The Strain
Season 1 Episode 5: “Runaways”
Directed by Peter Weller
Written by Gennifer Hutchinson, Guillermo del Toro, and Chuck Hogan
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland, and Robin Atkin Downes
FX
Air Date: Sunday August 10, 2014, 10pm

Episode 5 review of The Strain coming right up. But first…..

Previously, on The Strain (Spoilers!!):

Episode 4 “It’s Not For Everyone” needs to be watched on an empty stomach. Eph (Corey Stoll), Nora (Mia Maestro), and Jim (Sean Astin) perform and film a secret autopsy on the late, former vampire monster Captain Doyle Redfern. They discover new ammonia fragrant anatomy, complete with a man-sized stinger. This proves too much for Jim who confesses his complicity. Nora and Eph don’t care about his reasons and cut him off both professionally and personally.

The Strain
Season 1 Episode 4: “It’s Not For Everyone”
Directed by Keith Gordon
Written by Regina Corrado, Guillermo del Toro, and Chuck Hogan
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland, and Robin Atkin Downes
FX
Air Date: Sunday August 3, 2014, 10pm

Today’s review of Episode 4 of The Strain, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan‘s new unpretty vampire series, is preceded by last week’s recap.

Beware! Spoiler alert in effect!

Previously, on The Strain 1.3 “Gone Smooth”, the episode opens with the true face (or parts of a face) of Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel) putting his visage on carefully like a young girl on her first date. He has a busy day, you know. First he has to meet with a guilt-ridden Jim (Sean Astin) to pull him into the mess even more, by getting his dying wife into a cancer trial. Then he has to force the CEO of Regis Airlines to shoot himself. Ephraim (Corey Stoll) goes to the dead little girl’s house and finds nothing except a bloody bathtub with clumps of hair in it, but something is lurking in the shadows. Ansel, one of the survivors, gets caught by his loving wife sipping blood from raw meat. Vasilly (Kevin Durand) answers one of his newly numerous rat calls at the mayor’s house, scaring the selfish mayor in the process to the delight of his bitten daughter, and sees hundreds of rats pouring out from the sewer when he steps outside. Bolivar (Jack Kesy), loses much of his hair, and we discover the meaning of “Gone Smooth” when he turns around from two splashes into the toilet, unbothered by his lost manhood. Setrakian (David Bradley) gets off in court by playing an old man with slight dementia. Nora (Mia Maestro) meets him outside wanting answers, but he says she’s not ready. He has his own agenda as he is delivered the plane’s manifest. He’s going to pay a visit to the entire list. Eph is not so lucky in court as he loses joint custody of his son because his son says that’s what’s best for his dad’s important job. Captain Redfern seems at his end. He whispers, “He is here!” and worms are revealed wriggling under his chest skin. Then he disappears. After a frantic search, Jim, Eph, and Nora find him guzzling blood bank bags. He attacks, throwing them around and projecting his giant tentacle at them until Eph crushes his head with a fire extinguisher. They are finally caught up, folks!

The Strain
Season 1 Episode 3: “Gone Smooth”
Directed by David Semel
Written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland, and Robin Atkin Downes
FX
Air Date: Sunday July 27, 2014, 10pm

Before we get to my review of episode three of The Strain, the new FX series from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, first here’s a recap of last week’s episode.

Before continuing, be aware that a spoiler alert warning is of course in effect!

The Strain
Season 1 Episode 2: “The Box”
Directed by David Semel
Written by Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan, Bradley Thompson, and David Weddle
Starring Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Jack Kesy, and Ben Hyland
FX
Air Date: Sunday July 20, 2014, 10pm

Last week’s recap: If you haven’t seen the pilot episode, stop reading now!

Last week found Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) of the CDC, a man on the verge of losing his wife and son, called to the scene of a cold, dark plane. He and his partner, Dr. Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro), find everyone (except 4) on board dead, seemingly at once and with no pain. A 9-foot soil-filled coffin disappears from a warehouse by being lifted up. A mysterious old man (David Bradley) with a sword and a pet heart appears at the airport with dire warnings of things he has seen before. Another mysterious old man shows up to pay off Gus (Miguel Gomez), a thug who worships his mother, to drive some precious cargo that must be over the bridge before daybreak. We see a monster suck on a guy’s neck and then smash his head like he was Oberyn Martell. And the medical examiner has a close call when a worm-like virus (or virus-like worm) almost gets under his skin. He pulls in out in the nick of time (whew!), only to be felled by the zombie-like vampires (to the tune of “Sweet Caroline”), formerly known as the dead passengers of the doomed flight from Berlin. One dead little girl returns home to her father’s embrace.

The Strain
Season 1 Episode 1: “Night Zero”
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Starring: Corey Stoll, David Bradley, Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jonathan Hyde, Miguel Gomez, Natalie Brown, Jack Kesy, and Ben Hyland
FX
Air Date: Sunday, July 13, 2014, 10pm

“Hunger……” is the opening word ringing in ominous tones. An airplane at JFK gone dark and filled with corpses. The Strain, one of the most highly anticipated shows debuting this Summer, is an apocalyptic take on vampirism caused by an ancient virus. The vamps are not pretty a la The Vampire Diaries or True Blood. They are not those sexy yet misunderstood vampires trying to blend into our world. They are ugly, gory, hungry, and spreading.

Episode 1, “Night Zero,” finds the CDC racing to the plane to try to figure out what potential epidemic they face. Headed by Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (House of Cards’ Corey Stall), a man losing his family because of his work, and assisted by Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and Jim Kent (Sean Astin), the clock is ticking and containment is necessary. A mysterious old man with a sword and a disturbing pet (Harry Potter’s David Bradley) knows what it is and knows what must be done.