Because The A.V. Club knows that TV shows keep going even if we’re not writing at length about them, we’re experimenting with discussion posts. For certain shows, one of our TV writers will publish some brief thoughts about the latest episode, and open the comments for readers to share theirs.
- Zack is back just in time to literally ruin the whole world. Welcome back little dude!
- More seriously, “The Fall” spends a lot of time on the supposedly complicated feelings between Eph, Kelly, and Zack. The problem is that much of the emotional impact of the finale hinges on how well we connect with their struggle. Considering that Zach and Kelly have mostly been absent this season, and that Eph has personally been focused on almost anything but his family, there’s hardly any emotional payoff in the moment when he kills Kelly.
- Despite just about everyone thinking that Zack would end up being the new host for the Master, he instead chooses Palmer. Such a waste of a babyface turn.
- So, let’s get this straight: Zack pushes the button on the nuclear bomb’s detonator, knowing full well what it’s going to do because he was there for the conversation between Palmer and Kelly, all because he hates his dad? I know it sounds like I’m just being snarky, but The Strain really does ask us to jump through some hoops when it comes to Zack’s character motivations. He’s the type of unpredictable that’s not the result of him being a kid, but rather his character lacking any real definition (beyond “ruins everything,” of course).
- Zack gets one shred of his dignity back for being seen reading Y: The Last Man.
- A lot of this finale doesn’t hit home in the way it should, but I appreciate the show’s willingness to essentially blow everything up so dramatically. Sure, the show has the source material to work from, but I still appreciate the lack of a tidy ending here. It opens up a lot of possibilities for the final season.
- Fet and Dutch seem to be good now. Fet and Eph is a different story.
- The Scooby gang really did have the Master caught in their big silver coffin. For a short time, it looked like they finally had their man. Then along came Zack with his unresolved Daddy issues.
- While it’s nice to see the show truly lean into the spread of the infection/Strigoi, it’d be nice if it was bolstered by some insight into what’s happening elsewhere in the country. It’s as if New York is in a vacuum, completely removed from whatever else is happening around the globe. A little National or Global context could go a long way.