The strain- random thoughts upon finishing
I actually finished watching this last year, but I haven’t been doing my blog for ages, which is why this ended up being posted really late.
I have been watching The Strain since the first season and I have also read the book. I really enjoy the series because I like the novelty of the idea that the author has. I also feel that it is quite a nice change to have vampires that are not glamorous. Leaving aside the extremeness of Twilight (due to the sparkle), the majority of vampire literature has this idea of how vampires are very beautiful. In the Nightworld series, the vampires are probably the most close to humans, and they can certainly blend themselves in without much difficulty, but even in that series, there is the indication that they appear more attractive then the average Joe and Jane. So it is very interesting to see the vampires in the strain as more like zombies.
Anyway, this brings to my main point: I am so fed up with the development and appearance of certain characters that I feel I have to rant. In the book, my most disliked character is Eph (so there is a certain irony that in the TV series, my most disliked character is his son. Maybe the gene is past onto one another).
I think Nora summarised Eph’s problem perfectly in the final book when she told him that he always had it too easy, that he is not able to deal with being in a situation where he cannot get all that he wanted. He definitely is very hypocritical at the same time. He critisise Gus for keeping his mother’s alive and say that if it was him, then he would have released her. Gus had the perfect reply by pointing out that the other is not his mother, so he has no right to interfere. However, what Eph said here is also extremely hypocritical because he is not able to do this to his son. In fact, he would lash out on any that even dare to suggest it.
This is reflected in the TV as well. We see him condemn Jim for doing what he did due to saving his wife, and he simply just condemns the others. Nora disagrees with Jim as well, but she could actually show empathy by pointing out that she can understand why Jim might be driven to this. Eph’s condemnation for Jim is really hypocritical because he would end up doing the same thing, and he would justify it. He would put the group into various dangers due to his son and wife. He would even try to give the book to the Master in order to get his son back and he does not even apologise for it. It is as if everyone should pardon him because he is trying to save his son. His attitude clearly indicates that no one else matters. If he just admits this, then it would not be bad, but the way he behaves suggest that he feels the others are wrong for not agreeing with him. This actually reminds me of what Angel said to Gus: he is not the only person who has a mother (on a side note, Gus’ reaction at seeing Angel’s death is one of the saddest in the series)
It is not that Eph is less annoying in the TV series, because he still is, but it is the amazing fact that his son can actually be worse. Which can suggest that this might have been due to the way he raised his son, since they show a similar sense of entitlement that they have not earned.
In the beginning of the series, Zach actually starts of pretty promising, being very mature about his parent’s divorce. He does not try to force his parents to be together, or displays any guilt trap, but tries to think of the best way for all of them to be happy. However, this only lasted for a few episodes. At the end of Season 2, he caused Nora’s death due to stopping her from killing Kelly, and then just goes with Kelly. It is understandable that he would not want his mother to be killed, as he clearly believes that she is still there, but he can only be pardoned for causing Nora to be distracted. The chilling thing is that he simply went with Kelly without even looking at the woman that he knows would die or suffer the fate of being a vampire. Even worse is the fact that he caused this, and that Nora is the person that has been looking after him and helping him the most. He simply just turned and went with his mother, because that is all that it matters to him. In the next season, he expressed no remorse about Nora’s death at all. I can’t help but to feel that he probably did not even care that Nora died, or maybe feel that she deserved her fate since she was in his way. That he showed no thought for someone who he caused to die is very chilling, as well as being a foreshadowing of all that would happen.
In season 4, Abby is probably one of the most unfortunate character in the series, as her only crime is that she caught the attention of a sociopath in the making (her word of him being a creep is already way too nice). It is significant to note that Zach’s accusation to Abby was that he was ‘supposed’ to be her boyfriend. He actually uses the word ‘suppose’. ‘Suppose’ indicates that he has a certain entitlement. He does not say something along the lines of: “Why not me?”, “Why can’t it be me?” but “I am the one that is supposed to be your boyfriend.” His words indicate that what he wants would be the result, ignoring her say in this. In fact, his words suggest a complete disregard of her opinion. That he also mention how he did everything he is suppose to, indicating that he sees her being with him as an exchange. This is really an abusive relationship in the making where one side is dangling some sort of bribery, and to make it worse, this is a case where the other is basically forcing the other to accept this relationship. When she stated that she would not clean the mess he made, he immediately tried to order her and when she left, he retorted to attempting to stop her by force. If it isn’t for the fact that he is still a ‘kid’ then this would head to attempted rape, as this is basically what he is doing.
