The Strain – “It’s Not For Everyone” Review. Vampire Anatomy 101.

Season 1, Episode 4

Air date: Sunday, August 3, 2014 at 10PM on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

[important]ADDED VIDEO: Inside The Strain: From Infection to Dissection on Thurs. 8/07/14[/important]

“It’s a parasitic mechanism; this is rewriting human biology!” – Dr. Ephraim Goodweather

Vampire Anatomy 101…I’ll take a pass on this lesson.

I loved biology class except when it came time to dissect frogs and earthworms. I knew then and there in my high school senior biology class some 20+ years ago that I would never be able to go into the medical field. As “It’s Not For Everyone” begins, Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and Dr. Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) slice open the remains of one of the four survivors, Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts) and what they discover is startling—not to mention disgusting. Remember we saw Eph and Nora get an up close look at the anatomy of a vampire in “Gone Smooth” last week. The Strain does a magnificent job of creating this world where vampires exist, yet are so profoundly different from anything we’ve seen on television or even on the big screen.

What I find interesting about The Strain is how this vampiric infection works. It appears to be using the host’s basic human need to reproduce, and the need for companionship to find their next feeding source. Take for example one of the other four survivors, Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl). He knows something is very wrong with him and he purposefully asks his wife Ann-Marie (Alex Paxton-Beesley) to take the kids and go away. In spite of everything screaming within him to feed on them, his love for his family compels him to protect them. “The voice in my head is telling me to rip out your throat and drink from you.” The one thing I notice about Ann-Marie is she is not well. We see her taking prescription pills, and she seems to be sweating a lot. Is she infected or just sick? But there is another side to Ann-Marie that catches me off guard. Let’s just say Ann-Marie stands by her man, regardless of his condition. “It’s Not For Everyone” is an apropos title. The Strain isn’t for the squeamish. An example – when they show the remains of the Barbour’s family dog; it’s not pretty. The only thing that doesn’t make sense about the scene is the amount of blood not being consumed by Ansel while he’s feeding. There seems to be a significant amount of blood being wasted. You would think with the super long tongue these vampires have, they could suck a lot more.

Do you think Eph and Nora will ever forgive Jim for what he did? Will Jim forgive himself?

Jim (Sean Astin) makes a confession and it puts him at odds with Eph and Nora. During my conversation with Astin at San Diego Comic-Con recently, he mentioned something about Jim’s betrayal—is it forgivable? Can Jim redeem himself? I mentioned to Astin his character didn’t know what was inside the box; therefore, he had no idea what he was releasing into the general population. How far would you go to save the person you love most? Astin does a fantastic job of making you feel empathy and loathing for Jim simultaneously. As much as you can appreciate why Jim initially lets the vampire’s coffin (aka the box) go through security in the series premiere “Night Zero,” in light of the recent situation, you can’t help being upset because all of the mayhem the vampiric virus is causing right now could have been contained, even destroyed. But this drama is what keeps us tuning in each week.

Don’t let the old man fool you, he knows how to wield a sword.

Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) is dying and despite having met “The Master” vampire courtesy of the uber scary Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel), he doesn’t get the miracle he was promised. I don’t think Eldritch knows exactly what this miracle entails. I am curious though as to how Eichorst survives day in and day out. With all the other survivors having animalistic behavior, it seems Eichorst is able to better control his urges. Does that control come with time, meaning the longer you’re a vampire, the easier it is to tame the inner beast?

As “It’s Not For Everyone” comes to an end, it’s Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) to the rescue! He shows Eph and Nora how to destroy a vampire. Nora struggles with the morality of killing these creatures. She thinks there is another way to save them. With all the internal organs being consumed and/or replaced, I can’t see another way to save those who are already infected other than using Abraham’s method of beheading and burning the bodies. This dichotomy of morals fuels the drama making The Strain such tempting TV.

What did you think of “It’s Not For Everyone?” I’d love to hear from you. Tweet me @judybopp or leave a comment below.

Inside The Strain: From Infection to Dissection – All it takes is one sting. Look inside a vampire for a lesson on how The Strain transforms its host.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.