The Strain
Season 2 Episode 13: “Night Train”
Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Written by Carlton Cuse, Chuck Hogan
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 October 4th, 2015, 10pm

Last week on The Strain, Eichorst (Richard Sammel) tells Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) that HE will be going to the auction. Oh… and that he and Coco (Lizzie Brocheré) better fall in line, because the worm juice effects are only temporary. The Red Hook posse have their own dilemmas. Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) leaves Fet (Kevin Durand), for her boring girlfriend, and oh! You stupid, stupid girl! Nora and Eph (Mia Maestro and Corey Stoll) get word that Zach’s grandparents are still alive. Now he has some choices for Zach. The episode also had some 2005 flashbacks with Sean Astin, and it showed how the relationship between Eph and Nora started. Gus and Angel (Miguel Gomez and Joaquín Cosio) break some friends out of jail to be some Quinlan (Rupert Penry-Jones) soldiers.

Spoilers ahead for The Strain finale!

The Strain 2.13 “Night Train” (Finale) review: Eph, Nora, and Zach leave to bring Zach to his grandparents, and try to get that bioweapon going in DC. The little gang said their sad goodbyes. Except Setrakian. He plays grumpy old man to the end. As you might expect, DC doesn’t work out. We’ll get back to that.

The bid for the Lumen is on. It’s Eichorst vs Setrakian in a dignified setting, which turns undignified immediately after stepping out of the place. Palmer snatched the funds away from Eichorst at the last minute, which caused Setrakian to run away with the book. Eichorst flipped the f*** out. Love when that happens. Palmer paid the ultimate price. The Master (Jack Kesy) swooped in (because that’s how he travels – by swoop) and killed Coco, as Palmer dropped in despair. That, I was expecting, even before this – Palmer’s hubris. It also ended that love story that bothered me a bit.

Quinlan gives the “Braveheart” speech to Gus’s group of criminals. That speech works every time, in every movie and tv show. They do rise up and fight like “warriors.” There is a heart-stopping moment when we (and Angel) think that Gus exploded.

He didn’t, and the standoff between Gus and Quinlan and Setrakian and Fet, came to an uneasy alliance, as Quinlan realized the common enemy unites them far more than he thought.

I found the lack of Dutch disturbing.

I knew by the way Eph was all lovey-dovey with Nora that she was probably going to die. She’s been a calming force on the team. At first I didn’t like her that much, but she slowly grew on me. I think that was the plan of the writers – to make me love her as Eph does, so that her death is devastatingly shocking. She is an original core member, with us for two full seasons, and her death hurt us. I was unhappy with the way Zach was portrayed. He really cared for Nora, knows what’s up with the vamps, yet went willingly with his strigoi mom while Nora lay dying.

See you in season 3, where I hope to see:

– Sentient Kelly (Natalie Brown) reluctant to infect Zach.

– Setrakian hold onto the book for more than 5 seconds.

– Dutch and Fet reunited.

– Palmer join Quinlan’s side (although the heart thing makes me think he’s going the Setrakian way).

– Eph “on” the wagon.

– The Master onscreen for more than 5 seconds.

– Eph’s vampire virus mass distributed.

Image Gallery

Video

The Strain – Next On: Night Train

Setrakian and Fet battle for possession of the Occido Lumen, and gain a surprising new ally. A massive attack imperils Eph, Nora, and Zack’s escape from New York.