Now that Stranger Things has regained its equilibrium once more, it’s now safe for the show to ease off the accelerator a bit in the wake of the last, utterly batshit, episode that served up three completely different genres for the price of one in a single installment. I fact, whoever thought that each storyline should be told in a completely different tone actually deserves some kind of raise as it helped focus the season’s rather overindulgent use of those patented 80s references. With Joyce and Hopper embroiled in some sort of 80s action flick, Dustin, Steve, Robin and Erica wrestling their way through a sci-fi conspiracy and the rest of the cast having to contend with full-blown body horror, this means that the sixth episode can take a moment to squeeze some character stuff in before the long, rollercoaster style plunge to the finale. With blobby, flesh monsters running around and a seven foot tall, Russian hit man trying to clean up loose ends, maybe some brevity is called for after the breathless resurgence of the Netflix hit – but rest assured, it probably won’t last long considering the ever growing stakes.
Things are rapidly getting ever more desperate for the clumps of people charged with once again saving the town of Hawkins from the various, otherworldly threats are amassing against it. After discovering that the Russians have created an entire underground laboratory under the disguise of the Starcourt Mall in the attempt to reopen the gate to the Upside-Down, the thrown-together group of Robin, Erica, Dustin and Steve have been wandering around the place like they have a free pass. However, it seems that their luck has run out as they are finally discovered by guards – but even though Dustin and Erica manage to get away into the ducts under the floor, Steve and Robin get to spend some uncomfortable alone time as they’re tortured for information. Meanwhile, after enlisting the help of Murray Baumam in order to translate the Russian of the scientist they’ve managed to capture, Hopper and Joyce try to get word to Dr. Owens about what is occurring in the hope that they can all in the cavalry – however, Alexei seems to be enjoying this hostage situation a bit too much considering he gets Slurpies to drink and cartoons to watch.
Finally, after discovering exactly why they’re called the Flayed, Nancy finds herself in danger from the violent flesh-creature that’s pulled itself together from the melted remains of her former work peers, but after Eleven once again steps in to save the day, Mike starts to get worried that all this pressure on his on-again, off-again girlfriend is putting too much of a strain on her powers. However, while Max figures that El should be the one to make that choice, Eleven attempt to link minds with the possessed Billy Hargrove in order to try anocate where the physical form of the Mind Flayer is hiding.
But while Eleven gets a look into Billy’s mind and sees the traumatic childhood that led him to be the super-intense bully we all know, the Mind Flayer is able to look too and once it figures out where the gang is holed up, starts adding to its hideous mass to be ready for the showdown that’s coming.
The time has come where Stranger Things would usually reshuffle it’s cards and start linking things together, but now the individual groups are now so large and the show is having so much fun playing with different genres, that it seems like for now, it’s content to keep things seperate. It proves to to something of a wise move too, because now that season three has all of its irons in the fire, it’s moving with irresistible purpose. But if we take each group as their own section, the Mind Flayer stuff seems to be doubling down to provide some of the most overt horror the show has ever attempted and even though there’s previous form of the writers being particularly cold blooded (just ask Barb and Bob), the fact that a selection of Hawkins’ population has been required to get possessed and then melt down in order to give up their pulped bodies to increase the mass of the Mind Flayer is pretty nasty. But while the show is happily filling up its trauma content, the rest of this section of the show is bringing up a relevant question: is there an upper limit to Eleven’s powers, or do those frequent nose bleeds suggest that she’s actually damaging herself every time she hurls a blob of monstrous flesh out the window? Mike is so worried that Max is being so cavalier about this, he inadvertently let’s it slip that he loves Eleven and it’s about time we got a bit of tenderness from young Mr. Wheeler, because for most of this season he’s been a bit of an asshole. Elsewhere, we get something of an origin story when Eleven goes into Billy’s mind and we see exactly why he’s so screwed up even without an alien intelligence in his head – although, I have to say, getting backstory so late in the game probably means that Billy may not be around too long. Still, with a final scene showing that the Mind Flayer is about to take care of its own dirty work, the horror section of the show is building to something big.
In comparison, the Russian base plot seems to be taking a well earned breather after carrying the shoe for the first half of the season. With Steve getting the shit beat out of him again (is it in Joe Keery’s contract that he has to spend the final episodes coated in cuts, bruises and black eyes) and Robin unable to convince the Russian command of their accidental discovery, the two get pumped with truth serum and have a heart to heart as the drugs take effect. It’s actually quite sweet, and my 80s nerdness can’t help but point out that their chat is set to the Day Of The Dead soundtrack (the movie featured prominently in episode 1); but after a heartfelt outpouring from Robin who’s been watching Steve from afar, Dustin and Erica burst in with shock sticks to rescue them to prove that normal service will now be resumed on Stranger Things’ most ridiculous plotline to date.
Finally, there’s a lot of milage to be gleaned from Hopper trying his best to be an infallible action hero and failing at almost every turn. When he isn’t being dubbed “fat Rambo” by an emboldened Alexei, or being constantly undermined by Joyce, his volcanic temper threatens to undo ever heroic act he’s trying to pull off, but it’s good to see that the show and David Harbour have finally found some middle ground to let him overact wildly and still have it actually fit into the tone of the show.
After two solid episodes in a row that finally got the season onto solid ground, Stranger Things 3 now has the confidence and space to slow things down a little bit and let things breathe. However, I suspect that with only a few episodes to go, the show might have telegraphed one or two plot twists that could still possibly occur, but to be fair, it’s a price I’m willing to pay if it means that the unlikely protectors of Hawkins are once again kicking ass.
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