I'll be honest I'm not as engaged with the plot of this season so far. It has no real thrust and the motivations of the characters aren't as engaging. The biggest drag is probably Jonathan and Nancy. Their plot to "take down" Hawkins Lab just feels contrived and silly. I'm not liking Hopper either. I don't understand why they wrote him to be a toxic dad to El. It just feels unnecessary and doesn't serve anything imo. El could still feel trapped and unhappy without him literally screaming at and pushing around a child.
It's not all Ls Max is an interesting new character and Will's residual trauma and connection to the upsidedown has some pathos. I do wish Joyce was allowed to be less jittery and manic all the time. It made sense in season 1 when her child was missing and there was a wider conspiracy but it does feel a bit overdone and stagnant now. A more self-assured but still fearful Joyce would be a nice change of pace.
Yeah sorry Dustin, I’m gonna have to dock you a few points for keeping a baby demogorgon as a pet. Granted you found it at a stage where it didn’t have obvious flower petal lips, and you probably didn’t know it was the creature Will was impregnated by in the Upside Down, but yeah you still kinda should’ve known better. Your cat’s death is no one’s fault but your own dude.
Still, it was great to see more chilling moments from Will, and Nancy pulling a smart by tape recording the laboratory criminals.
why are the characters so irritating in this season—dustin, el, and that guardian of max whose name didn't stick to me bc who is he to remember anyway?
i didn't like the way el behaved in this episode; she's being selfish and irrational by making her feelings get the best of her at the expense of both her and hopper's lives. she needs to understand where hopper is coming from as well; he just wants to protect her. but el acts like she can protect herself alone from the evil men in the lab :))))))) let's see what that stubbornness can cause to her and possibly, to hopper as well.
and please max's guardian is so freaking annoying????? that dude got anger issues way more than you and your family have combined (i mean, at least one member of every family have this or are you non-asian?). i just can't stand the way he treats max like a puppet he can easily force to follow him. it must be traumatizing for max to live up to her asshole guardian/companion's shouting. however, it's still a mystery why they landed to hawkins? like what happened to them? are they antagonists in this season or what?
and lastly, dustin facing the consequences of his stubborn actions. i think dasurv :rolling_eyes::rolling_eyes::rolling_eyes: that's what you get for prioritizing your desires over the safety and precautions of the people around you, especially that he's already been warned about that creature. you are my favorite from your group, dusty, but you're disappointing me rn.
The scenes between Hopper + El and Joyce + Will are so raw, I love it!
Dustin hiding Dart is VERY frustrating. As someone who is aware of the Demogorgon and the Upside Down, he definetely should know better.
The reveal of Nancy and Jonathan's plan made me cheer, not gonna lie it was very cool. They are lucky that the bad guys didn't search their bags tho
I don't like how slow this season is advancing. Season 1 was like much more fast paced and eventful. You watch 50minutes and you can sum it up in 2 sentences.
Hopper finds a network of tunnels underground after analyzing Wills visions. Darts finally becomes the monster it was from the beginning. Finally, the two stupid lovebirds want to expose the lab to somehow, clouded by their ignorange, "burn it to the ground", not knowing that that would lead to the opposite.
[7.7/10] My favorite scenes in this one corresponded to my favorite moments in a lot of episodes -- namely the ones between parents and children. They’re the parts of Stranger Things that feels the most real. It’s striking, for a show steeped in alternate planes of existence and extradimensional threats how genuine a lot of those interactions feel.
That’s chiefly felt in the scenes between Eleven and Hopper. There’s such anger at both of them. Hopper is frustrated that Eleven would put herlse fat risk like that, and especially made that she’d disobey him. It comes from a place of love but also of anger. Eleven, for her part, is a typical teenager, wanting her freedom and not liking being cooped up or told what to do. But more than that, she has a lot of baggage from being kept somewhere and told its for her own good, and it’s painful for her to be separated from the people she cares about
So things get real and they get hurtful. Eleven tells Hopper that he’s like Matthew Modine. Hopper threatens to send ehr back to the lab with “one phone call.” Eleven uses her telekinesis to throw a book at Hopper. Hopper rips out the T.V. connection. It’s tense and emotional, especially when things look like they might have cooled down only for Hopper to again play bad cop with his surrogate daughter.
