Guillermo Del Toro is known for his dark tastes in the occult, the supernatural and the weird, so when The Strain managed to find a home on TV everyone had high hopes for the adaptation of the horror novel series that Del Toro co-wrote with Chuck Hogan. And for the most part, we were rewarded with a good show. The Strain did have some poor writing and inconsistent pacing, but luckily the series has now come to a close with the fourth season.Why luckily? Well, too often adaptations of self-contained stories are stretched across too many seasons, eventually fizzling out due to waning audience interest instead of ending on a high note. The Strain, however, was contained within a tidy four seasons, with a completely resolute ending.The journey to that season 4 finale was pretty crazy. From ancient vampires, to an overrun New York, and even a few nuclear blasts The Strain has been one of the most surprising television shows around. It's been willing to push the boundaries of what normal' horror can do onscreen. Along the way, it strayed from the path laid out in the books in a few different ways, so for non-book readers here's a breakdown of how The Strain TV show's ending differed from the original story.
Nora
Let's turn the clock back two seasons. When Kelly, Zach's mother, was hunting for her son she found Ephraim and Nora in the subway tunnels, and she managed to infect Nora. The scientist decided to commit suicide by touching her sword against the subway tracks, electrocuting herself. It was a tragic moment, and was particularly shocking for book readers because Nora does not die in The Strain book series.
At the start of the final book in the trilogy, The Night Eternal, Nora left Ephraim for Vasiliy Fet, eventually having two children, one named Ephraim and the other called Mariela in honor of Nora's mother. But since she didn't even make it past season 2, her relationship with Fet wasn't explored. Sorry, Nora.
Nuclear Family
Nuclear extermination seems like a great way of getting rid of the vampires (or a convoluted plot point, depending on who you ask). We've already seen the game-changing power that the nuclear bomb had during the end of season 3 - throwing up debris and blocking the sun. This allowed the Strigoi to enslave humanity, since they could now venture outside at all hours of the day.
The finale of the series takes place in a completely different location altogether from the ending in the books. In the original story, it's revealed that thanks to some divine angelic origins (we'll get to that) the Master was born on one of the Thousand Islands in Lake Ontario. The plan is formulated to acquire another nuclear bomb to try wipe out the Master, this plan succeeds as Eph, Quinlan and Zach set off the bomb, committing suicide for the greater good. Because Quinlan brought the ashes of the Ancients with him, the nuclear detonation kills the Master.
In the TV show, this ending is completely different (though it still involves a big explosion). Instead of heading to one of the Thousand Islands, the team lure the Master underneath New York, into the Third Water Tunnel. After the Master claims Eph as his new host, it's Zach who ultimately detonates the nuclear warhead and takes out the leader of the Strigoi - sacrificing himself in the process, but saving humanity.
The Master's Angelic Origins
So, let's get back to the angelic origins of the Master. In the books, this monster was spawned from the Angel of Death, Ozryel - one of three angels that God sent down to Earth to bring about the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah. Ozryel enjoyed the ransacking, murder and the overall bloodbath a little too much - so much, in fact, that God actually had Ozryel killed.
It wasn't a quick and painless death. God had the other two angels; Gabriel and Michael, rip Ozryel to shreds (seven pieces, to be exact). God ordered the pieces to be taken across the Earth and buried so that Ozryel couldn't reform and continue his bloodlust. Unfortunately, since these fleshy chunks had just been ripped from Ozryel, they were all still bleeding. The blood leaked out of the Earth and somehow became sentient. This was the birth of the Ancient Ones.
The last member of the Ancient Ones to come to life was the Master, born from Ozryel's throat. He was the youngest of the Ancients and they constantly berated him for it, which is why he has such disdain for the group. The throat was buried on one of the Thousand Islands, in Lake Ontario, which is why Eph, Quinlan and Zach had to detonate the bomb there to kill him.
But we're not quite done just yet with Ozryel and the Angels. When the explosion takes place, and the Master is killed, Ozryel is reformed because Quinlan brought the ashes of the Ancient Ones. Nora and Fet see the Gabriel and Michael return to Earth to bring Ozryel back to Heaven with them since he is purified after being reformed. Yes, after plaguing the Earth and preying on humans in all manner of horrific ways, the Angel of Death is welcomed back into Heaven because some of those humans brought his body back together. Quite a lucky break for him.
So, there you have it. The Strain didn't include the angelic ending that the books used. Maybe it's because they didn't want to hastily introduce a new location within the last episode, or that the producers didn't feel like the crazy and gory series needed a religious ending to tie it altogether. But The Strain has been one of the most gloriously silly series on television. It revelled in the bizarre nature of these vampires, the gore, the horror and those vile worms that carry the infection.
It could be argued that the TV show deserved a wilder ending, the way it happened in the books. That's not to say that the ending wasn't good - it was. The only way that Ozryel, Gabriel and Michael could have worked was if they'd built that story into the previous seasons. Plus, the episodes telling the origin of Quinlan during the Roman empire were actually quite well done. Why not embrace the biblical stories? They could have shown us the sacking of Soddom and Gomorrah by the angels, but the show managed to be crazy enough all by itself.
But let's waste time thinking of what could have been. The Strain is over, the Master is dead and the world can go back to normal. It's been an interesting ride right from the start, and we'll definitely miss it. The only question left to ask, is what will fill the horror void on TV?
Oh right - Stranger Things returns next month.