The Strain Season 2 Episode 9 Review: The Battle For Red Hook

Some have complained that the "Battle for Red Hook" didnt deliver on it's tremendous potential. That may be true but I still thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

My power was out for a while Sunday night. When it was restored I IMMEDIATELY tuned into "The Strain" only to find that the strigoi and Eichorst had cut the power to Red Hook. Mere coincidence? I think not. I am happy to report there were no strigoi sightings during our outage. On a related note, I must add UV lights to my emergency survival kit.

The vamps want into Red Hook but I'm not entirely sure why. Is it just to get Zach? If so, I'm VERY confused about why that kid is so important. He's such a whiner. I would have given him up the sec Eph turned his back.

What Could Possibly Be Wrong?

Too much of the episode was spent on Dutch and Nikki drama. They argue and then have sexy times. I'm all for girl/girl scenes but I'm not feeling it for Nikki. What's her deal? After rolling around in the hay, Dutch runs to see what's happening (since, ya know, the power is out).

Back at the vampire lair, Eichorst gives Kelly a pep talk. She has the blues. He says it takes a while to become a strigoi...so get back out there and find your son. Watching the feeler try to console Kelly by rubbing up against her head but a great addition.

Justine Is A Bad Ass In Training

Meanwhile Nora and Fet are at the power station frantically trying to get the power back on before the vamps flood in. Eph, Abe and Justine man the fence. Justine had previously taken to the streets to rally all the citizens to help. You go girl! Here comes the vamps...and there are lots of them. Dutch almost dies but Nikki manages to be useful (for a change) and saves her. Just then the power is restored and the vamps are fried. Yeah!

Say Hello To My Little Friend

Kelly arrives and tries to grab Zach again. Nora protects him and Fet runs after her. It looks like Kelly is injured because we see some white ooze. Did Fet get worms on his hand? That's what it looked like to me. Oh no! Please dont let Fet die!

Abe calls out Eichorst saying "Let's finish this". Eich starts with his usual sass to which Abe replies "If you're so eager to drink me, why are you flapping your gums?" Ha, those two are hilarious together. They begin to battle as Eph takes shots at Eich from the roof. We all know Eph cant hit the broad side of a barn. Eichorst gets away... once again.

There was no Quinlan or Gus this week. I dont understand why they're absent so much. On a positive note, I was happy NOT to see Palmer or Coco.

Avon Calling!

Favorite Quotes:

"It's time for them to see our true power."- Eichorst.
"If you're so eager to drink me, why are you flapping your gums?"- Abe to Eichorst. Good one!
"Light em up."- Fet
Fet: "Alight I checked all the window grates. No loose bolts. Place is secure as long we dont..." Zach: "No one does anything stupid like open the door?" Well Zach, you would know about that wouldn't you?

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). The strigoi attack was great although I wish it had lasted longer. RE the Fet/Dutch/Nikki love triangle, I think they need to flesh out Nikki's character more if they want us to care about her. Right now she's so "meh".

"The Strain" continues to struggle with pacing problems. At this point in the series I'm not sure if they'll ever iron them out. There are only four episodes left this year. The show was renewed for at least one more season.

Did you notice the new "The Strain" title treatment? Very comic book-y and much better than the previous super short one. Was this a "one off" or will we be seeing it again?