Warning: There are spoilers here. Everything is spoiled. This is your warning.
A car with Eldrich and his bodyguard pulls up to the pawnshop to look around. His bodyguard, Mr Fitzwilliam questions whether they should be there. Eldrich wants a bunch of things packed up and sent to him. He finds the heart of Abraham's wife and says that they need to take special care of that item. Thomas is there and greets him. Thomas tells him he has not been turned but only given health. It won't last forever. Eldrich doesn't understand why everyone is being turned and he hasn't. He's angry because of all the work he's done for The Master. Thomas ensures him it will happen eventually.
Zack rides his brand new bike and Kelly takes video to send to his father who is away at a conference. Zack wakes up. He is dreaming. Downstairs, Eph, Vasiliy, and Abraham talk about the nesting vampires. Vasiliy wants to do recon and check out some other areas. Zack comes down and asks about their plans. Eph reassures him they're just checking things out. Zack wants to go home bit Eph tells him they cannot go back. Eph gets short with Abraham telling him he needs to make the decisions with his son.
Gus is masked and tied up somewhere. Quinlan comes in and unmasks him. Gus asks what he is. Quinlan tells him that he didn't bring him underground to drink him. Quinlan unites Gus. Gus tries to attack him but is taken down quickly. Quinoa tells Gus to follow him.
Eldrich puts the heart of Abraham's wife on his shelf. Eldrich asks Fitzwilliam to do something for him and Fitzwilliam says no. He says he's done doing things for him. Fitzwilliam says his debt is paid to him in full and he leaves.
Vasiliy and Eph head to a theater and Eph says Bolivar living there. Eph says there's a high probability the Master is there because Bolivar is one of his favorite vamps. Vasiliy says the theater used to be a speakeasy and they break into a place across the street because they are tunnels under the streets. Vasiliy finds the secret tunnel in the basement after Eph finds the magic switch to open the door. Eph doesn't want to go in without backup. They go in after Vasiliy assures Eph it's just recon. They find a way into the theater through the tunnels. In the theater, they find the Master's broken coffin and a bunch of nesting vamps. One wakes up then another and another. The two escape before there's a problem. Outside, Vasiliy takes the cover off of a sewer entrance and says they're flooding it with light so no more can enter the theater.
Eph and Vasiliy head back to the apartment. Dutch is mad that all the broadcast channels are gone. He finds liquor, which is Dutch's and pours it out telling her they have work to do.
Meanwhile, Nora is on top of the building, looking out into the city which is smoldering in some places. There are gunshots and screams I'm the background. Eph updates Nora on the coffin and the theater. Nora says the only way to protect Zack is to keep him by his side.
The Edward Barnes, the CDC guy and Maggie talk about shutting down the city in a high rise. Thomas and Eldrich show up. Maggie says she's talking to the president and she will recommend the quarantine of NYC. Eldrich talks to Maggie outside because he doesn't want to shut down the city. Eldrich throws her off the balcony. Eldrich comes back in and says Edward can be promoted if he complies. Eldrich brings up the fact Eph worked for him. Eldrich decides they'll keep Edward around.
Eph sits down with Zack at the apartment and says they're all leaving. Abraham gives Zack a sword and tells him to be careful. Eph says it's made of silver and that vamps fear silver.
The group gathers at the secret tunnel and Abraham tells them not to stop until the Master is defeated. Vasiliy gets to the point where the sunlight reaches the sewer and it is blocking the vamps from advancing. Vasiliy pulls out some dynamite and blows them to hell. They make it into the theater. Vamps are everywhere.
The group approaches and attacks the vamps. Dutch knows one of the vamps and is slow to dispatch it. She does, but it got close. Zack and Eph run off and kill a vamp. It looks a lot like Kelly. Thomas shows up. Dutch shoots him in the shoulder. Vasiliy tries to choke him out. Bolivar comes down now. The fight is getting intense. Abraham makes his way up to the loft. He hears his wife's voice. No one is there. The Master lands behind him. Eph and Zack walk up slowly. They start breaking windows and it's hurting the Master. The Master smacks down Abraham. Downstairs, the fight continues with Thomas. Upstairs, the Master is cornered and jumps out the window. As he does this, all the vamps upstairs walk backwards and away. Abraham moves in for the kill. The Master jumps down to the street and crawls away. The group learns that sunlight hurts him but doesn't kill him. Abraham was wrong.
Gus keeps trying to escape Quinlan. Quinlan asks about the box Gus transported. He asks if Gus knew what was in the box. Quinlan asks if he'd like revenge. Gus runs away. He gets to a large, dark room. There's something sticky on the floor. There are some lights. Vamps are situated around the room. Quinlan says they are the ancients. He speaks for them. Quinlan explains the ancient truce has been broken and they need someone to kill during the day. Gus has proven himself capable.
Vasiliy drives. Zack is breathing heavy and doesn't have his inhaler. They head back to the Zack's house to get them. Eph finds them and Zack grabs a picture. Zack is no longer wheezing. He says they were never coming back. Eph tells them they're going to Fett's but Zack wonders how she'll find them. Someone is outside. It's Kelly and she's turned. Zack wants to go get her but Eph holds her back. He takes a shot but misses. Kelly goes away. The group rushes in and Abraham says the Master will use her. Eph pours himself a glass of scotch and takes a drink. The get in the bread truck and drive away. Eph sees a part of the city on fire. Abraham mentions it's only been a week and all this destruction happened.
Fans of the book and graphic novel will love how this last episode plays out. It follows the books extremely well, with a few twists and turns here and there. As for the viewers who aren't as aware of the source material, it may feel a tad anti-climactic for a season finale, but keep in mind that this episode is a lot less about character deaths and major moments, and it's much more about the fact that Abraham and company learned that sunlight doesn't kill the Master. He's more powerful than they imagined; however, they also realized that he does have power over the other vamps, so maybe killing him actually does cure everyone else.
The pacing for this episode was fantastic. It was a very slow build to the final fight, but that's what we needed and when we get to the fight, it was all worth it. The bouncing back and forth between Abraham fighting the Master and Dutch and Vasiliy taking on Boliver was pretty intense. I'm glad we don't get a ton of scenes like this in the series because it makes this one so much more awesome.
Towards the opening, Fitzwilliam gives Eldrich a piece of his mind and it's the most cold and emotionless acting in the entire season. It's rough to watch and completely ruins the season. This was really the only moment in this episode that bugged me.
When Vasiliy takes everyone into the tunnels and the sunlight is blocking the vamps from moving forward, we hare treated to one hell of a creepy and awesome shot. There's little moments like this that really set the tone for each episode, but this is one of my favorite. Also, some great props to the creature designers and the make up folks because the vamps look so cool in this show.
Overall, this was an awesome conclusion to the first season or first act of this story. After how hard these guys tried, they've done almost nothing to stop the spread of the disease. While the season had some not so great moments, it ends with a bang and a feeling of complete hopelessness. The Strain is a perfect mixture of an outbreak story and a vampire story. I cannot wait for the second season.