Season 1, Episode 4:
It's Not For Everyone
Poor, poor Ansel. He and his family didn't deserve this...
- Directed by: Keith GordonWritten by: Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan & Regina Corrado"Are you saying this epidemic was intentional? That somebody planned this? Is that what you're saying? [...] And you waited till now to tell us?!"- Ephraim Goodweather
A secret autopsy demonstrates the bizarre progression of the mystery virus, prompting Jim to make a startling confession. Eph and Nora race to find the father of the youngest victim of the plane tragedy, but someone unexpected beats them to it. Ansel, in the grip of disease, takes desperate measures to protect his family.
Tropes that are present in this episode:
- Alien Autopsy: Not an actual 'alien', but 'alien' in the sense that whatever is being autopsied isn't human. Instead of burning Redfern's body, Eph and Nora decide to perform an autopsy on him. But due to him fully turning due to the pathogen, Redfern is no longer human, with his entire organ network being transformed into something completely alien.
- Asshole Victim: Trip Taylor, Ansel's neighbour. He pins the blame on Ann Marie for the press being resent and using his mimosa tree as a "piss post", hit Gertie when the dog entered his yard, and is overall just not pleasant at all. In the very little time he appears in the series, no tears are shed for him when Ann Marie forces him into the garden shed, feeding him to a fully turned Ansel.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Deconstructed. Ansel isn't malicious like Eichorst or the Master, but he ate the family dog Gertie for her blood, not because of evil intentions, but because he lost himself and searched for a source of blood.
- Trip Taylor, on the other hand, plays this trope straight. Due to his behaviour, it's implied that he beat Gertie simply for walking into his yard without permission. He even removes his belt when he approaches the shed to deal with the "dog".
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: We get more in-depth into the anatomy of the infected, and all excreting organs and functions fuse into a cloaca, the excretion method for reptiles and birds.
- Big Damn Heroes: Despite no warning beforehand, Setrakian saves Eph and Nora from Emma and Gary when the latter two are attacked by them, fully infected.
- Big Fun: Felix himself is introduced as a more easygoing and fun guy when compared to his partner, Gus. The two are like yin and yang.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: After four episodes of seeing the infected, the autopsy of Doyle Redfern reveals that in the end, it's the worms that are rewriting human biology to make it more suitable as a parasitic host for consumption and reproduction. The results are:
- The lungs dry up.
- The heart is shrivelled.
- Necrotic arteries.
- A new symmetrical circulatory system that appears healthy and fresh.
- A cloaca in place of human genitalia.
- Newly formed organs that assist in the proboscis tendril, now known as a "stinger".
- Blunt "Yes": When Nora asks if Setrakian intends to kill everyone listed on the passenger manifest, he replies with a straightforward "yes".
- Body Horror: The autopsy certainly isn't a walk in the park.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Ansel does this twice.
- The first attempt is him allowing Ann Marie to take their kids to his sister's and intends to keep them there to ensure that his hunger for blood doesn't reach them.
- He does this to Ann Marie when she decides to return home. He's locked himself in the shed and tells Ann Marie to stay away from him as far as possible and to never open it under any circumstances. He even mentions some macabre material of what the Master wants him to do, and specifically does this to prove his point to Ann.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Eph really feels bad that he didn't listen to Setrakian's warnings earlier about the coffin, wishing to have destroyed it earlier when the chance was ripe.Eph: "I coulda listened to that old man. Taken the cabinet, destroyed it. Now it's gone. There's a disease spreading through the city..."
- Death of a Child: Emma's death at the blade of Setrakian's sword is swift and every detail is depicted gruesomely.
- Despair Event Horizon: Ann Marie tries to keep it together after Ansel's return from Regis Air, but as his infection grows more and more apparent, she begins to fall apart.
- Disaster Dominoes: The Regis Air tragedy was the spark of a powder keg with a lot of devastating aftereffects. The stock market plummeted, the Regis CEO "killed" himself and people are taking to the internet to voice their outrage against corporate greed and corruption.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Eph and Nora react to Jim being The Mole for Stoneheart with disdain. Eph sucker punches him in the face, and Nora doesn't offer him up.
- Fat and Skinny: Felix is the Fat to Gus' Skinny.
- Fed to the Beast: Ann Marie forces Trip into the shed as a means of shutting him up for good, allowing him to be used as food for Ansel.
- Fighting from the Inside: Despite almost being fully turned, Ansel still has enough of his conscious to drive away Ann Marie away from the shed so he doesn't hurt her.
- Killing in Self-Defense: While killing Redfern was an act of self-defence, Jim panics about the hospital finding out, while Nora assures him that it was self-defence.
- Lost Pet Grievance: Ann Marie grieves for Gertie when she finds the latter's corpse near the shed. She even buries Gertie in a makeshift grave.
- Madwoman in the Attic: As he nearly succumbs to the infection, Ansel locks himself in the garden shed, and even chains himself up for good measure to ensure he never hurts anyone.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Setrakian arrives at the Arnot household, swiftly dealing with Emma and her father Gary, both have succumbed to infection. When killing Emma, he mentions "Strigoi", coining the term for the infected for the rest of the show.Setrakian (to Gary in Romanian): "Sabia mea fredoneaza de argint." note
- Samus Is a Girl: While she hasn't been mentioned previously, Palmer is under the impression that "Dutch Velders" is a male internet freedom fighter. Then she arrives, surprising Eldritch.Palmer: "Hello, Miss Velders. Sorry, nobody said you were a woman."Dutch: "I get that a lot."
- Sound-Only Death: While Trip's death isn't onscreen, we do hear it. It does not sound pleasant.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Just like The Box, any scene involving an infected Emma has "This Old Man" playing in the background. The jaunty tune and the distressing scene makes the perfect juxtaposition for Eph and Nora to locate Emma. It's at "five" when the music fades away.
- Talk to the Fist: What does Eph repay Jim for confessing to letting the coffin across? A sucker punch to the face in rage.
- Techno Wizard: Dutch Velders is a hacker with a lot of talent and skill when it comes to using computers. The group, Citizens of Liberty, even consulted with her to slow down the internet to levels worse than dial-up, because she had that skill.
- Title Drop: "This, it's... it's not for everyone."
- True Companions: While Gus cares for his mother greatly, and is rough with Crispin although he does care for him too, he and Felix's interactions ultimately show how strong their connection is.
- We Need a Distraction: During a separate job, Felix sits on a car, triggering its alarm. While a parking attendant turns it off, Gus swipes a key for another car.
- We Used to Be Friends: Eph flat out says he doesn't "know that guy back there.", and even dissuades Nora from making justifications for Jim.
- "We're not hunting down human beings.""They're hunting us! Where do you think that blood came from?"
