First Things First…
We have momentum now. The Mind Flayer’s plan is finally clear—build his army to become powerful enough to destroy El, and then destroy everyone and everything else. And he’s already executing.
Plus, Dustin and Erica are in the middle of a rescue operation for Steve and Robin. My biggest hope for this episode is that the two groups reunite—particularly so Dustin is back with his friends.
Then there’s Hopper and Joyce with Murray and Alexei. They’ve uncovered the plot to open a gate to the Upside Down, and they’ve called Dr. Owens—who hasn’t been around all season—for reinforcements. I’ll be thrilled if he shows up. But they’ve got the Russian Terminator hot on their heels.
It’s shaping up to be a strong final two episodes of the season!
5 Things I Like
5. The Love Doctor Is Back In
“Children! Children! Children! This interminable bickering was amusing at first, but it’s getting very stale and we’ve still got a long drive ahead of us. So, why don’t you two cut the horseshit and get to the part where you admit your sexual feelings for one another?”
Murray
Last season, Murray helped Nancy and Jonathan finally get together. (How romantic they must find it that their first time having sex was in Murray’s bunker…)
Now, he tries to do the same for Joyce and Hopper.
There are no immediate results, and the jury is still out on whether it will happen eventually. But for now, this is the most entertaining thing to happen in the Joyce/Hopper pairing, which I’ve liked less and less as the season has gone on.
The best part about this exchange is how funny Alexei thinks it is when he finds out Hopper and Joyce haven’t already had sex.
4. Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Like any great athlete who suffers a devastating defeat, the Mind Flayer put in the WORK.
Flaying so many people from Hawkins paid off, because now that the Mind Flayer has presumably subsumed all of them except Billy, he’s so much bigger, stronger, more powerful, and harder to fight. El still damages him, but she can’t toss him around like a rag doll anymore. And even taking off some of his tentacles—which she does with her powers, and Lucas does with an axe—doesn’t seem to affect him much.
This is a solid payoff to the plan the Mind Flayer has been enacting all season, as it makes him a much more formidable opponent, which we desperately needed because El had already beaten him before.
3. Robin and Steve’s Heart to Heart: The Sequel
Robin divulges even more information to Steve that would’ve been useful for him to know before he revealed his feelings for her.
Turns out her obsession with him when they had class together wasn’t what it sounded like at all.
Nope… she was only obsessed with him because the girl she liked was too infatuated with Steve to ever notice her.
It takes Steve a beat to process this secret…
But my favorite part once he does is that, without addressing Robin’s insecurity directly, he makes it clear that her liking girls doesn’t make him not want to be friends with her. He immediately starts poking fun at the girl Robin liked, but not in a mean way, just in a way that gets them laughing together.
It’s got to be a blow to have spent the summer falling for Robin, only to find out she’s not and never will be interested in him that way. But he takes it in stride and seems to understand how vulnerable she’s being by sharing this with him.
2. Rescue and Reunion
Our two groups finally connect—and Dustin is finally reunited with his friends—at the end, when El makes the save and flips a car in the mall over a bunch of Russian goons. (Nice to see she’s still cool with murdering people when she has to…)
I’d been waiting for this for what feels like ages, and the way the episode was going, I didn’t think it was gonna happen. But it does, and it leads to some other fun—if brief—interactions, like Lucas being shocked to discover Erica, and everyone wondering who the hell Robin is. I can’t wait for her to be incorporated into the group in a meaningful way.
1. El Infected
I figured something must be up when some of El’s blood that spilled on the supermarket floor moved, as if it was alive. Her gash looked nasty then, but at the end, when she collapses and they undo her wrapping, it looks horrible. There’s blackness branching off, and then something moves under her skin. She was clearly infected by the Mind Flayer. As that became apparent, I thought she might become possessed. If the Mind Flayer gains control over the only person who has a chance of stopping him, they’re all screwed.
(Unless Lucas’ fireworks actually take him out.)
Either way, whether El is possessed or just incapacitated, this finally gives everyone else a chance to step up in a way they haven’t had to before. They’ve all been extraordinarily brave in battling the original Demogorgon and then the Mind Flayer the first time, but at the end of the day, El has always done the heaviest lifting. This is a cool change of pace.
2 Things I’m Mixed On
2. No Dr. Owens
I’m not really holding this against the episode, because I’m sure, with the way it’s been teased, Owens will show up in the finale. I’m just a little bummed, because I thought I might see him here.
1. Evading the Russians
I wanted to enjoy Hopper’s escapades through the carnival, and in particular the funhouse. It was cool enough, especially because he’s back in ass-kicking mode. But I still care a lot more about the Mind Flayer and Upside Down than the Russians.
Of course, the two storylines are intricately related, but I’ve said all season the Russian aspect isn’t as compelling to me. And I felt that here as he fights off and escapes from these Russian operatives.
3 Things I Don’t Like
3. There’s No Resisting a Corndog
In the previous episode, when Hopper gives Alexei the freedom to take the convertible and leave, Murray is the one yelling about how this guy is an “enemy of the state.”
The fact that not only does he now bring Alexei into the carnival to enjoy a slice of Americana, but abandons him—knowing how vital he is AND that he doesn’t speak English—to grab them some grub is bewildering!
In fact, it’s so bewildering that I don’t buy for one second Murray would’ve actually made this choice. He’s the most paranoid person on the whole show.
2. Stuck in the Mall
It makes sense that the Russians from the lab alerted their security aboveground about the intruders escaping. It wouldn’t have been realistic if the four of them were simply home free as soon as the elevator got back to the surface…
But that doesn’t mean I wanted to spend the entire episode with them on the run inside the mall. This felt like stalling for one more episode, until this group could finally reunite with the others—and it drags.
1. More Bickering
Even though Joyce and Hopper’s bickering gives us Murray’s glorious diatribe about them needing to pull over, rip each other’s clothes off, and get it over with, I’m out on these two as a couple.
They’ve both had their moments this season, but most of the time I haven’t enjoyed them. That continues here as they keep fighting. Hopper even argues about Joyce wanting to protect her kids. I mean, he acts like it’s crazy that something could happen at the carnival, even though he knows Mayor Larry organized the carnival, and that he’s in bed with the Russians.
Hopper comes off looking bad because of that, but the truth is they both act like children—and not in an endearing, “aw shucks, they’re just in love” kind of way. It’s more in the “I’d NEVER want to hang out with the two of them” kind of way.
I’m leaving plenty of room for them to get it together and become a functional, stable, even fun couple. But in the here and now, it’s another lousy time with them.
Tim Matassa
