There is almost nothing more The Strain than the first season of The Strain ending with a mission statement voiceover, just when enough time has passed to forget that it employed the art of the voice over 12 episodes ago, in the pilot. Out of sight, out of mind: That is the way of The Strain. <The Strain>本季只以一段画外音收尾。剧中上一次出现画外音那是12集前的事情了,这个时间跨度长到你几乎会忘了他们还会弄这么个套路。戏里没再出现的一般就没有去理会了,<The Strain>这部剧就是这样过来的。 "What will it be one week from now? One month from now? Nothing is written that cannot be changed. It is a small world after all. We made it that way." "今后一月内会发生什么?今后一年呢?没有什么不可能改变。毕竟,这世界真小。一切由我们一手铸就。" But the most The Strain thing about this voice over is that it is one that may have actually worked better at the very beginning of the series. While the original voiceover from “Night Zero” was all about hunger metaphors, this voiceover—along with the shots in the bread truck and the fire in the city—could have possibly worked as a great in media res beginning for the series. It would be the type of thing that could give the audience a reason to be excited for what’s to come, especially in a show that did everything it possibly could to remove excitement from the equation. Just think: If the final moments of this season had been the opening moments of the season, no one would know just how much idiocy had to take place for everyone to get to that level. Optimism would reign supreme. Unfortunately, The Strain spits on that optimism at every turn, because that is what makes The Strain… well, The Strain. 问题在于这段旁边要是安排在第一集最前面就好多了。但是原先第一集那些画外音只是讲了一些和饥饿有关的隐喻。要是换上这段旁白,辅以面包车和城区大火的画面,更能激起观众的追剧欲望,搞明白将要发生的是什么,尤其是像这种带解密味道的戏。想想吧:如果把最后一幕放到这一季开场,没有人会想象得到我们的智商会被拉低到现在这个水平。我们总在对剧情乐观发展抱有幻想。很不幸,<The Strain>这剧会粉碎掉你每个乐观的愿望,因为这就是<The Strain>之所以...这么纠结的原因。