But the scary part is that the above is actually not the worst part: it is that he deliberately chose to let her die. He knows what the vampire would do and he has seen a similar thing being done before. He had a long time to back off, but he just walk away. Of course, it would still be really bad if he just stood there, but at the very least that could be because he was not fully sure what he was doing. However, he deliberately turned and walked away. He is making a deliberate choice of letting her die. On the other hand, this should not be surprising, giving that this is the same kid who set off a nuclear bomb. The thing that pisses me off and perhaps scares me the most is that this kid does not show any guilt, and his father even justifies this. Eph will actually say that Zach does not mean to hurt anyone, as he was just angry.
That phrase really bugs me because it is wrong on so many level. If I had an argument with someone and I slapped them or if I threw something at them, that is an example of anger. If I ended up hurting them due to throwing something that I shouldn’t throw, that is an example of how anger can cause great harm. Of course, I would still be very wrong with what I did, even though I probably threw what I did without thinking. On the other hand, if I had an argument with someone and I picked up something that is clearly a weapon, then that is going beyond anger. That suggests that I have the clear intention of hurting that person greatly, because there are things that you know would hurt others, even if you are greatly angry. Actually, I think I saw that as an example of whether the person’s action can be labelled as first or second degree. If Zach tries to attack his father, then yes, that is anger. If he picks up a nearby knife and tries to attack his father, that could still be anger because his situation was very extreme, although it would be anger with the intention of wanting to harm someone- which Eph is trying to justify. But out of all the possible options that Zach has, he chooses the most dangerous one of setting off the nuclear bomb.
I am pretty sure a court would find that first degree murder as it is done with the intention of causing harm. This is not just a moment of anger, this is the action of someone who clearly wants to do great harm.
I think he just takes top place as the TV character that annoys me the most. Prior to that, the first place was Kiri from Sanadamaru (2016’s NHK drama). She is such a bitch and the scene where she eats the flower that Yukimura has as a keepsake from Chacha is just really disgusting. That is just something so catty and bitchy that I don’t even think any of the real housewives would do so, and that is saying something. The sad thing is that an original character could be done really well, an original character that spends a really long time by the side of the main character and offers a unique point from history. Just look at 2017’s Taiga drama. I almost find it hard to believe that they are actually the same drama from the same company and are actually set in a similar time frame.
I have been watching The Strain since the first season and I have also read the book. I really enjoy the series because I like the novelty of the idea that the author has. I also feel that it is quite a nice change to have vampires that are not glamorous. Leaving aside the extremeness of Twilight (due to the sparkle), the majority of vampire literature has this idea of how vampires are very beautiful. In the Nightworld series, the vampires are probably the most close to humans, and they can certainly blend themselves in without much difficulty, but even in that series, there is the indication that they appear more attractive then the average Joe and Jane. So it is very interesting to see the vampires in the strain as more like zombies.
Anyway, this brings to my main point: I am so fed up with the development and appearance of certain characters that I feel I have to rant. In the book, my most disliked character is Eph (so there is a certain irony that in the TV series, my most disliked character is his son. Maybe the gene is past onto one another).
I think Nora summarised Eph’s problem perfectly in the final book when she told him that he always had it too easy, that he is not able to deal with being in a situation where he cannot get all that he wanted. He definitely is very hypocritical at the same time. He critisise Gus for keeping his mother’s alive and say that if it was him, then he would have released her. Gus had the perfect reply by pointing out that the other is not his mother, so he has no right to interfere. However, what Eph said here is also extremely hypocritical because he is not able to do this to his son. In fact, he would lash out on any that even dare to suggest it.
This is reflected in the TV as well. We see him condemn Jim for doing what he did due to saving his wife, and he simply just condemns the others. Nora disagrees with Jim as well, but she could actually show empathy by pointing out that she can understand why Jim might be driven to this. Eph’s condemnation for Jim is really hypocritical because he would end up doing the same thing, and he would justify it. He would put the group into various dangers due to his son and wife. He would even try to give the book to the Master in order to get his son back and he does not even apologise for it. It is as if everyone should pardon him because he is trying to save his son. His attitude clearly indicates that no one else matters. If he just admits this, then it would not be bad, but the way he behaves suggest that he feels the others are wrong for not agreeing with him. This actually reminds me of what Angel said to Gus: he is not the only person who has a mother (on a side note, Gus’ reaction at seeing Angel’s death is one of the saddest in the series)
It is not that Eph is less annoying in the TV series, because he still is, but it is the amazing fact that his son can actually be worse. Which can suggest that this might have been due to the way he raised his son, since they show a similar sense of entitlement that they have not earned.
