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S01.E12: Last Rites

Tara Ariano

By Tara Ariano
in The Strain [V]

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steelyis

steelyis

I was happy to see Gus, but then he had to get greedy. Smh. I wonder why he was taken and not Alonso?

 

I like that Nora handled her mother, and the actress did a great job showing how agonizing it was for Nora. Still, I don't understand why Nora's mom couldn't sleep in the fortified bunker? Even if the Master wasn't hunting them staying somewhere with windows is dangerous.

 

I continue to hate the living shit out of Eph. You try hunting nigh immortal beings for decades, asshole, until then try to show some fucking empathy! Sometimes Eph comes off more arrogant and self-centered than the vampires.

 

Abe's flashback reminded me of something that happened to another obsessed vampire hunter

on Angel

, so it didn't have much of an emotional impact on me because I'd seen it before and it was done better there.

 

Didn't the Master use a worm to turn Nazi Vamp? Why does rich dude only get a few drops of vampire finger jizz? Me thinks there's a monkey's paw fate in store for rich dude.

 

Glad to see Abe had an escape route prepared, but I was screaming when I saw how many nail guns they left behind. I hope Abe has a cool new base to operate from that's better hidden and more defensible. And has better vampire killing gear, of course.

 

Pretty good episode overall, I'd say.

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lulee

lulee

I would pile on more about the Zach kid-actor's thespian abilities, but instead, I'll pick on the writers -- has any of them ever spent time around kids? Zach's lines are so *scripty.*

 

Speaking of script... did Eph let anyone else weigh in on his emergency broadcast message? He needed an editor about as much as he needs a barber.

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xaxat

xaxat

Eph really is the worst. He had only thirty seconds to deliver what might be the most important speech in history and he manages to screw it up.

 

This episode was stronger than the last couple, but I'm kind of worried about the finale. There is a lot of ground to be covered. Not only is there another confrontation between good and evil, we still don't know the who/what/why of the vombie SWAT team.

 

 

Wait, I bet it's Zach. That kid gets around.

 

Stay in the house Zach!

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Valny

Valny

I was not feeling this ep until around the 45 minute mark. That's when things started to get more exciting and actiony. Wish we'd get more screentime with the vampire Vampire Hunters. They don't hang around very long.

Oh look Dutch is back. Zzzz... Sorry, her and her awful looking black extensions have not been a favorite of mine.

Aw, poor Abraham's horsie. :(

I love/adoreAmerican Horror Story, but good lord, how many little promos have they made?!

I really like that shot when Abraham holds the sword up and we see Nora's reflection.

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PrincessEnnui

PrincessEnnui

(edited)

I wonder if we will ever find out what happened to the first group of people the vampire vampire killers saved.

 

I have lost all interest in Eph and Nora and I screamed in joy when Nora's mother ended up as a vampire chow. I hope Eph and Nora meet the same fate. The show would be much more enjoyable with Abraham, Fet and Dutch, if the latter two can stop flirting with each other long enough to focus. Ugh, if only.

 

Also, Eph is incompetent. He couldn't get to the crux of the issue? Their video and statement looked like a hoax. With all the looting and chaos going on, I don't even know if anyone would pay attention to it anyway. Even using the emergency broadcasting service.

Edited by PrincessEnnui
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bluebonnet

bluebonnet

There's no one to root for on this show.  I can't root for Eph because he does really stupid shit like take off in a tunnel alone chasing after his dead wife and then turns around and bitches about Setrakian losing his cool.  I can hardly root for the others since they are following this lame wig.  I can't root for Fitzwilliam because he tries to play the good guy card while simultaneously nursing the man who has crippled the world.  Can't root for the Master because he gives villain speeches and breaks hands instead of just smashing their heads in.  Can't root for Eichurst because he basically does the same thing, plus it would feel weird rooting for a Nazi.  Can't root for Zach because....well, I'm tired of insulting a kid so I'll just leave it at that.  Gus might be the only one worth rooting for, but it's really hard when the story barely focuses on him.  Hopefully he gets more airtime now that he's with the vombie squad.  Maybe I'll root for Bolivar since he got rid of the most annoying grandma to ever grace the screen.  

