THE STRAIN on FX -- from Guillermo Del Toro -- Sunday, July 13 at 10pm

[dmbrhs]

This is literally the dumbest television show in the history of the medium. They must be revolving through new writing staffs week to week, because nobody has any clue what is going on. I'll ignore everything else that makes no sense and focus on the "auction" of the Lumen. There are two bidders: Fet/Setrakian, and Eichorst, who is a vampire and has super powers who can basically dodge bullets and destroy human beings. I mean, 10 minutes later, he dodges Quinlan's MACHINE GUN, and Quinlan's all "welp, what are you gonna do?" You mean to tell me the guy who can dodge machine gun fire can't just be like "yo, Marlo from The Wire, I'm taking this book, and there's nothing you can do about it". Christ. This show is a joke.

It's too bad, because the actual performances from Setrakian, Fet and Eichorst are pretty good. But they're wasted on insipid writing.

 

[Arthur Shelby]

Season Finale was going good then Zach

 

[therealrell]

This is literally the dumbest television show in the history of the medium. They must be revolving through new writing staffs week to week, because nobody has any clue what is going on. I'll ignore everything else that makes no sense and focus on the "auction" of the Lumen. There are two bidders: Fet/Setrakian, and Eichorst, who is a vampire and has super powers who can basically dodge bullets and destroy human beings. I mean, 10 minutes later, he dodges Quinlan's MACHINE GUN, and Quinlan's all "welp, what are you gonna do?" You mean to tell me the guy who can dodge machine gun fire can't just be like "yo, Marlo from The Wire, I'm taking this book, and there's nothing you can do about it". Christ. This show is a joke.

It's too bad, because the actual performances from Setrakian, Fet and Eichorst are pretty good. But they're wasted on insipid writing.

One of the few times I'll defend this writing staff. The book is made of silver and he couldn't touch it. He asked Marlo's character to wrap it up so that he could carry it before he was stopped. He wasn't getting past all of those people. He would have been riddled with bullet holes if he tried something.

Another red mark for the finale was no Dutch or Councilwoman Feraldo the latter of which had the Mayor killed and was deeply involved in this season's story. The writers just forgot the two existed.

 

[shogun]

Who is councilwoman feraldo? The one in charge of all the police? eichorst could've worn gloves or gotten a bag to put the book in. It's just funny that local gangsters are making two powerful sides pay a crazy amount in gold. Like wouldn't it make sense for eichorts to raid the place at night with a few hundred of his vampire goons?

 

[therealrell]

Who is councilwoman feraldo? The one in charge of all the police? eichorst could've worn gloves or gotten a bag to put the book in. It's just funny that local gangsters are making two powerful sides pay a crazy amount in gold. Like wouldn't it make sense for eichorts to raid the place at night with a few hundred of his vampire goons?

He was going to wrap it up, but the banks called and said that their access was revoked. The book was already gone at that point.

And yeah, Feraldo is the person with the police.

 

[shogun]

You said she had the mayor killed. I don't remember them hinting that she did that on the show.

 

[therealrell]

You said she had the mayor killed. I don't remember them hinting that she did that on the show.

It is heavily implied that she is responsible. She asks the lead cop under her command if he had anything to do with it after she's approached by the homicide detective. She and the Mayor had been against each other all season and in the episode he died, they had a very heated exchange in which he resignation was demanded.

The Strain: "Night Train" Review
Let the buyer beware.

By Jesse Schedeen Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

The Strain's second season has had its significant ups and downs, and the same held true for the finale episode. "Night Train" brought about the culmination of several long-running storylines and even a couple major deaths in the process. However, several familiar problems remained - unlikable characters, poor storytelling logic and big showdowns that end in stalemates. This episode wasn't quite the epic conclusion The Strain needed to tide viewers over until next summer.

The whole season boiled down to two main conflicts. On one hand, Eph, Nora and Zach boarded the last train out of New York, with the hope that Zach could be deposited safely with his grandparents and Eph could resume work on his bio-weapon. On the other, Setrakian and Fet prepared to enter a high-stakes bidding war for the most valuable book in the world. In both cases, there was an ominous sense that something awful was going to happen to derail the efforts of both groups. That sense of tension helped "Night Train" start off on the right foot.

