The Strain Season 2 Episode 10 Recap With Spoilers: The Assassin
The second season of The Strain gets closer to its finale with episode ten, “The Assassin,” [...]
The second season of The Strain gets closer to its finale with episode ten, "The Assassin," which opens with Ephraim (Corey Stoll) and Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) setting up some sort of detecting laser device in a building across the street from Eldritch Palmer's office – who Eph has decided must die.
Meanwhile in Manhattan, Councilwoman Justine Feraldo (Samantha Mathis) meets with the wealthy residents of the Upper East Side to let them know that she and her SSI team will be pushing their safety initiative to their part of town. This is met with great approval, until she adds that they will all be required to contribute one percent of their property value to the SSI, to pay for it. The citizens of Red Hook "paid with blood," by physically aiding in battle, after all.
Elsewhere – Setrakian (David Bradley), Nora (Mia Maestro), and Fet (Kevin Durand) are going through every "R. Fonescu" in the phone book in search of the Occido Lumen, which Setrakian explains is "cursed, bringing death and disaster to anyone who reads it," much to the others' dismay. As they go through the Fonescu listings, they empty out an apartment overrun with vampires, still blasting club music from before the time its owner was turned. The next apartment looks more promising, attached to a book store below.
Next, we see Eldritch (Jonathan Hyde) visit Coco's apartment complex, walking up all three flights of stairs like some kind of commoner. He begs her to take him back, apologizing and even saying that he loves her. Coco (Lizzie Brocheré) is furious that he feels he is entitled to her forgiveness because he has "had a bad life," but appears to be willing to give him a second chance.
Then, Eldritch and Coco go back to his office – which is now being monitored by Eph and Dutch via their laser set-up. They're simply sitting around – with Dutch mostly leading a discussion about monogamy and society – when Eldritch and Coco arrive. Eph and Dutch listen in as Eldritch is visited by the Mayor, who begs him to meet with Feraldo and to convince her to give up her "one percent" plan. Eldritch agrees, voicing a time and a place – giving Eph and Dutch the cue to bolt to the location, preparing to use the sniper rifle to take Eldritch out.
Feraldo is taking questions from an angry crowd, as Eph and Dutch wait for Eldritch to arrive. He finally does, and in a tense scene, Eph attempts to get a clean shot from their hidden spot. Eph shoots, and Eldritch is hurled to the ground by his security team. There is a blood spatter – so Eph and Dutch know that someone was shot, as they run away – but it's quickly revealed that the blood belonged to Coco, who was shot in the upper torso area. Eph and Dutch do not make it far and are very quickly caught by the police and taken into custody.
Setrakian, Nora, and Fet are still searching the apartment of the book store owner when they hear about the assassination attempt on the news. Fet is the only one that knew of their plan, which he explains to Setrakian and Nora. While Setrakian is glad they did it, Nora is furious. Fet and Nora abandon Setrakian to go save Eph and Dutch from the police.
As Coco lies in surgery, Eichorst (Richard Sammel) appears to taunt Eldritch, who will arguably the cause of Coco's death, if she dies. Eldritch demands that the Master appear to save her, but Eichorst reminds him that matters of the heart really aren't the Master's priority. The doctor tells Eichorst that Coco is stable – but she may be brain dead, if she even wakes up.
Eph and Dutch are locked in a cell together, when suddenly, Dutch is taken away. The police officers leave the room, and Eldritch appears – very much alive. He explains that all Eph managed to do was to shoot an innocent woman, which Eph expresses his regret about. However – Eph points out that he definitely doesn't regret the attempt and wishes he had been successful. Eldritch justifies his alliance with the Master by saying that the worldwide violent change is imminent, and all he is doing is trying to survive. Eph laughs at his ideas, pointing out that the Master has no reason to share anything with him.
Later, Eldritch is at Coco's side when the Master appears. He drips some sort of liquid into her mouth from his index finger, and she bounces back to life. The Master disappears in a swoosh, and Coco wakes up, terrified. Eldritch tells her that the Master has saved her and explains their alliance. While Eldritch is crying tears of happiness, Coco is mortified by what she has learned.
Additionally, Eph doesn't spend much more time in his cell, as the police station is attacked by vampires. Nearly every single officer is taken out, before Fet and Nora appear to slaughter them all and free Eph. The last policeman says that Dutch was taken to the nearby Mayfield Hotel.
All the while, Setrakian is still looking for the Lumen at the book shop owner's apartment, when the turned version of Fonescu appears. Setrakian commits his signature beheading and discovers that the man's ear is not burned like that of the Fonescu they are searching for. This isn't the right apartment – just an apartment full of books. Luckily, the very next spot on the list happens to be the right one, with Setrakian finding the book under a creaky floorboard. We get a glimpse at some of the book's pages, before Setrakian is knocked unconscious from behind, and the book is taken from him.
The episode ends with Dutch, who is wearing a metal collar attached to a thick chain, wrapped around some sort of pulley system with an enormous blade at the center. Eichorst slowly winds the chain from the other side, just a few yards away, dragging her closer.
