The Strain - Last Rites - Review: "The Apocalypse Will Be Televised"

The penultimate episode of The Strain's first season aired Sunday night setting up what should be a great finale. Some questions that were looming overhead since the pilot were answered, while others remained a mystery until, hopefully, tomorrow night when the season comes to a close. The Strain has done well, ratings wise, over the course of the first 12 episodes as most expected it would. When you have Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan writing, producing and occasionally directing along with Carlton Cuse acting as showrunner, you can expect the quality of the program to increase dramatically.

'Last Rites' begins with Eph, Nora, Vasily and Setrakian returning to the pawn shop from their eventful encounter with The Master last episode. Setrakian is still very much upset with the team for not cornering The Master when they had the chance and Eph is the only one that brings this up. Setrakian withdraws to his fortified basement and ponders their situation longer, thinking of what the teams next move should be.

Dutch Velders arrives at the pawn shop just in time to offer up a new plan to bring the vampire apocalypse to the masses. She can tap into the Emergency Alert System and bring a live feed of Eph telling everyone, that is in front of a TV, what he has seen regarding the strigoi. Dutch eventually gets that plan working and Eph is able to convey his important message across to the population. I thought it was very funny when Vasily said to Eph, "With your charm, the sky's the limit". I'm hoping, after the last episode, their friendship becomes a little stronger, which would make for some better scenes between the two than the animosity we have seen for most of their time together.

The best part of the episode was the return of the mysterious hooded strigoi, Mr. Quinlan, that saved Alonso Creem and kidnapped Gus. I would have loved more scenes of Mr. Quinlan this season, but I'm sure there will be plenty next year. There is a possibility he could have a more prevalent role in the finale as well.

The flashbacks were a great addition as we learned the exact reason Setrakian keeps a vampire heart in a jar. It was a sad moment that mirrored what Nora was going through in present day. Setrakian seemed like a lost soul seeking vengeance for what happened to Miriam all those years ago. I imagine his real angst is with Eichorst and not The Master, but he figures if he can take out The Master then Eichorst will vanish with him. 'Last Rites' was definitely one of the better episodes of the season and makes me look forward to tonights Finale.


Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...Alonso Creem is played by Jamie Hector. The same actor that played gang leader Marlo Stanfield on The Wire.

- This one is for the fans that have read the Trilogy...Did you like the way they progressed Eldritch Palmer's story line?

- I was thinking of making the Tagline for the Review, 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart', but thought that would be too cheesy. ...Get it?...'Total Eclipse'...'Heart'...no?...forget it.

- What does everyone think will happen on the Finale? Will Setrakian get his revenge on The Master? Who will or won't make it out alive? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for checking out my Review! I'm looking forward to the finale tonight and will get the Review out by tomorrow so keep an eye out for it! Have a great weekend everyone!

About the Author - Geo N

My name is George and I am from Detroit, MI. My favorite shows are The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless other shows. When I'm not watching tons of TV, I enjoy reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

Recent Reviews By Geo N (All Reviews)