You have to admire the vision of the extremely talented and imaginative Guillermo del Toro when he came up with The Strain. This horror drama doesn’t only give you apocalyptic. He also doesn’t just give you vampiric. He combines both into a satisfactorily terrifying show that might give you nightmares if you let it get to you more than you should. It’s not only in the imagery that will literally make you squirm on every episode; it’s the story-telling that keeps us on our toes and makes us wish that we never got into this show to begin with. It’s begrudgingly good, and its 46-episode run was one of the best horror series we’ve seen in a while. If we were to rank the four episodes of The Strain, here’s how we’d put it.
The Strain Season 1
We have to start off with the season that got it going. This was the first time we were introduced to this world, so everything was still new and we still didn’t know what in the world the characters were contending with. All the stories and experiences were still fresh and the shock of it all was still unbelievably great. Season 1 of The Strain was the season that helped us get used to the violence and the gore that was to come for the rest of the series. It also provided us with a solid foundation for the show to truly establish itself. Eph and Nora were electric in this season, and of course, meeting the Master for the first time was just horrible.
The Strain Season 4
We can say that season 4 was probably just as good as season 1, except it left us with the feeling that there could be more. The Strain ended well with loose ends tied and lives restored to order–at least for some. It was really a good way to end the fight against the vampires, and we believe that it gave us the ending that most people wanted to see. We’re glad that Eph was able to pick himself back up, and along with Fet, Quinlan, Alex, he was able to push on for the final epic fight.
The Strain Season 2
The sophomore season of The Strain was more than the continuation of the first. It followed through on the story and introduced us to even more fascinating characters. It may not have been as good as season 1, but the development of the story was good enough to keep us captivated and drawn in week after week. When season 2 began, we thought that we had a good grip on all the creep and gore. We soon realized we were so wrong. During the first episode alone, we saw how much the infestation has grown, and Eph and Nora just couldn’t compete with so many vampires developing so quickly. The bioweapon was their only hope; it was just a matter of distributing it–which was more impossible than anything.
The Strain Season 3
By the time season 3 came, we had a feeling that the end should be coming near. How long can a fight against an extremely powerful vampire species go on anyway? The strigoi have gotten even stronger and faster at this point; there was a hopelessness that was difficult to shake. This third season started to feel dragged in some parts, and some of the characters began to suffer a little bit. There were still plenty of twists and turns to keep the story interesting, but the show struggled with its flow by mid season. Eph got the worst part of it, especially when it came to his son. Fortunately, it was able to pick itself back up and end the season with explosion. We’re glad it did because it paved way for the final season that would tie it all nicely for us in quite a neat bow.
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