The early scene where the two groups said their goodbyes and parted ways was especially effective. After two seasons of finding solace and support together, our heroes were finally going their separate ways. Regardless of whether Setrakian and Fet survived the auction or Eph and his son made it out of New York, it was clear this tight-knit group would never again be as it was. The group photograph was a poignant way of marking the end of an era. Plus, Setrakian's inability to smile lent a little touch of humor to an otherwise dour episode.

It wasn't long before the plot hole cracks started to show in these two storylines. As the build-up to the auction unfolded, I found myself wondering why the Master and the Ancients even bothered to go through the motions. If both factions knew where exactly the book was being kept, why didn't they simply lay siege to Roosevelt Island and be done with it? Why put hundreds of millions of dollars on the line for the amusement of one opportunistic gang lord? As for Eph's storyline, if he has more contacts in Washington to help him with his bio-weapon, why didn't he make use of them last time he left the city? Why did he just give up and return home? Not to mention the fact that I still don't understand how he's able to freely move about the city when he was just arrested for attempted murder.

At some point with this show you just have to cast aside questions of logic and accept things as they are. The Setrakian/Fet conflict was otherwise mostly satisfying. There wasn't a lot of tension to the bidding war because it moved so fast and escalated so quickly. However, the real payoff was Palmer's decision to cut off Eichorst's line of credit and openly betray the Master. Seeing the remorseless villain so uncharacteristically stunned and helpless was a welcome moment of payback for his recent misdeeds. And it only further heightened the episode's tension, as it we knew Setrakian and Palmer's respective victories were bound to be short-lived.

True to his threats, it was only a few minutes before Eichorst waged an all-out assault on Setrakian and Fet's truck. Once Quinlan and his "Sunhunters" joined the fray, this scene escalated into what is easily one of the best action sequences in the show's two-year history. You had a group of hardened killers (including a masked Silver Angel) mowing down dozens of strigoi. You had Gus hunting down Setrakian and seeking a little payback for their original encounter back in the pilot. And you had Quinlan facing down Eichorst in a super-powered vampire duel. Unfortunately, the show fell into old habits with this last encounter. I've now lost count of the number of episodes that have ended with Eichorst slithering away from a fight to lick his wounds.

Despite Gus, Setrakian and Fet finding themselves caught in a Mexican standoff, the resolution to this conflict was surprisingly rosy for both factions. It's a little strange that Setrakian would so easily manage to convince Quinlan to betray the Ancients and form a new alliance, but it's not as if Quinlan's disdain for his handlers is any great secret. If any element of Season 3 excites me, it's the idea of Setrakian, Fet, Gus and Quinlan forming a new team t take on the worsening strigoi threat. At the very least, it should end the trend of Gus and Quinlan vanishing from the spotlight for weeks at a time.

Eichorst might not have acquired the Lumen, but he did get his revenge on Palmer when the Master paid another visit to Stoneheart headquarters. The problem with this scene is that it banked on the viewer actually caring about Coco and her romance with Palmer. Whatever interesting qualities she might have possessed died the moment she emerged from her coma and transformed from Palmer's troubled confidant to arm candy. As I feared way back at the beginning of the season, Coco was treated less like a character than a plot device to usher along Palmer's character arc. I'm not sure what purpose she'll serve as a strigoi now, but it can't be any worse than how she's fared so far.

One of the first scenes from the Season 2 premiere involved Kelly's transformation from ordinary strigoi to semi-autonomous agent of the Master. So it was only fitting that the season culminated with another showdown between Kelly and her family. It was nice to see Nora, rather than Eph, take point in this showdown. Especially since, as it turned out, this was her last stand. Her death was disappointing in the sense that Nora has a lot to offer the group dynamic and wasn't always used to her fullest this season. However, at least she died bravely, and the the abrupt, near silent shot of her self-inflicted electrocution certainly made its impact. That death will surely be hanging over Eph's head in Season 3. He's now lost a second lover to the strigoi plague, and with the added guilt that now he'll never be able to atone for the way he mistreated Nora and took her presence for granted.

