[7.5/10] Another solid episode. We’ve reached the point in the average Stranger Things season when the different stories start converging, and that helps! Blending the Nancy/Jonathan storyline with the kids’ storyline ends up averaging things out overall, but it’s for the best.
I don’t need more Nanc/yJoantahn relationship drama, but (1.) the show has Nancy do the first genuinely smart thing she’s done this season and talk to Will Byers about what’s going on and (2.) it compartmentalizes the Dawson’s Creek style “You didn’t really mean it, right?” conversations between Nancy and JOnathan in favor of some good old fashioned horror.
The opening shout out to Dawn of the Dead should have been the tip off, but there’s some really cool Zombie movie-esque horror to the scenes of Nancy and Jonathan being stalked by their former newspaper colleagues in the hospital. The episode draws out the suspense and ominous atmosphere with the flashing lights, the blood-dripping attackers, and the sense of steady pursuit. There’s some added intrigue via the fact that attacking one of the “flayed” individuals seems to affect the other, and there’s some genuine fright and peril from the way that the two newsmen, seemingly infused with super strength, go after our heroes.
There’s also some tremendous body horror when the two melt, turn inside out, and combine to form a version of the mindflayers. The graphics have never been this show’s strong suit, but iits definitely well done.
We also get some more movement on the kids reconciling. Lucas and Max are back to playing games together. Will cares enough about his friends’ relationships to know when to get out of dodge so that Mike can have a moment alone with his still sort of girlfriend. And Eleven freeing Mike’s vending machine candy and Mike sharing some as a peace offering is a nice understated way to show the ice thawing between them after what ha[[ened.
Things are getting intense elsewhere in the show as well. The Ice Cream Shop contingent accidentally sneaking into a secret Russian bunker has plenty of suspense of its own. I like the dynamic with this crew a lot, and while the pair being able to slink their way through a hidden government facility practically riddles with armed guards strains credulity, the craft of it’s too good to care. I especially like Robin’s backsass to the two boys, and Erika is bursting with personality.
Plus, there's a surprising amount of triumph in Steve actually winning a fight! Again, it seems unlikely that he’d be able to stop some kind of KGB agent, but whatever, it fits the tone here. We also get the reveal that the canister of green ooze the kids recovered is full of fuel for the machine that is opening the rift to the Upside Down (and, presumably, causing the demagnetism in Hawkins)..
Speaking of which, the weirdest plot in this episode is Hopper and Joyce kidnapping the Russian scientist who is (if the opening sene of the series is to be believed) in charge of the Russian Upside Down project. Meanwhile, they have to escape a Schwarzenegger-esque, Terminator-style KGB pursuer. Once more, this is pretty outsized, unbelievable stuff, but I don’t really mind it. It feels of a piece with 1980s Cold War thrillers and genre stories, so I’m willing to give this jet black bowl of borscht a pass.
That said, I still don’t like what they’ve done to Hopper. He just seems totally out of character this whole time, still being a cartoony sitcom dad (or Magnum PI, given the shirt) rather than the scruffy but noble character we’ve known for two seasons. They’re trying to do the Beatrice/Benedict routine with him and Joyce, but that’s never really been their dynamic, so it feels forced, and the fact that he becomes jealous of the Russian scientist is absurd.
That said, adding in Alexei the scientist to their trio is strangely effective? It adds something else to their dynamic, and his sort of disbelief at everything happening is entertaining. Plus I love the reappearance of Murray (Brett Gelman again!), the conspiracy nut who not only speaks Russian, but whose purpose in the show is apparently to tell would-be couples who won’t admit their feelings for one another to stop kidding around and get together. His interactions with the rest of the group are a blast.
Overall, the season has definitely picked up after the dregs that we started with, and I’m interested to see how the Mindflayer portion of the show crosses with the Russian-hunting portion of the show as we rumble through the back half of the season.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-01-09T02:59:11Z
[7.5/10] Another solid episode. We’ve reached the point in the average Stranger Things season when the different stories start converging, and that helps! Blending the Nancy/Jonathan storyline with the kids’ storyline ends up averaging things out overall, but it’s for the best.
I don’t need more Nanc/yJoantahn relationship drama, but (1.) the show has Nancy do the first genuinely smart thing she’s done this season and talk to Will Byers about what’s going on and (2.) it compartmentalizes the Dawson’s Creek style “You didn’t really mean it, right?” conversations between Nancy and JOnathan in favor of some good old fashioned horror.
The opening shout out to Dawn of the Dead should have been the tip off, but there’s some really cool Zombie movie-esque horror to the scenes of Nancy and Jonathan being stalked by their former newspaper colleagues in the hospital. The episode draws out the suspense and ominous atmosphere with the flashing lights, the blood-dripping attackers, and the sense of steady pursuit. There’s some added intrigue via the fact that attacking one of the “flayed” individuals seems to affect the other, and there’s some genuine fright and peril from the way that the two newsmen, seemingly infused with super strength, go after our heroes.
There’s also some tremendous body horror when the two melt, turn inside out, and combine to form a version of the mindflayers. The graphics have never been this show’s strong suit, but iits definitely well done.
We also get some more movement on the kids reconciling. Lucas and Max are back to playing games together. Will cares enough about his friends’ relationships to know when to get out of dodge so that Mike can have a moment alone with his still sort of girlfriend. And Eleven freeing Mike’s vending machine candy and Mike sharing some as a peace offering is a nice understated way to show the ice thawing between them after what ha[[ened.
Things are getting intense elsewhere in the show as well. The Ice Cream Shop contingent accidentally sneaking into a secret Russian bunker has plenty of suspense of its own. I like the dynamic with this crew a lot, and while the pair being able to slink their way through a hidden government facility practically riddles with armed guards strains credulity, the craft of it’s too good to care. I especially like Robin’s backsass to the two boys, and Erika is bursting with personality.
Plus, there's a surprising amount of triumph in Steve actually winning a fight! Again, it seems unlikely that he’d be able to stop some kind of KGB agent, but whatever, it fits the tone here. We also get the reveal that the canister of green ooze the kids recovered is full of fuel for the machine that is opening the rift to the Upside Down (and, presumably, causing the demagnetism in Hawkins)..
Speaking of which, the weirdest plot in this episode is Hopper and Joyce kidnapping the Russian scientist who is (if the opening sene of the series is to be believed) in charge of the Russian Upside Down project. Meanwhile, they have to escape a Schwarzenegger-esque, Terminator-style KGB pursuer. Once more, this is pretty outsized, unbelievable stuff, but I don’t really mind it. It feels of a piece with 1980s Cold War thrillers and genre stories, so I’m willing to give this jet black bowl of borscht a pass.
That said, I still don’t like what they’ve done to Hopper. He just seems totally out of character this whole time, still being a cartoony sitcom dad (or Magnum PI, given the shirt) rather than the scruffy but noble character we’ve known for two seasons. They’re trying to do the Beatrice/Benedict routine with him and Joyce, but that’s never really been their dynamic, so it feels forced, and the fact that he becomes jealous of the Russian scientist is absurd.
That said, adding in Alexei the scientist to their trio is strangely effective? It adds something else to their dynamic, and his sort of disbelief at everything happening is entertaining. Plus I love the reappearance of Murray (Brett Gelman again!), the conspiracy nut who not only speaks Russian, but whose purpose in the show is apparently to tell would-be couples who won’t admit their feelings for one another to stop kidding around and get together. His interactions with the rest of the group are a blast.
Overall, the season has definitely picked up after the dregs that we started with, and I’m interested to see how the Mindflayer portion of the show crosses with the Russian-hunting portion of the show as we rumble through the back half of the season.