The Strain: “Fallen Light” Review

By Jesse Schedeen

Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

The Strain can be frustrating in how long certain characters and storylines will stay dormant before finally returning to the forefront. But if “Fallen Light” proved anything, it’s that putting all the major players in the spotlight isn’t an automatic recipe for success either. This episode had some memorable moments, but also a lot of poorly executed storylines and one that’s been a dud all season long. Needless to say, it didn’t make for a great lead-in to the season finale.

The big offender, as usual, involved the love triangle between Fet, Dutch and Nikki. This whole conflict plays like a nonsensical way to inject romantic drama into a show that has neither the room nor the need for anything of the sort. None of it feels genuine. Why is Fet so committed to a relationship that’s existed for maybe a week at this point? Why is Dutch so obsessively devoted to a woman that clearly isn’t trustworthy, dependable or even very interested in maintaining their relationship? It would help if Nikki felt like an actual character rather than a walking plot device, but there’s been no apparent interest in fleshing out her point of view or what she was up to during her long absence. Hopefully, with Nikki and her mother preparing to leave New York in this episode, she’ll be out of the picture for good.

Speaking of poorly developed love interests, this episode touched base with Coco in the aftermath of her near-death experience. I was eager to see where the show would take her story arc from there. Given that she was falling out with Palmer over his secret machinations and inability to be honest with her, you’d think Coco would have a problem with becoming collateral damage in Palmer’s war and then being healed via vampire blood without her knowledge. Apparently not. Coco is now arm-in-arm with Palmer and happily colluding in his plans to destroy humanity. And whatever interest I had in her character arc is pretty much gone.

On the plus side, we did learn how the Master intends to keep Palmer in line after his threatening display in “The Assassin.” Eichorst informed the duo (not without a sense of personal satisfaction) that they”re both beholden to the Master for the rest of their unnaturally long lives. If they don’t toe the line, no more doses of White for them. Simple, but effective. It’s hard to imagine Palmer just sitting idly by and not trying to find a new source of leverage, however.

More progress was made on the Occido Lumen front this week. Unfortunately, all this subplot really accomplished was to illustrate how circular the Lumen storyline has been of late. Weeks ago Setrakian and Palmer were caught in a bidding war for the tome. Now, after a series of plot twists where the book was located, lost and located again, Setrakian once again finds himself caught in a bidding war with Palmer. There’s been no net change, and it really seems like the writers are just filling time so that the Lumen can remain out of reach until the finale.

At least some people are being proactive.

The episode was somewhat more successful when it came to Eph, Nora and Zack. The real treat was the flashbacks to Eph and Nora’s pre-outbreak years. We got to see their relationship develop and flourish over the span of several years. It was especially nice seeing Sean Astin reprise his role as Jim Kent. The flashbacks emphasized what these characters and their city have lost in the weeks since the outbreak began. As with last week, the show is doing a good job of highlighting the emotional rift between Eph and Nora without relying much on words. It seems like the two are overdue for a real blow-out, or at least an honest, direct conversation about their future, and hopefully that’s coming next week.

Zach also had an uncharacteristically strong scene as he reconnected with his grandparents. That said, hopefully the writers are preparing to shuffle Zach out of the picture along with Nikki. He doesn’t add enough to the show. Even here, he spent as much time sulking at his Playstation Vita as he did actively contributing to the story. Not to mention that it’s going to become increasingly distracting if the role keeps being recast every season because the actors are aging faster than the show’s timeline is advancing.

Here’s what I don’t get about Eph – how is he able to walk around in broad daylight and meet with police and city officials after what he pulled in Assassin”? Yes, the police are a bit busy these days, but you’d think they might be interested in apprehending the fugitive who attempted to assassinate the city’s most beloved philanthropist and then promptly escaped from custody. This gap in logic speaks to a larger problem in that Eph hasn’t been forced to face the consequences of his unilateral move on Palmer – legally or morally.

If anything, Eph’s prospects really improved this week. Not only did he find a possible safe haven for Zach, he formed a new alliance with Councilwoman Feraldo to manufacture and distribute his bio-weapon. Feraldo had some strong scenes this week as she butted heads with the mayor. It’s interesting to see a split forming in the ranks of the city government, with Feraldo and her fiercely loyal band of cops bucking against the mayor’s authority. Equally intriguing was seeing Palmer attempt to form an alliance with her when, at present, she seems to be the single greatest threat to his interests. Palmer likely thinks he can misdirect or manipulate Feraldo, but he may be biting off more than he can chew given her track record so far.

In an episode that featured a mix of good and mediocre elements, the one subplot that did fire on all cylinders was Gus and Angel’s jailbreak. Their was something poetic about Gus returning to prison as a liberator. This led to a short but tense escape scene that lent some action to an otherwise dialogue-heavy episode. In the end, Angel proved he has the grit to be a vampire hunter, and Quinlan (finally appearing in the flesh after a several week absence) has his “Sunhunter” army.