First Things First…
There’s one thing that has me more excited for this season than anything else…
I have it on good authority from a friend that this season doubles down on the horror.
Beyond that, we’ve got so many looming questions…
- Hopper is still alive, right? Right?? He has to be the American mentioned in the Season 3 stinger, being held prisoner in Russia… somehow… right?
- Have El’s powers come back? And if not, how is she coping?
- How is everyone dealing with losing Billy for real, and “losing” Hopper for pretend?
- How much more have the group dynamics changed now that El, Will, Jonathan, and Joyce have moved away from Hawkins?
5 Things I Like
5. The Challenges of Reinvention
“I’m tired of being bullied. I’m tired of girls laughing at us. I’m tired of feeling like a loser. We came to high school wanting things to be different. Right?”
Lucas
When it becomes apparent that D&D is going to conflict with the basketball team’s championship game, Lucas gives Mike and Dustin an impassioned speech about how he thought things would be different for them in high school… he thought they would make things different…
It’s interesting to even see the three of them in the Hellfire Club at all, because Mike and Lucas made it clear last season that they had outgrown D&D.
Maybe with Mike (and Dustin) being in long-distance relationships, and Max having broken up with Lucas, they all fall back into their “comfort food.”
But Lucas wants basketball to be the thing that makes him popular. And he cares about being popular, which the others don’t.
It’s a really good scene where both sides make compelling points. I feel for Lucas wishing a simple change of scenery and fresh start in high school would’ve made it easier to reinvent himself. But I also feel for Mike and Dustin just wanting to do their own thing, and for that to be enough.
4. Max’s Grief
Max isn’t nearly as fun in this episode as she’s been in the past, but with good reason after Billy’s death. And Sadie Sink has been one of the better actors since she joined the show, so she can pull off a compelling performance as a teenager refusing to deal with severe grief and trauma.
I was uncomfortable watching her discomfort as her guidance counselor grills her. And it’s a bummer watching her be mean to Lucas. But she shows concern when she hears Chrissy retching in a stall. So there’s still a piece of her heart she hasn’t closed off. I’m anxious to see if her friends can help her open the rest of it again.
3. Eddie Munson
I don’t know if I’ve ever done a more sudden 180 on a character than I did with Eddie.
When we met him in the cafeteria, I was immediately turned off. His theatrics are grating. I was preparing for another cliché character.
His scene in the woods with Chrissy turns that on its head, but not in the way I was expecting. It’s not just that there’s a softer side to him. He actually seems… cool. He’s not in over his head hanging out with the “queen of Hawkins High.” In fact, he has great chemistry with Chrissy. Her laugh sounds so genuine in their brief time together.
I expect Eddie to be a major part of this season. His name is one I couldn’t help but hear on podcasts and Twitter when this season came out. So if he’s going to be that important, I’m glad we’re off to a good start with him.
2. Lady Applejack
“My name is Lady Applejack. And I’m a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level 14. And I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I’ll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death. So, we gonna do this, or we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy’s book club?”
Erica
As soon as Eddie rejects Erica for Hellfire Club, I knew she was gonna go off on him. And does she deliver!
Erica might be my favorite character at this point. Every word out of her mouth is hilarious, and she always puts people in their place, no matter who they are.
1. Chrissy’s Horror
“Do you ever feel like you’re losing your mind?”
Chrissy
Okay, I think we’re “all systems go” with the horror.
I was surprised to see Chrissy die at the end of the episode. We spend a lot of time with her, learning about her demons, so I thought she’d be part of the season.
I don’t know how to explain the monster that kills her, or any of her visions. But they’re probably the scariest stuff that’s ever been on the show.
I recognize the monster from the Netflix thumbnails and background pictures. I’m guessing he’s Vecna—another name I’d heard because it’s out there on social media, and he became popular ever since this season aired.
Vecna is actually the name Eddie uses for the villain in his D&D campaign, but I’m guessing they pass it on to this guy.
He makes for a promising villain. I assume he’s still connected to the Upside Down, based on how he looks and that the lights flicker in Eddie’s trailer as he attacks Chrissy. I’m curious how they’ll connect.
And those seizures are scary. We go from watching Chrissy’s vision, where she’s terrorized by Vecna, to what Eddie’s seeing, which is her seizing and eventually floating to the ceiling, having all her limbs bent at horrifying angles, and dying.
2 Things I’m Mixed On
2. “Hop Is Alive”
Joyce gets this message inside a Russian nesting doll. And it just doesn’t seem exciting to me.
I like Hopper, and I want him to be in the show. But they teased that he isn’t really dead in the very same episode in which they killed him! We didn’t even have a chance to miss him before they already clued us in to him being back. So until he comes back, this storyline is fighting an uphill battle.
1. El’s Childhood Massacre
I never loved Dr. Brenner, so I wasn’t thrilled to see the new season begin with him. Matthew Modine’s name is in the opening credits, too, so it looks like he’s really back. Hopefully it’s just in flashbacks like this one.
The real story, though, is that they show a massacre at Hawkins Lab back in 1979. All the other children, plus doctors, nurses, and lab workers, have been murdered. And El is the only one still standing, looking awfully guilty.
I commented often in Season 1 that El racked up quite the body count. But then, it was always to protect herself and her friends.
Are we going to find out she was a rampaging psycho as a kid?
Honestly, I kind of doubt it. And even if it winds up being true, it could be a compelling storyline. But for now, I’m in wait-and-see mode.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. The Gang’s Separated Again
“I think I have finally adapted.”
El
El has definitely NOT adapted.
And it looks like the Byers’ and El’s move to California is this season’s Russia plot in terms of spreading out the group.
Maybe it’ll pan out, but here it doesn’t work for me.
Will and El going to school together doesn’t start out very compelling. Especially because El doesn’t have her powers, gets bullied, and Will can only lie and tell her things aren’t as bad as they seem. This would be more interesting if Mike was there. I feel like he’d defend her much more vigorously, even if he got his ass kicked for it.
Nancy and Jonathan are also apart. And though I haven’t always loved their roles, having them together beats Jonathan being a pothead stressing about his college acceptance letter.
Tim Matassa
