THE STRAIN — “Quick and Painless” — Episode 205 (Airs August 9, 10:00 pm e/p) Pictured: Kevin Durand as Vasiliy Fet. CR: Michael Gibson/FX
Things got popping right away in tonight’s episode of The Strain as a S.W.A.T. team goes from apartment to apartment in an attempt to keep the place vampire-free. Just when it looks like it’s going to be a good night for the guys, and they can go get a beer, they buck up on some of the little blind vampire kids. By the way, did I tell you the blind kiddie vamps are ultra fast, ultra deadly, and very cunning? They manage to take out two cops, before they join Kelly (Natalie Brown, Dark Matter) on the roof for some positive reinforcement.
THE STRAIN — “Quick and Painless” — Episode 205 (Airs August 9, 10:00 pm e/p) Pictured: (l-r) Kevin Durand as Vasiliy Fet, Ruta Gedmintas as Dutch Velders.
CR: Michael Gibson/FX
Eph (Corey Stoll, House of Cards) goes to see one of Dutch’s (Ruta Gedmintas, The Incident) hacker friends to get fake ID to get out of the joint, and Setrakian (David Bradley, Game of Thrones) goes to see untrustworthy merc/hustler Alfonso Creem (Jamie Hector, The Wire) to find the Occido Lumen. Creem tries to pull a fast one on Abe, but he clearly didn’t ask about Abe in these streets. He’s not with the bullshit. After threatening to take his jugular out, Creem acquiesces.
Eph and Nora (Mia Maestro, Person of Interest) decide that it would be best to get Zach (Max Charles, Harvey Beaks) out of town, so they hatch a plan to get the hell out of Dodge. This time Nora volunteers to escort Zach, who is still fucking annoying and whining about his mommy.
Eph heads to DC to bust into some CDC event, while Nora, Dutch, and newly released from custody Fet try to help Staten Island rid themselves of the deadly baby vamps, and diagnose the infected in a much shorter time. Unfortunately, Eph’s archnemesis Everett Barnes (Daniel Kash, Orphan Black, Hannibal) is on the same train, and his “clever” disguise clearly isn’t enough. Another passenger recognizes him, so Eph tries to hide on the damned train. Where are you going to hide, Eph? The train is only so long.
Nora helps the Staten Island councilwoman Justine Feraldo (Samantha Mathis, Broken Arrow, American Psycho) diagnose two infected people, one of them being the Feraldo’s beloved nephew, which doesn’t go over well. Dutch and Eph go back with S.W.A.T. to find the kiddie vamps in the apartment building, and we get one of the best scenes in the episode when Dutch drops a silver-laden grenade on a bunch of vamps sleeping at the bottom of the elevator shaft. They don’t find the squad of baby vamps or Kelly, just some extra stupid vamp scurrying in the walls of an apartment bathroom, and the vamps at the bottom of the shaft.
THE STRAIN — “Quick and Painless” — Episode 205 (Airs August 9, 10:00 pm e/p) Pictured: Ruta Gedmintas as Dutch Velders. CR: Michael Gibson/FX
Nora pumps a lethal dose of morphine into the councilwoman’s nephew so that he can go out as himself. It’s a tender moment, but I’m glad Nora didn’t beat around the bush. She just got it done. Our squad of misfit heroes also gets an added body when Fitzwilliam (Roger Cross, 12 Rounds: Lockdown) joins the team. His old boss doesn’t seem to be missing him, however. He’s too busy seducing his new assistant.
Things seem to be going well with everyone, except for Eph, of course. As he’s drowning his sorrows in a beer on the train, Barnes comes to his car. Despite Eph’s best, and by best I mean lamest, efforts at hiding, he bucks up right on Barnes. A fight ensues, and Eph pushes Barnes right out the damn moving train. I’m not sure if he’s dead, or not but it’s unlikely. Eph arrives to Washington D.C. mostly unscathed, however.
THE STRAIN — “Quick and Painless” — Episode 205 (Airs August 9, 10:00 pm e/p) Pictured: (l-r) Jonathan Hyde as Eldritch Palmer, Lizzie Brochere as Coco.
CR: Michael Gibson/FX
Just when we think it’s over, a mysterious private jet lands at a New Jersey airport. Now, I’m still a little hurt that the Wu Vamp Clan was roasted to the gods two episodes ago, but having Quinlan (Rupert Penry Jones, Whitechapel) show up (and picked up by a badass sista in a black sedan at that!) in all black everything, and a sword across his back heals all wounds. He’s so damn strong that he ripped right through the chain link fence like it was a wet paper bag.
There was no Gus (Miguel Gomez, Southpaw) this episode (my heart is aching), but I’m hoping we get to see him join the good guys next week.