As cute and endearing as their interactions have been up to this point, this episode is hard to watch for being the negative image of that, a scary look at parent and child pushed to the edge, the usual intergenerational disagreements kicked up a notch when one side of the equation possesses supernatural abilities.
That seems likely to become a deeper schism, when in the act of cleaning up the resulting mess, Eleven finds Hopper’s research file on the “Hawkins Lab” and manages to discover her mother. The scene where she traverses that in-between space to find Irene, and this woman she’s never met but somehow knows emerges from her stupor and utters Eleven’s birth name is startling. Watching her then disappear into smoke, as Eleven cries her young eyes out, is heartbreaking. It’s part and parcel with the open wound and harrowing parental interactions we get here.
That extends to Joyce and Will. Their relationship isn’t combative, just one of concern and fear. Joyce is worried that something has happened to her son, something that’s changing him, scaring him, keeping him from being the boy she once knew. Will, for his part, is suffused with some force he doesn’t understand, one that’s giving him thoughts and feelings he’s not prepared for. The way that Joyce is so supportive and nurturing to her son, while clearly deeply afraid herself, mixed with some shockingly good acting from the young performer who plays Will, conveying not just his deep anxiety over what’s happening to him but the sense of being possessed at times, makes for an emotionally potent set of scenes.
But the less emotional material works well too. Let me be frank -- the fact that Nancy and Jonathan’s plan works is ridiculous. Why the feds would be startled enough by the suggestion that they might tell Barb’s parents what’s really up, but wouldn’t search these two nosy teenagers on the way in or the way out strains credulity.
But I like what happens when they’re in the facility. Once again, Paul Resier nicely walks the line between being a cuddly teddy bear and being frightening and threatening. He is the iron fist in the velvet glove, which makes him a compelling replacement for the MAtthew Modine character -- different in temperament but filling the same role in the show.
To the same end, I like that we get his perspective and motivation here -- decrying what his predecessors did as both a major fuck-up and ethically wrong, but also emphasizing the importance of cleaning up that mess by any means necessary. That means “clearing the weeds” of their bridge to the Upside Down every day, and it means doing the same in terms of the truth, preventing it from getting out, lest the Soviets use it against us somehow, something that plays into that era’s anxieties neatly. It’s still kind of nuts that the teenagers’ plan works, but those scenes do a lot to develop Paul Reiser as both a character and an antagonist.
There’s some good material with the boys too. We get some well-crafted group dynamics, with Lucas resenting Dustin for not showing up in the hunt for Dart, Max resenting Lucas for not sticking up for her when she’s excluded by the rest of the group, and Mike resenting Max for...well...just not being Eleven. It leads to a lot of good scenes where the kids act like kids, in all their internecine glory, and all of them are struggling with what they can and can’t tell one another.
We also get a few more hints on the major arcs/threats from the Upside Down. Hopper uses “Will the Wise” and his “true sight” via a series of crayon pictures to figure out that there are vines containing the atmosphere of the Upside Down emerging from the Lab Building. Of course, he doesn’t test or anything, just starts digging until he dives into one of them, because Hopper’s only plan ever is to Leeroy Jenkins his way through anything.
We also get the big hint that Dart is actually a baby Demogorgon, one that’s graduated from eating nougat to eating Dustin’s mom’s cat. It’s definitely a scary scene, and shows Dustin messing with things beyond his control or understanding. My crazy theory is that the Shadow Monster Will keeps seeing is the mother of the Demogorgons, and part of the anger is not just at the humans messing with her realm, but that they’re killing and/or stealing her babies, which explains why she’s drawn to Will given his connection/possession.
The only other detail of note is that Billy is racist and...maybe gay for Steve? Their scenes together are kind of weird, and I’m not sure where exactly the show’s going with them. So far, Billy has been such a one-note, seemingly abusive asshole that him turning out to be gay, and partially sublimating his anger at having to hide who he is would at least give him another dimension as a character.
Overall, another strong outing from season 2, one bolstered in particular by great performances and well-written scenes between Eleven and Hopper on the one hand, and Joyce and Will on the other.
This episode was the best of this season so far, but I'm really mad at Dustin and hate Maxine's brother. He is a creeper and weirdo. Dustin was stupid to leave Dart alone at home. Will already warned him about ranger the creature pose. I'm really engaging about Will's sorry ao far. He is the best character of this season. Lucas, Joyce and Hopper are the others chrarcters that I'm enjoying so far. Nancy and Jonathan are boring and I don't hate Steve anymore. The soundtrack in this episode das amazing and the and das thrilling. I can't wait to watch the next episode! 9/10!
