Take Three: The Strain

The Strain: Season 1, Episode 3 “Gone Smooth” (C+)

My interest in this show couldn’t last forever, and it’s definitely waning at this point because it’s transforming into something different. In episodes one and two, it was a horror series faintly supported by supernatural and other violent occurrences but not guided by them. In episode three, everything changed, and all of a sudden Ephram, Nora, and Jim were dodging misdirected snake throat shots erupting from one of the bodies in the morgue. This show surprised me because of its slow burn nature, and now it’s dived fully into its premise. The opening sequence with a freaky shell of a body and face being made and dressed up to look like the seemingly human villain we know was eerie, and watching him do his own dirty work, walking into an office building late at night and staging a suicide, certainly makes an impression. His meeting with Jim was especially intimidating, and learning about Jim’s wife and her health explains why he let the coffin out of JFK, though he definitely regrets that decision now. Our three scientists are starting to catch on to the severity and sheer unbelievable nature of what they’re up against, which I’m not so sure is a great thing since keeping them in the dark longer might have proved more worthwhile in the end. At this point, I’m considering abandoning this show since it’s turning more into the kind of show I expected it to be and not the one indicated by the pilot. It’s still a decent series, but not my cup of tea.