'The Strain' – Season 3 (2016)



Lockdown continues and so I'm continuing to save my classic 'Doctor Who' DVDs for another day. Once again then, we're headed back into the world of 'The Strain' and this time, a sobering reminder that hope doesn't count for a lot sometimes and the best laid plans can be undone in an instant if children are involved.
By the way, for the first time in a long time, I'm ahead of the game now as last weekend saw me tear through Seasons 3 and 4 in a mammoth session of binge watching the vampire apocalypse. All I have to do now is to write about them, if only I was as good at finishing off all the books that I've got on the go at the moment...
So, Season 3 then. The season of 'just when you think things are on the up and up...' There's a very high chance of spoilers lurking within this post so just bear that in mind before you read on.

The fight for New York city continues and everyone's plans are close to fruition. Only one side can win though but even they will be surprised at how victory is theirs...

Because apparently, sometimes you really can sum up a season of television in two short sentences. This is what Season 3 of 'The Strain' is all about; nailing your colours to the mast and fighting for your side until you have either won or you're dead. The beauty of this season in particular is how they draw it out, everything is fairly evenly balanced right up until the point a tactical masterstroke sends everything into disarray. It's the same lesson of how humanity is doomed to fail until it actually properly understands what it is fighting. What does this mean? Loads of humans versus Strigoi action of course! Season 3 is full of it from start to finish and as ever, it keeps things ticking over nicely with bursts of action to complement the more thoughtful bits where characters move through their arcs.

I'd say this season is more heavy on the action (and I'm cool with that) but it is still character driven, to a point admittedly as the finale demands a lot of action leading up to it. In these moments, it feels like everyone has an agenda to advance and no-one can really be trusted. We start to see an inkling of the Master's plan, and it's chilling although nothing that you wouldn't have seen already (give it a bit more time to simmer) and Setrakian is almost fighting his battle on two fronts as he trusts the Ancients about as much as they trust him. Eldritch Palmer clearly hasn't learned his lesson either as he is still trying to play both sides to his advantage. And Eichorst is just evil in the best possible way, anywhere that he shows up automatically gets added to my favourite bits of the season. It's a powder keg that has to explode in this season, and it does in the most fitting way you can think of with a long running plot line coming to end in the only way that it could.

You've probably gathered by now that I'm a big fan of 'The Strain' (there will be a re-read of the books coming up at some point) and I'll happily admit that I'm not the impartial person that a recap of the TV show needs. This season has it all though, everything is tied up that needs to be while everything else is set in place for Season 4 to do its thing. Sometimes you really can't ask for a lot more than that out of your TV watching, I loved it. Next week will be the final season...

If you're new to these posts, my thoughts on Season 1 can be found Here while my Season 2 post is over Here.

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