The Strain: Season 1, Episode 3

The Strain
Episode Title: "Gone Smooth"
Channel: FX
Director: David Semel
Writer: Chuck Hogan
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Horror
Runtime: 60 min
Rated: TV-MA
Original Air Date: July 27, 2014

This was a better episode than the previous two, not great, but a definite improvement. There is not as much mayhem in this episode as in previous ones, and I think it works to the story's advantage. We get a little more background on Sean Astin's character, even if it is a somewhat cliched. Dr. Nora Martinez is given more to do than dutifully follow Eph around agreeing with him. Eph's home-life is not getting any better, but he actually showed up for an obligation, apparently on time, and had his heart figuratively ripped out. The acting among the principles wasn't as jarring as it's been in previous episodes, but the ancillary characters are still pretty weak.

The title of the episode alludes to a particularly shocking moment near the end of the episode, I knew it was coming and wasn't sure whether it was grotesque or funny. I'm relatively sure that funny wasn't the emotion Hogan was trying to invoke when writing it, so it probably could have been handled a little better.

There's still no real differentiation between the 'survivors' and the victims as far as what's happening to them that I noticed. That leaves me a little puzzled as to what the purpose of the two categories is. I'm still holding out hope that this will be explained soon. The ending of the episode shows one of two things, depending on how the aftermath plays out. Either Eph grasps the reality of the situation and is willing to do what must be done, or he flipped and channeled is anger from previous events. Hopefully it's the former, as I don't believe a sane person could still be explaining all of these strange occurrences away, and not believe that something really strange was going on.

Conclusion: A better quality episode than the previous two. The main characters are starting to fill in a little bit, giving the audience a reason to care about them. Vasiliy (Kevin Durand) is the only one so far that I've grown fond of in any way, but there's still time for the rest to make an impression. “Gone Smooth” has made sure that I'll be coming back for a few more at least.

Rating: 7/10