 

I'm trying to imagine what I would think if I saw Eph's emergency broadcast.  I'd probably laugh, and I'm not entirely sure if my laughter would be mostly about his hair or about his claims.  That was the most ill-scripted speech he could have made on tv.  Image is everything, Eph!  Should have snagged one of Abe's suit jackets and possibly a tie.  Put up a white screen and some CDC logo in the background.  Make a very concise speech about a vague plague and talk about how deadly it is, how there is no cure, how contagious.  Throw in some talk about how it damages the genitals to truly get people's attention.  Make vague claims about a Washington conspiracy to prevent this knowledge becoming public so that the fugitive status can be overlooked.  Then later, once all the apparently blind citizens start seeing these symptoms, they will be more apt to believe claims about ten foot tongues, blood jizz, and sensitivity to silver will be much more accepted.  For fuck's sake, one would think these writers have never heard or seen a speech before.  

 

I am never going to love someone enough to cut their vampire-worm infested heart out of their headless body, pickle it and lug it around for decades.

Apparently I'm an unromantic bastard.

It's just so unsanitary.  And dangerous.  What if some robber or random kid decided to mess around with the worm heart sometime in the last 40+ years?  It's absolutely shocking that Zach didn't go give it a closer inspection.  Setrakian could have been the cause of some other vampire outbreak.  Maybe he was.  Such a disgusting asshole.  Plus, it's just fucking cruel to cage a beating heart.  

 

By the way, did that vampire Setrakian encountered in the tunnel in 1967 look like lawyer vamp?  

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

(edited)
Didn't the Master use a worm to turn Nazi Vamp? Why does rich dude only get a few drops of vampire finger jizz? Me thinks there's a monkey's paw fate in store for rich dude.

 

And then rich dude goes all Andy Dufresne in the rain.

 

My guess, Vombie Squad has been tracking and want to recruit Gus.

 

Yay !! The Vombie Squad is back.  But they were only on screen for a couple of minutes, which seemed like a tease.  They've been off screen for 3-4 episodes now.

 

Was that Gabriel Bolivar that attacked Mariela, and that Eph beat up and trapped under a table ?

 

The Master was looking as goofy as ever in the scene with the rich dude -- you could practically see the robotics moving his head around.  Guillermo Del Toro should be ashamed of the Master's look and feel, it just comes off as cheaply done.

 

ETA: Why was Eichorst all shimmery in that mirror in Abe's shop ?

Edited by ottoDbusdriver
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bookrat

bookrat

Good Lord. WTF with the pictures?! and all that other crap! "This is a national emergency. People are being infected by a virus that changes them into blood sucking creatures. Once infected there is no cure. Everyone infected will change. The only why these things can be killed is by sunlight and chopping off their heads. Destroy their brains. They can be hurt by silver. They attack at night. If your love ones have been infected, get away. They will attack you."

 

There. Did it. What the hell did Eph do? His message sucked. The vampires are probably laughing their heads off. He hardly got anything important on the air.

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

I am apparently heartless. I was not moved by Nora and her mother. I was like, "hurry up. She 's going to change. The vampires are coming." I wanted to slap Nora.

 

I'm right there with you -- all I could think of was "Finally!" when Nora chopped her head off (complete with a thud, as her head fell on the floor), we are rid of the albatross around the neck of this show that is Mariela.

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vasillyfet

vasillyfet

There's no one to root for on this show. I can't root for Eph because he does really stupid shit like take off in a tunnel alone chasing after his dead wife and then turns around and bitches about Setrakian losing his cool...

Can't root for Zach because....well, I'm tired of insulting a kid so I'll just leave it at that... Maybe I'll root for Bolivar since he got rid of the most annoying grandma to ever grace the screen.

