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Celebrating 1,000 NCIS-franchise episodes

S04.E10: The Last Stand

raven

By raven
in The Strain [V]

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raven

raven

In the series finale, Quinlan devises a desperate plan, but the costs are enormous. Eph wrestles with his conscience, Fet undertakes a suicide mission, and Dutch and Gus dig in for battle as humankind makes its final stand against the Master and his Strain.

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)

OMG, this is horrible. The Master stomped Quinlan to death. I knew he was going to die, but what a terribly painful death. At least, he knew or believed with all his heart that he had won.

I didn't love Eph as I loved Fet and Quinlan, but he deserved a better ending than to be infected by the Master. Just horrific. Zach coming around in the end was cliche, but it worked. It was pretty moving that after all he did, he sacrificed himself to save the city. 

Awww, my Fet survived and NY has returned! Don't get back with Dutch though, Fet. I am glad that Gus and Roman made it as well. It did crack me up that Roman stole all that gold from the fed.

I hope that the strigoi are really gone. Of course, the government had to spare a few only for it to backfire eventually.

Edited by SimoneS
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raven

raven

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Aw Quinlan :(((  I didn't think he'd make it but that was nasty.  After the Master being ineffectual for most of the series I guess they had to finally show him being tough or something.

Sorry, Zach, that was the least you could do for humanity.   Just knew Eph was going to be the one to go to bomb and not Fet.  I wish Eph had pushed the button though.

So Dutch and Fet didn't end up together?  Both of them checking out the jogger was cute.

Glad Roman and Gus both made it out.

With a few strigoi hanging around they left an opening to bring the show back. 

Not the best ending after the last few episodes have been so good.  It was nice to see Abe again though.

And however it happened, at least Zach died. Yay!!!  The little fucker <<<< for old time's sake. 

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TDT

TDT

Dutch didnt tell Fet that..he's going to be a father???  Very shocked they didnt use that classic trope LOL

Those Strigoi being held captive..i bet theyre going to break out of that cell somehow and the cycle will continue..*rolls eyes*

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)
21 minutes ago, raven said:

Oh, almost forgot, I did like Quinlan coming up with a plan to save New York because he knew Fet cared about New York even if Quinlan didn't.  Aw, bromance.

That was sweet. Fet and Quinlan were brothers to the end. Looking back I wonder if Eph took the detonator when shook Quinlan's hand. Something about Quinlan's expression, he looked surprised or something. I might re-watch that scene.

I thought it was a great finale. It was definitely tragic, but poignant. The show had its flaws, but it mostly entertained me from season 2 to the end.

I think that Zach set off the bomb to save his father from becoming the Master. I am glad that he found love and humanity before the end. He was still a child, regardless of all the horrible things that he did.

Edited by SimoneS
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LIFLA

LIFLA

(edited)

I KNEW Zach was gonna be the one to kill the master. At least he didn't magically survive the finale llol

Damn, Quinlan's death was brutal. I knew he wasn't gonna make it but that was a harsh way to go. I am so glad that Fet and Roman made it out okay. Also glad Gus got a happy ending. I thought the Dutch and Fet thing was kinda forced, but I knew Eph was gonna take Fet's place and be the one to set off the nuke.

Couldn't the government have kept just some of the infectious worms instead of the whole strigoi? Or at least make sure they cant use their stingers! Seems like a terrible idea lol

Also, why would the Master go to Eph and the gang's hiding place? He knew they had the nuke, surely he would have known this was a trap? It seems like that was a pretty dumb, contrived way to get the Master to the nuke. Why wouldn't he make sure they were all dead before going to them?  Seems like lazy writing.

Edited by LIFLA
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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Glad they were able to get at least one flashback with Abe.  Although I'm kind of disappointed they had Eph where a cap in that scene, instead of breaking out that classic bad wig again for Corey Stoll.

So, against the odds, the gang does defeat the Master and save the day, although they lose Quinlan (although that was always destined to happen), Eph, and Zach in the process.  Yep, Zach finally pulled his head of his ass and detonated the nuke himself after a dying Palmer Master infected Eph and was getting ready to turn him. Kind of annoyed they did go down a redemption path for him after-all, but at least ended in self-sacrifice, so there were consequences to his action.  Still, I will not miss that obnoxious kid.

Surprised Roman actually lived since I figured the reason they introduce him this season was so they could add to the bodycount.  Gus is doing well too, it looks like. And, of course, Fet and Dutch seem like they are already getting close again.

The government keeping some of the Strigoi alive is definitely going to backfire.... assuming they ever to a revival of some kind years from now (it's all the rave, now!)

