The Strain recap: 'Ouroboros' 

Unless you’re new here, you’re aware that I’ve been fairly critical of the final season of

. Descriptors like “subpar,” “not inspiring much confidence,” and “one of the worst characters on television” have been thrown around. So considering how negative I’ve been, it’s only fair to praise the series for finally delivering a great episode, which arguably could be their best to date.

: our heroes being reunited, big deaths, and no Zach. That’s almost as good a formula as Setrakian’s anti-aging concoction. Completely separating almost all of the important characters on this show for more than half of its final season is still a perplexing decision, but at least with them back together and Eichhorst shockingly taken off the board,

The fast-paced, crowd-pleasing action starts off right at the top of the episode, with Roman, Fet, Quinlan, and their nuke landing in Long Island. The excitement is temporarily halted when they’re welcomed home by a group of strigoi, but they take care of that in short order, and it even ends up being a positive, as they’re happy to take the van full of guns off the hands of the strigoi. Before they do, Quinlan has a message for The Master. “Yes, we’re here,” he says to one of the strigoi. “And now, we’re coming for you.”

— he shoots it in the head. New York City, the boys are officially back in town.

They’re not the only ones making their long-awaited return to the Big Apple. After getting word that Zach is still alive, Eph and Alex have been making their way into the city via the tunnels. Eph is a little testy and makes a “dick move” when he throws shade at Alex over her dead son. If I were him, I wouldn’t really be talking about anyone else’s kid. He quickly apologizes and says they just need to find Setrakian and end all of this. “Setrakian always has a plan,” he tells her. “Whether it works is another question.”

Speaking of our favorite professor/pawnbroker/vampire hunter, he’s once again got his hat and cane, and now, he and Dutch are going to grab the Lumen from its hiding spot. The secret locale is a little too high up for the weakened Setrakian, who is no spring chicken, especially after months of tests on him. When Dutch worries about him upon returning with the book, he snaps at her, but he realizes she’s the badass who saved him, so he sweetly takes hold of her arm and tells her how well she’s done. It makes both her and me smile.

Things seem to be trending upward for everyone…except Eichhorst. Following his failure in North Dakota, The Master is ripping into him over once again not being able to capture one of our heroes. The Nazi vampire accepts the criticism and offers up his life as punishment. The Master taunts his right-hand man for being “bested by a pawnbroker,” and his harsh words inspire Eichhorst to make the boss proud. (That’s some Bill Belichick-level coaching.) Motivated, Eichhorst gives Sanjay a promotion and tasks him with finding Eph, Fet, Dutch, Setrakian, and Quinlan.

Sanjay’s search will be a little tougher now that Setrakian and Dutch have found a new hideout. The professor seems to have officially lost it and is tearing pages from the Lumen and putting them up on the wall, Carrie Mathison-style. “I’m running out of time, ” he deliriously declares only seconds before passing out. As Dutch does her best to make her unconscious mentor comfortable, she’s spooked by the footsteps of intruders. Psych — it’s Eph (and Alex)! Dutch and Eph sprint towards each other and embrace in a hug that could only be shared by former lovers who fought vampires together. Eph immediately goes back into doctor mode and diagnoses Setrakian with a possible stroke. He also gets a little sassy with Dutch, leading her to proclaim, “At least I was here. It was just me and him; we made it on our own!” They slightly make up and decide to go find some medicine for their old friend, leaving Alex behind to keep an eye on him.

The local pharmacy they decide to hit up is Gus’ black market business, and Gus is so glad to see Dutch (or, as he calls her, “Dutchess”) alive. They embrace, making it a busy hug-and-reunion day for her. And it’s hard to believe, but we also get the first-ever interaction between Gus and Eph. Much to his partner Cream’s chagrin, Gus offers up medicine, including warfarin sodium, on the house.

Gus heads back to the new hideout with Dutch, Eph, and, unbeknownst to them, Cream. Setrakian is pumped to see Eph but not so pumped to see Gus. “We need you fighting the good fight,” Gus tells the professor, who replies, “What would you know about the good fight?” It’s hard to say if they’re talking about the battle against The Master or

‘s spin-off. Gus’ assertion that he’s “just trying to get by” doesn’t sit too well with a fighter like Setrakian. “That is exactly why The Master won: because people try to get by,” he posits. 

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