The Strain: The Born
August 24, 2015 11:06 PM - Season 2, Episode 7 - Subscribe

Setrakian and Fet use Fitzwilliam's information to attack the Master, and along the way they create a momentary, if tenuous, alliance with a new player. Dutch and Fet discover squatters - or someone - in her old shared apartment. Palmer gets lucky. Eph is unsuccessful in D.C. and returns to New York with an ambitious Plan B. Fet's feelings are hurt.

The ever-reliable Kyle Fowle at The A.V. Club praises new vampire hunter, Quinlan:
"'The Born' does find one source of inspiration though, and that’s the half-breed vampire hunter known as Quinlan. He’s the embodiment of the campy/gothic influences mentioned above, the flashbacks in this episode showing that he was known as The Barbarian Gladiator, viciously destroying any opponents who came before him. He’s been hunting the Master for some time now (as a flashback to Albania in 1873 confirms), and when he 'felt' the Master after Eph and Setrakian forced him into the sunlight, he picked up his hunt again. Quinlan, and actor Rupert Penry-Jones, has a presence that’s unmatched on this show. Sure, he doesn’t have a lot of heavy lifting to do; he just gets to be a badass and walk around with a bone club, but for now, that’s enough. Considering that The Strain seems to be perfectly happy putting Gus and the Silver Angel on the backburner, once again refusing to give them any screen time or sense of momentum and character development, Quinlan is a breath of fresh air, a character with clear, understandable motivation, driving the actual vampire hunting narrative forward while the rest of the storylines stagnate."
T.L. Stanley's recap for the L.A. Times is very good reading, as well, and he is similarly struck with the new vampire-hunter, Quinlan.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome (19 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
it really is actually a rather stupid show. but somehow, it is just so entertaining! and yes, the addition of Quinlan is a good one. very good. i had no idea it was Rupert Penry-Jones! what a different role for him to play... i was disappointed when Stephen McHattie's character, Vaun, was killed off. so this new character has kept me watching.
posted by lapolla at 1:12 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


The gladiator cold-open was absolutely spectacular and Eph was kept to a minimum - hooray! Plus we get lots of Fet - a sex scene - and a flashback to The Old Country. AND Quinlan.

This episode was a big ball of wormy fun!

(Also: I think Nikki is a wormy traitor infiltrating the group. DIBS I CALLED IT.)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 6:59 AM on August 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


Fet sure can get *pouty*.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 7:52 AM on August 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


Yassss Mr Quinlan

My flawless zompire prince

Fet smells a rat, but needs to work on his poker face. Ewww at Palmer and Coco, hope she is infiltrating for the ancients and ready to assassinate him once they get Mr Quinlan on the Master's trail.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:40 AM on August 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


Coco is playing him like a fiddle! Poor old Palmer, the aging villain with no idea how to interact with someone who appears to actually like him. It's like watching Sauron baffled by a cuddly bunny.

Notice I said "appears".
posted by Mogur at 10:22 AM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


The end of the Quinlan/Master showdown was rather confusingly edited, presumably because they didn't have the budget to actually show Fet's demolition occurring. Instead we get a few rumbles in the soundtrack and then a cut from Quinlan charging to... a big pile of rubble. Where did the Master and Eichhorst go? I dunno. "They're gone."
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:21 PM on August 25, 2015 [4 favorites]


That was the least explody dynamite, ever!
posted by Catblack at 3:11 PM on August 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


"She hurt herself running away."
"Mr. Fet."

I feel like old-time people would have been a little more freaked out by Quinlan than Fet. At least his reaction was "WTF was that?"

Right when the first spider baby came out my phone vibrated on my foot and scared the crap out of me. That was a FANTASTIC scene. Woo!!

Did they get a new actor to play The Master? It doesn't look like the same actor we've seen since episode one.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:26 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yes! The rock star (that I guess was at least partly inspired by Alice Cooper)? I noticed that too.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 4:29 PM on August 25, 2015


Room 641-A: Last episode the Master took Bolivar's body much to Eichhorst's displeasure.

I think this is the first time we've seen the actor who plays Bolivar actually act. Maybe that's because Bolivar was an utter bore as a human, and like watching paint dry as a vamp.
posted by Catblack at 5:39 PM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yes, Bolivar! I have a mental block about his name.

I'm juuuust old enough that "I can google that" isn't always second nature but I did just realize this was not forbidden knowledge so I checked IMDB and it is the same actor. I still think he really looked different.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:39 PM on August 25, 2015


I feel like NuBolivar/Master B. has been made up to look significantly handsomer post-transition, in an undead/goth way. The useless wig last season helped distinguish the difference visually, but there's also a lot going on with the facial makeup and vocal modulations that make him "pop" now on-screen.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 8:16 AM on August 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


Also, obligatory joke about the unlikely May/December romance.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 11:22 AM on August 26, 2015


I think this is the first time we've seen the actor who plays Bolivar actually act.

He does pretty okay in the bit in the first few episodes where his dong falls off into the toilet. IMHO. Reminded me a lot of Tony Shalhoub in Galaxy Quest...
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:18 PM on August 26, 2015 [2 favorites]


I think this is the first time we've seen the actor who plays Bolivar actually act.

I think that he's only providing the physical portion of the role. Robin Atkin Downes is still doing the voice of The Master.
posted by Uncle Ira at 12:51 PM on August 26, 2015 [2 favorites]


And I just realized this: David Bradley, who plays Setrakian here, also played Walder Frey on Game of Thrones.

MIND. BLOWN.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:41 AM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]


Oh my gosh yes I did know that - in fact I thought it so obvious I didn't mention it to you.

This is like your not knowing Bryan Cranston was on Seinfeld as Tim Whatley ("Give me a schtickle of flouride") all over again...
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 12:18 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]


NO I HAD NO IDEA

Two very different looks, two very different performances. ACTING.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:21 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'm a little surprised at Fett. He knew Dutch was obviously quite involved with her "roommate" from her emotional outburst after seeing her mother. How could he be surprised at her response after the reconciliation? I am surprised he isn't more suspicious of where she was though. That would be a more justifiable position than his response to her being reconciled with her "roommate."

That gladiator opening though. Loved it.
posted by miss-lapin at 11:01 AM on September 1, 2016


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