The Strain Season 1 Episode # 5 "Runaways" - Recap

Ruby Wain (Regina King) calls in Dr. Evanston, an urologist to take care of her client, goth celebrity Gabriel Bolivar's (Jack Kesy) medical problems. Gabe, under the control of The Master, attacks the doctor with his stinger and claims her to be “Mine”. 

Ruby gets scared and sprains her leg, while fleeing the house. She calls someone and informs about the incident involving Gabe.

Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) educates Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll) about “The Master” and refers to him as Patient Zero/Strigoi (Romanian word for vampire).

Abraham explains about his experience in 1944. A much younger Abraham (Jim Watson), along with his “bubbeh meiseh” grandmother (Kathleen Chalfant) and a friend, are taken to a concentration camp, under the control of Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel). Abraham and his friend are spared, after the camp guards learn that they are skilled carpenters.

Back to the present. Attorney Joan Luss (Leslie Hope) is getting more and more sick. The governess, Neeva (Kim Roberts) notices the subtle change in her employer when Joan stares at her daughter's neck with a strange look.

Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) is informed about her mother, Mariela Martinez (Anne Betancourt) making yet another escape attempt from her institution. She is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Eph and Abraham reach Ansel Barbour's (Nikolai Witschl) house, only to discover that his wife Ann-Marie Barbour (Alex Paxton-Beesley) has committed suicide by hanging from the roof.

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They carefully approach the shed and Eph shoots Ansel with his newly acquired nail gun, loaded with silver ammunition. Before decapitating Ansel, Abraham chants the following words: “Sabia mea fredoneaza de argint”.

Back in the concentration camp, Abraham watches a mysterious stranger feed on a fellow prisoner. He confides the same to his friend, who advises him to stop looking for monsters.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde)'s doctor informs him that his body cannot endure any more organ transfers/operations. Eldritch replies that this will be the last operation to be performed on him.

Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) notices the spike in rat related incidents and makes an investigation in the sewers and is pursued by a big horde of strigoi. He escapes through a manhole and the sunlight prevents the vampires from catching up to him. 

Jack Noon is hired by Ruby to clean up the mess created by Gabe's attack on Dr. Evanston. He becomes Gabe's next victim.

Neeva packs Joan's kids and takes them to her place to keep them safe from their mother.

Nora is forced to take her mother out of the institution after a vampire attack.

Eph goes to the CDC with the video evidence of the infected victims. He tries to convince his boss, Dr. Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash) to declare a quarantine. Jim Kent (Sean Astin) advises Eph to flee and helps him to escape. 

David Bradley's Abraham Setrakian is the most fleshed out character in the show. I liked his quote: “Inaction is the greatest evil”. His interactions with Eph are the highlights of the episode.

Couple of scenes reminded me of other Guillermo del Toro efforts. In the concentration camp, young Abraham's friend makes the observation that they are already surrounded by monsters. This was similar to del Toro's Oscar winner Pan's Labyrinth, also set in the aftermath of a Spanish Civil War. The film's protagonist, Ofelia fantasizes about a faun and other mythic creatures while the merciless Captain Vidal inflicts cruelty around her in the real world.

Similarly, Vasiliy's escape from the strigoi through the manhole was reminiscent of a similar scene in Blade II, starring Wesley Snipes as the titular vampire hunter.

The episode felt disjointed and did not have the impact of a vampire show. The teaser for the next episode promises a lot of action. Hopefully, the next episode will be more effective.

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 4 "It's Not for Everyone" - Recap and Review

This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip it, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) discuss their options about what to do with Captain Redfern's (Jonathan Potts) body. Eph wants to perform an autopsy to figure out what is going on. Jim expresses his concern, but is overridden when Nora supports Eph.

Ann-Marie Barbour (Alex Paxton-Beesley) and Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl) decide to move their kids to someplace else. Ansel declines Ann's offer to call on their family doctor Dr. Barrett, but insists to keep their family German shepherd pet, Gertie with him.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) hires Dutch Velders (Ruta Gedmintus), an internet hacker to create a retaliation campaign against major corporations through an online group (“Citizens for Liberty”). Dutch slows down/shuts downs internet servers and helps create an atmosphere of disinformation. It is also revealed that the individual murdered by Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) was the CEO of Regis Air.

Eph cuts open Redfern's body and removes the six foot long stinger. Jim confesses about his involvement in moving the coffin to Jim and Nora.

Ann finds Gertie dead with a big entrance wound to her throat. Ann hears noises from inside the shed. She is terrified when she meets a transformed Ansel. He begs and then scares her to run away and never return to him.

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Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) returns the clock (stolen by his brother Crispin) to an unappreciative Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley). He steals a SUV and sells it for 800 USD to silver toothed Alonso Creem (Jamie Hector).

As Ann grieves over her dead dog, a cranky neighbour Trip Taylor (Darrin Baker) comes over and threatens her with calling the police about the constant noises from the shed. Ann is pissed off when she learns that Trip had previously beat Gertie. She tricks Trip into entering the shedj and Ansel promptly feeds on him.

