The Strain Recap: "Loved Ones"

Written by Scotty

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

With all that is happening in New York City, everyone is praying for daylight as it is the only thing that can keep the outbreak at bay.  Wanting to find all of their loved ones after finding out what is really happening in the streets at night is everyone’s priority and that does not only stop with the non-infected.  With the internet being brought down to a crawl, there seems to be no way to find anything that you are looking for, but there is still a signal and that might be enough to give you an idea of where to go.

Young Zach Goodweather is worried about the whereabouts of his mother.  Since his father was able to dispose of the infected inside of their old home, Zach has not seen or heard from his mother for over a day.  Being able to connect to the internet, no matter how briefly, he is able to track down her cell phone and give his father a place to go looking.  Although Zach wants to be involved in the hunt as well, Eph will not allow his son to be put in harm's way and urges his son to stay in the pawn shop.  Zach loves both of his parents, but when his father will not allow him to do his duty, Zach turns a cold shoulder to his father and will find another way to help his lost mother.

While on the hunt for his ex-wife, Eph searches the area pinpointed by his son and finds a homeless woman with her phone.  Being able to find out where the old woman found it, Eph discovers her car and narrows his search radius down once again.  Going back to his old home, Eph comes up empty handed, but when moving on to her best friend’s house, Eph finds more than he bargained for.  With Kelly’s best friend, along with her son being infected, Eph has to make sure that they will not be a threat to anyone else and puts them down.  Returning to the pawnshop empty handed, Eph has come to terms that Kelly is gone and has to find a way to pass this information on to his son.

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Vasiliy Fet and Dutch Velders have come with their own plan of attack to head off the infection and want to get to the source.  Although Dutch does not believe there is a way to bring back the internet and cell phone service that she has brought down, there is a chance if she can get her hands on her employer’s hardware.  Fet agrees and using his credentials, he may be able to gain access for them both into one of the most secure buildings in the city.  Upon arrival, Fet is able to use his rugged charm to gain access, but the two are met with a surprise when they arrive at their destination.  Dutch is granted an audience with the dying Eldritch Palmer who is not willing to let all of his hard work go to waste and orders his bodyguard to have the two intruders to be disposed of.

This was a heavy Kelly Goodweather episode as you have been brought into the last thirty six hours of her life.  When Matt arrived home after the two had a fight, he was not willing to say one word to his girlfriend, as he was battling off a sickness of his own.  Although nothing happened the first night, Matt was changing and Kelly was not willing to accept it.  Being sent home early from her school, Kelly knows that Eph was right about the sickness and wanted to pass the information onto Matt, but when he made it out to see her, she sees that there is nothing of him left.  Being able to battle off her current lover, Kelly is not immune to the virus as she gets infected and not through a bite.  Passing out shortly after the altercation, she awakens very sick and starts to search for her son.  With that being her only driving force, Kelly goes to the school, then visits her friends Diane’s house and unleashes her new ability onto her and her young son.  Hearing voices and seeing the world differently, Kelly starts to roam the streets, looking for her son and there is nothing in the world that will stop her.

Is the show just getting better with every episode that is coming out, or is it just that the buildup for something that is going to be out of this world?  I do not know, but this episode showed what Abraham Setrakian has been saying from the very beginning, love drives these creatures.  Watching how Kelly has moved from place to place looking for her son was very sweet at first, but watching as she changed into one of these creatures of the night, it became very scary.  I cannot wait to see what happens next as the Master has not yet shown his full power over the city yet and it is obvious that Thomas Eichorst is waiting for round two against his old friend Abraham.  Stay Scared!

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