3x05 Chapter Five: The Flayed

[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.

Another excellent episode, but I found it inferior to the previous one. But there's part as hilarious as Joyce and Hopper are passing as cops and tense moments like the end where Nancy and Jonathan fight for their lives, appearing in the end a terrifying mosntro. The story is always very engaging, exciting and hilarious. But this episode seemed like an episode of preparation for something bigger. Because of that, I would like to talk about the script. The story is very captivating, but I felt that it more prepares for what is to come than to work alone in this episode. But the sequences of Hopper and Joyce were very funny and full of action. And the final sequel to Nacy and Jonathan was also very good. Good script, but lower than the previous episode. The direction this time is by Uta Briesewitz. It's a good direction, but less inspired than episodes 3 and 4. I think it did a better rhythm, but the opening and closing sequences reminded me too much about Terminator. They were very tense and full of action. This episode does a little bit in the direction of the characters, but the action scenes are very good. A very correct directorial direction. The photograph continues beautiful, but I found it a bit inferior to what has already been presented. I found it lacked more vibrancy in the scenery and scenery, mixing better fris and vibrant colors better. But even so, the series remains so beautiful. The scenes of the hospital were sensational, giving the atmosphere quite tense and frightening. Already the special effects are very well done again, highlighting creature in the end. Seriously this series seems to have budget film and not a TV series such is quality of its visual effects. I also quite liked the practical effects used in the action scenes of Hopper and Joyce fleeing from the Russian henchman. Very good. Already the soundtrack disappointed me a bit because I expected the quality of the previous episodes. But even so he did not get caught up in anything. The characters and the actors, the highlights of this episode are Winona, Harbor, Natalia and Charlie. Hopper and Joyce were hilarious in this episode and still had great action scenes. The ecna in which they pretend to be two cop partners and Alexsey drinking soda is too hilarious. I laughed a lot. The actors are super at ease in the roles and have a lot of chemistry. Already Nancy and Joanathan have an excellent sequence in the end that was looking like a horror movie. The actors had a good sense of the characters' fear and the scenes were breathtaking. The kids were pretty dull, especially Millie, Finn, Noah, Caleb and Sadie. I thought the characters did not have much relevance in this episode. Already Gaten, Joe, Maya and the actress that makes Erica was well, but I found them very loose in this episode. They only fulfilled their roles in history without anything too relevant. Anyway, this was another great episode of the season that is becoming my favorite. I hope they keep getting better and better. 9/10