Nothing for Eldritch Palmer, Gabriel Bolivar or Joan Luss this week, but I’m sure all three will make appearances in the next installment. “Occultation” wisely doesn’t try to move every character forward in a meaningful way, and that it makes time to showcase some of the chaos of the eclipse adds to the episode tremendously. It’s exciting to see the strain in the streets – now that it’s out in the open, no way the FBI will be able to sit back and stick to its modus operandi. Not that either the FBI or the CDC could do much to slow down this epidemic now. They know nothing about it, Jim and Gus have sneakily disposed of Redfern’s corpse and the murders of the FBI agents will likely be pinned on Eph too, sinking his credibility to an all-time low. No, for the forseeable future, only Eph, Setrakian and Nora (all reunited, I should add!) are properly equipped to fight back.
“Occultation” is also boosted by some very creepy moments, like Eichorst languidly reeling in his chained-up blood slave (have we met him before? I couldn’t place the face); poor, stupid Matt stalking down a hallway toward surefire infection; strigoi hiding in Redfern’s basement; and a vampiric version of the medical examiner pulling a woman out of her car during the eclipse.
The eclipse was definitely very important to the Master’s plan, but I’m not sure that this hour told us everything about why. Sure, it allowed for some more infections, but I’m hoping there’s more to its importance than just that. Regardless, the places “Occultation” leaves The Strain‘s characters should make for another exciting installment next week.
Why do we keep coming back to The Strain? I’m in it for the ambitious, steadily unfolding story, but characters like Vasiliy and Setrakian are also making it a lot of fun from an acting perspective. And episodes like “Occultation,” which balance out the scares and gore with genuinely intriguing plot advancements, find it at its best.
What did you think of the hour? Let me know below!
