The Strain: Ouroboros
September 3, 2017 11:04 AM - Season 4, Episode 7 - Subscribe

Setrakian vs. Eichhorst.

Sorry about dropping these a bit. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep watching after Tainted Love, wherein Zack gets so much screen time.

This week has better focus, going anywhere else:

* Dutch and Setrakian get back on the case, recovering the Lumen. Setrakian goes nuts with it, ripping out the pages and putting them on the walls to try and see a pattern that he had a dream about, then collapses.

* Eph and Alex find Dutch and Setrakian. Eph and Dutch go to Gus and Creem for medicine. Gus is a good guy about it and comps them the meds, but Creem decides enough's enough and sells them out.

* Creem tries to hold his information hostage via hand grenade, demanding control of his island and the black market. The Master refuses, and crushes the grenade in his hand before turning Creem.

* Quinlan, Fet and Roman get the bomb close to the city, but Desai blows up the bridges and tunnels in response, leaving them probably trying to get the nuke over by boat or the like.

* Setrakian lets Eph in on his strigoi serum and true age.

* Eichhorst goes for Setrakian, killing Alex and Gus' cousin. He also stings Setrakian, but Setrakian has taken the same blood thinners Eph used to poison the strigoi previously. Eichhorst finally bites it, and Setrakian delivers a speech to the Master through his dying eyes.

So, lots happened.
posted by mordax (6 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh, and the AV Club has changed their format, making it more difficult to find... anything? But their recap is here.
posted by mordax at 11:09 AM on September 3, 2017


This was much better than the previous episode; finally some of the plotlines start coming together and yes, finally we get the Setrakian/Eichhorst showdown we deserve. Felt like a suitable ending for both of them.

What did Abe see in the Lumen? Is that information lost with him, or does he survive long enough to tell --who? Eph presumably?

alex finds her fridge

And they stuffed 3 other PoC characters in there with her. Ugh.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:06 PM on September 3, 2017 [3 favorites]


Setrakian lets Eph in on his strigoi serum and true age.

I thought he'd already told someone else about the worm-juice previously -- Dutch, maybe?

One thing I've noticed strongly this season: the show takes a very firm moral stance against collaboration. Even the Master agrees: "Palmer was a quisling, a traitor to his own kind." He'll use collaborators -- as he is using Desai here -- but he despises them.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:14 PM on September 3, 2017 [2 favorites]


And they stuffed 3 other PoC characters in there with her. Ugh.

Yeah, that was pretty gross.

Even the Master agrees: "Palmer was a quisling, a traitor to his own kind."

This is true. Even Eichhorst was on about that recently - he used it as justification for killing the merc that was leading him to Fet and the gang.
posted by mordax at 8:52 PM on September 3, 2017 [1 favorite]


Oh, re: Setrakian - I figure Gus is right there.
posted by mordax at 8:52 PM on September 3, 2017


Guys, I'm just coming back to these discussions and secretly excited for the series to end!

As soon as I heard "quisling" I thought "OMG, The Master is a Mefite, and he's always caught up with the current politics thread."

Was anybody else annoyed that Setrakian took several head blows from an immortal and didn't die from that? Probably just me. Pretty sweet revenge fantasy for Setrakian's part, though.

It's possible Setrakian shared his secret Lumen revelations with Eph, but my money's on Dutch. I'm probably projecting here, and I've been wrong before. I'll be beyond pissed if Eph saves the day, because fuck that guy. He's no hero -- hell, he's not even a decent Satanic hero. Clearly, that would be Quinlan's bailiwick.

Creem's greed on such naked display disgusted me. I didn't actually see that coming, what with the silver grill and all.

I'm coming into this thread late, so technically there's only one more ep left! The book is very well-written, so I'm not sorry I stuck through the book and series so far if only to commiserate with everyone here and compare the divergent story arcs. It's been fun, despite Eph and Zack battling over who gets to be Scrappy Doo every episode.

One thing I do appreciate is how much they tried to diversify the show by casting many more PoC and female characters. It's given me a few plot surprises, and I'm glad they essentially abandoned any need to force Dutch into the "damsel in distress" mold. Come to think of it, there really isn't one on the show, is there? I'm here for damsel-free vampire stories!

For all its many faults, the show certainly tried to break a few tropes. I'll give it half-props for that.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 5:53 PM on September 6, 2017


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