I continue to be entertained by the show in spite of its persistent clunkiness. This entry – written by co-creator Chuck Hogan – is cleverly called “Gone Smooth” and I’d say that it’s indicative of the storytelling for once. The show has been juggling various characters and sub-plots to varying degrees of success and I think they got it right this time.
Here, Eph finally deals with his custody hearing which doesn’t go as well as he expected. His son makes the decision to see Eph just a few weekends a month so his father can focus on work. Eph keeps it cool until he ultimately lashes out a bit at his ex-wife. With that bit of family drama put to bed for this episode, Eph spends most of his time dealing with government bullshit that still has him removed from the primary mystery on an official level. Still, that doesn’t stop him from checking in on Mr. Arnot (the father with a “my daughter’s come back from the dead” problem) and tending to Captain Redfern who has a ton of creepy crawlies wriggling around under his skin.
The Strain maintains a solid pace, which I appreciate, and we’re getting to see a lot of cool stuff that balances new and old school horror. Scenes of rats fleeing – something witnessed by exterminator Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand still chewing the scenery) – isn’t anything new to genre fans, but it’s a fun staple of the genre that tells us something real bad is coming. Repping new school horror, we get some good body horror moments as we continue to see the airplane passengers going through very weird, very Del Toro-esque transformations (Gabriel Bolivar bids adieu to his member, for instance). This episode also introduces us to a routine Eichorst goes through to look more “human.” My only question is: Who provides him with the foam prosthetics on a day-to-day basis?
Setrakian figures prominently in this entry. He’s seen in court being let off of the hook rather easily for creating a public nuisance and carrying a sword. I can understand the judge being lenient after the backstory Setrakian provides about his life, but I cannot believe for an instant the court would let him have his sword back, family relic or not. Nora meets up with Setrakian outside and he basically tells her the CDC team is going to have to destroy the bodies of the passengers and anyone they’ve been in contact with. Naturally, Nora reacts in an appropriate manner leaving Setrakian to scoff and walk away. He’s got his own plans for the passengers.
And then there’s Jim. Oh, Jim. You have the worst poker face in the world. Sean Astin walks around this show looking like he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders and a “Who me?” look on his face. Jim takes some buy-off money from Eichorst here. If Jim keeps his mouth shut, he’s ailing wife will be provided for.
“Gone Smooth” culminates in a vampire showdown involving Eph, Nora and Jim. They encounter a transformed Redfern at the hospital and Eph proceeds to bash the pilot’s head in with a fire extinguisher. This show does love to depict cranial damage! With the core trio now aware of what the threat is, I’m very curious to see what happens in episode 4.
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