Eichorst is overseeing some ominous construction – one that
looks like a giant slaughterhouse with added incinerators. It’s for processing “sheep”
honest. Ooooh catch that wit.
Vasiliy has his own construction project – making his
truck ultra-secure while everyone prepares to say goodbye to Zach (I care even
less than Abraham). Anyway Ephraim and Nora plan to try and make their disease
bomb while they’re travelling as well.
They’re on the last train out of New York – while huge
desperate crowds gather at the station. As they prepare to leave (in a very nicely
set scene) Ephraim and Nora have a couple moment (oh yeah. Because this is
needed). And Kelley is lurking around (in case Ephraim actually manages to move
the plot forward)
They finally get on the train and to the huge relief of
everyone the train drives off. Yay freedom
Well until the Master stops the train by simply putting 8
gazillion vampires on the tracks. 7 gazillion get squished then the train
derails. Nora and Zach flee one way (they were separated from Ephraim) who
tries to follow them. Kelley and the spider vamps are on the train. While
Ephraim fights Nora and Zach run down the tunnel – and into Kelley.
Time for a Nora vs Kelley duel over Zach (oooh look
symbolism – and further making Nora be epitomised as Kelley’s replacement) and
Zach begging for mercy for Kelley distracts Nora – and she gets bitten
That leaves Zach and Kelley – and he hugs her. Kiiiiilll
him! Doooooo it! Dooooo it!
Instead she takes Zach away. Presumably to the Master.
Ephraim comes and finds Nora on the floor – and there are
worms crawling under her skin. She pushes her sword against the third rail of
the train track, electrocuting herself while Ephraim is all sad.
Eldritch is still evil while Coco is playing the crafty
sexy advisor/manipulator pushing Eldritch to assert himself more to Eichorst
and the Mastery
Gus introduces his little army to Quinlan who introduces himself
by killing someone and thoroughly terrifying the others (he also has a verbose
speech trying to encourage everyone to embrace their inner knight) in a huge
human vs vampire fight. They find it inspiring because the script says it’s so.
Personally I think a whole lot of released prisoners listening to a posh
monster calling on the unity of mankind would laugh uproariously.
Back to Vasiliy and Abraham who go to get The Fecking
Book or die trying (Abraham is all for dying trying. Vasiliy not so much). They
go to Cream to start the bidding war, as does Eichorst bidding on behalf of
Palmer. Abraham gets in his taunts about the Master choosing Bolivar rarher than
him while Eichorst taunts back that the Master intends to turn Abraham. Vasiliy
has much better threats.
The bidding begins going straight to super ridiculous
silly sums of money to Cream’s shock. Instead he decides to check the limits of
each account – and Eichorst has a little more. He wins the bid. (Did the Ancients
not put in all their resources or is Palmer just that rich?) until Eichorst
loses access to his account. Looks like Eldritch is taking Coco’s advice.
Eichorst is not a happy vampire but doesn’t want to fight
the small army of guards. Abraham and Eichorst exchange taunts. Abraham finally
has The Fecking Book. And on the journey back he tells Vasiliy he isn’t going
to give the book to the Ancients. Vasiliy is not 1000% a fan of ripping off the
ancients and not being told about it when the predictable attack happens.
They put up a good defence with Vasiliy’s nifty van but
Eichorst has overwhelming numbers. At least until Quinlan, Gus and his forces
show up. Eichorst runs in terror from Quinland (while the Master takes a moment
to say how he’s totally not afraid honest).
Abraham and Vasiliy escape through the sewers – leaving a
bomb in the truck. A bomb which seems to catch Gus.
Eichorst goes stomping off to see Eldritch and Palmer who
are duly contemptuous of his tantrums and make an epic demand to be treated as
equal partners. The Master decides to join the deliberation. Alas, while
Eichorst and Coco put on a good show, the Master’s not having it and he kills
Coco presumably to turn her into a vampire
Vasiliy and Abraham leave the sewers – followed by Gus
who pulls a gun and demands Abraham give up the book. Then Quinlan arrives to
further insist on its delivery to the Ancients – but he’s tempted by Abraham’s
offer: the book is perfect bait for the Master. And more than anything else,
Quinlen hates the Master.
They all set off on a boat trop together while Abraham
gives us an ominous voice over.
And so ends the last episode of the season and it has
been a very long, very very painfully slow journey
We end the season pretty much where we started. The
vampires are taking over the city but haven’t appreciably made many more
inroads than they had previously. The good guys are opposing the vampires, but
haven’t really done anything significant on the way to doing so. Nothing
meaningful has changed. Abraham has The Fecking Book but despite the enormous
effort and painful amount of time spent on this, there’s no real indication how
this will change things
Coco was revealed, had a moment of being pretty awesome
(and I actually like that she didn’t do a whole “Oh Eldritch how can you be so
evil!” I think it was completely unexpected and a nice twist) then died and
returned Eldritch to where he was in the beginning. Nora and Dutch began the
series as small side characters and now one is dead and the other has vanished.
Justine remains the one awesome female character who desperately needs more
time on screen
Gus started the season killing vampires with a small gang
of fighters and, after spending an inordinate amount of time at the Guptas,
ended the season killing vampires with a small gang of fighters.
Nothing has changed. Nothing has moved. Nothing has
developed. Any attempt to do any kind of storyline last 2-3 episodes then
fizzled (except the hunt for that Fecking Book). The viral bomb never really
got tested and developed then got forgotten. Vasiliy bombing tunnels? Dropped.
Justine leading her army? Becomes political drama about taxation and… again…
not developed. Killing Palmer? One attempt then collapses. Every storyline
starts and then just fizzles out.
We spend a whole lot of time on Ephraim and Zach and
there aren’t enough words in the English language to express how very much I
don’t care about these two. I would rather listen to story ideas in the Falling Skies writers’ room than follow
one second more of this plot.
And the treatment of marginalised people is not good.
Coco is killed off without being properly developed. Kelley is not even a
character by any real stretch of the word. And Nora? I am enraged about Nora –
killing her off? Why is she dead? She
wasn’t in the books! And reducing this woman, this scientist, this
character with actual chance to be a force in this book to a glorified
babysitter was beyond appalling
The mayor was a caricature of ridiculousness. Not even
classy enough to be evil – he was a weak, pathetic lump of a man who only found
his spine at the most ridiculous moment. Cream is straight from central casting
for a Black gangster. The one decent POC depiction was Augustin – yes he’s a
very stereotyped gang banger (yes there were the Guptas – but were any of them
really characters? Or just precious objects for Gus to save) but he was also
shown himself to be more than just a gang member.
And Dutch – I thought for a long time that she would end
up with Vasiliy and Nikki would be cast aside – but I was wrong. But Dutch and Nikki
happened in the worst possible way and ended with her leaving the series; if
she comes back I will lay odds to it being her leaving Nikki and coming back to
Vasiliy. And absolutely no-one would blame her for that choice – because almost
from the beginning it has been the obvious choice. She never refers to her
relationship with Nikki as anything but utterly destructive, unhealthy and
broken – contrasting obviously with Vasiliy who fights beside her, who saves her
and is generally obviously and blatantly much better than Nikki. We see Dutch
choose Nikki while being equally clear that she is MAKING THE WRONG CHOICE.
