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The Strain, Ep. 1.09, “The Disappeared” stalls the action

The Strain, Ep. 1.09, “The Disappeared” stalls the action

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The Strain, Season 1, Episode 9, “The Disappeared”
Written by Regina Corrado
Directed by Charlotte Sieling
Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on FX

We have only four episodes left, so it’s not surprising that The Strain uses “The Disappeared” to slow things down (that picture above was used to promote the episode), do a little table-setting, and generally take a breather. It’s still disappointing. After the continuous momentum of the last few weeks, culminating in last week’s exciting pot-boiler episode, it’s a shame that the show chooses to fall into the same trap most 13-to-22 episode-per-season series fall into by slowing down before the final rush.

As such, there’s not all that much to say about this episode. Eph’s son, Zack, has now joined the group, and his wife’s boyfriend is now dead after becoming a vampire, attacking Zack and quickly being beheaded. For some strange reason whose explanation was missed, the group then separates so that Eph and Nora can spend a weird amount of time disposing of the boyfriend’s body (assumedly as a stand-in process for Jim’s ungraceful death) and have terribly awkward sex. Sure, now is not the time for this, but the performances Corey Stoll and Mía Maestro give in this short scene are the real crime. They are so over-the-top expressive, it just comes off like a painfully laughable attempt to have a Showtime-esque sex scene. If this is all intentional, bravo for the self-awareness, but it’s so difficult to tell that it reads like a failure.

We get some more characterization for hacker girl Dutch (she was dating that girl from last episode, who apparently survived long enough to raid their apartment), and she (thankfully) comes clean sooner rather than later about her role in the whole no-internet thing. In a bizarre move, the reveal makes a tiny impact, though perhaps this will change next week. She also does what I would do during a vampire outbreak: find the alcohol. Oh, also- Gus escapes from custody after killing Felix, who finally turns, and it just feels like the show dotting its i’s. Yawn.

This episode does contain some of the funniest lines the show has produced. After Nora’s mother rips Setrakian a new one for leaving her locked up in his shop, Setrakian explains to Fet, “Nora’s mother,” to which Fet quips, “Obviously.” Even better, as the body of Eph’s ex-wife’s boyfriend burns, they say some words about Jim and Nora asks, “Should we say something about Matt?” After a beat, Eph says simply, “…no,” and walks away. These moments are hilarious, but they’re buoyed because they are intentionally funny. It’s still difficult to figure out how often the show is in on the joke, however. When Fet, Dutch, and Zack walk into Setrakian’s lair for the first time, Dutch says, “It’s like the Bat Cave!” This is a painful line, but is it supposed to be read as intentionally ridiculous and dumb? Who knows, and that’s a problem.

This scene also attempts to paint Fet as purely the unemotional calculated killer, though it’s not all that believable. He also exhibits a logic inconsistency with this show, since just last episode he was asking Setrakian what the rules of fighting these things are, wasting our time and his, while this week he somehow intuits that there must be humans helping this cause. He seems to be basing this on absolutely nothing, so it’s insulting to the audience to have his character jump to (accurate) conclusions this episode, when it’s convenient, but to demand redundant exposition last episode.

We also head back to 1944 Poland, for some reason. Most of these scenes feel unnecessary as we watch Setrakian uneventfully confront the monster and then escape from the camp. Presumably these are the final flashbacks, though, and the last scene almost makes it all worth it. We finally get to see what The Master’s face looks like, and oh man. It is ridiculous, it is cartoonish, it is beautiful. He kind of looks like a Muppet, and that is intended as a compliment. It’s clearly meant as some kind of horror throwback, and it works like aces. Earlier in the episode, he asks Setrakian where his God is, so the last scene is even more interesting for the way in which he and Eichorst are positioned, like they’re frozen in a Christian painting, as Eichorst seems to be begging for salvation. This is The Strain at its best, bumping the surprisingly poignant up against the delightfully ridiculous.

[wpchatai]