The Strain
Season 2 Episode 11: “Dead End”
Directed by Phil Abraham
Written by Carlton Cuse, Regina Corrado
Created by Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Ruta Gedmintas, Jack Kesy, Max Charles, Lizzie Brocheré, Joaquín Cosio, Rupert Penry-Jones
FX
Air Date: Sunday September 20th, 2015, 10pm

Last week on The Strain, Eph and Dutch (Corey Stoll and Ruta Gedmintas) share a flask and bond over failed romances during a sniper stakeout. They are after Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde). He shoots! He… thinks he scores! However, they get nabbed by the cops, and they actually hit Coco (Lizzie Brocheré), who is on death’s door. Palmer just kinda got her back. He demands from Eichorst (Richard Sammel) that his “partner,” The Master (Jack Kesy), restore her. The Master does oblige, but I know Palmer’s hubris is dooming him. That’s part of Eichorst’s mysterious smile that holds thousands of secrets. Dutch gets dragged out of the cell, and we now know she’s in Eichorst’s lair. Eph and the audience have 37 heart attacks, as the police station is decimated, and vampire tongues lash out through the bars perilously close (they get the cop that locked himself in with him). Nora and Fet (Mia Maestro and Kevin Durand) come to his rescue. Setrakian gets his hands on the Occido Lumen, finally, but is then knocked out.

The Strain 2.11 “Dead End” review: There’s Gus! We have not seen much of Miguel Gomez lately. He is going to help the Gupta family escape the city, but he does not join, even though he clearly yearns for Aanya. I am glad he got one night of happiness in these endless nights of death. Whatever keeps the “good” vampires seeking him out, is the same thing keeping him in it to stay and fight. Angel (Joaquín Cosio) opts to stay, and the two of them get picked up by Quinlan’s (Rupert Penry-Jones) muscle (but where is my undead boyfriend?).

Setrakian comes to, all tied up and spittin’ mad, trying to convince his kidnapper not to sell the Lumen to the highest bidder. I don’t even know why he tries. Nobody listens to him. Even his friends go off and help the symptom, while he is trying to wipe out the disease. Let’s hope he gets that book at least by the finale.

Eph, Nora, and Fet roll up to rescue Dutch, but there’s National Guard everywhere. Fet gives them a building history lesson, and they break in through some underground way.

Eichorst is f***in scary man. Dutch is chained inside that panic room. The mental torture is the worst.

We get the human backstory of Eichhorst. In 1931, he was a salesman, humiliated in front of his crush, but she still likes him. He was adrift, unsure of purpose, and feeling powerless. He is mesmerized by the SS, and joins the Nazi party. He has to squash feelings when he sees what happened to the girl. It was striking seeing the very human Eichorst juxtaposed against the monster. you are almost fooled into thinking the vampire cares a bit for Dutch, when he was merely playing with his food.

Things got very uncomfortable, even without the chains and imminent death. Pineapple as seasoning and Eichorst making Dutch take off her pants so he can feed from… was just such an extra violation. I jumped up with my fist in the air when she sprayed him with vampire repellent and escaped the room.

The Strain played that rescue tension very well. Dutch trying to escape the stairs. The cavalry climbing other stairs, leading to the realization that they were blocked from each other was crazy!!! And Fet desperately hacking at the brick wall, and the dynamite, and her leaping into his arms… She broke my heart, that girl. Her hiccuping sobs made me cry, which I was not expecting from The Strain. She is traumatized, and the despair on Fet’s face matches how sad Dutch made me feel.

The Strain airs Sunday nights at 10pm ET on FX.

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The Strain – Next On: Dead End

Dutch fights for her life against Eichhorst as Fet, Nora, and Eph frantically search the city for her. Setrakian confronts an old acquaintance on his search for the Occido Lumen, while Gus helps the Guptas escape across the border to safety.

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