"Gather the Children"
- Jusef Sardu
The strigoi are back! FX Network's horror drama, The Strain, returned Sunday night for its much anticipated second season premiere. I was extremely impressed with the overall quality and direction the show is taking. Season One of The Strain was a lot of fun to watch with only a few low points throughout, but I have a feeling (after viewing a few episodes) Season Two will be a much better story to continue this amazing and interesting epic.
Last year we witnessed the first season of The Strain, which was adapted from the first book in the trilogy (written by Chuck Hogan and famed director Guillermo Del Toro) very closely. There were minor adjustments, of course, but that is to be expected when converting to the big screen; minor characters were added, such as Dutch Velders, and some small story lines created to fill out the season. I was excited when I heard the trilogy of books were to be adapted into a television series as I am a huge fan of the story as well as the comic book version, which I noticed the show follows more closely.
One of the best parts of the episode was witnessing The Ancients that Setrakian had been taken to after he was kidnapped by Vaun (AKA last season's mistakenly named Quinlan). We learn quite a bit relating to the mythology of The Strain in these scenes. There are seven predominant and superior strigoi with The Master being the 'seventh' (and implied, the youngest). It is also implied The Master went his own way and that is why The Ancients are seeking it out. They want Setrakian to help locate The Master, however, Setrakian knows that just sunlight and silver is not enough to stop him; he knows they need more information. What he needs is the 'Occido Lumen' (The Fallen Light) - an ancient medieval manuscript he believes is the key to defeating The Master. Season Two, or at least most of it, I believe , will be largely based on our heroes obtaining this book.
In the cold open, we see an adolescent Abraham Setrakian listening to a scary story told at night by his grandmother, or 'bubba'. She tells him the origin story of The Master's current body once belonging to Jusef Sardu. We have heard that name a few times from Season One and now it makes more sense. In the source material, this story is told in the beginning of book one. We see Sardu, a man suffering from gigantism, walking the streets, gathering children to give candy. After he is consumed by The Master's 'soul' and is turned into him, he still seeks out children, that begin to go missing, presumably to feed on them.
The premiere was a great start to the second season. I have read quite a few reviews and comments about the episode Sunday night and many fans think it was not the best episode of the series. I honestly do not know how they arrived at that conclusion. The second season premiere showed a lot of promise for The Strain after what I thought was a 'good' first season. They reflected on the finale last summer while expanding on the mythology that will propel the stories into this season and, hopefully, seasons to come. It was a great episode and I am excited to see this season unfold and see what it has to offer. Especially with the promise of the 'real' Mr. Quinlan around the midpoint of the season, this second season of The Strain should be everything we had hoped, wanted it to be and more.
- Did you notice...When Setrakian is reminiscing about the failed attack against The Master we can see posters and advertisements showcasing Bolivar's performance his shows during the occultation, the celestial event that was a big part of Season One's storyline.
- In case anyone was wondering...Zack Goodweather, the son of Ephraim and Kelly, is played by a different child actor than in Season One. Season One 'Zack' was played by Ben Hyland while Season Two 'Zack' (and most likely future seasons) is played by Max Charles.
- Did you notice...The Master tells Eichorst to inform Bolivar to reclaim the 'loam'. 'Loam' is soil - soil from the coffin The Master uses as a resting place and probably needs it this time to convert his aging, broken and decaying body into a new one like we saw in the cold open when he took over the body of Jusef Sardu.
- When will Setrakian tell the other team members he met with The Ancients? Their lives could be in danger as a result of his alignment with them.
- Now that we know The Master is, at least, injured, will he seek out a new, younger, body?
- In the cold open it is written that the scene occurred in 1932. Young Abraham appeared to be about 10 or 11 years old. That would mean he is now, in our current storyline, 93 or 94 years old. How can a 94 year old man be able to fight and swing a sword the way he has been seen doing? Is there more he is not telling the team?
- What did you all think of the premiere episode?
Thank you for checking out my review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and the series some more. Don't forget to look out for my Advanced Preview of Episode Two later this week! Have a great week everyone!