Eldritch informs Secretary Maggie Pierson about a biological agent being let loose in the airplane and attempts to secure her help. In the midst of the conversation, he collapses.

Jim and Nora rush to Emma Arnot's (Isabelle Nélisse) house. Emma attacks them with the stinger and is killed by Abraham Setrakian. He also kills her transformed father, Gary Arnot (Steven McCarthy).

Nora is shocked by Abraham's actions and leaves them to do the rest of the work.

The episode closes as Abraham asks Eph to get the gasoline. 

David Bradley remains the best of the bunch. Miguel Gomez also gives an arresting performance as Gus. 

The episode continues to suffer from the same drawback: The narrative is weak. The constant shifting between the characters robs the show of a gripping momentum, that came across really well in the books. 

Guillermo del Toro does not seem to have his heart in place for this show. Perhaps, he is busy with other projects (“Crimson Peak”??). Most of the actors (with a few exceptions) seem to be just sleepwalking through their roles to collect the paycheck.

Trivia

• The children's song “This Old Man” can be heard playing in the scene, when Eph and Nora enter Emma Arnot's house.

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 3 "Gone Smooth" - Recap and Review

This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to watch the episode are recommended to skip it, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

In the opening scene, classical music plays in the background, a man with a disfigured face puts on his make up of passing off as a normal human being. The man is revealed to be Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel), who declares that soon there will be no need for charade.

Dr Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash) is questioned by Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) about the missing corpses. Everett reminds Eph that officially he is no longer assigned to the case.

Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl) discovers that something is wrong with this teeth. His high strung wife, Ann-Marie (Alex Paxton-Beesley) is concerned about his health and advises him to take rest.

Jim has his own doubts about the missing box and goes to visit Eldritch Palmer. Eichorst bribes Jim by proposing a very highly selective and rare medical treatment for Jim's wife, Slyvia (Melanie Merkosky).

Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) faces the legal ramifications as a result of his outburst at the JFK airport. The judge pointedly asks about his silver sword and Abraham responds that it is an object of sentimental value to him. He promises to destroy it and is let go.

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Nora attends the court proceedings and tries to get more information about the corpses from Abraham. Abraham again asks her to destroy the corpses and anyone who might have come in contact with them.

In the court mandated session, Zachary Goodweather (Ben Hyland) suggests that he would prefer a weekly visit or two from Eph. Zack is convinced that Eph's job is more important to him.

Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) notices a steep hike in reports about incidents involving rats. Fet's latest assignment involves the daughter of a person of influence. After taking care of the

Ansel's pet German Shepherd notices the change in it's master. Ansel drinks the blood from a refrigerated piece of meat, even as his horrified wife watches.

Eph visits Gary Arnot's house to check on him and his daughter. He notices the blood-red water in the bathtub. He gets a phone call and leaves in a hurry. Emma Arnot (Isabelle Nélisse) is seen hiding behind a door.

Goth celebrity Gabe Bolivar (Jack Kesy) notices something wrong with his private parts. His personal doctor advises him to see an urologist right away. Gabe's frontal genitalia parts are missing.

Abraham Setrakian secures the passenger manifest of Regis Air 573 and is determined to complete his mission of destroying the corpses.

Thomas Eichorst visits a man in his office and murders him with his own handgun, making it look like suicide.

Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts) escapes just before his operation is about to begin. He has been transformed and attacks Jim and then Nora with his newly developed stinger. Eph subdues him with a fire extinguisher.

Finally, we are getting to see some action. David Bradley continues to give the best performance among the ensemble cast. Richard Sammel also makes an impact as the villanous Eichorst.

The rest of the cast are just about adequate. Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) was absent in this episode. Looking forward to his return.

The scenes involving Emma Arnot reminded me of the movie, Mama. Isabelle stole the limelight in that movie, produced by Guillermo del Toro had produced that movie.

The plot development feels a tad slow. Redfern's transformation was long overdue.

The editing seems to be abrupt. The transition between scenes is quite abrupt and felt very sudden. For example, a scene involving Gabe was just too brief and did not contribute to his storyline.

The novel too had a similar flow - alternating between different characters, as they changed/reacted to the virus outbreak. But something seems to be lost in the translation to small screen. Hope the creative powers behind the show work out this drawback before the show loses the interest of the audience. 

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The Strain Season 1 Episode # 2 "The Box" - Recap and Review

This post discusses the episode in detail. Readers yet to read the episode are recommended to skip the rest of the post, if they wish to avoid spoilers.

The episode begins with a quick recap of the previous episode, “Night Zero”.

Gus Elizalde (Miguel Gomez) delivers the box to its destination and tries to figure out its contents. The grumbling noises and the roars coming from inside the box scare away Gus who flees the garage running at full speed.

We are introduced to the Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand), Inspector at City Pest Control. The big muscular chap works on eliminating the rat problem in the city and not surpisingly has a pet cat. This reminded me of  Hellboy (another del Toro favorite) also having a lot of pet cats.

