Welcome back to The Strain-ger Talk, where each week we breakdown and discuss this week’s new episode of FX’s The Strain. We will be going over major plot points, the game plan from both sides of the upcoming war, best action moments, new types of vampires, and of course the Tongue-Punch of the Week! If you missed last season’s talk then CLICK HERE for the season premiere! Now a lot happened this week that we need to cover, so without further ado, lets talk some Strainge!

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU DO NOT WANT THIS EPISODE SPOILED THEN STOP READING*

 

Breakdown:

 This week’s episode opens in a lab where Strigoris are being studied and experimented on. We see the Strigori’s white blood being extracted and purified behind a glass container. The scientists then test the purified white blood on a patient with dementia. Of course the test goes wrong and the woman is quickly administered a shift dose of silver straight to the dome. What exactly are these doctors and scientists trying to prove here? Why are they testing and experimenting with Strigori and who are they working for? Of course, its the man whose line delivery is more over the top than a pre-pubescent drama camp counselor and has unlimited cash flow: Eldritch Palmer.

When we last saw Palmer he cost The Master getting The Lumen, his young lover Coco was killed, and he was emasculated by those he swore allegiance to. Now we see Palmer as an broken man desperately trying to cling to what little time that was bestowed onto him by The Master’s white blood. The the restorative powers of the white blood are wearing off as Palmer looks more weathered than he has in a long time. Eichorst comes by to taunt the shit out of Palmer and assert his dominance once again over the dying man. They review how many people have registered their blood types at the “Freedom Centers,” still leaving us guessing as to what role they are to play in The Master’s plan. Why does The Master need to know people’s blood types? Does AB negative pair better with the steak or the fish? Eichorst remind’s Palmer of his traitorous mishaps and that he needs to prove himself once again in order to receive anymore of the restorative white. We learn later in the episode that he hired the scientists to research how to use Strigori blood to cure everything, but his efforts prove fruitless as the scientists are unable to replicate Abraham’s formula.

 Abraham is busy working on translating the Lumen when Eph stops by to finally update them on what happened to both Nora and Zach. Eph hadn’t seen them in about a week’s worth of time, too busy being drunk I suppose. While Eph tries to figure out what he can about the book, Abraham warns him that The Master will try to use Zach against him. Abraham is concerned for his friend’s well-being, but having the weight of humanity relying on him translating an ancient book is a heavy responsibility. Abraham gives condolences for Eph’s loss, but we see the old Strigori hunter struggle. Not only does the aging hunter struggle with each word he says, when tries to take his medication he drops them on the ground. Maybe Abraham needs another dose of his purified Strigori formula as its long time effects are finally wearing off, or he is exhausted having to spend so much time trying to decode The Lumen. Suddenly Abraham receives a message from the previous owner of book wanting to meet.

 It was all a clever rouse! Palmer tricked the Strigori hunters into meeting with him. Was this an oppertunity for Palmer to try and get the Lumen to win favors with The Master? No, instead, Palmer faked the meeting in order to get the formula of purifying the white blood for medicinal use from Abraham. Palmer is desperately grasping at straws, trying to prolong his life anyway he can. He hopes that by offering to no longer back The Master’s plan that Abraham would give him the formula. Abraham and Fet essentially tell Palmer to go fuck himself, leaving him with fewer options than he had before. On the ride back to to the hotel, Abraham tells Fet that the formula had been passed down from alchemists over the centuries and while they can’t trust Palmer, they can certainly manipulate him. I for one am excited to see what Abraham has in store for Palmer even is Fet if skeptical. SPEAKING OF!

When we first see Fet he is drinking at the bar with the soldiers. He is talking with one of the captains who confirms that they are pulling out of New York soon. They will be moving out to control the Strigori outbreak in Washington DC. New York, to the government, is a lost cause. The focus is to keep New York contained and to suppress any outbreaks outside of NYC. Fet is offered a chance to leave NYC and to help the Seals with DC, but Fet is a New Yorker and isn’t ready to give up on his city yet. Fet sticks around the bar and ends up hitting it off with a female soldier leading to probably one of the most adorable exchanges between vampire hunters the next morning. Seriously, look at the screenshot above and tell me that isn’t the most bashful bloodsucker killer you’ve ever seen.

