Among the otherworldly lifeforms, killer tendrils and a giant, child possessing cloud monster, surely one of the more stranger aspect of this season of Stranger Things is the continued existence of Steve Harrington. First introduced along with his legitimately impressive hair as the popular kid who became a boyfriend to Nancy Wheeler, he soon fell into the very obvious douchebag trope after suspecting that she had fallen into the arms of local soulful weirdo Jonathan Byers. After slut shaming her across town and then catching a sizable beating from a protective Byers, Steve somehow wandered into the middle of the monster hunting climax where, in true 80s fashion, he was destined to pay for his sins at the claws of the Demogorgon. However, to my surprise, Steve survived and even got back with Nancy in time for season 2, breaking the rule of toxic boyfriends getting their comeuppance in the final act – but why? Why was Steve allowed to survive when the likes of the harmless Barb met their tragic end? Well, prepare to find out as Stranger Things 2 continues to move with exciting purpose.
After being whisked back to Hawkins Lab after the torching of a tunnel filled with vines from the Upside-Down cause him unbearable agony, it seems that yet more painful indignities are in store for Will Byers and after a round of extensive tests, Dr. Owens may have an explanation. He sumises that Will has caught a virus from the looming smoke creature that’s connected him to a hive mind that binds together everything that’s emerged from the that gloomy, other dimension – hurt the vines and you hurt the monster, but you can’t do that without hurting Will too and another flamthrower purge of the tunnels might actually prove to be fateful for the luckless moppet. However, playing into Mike’s idea to spy on the smoke monster’s thoughts, Will claims that there’s a place located in the maze of underground tunnel that the creature doesn’t want him to see and thinks that it could be the key to defeating it.
While Dr. Owen marshals the troops for action, the absurdly mismatched team of Dustin and Steve Harrington head out into the woods to hunt down Dart, who we now know is actually an infant Demogorgon, but as they bond over dating advice and hair care tips, they are soon joined by Lucas and a still-skeptical Max and the quartet set up a trap to catch the split-faced dog/lizard. Meanwhile, after getting smashed on vodka and sending copies of that damning recording to all the national newspapers, Murray equires why Nancy and Jonathan aren’t actually a couple. After reading them both like books, the couple eventually…. couple, but upon arriving back home, they discover that a whole load of shit has gone down in their absence.
While the two lovebirds struggle to play catch up, Steve and the kids in his care discover that Dart isn’t as unique as Dustin assumed and find themselves surrounded by an entire pack of “Demodogs” – but when things look the most bleak, the beasts are suddenly called away. Why? It seems that Mike’s plan to use Will as a spy has horribly backfired and the smoke creature has been playing them while using Will as its instrument.
As Stranger Things 2 continues to smash its sophomore season, the ascension of Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington proves to be something of an apt example why the show is working so damn well. Not only was Steve’s survival in the first season surprisingly weird and oddly counterintuitive, but his continued appearance in the first half of season 2 seemed increasingly baffling. What was Steve for now? Was he now just a punching bag for the show as he first lost Nancy, and then his coolest kid in school credentials after the super-intense Billy Hargrove moved in, dominating him on every field he excelled in. However, the continued survival has now paid off magnificently in The Spy, which sees the deposed king of Hawkins High take up a new job as a babysitter/monster fighter – and it’s absolutely glorious. Maybe it’s because Joe Keery endeared himself to the Duffer Brothers and they saw more in him than just the toxic popular kid, but Harrington’s sudden redemption may actually be one one of the most fun thing Stranger Things have ever done. It’s somehow both utterly unexpected and yet feels completely perfect as his seemingly random pairing with Dustin brings out a humanity and humour in Steve that’s overwhelmingly endearing. Of course Steve was never just a bad guy and has previously showed empathy and regret, but watching him switch from giving Dustin dating advice to taking on Demodogs with his trademark spiked baseball bat proves to be mana from heaven.
In fact I could go on about the Harrington Effect for the entire review, but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of a kick-ass episode that moves with complete confidence. Nancy and Jonathan finally admit their feelings for one other after being accurately read by a gleeful Murray and while it’s a little creepy that the bearded conspiracy theorist goads two teens into having sex in his house, his one liner the next morning of “how was the pull out?” may have been referring to the coach bed, but it’s a double entendre worthy of a Roger Moore Bond flick. Also finding a neat balance in a scene that could have veered into awkward territory is the fact that both Nancy and Jonathan come together after a scene that is highly reminiscent of the flirting/arguing scene from Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom means that the show’s adoration for borrowed moments carries it through another scene with style.
Speaking of which, it could be argued that Will’s loyalty shift where it’s revealed that he’s set everybody up on the say-so of the cloud monster is yet another pop culture reference to the betrayal from Lando Calrissian during The Empire Strikes Back. However, if The Spy is overtly referencing anything, it’s blatently Aliens as we get a climactic scene full of overconfident troops get absolutely waylaid by a swarm of Demodogs that’s lit with flashing lights, further enhanced by gainy, POV camera footage and features a nervous looking Paul Reiser looking on as the body count steadily rises. In fact, the show could do far worse than continue that thread all the way to the end of the season as the cliffhanger sees the hounds of the Upside-Down make it to Hawkins Lab as Hopper looks on in terror.
However, while director Andrew Stanton has nailed his second episode on the trot by effortlessly merging together almost everything that makes Stranger Things great, you can’t help but notice that the show features a suspicious lack of Eleven who doesn’t even show up for a single scene. Whatever this means will undoubtedly make itself clear soon enough, but with three episodes left to go and mortal peril, betrayal and the Bruce Campbell-fication of Steve Harrington in full effect, it’s going to take one hell of an obstruction to make the show fly off the tracks at this point.
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