I cracked up when I read this. So true about Eph. Having read the books, I'm really struggling with some of the idiotic choices being made with the characters. Dutch sucks she's not in the real story and nobody cares so just go away. Zach...unholy curse of no acting skills. And for $&@! sake, how could they make The Master look so effing ridiculous? He looks like the dad from The Munsters. So wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I love the story and the books are really great. I was wowed by the first few episodes and still watch them every Sunday, but can't help but chuckle at the terrible acting, silly special effects and corny changes being made. I am so glad that Nora's mama is out of the picture, holy $&@!.

Glad I found this forum, I needed to vent.

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Vombie Squad!  They're back!  Well, for only a few seconds.  But, the fact that they kidnapped Gus hopefully means we'll get more of them.  I do hope they aren't doing anything bad to him, but are recruiting him.  And, hey, this will be good for Gus.  They may be vampires, but they're still better then the "other" group.  Plus, Gus showed tonight that he does need more leadership.  He was lucky tonight.  Should have just taken Marlo's guns and money and run, but he had to get cocky, and almost get mowed down by vamps.

 

Hate to sound cruel, but I'm glad we're finally rid of Nora's mom.  She was vampire-bait since the beginning, and it was just a matter of time for them to finally do this.  And, as many predicted, was all a set-up so Nora could finally step-up her game, and do what needs to be done.  I bet she might think twice now about insulting Vasiliy, I can only hope.  But, I really hope this means she's going to be less lame.  At least she's already better then Eph, but that's not hard to do.

 

Abraham's back-story bored me because, again, I knew it was already going to lead to him killing his wife, and taking the heart. Which... I get people mourn in different ways, but kind of creepy there, Abe.  That ain't normal.  But,  I won't harp on it too much, since David Bradley is the best.

 

Dutch is back, and helps out.  Oh, and pretty much dumps her entire life-story in this episode.  Yeah, I will be really surprised if she doesn't bite it next week.  That sounds like a total set-up for a death; probably so Vasiliy will have to put her down, and get upset. Maybe they'll surprise me, but I'm not betting on it.

 

Eph and his stupid-ass wig continue to bug.  I swear, even the wig seemed to be giving Dutch a judgmental stare.  But, of course, he would be the one to pass judgement on Abe for being over-zealous last week, while it was his dumb ass who abandon the entire group, and really was the one who almost boned them all over.  Asshole.  And, could he have come off anymore amateurish in that emergency video?  I wouldn't be surprised if no one believed him; he didn't come off like a confident guy at all.  Really, almost everyone else would have done better.  Abe.  Vasiliy.  Nora.  Even Dutch.  He only beats out his own son and Nora's mom, but that was a bad showing from Captain CDC.

 

Finale next week.  I know it will never happen, but I would give for this show to pull a Game of Thrones-like twist and kill Eph, freeing Corey Stoll to find something better, and letting Abe and Vasiliy just run the show.  But, nope, I'm sure we'll get more of him, and probably more of Zach.  Hey, if nothing else, they are making me take back any bad thoughts I had for The Walking Dead's Rick and Carl, so that's good, right? 

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

Finale next week.  I know it will never happen, but I would give for this show to pull a Game of Thrones-like twist and kill Eph, freeing Corey Stoll to find something better, and letting Abe and Vasiliy just run the show.

 

Or at least setup a situation where Eph needs to get a haircut in order to 'free the wig' -- it was particularly spidery this episode.

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Cigale

Cigale

I am apparently heartless. I was not moved by Nora and her mother. I was like, "hurry up. She 's going to change. The vampires are coming." I wanted to slap Nora.

  

I have wanted to slap Nora in every episode...