In the beginning of the series, Zach actually starts of pretty promising, being very mature about his parent’s divorce. He does not try to force his parents to be together, or displays any guilt trap, but tries to think of the best way for all of them to be happy. However, this only lasted for a few episodes. At the end of Season 2, he caused Nora’s death due to stopping her from killing Kelly, and then just goes with Kelly. It is understandable that he would not want his mother to be killed, as he clearly believes that she is still there, but he can only be pardoned for causing Nora to be distracted. The chilling thing is that he simply went with Kelly without even looking at the woman that he knows would die or suffer the fate of being a vampire. Even worse is the fact that he caused this, and that Nora is the person that has been looking after him and helping him the most. He simply just turned and went with his mother, because that is all that it matters to him. In the next season, he expressed no remorse about Nora’s death at all. I can’t help but to feel that he probably did not even care that Nora died, or maybe feel that she deserved her fate since she was in his way. That he showed no thought for someone who he caused to die is very chilling, as well as being a foreshadowing of all that would happen.
In season 4, Abby is probably one of the most unfortunate character in the series, as her only crime is that she caught the attention of a sociopath in the making (her word of him being a creep is already way too nice). It is significant to note that Zach’s accusation to Abby was that he was ‘supposed’ to be her boyfriend. He actually uses the word ‘suppose’. ‘Suppose’ indicates that he has a certain entitlement. He does not say something along the lines of: “Why not me?”, “Why can’t it be me?” but “I am the one that is supposed to be your boyfriend.” His words indicate that what he wants would be the result, ignoring her say in this. In fact, his words suggest a complete disregard of her opinion. That he also mention how he did everything he is suppose to, indicating that he sees her being with him as an exchange. This is really an abusive relationship in the making where one side is dangling some sort of bribery, and to make it worse, this is a case where the other is basically forcing the other to accept this relationship. When she stated that she would not clean the mess he made, he immediately tried to order her and when she left, he retorted to attempting to stop her by force. If it isn’t for the fact that he is still a ‘kid’ then this would head to attempted rape, as this is basically what he is doing.
But the scary part is that the above is actually not the worst part: it is that he deliberately chose to let her die. He knows what the vampire would do and he has seen a similar thing being done before. He had a long time to back off, but he just walk away. Of course, it would still be really bad if he just stood there, but at the very least that could be because he was not fully sure what he was doing. However, he deliberately turned and walked away. He is making a deliberate choice of letting her die. On the other hand, this should not be surprising, giving that this is the same kid who set off a nuclear bomb. The thing that pisses me off and perhaps scares me the most is that this kid does not show any guilt, and his father even justifies this. Eph will actually say that Zach does not mean to hurt anyone, as he was just angry.
That phrase really bugs me because it is wrong on so many level. If I had an argument with someone and I slapped them or if I threw something at them, that is an example of anger. If I ended up hurting them due to throwing something that I shouldn’t throw, that is an example of how anger can cause great harm. Of course, I would still be very wrong with what I did, even though I probably threw what I did without thinking. On the other hand, if I had an argument with someone and I picked up something that is clearly a weapon, then that is going beyond anger. That suggests that I have the clear intention of hurting that person greatly, because there are things that you know would hurt others, even if you are greatly angry. Actually, I think I saw that as an example of whether the person’s action can be labelled as first or second degree. If Zach tries to attack his father, then yes, that is anger. If he picks up a nearby knife and tries to attack his father, that could still be anger because his situation was very extreme, although it would be anger with the intention of wanting to harm someone- which Eph is trying to justify. But out of all the possible options that Zach has, he chooses the most dangerous one of setting off the nuclear bomb.
I am pretty sure a court would find that first degree murder as it is done with the intention of causing harm. This is not just a moment of anger, this is the action of someone who clearly wants to do great harm.
I think he just takes top place as the TV character that annoys me the most. Prior to that, the first place was Kiri from Sanadamaru (2016’s NHK drama). She is such a bitch and the scene where she eats the flower that Yukimura has as a keepsake from Chacha is just really disgusting. That is just something so catty and bitchy that I don’t even think any of the real housewives would do so, and that is saying something. The sad thing is that an original character could be done really well, an original character that spends a really long time by the side of the main character and offers a unique point from history. Just look at 2017’s Taiga drama. I almost find it hard to believe that they are actually the same drama from the same company and are actually set in a similar time frame.