The Strain – “The Box” Review. Bath Time Is Not Fun Time.

Season 1, Episode 2

Air date: Sunday, July 20 at 10PM on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

“Amazing. Despite all evidence to the contrary, you cling to the delusion that you will prevail. Don’t tell me you still believe in that God of yours?” – Thomas Eichorst

The Strain continues along its dark and creepy path with “The Box.” As we’ve learned from the series premiere, “Night Zero,” something infected 210 people aboard an airplane. Toward the end of “Night Zero,” the presumably dead passengers make a comeback. As we find out in “The Box,” the strange worms seem to like blood – but I don’t think they discriminate between species.

Setrakian gets a visit from his lawyer…he doesn’t have a lawyer.

“The Box” expands on the relationship Abraham Setrakian (David Bradley) has with the militant Thomas Eichorst (Richard Sammel). During their conversation through the glass pane, you get a sense of the animosity between these two men. Eichorstwon’t even speak Abraham’s name. Instead, Eichorst calls him “Jew” or “A230385,” in an effort to try and degrade Abraham. Bradley and Sammel are experts in their delivery. Their conversation is wrought with tension, and the calm demeanor with which both parties convey their mutual dislike for one another sets an ominous tone. I’m very curious to find out the origins of Abraham and Eichorst’s past relationship. It’s apparent Abraham was a prisoner of a Jewish concentration camp and Eichorst is the one who put him there. Abraham is the kind of guy who will make good on his promises of reuniting Eichorst with his fallen comrade at the bottom of the “North Sea.”

Gus wants desperately to keep his mother safe but I think it’s too late now that he’s working for Eichorst.

As “The Box” continues, we see more of Gus (Miguel Gomez), the guy who transported the oversized box filled with dirt from JFK to its new location across the river. There is significance with the location. Abraham mentioned it several times in “Night Zero” when voicing his concern about the box not making it across the river. Why? I think Gus is in over his head. He has good intentions but he’s going about it all wrong. He doesn’t want to go back to prison so he’s helping Eichorst with odd jobs, like transporting the mysterious box across New York City to earn money. Eichorst’s promise to make Gus’ mother, Guadalupe (Adriana Barraza), a legal U.S. citizen is quite an enticing offer but Gus has no idea what he’s getting himself into.

Why does the government always want to slap a label on a disaster and shove it under the rug? Dr. Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and his partner, Dr. Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro), learn the four survivors—Captain Redfern (Jonathan Potts), Gabriel Bolivar (Jack Kesy), Joan Luss (Leslie Hope), and Ansel Barbour (Nikolai Witschl)—are being released from quarantine. Does the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Margaret Pearson (Maria Ricossa), really think the other 206 passengers died from carbon monoxide? It’s so infuriating to see government bureaucracy overrule a serious medical investigation by the CDC. I know in recent news the CDC has taken quite a hit on their business practices of keeping live viruses in zip-top bags, but for television’s sake, this version of the CDC has all their I’s dotted and T’s crossed.

Let the CDC do their job – all that ‘glow in the dark’ excrement isn’t carbon monoxide.

The four survivors are beginning to show symptoms and it’s not pretty. The use of the color red is very specific in The Strain. Aside from the emergency response and law enforcement sirens, the color red is synonymous with the spreading vampiric infection. There is a scene with Gabriel as he entertains some lady friends when he bites one of them. After he hurries them out, what he does with the spilled blood on his hands, face, and the floor is disgusting. Kesy impresses me with his performance, especially when he gets on all fours and laps up every drop. I nearly gagged.

Vasiliy Fet is an interesting character and I’m curious where he got his fascination for rodents (and their extermination).

A new character is introduced in “The Box,” Vasiliy Fet (guest star Kevin Durand), an exterminator extraordinaire. He has so many chemicals and pesticides in his basement, he could rid the entire city of pesky rodents and other vermin, perhaps even vampiric worms. Vasiliy takes his job very seriously and doesn’t take bribes. His role as part of the New York City pest control office will play a big part in coming episodes. I just love Durand. He’s very methodical in his acting and I love his stage presence. He’s commanding without having to beat his chest. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him and how his character’s job plays a part with the vampiric infection spreading across town.

At the end of “Night Zero,” the youngest airline passenger Emma Arnot (Isabelle Nélisse) returns home to her father Gary Arnot (Steven McCarthy). As “The Box” comes to an end, Gary, ever the optimist is in for a big shock. I think Gary is an optimist. Either he doesn’t see something is terribly wrong with his daughter or he’s hoping it will just go away. Unfortunately, he’ll find out his sweet Emma isn’t quite her adorable self anymore. Children who play scary roles creep me out more than anything and Nélisse does an amazing job. The way Emma sits in the milky bathwater and stares blankly freaks me out. It is one of those scenes where you watch through your fingers. The direction of how the camera pans in and out makes it that much more intense.

Overall, “The Box” provides more character development and continues to do a great job of pushing various storylines forward. It gives us more clues and at the very end, our wealthy benefactor Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde) finally meets “The Master.” Don’t cower away, Eldritch; this is what you wanted.

What did you think of “The Box?” I’d love to hear from you. Tweet me @judybopp or leave a comment below.

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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.