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LogoP Party Crasher from the Land of Deep Blue Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Party Crasher
#26: Aug 25th 2014 at 6:41:42 PM

I liked the Nosferatu commando guy. He's polite yet cold. Good with kids, shoots an innocent woman right in the eye. Like a boss.

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.
foodbattle ...What the brown? from Tahiti (it's a magical place) Since: Oct, 2009
...What the brown?
#27: Aug 25th 2014 at 8:06:25 PM

I'm really interested (and also confused) about how vampires work in this series. There's the feral zombie-like ones that most people seem to turn into, there's the German, who has a more human form and abilities closer to classic vampires, and then these new commando guys. I'm really interested in how they're going to explain all of this.

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LogoP Party Crasher from the Land of Deep Blue Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Party Crasher
#28: Aug 25th 2014 at 8:08:58 PM

I always thought that the new vamps seem feral because 1) they feel thirsty as hell 2) they aren't yet used to their new senses & abilities and 3) vampires learn to control their violent/bloodthirsty nature over the years.

edited 25th Aug '14 8:40:55 PM by LogoP

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.
Anteres Since: May, 2010
#29: Aug 26th 2014 at 1:38:49 AM

I'm assuming that the Master decides how much brains they're allowed. Goth Rocker and Lawyer were discussing the voice in their heads that was telling them to eat everyone.

If the commando-Vamp has a different Master, he and his squad may have been allowed to keep their minds

Anteres Since: May, 2010
#31: Aug 26th 2014 at 2:04:25 PM

If he was operating solo, I'd think that. But the he had his own team, who kept covered up, so are almost certainly vampires too so I'm thinking a separate strain.

I wonder will any of our characters get turned by Nosferatu.

edited 26th Aug '14 2:05:32 PM by Anteres

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#32: Aug 29th 2014 at 2:55:56 PM

I can see Black Ops Vampire guy becoming a Well-Intentioned Extremist in his quest to destroy the Master's plague.

In a related tangent, Abraham Setrakian, Vasily Fet and Black-Ops vampire guy combined would make the most badass trio of televized history.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
millardkillmoore Since: Mar, 2010
#34: Sep 1st 2014 at 4:49:31 PM

So Vasily continues being the most competent member of the cast not named Setrakian.

jewelia13 Since: Jan, 2001
#35: Sep 8th 2014 at 3:16:48 PM

In case anyone was wondering - Mr. Quinlan is the Master's half-human half-vampire son. He was created by the Master feeding off a pregnant woman in ancient Rome and being interrupted. She got away but the fetus was infected. He now makes it his life's work to destroy the Master and all other vampires.

Anteres Since: May, 2010
LogoP Party Crasher from the Land of Deep Blue Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Party Crasher
#37: Sep 8th 2014 at 4:38:16 PM

Read the books, probably.

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.
millardkillmoore Since: Mar, 2010
#38: Sep 8th 2014 at 6:52:11 PM

So Fet keeps a hammer ready despite the lack of any immediate danger? It's like he's seen a horror movie before. With a couple of other guys like Fet in his crusade, Setrakian could stop the vampires for sure.

foodbattle ...What the brown? from Tahiti (it's a magical place) Since: Oct, 2009
...What the brown?
#39: Sep 9th 2014 at 11:41:24 AM

[up][up][up][up] That sounds an awful lot like Blade.

edited 9th Sep '14 11:41:43 AM by foodbattle

You guys like Let's Plays? You guys like shameless plugs? Well, come on down!
Anteres Since: May, 2010
#40: Sep 9th 2014 at 3:01:45 PM

That went well for the heroes. Nora gets to have sex, Old Setrakian gets an apprentice, Eph gets to beat Matt to death while being a hero AND gets to have sex, Young Setrakian escapes the camp, Eichorst gets sliced open, Gus gets out of jail and Vasily gets bread. Lots of bread.

Most optimistic episode yet grin

That said, the Master's face. Was expecting more horrific. He looked like someone I went to school with, just without the nose... And is that accent supposed to be anywhere real ?

edited 9th Sep '14 3:03:05 PM by Anteres

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#41: Sep 12th 2014 at 8:00:02 AM

Master kinda looks like a Goombah from the Mario movie.

LogoP Party Crasher from the Land of Deep Blue Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: You can be my wingman any time
Party Crasher
#42: Sep 12th 2014 at 8:05:54 AM

I think that Master's face was supposed to look kinda derpy. He possesses the body of a man with severe gigantism, after all.

edited 12th Sep '14 8:06:07 AM by LogoP

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.
Anteres Since: May, 2010
#43: Sep 15th 2014 at 3:32:55 PM

So the ex-wife is going to be one of the Master's Lieutenants and be allowed to keep some brains ? I assume it's to use her Mama Bear tendencies to hunt down Eph Kid and, by extension, Eph and the heroes. Show's that Master of Bathrobes isn't much of a strategist. Eph is easily the most useless member of the team. He's lucky he's a white American male or he'd be dead by now tongue

Still no Commando Vamp. I wanna see him. Hoping he's there next week.

millardkillmoore Since: Mar, 2010
#44: Sep 15th 2014 at 3:46:18 PM

[up]

Now that's just not true. Eph is the second-most useless since, unlike Nora, he's at least willing to kill vampires. The Master really should just send a few hundred mooks to attack the pawn shop to eliminate Setrakian, the only serious hreat he has.

edited 15th Sep '14 3:51:55 PM by millardkillmoore

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#45: Sep 15th 2014 at 4:59:53 PM

Eph at least spent most of his time trying to find a way to contain the infection, the reason he failed was due everyone his boss's stupidity and an ancient conspiracy. He's useless now because he's a C.D.C Doctor, not a vampire hunter, dagnabit! And I see the Master's tactics regarding Kelly fairly acceptable.

