The second season finale of FX's "The Strain" aired fairly recently and there is no denying how audiences are still shaken by the events that took place in the last episode. It is common knowledge that the series is based on the 2009 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, and since both authors now serve as two of the series' executive producers, fans were at ease thinking that no deviations from the source would take place. If season 2 episode 13 is any indication, however, the production of the television program has no qualms about paving their own storyline. 

In the novel, Nora is amongst the few lucky survivors. Coming into the season 2's finale, many were confident that she would make it through. Much to the surprise of the show's viewers, though, the last few sequences saw Nora infected by Kelly, ultimately opting to kill herself before things got worse.

Unsurprisingly, viewers have varying opinions about the creative license the cast and crew of the program have decided to take. Fortunately, showrunner Carlton Cuse has since explained the reason for their surprising choice. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cuse revealed that he consulted Del Torro and Hogan in developing the ending for the second season and, according to all three of them, the death of Nora, while painful, was necessary. 

"Based on other things we're going to be doing downstream, the death of Nora was a painful but necessary turn in our plot for events in season three. It was the seismic event we needed in order to do certain things in the future," he said. 

In consolation, Cuse also spilled tiny little hints as to what fans can expect from the show when it returns sometime next year. In the same interview, he explained how the disbanding in season 2 would soon be resolved in season 3. 

"The questions are, when do they get back together, who does get back together and what for, and how? All those things become a part of the storytelling in season three," he said. 

No specific date for the premiere of "The Strain" season 3 has been released but the show is expected to return in 2016.