The Strain is back…with a vengeance. The season 2 premiere of The Strain was—well, to be expected—completely gross and traumatizing. So, thumbs up to the creative team and writers for yet another job well done. Eph and Nora figure out a viable way to destroy the virus, Setrakian makes an alliance with an unlikely source, The Master plans revenge and more on the season 2 premiere “BK, NY” of The Strain. Spoiler alert.
Last we left off, stomachs intact, Professor Setrakian and his gang of vampire hunters had confronted The Master with less than desirable results. As it turned out, Setrakian’s knowledge of the vampires, particularly The Master, wasn’t as current as they all thought for they were dealing with a foe that was much more sophisticated and apparently able to withstand daylight. Oops. They were right back to square one….sort of.
On the season 2 premiere of The Strain, we were first taken down memory lane to Setrakian’s childhood, when his grandmother told him the legend of a nobleman named Jusef Sardu. Now, if you watched the first season of the show, like me, you were probably listening to the story and waiting for things to turn disgusting and traumatizing. Of course they eventually did. A once tender-hearted man suffering from Gigantism was transformed into to a bloodsucking vampire, after coming face-to-face with one of the original vampires known as an Ancient. And what a disgusting transformation it was. Yuck. Other than the fact that Sardu was the original owner of the badass cane/sword, there is still much to be learned about how exactly Setrakian came to take possession of the special cane from Sardu/The Master.
Back to present day, Setrakian and his relentless tracking of The Master continues. But this time, he will have some unlikely allies, thanks to a special meeting with several of the Ancients in the same secret location that Gus was abducted to and taken in the season 1 finale. The thing is Setrakian had no choice but to form an alliance with the Ancients. It was either that or they were going to kill him. It was a no-brainer.
Speaking of brains, Eph is still just as committed as before to using science to help him rid Manhattan –and the world—of the vampire epidemic. And, of course, the only one who believes in him still is Nora. But then again, what you do expect from her, she believes in science as much as he does AND she’s totally in love with him, too. Even his own son, Zack—who for some reason they replaced this season—has turned on him. Granted, Eph did try to kill Zack’s mother right in front of him. But that was only because she had turned into a vampire who would likely try to turn them both, so he was in the right, right?
Fet, on the other hand, has been showing a softer side as of late. Or maybe he was always like that. Remember, Fet is the rat catcher turned vampire killing badass from the first season who the Professor took to. So did Dutch, the tech genius who unknowingly helped aid The Master and his henchmen. It will be interesting to see how his mentor/mentee relationship with Setrakian continues to develop as well as any potential romantic connection with Dutch.
Obviously, after the confrontation with Setrakian and the gang at the end of season 1 that left him heavily scarred from the sunlight, The Master was forced to retreat into hiding. So, naturally he wants revenge on the Setrakian. And what better way to get revenge than to go after those closest to the enemy, right? At least that’s what TV and movies teach us. With the help of his henchman, Thomas Eichorst, The Master plans to use Kelly (Eph’s ex-wife) to help him realize his revenge on everyone who tried to stop him. Unless, of course, the other Ancients get to The Master before he has that chance. This should be a good one, folks. And gross too, I’m sure.
The Strain airs Sunday nights at 10:00pm EST on FX.