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Trois

Trois

(edited)

Finale next week.  I know it will never happen, but I would give for this show to pull a Game of Thrones-like twist and kill Eph, freeing Corey Stoll to find something better, and letting Abe and Vasiliy just run the show.  But, nope, I'm sure we'll get more of him, and probably more of Zach.  Hey, if nothing else, they are making me take back any bad thoughts I had for The Walking Dead's Rick and Carl, so that's good, right? 

That would be great! Eph is dead freight. Him being dropped would give the show a new boost. Maybe Abe and Fet could join Gus and the vampire squad. They should start a proper guerilla hunt.

 

But I gues we'll see more of Eph and Zack, Zack and Eph, Epha and Zack, Eph and Kelly (he still doesn't know that she turned).

Edited by Trois
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ttgreif

ttgreif

And then rich dude goes all Andy Dufresne in the rain.

 

 

Yay !! The Vombie Squad is back.  But they were only on screen for a couple of minutes, which seemed like a tease.  T

 

 

Andy Dufresne? Ha ha ha , that one was good! Thy've only missed the two italian ladies singing "Le nozze di Figaro"...

("I have no idea to this day what those Italian ladies were singing about, truth is, I don't wanna know")

 

And I just loooove the Vombie squad... Bring them back again asap...!

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

To the poster wondering about vombies and mirrors.

Abe mentioned that, in the eppy where they went to Ansel's home to release him.

Specifically the scene when Mrs. Ansel was found hanging on the stairwell.

 

Nice catch, @MrsRafaelBarba, I completely forgot about that.

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Portia

Portia

I would pile on more about the Zach kid-actor's thespian abilities, but instead, I'll pick on the writers -- has any of them ever spent time around kids? Zach's lines are so *scripty.*

At one point I commented, "This kid thinks he's in a sitcom," to which my husband replied, "...or Love Boat." (He still refers to Zach as "Vicky Stubing.")

 

Was that Gabriel Bolivar that attacked Mariela, and that Eph beat up and trapped under a table ?

Looked like him to me.

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ottoDbusdriver

ottoDbusdriver

(edited)
Was that Gabriel Bolivar that attacked Mariela, and that Eph beat up and trapped under a table ?

Looked like him to me.

 

I wondered what he's been up to all this time -- his plot line paused abruptly about 3-4 episodes ago, and now he's back as one of Eichhorst's henchmen.  I imagined that with all that screen time was allocated to his storyline something interesting must have happened to him, but apparently not.

Edited by ottoDbusdriver
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Tippi Blevins

Tippi Blevins

Eichorst's makeup and prosthetics looked so natural in 1967. I was expecting him to go around looking like a noseless batface until closer to the modern day.

 

Poor Abe's "old man" makeup looked pretty terrible, though. I think his fake mustache and Eph's wig are related.

 

When I heard the glass breaking and Nora's mom screaming, I thought that she'd made the acquaintance of Miriam's heart. 

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Auntie Anxiety

Auntie Anxiety

 

Should have just taken Marlo's guns and money and run, but he had to get cocky, and almost get mowed down by vamps.

I'm so thrilled that I'm not the only one who only sees Marlo; he will always and forever BE Marlo.  Those lifeless shark eyes of his are completely hypnotic.

 

Apparently we were supposed to feel how tortured Nora was when she had to slice and dice her mother, but I projected my own feelings and decided that Nora was probably happy to put Mariela (or whatever the hell her name was) down, what with her constant whining and neediness.  What a relief.

 

Is there the possibility that this show is going to have a second season?  I thought it was a mini-series.  I would never, ever watch another season of this crap.  If nothing else, couldn't they have made the special effects more compelling?  The Master looks like a flunky from the cheesy Halloween Scary House set up at my local orchard.  Come on, producers.  Have some self-respect.

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islandgal140

islandgal140

Decent episode. The best thing about it was that the group was able to get rid of the albatross around its neck known as Nora's mom. Another great thing was the tidbit that clued us into the master's plan for world domination: the shipping container full of vamps bound for overseas. Also yeah to another sighting of the vamp swat team!! Boo to it being for 2 minutes with no further exposition of what/why/how!

