Gus also gets in on the action this week. Looking to stock up on weapons, he tracks down Alonso Creem, a gangster who bought a stolen SUV off Gus earlier in the season. Taking him hostage, Gus is able to procure a large cache of weapons at Alonso’s base in a container park – though he gets a little more than he bargained for when a man named Gregg Nelson appears on the scene. Handing Alonso a bag filled with cash, he requests that shipping containers be sent out of the United States the next day.
Curious, Gus makes Alonso open a shipping container after Gregg leaves, only to discover that it is filled with strigoi. It would seem that the Master is behind the plan, to send carriers of the strain around the world to infect others, though when Gus and Alonso start gunning down the creatures, they’re interrupted by none other than NYPD: SVU (Special Vampires Unit). Could they be responsible for filling the containers with vamps? Or are they trying to prevent them from being shipped out?
Regardless, now that Gus is in their hands, we’ll undoubtedly be seeing more from that mysterious third party in next week’s finale – and hopefully their appearance next week will come with some explanation of who they are and why they’ve flown under the radar for as long as they have.
“Last Rites” did a great job of filling in the rest of Setrakian’s backstory while advancing the main storyline enough that it didn’t fill like a simple filler episode before the finale. Still, with no clear direction forward for the group, it will be very interesting to see how “The Master” manages to conclude The Strain‘s first season. A second season has been ordered, so I’m not holding out for any big resolution on the vampire epidemic or Setrakian’s hunt for the Master, but an explosive finale seems like a must for a show as pulpy and fun as this.
