For now, though, “Runaways” simply works to establish the uneasy partnership between Eph and Setrakian. The former is a scientist cast out by his own community, which believes he played a role in Redfern’s death due to some incriminating security camera footage. Eph wants to contain this epidemic, but he has already run out of options without the ability to call on the CDC. His only allies outside of Setrakian are Jim, who is still irredeemable in Eph’s eyes despite helping him evade those looking to arrest him, and Nora, who is dodging his calls – so at the moment, Setrakian is really all he has.
And for his part, the grizzled vampire slayer gets the most development out of anyone this week. We learn that his no-nonsense approach to dispatching the strigoi is rooted in his first encounters with them at the Treblinka extermination camp in 1944. Some of The Strain‘s most quietly horrifying scenes yet take place there, as at least one creature comes into the barracks each night to feed on then snap the neck of some unlucky prisoner. Setrakian was interned with his brother, who evidently met with an unfortunate end in the camp given that he isn’t still around helping to repel this new strain. The tragic backstory fits well with what we already knew about Setrakian, though the interspersing of flashbacks throughout this episode does unfortunately detract from the tension of the main narrative. His chemistry with Eph is fun to watch, though the characters’ dissimilar outlooks on how to control the strain – Eph wants to bring the CDC into it, while Setrakian’s happy enough just to lop some heads off – mean that theirs may be a short-lived partnership.
“Runaways” also offers increased depth for Nora, whose mother we learn is unhappily residing in an assisted-living community. Despite her mother’s pleas to go home, Nora is unwavering in that she must stay – that is, until Nora realizes that the strain has already spread to her area. This episode shows the stingers in full force, and they’re just as grotesquely cool to watch as ever, but the scene is doubly interesting in that it’s the first time we’ve really seen the vampires stepping out of the shadows and wreaking havoc.
With the eclipse on its way, I’m sure similar scenes will be numerous throughout The Strain. The show is at its best when it’s embracing its horror inclinations with suspenseful confrontations and gruesome special effects, and at its weakest when dealing with underdeveloped characters, a fact of which all involved with the series must be aware. Now that it’s taken steps to flesh out Nora’s troubled home life and Setrakian’s past (though both plot threads will likely spill over into next week), The Strain can start to lean on those characters a little more. Nora, distanced from Eph, has little to do right now, but she’s a determined scientist and a strong-willed character, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see her rejoin Eph’s cause now that she’s seen for herself just how quick-spreading the strain is.
Anyways, that’s about it for “Runaways.” The episode’s treatment of Vasiliy, Joan and Gabriel, in particular, suggests that next week’s installment and the following episode will be extremely eventful for all three – the exterminator needs to be brought into contact with some of the other characters, while Joan and Gabriel have both reached critical stages in their transformation, displaying an unquenchable hunger for those around them. The Strain is still an enjoyable watch, though “Runaways” feels slighter than most. Here’s hoping that the show is on the verge of kicking into a higher gear – the eclipse lurks a ways off, but now that Eph is a true vigilante, the time feels right for him to truly embrace his new role as a slayer.
