The Strain (TV)
Dec. 9th, 2019 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dhampyresaI finished watching The Strain! And I found one of my copies of Dracula, so it's time to talk about vampires!
I found out The Strain existed from this S1 review by The Maven of the Eventide, vampire critic extraordinaire. (Aside: I'm a big fan of her work.)
The TV show is based on a series of books co-written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, who I've never heard of. I have not read these books. I have no idea how involved either where with the show and though "Guillermo del Toro does vampires" was a big selling point for me I don't really care all that much.
This is very much a horror show. The vampires are pretty gross! They're a worm-like parasite that shoots out of their hosts. Also in many ways they are close to zombies. There is also occasional jumpscares and medical gore, especially in the first season(s).
Please note that (1) I watched the first three seasons while pretty sick and the last/fourth season while somewhat sick so probably I do not have a very coherent view of things and (2) I am going to try to focus on the stuff I likedI'm trying a new thing called SHUT UP BRAIN AND LET ME ENJOY THINGS.
Bad:
- The show could have handled its female characters better. (Trigger warnings for the scene where Dutch is in the dungeon. Also s4 has a breeding program plotline.)
- There could have been more than one* queer character (who isn't even in the books, apparently, so I guess points to the show? One point.)
- Wild concept, show, but maybe more than one (1) Black character can live. No but seriously, it's really not great how literally all but one of the Black characters die. I know it's a horror movie cliché but come on!
Addendum: This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing I wish I'd known before I started watching. Setrakian is a Holocaust survivor and there are flashbacks to his time in the concentration camp. His nemesis is the man who used to run said concentration camp, now a vampire.
* In the flashbacks to Setrakian's time in the camps, his yellow star is overlaid with either a pink or red triangle (I legit can't tell, I think those segments had their saturation messed with). So depending on which one it is and how we're supposed to read it, that could be two queer characters.
Meh:
- Look. You can have "vampires as a worm-like parasite" OR you can have half-vampires. Having both doesn't really work. Sorry, Quinlan.
- Speaking of worldbuilding, the vampires aversion to running water* is never explained. Good lore reference, doesn't work on a medical/logical level.
* Outside of the changing of the tide, which -- I see you and your Dracula references, Guillermo.
- I felt like S4's pacing was bad. Idk, maybe it's just cause it took forever for Setrakian to appear (he's my favourite) and Dutch took a while to make it onscreen to (she's my second favourite).
- Shaving your head when one of the symptoms of the vampire strain is losing your hair is a bad idea, just saying.
- I can't believe no one brought up argyria, even in passing. Come on, people! You know these vampires are susceptible to silver. Several of you work(ed) at the CDC! Why is no one blue yet?!
- The ending. It was an ending. I could have used a bit more oomph? Then again I kinda stopped being emotionally engaged as soon as I got an answer to "will the Holocaust survivor get to kill the Nazi?" so maybe this one's on me.
Good:
- NEW YORK. Fet loves New York and tbh as the kind of giant nerd who also knows a lot about their city and its history, I liked that a lot.
- - His knowledge of New York is clutch at the very least in the s1 and s4 finale and that is the kind of nerd I can only aspire to.
- I really like that, with the (possible) exception of the Goodweathers, all the good guy characters are either immigrants or children of immigrants. And not just in the way that all non-Native Americans living in the US are immigrants/descendants of immigrants: Nora grew up in Argentina, Setrakian is Armenian by way of Romania, Gus (and/or his mom) is from Mexico and so's Angel, Dutch is from the UK, Fet's parents are from Ukraine (Possibly Fet himself too, not sure about the timeline here), Quinlan's from the Roman Empire. A lot of vampire fiction can have/be read as having anti-immigrant subtext('Sup Bram Stoker), so this neatly avoids that.
- Setrakian. I love the crochety old man. He beheads vampires with a silver sword cane, he keeps a vampire heart in a jar for fifty years, he'll rob a cardinal, he don't care! I love him. Also, he is so much the van Helsing than his first name is Abraham.
- Dutch. I love her and her inner quest for redemption. Even though she makes bad love life decisions. She does the computer hacking! She does the sword hacking! I love her.
- There a line in episode 1 that goes something like "who would want to ship a box full of dirt?". Me, a person who has read Dracula: *laughs myself silly*
- Eichorst: he's The Worst, but he is very entertainingly The Worst and I live for every petty setback he suffers.
- the Master also gives good creepy.
