The Strain Season 2 Episode 12 Recap With Spoilers: Fallen Light

Just one episode away from the finale of the The Strain season two, episode eleven, "Fallen Light," opens with a flashback to the day Ephraim (Corey Stoll) hired Nora (Mia Maestro). After being coached by Jim (Sean Astin) to give a great speech at a conference, he was grilled by Nora in the audience. Afterwards, instead of arguing with her, he asks her to join his team.

In the present – Zach's grandparents on Kelly's side use a special system set up by Councilwoman Feraldo to get in touch with Eph and Zach. They get to speak to Zach (Max Charles) on the phone, and plans are made for him to stay with them outside of the city. Elsewhere in the house, Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) admits to Fet (Kevin Durand) that – even though he saved her – she has chosen Nikki.

Later, Fet and Setrakian (David Bradley) go to Creem – the dealer now in control of the Occido Lumen – with the goods that Setrakian had promised. Once the identity of the Lumen is confirmed, Creem changes his tone and says they will have to win an auction battle, with Eldritch Palmer, in person, paying only in gold. Their next stop is to visit Quinlan (Rupert Penry-Jones), who says that the Ancients will provide them with the gold they need – if Setrakian will give them the Lumen when he is finished with it.

Meanwhile, Gus (Miguel Gomez) and Angel go to the men's correctional center in the Bronx, where Gus had been held before. Their plan is break out the men, who have been kept free from the disease by their jail cells, and recruit them to work for Quinlan. The plan goes mostly smoothly, though Gus's old friend tries to turn no him and lead the pack. He is quickly shot by Angel – and Gus regains control of the new group.

Feraldo (Samantha Mathis) meets with the mayor elsewhere in the city, and he demands her letter of resignation. Their argument escalates until she has him removed from the premises by her men. Later that day, the mayor is mysteriously shot and killed at his home. Feraldo's chief of police claims that it wasn't any of her men that did the crime.

Next, Feraldo finally meets Eldritch Palmer (Jonathan Hyde), who wants her to control the city, now that the mayor has died. He has urged a city politician to pass a resolution naming her the Special Director of Security, "in charge of waging all-out war" against the vampires. This polarizing decision makes Feraldo the enemy of half the government, and the hero of the other. She later agrees with Eph and Nora to distribute their bio-weapon and to help them get Zach out of the city.

Later at Stoneheart, Eldritch and Coco (Lizzie Brocheré) watch Feraldo's acceptance speech, and it seems as if Coco has no qualms with Eldritch's revealed vampire alliance. Eichorst (Richard Sammel) appears and says that he will be attending the auction in Eldritch's place – based on orders from the Master. Words are exchanged and a power struggle ensues, until Eichorst explains that "the white" – the liquid given to Eldritch and Coco to keep them alive – does not make them immortal. They will need to stay on the Master's good side to stay alive.

Towards the end of the episode, Dutch goes to Nikki's house to find her moving out. Though Dutch has decided that Nikki is the one she wants to be with, Nikki has decided that she and Dutch cannot be together while Dutch needs to fight the vampires.

In another flashback, Jim, Eph, and Nora drink wine and chat until Jim gets far too drunk and needs to be taken home by his wife. Eph tells Nora that Kelly has filed for divorce, and though they have had an intense emotional relationship for a long time, they get physical for the first time. In the present, Eph tells Nora that he is sorry for cheating on her in D.C. and that he loves her, but she shrugs him off, heartbroken.

The episode ends when Gus returns to Quinlan, saying he has assembled a group of men. Quinlan has a new task for him: Convince Setrakian to give them the Occido Lumen, or kill him and take it.