The Strain Season Two: Intruders

Kelly now takes more of the intuitive to get closer to Zach meanwhile Gus gets a visit from Quinlan and Abraham, Palmer and Eichhorst all try to get after the Occido Lumen.

Over the last few episode Eichhorst really haven't has a big role besides from when he was disappointed at not being chosen as the Master's new vessel but this one sees him in the spotlight once again. I really liked the scene at the beginning where he is helping Kelly with her face (more on her later) and I liked the chemistry between those two; Eichhorst using his experience to help the new vampire Kelly. Then of course there is the tense moments between Eichhorst and Palmer and I got to say good one for Palmer who, despite still being humans, has no problem standing up to Eichhorst who rage when he was leaving was noticeable even though he was silent. Then Eichhorst decided to surprise everyone by trying to get the Occido Lumen first and having a good battle with Abraham and Fet; so all in all a good episode for Eichhorst. Kelly was another standout with her looking more like her human self and taking more of an active approach to capture Zach rather than just stalking in the shadows. The showdown in the hideout was really intense because I didn't know if someone was going to get infected or not but it looks like Kelly survived to try another day. You know I have really been liking Kelly's character even since she became a vampire; from mindless drone to leader of the blind kids and now at the same level of Eichhorst, it is some really great development.

As for everything else we also got a subplot with Eph and Zach performing surgery on a gunshot victim while trying to buy a sniper rifle. I liked this because it really improved the father/son relationship between them and while a lot of Zach's moments have been hit and miss this was a good one. He still denied his mother was lost at first but hopefully the ending proved that he is now completely on Eph's side. I was glad we got to see Gus back this week and I liked that he is getting closer to the Gupta family because after what he has lost he found people to care about again. It also did a really good job of reminding us how far NY has fallen with the supply run failing and Gus convincing the Gupta's to leave (plus glad to see him and Angel getting along). However we get a cool confrontation between him and Quinlan which makes me look forward to them teaming up against the Master! Finally the only thing that didn't work for me was Coco storming out on Palmer because while this created some sympathy for him I just don't know what to make of her still this late in the season; what are her thoughts and motivations or is she what she seems to be?

Overall an awesome episode where Eichhorst got to stand out once again and I was glad not to see Dutch or Nikki this episode.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Eichhorst/Kelly plot
                   Eph and Zach;s subplot
                   Gus being approached by Quinlan

Let - Downs: Coco's character still frustrates me  

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