Zach had a pivotal moment here, as he faced a choice between manning up and killing his mother or abandoning Eph and the others to return to her embrace. Sadly, he made the latter choice. I suppose you can't blame a kid his age for being weak and choosing his actual mother over the mother figure who sacrificed everything to protect him. Still, in a season where Zach's petulant behavior has made him the most obnoxious cast member, the show took what could have been a powerful, redemptive moment and chose instead to make him even more unlikable. Part of me is intrigued at the idea of Zach being a lone human among vampires, but mostly I'm just happy that this probably means he'll be appearing less (if at all) in Season 3.

The impact of Zach's arc, like so much in this episode, really depends on where the show heads in Season 3. And that's where this finale proved somewhat disappointing despite some big, dramatic moments along the way. It didn't feel like a terribly conclusive end to the season. Some characters were left hanging, while others (Dutch, Councilwoman Feraldo) didn't appear at all. Aside from the idea that new alliances are being forged and life in Manhattan is continuing to go down the toilet, there's not a clear sense of what our heroes face going into next year. Whatever is to come, we can only hope the show learns from its mistakes this year.

The Verdict

It's been a rocky road for The Strain this summer, and the finale episode was a fitting encapsulation of that. This episode had some great moments as our heroes made brave stands against overwhelming odds. However, between the sporadic plot holes, the sometimes poor characterization (especially with Coco and Zach) and a conclusion that ended the season on a somewhat murky note, this wasn't the finale this season really needed.

Zach is the worst character on the show. They fired the first child actor who couldn't act for this kid who can't act and is nothing more than a brat.

 

[booie403]

First things first, they just made Zach one of, if not the worse kid in tv history. Even with all the cliches (which i expect) i thought this finale was good until the Nora and Zach moment. Had my boy Quinlan give a struggle speech. Hopefully with Gus and him being with Fet will give them more screen time next season. Well his to next season.

 

[hand2handking]

killed off the only reason to keep watching, i think they want this show cancelled

 

[sneakaprince]

So many disappointing moments with this show.

Can't believe they killed off bae. Nora and Fet are just about the only genuinely good people on the show. Everyone else has a character flaw or two that make me be like FDB if he/ she dies.

I knew NT would be going nuts about the Nora and Zach scene. Whats ****** up is it wasn't one of those catch the viewer off guard moments. We all knew Zach was a ***** ***** and they just made it so that the viewers basically want him to die at this point.

Hell I would've been happier if his mom sucked him dry right then and there so we wouldn't have to deal with some BS *** story about Eph looking for his son all of next season.

I'm a lot like dmbrhs I watched that whole auction scene in disbelief. Like dude is a vamp and yall are just a touch above average gangsters. Do those guys even have silver bullets? I mean yeah he would be hurt by a couple but he could easily bounce them off. There were other scenes with him getting in Fets face that had me like "why dude don't just drink these ****** for talkin ****"


excuse my language the show caught me on a frustrated mood.

 

[shogun]

The way Nora offed herself was pretty boss though. Who else has ever did that by striking the electric third rail with a sword? Where were all the other passengers running with them? Weren't they all running in the same direction?

 

[awwsome]

Damn they really went off book didn't they? How they gonna do that to my girl Nora? Now there's literally like zero chicks I'm feeling on this show. This might be the final straw for me.

Also I don't get the Master. If he had used all his resources to get the book he would've had more bodies to throw at Fett and Setrakian to get it even when Quinlan and his crew showed up but no he lets a good deal of them go to getting ******* Zack? What part of the game is that?

And ******* Zack. I hope he dies the most gruesome death. He's the whole reason Nora died. Distract her with that yell like a ******* lame. Then lets her get killed

Did this show get renewed for another season? This ending soured me on what was an okay finale

Yea they definitely threw the book out the window, Nora was supposed to be one of the only survivors.

And The Master's plan was to get Zack in the book too, make him his apprentice and use his body next.

Zack is by far the worst TV kid ever and that's saying a lot.

 

[Master Zik]

I thought it'd take a while to get there but on the show they haven't made that important at all. They haven't hinted the Master had any interest in Zack. I felt the only reason why Zack's mom even got that job was because of the past 2 or 3 encounters with Eph and the Master where he was setting up Eph for a lifetime of mental torture and failure like he did with Setrakian. So turning his wife and giving her some of her mind back was like ha ha I got your wife.

