampires/infected was bad-a**. Eichorst was perfectly sinister in the present. He knew he was in charge and he used that to threaten Jim and show that Abraham may not have the upper hand this time around. I loved the interactions between him and Abraham in the past too. Eichorst knew he was also in charge then, but took the time to either toy with or befriend Abraham. It was definitely fascinating. All of the horror and scary aspects worked tonight.
Overall, we got the most solid episode of 'The Strain' this week. All the elements combined and worked well together this week. I can't wait to learn more about this vampire killing group and see more of the Eichorst/Abraham relationship in the coming weeks. The strain is also spreading more and more. I am curious to see how this comes to a head at the end of the season. The show has solidly improved the past 2 weeks and I can only hope it continues that uptrend.
The story went three different directions this week.. The started off with a fantastically chilling opening. We followed Joan's husband on his trip home from the airport and found out all about their marriage from this scene. When he got home everything went downhill. He met the vampires and there wasn't much of him afterwards. Eventually Joan's children made their way back home, only to encounter their infected mother. This in turn led to a meeting with an assault group that left us with a lot more questions then answers. As for Eph, he was off making a plan with Abraham on how to destroy all the vampires. This led to some very interesting sequences with Jim and Eichorst. Jim was particularly interesting this week, with him having to decide between helping his wife and destroying what he helped start. But perhaps the most interesting story this week was the history of Eichorst and Abraham. I was against the flashbacks a couple weeks ago, but they really created an interesting story this week. We got to see a little more of what made them enemies. I really liked how Eichorst somewhat toyed with Abraham in the concentration camp. The most intriguing thing from this story was that Abraham is the one who created the box that the Master traveled in. This was just a really good story and I also really liked how Eichorst seemingly took a liking to Abraham, whereas now in the future they clearly hate each other.
The horror was potentially the best of the series this week. All of it was creepy and had a huge WTF factor. The episode started out with it. We see Joan just about completely transformed and attacking her husband in the cab. The backlit scene of her was super creepy. Perhaps the freakiest part was the meeting with the kids. They obviously had no clue what happened to her, and seeing her toy with her prey with amazingly chilling. Then the little splinter cell group that came in was just a good-ole fashioned what-the-heck scene. They have obviously dealt with vampires before. Seeing how they dealt with the vampires/infected was bad-a**. Eichorst was perfectly sinister in the present. He knew he was in charge and he used that to threaten Jim and show that Abraham may not have the upper hand this time around. I loved the interactions between him and Abraham in the past too. Eichorst knew he was also in charge then, but took the time to either toy with or befriend Abraham. It was definitely fascinating. All of the horror and scary aspects worked tonight.
Overall, we got the most solid episode of 'The Strain' this week. All the elements combined and worked well together this week. I can't wait to learn more about this vampire killing group and see more of the Eichorst/Abraham relationship in the coming weeks. The strain is also spreading more and more. I am curious to see how this comes to a head at the end of the season. The show has solidly improved the past 2 weeks and I can only hope it continues that uptrend.
Highlights:
| The Score: 8 out of 10 'The Strain' is trending upwards. |