 

That being said, I am getting a little worried about the finale episode. Not that I don't like the background info of Setrakarian and Eichorst but I feel like maybe a bit too much time is spent on it. It was interesting that in the previews for what happened in prior episodes it showed Kelly being infected so I expected an update on Kelly but I guess they used that to draw a parallel as to what happened to Abe's wife. Now we finally have confirmation that it is her heart in that canister.

 

Nice to see that Bolivar is able to keep that wig on his head after his transformation.

 

I think they have been doing a great job with Nora. I slowly see her becoming able to survive and fight during the vampoclypse.

 

Eff continues to be an asshole. WORST. PUBLIC. SERVICE. ANNOUNCEMENT. EVER. What a disjointed mess. Might as well have let anyone of the other members of the group have done it. At least they would have been more succinct. Hell, I've been watching the show from the beginning and even I had trouble following WTF he was trying to say. He didn't say convincing or authoritative. 

 

Not feeling the Fet and Dutch chem. I actually have to look up her name every time because I can never seem to remember it. 

 

This is the 1st time that I was ever really bothered by the darkness of Fet's hair. What the hell was makeup thinking. Black hole's in space aren't even that dark!

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xaxat

xaxat

(edited)

This is the 1st time that I was ever really bothered by the darkness of Fet's hair. What the hell was makeup thinking. Black hole's in space aren't even that dark!

 

The hair on this show has been quite notable. Eph's "hair", middle age Sektarian's mustache, Mason's wig, Regina King's unfinished cornrows, Zach's eighties sitcom bowl cut. . . 

Edited by xaxat
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MrsRafaelBarba

MrsRafaelBarba

Didn't, care for Mia on Alias, but I really trying to like/route for Nora.

She's the lone female core character, hope the writers have stop deferring to Eph.

Seems like the evolution has begun, with her stepping up and releasing Mariela.

Hope I'm right, from my POV Eph is becoming a liability to Team Human.

That broadcast, went out an audience made up of three groups.

1. The totally clueless

2. People who sense something is horribly wrong. But have no idea of what they're up against.

3. Those that have seen and fought strigoi, surviving the attack.

Either escaping, or managing to destroy them. Learning their weaknesses along the way.

Baptism by fire, like Fet and Gus.

Once again, Eph made it ALL ABOUT HIM.

Wasting precious time on that self absorbed opening monologue.

Followed by the slide show, failing on all levels.

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seamusk

seamusk

Good Lord. WTF with the pictures?! and all that other crap! "This is a national emergency. People are being infected by a virus that changes them into blood sucking creatures. Once infected there is no cure. Everyone infected will change. The only why these things can be killed is by sunlight and chopping off their heads. Destroy their brains. They can be hurt by silver. They attack at night. If your love ones have been infected, get away. They will attack you."

 

There. Did it. What the hell did Eph do? His message sucked. The vampires are probably laughing their heads off. He hardly got anything important on the air.

I agree that the message could have been better, but the pictures were necessary. When they were preparing for the broadcast all I could think was, please don't just talk for 30 seconds.  Show some video or something.  And by all means, don't say we're being attacked by vampires.  No one will believe that.  I thought the general gist of what Eph was saying was right.  It sounded official to emphasize his role in the CDC and to speak like a CDC scientist might.  It was sensible, but he wasn't quick enough with the delivery.  I thought it was interesting though, because Nora's mom was talking about her public speaking skills and I was hoping they would have her do the job.  I wonder if that's a set up for later where they decide (with or without Eph's blessings) to let Nora be the spokesperson.  She had CDC credentials too and could have possibly been more concise in saying the same thing.  30 seconds is a tough bit.

 

Finale next week.  I know it will never happen, but I would give for this show to pull a Game of Thrones-like twist and kill Eph, freeing Corey Stoll to find something better, and letting Abe and Vasiliy just run the show.  But, nope, I'm sure we'll get more of him, and probably more of Zach.  Hey, if nothing else, they are making me take back any bad thoughts I had for The Walking Dead's Rick and Carl, so that's good, right? 