Fare thee well, The Strain.  You were a bit of a mess at times, but could be decent pulpy fun.  Plus, I'll miss the likes of Abe, Fet, Quinlan, and Eichorst (as an antagonist), and all of the performances.  I'll even miss some of Eph's snark thanks to Corey Stoll.

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TDT

TDT

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

The government keeping some of the Strigoi alive is definitely going to backfire.... assuming they ever to a revival of some kind years from now (it's all the rave, now!)

Oh im sure FX may try and attempt a revival of some sort..except this time the main villain would be female,etc

Would love to see a spinoff show starring Quinlan,set in like an alternate timeline or something

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futurechemist

futurechemist

So much in the last act bugged me. If Eph had the detonator, why leave the elevator? If Eph, Zach, and the Master would all be shortly blown up, why tackle Zach out of the way? It was lucky Zach turned good at the last moment or else the plan would have failed. 

 

But most importantly, nobody is left alive who knows what Zach did. So he'll be considered evil for all eternity.

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)

I was thinking that since that flashback was only 11 months ago, the whole show took place over about a year and half. Amazing when I think of everything that happened.

7 hours ago, LIFLA said:

Also, why would the Master go to Eph and the gang's hiding place? He knew they had the nuke, surely he would have known this was a trap? It seems like that was a pretty dumb, contrived way to get the Master to the nuke. Why wouldn't he make sure they were all dead before going to them?  Seems like lazy writing.

Abraham argued that without his human collaborators the Master would be vulnerable and be unable to act against humanity effectively. I think that is what played out in the finale. Without Eichhorst or Desai to actually figure out how to carry out his orders and advise him, the Master charged in after the Born not considering how they could trap and kill him or that they would be willing to sacrifice themselves after all he has such a low opinion of humanity. He did send in his strigoi in first, but it never occurred to him that Quinlan would trap him in an elevator and go below ground.

Edited by SimoneS
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Josette

Josette

Quote

 

Although I'm kind of disappointed they had Eph where a cap in that scene, instead of breaking out that classic bad wig again for Corey Stoll.

 

I think you can see some hair sticking out of the cap.

 

Quote

If Eph had the detonator, why leave the elevator?

I think the one he held was only to snap the elevator cable.  The detonator for the bomb was on the bomb for some reason.  Of course.

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jcin617

jcin617

Since the detonator had to be in the tunnel for it's signal to reach the bomb, I guess they figured it made more sense to leave it with the bomb, since if you forgot it above, or dropped it or it was damaged in the elevator fall, then they would be out of luck.

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seacliffsal

seacliffsal

Actually, as much as it may have looked like redemption for Zach, it was really just his inner "if there's a nuclear bomb to detonate, I will always be the one to detonate it..." (no, I know they were trying to redeem him.  It's just that there is no redemption for him in my heart so I'll just chalk it up to him always choosing to just set off nuclear bombs).  I did like the wrap up at the end with the return to normalcy.  

Overall I enjoyed the series.  Eph and Zach were my least favorite characters, but the series provided some humor-Fet's statement that before he blew up the bomb he would say something clever like Bruce Willis was a nice touch.  And, it did provide some tense and suspenseful moments.  I will miss it.

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SimoneS

SimoneS

I was thinking about Fet's final monologue. I hope he and the others wrote down what really happened and are keeping it somewhere safe in case one of the remaining Ancients goes rogue or the Master returns one day.

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Doyounot

Doyounot

Some of the finale was pretty bad/cheesy but overall not bad i thought. They really pulled out all the stops for the fight scenes and gun/grenade scenes as well. To me this episode all that stuff looked sooo much better than in the rest of the series. Or maybe i just thought it was because it was the last episode i donno. Either way not blown away by the finale but also not dissapointed.. it ended ok.

I liked fets voice over kinda punking the walking dead.. with no central intelligence they were dumb and slow and in 5 years gone.. no big deal lol. That also made me think maybe Quinlan would have lived with the master dead (i assumed he meant if the master was dead he would die as well cause they were linked or something) if so his death sucks even more.

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)

I do think that Quinlan and the Master's fates were intertwined. Other than the Ancients, Quinlan was the only one with close to the strength to physically restrain the Master. Too bad the Ancients we met were such fools. With their help, Quinlan would have stood a chance of surviving the Master. 

 

3 hours ago, Doyounot said:

I liked fets voice over kinda punking the walking dead.. with no central intelligence they were dumb and slow and in 5 years gone.. no big deal lol. 

This struck a wrong note with me. There were thousands of strigoi. They would have been extremely dangerous even without the Master. Even as they were being killed, they would have been infecting people. Maybe Eph's virus could take out hundreds at time, but no way they would have been gone in 5 years.