Meanwhile, Fet’s former lover Dutch is hanging out with the Hipster Mod Squad. Since she left the team, she went and hitched up with her old hacking buddies, trying to find her way without Fet and the others. This is group is worst group of hunters in history. Luckily the fate of humanity doesn’t lie on the padded shoulders of these useless wastes of time. After saying a bunch of dumb things, the hipsters and Dutch break into a rich apartment complex in order to get to the fine food that the leader promises is in his uncle’s apartment. Luckily the building has wall to wall windows, which Dutch quickly points out the benefits of opening the shades as they move room to room. But because these hipsters are dumber than a pile of bricks on Danzig’s lawn they fuck up royally. Going against Dutch’s advice, a pair of hipsters go into a room without closing the shades. After a few good tongue punches, the remaining hipsters runaway with their weird cheese and leave Dutch to fend for herself. She meets up with the remaining members back at their “lair”, takes her share of the food and kills the soon to be turned leader.

It was great to see Dutch this week and to see her interact with a different group. As much as I trashed the group she was with, its a good reminder that not everyone in the city became warriors since the siege. It is the possible beginning of human extinction and not everyone is up for the task of trying to prevent it. A lot of people are going to die, that is how the Strigori numbers keep growing so rapidly. We spend so much time with Strigori hunters that it is a bit refreshing to see a different group and to see them fail. When it comes to apocalyptic storytelling, we often dwell in the post event or its a very rapid change. One thing The Strain does really well is show that transition from normal life to the apocalypse as we see the Strigori take over NYC. The Hipster Mod Squad is a reminder that not everyone can flick the switch from normal life to warrior. Still, their motives and generally cocky/whiny attitudes had me hoping for a Strigori tongue lashing.

When Eph finally goes to see his friends Abraham and Fet, it isn’t just to hang out, he is there for The Lumen. Upon entry in the hotel, Quilan quickly knocks Eph on his ass. For most of the episode Eph and Quilan dance around each other trying to figure out the other’s motives. Both characters question each other in attempts to not only find out what the other one is scheming, but to also cover up what they themselves are planning. Towards the end of the episode, when Abraham and Fet are out, Eph tries to get the book. Quinlan quickly calls him out asking what The Master is offering for the book. The two quickly realize that their goals can benefit each other if they work together. I believe Quinlan is manipulating Eph’s fragile and not so sober state of mind here. Quinlan knows Eph is already trying to exchange the book for his son and is going to use this to get his confrontation with The Master by using the book to draw him out. The interactions between Eph and Quinlan over their mutual distrust is one of the highlights of the episode, especially knowing that Eph is playing right into Quinlan’s plan. Eph’s need for his son could jeopardize the fight for mankind.

Zach and Kelly spend a good majority of the episode doing this awkward dance with Kelly trying to be a mother and Zach not wanting to be locked in a room. Kelly is in this weird place where her motherly instincts are fighting with her Strigori needs, leading to awkward moments of her constantly asking Zach if he wants her to read to him. This weirdly twisted motherly concern is interesting to watch as it is hard to tell if this is Kelly trying to be a mother to Zach or if it is just a rouse to manipulate him. Zach is truly a child of divorce. When he is with Eph he wants to be with Kelly and when he is with Kelly he wants to be with Eph. After Kelly gives him some food, Zach escapes from his room. Running down the hall he comes across a series of locked doors and hears noises from around the corner. He then finds his mother tongue-punching the neck of a child of similar age to Zach. He then panics and tries running away leading to him having an asthma attack. As Zach struggles to breath he calls out to his mother for help, only for Kelly to give into her Strigori need to feed. Just as she is about to bite her eyes turn red.

The Master appears, forcing Kelly to stop trying to eat her son and instead has her hold his head. The Master then cuts his thumb and gives Zach the healing white blood. This scene is fantastic as we see Kelly struggle with her need to feed and her need to be a mother to Zach. When her tongue starts to come out it is as if she is trying to keep vomit from coming up. Clearly she isn’t as in control as she let us and Eph believe in the previous episode. This scene also solidifies how important Zach is to The Master’s plan, even if he is just a pawn. Between the previous episode and this one Zach seemed more like a hidden secret that Kelly has, always promising him that The Master might let her keep him. We know The Master wants to use Zach to manipulate Eph, but his distance with the boy doesn’t show it. That is, until he saves Zach life. Now it is clear that The Master needs Zach alive in order to carry out his plan. What is his plan though? There are so many cards being played by him right now between manipulating Zach, the Freedom Centers, The Lumen, the recent outbreaks in other cities, and what ever other shady business he has cooking in the shadows. Hopefully more will be revealed next week.

 

Continue to the next page for Tongue-Punch and Best Action Scene of the Week, Final Thoughts, Next Week, and more shots from this week’s episode!

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