I disagree with this.  I think the Abe and Vasiliy show would be so boring.  It would be all vampire killing and very little depth of character.  Eph is flawed for sure.  And while he could be written a lot better, his being flawed makes him more interesting to me.  Anyhow, for me, if it was the Abe and Vasily show I would probably just stop watching.

 

Once again, Eph made it ALL ABOUT HIM.

Wasting precious time on that self absorbed opening monologue.

Followed by the slide show, failing on all levels.

Eph is all about himself and wanting to be the hero.  But the others made a point to note that he should do it because of his credentials. He actually briefly argued against it. The message had more credibility with the CDC credentials (though anyone could have claimed them to be fair).

I enjoyed the episode.  I was disappointed to see Nora's mom go. She could have been a very interesting character and added to the depth of character on the show (though I don't think they were fully utilizing her at all for that).  I'm just sort of bummed that I don't think that, except for maybe our hobbit friend, there aren't really many surprises on who will survive thus far.  It sort of kills the suspense. 

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bluebonnet

bluebonnet

I actually think Eph was a good choice for the PSA.  He would be able to use his public image to bolster his case.  He could say something like, "The government didn't want the American people to know a plague was brought in on that grounded plane, so they had me arrested.  The plane carried a deadly virus that is rampaging through NYC and beyond.  There is no cure.  Symptoms include blah blah blah, lowered mental functioning and severe distress to the male genitals.  These photos show you what an infected looks like.  If you see one, do not go approach them.  Get as far away as you can.  Since the infected are highly sensitive to UV light, they generally come out only after dark.  Stay in your home after dark and do not allow anyone inside if they are exhibiting symptoms.  Some of the infected might be your own family and I personally know how difficult it will be to turn away a loved one (maybe shed a tear here), but I can't stress enough how dangerous and deadly this virus is.  Contact your congressman and force them to acknowledge this plague and beg them to send resources to NYC to help combat what is quickly becoming our apocalypse.  Good night and good luck."

 

The photos for this PSA should really just be images of the vamps without the tongues sticking out.  It's too easy to brush it off as a photoshop job if they go that route.  Balding heads, pale skin, red eyes....that's just plausible enough for people to at least trust the validity of the claims.  There might be a desire to give all the information possible - and sometimes that's helpful - but in this case, it's more harmful to show everything because it's just so unbelievable.  You can't save people unless they agree their is something they need to be saved from.  Eph should be telling someone like Zach all he can because Zach has already seen it and has been personally touched by it.  Instead, he keeps Zach in the dark and turns around and tells what amounts to a fantasy story to the public.  He's probably made things worse.  

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steelyis

steelyis

Didn't, care for Mia on Alias, but I really trying to like/route for Nora.

She's the lone female core character, hope the writers have stop deferring to Eph.

Seems like the evolution has begun, with her stepping up and releasing Mariela.

Hope I'm right, from my POV Eph is becoming a liability to Team Human.

That broadcast, went out an audience made up of three groups.

1. The totally clueless

2. People who sense something is horribly wrong. But have no idea of what they're up against.

3. Those that have seen and fought strigoi, surviving the attack.

Either escaping, or managing to destroy them. Learning their weaknesses along the way.

Baptism by fire, like Fet and Gus.

Once again, Eph made it ALL ABOUT HIM.

Wasting precious time on that self absorbed opening monologue.

Followed by the slide show, failing on all levels.

 

The man loves the sound of his own voice.

  • Love 1
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Cigale

Cigale

The hair on this show has been quite notable. Eph's "hair", middle age Sektarian's mustache, Mason's wig, Regina King's unfinished cornrows, Zach's eighties sitcom bowl cut. . .

Middle age Setrakian's bushy eyebrows were also quite ridiculous.
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