What pisses me off the most about this episode was Dustin becoming so retarded to the point that lead to this episode's ending. He's always been one of the smartest of the gang (well, they all are), so this whole Dart thing felt a wee bit too much out of character for him. Apart from that bit of sloppy writing, this episode finally delivered the goods (this season was being a bore-fest, compared to the first one)!
I'm not really a fan of Eleven (yes, we're few, but we're out there), her scenes have been so annoying because now she's just acting like a spoiled brat with superpowers the whole time (she was awesome in the first season, though). But I got admit I was surprised with the actor who plays Will. He seemed like your average kid actor in the first season (I barely connected with him then, he seemed to me to be the worst actor of the bunch), but he's taking things to a whole new level, this season!
I'm sure Hopper is gonna regret going solo inside of what is clearly a creation of the Upside Down world. In fact, I have no idea why he had such a brain fart like that. Sloppy writing, again?
And Nancy, oh boy... Everyone's hating on her and then... WHAM!! Badass bitch with a plan. Nice!
So when did the government start caring about civvies? They showed them everything and gave the keys back to go home? lols
That ending scene was spectacular. It was reminiscent of The Thing, at least for me.
This season is turning out to be much better than the first, which was 'just ok' for me, nothing impressive, with lazy writing.
Good to see Nancy using her brains for a change. Mg heart goes out to Will and Joyce, especially. Being a mother myself, it would kill be more to see my child going through such evil.
I'm glad Eleven saw what she saw. I'm waiting for a confrontation scene.
My baby Dustin. I hope you're right about Dart.
And just let Max in the party, you petty Mike! She's cooler and as badass as, and less annoying than, Eleven!
"Oh jesus!"
Well said Hopper!
Oh, Dustin, you adorkable idiot. I hope there's still some way Dart doesn't end up being the Harbinger of Doom, but come on. You should have known better.
The things in motion, for now, continues well
I don't know who gets the credit for the kids that were cast for this show, but they're really delivering. Brown (Eleven) and Schnapp (Will), in particular, turn in phenomenal performances in this one. Eleven needs to remember the bit about being careful what you wish for...
this episode was amazing. that end was insane.
The action finally picks up
Shit!!! The last scene!!! The new Dart!!! Dustin!!! Your mother is going to kill you.
OMG!!! What's going on with Will??
This is too much... And we saw mama... Damn....
Leave the cats alone!! RIP Meow-meow! You'll be missed (not as much as Barb but...).
I really like that last shot. The camera turning upside down when Hooper is underground entering the upside down's tentacle creature's path was great.
Dart must really be short for Demogorgon. RIP Mews the cat.
Well, now that I’ve finished this episode I’m not so sure about Dart anymore, lol.
Dart is the cutest thing on earth. And the writers should’ve killed Nancy instead of Barb.
Honestly the kid that plays Will is an excellent actor, both him and Millie are great actors
Dustin you stupid, I know that creature was cute but I wouldn't keep him alive since you knew he's connected to the upside world somehow and now great!!! The Demogorgon is born again F***!!
Side note RIP Dog, it's Dustin's fault
Nancy I doubted you but sh*t!! Planning all this ahead was smart, now she has recordings of them admitting everything and she gonna expose them, lets hope everything goes well
Also El might be a girl named Jane, I'm in episode 4 still not sure but I prefer calling her El
Also that scene of El and Hopper was amazing, I know some people gonna blame Hopper for acting like a d*ck but just know that he cares about her and he's trying to keep her save so I do understand how he acted and to be honest El was Brat, BRAT the word of the day LOL
Great episode but now it seems like everything is going shitstorm so I'm worried about what happens next
Shout by Pavel P.BlockedParent2024-07-31T23:38:21Z
Noah Shnapp as Will is absolutely incredible. The scene where he describes everything to his mom a cries about how he just wants it all to go away, I believed him every word. As a parent it tore my heart to imagine my kid suffer like that. Millie as Eleven and her scene with her mom was also superb. Plus Sadie Sink as Max... I have no words... Everything about this show is an absolute perfection!