The Strain: “Gone Smooth”

In “Gone Smooth,” as Abraham Setrakian leaves prison, he tells Nora Martinez the cold hard truth regarding what needs to be done about the titular strain. Setrakian says that it doesn’t matter how good you think you are, it’s your actions that define your character. Of course he says this as he plans on killing hundreds of people on the slight chance that they might be infected by the strain, but that’s exactly the point of “Gone Smooth,”. We’re living in the post-anti-hero TV realm; not everyone here is going to be all good or all bad.

Unfortunately “Gone Smooth” only presents half of this argument. Throughout the episode, we see characters on the “good side” (i.e. the non-infected side), having to deal with tough decisions. However The Strain never presents the opposing side. I think we’re all aware that most people live in the gray, rather than solely in the light or dark, but at this point, the “evil side” has been presented as nothing but pure, world-absorbing evil. So according to The Strain, good can be sort-of-good or totally-good, but the bad can only be horribly awful.

The character most directly challenged here is Jim Kent (actor Sean Astin), who seems to keep playing this sort of role over and over again, since Lord of the Rings. The group of vampires ask for his help and in return, his wife will be entered into a drug trial to stop her cancer. Of course Kent takes them up on this offer, but really, what exactly is his other option? To end up murdered by a evil group of bloodsuckers? He’s quite literally damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.

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Most of the other choices are much smaller, such as Ephraim choosing not to make a scene after his son asks for his mother to have primary custody, or exterminator Vasiliy Fet being forced into inspecting a rich man’s house over a rat-infested school. However Gus and his brother Crispin—two characters who sort of live in this balance of difficult decisions while trying to be good—don’t even appear in “Gone Smooth.”

So far, The Strain has had some pretty goofy dialogue, so it makes sense that some of “Gone Smooth”’s most effective scenes are solo scenes. One of the show’s finest moments is the opening to this episode, where Thomas Eichorst prepares to go out in public. He applies fake skin, a nose and tons of makeup to make him look like a normal human being. We also get our first example of just how fine an actor Corey Stoll can be, as he has a nice, quiet moment of solitude after finding out he had lost the custody case, where his face swells with disappointment and heartbreak.

But of course, The Strain wouldn’t be The Strain without at least one “what the hell” moment. As the survivors are feeling the effects of the strain more as time goes on, we see Captain Redford turn full-on vampire, giving the CDC team their first full look at what danger they might be facing. While an Alien-like tongue-straw should be screwed up enough, goth rockstar Gabriel Bolivar actually pees so hard, his penis falls off. Aaaaand he flushes it down the toilet. So, there’s that.

The Strain is getting better at building its characters, even if some clunky moments, can negate some of the work the show is doing. Three episodes in and it’s starting to piece itself together, but the superfluous ridiculous moments are holding the series back. I guess you could say, it’s time to flush the junk.

Ross Bonaime is a D.C.-based freelance writer and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Strain: “Gone Smooth”

(Episode 1.03)