TV Review: THE STRAIN Season 1, Episode 2: THE BOX

So upon re-reading my review of the pilot, I realized I made a pretty big error. I talked about how I felt about the episodes, but I didn’t really talk about what actually happened in the episode. So yeah, sorry about that.

Tonight’s hour starts off with an introduction of my new favorite character: Vasiliy Fet, a Ukranian rat exterminator played with devilish glee by one of my favorite character actors, Kevin Durand. We don’t see much of him, just a quick scene of him congratulating his cat on killing a rodent as he sets off to do the same. We then see Gus from last week dropping off the mysterious cargo from the plane in a parking garage and running off as the box starts to tremble and make a terrible noise. Meanwhile back at JFK, Goodweather and his team are taking a look at the guy who got his skull crushed when he gets word that the four survivors of the incident are being released. After a little bickering with Eph, he tells them that they’re all staying under quarantine. We all get to know who these four survivors are based on how they react to Ephraim’s quarantine. Gabriel, the Rock Star who thinks his time is more valuable than others, Joan the incredibly litigious woman who thinks everything is a slight against her, the pilot who is concerned most about his job, and Ansel, who is concerned most about his family.

Meanwhile, at Stoneheart central, we find that these survivors are somehow part of old man Palmer’s master plan, and need them on the streets immediately, so he and Eichorst form a plan to start a campaign against Ephraim and get them out of quarantine. But first, Mr. Eichorst goes to see an old friend in jail: Setrakian. What follows is a very intense conversation between two old men who lobby threats at each other. It’s a great scene, but what they talk about is very vague. They hint at the fact that Abraham was in a Nazi prison camp, they hint at the fact that he keeps his wife’s heart in a jar, and that they have a violent history with each other, but like everything in this show, nothing is explicit.

The one problem I’m having with the show so far is it’s pacing. It has so many characters that they want to fit in all of them, but none of them get  a lot of time to breathe. We get a quick scene checking in with Gus, a quick scene with the pilot chatting with Ephraim, a quick scene where Eph and Nora find out more about the worms they found, followed by a quick scene where Vasiliy is tracking a rat in a restaurant where the Gabriel and Joan are having a brunch together. We find out more about the characters and the universe of the show, but it’s all very choppy. We never spend a lot of time with one character or set of characters so I haven’t had a whole lot of attachment for anyone yet.

“The Box” is a little slow and fairly gore free until the end, where there are a few “wham” moments. First we have the phone call where Eph learns that the little dead girl from the plane is safe and sound with her dad. Then we see Eldrich meet a tall cloaked figure in the parking garage who emerged from the coffin. I hope this is “The Master” they’ve all been talking about. Then in an incredibly creepy scene, the little dead girl lures her dad to his death as she sucks blood from him with a snake like organ in her mouth that definitely wasn’t there before.

This episode doesn’t push the plot forward so much, but it does continue to build upon the mythology and the atmosphere of the show. There’s a lot of setup going on here for a showdown that’s still a mostly a mystery, but I’m sure whatever happens, lots of blood is gonna be spilled and I’m excited!