- The vampire design! It draws on the Aswang for the stinger part and on Nosferatu (1922)'s count Orlok for the rest.
- Honestly, the way this show does vampires as worms parasites is unlike anything I've ever seen and I am always up for some new takes on vampires.
- Medical stuff! I am the kind of person who gets excited when I find out that not only is there a podcast all about infectious diseases but also it has a two-parter about the Black Death :D so of course I loved all the sciencey bits. Sure, let's perform an illegal autopsy! Alright, boxcutter surgery! Yes, human experimentation! (Which, surprisingly, they even got consent for. I know, I was surprised too!) All the attempts to get the vampire-y bits to make medical sense where cool.
- - That bit in early s4 where a woman is like "I ache all over, I bruise easily and I'm tired" (me: scurvy!) doctor: "show me your gums" her gums: *bleeding* (me: scurvyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!) was a neat bit of worldbuilding. And I always enjoy getting to backseat diagnose.
- At some points early on I was like "hahaha they have a sore throat and I have a sore throat" and "hahaha they hear weird stuff and I hear weird stuff*". Yes, this is very silly, but at the time it brought me great joy. Let it never be said I reacted to this show in a mature and adult way.
* It's cool, btw, it was just my ear blocking/unblocking depending on the state of my sinuses.
- The nuke. The reveal was GREAT and the plan was good. Plans, even.
- The New Colossus' "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" becomes supremely greepy when said by a vampire and frankly I can only approve.
- Three words: Vampire State Building. Nobody makes that pun in show and that is criminal. (It's also the title of an unrelated French comic book series I haven't read.)
- UV lights. Sunlight* is bad for vampires because of its antibacterial properties (same with silver), okey doke. So using some artificial UV lights is a good thought. Good job, team!
* I know. I KNOW.
- Eldritch Palmer. HAHAHA HIS NAME IS ELDRITCH
- Depite Setrakian's role as the van Helsing, I liked that several factions/people made their own inroads into figuring out what works against vampires. AND THEN THEY SHARE INFORMATION.
- The B+/"Be positive" pun. It's terrible and I love it.
In conclusion: I enjoyed it, also Dutch & Setrakian made the best team and it's a shape their team up was mostly in the timeskip. I would have watched an entire season of that.
I found out The Strain existed from this S1 review by The Maven of the Eventide, vampire critic extraordinaire. (Aside: I'm a big fan of her work.)
The TV show is based on a series of books co-written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, who I've never heard of. I have not read these books. I have no idea how involved either where with the show and though "Guillermo del Toro does vampires" was a big selling point for me I don't really care all that much.
This is very much a horror show. The vampires are pretty gross! They're a worm-like parasite that shoots out of their hosts. Also in many ways they are close to zombies. There is also occasional jumpscares and medical gore, especially in the first season(s).
Please note that (1) I watched the first three seasons while pretty sick and the last/fourth season while somewhat sick so probably I do not have a very coherent view of things and (2) I am going to try to focus on the stuff I liked
Bad:
- The show could have handled its female characters better. (Trigger warnings for the scene where Dutch is in the dungeon. Also s4 has a breeding program plotline.)
- There could have been more than one* queer character (who isn't even in the books, apparently, so I guess points to the show? One point.)
- Wild concept, show, but maybe more than one (1) Black character can live. No but seriously, it's really not great how literally all but one of the Black characters die. I know it's a horror movie cliché but come on!
Addendum: This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing I wish I'd known before I started watching. Setrakian is a Holocaust survivor and there are flashbacks to his time in the concentration camp. His nemesis is the man who used to run said concentration camp, now a vampire.
* In the flashbacks to Setrakian's time in the camps, his yellow star is overlaid with either a pink or red triangle (I legit can't tell, I think those segments had their saturation messed with). So depending on which one it is and how we're supposed to read it, that could be two queer characters.
Meh:
- Look. You can have "vampires as a worm-like parasite" OR you can have half-vampires. Having both doesn't really work. Sorry, Quinlan.
- Speaking of worldbuilding, the vampires aversion to running water* is never explained. Good lore reference, doesn't work on a medical/logical level.
* Outside of the changing of the tide, which -- I see you and your Dracula references, Guillermo.
- I felt like S4's pacing was bad. Idk, maybe it's just cause it took forever for Setrakian to appear (he's my favourite) and Dutch took a while to make it onscreen to (she's my second favourite).
- Shaving your head when one of the symptoms of the vampire strain is losing your hair is a bad idea, just saying.