Edited by SimoneS
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raven

raven

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9 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

I do think that Quinland and the Master's fates were intertwined. Other than the Ancients, Quinlan was the only one with close to the strength to physically restrain the Master. Too bad the Ancients we met were such fools. With their help, Quinlan would have stood a chance to surviving the Master. 

It's possible Quinlan didn't care about surviving as long as the Master died.  His hatred of and determination to kill the Master kept him going. Quinlan had been around for thousands of years and has seen everything, plus has no great love or attachment to humanity.

The Lumen ended up being kind of superfluous.  I know it gave Abe the clue about taking out the collaborators but our heroes could have come up with that on their own.  It's as if the show thought it would be a cool idea to include but then didn't quite know what to do with it.  It's different in the Strain book; I don't want to say anything spoilery, just that it's where the show got the idea.  They could have left it out though.

Though I don't consider Zach redeemed, I did like the parallel that Zach was even there, alive, and then unable to shoot his father only because Eph had been unable to shoot him earlier.  I look at it as Eph's love and sacrifice (as Abe said was needed) of Zach as well as sacrificing himself that saved the world.

Regarding the number of strigoi left, it would have helped if we had a scope of the infected.  World-wide?  Just the U.S.?  If they got slow and stupid and we're not talking the world, I can buy that with sunlight back and no leader, they could be systematically hunted down, especially as people are aware that if someone is bitten and survives, you have to kill them anyway. 

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SimoneS

SimoneS

(edited)
1 hour ago, raven said:

Regarding the number of strigoi left, it would have helped if we had a scope of the infected.  World-wide?  Just the U.S.?  If they got slow and stupid and we're not talking the world, I can buy that with sunlight back and no leader, they could be systematically hunted down, especially as people are aware that if someone is bitten and survives, you have to kill them anyway. 

It seems like at minimum the whole U.S. was infected. Even with the police, military, and civilian forces systematically tracking them down it is hard for me to believe that they could all be wiped out in 5 years when I think of all the places they could hide during the night. I could believe maybe over a decade though. 

I have been thinking about Quinlan. As brutal as his death was, at least it was quick. He would have probably had it worse if he had survived. The government would have locked him up and experimented on him. It would be nearly impossible for him to hide from the authorities now that the world knows what the strigoi looks like.

Edited by SimoneS
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Richness

Richness

The best thing about the series ending is that it frees up a space on my Series Pass list for something new, and hopefully better. Though I will admit that wasn't a bad series finale. Good, but not great. Can't really add anything new than what has already been said.

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Johnny Dollar

Johnny Dollar

Sorry show, but no redemption for Zack. You don't get to turn into a good guy just because you only set off ONE nuke. I'm just glad the little twerp and his idiot father were both vaporized. Think about how many times the Master was thisclose to being killed before one of these dopes did something stupid. 

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TaurusRose

TaurusRose

Quinlan was my favorite character. I hated to see him go out the way he did. Hated Zack, Eph and Dutch. I wish Dutch had died instead of Nora. Dutch was unattractive and nowhere near good enough for Fet. He should have gone after Charlotte. Overall the series was entertaining and grim. I’ll miss it.

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Hanahope

Hanahope

(edited)

Gah I hate that they made Zach the one to save humans.  Doesn't redeem him as far as I'm concerned, it was the least he could do.  I am glad Fet survived. 

I had to chuckle at Fet's voiceover of how scientist kept some strigoli to study, because what could go wrong?  Indeed.

Edited by Hanahope
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CletusMusashi

CletusMusashi

Well, that was it, then. Fuck Eph for almost losing the battle because of his shitty little son, and fuck his shitty little son for being his shitty little son, yes, I get it, Zack "redeemed" himself by setting off another nuke... nice absolute only thing you know how to do about anything you've got there, Zack, at least finally the blind squirrel found a nut...but overall... it's still probably the best show of its genre, which is "shows about a 95 year old Rumanian concentration survivor with a sword cane and cool hat, who teams up with a New York City rat catcher and an ex-gladiator to stop Nazi vampires from taking over the world and giving everyone makeovers, while the alleged protasgonist wanders around drinking and making terrible decisions and angsting over his divorce, and some other random guy spends half his screen time forgetting what show he's on and delivers Indian food with a luchadore." I'm not saying it's a huge genre, but it's a genre nonetheless, and this show is the best example of it. I think I can understand why rating fizzled, though. I remember trying to convnce people looking for a serious fantasy drama to give "Being Human" a chance, and "Ghost, vampire, and werewolf becme zany room mates," only sounded about one third as ridiculous as this show.

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