‘The Strain’ Season 1 Spoilers: ‘The Master’ Arrives And Survivors Transform In Episode 2, ‘The Box’ [RECAP]

The mystery of “The Strain” continued on FX on Sunday, July 20. The new series, which was co-created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, and executive produced by Carlton Cuse, introduced some new characters while exploring the deadly threat lurking in New York City. Buckle up … because episode 2, “The Box,” was a bloody ride.

Meet Vasiliy Fet

Episode 2 kicked off with the introduction of Vasiliy Fet, an exterminator for the New York City bureau of Pest Control. Although it’s not the most glamorous job, he loves it and takes it very seriously – as “The Strain” viewers can see when he shuts down a popular restaurant during its morning breakfast rush. Vasiliy not only shrugs off the restaurant owner’s bribe, he gets the whole restaurant on their feet and out the door by waving a large dead rat in the air.

Gus Has A Real Big Problem

Gus, the sexy ex-con with an attitude, successfully managed to get the box across the bridge before dawn. He arrived at the garage as instructed by Eichhorst or “Waxy” as he calls him, however the sneaky vampire wasn’t there. Being the “I don’t care about your rules” type of guy that he is, Gus decides to sniff around the box a bit. However he quickly discovered what a bad idea it was when the box begins to rattle and loose dirt. Needless to say, Gus quickly scrammed before whatever creature is lurking in the box managed to escape

Eph Has A Bigger Problem

The mystery surrounding Flight 753 and the box is getting out of hand. Bishop’s body (or what’s left of it) is discovered and Eph decides to take the crime scene over as CDC business after Nora finds traces of ammonia on the body.

However he has bigger problems on his hand before he can tackle what happened to Bishop. Director Barnes, his pain boss, released the four survivors from quarantine after news outlets starting reporting that the 206 Flight 753 passengers died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Spoiler alert: It definitely wasn’t carbon monoxide that killed those people.

Eph uses his CDC powers to keep the survivors in quarantine, however higher ups overturn his decision when the crash of the economy becomes a threat. As if that blow wasn’t difficult enough for Eph, Director Barnes removed him from the case and told him he had to take a couple of days off – which any normal working individual who is at risk of losing custody of his kid would probably love.

Setrakian And Eichhorst Reunite

As expected things are TENSE between Setrakian and Eichhorst. While “The Strain” viewers don’t know the whole story, it appears as if the two go back to concentration camps in World War II. It was Eichhorst who “took Setrakian’s name and gave him a number, 82038035. Setrakian, who encountered this “strain” earlier in his life, is still suffering from it.

The antique sword that was confiscated from him at the time of the arrest apparently belonged to “The Master.” The heart that Setrakian calls “dear” and keeps in a jar belonged to a woman very special to him. A woman, who according to Eichhorst, “struggled at the very end but never cried out.” And while it sounded as if Eichhorst took her from Setrakian, Setrakian down the line ended up taking the life of Eichhorst’s partner – using the sword to cut him into pieces.

Captain Redford Knows Something Is Off

While the three other survivors wanted nothing more to do with the CDC, Captain Redford agreed to meet with Eph and Nora. Besides being abnormally pale, he admitted to experiencing headaches and an odd humming in his ears. Eph sets up a plan to have him checked out in the hospital without Director Barnes knowing, but before Redford could leave he admitted to knowing an important piece of information – how the box got onto the plane.

Redford explained that the box was loaded onto the plane last minute. He said that’s not out of the ordinary – especially since a government office was the one that delivered it. Unfortunately he has no idea what government office was linked to the box.

Making Time For Family

Eph might officially be off the case, but he’s still got his hands on things – like the odd worms he found in the cargo of the plane. With the help of Nora, Eph figured out that the worms are attracted to blood. However what they are and what they do is still a mystery; a mystery he doesn’t have time for. With the custody hearing for his son, Zack, the following day, Nora makes him leave his work to go meet with him. And Eph does just that … after kissing Nora on the lips.

When Eph arrived at his house he discovered that Matt, his estranged wife’s new boyfriend, was turning his old office into a game room. While “The Strain” viewers expected Eph to lash out at Matt, he actually played it cool with him.

“Just make her happy,” Eph tells Matt. “Just make them happy that’s all I ask.”

After an awkward hug with Matt, Eph talks to Zack about getting joint custody of him. And while Zack wants to spend time with his dad, he calls Eph out for always putting work first.

