The Strain - S4E2 - The Blood Tax

Previously on The Strain, “The Worm Turns”

“The Blood Tax” catches us up with the members of Team Setrakian who were left behind in New York City. Three months prior to the events in last week’s “The Worm Turns,” Dutch and Abe were captured by a squad of strigoi raiders. Thankfully, Dutch was able to hide The Lumen in a rooftop vent before being taken. Unfortunately, they’re split up; Abe to an unknown facility and Dutch to a clinic in the Bronx.

She, along with the other women residents, is valuable thanks to her B+ blood type. Not only are they being farmed for their blood (which the strigoi really like for some reason), but they’re being impregnated so they can produce more B+ donors. Dutch sulks and scowls so much it’s a wonder her plan to use a center worker to escape wasn’t discovered sooner. When a fellow inmate, Sherry (Jess Salgueiro) suffers her second miscarriage, she worries she’ll be killed; so Dutch instructs Sherry to take her place in the getaway laundry cart. They’re caught, but Dutch manages to imply that the worker had sexually assaulted them and he’s taken away instead.

They’re not out of the woods, yet: Dutch and Sherry are taken to The Partnership’s chief medical officer, Sanjay Desai (Cas Anvar), who was instrumental in getting the Master’s factories running and starting the breeding program. If you’ve not yet read our exclusive interview Cas Anvar, make sure to do so here.

Gus has teamed up Creem (Jamie Hector) and together they run an underground black market; since money is obsolete they get by on stealing things people need that aren’t being supplied by The Partnership. Gus enlists his cousin Raul (Michael Reventar) to get his guys into the Partnership facility where Raul works in exchange for shelter and all the Freedom Bars he can eat. Raul doesn’t like the job, but it’s how he’s able to survive in a world where if you’re not useful in some capacity, you’re killed. Things go tits up pretty quickly and Raul is forced to flee with Gus and leave his job and life behind. This doesn’t sit well with Creem, who views Raul as a liability. Gus assures his business partner that Raul will be an asset, but Creem doesn’t seem convinced. Either way, Gus isn’t about to abandon family.

Eph keeps his promise in provide the rebel fighters with medical help, but can’t help but notice that their operation leaves a lot to be desired. He warns Alex (Angel Green) that her crew is sloppy and not really making a difference. She should focus their firepower on bigger targets like the building he saw being pumped full of blood. Alex is okay with this plan, but wants Eph to stick around and help them be better rebels. The world refuses to let Eph be ain’t-shit, I guess.

This was a fine episode; definitely not the best or as entertaining as last week’s premiere. For four seasons we’ve watched the main characters play a game of will they or won’t they become one team. Now that we’re in the final days of the series, it’s clear that they’ll help each other when needed, but they’ve taken different paths of resistance. Dutch’s predicament, while gross, provides some much needed clarity on the Master’s plans for society.

Still, I need more New Zach next week. I enjoy hating that kid.

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