Thursday 27 August 2015

The Strain Season Two: BK, NY

Ephram and the gang continue the fight against the Vampire threat in a chaotic New York however the Master recruits more to his ranks.

As I mentioned before I wished I could have reviewed Season One but I am glad I have the time now to review this season. It episode starts off with a Flashback not about Abraham (though he was in it as a child) but of the origins of the Master and it was quite the surprise because I didn't think we will get it this early. I liked the way it was done too; with Abraham's grandmother telling it, it felt like a fairytale. We also learn that the Master seems to have to find new bodies when the time comes and I bet he wants to try take over one of bodies in Eph's group. It is also not just the Flashbacks but in the present Abraham runs in to The Born (those Vampire SWAT guys) and the Ancients and from what I heard it seems like the Master is a rogue Ancient. I like that there are different factions of the Vampires but I doubt these Ancients are the good guys, they probably have their own plans that Abraham, Eph and the rest will have to deal with when the time comes. As for the rest of the villains we didn't see much of Eichorst which is a shame but he did turn the blind kids into Vampires and Kelly into one like him that keeps their mind. Now obviously this is to hurt Eph but I wonder if Kelly will try to fight it or just be plan evil now?

As for the good guys I was actually surprised they stayed in NY because I thought the finale of Season One was them leaving it but no they just went to the Bronx lol. Now I guess it did kind of slow done a bit when focused on the human characters but not for long and I did enjoy the interactions such as Eph and Nora discussing a cure or vaccine and between Fet and Abraham. However some was a bit awkward like Eph talking to his son Zach about Kelly because I thought the kid already understood his mom was lost but we have to go through this angry denial and I can't say I really like the new casting either. I am also not sure how I feels about Palmer's new relationship with Coco; it seemed a bit out of place and she is probably there to make Palmer feel regret about his actions in the future but we'll see since it could be good. Finally I am pleased that the action and gore is back like the gruesome scene where the Ancients fed on that poor guy or action heavy fight at he storage lockers. As with Season One a highlight with The Strain is it's awesome actions scenes with guns and swords and I would have been disappointed if the gore wasn't as high as this or wouldn't have been able to take it seriously.

Overall a strong start to Season Two, it had a few problems with it's pace and human drama but those are small.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Origins of the Master and the Ancients
                   Awesome action scenes (storage lockers) and gruesome moments
                   Some great interactions between the characters however....

Let - Downs: ......some where a bit off like with Eph and his kid
                      Pacing could have been tweaked a bit

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