Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain is now in its second season. To keep up with what’s happening with the show each week, Drew Dietsch and Andrew Hawkins will be putting their words together to cover only the most important of events from each episode. Strap in and enjoy as we recap, analyze and occasionally riff The Strain.
Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead
Andrew Hawkins:
After the events of the last two weeks, I had the feeling we were going to a large push towards moving the narrative forward. The last thing I expected was for this episode to spend the bulk of its running time in a flashback with one of the show’s most tragic and likable characters from the first season. Sean Astin came back. Hell yeah. I was very happy to see the return of Jim Kent and his part in the history of Eph and Nora helped make the necessary backstory of their characters watchable. I’m gonna say that the title ‘Fallen Light‘ definitely reflects on him.
Drew Dietsch:
While it was definitely nice to see Sean Astin again (reminding me what a real loss the show suffered by losing him), I have to say that for the penultimate episode of the season, there was a lot left to be desired. Coming off of the heels of two episodes that, given a few tweaks, could have been season finales in terms of their momentum and impact, this week needed to deliver a whole lot more. Seeing a perfunctory flashback to Eph and Nora’s salad days will only have retroactive weight if Nora ends up biting it come next week. Otherwise, it didn’t do much except make me miss Sean Astin.
Hawkins: Having him come back for a brief appearance really did show how much personality and warmth the show lost with his death. I’m glad that we got to spend another episode with him even if the episode felt like it could have better positioned in the earlier half of the season. The focus on Eph and Nora took up a lot of time, but we also went quite a bit further with other characters like Dutch and Gus. I actually felt like The Strain was getting back to what works best when Gus and Angel were in Riker’s. Again the tension when our characters are fighting vampires in confined spaces works to benefit the action and suspense.
Drew: The Rikers stuff was fun but I wish it hadn’t taken an entire season to get Gus back to where he essentially was at the the beginning of the season. His story has felt the most unnecessary. so I’m hoping this is a sign of things to come for his plotline.
I’m definitely excited for the finale (is Quinlan gonna bum me out with his ‘kill Abraham” plot?), but not because of this episode. Here’s hoping the season closer brings the thunder.
Hawkins: Fet’s storyline has hit a wall with Dutch finally abandoning everything, and who knows what will happen next for her. Eldritch and Coco are getting way too overconfident so we’ll see how Eichorst and The Master handles that situation. Abraham is on his way to bid on the Lumen and if we are to expect anything, hopefully the book will wind up in the right hands and not in The Master’s or The Born’s. I’m confident Abraham will find a way to continue his quest for now.
Hawkins’ Rating: 
Out of a Possible 5 Stars
Drew’s Rating: 
Out of a Possible 5 Stars
Up Next: (Season 2 Finale) Episode 13 – Night Train