- I can't believe no one brought up argyria, even in passing. Come on, people! You know these vampires are susceptible to silver. Several of you work(ed) at the CDC! Why is no one blue yet?!
- The ending. It was an ending. I could have used a bit more oomph? Then again I kinda stopped being emotionally engaged as soon as I got an answer to "will the Holocaust survivor get to kill the Nazi?" so maybe this one's on me.
Good:
- NEW YORK. Fet loves New York and tbh as the kind of giant nerd who also knows a lot about their city and its history, I liked that a lot.
- - His knowledge of New York is clutch at the very least in the s1 and s4 finale and that is the kind of nerd I can only aspire to.
- I really like that, with the (possible) exception of the Goodweathers, all the good guy characters are either immigrants or children of immigrants. And not just in the way that all non-Native Americans living in the US are immigrants/descendants of immigrants: Nora grew up in Argentina, Setrakian is Armenian by way of Romania, Gus (and/or his mom) is from Mexico and so's Angel, Dutch is from the UK, Fet's parents are from Ukraine (Possibly Fet himself too, not sure about the timeline here), Quinlan's from the Roman Empire. A lot of vampire fiction can have/be read as having anti-immigrant subtext
- Setrakian. I love the crochety old man. He beheads vampires with a silver sword cane, he keeps a vampire heart in a jar for fifty years, he'll rob a cardinal, he don't care! I love him. Also, he is so much the van Helsing than his first name is Abraham.
- Dutch. I love her and her inner quest for redemption. Even though she makes bad love life decisions. She does the computer hacking! She does the sword hacking! I love her.
- There a line in episode 1 that goes something like "who would want to ship a box full of dirt?". Me, a person who has read Dracula: *laughs myself silly*
- Eichorst: he's The Worst, but he is very entertainingly The Worst and I live for every petty setback he suffers.
- the Master also gives good creepy.
- The vampire design! It draws on the Aswang for the stinger part and on Nosferatu (1922)'s count Orlok for the rest.
- Honestly, the way this show does vampires as worms parasites is unlike anything I've ever seen and I am always up for some new takes on vampires.
- Medical stuff! I am the kind of person who gets excited when I find out that not only is there a podcast all about infectious diseases but also it has a two-parter about the Black Death :D so of course I loved all the sciencey bits. Sure, let's perform an illegal autopsy! Alright, boxcutter surgery! Yes, human experimentation! (Which, surprisingly, they even got consent for. I know, I was surprised too!) All the attempts to get the vampire-y bits to make medical sense where cool.
- - That bit in early s4 where a woman is like "I ache all over, I bruise easily and I'm tired" (me: scurvy!) doctor: "show me your gums" her gums: *bleeding* (me: scurvyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!) was a neat bit of worldbuilding. And I always enjoy getting to backseat diagnose.
- At some points early on I was like "hahaha they have a sore throat and I have a sore throat" and "hahaha they hear weird stuff and I hear weird stuff*". Yes, this is very silly, but at the time it brought me great joy. Let it never be said I reacted to this show in a mature and adult way.
* It's cool, btw, it was just my ear blocking/unblocking depending on the state of my sinuses.
- The nuke. The reveal was GREAT and the plan was good. Plans, even.
- The New Colossus' "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" becomes supremely greepy when said by a vampire and frankly I can only approve.
- Three words: Vampire State Building. Nobody makes that pun in show and that is criminal. (It's also the title of an unrelated French comic book series I haven't read.)
- UV lights. Sunlight* is bad for vampires because of its antibacterial properties (same with silver), okey doke. So using some artificial UV lights is a good thought. Good job, team!
* I know. I KNOW.
- Eldritch Palmer. HAHAHA HIS NAME IS ELDRITCH
- Depite Setrakian's role as the van Helsing, I liked that several factions/people made their own inroads into figuring out what works against vampires. AND THEN THEY SHARE INFORMATION.
- The B+/"Be positive" pun. It's terrible and I love it.
In conclusion: I enjoyed it, also Dutch & Setrakian made the best team and it's a shape their team up was mostly in the timeskip. I would have watched an entire season of that.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-10 08:57 am (UTC)Also, this show sounds great. If it wasn't for my aversion to all things even slightly Horror, I would definitely look it up! Instead, I will count it as a show I have experienced vicariously through you.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-24 01:10 am (UTC)I am proud to be you Vicarious Horror Experiencer!
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-23 05:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-24 01:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-25 02:58 am (UTC)