If you’re like me, you use the internet to learn, connect via social media or maybe do some research, but the internet is also used as a tool to reveal the evil activities of corrupt men. By spreading the word, we are able to keep evil in check, right? Eldritch Palmer is well aware of the power of an informed public, and on last week’s episode of “The Strain,” he had his henchwoman, Dutch Velders eliminate the threat. Where does this leave Ephraim and Setrakian? In deep guano if you ask me. I wonder if our lovable Rat Terminator, Vasiliy, has figured out what’s spooked New York’s vermin. Let’s find out after the jump…
What Rats?
Calls are coming in and Vasiliy is curious as to why hordes of rats are leaving the sewers. It’s not normal and it’s not something a rat would do voluntarily. Sewers provide shelter and plenty of food… so was the mass exodus? Vasiliy gears up and heads down into the sewers. His first clue that things were not as they seemed was the large amount of ammonia splattered on the stone walls, the second clue was the hungry men running after him.
House Calls
Shocking! A doctor making house calls in this day and age? I feel sorry for Bolivar’s trusty business manager, Ruby Wain (Regina King). She expected this to be a quick examination for her client… maybe a little “turn your head and cough” and a prescription. What she expected and what happens has her running for her life, leaving the poor doctor at the mercy of Bolivar.
I always wondered who did the job of cleaning up after a famous person screwed up big time. Who cleans up the blood and hides the body? Jack Noon has been hired by Ruby to clean up the mess, dispose of the body, but Bolivar is still hungry and he’s found a snack. I seriously doubt Bolivar will be doing any more gigs. Don’t you.
Strigoi
Setrakian knows all about the evil that infected the unfortunate passengers of flight 753. He knows this evil personally and came face to face with the creature while a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. Concentration camps were run by monsters of a different kind, by men who thought they were special; they weren’t. The man in charge of the camp where Setrakian is forced to work is no other than Herr Eichorst himself. Setrakian tells Ephraim how he came to learn about the Master.
The book goes into more detail on how the Master picks his victims and feeds on them without the camp guards ever knowing what went on. The book was freaking scary. Tonight’s episode gives us a glimpse of the terror Setrakian experienced nightly as the Master made his rounds, but it didn’t quite match the dread I felt while reading the book. I have too vivid an imagination.
The Strigoi can be destroyed, but you need special weapons like a nail gun with silver nails, a silver mirror to catch their true reflection, Setrakian’s neat sword, and you might want to carry a few containers of gasoline, too. Ephraim and Setrakian go to check on Ansel and his family.
Nora
Nora is still in shock over the way Setrakian dispersed with Emma and her father. She’s not answering Ephraim’s calls. Nora can be a bit thick. After experiencing Captain Redfern’s metamorphosis, the missing bodies, the stinger shooting out of Emma’s mouth, what’s not to understand? Nora is visiting mom in the nursing home when a fellow patient is attacked.
Joan
Thank goodness Joan’s maid, Neeva (Kim Roberts) is smart. She knows there is something strange about Joan Luss (Leslie Hope). Neeva is not about to leave Joan’s young children alone with their mother, especially after she sees what Joan can do with her eyes.
Conclusion and Spoiler Alert
Evil happens when good people do nothing to stop it. Our history books are loaded with examples. Sometimes the evil is so brain numbing that people are slow to react. Now that Ephraim, Jim and Nora know the truth, will they act? Ephraim was too late to save Annmarie Barbour. She found a permanent solution, but what was in the shed was still alive and Setrakian and Ephraim handled Ansel and his nasty neighbor with nail gun, sword and fire.
The attack on the nursing home is a sign that the situation is now out of control. Vasiliy is safe for now, but only because the Strigoi couldn’t tolerate the rays of the sun. Ephraim expected his boss, Everett Barnes to do the right thing; he didn’t and now Ephraim must hide from the authorities. Is Barnes corrupt or just plain stupid?
Eldritch Palmer’s money can’t buy him everything, especially good health. There are no more organs to be harvested and no more transplants to be done… he’s too far gone. So, I’m wondering what was the bargain he made with the Master and when will the Master deliver on his promise to keep Palmer alive? A lot of people are involved with this conspiracy. They keep quiet and look away; the money is good. Evil happens when good people do nothing to stop it.
See you next week, my little blood banks, but stay out of the sewers.