But when I think about it with everybody hating Zack it'd be great if they found a way for the Master to take Zack's body next and make him the main bad guy. Eph would really be in pain. Maybe with a time skip.

These writers bugging though. I had accepted like 3 eps in to this season this would be a bit low quality I even ignored the clunky storytelling (s1 ran far more smoother and logically) but these last few eps going up and down isn't showing good signs for next season unless they put things in place to scrap most of the cast and try to be better for S3.

 

[awwsome]

I've just come to the point where I don't expect anything from this show.

When I first heard about it, did research on the book and saw Del Toro was involved I was super excited.

Also a big fan of the actor who plays Eph since House Of Cards. (He's doing as well as he given the material)

But the shows dialogue/pacing/story/character development and some of the casting choices are just mind numbingly bad given the source material.


Nobody gave a **** about the Fet/Dutch storyline, they never even developed Nora/Eph's romantic relationship besides that ****** flashback last episode yet try to make her death the emotional peak of the season. Also, you're going to tell me Nora, who has been the strongest female character on the show, would hesitate no matter what Zack said? After she's been the foremost one against the vampires and has killed hundreds herself? Really?

Ditto with Palmer/Coco, she wasn't even a real character, just designed to move the plot along. This show suffers from the same problem many do, they only use female characters to further male's storylines instead of developing them independently.


It would've been way more interesting to see more of and the background on The Master/Quinlan/Vaun/The Ancients yet we're treated with love stories, half baked side plots.

I also hate the fact that the story is supposed to be set in NYC yet it's so obvious that the actual actors are in Toronto. Anybody who lives in NYC could tell how bad the sets are designed, looks nothing like it.

 

[shogun]

Is the novel good?

 

[awwsome]

Is the novel good?

Better than the show.

 

[Master Zik]

Ditto with Palmer/Coco, she wasn't even a real character, just designed to move the plot along. This show suffers from the same problem many do, they only use female characters to further male's storylines instead of developing them independently.

Don't get me started on this.

The entire season I'm watching those scenes ep to ep thinking well it can't be what it appears to be on it's face. Just off of Coco's look and how she acts and the way those scenes were written I was like there must be more to this. I probably gave it too much thought thinking it can't be as simple as she's a spy sent to seduce him by somebody against him. They even do scenes where they're really making it seem she's interested in this old man (if they wanted to make her a gold digger the casting was wrong, if they wanted to make her this meek assistant that truly falls in love with this dude they wrote all the scenes poorly). Then she gets shot. Gets revived and she's on the back burner.

Come to this finale and basically her involvement with Palmer was to create this weak man pain with her being sacrificed so she wouldn't be used as a bargaining chip by the Master. They'll be dumb if they think that's any real pathos for Palmer in eps to come. Set up was all bad.

I also hate the fact that the story is supposed to be set in NYC yet it's so obvious that the actual actors are in Toronto. Anybody who lives in NYC could tell how bad the sets are designed, looks nothing like it.

When they really started showing more of NYC from Harlem to Red Hook I started to wonder back in S1 if this was set in a different decade or something

 

[shogun]

Is the novel good?

Better than the show.

That tells me the book could still be bad.

 

[stuntman mike]

i know del toro probably doesn't have much to do with this show but he should just drop this mess and give us hellboy 3.

 

[awwsome]

That tells me the book could still be bad.

Alonzo.gif

 

[hand2handking]

zach 

 

[therealrell]

In addition to the points made, New York should have already fallen. It seems like months have passed on this show. This is easily the worst show FX has had in a long time.

 

[shogun]

At least this season of Tyrant was pretty good. They should do a crossover but vampires would get burnt in the desert. Been meaning to check out The Bridge. I heard it was real good but still got cancelled. Which makes me wonder how this show is still going. I doubt the ratings are good and the critic reviews are probably bad.

 

[ironmike]

I've been following the show on and off and never read the novel. From what I've watched, I don't care one bit about the Council woman and her whole storyline. Does she play a bigger part in the book? 

 

[therealrell]

Feraldo is a character made for the show.