At the cargo area in JFK airport, Dr Eph Goodweather (Corey Stoll), Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin) examine Peter Bishop's corpse. As readers might remember, Bishop was attacked and murdered by the Master in the previous episode.

Nora notices ammonia discharge, similar to the one inside the doomed flight Regis Air 753.

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Dr Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash) releases the four survivors. Eph tries to keep them under quarantine on his authority.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) plans to release disinformation campaign to counter CDC's stranglehold on the passengers. The blame is placed on the airline company's negligence to safety standards. This is supposed to be the cause of the casualties.

Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) goes to meet Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) in jail and refers to him by his Jewish concentration camp number “A230385”. Thomas was in charge of Abraham's concentration camp during World War II.

Thomas also asks if his antique sword belongs to “Sardu”. Eichhorst further taunts Abraham by asking if he still keeps “her” heart.

Abraham retorts by informing Eichhorst that he had slain Eichhorst's friend Dreverhaven and that he will be joining his dead friend soon.

Crispin (Francis Capra) gifts the clock, he stole from Abraham's pawnshop, to his mother. Gus chastises him for presenting their mother with a stolen item and decides to return the clock to its rightful owner.

Margaret Pierson, Secretary of Human and Health Services informs Eph that the flight incident is now under the control of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Barnes tries to calm down Eph by advising him about his personal life. Eph loses his cool and grabs his superior by his collar. Barnes promptly removes Eph from the case and orders him to go on leave for a few days.

Eph tries unsuccessfully to reach Dr Bennett at the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts) meets Eph and Nora at a bar. He lets them know that some government agents has brought the box to the flight cargo.

Eph and Nora run some chemical tests to determine the nature of the agent that caused the death of the flight passengers.

The duty conscious Vasiliy is making an inspection in a restaurant on a Sunday. Meanwhile, Gabriel “Gabe” Bolivar (Jack Kesy), his manager Ruby Wain (Regina King) and Joan Luss (Leslie Hope) discuss about their strategy to make money from the Regis incident.

Gabe discusses with Joan about hearing the humming noise inside his head. Joan agrees that she too hears the same. Joan notices blood in her drink and realizes that she has blood in her mouth.

Vasiliy uses his authority to close down the restaurant and orders the patrons to leave.

Eldritch and his assistant/bodyguard Mr Fitzwilliams (Roger R. Cross) get ready to meet the Master. Mr Fitzwilliams is not comfortable with his employer's deal with Thomas Eichhorst and suggests having a backup plan. Eldritch disregards his bodyguard's advice and declares that he is more excited for the upcoming meeting that anything else in his life.

Eph meets Zach (Ben Hyland) before their court custody appearance. Eph has a very uncomfortable man-to-man talk with Kelly's new boyfriend Matt Sayles (Drew Nelson).

Eph attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Eph confirms his committment to remain sober solely for the sake of Zack.

During one of his orgies at his townhouse, Gabe can hear the blood pumping inside one of the girls and bites her real hard. After the girls leave, Gabe continues to licks the blood on the floor.

Redfern's pathological report reveals that his body is undergoing metamorphosis. Under the UV light, they notice some movements inside his skin.

Gary Arnot (Steven McCarthy) contacts Eph to thank him for releasing his daughter, Emma (Isabelle Nélisse) to him.

Mr Fitzwilliams gives a friendly warning to Eldritch about his suspicions about Thomas. Eldritch sees the Master's face and is left whimpering in fear.

Eph and Nora reach the CDC office to check on Dr Bennett and the corpses. They realize that all the corpses are gone.

Emma is lying in the bathtub. When Gary approaches her, she attacks him with her newly developed stinger.

The show is getting on nicely with the second episode building on the events that took place previously. 

Kevin Durand and Regina Hope are the new newcomers. They are welcome additions to the show and enliven the show with their screen presence.

I liked the exchange between Abraham Setrakian and Thomas Eichorst in the jail. This conversation revealed Abraham's backstory and explained his rivalry with Eichorst.

Corey Stoll's discussion with Drew Nelson's character was funny. Credit to Corey for bringing in some much needed humor to the proceedings that can get quite grim.

Special mention must be made of Leslie Hope as ambitious attorney Joan Luss. She sells the concept of an infected victim undergoing change really well.

Guillermo del Toro has put in a lot of efforts to make the show an enjoyable treat for his fans and it shows. The makeup, the sets and the atmosphere - they are consistently excellent and bear the stamp of a master craftsman at work.

Recommended watch for fans of del Toro and/or Horror genre.

Trivia

• The song “I Love You” from Barney can be heard in the closing scene, when Gary Arnot is attacked by his changed daughter.

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Happy Birthday, Vasily Livanov and Benedict Cumberbatch

Two of my favorite Sherlock Holmes actors, Vasily Livanov and Benedict Cumberbatch were both born on this day in 1935 and 1976 respectively.

Vasily makes a great Victorian Holmes and Benedict a superb modern version. In my humble opinion, these two actors present two of the best performances as Holmes among the 75+ actors to have portrayed Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective so far.

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Wishing both of them Many Happy Returns of the day!

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