This is a grand battle episode – Christine gathers her
forces to help get Vasiliy into the Central Park nest hoping to destroy all the
strigoi there and stop any further incursions in Manhatten. This includes
sending strike teams for support – including drafted prisoners Gus and Angel –
while Vasiliy and new love-interest Captain Kate Rogers go into the tunnels to
unleash Vasiliy’s silver bombs
With extras who you know are there to die dramatically so
we can have tension
Along the way they pick up Ephraim and Dutch so they can continue to study Strigoi communications – well, in theory – but in actuality it’s so Dutch can get all jealous over Kate, of course it is.
I am giving Kate a 30% chance of being dead by the end of
this season. 2 established characters with a rocky romance go through an “out”
period and new competition arises? She is so dead so Dutch and Vasiliy can get
back together. The tropes are strong with this one.
Gus and Angel are forced into battle by 2 cops who are
not only inept but also sadistic – insisting that new prisoner (scrounging for
things to trade for food got her arrested) Maria go down a strigoi tunnel alone
since Angel and Gus were so determined to protect her. Gus and Angel aren’t
having that, capture one cop at gunpoint and both cops end up dead through
further ineptness. Yup, no-one’s crying over this one.
They then run into Vasily for reunion time! (And Vasily
not being thrilled by the whole drafting thing), Angel gets Maria to safety,
her role of damsel in distress and plot object now complete, while Gus join
Vasily to kill all the strigoi. I’m glad to see the teams merging, The Strain can get awfully distracted at
times
We also catch up with Zach who, alas isn’t dead and…
Wait. Why isn’t he? Why is he not dead? Why does the
Master care about him? The only reason was leverage against Ephraim – but Ephraim’s
plague failed? Why would the Master even remotely care about him – what is so
special about Ephraim that the Master would put Kelly, one of his valuable
sentient vampires, in charge of baby sitting, having Eichorst visit the kid and
even assign a Feeler (the freaky child vampires) to be his bodyguard/pet/friend?
Why is he worth this effort?
Anyway Zach is evacuated by Eichorst because he is That
Important.
After much fighting Vasily sets off the bombs – the whole
nest of a gazillion vampires is killed by silver and it’s a grand super
victory. Eichorst even shows up to taunt Ephraim (because he has nothing better
to do) who is now all angsty over Zach being alive (oh please no more time
spent on the daddy/son pair! Who careees? The whole of New York – the world –
is burning and I’m supposed to care here?)
Anyway, as I said – it looks like a victory but Eichorst
is still taunting. While Christine & co are all focused on taking out the
nest the strigoi launch an overwhelming attack on the checkpoints from the
north – the police go in full retreat, Central Park is abandoned, Christine
withdraws all her forces form the park
The Park has fallen, possibly more of Manhattan
It’s a clever plot but feels… unnecessary? I mean those
numbers attacking from the checkpoint AND the park (rather than leaving all the
Park strigoi as sacrificial distractions) at the same time would surely have
secured a similar victory without having the tunnels overwhelmed with silver
bombs
Now we have everyone, almost, together and a new chapter
of the war to fight
