The Strain Season Two: The Born

More backstory is revealed for Quinlan as he makes contact with Abraham meanwhile Eph still deals with the aftermath in Washington and Fet and Dutch are in for a surprise.

 

I got to say that with this episode Quinlan is turning into one of my favourite characters because he is such a damn badass! I mean we have got to give The Strain credit for it's really impressive intro with Quinlan as a Roman gladiator; the fighting, the costumes and the awesome setting. We also get some to see his enhanced strength and speed as well as the fact that he can survive in daylight which is because he is a half breed. I didn't expect that but it got me thinking that if he is a half - breed what did that make the commando vampires? He said he trained them but how did they retain their minds in the first place? Moving on we also get to see a second Flashback where it is revealed he has been after the Master for quite some time and gets an awesome confrontation with him alongside Abraham. Sure there was no fighting but the way they where staring each other down and mocking one another was cool but the comment about Quinlan's mother makes me think that his mother was human but is the Master his father? Besides that we also get a cool action sequence where he makes short work of the blind vampire children which was also really gory with the one that was sliced in half!

Unfortunately the other subplots wasn't as good starting with Eph who has seemingly teleported back to NY; I have got to mark it down for that because after all he went through to leave how the hell did he get back so easily? Luckily the rest of his subplot was good because he had a nice reunion with Zach and his determination to kill Palmer should give him a new darker storyline because he had never wanted to kill a human before. Speaking of Palmer he got a lot of screen time and I admit I am warming up to his relationship with Coco; maybe it's because of he said he has been distant from people all his life but now he is finally letting people in. If this subplot does redeem Palmer then fine by me now plus he is one sly dog for managing to romance Coco at the end lol. As for Coco I still think she needs more development because I just want it confirmed is she really who she seems to be or his there more to her? Finally the real let down was the Fet, Dutch and Nikki subplot because I just kept shaking my head; here we go I thought, just like Gotham we have to throw in a lesbian twist the show could have done without. After so much building Fet and Duth's relationship, which I think was done well, they had to throw Nikki into the mix which is just making all the scenes with them awkward to watch. Also Nikki just isn't a likeable character and probably is going to be a useless person I bet, and this is really going to annoy me, she is just going to be arguing with Fet over Dutch and justify their relationship with Dutch herself  trying to get Fet to sympathise with Nikki like she had already because of what she's been through, like abandoning everyone.        

Overall Quinlan was defiantly the biggest highlight of the episode but I am disappointed that they have to bring Nikki back who is just going to be an annoyance and a let down in every episode.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Quinlan!/intro and Flashbacks
                   Palmer's relationship with Coco
                   Eph's new determination to kill Palmer

Let - Downs: We don't see Eph journey back into NY and it seemed too easy
                       Bringing Nikki back  

The Flash Season One: The Flash is Born

The episode begins with Iris once again blogging on her site and Barry, disguised as The Streak, trying to warn her to stop. Barry leaves when he hears sirens and speeds to a car chase and manages to get a kid out of the way while West and Eddie look on. Barry fights the man the police are chasing but is severely injured when he discovers it is a Meta Human who can coat his skin in to a metallic substance. At S.T.A.R. labs Barry wonders how he can fight someone with that kind of power but West assures him they will find a way, he then goes to CCPD where he learns that the Meta Human is criminal Tony Woodward AKA Girder who used to bully him as a kid. West later talks to Wells about the possibility of a Meta Human killing Barry's mother, Nora, but Wells believes that's impossible, elsewhere in the lab Cisco thinks Barry can hurt Girder if he can channel his speed the right way.

Now that has got to hurt!

Barry and Eddie then investigate the car Girder left behind and follow the clues to a brewery factory and question the employees. They learn that Tony worked at a steel factory and while in a fight over losing his job fell in a vat of molten metal; this also happened the day of the accelerator exploded thus turning him into Girder. Girder then visits and flirts with Iris and even shows off his powers and when Iris tells this to The Streak, Barry angrily speeds off to Girder's hideout. At the old steel factory Barry fights Girder but is once again beaten into submission. Cisco and Caitlin take him back to S.T.A.R labs where Cisco thinks that Barry can damage Girder if he hits him at Mach 1.1 with a running start of 5.3 miles. Later Barry trains with Eddie and learns more about him meanwhile West has a drink with Wells because he is suspicious he had something to do with Nora's murder but Wells denies this.

"Pretend the bag is Eddie"

Girder kidnaps Iris who takes her to their old school because he wants to be famous for killing The Streak however she manages to pull the fire alarm that alerts Barry when he hears about the kidnapping. He races to there but once again finds himself losing to Girder despite dodging his punches with his speed at first. He then runs 5.3 miles away and charges back at Mach 1.1 and punches Girder, creating a sonic boom and knocking him out. Barry later puts Girder in a cell next to the accelerator and reveals his identity, having finally defeated his old bully. West apologies to Wells after finding out he moved to Central City shortly after Nora's murder because his own wife recently died. Barry then visits Iris and the two make up for being angry with each other and during their talk The Streak is renamed The Flash. The episode ends with West going over Nora's case files but is surrounded by a yellow and red vortex, even getting a blurred glimpse of the man in yellow, he is unharmed but is left a photo of Iris with a knife stuck in it with the message "Stop or Else".

"Guess who's back?"

We got to have a another look at The Man in The Yellow Suit sooner than I thought and I had to admit that was one awesome scene with West in the vortex. It may be 14 years after Nora's murder but The Man in The Yellow Suit is still at large and after his threat I wonder if West will continue to help Barry. He now must believe him beyond any doubt and makes me even wonder if he will tell him what happened or just keep it to himself because he doesn't want Barry or S.T.A.R labs doing more investigating. This also makes me wonder if Wells had anything to do with it because as I had said before he defiantly has his own plan but I can't see him as a villain because he is just too helpful to Barry. This is my theory but since Wells had that device that let him saw that newspaper article in the future maybe him and The Man in The Yellow Suit are both from the future; maybe that is why The Man in The Yellow Suit killed Nora because she was mother of The Flash?

That does look cool

As for the rest of the episode I really enjoyed it and the Meta Human had an awesome power and the effect of it covering his skin looks really good. It is cool that we get a Meta Human who Barry actually knew from before; I am reading the New 52 Flash comics and there is a Meta Human called Mob Rule who is a childhood friend of Barry's so this episode kind of reminded me of that. The fights between Barry and Girder where great to watch as well; the first Meta Human to be a physical challenge to Barry but that slow motion Mach 1.1 punch was done so well. Also again they are keeping up these great origin stories for how the Meta Humans got their powers.

looks like West has found a new best friend

The rest of the episode was great as well I liked the interaction between Barry and Eddie and how they where both bullied. Eddie is a good character and I want to see him more involved with the cases like he was now, maybe he might even join the team in a future episode. I am also glad that Barry and Iris are talking again because I honestly didn't want that to go one for ages and also that The Streak is finally renamed The Flash; was quicker than The Hood becoming The Arrow.

"Yeah new move!"

Overall this was a great episode and left on such a cliff hanger that I cannot wait until next week to find out what West will do. Iris still kind of annoys me but that is because her subplot of being an amateur reporter investigating the superhuman and meeting that superhuman on a rooftop isn't exactly original in the world of superheroes now is it? I just think they could have found another way for her to be involved because she is just being an inconvenience to Barry who is having to constantly visit her as The Flash to warn her of the dangers.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Another glimpse of The Man in The Yellow Suit
                   The fights between The Flash and Girder
                   The interactions between Barry and Eddie and West and Wells

Let - Downs: Iris's blogging subplot still annoys me

 

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/