[up] Does the Master even know where Setrakian lives? Judging by the way Eichhorst talks about him earlier in the season I got the feeling they were completely blindsided by Setrakian even being in New York. I doubt they know where he lives.

Even if they did, Setrakian being Genre Savvy as he is, probably had the house built with silver bricks and UV lights or some such.

edited 15th Sep '14 5:00:14 PM by Gaon

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
millardkillmoore Since: Mar, 2010
#46: Sep 15th 2014 at 5:47:54 PM

[up]

I'm pretty sure he's in the phone book, so finding him shouldn't be an issue. Plus his business is a matter of public record and Palmer has the resources to track him down. They probably just didn't expect him to still be alive and thus didn't bother looking him up before his arrest.

I don't doubt that he has defenses in place, but that's why you throw expendable mooks in to soak up everything Setrakian has up his sleeve. Or just toss a molotov cocktail in to smoke him out or burn him alive.

edited 15th Sep '14 5:52:31 PM by millardkillmoore

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#47: Sep 15th 2014 at 6:50:20 PM

If I well recall only his pawn shop (which lacks his name on it. It's just named "pawn shop" and his name isn't anywhere on the announcement) is in the phonebook. Unless they bother to go looking every pawn shop in the city one at the time, it'd be hard to find him, specially when you keep in mind Eichhorst and the Master don't know he's a pawn shop owner.

Granted, with Palmer's resources they could find him, but it just seems too much trouble to go for a single Jew who's already ancient when they have far bigger plans in motion what with the infection of New York, covering up their tracks, the deal with Palmer, Mr.Quinlan and his black-ops vampire squad, e.t.c. After they grab a foothold of New York completely (in other words, the end of this season), I'm assuming they'd turn their eye to Abraham.

It's not like Abraham has even disrupted their plans at all so far. He's killed a handful Strigoi and assembled five people to help him in his quest, hardly a crushing blow to the Master's plans.

I'd also be willing to bet that Setrakian's entire house is unbreakable and fireproof.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
millardkillmoore Since: Mar, 2010
#48: Sep 22nd 2014 at 7:14:13 AM

So the preview for the next episode shows Eichorst finally just attacking Setrakian's place and the return of Black Ops Vampire Guy.

mal.c Since: Jul, 2009
#49: Oct 7th 2015 at 10:01:39 PM

So I'd just finished a marathon of the second season when I realized — I need to find out what people on the internet think about it. Or maybe just put my own thoughs on the record.

There were some misteps, I thought. The Palpatine plot seemed kind of silly, on the other hand; we're talking about literal vampires knocking on doors, and the upper class get their knickers in a twist over a 1% tax to fund the extra manhours needed to deal with them? Maybe it's just the Scandinavian perspective on taxation but the way this was portrayed as a drastic measure just... eh. That city hall scene also gave me some strong Episode III vibes. And I'll miss Vaun — I'll take black ops vampires over millenial half-vampire Mary Sues (not that Quinlan was awful, he's just not Vaun). The book plot definitely dragged on. Also, is it just me, or did those early scenes in Eichorst's flashback seem like it was taken shot for shot from a similar scene with Kaspar/Mueller from Boardwalk Empire? Coco left me kind of confused. She always looked so uncomfortable when Palmer wasn't looking, so I kept wondering if she wasn't there to spy on or subvert Palmer — simply becoming his love interest and replacement moral compass kinda disappointed me. Are they trying to somehow make his character sympathetic or tragic through all this? Seriously, did people forget that a horde of vampires invaded a city district? How much shit can really happen in New York for people to become so jaded to stuff like that? Is Jamie Hector ever going to get a role as something other than a career crimnal? And why do I suddenly feel like there should be a mexican-indian fusion place here in town I could order takeaway from?

Having said that, there were also several points I really liked about the second season. Seeing Eph and Nora actually use their skills in a clever and effective way (while also making a point of not making it a miracle cure) was awesome and a big improvement over their "explain what the vampires are" role in the first season. The sense of conspiracy around Ephraim's trip to Washington was interesting. It could have been dealt with more subtly, perhaps - maybe Stoneheart could have had a more overt, natural role than sending an assassin, like muscling in on the bioweapon development contract, messing the effort up through lobbyists, etc. (the whole arc made me think of House of Cards and its political shenanigans) - but even so. Setrakian, Fet, and Gus's actors have the presence to carry scenes through merely adequate writing, as we already know. And Dutch's imprisonment was downright chilling — horrifying, but excellently executed. I don't know if we strictly needed to be reminded that Eichorst is an evil bastard, but what a way to show it. The troubled relationship between Zack and Eph - and the frustrations shared by us and Eph about Zack's circular child logic - seemed like it was handled better in this season, too. All in all, it's not exactly the Wire, but still enough good stuff (along with the novelty of actual monstrous vampires) to keep me interested throughout.

The train sequence made me think of a somewhat similar scene in the novel the Passage by Justin Cronin, another piece of fiction that doesn't shy away from portraying vampires as bloodsucking monsters. Won't spoil more than that, but if you like the Strain you'll probably like that series, as well.

Edit to fix spoiler tags.

edited 7th Oct '15 10:02:36 PM by mal.c

Mullon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
#50: May 20th 2017 at 6:48:30 PM

It is impressive how the world of The Strain keeps managing to top itself in terms of horribleness.

Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.

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