The WORST episodes of The Strain
Every episode of The Strain ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Strain!
A mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism ravages the city of New York.
#1 - The Silver Angel
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/2/2015
Eph and Nora finally see their lethal virus in action. Fet takes the security of Red Hook into his own hands while Dutch and Setrakian set off for Staten Island to question Fitzwilliam, Palmer's former body guard.
#2 - Fallen Light
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/27/2015
Eph must choose between Zack's safety and the safety of the citizens of NYC. Meanwhile, his relationship with Nora reaches a critical impasse, and Gus and Angel assemble an unlikely gang of Sun-hunters.
#3 - The Blood Tax
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/23/2017
Imprisoned as a subject in a strigoi breeding program, Dutch is desperate to escape and find Setrakian. Gus recruits his cousin for the inside job that will put his gang at the top of the new world’s underground economy, but Creem is suspicious of his business partner’s ambitions.
#4 - New York Strong
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/28/2016
The strigoi are evolving, becoming faster. Smarter. Eph's bioweapon is failing. He struggles to improve it while trying to work through the emotional fallout of the abduction of his son, Zack. As Setrakian and Quinlan attempt to crack the Lumen’s deepest-held secrets, Fet helps a Navy SEAL team in a deadly mission: search for the Master through the underground tunnels of New York.
#5 - The Worm Turns
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/16/2017
Out of the ashes of humanity’s nuclear war, Night Eternal has begun. Haunted by the atrocities committed by his son, Eph abandons NYC for Philadelphia. His solitude is cut short when he encounters new fighters who rekindle his drive to fight back. Tasked by Setrakian, Fet and Quinlan search for a new means of stopping the Master.
#6 - Quick and Painless
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/9/2015
Eph changes his appearance to leave the city while Nora is left as the reluctant parent for Zack. Dutch and Nora make a deal with Justine to secure Fet’s release from jail.
#7 - Belly of the Beast
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/13/2017
Fet and Quinlan are hot on the trail of a convoy carrying their prized nuclear weapon. Eph and Alex search for clues to uncover the Master’s plan for the ultimate fate of the human race. Dutch is trapped by a familiar enemy, yet encounters an old friend as well.
#8 - One Shot
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/30/2017
Quinlan and Fet discover that stealing a nuclear warhead isn’t easy when they encounter an unexpected enemy. Eph and Alex concoct a new weapon to use against the strigoi. Frustrated with his seclusion, Zack discovers a love interest.
#9 - New Horizons
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/6/2017
Dutch is forced to make a deal with Desai while she plots to escape a strigoi breeding facility. Eph and Alex seek to uncover the dark secrets behind the Partnership’s new plan but face the repercussion of their last attack. Gus and Creem face off against a gang encroaching on their turf.
#10 - BK, NY
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/12/2015
Eph and Nora work on a weapon to kill the strigoi, but Setrakian puts the group at risk by searching for an ancient text, while the Master introduces a new breed of creature and taps Kelly to control it.
#11 - By Any Means
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/19/2015
Eph and Nora experiment on their newfound patients. Fet and Dutch grow closer as they clear out the neighborhood buildings, and Kelly begins her hunt for Zack.
#12 - Bad White
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/4/2016
The Master’s offer to return Zack plagues Eph as he considers taking it. Dutch reunites with an old group of friends but begins to question if her safety is better with them or with Fet, Eph and Setrakian. Palmer strives for answers to Setrakian’s secret strigoi blood treatments and discovers he may have a way to acquire it.
#13 - Loved Ones
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/14/2014
Eph investigates Kelly’s disappearance and struggles with what he finds. Dutch pursues a plan to retaliate against Palmer, and Fitzwilliam makes a surprising choice.
#14 - Identity
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/16/2015
Eph concocts a plan to make and distribute a bioweapon. Gus realizes Angel can be an unlikely ally, and Kelly comes after Nora and Zack.
#15 - Fort Defiance
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/26/2015
Gus and Vaun wage an attack on Palmer as Eph struggles to connect with Zack. Councilwoman Justine Faraldo vows to bring her extermination policies to the other boroughs.
#16 - Gone but Not Forgotten
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/18/2016
Things have changed. The infection enters a new phase. Fet wants to celebrate, but Setrakian and Eph are worried there's more work to be done. Justine conscripts a new, unwilling army in the fight while Eichhorst angrily lashes out with a plan to strike back.
#17 - Collaborators
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/9/2016
Setrakian offers hope in a new plan to trap the Master while Eph and Dutch seek out the Master’s “voice.” Palmer, frail and close to death, needs Setrakian’s access to the white to hold up his end of their bargain. Fet suffers a devastating personal loss revealing a long-hidden family secret.
#18 - Intruders
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/30/2015
Eph must protect Zack against a surprise intruder into Red Hook. Gus convinces the Guptas to make a difficult choice. Fet and Setrakian set out to acquire the Lumen but discover they are not the only potential buyer.
#19 - Tainted Love
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/20/2017
Fet and Quinlan have to figure out how to get the nuclear bomb back to New York, while a desperate Eichhorst draws near. Love‐struck Zack tries to learn more about his new crush, but makes a devastating discovery.
#20 - The Born
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/23/2015
Setrakian and Fet use Fitzwilliam’s info to attack the Master, but a mysterious new player arrives. Dutch receives a surprise guest. Eph returns to NYC frustrated but energized to go after the one person responsible for killing his friends.
#21 - The Battle for Red Hook
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/6/2015
Justine takes drastic measures to counter a surprise invasion. Nora and Fet perform a useful mission while Eph and Setrakian face off against an old foe.
#22 - Dead End
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 9/20/2015
Dutch fights for her life against Eichhorst as Fet, Nora, and Eph frantically search the city for her. Setrakian confronts an old acquaintance on his search for the Occido Lumen, while Gus helps the Guptas escape across the border to safety.
#23 - Extraction
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/3/2017
Reeling from loss, our heroes regroup. To defeat the Master, they must locate him first. Our heroes devise a new plan to track him through human collaborators, beginning at the blood farm with someone Dutch knows all too well.
#24 - The Assassin
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/13/2015
Eph and Dutch work together to thwart the Master’s greatest ally. Justine runs into trouble with the Mayor while Setrakian tracks down the real owner of the Lumen.
#25 - Madness
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/25/2016
New information from the Lumen forces Setrakian to seek help from his lifelong nemesis, Eldritch Palmer. Eph’s new experiments to understand strigoi communication seemingly take him to the brink of madness while Fet is on a mission to discover strigoi movements across New York City.