Eph takes Zack’s words to heart and decided to go to an AA meeting after the visit. Sober for one year and 11 days, Eph comes to terms with the fact that despite his family moving on, he’s not willing to lose his son.

Bolivar And Joan Luss’s Celebration

Remember the rat-infested restaurant that Vasiliy Fet was at? That just so happened to be the same restaurant that Flight 753 survivors Bolivar and Joan Luss were celebrating their freedom at.

Post being released from quarantine, the two dined with Bolivar’s manager, Ruby Wain. And while the duo have been through a tough ordeal, Ruby’s happy to tell Bolivar that his ticket sales are way up and that he’s getting huge offers for interviews about the flight. But as Joan, an attorney put it, the interview offers are going to be nothing compared to the payout they’re bound to receive from the airline company.

Despite the large sum of money the two of them are about to come into, the two survivors are not looking well. Both are extremely pale and have blood rimming the pupils of their eyes. Furthermore, their experiencing the same humming in their ears that Captain Redford told Eph about. The only difference is that their explaining the hum as an “echo of a voice.”

While Bolivar wanted to continue their celebration at his place, Joan declined due to the fact that she as a husband and discovered that she bleeding from the mouth.

Eldritch Palmer Gets His Wish

Eldritch Palmer is the man behind the box’s delivery to New York. Ill for a long time, Eldritch is in desperate need of a new liver – and finally receives the good news that they have a donor. But with the box within his grasp, Eldritch tells his head of security, Reginald Fitzwilliam, that he has no need for the liver any longer. At Fitzwilliam’s insistence, Eldritch agrees to go through with the surgery – but first he wants to meet with “The Master.”

In the parking garage that Gus dropped off the box, Eldritch finds it open with Eichhorst nearby. Eichhorst follows through on his promise of letting Eldritch meet “The Master.” However by the frightened look on Eldritch’s face, “The Master” is not what the sick man expected.

Bolivar’s Transformation

Post his breakfast celebration with Joan, Bolivar moved the party to his place with three groupies that Ruby recruited. With the three women in his bed, Bolivar pushes aside his ill feelings to get some action. However the groupies notice that something is off when his hair begins to fall out. Bolivar told them to continue on, but things took a turn for the ugly when Bolivar began to focus on a neck vain of one of the ladies. With a hunger building up in him, Bolivar bit the woman – HARD.

As blood poured from her neck and covered his mouth, Bolivar demanded that the groupies leave. And they didn’t need to be told twice. Yelling that he’s “crazy,” Bolivar proved them right by licking the blood from his fingers … and the floor.

Captain Redford’s Decline In Health

Bolivar’s not the only one “transforming.” Eph and Nora discover that Captain Redford’s health is deteriorating at the hospital. With his temperature rising, Redford told them that he feels like he’s boiling and that his throat feels like he swallowed a razor.

Pulling out a black light, Eph and Nora discover that Captain Redford had the same wound on his neck as the victims – however his healed quickly. But what’s even more disturbing is that they see the worms moving under the skin of his face and neck.

A Visit To The Morgue

After their visit with Captain Redford, Eph and Nora decide to head to the morgue since Dr. Bennett, the Chief Medical Examiner won’t answer their calls. When they arrive they discover the office in shambles. The phone is off the hook and the bodies are gone. And while Eph and Nora didn’t find Dr. Bennett’s body, they did discover his broken glasses abandoned.

Emma’s Transformation

As Eph and Nora were on the way to the morgue, they received a call from Gary, the father of Emma, the youngest victim on Flight 753. Gary apologized to Eph and thanked him for sending his little girl home – something that Eph certainly didn’t authorize. But while Eph thinks that Gary is referring to her body, Gary instead informed him that she’s alive.

Eph believed that Gary was just seeing things. However Nora told him that it’s possible that the worms might induce some sort of hibernation. After his trip to the morgue he’s beginning to suspect that anything’s possible.

At Gary’s house, Emma’s in a comatose-like state in a bathtub. Sitting quiet with a pale face and red eyes, Gary tries to get her out of the tub but discovers that her hair is falling out. Emma said she was hungry, but before Gary could whip her up something to eat, his daughter decides to eat him. With her tongue shooting out of her mouth, Emma drains her father of blood and lets him sink into the bathtub.

What did you think of episode 2 of “The Strain”? Tweet your thoughts to @AmandaTVScoop.