"Things without all remedy, Should be without regard"
- Macbeth, Shakespeare
I suppose it makes no difference regarding the ratings of The Strain since FX has been courteous enough to renew the series for a third season. The fifth episode of the season, that aired last week, came out with a 1.26 in the ratings department, which is not very good. All that matters to us fans is another season renewal, so I'm happy with whatever happens in that area each week.
'Identity' is the sixth episode of the season for The Strain and is possibly one of my favorites of the series. We were treated to lots of action and the narrative moved forward in every aspect we have seen this season. Loose ends were tied up as this episode played out like a midseason finale. This means that some new stories will gain steam starting, appropriately, with 'The Born' airing this weekend.
One storyline that came to a close was that of The Master and his loam. We have seen since the first few episodes of the season that The Master has wanted Gabriel Bolivar to gather up his loam and coffin and transport the materials to his new hideout. We know The Master has been seeking a new body since Setrakian, Eph and the rest of our heroes were able to cause damage to his current vessel. There have been hints it would be Bolivar, but some imagined Eichorst (including Eichorst himself) as being the new home of The Master's soul. I really enjoyed the ending to this storyline. It gives us a new face for the evil that is The Master and it's possible we will see more of him now due to his new look and the fact that he doesn't 'stand-out' in a crowd as much.
The first half of this season of The Strain was not well received, but many fans enjoyed it and the set-up it provided for the second half of this season. Eldritch Palmer has become a man of action, barking out orders, developing a 'friendship' with Miss Marchand, taking out all of the financial elite of Manhattan and demanding an audience with The Master. His trajectory in the series is slightly different from the book now that Mr. Fitzwilliam left his employ at the end of last season and with what happened to him in Sunday's episode, but something tells me Palmer's hubris will get the best of him before the season is over.
The episode was a change of pace from the much slower ones earlier in the season. I believe the episodes going forward will be much better and The Strain will, once again, be a favorite among horror/drama fans once again. We are certain there will be a season three so all there is left to do is sit back and enjoy the seven remaining episodes this season. I am looking forward to this second half of the season as I'm sure we will see Eph escape his situation he is in in Washington D.C. and get back to our heroes and his son, Zack. Most likely just in time to have Mr. Quinlan make his appearance to Setrakian. The Occido Lumen is still out there and will be the focal point of the next set of episodes as I'm sure both sides, good and evil, will try to get there hands on it.
- Will Mr. Quinlan find Gus and The Silver Angel to help him in his hunt for The Master? Maybe they will even find Cream also to join their team?
- Mr. Fitzwilliam's fate was foreshadowed by Setrakian when he quoted Shakespeare's Macbeth to him at home before heading out to the church, "Things without all remedy, Should be without regard.", which means 'what's done is done'. He became infected, but there was nothing they could do.
- Did you notice...Mr. Quinlan said to The Ancients he is hunting The Master "for his own reasons". What 'reasons' is he talking about?
- Do you think we will ever see a flashback of Mr. Quinlan of his time before his arrival to New York?
- Will we see more of The Master now that he has taken a new form?
- Where will Mr. Quinlan go next now that he has met up with The Ancients and has learned of Gus and Setrakian?
- Who do you think will get to the Occido Lumen first? It will be an important part of the second half of the season all the way through to the finale.
- Kelly is getting closer and closer to getting Zack back. What does The Master want with him anyway? Are Eph and Zack more important to the lore of strigoi than what we know.
- Who was that man that wanted to kill Eph? How did Stoneheart Group find out about what he is trying to do? Now that they know about his idea for a cure will The Master devise something to prevent it from working?
Thank you for checking out my review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and the series some more. Have a great week everyone!
