I’m back to watch more Stranger Things and it’s time to get to Episode 2! The episode kicks off right where episode 1 left us hanging, in the den of rat infestation. In a bit of a surprise, Billy is still alive and even drives his car away from the sketchy place, finding a telephone booth to make a call to 911. He recounts a horrifying memory where a monster attached itself to his face. Suddenly, he steps out of the telephone booth to find he’s in a place that looks just like the Upside Down. He approaches a large group of shadow people that reveal themselves to be Billy clones. This would be the perfect moment for all of them to break out singing Bet on It from High School Musical 2. Hate those missed opportunities. Cue the title credits.
Friends Don’t Lie
Eleven is nervously pacing on the front porch of Hopper’s cabin waiting to hear from Mike. Fun fact, I’ve been to this cabin! It’s at a place called Sleepy Hollow Farm. They do tours in the Fall/Christmas season. It’s the same location that they filmed the pumpkin patch in season 2! The exterior of the cabin is just an outdoor set. They film all of the indoor scenes on a soundstage.
Back to the show, Eleven calls Mike only for him to say he can’t see her because his grandma is sick. Obviously a lie! He’s afraid to see her after Hopper’s threat from the last episode. El is sad about a day without Mike, but Hopper is having a full on celebration that includes singing in the car. Hopper goes to visit Joyce to share his good news and asks her out to dinner. He tells her it’s not a date. Joyce clarifies they will not be riding in the car together, but meeting at the restaurant because it’s not a date. Then one little moment changes everything. Some magnets fall off of a board in her store. If you thought she didn’t have anything to obsess over this season, don’t worry. The moment has arrived.
Nancy and Jonathan on the Case
Gary Busey’s clone son is back to annoy Nancy. She just wants to go see the diseased rats. I don’t think you do Nancy, they blow up. It’s that time of the season. Nancy and Jonathan are off to solve another mystery! They arrive at a woman named Mrs Driscoll’s house. She lives alone because her husband died many years prior. Mrs. Driscoll tells the two about the strange rats then proceeds to open her basement door. This is just like that scene in Zodiac when the strange man makes Jake Gyllenhaal go in the basement. Ok, maybe it’s not like that because they’re just looking at some bags of fertilizer that have been eaten by the diseased rats. So far, Mrs. Driscoll does not show any signs of being the Zodiac killer. Time will tell her story! She tells Nancy that there’s something very wrong with these rats, she suspects rabies. She “forgot” to mention that she caught one of the rats in a cage. Really? Forgot to mention that little tidbit, did you, Mrs. Driscoll? That’s convenient! The rat is going crazy, just like the ones from episode 1. Jonathan takes several pictures of it, making it more upset. As soon as he and Nancy leave, the rat explodes, turning into a pile of sludge that gets out of the cage. So that’s a gross new development.
Dustin and Steve: Dynamic Duo
Dustin and Steve are finally back on screen together! What a great duo. As the two catch up, Dustin tells Steve about the Russian code he heard on his radio tower. The two decide to team up to crack the code! What I love about this duo is the natural charisma and humor they bring to the screen. There’s no way Steve would have talked to Dustin in season 1, but because of their character development throughout the series, this has become a genuinely entertaining friendship.
Mall Rats
El goes to Max for advice on her relationship with Mike. She tells El that Mike is definitely lying. Cut to Mike getting dating advice from Lucas while Will just wants to play D&D. Why won’t anyone just hang out with Will? This kid has had half of his childhood ripped away from him. Play the board game!
Episode 2 is appropriately titled The Mall Rats (after a movie of the same name) and it fits based on the amount of time the gang is hanging at the mall. Max takes El to Starcourt after telling her to ignore Mike for awhile. This is El’s first time at the mall and she’s feeling overwhelmed by “too many people.” Max encourages her to try shopping and figure out what she likes instead of having others tell her what her opinion is on everything. The two embark on a shopping spree for the ages to the tune of Material Girl by Madonna. They go to the Gap! Try on sunglasses! Take vintage portraits at the mall studio. This is what I call a montage.
Guess who else is at the mall? Mike, Lucas, and Will as Mike tries to get the perfect gift for El to say “I’m sorry” for lying. What are the odds they’d be in the same place at once? These kids get into the craziest shenanigans! On the way out of the mall, all of the kids run into each other at the same time. That TV timing! El asks Mike why he said his grandma was sick. He sticks with the lie and she calls him out on it. The bus pulls up at the exact moment he’s caught in his lie. So she just dumps Mike on the spot! Well, we got through one episode with them as a couple. It was nice while it lasted. He clearly didn’t see it coming.
The Lurking Lifeguard
The ladies are back at the pool looking out for their favorite lifeguard! Karen is on Billy watch and spots him from across the pool. She walks into a gate marked “dangerous chemicals” hmm maybe not the place you want to be? When she finds him, he’s drinking ammonia. Is this your man, Karen? This is who you want to risk it all for? As she attempts to explain why she didn’t show up to the Motel 6 (thank you Karen!), Billy is imagining what it would be like to star in High School Musical 3.
As Karen continues talking, he violently knocks her against the wall . It’s a shocking and disturbing moment. It turns out, this was some kind of hallucination and Billy is still standing in the same spot just a moment later with Karen unharmed. He tells Karen to stay away from him and stumbles out to his lifeguard tower, sweating profusely. Billy has another hallucination where his shadow clone tells him it wants him “to build”. Build what? When he snaps out of it, his arm looks grossly infected. He immediately goes to the shower where the female lifeguard comes in to ask if he’s ok. Get away, girl! You’re not safe around him! He drinks ammonia in his free time.
Break the Code
At Scoops Ahoy, Steve and Dustin are attempting to break the Russian code first heard on Dustin’s radio tower. They attempt this task with a Russian-English dictionary and nothing else. I admire the dedication. Steve says the background music in the recording sounds familiar. Robin comes to the break room to tell them that she knows all about their plan to unlock the code. She claims to be able to help them out because she’s fluent in 4 languages. Yet none of them are Russian. I’m not sure how that’s gonna help anything.
At the end of the work day, the 3 have decoded a full sentence from the recording “The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west.” Steve is skeptical that this is legit while Robin and Dustin are sure the translation is right. Just as they are about to leave for the night, Steve stops at one of the indoor mall rides called The Indiana Flyer and turns it on. As the song on the ride plays, he recognizes it from the decoded recording. He’s positive it’s the same song playing in the background of the Russian code. That means the code isn’t coming from Russia, but right there in Hawkins. Listen, I love and support Steve. Good for him for putting this all together, but this is one wild stretch. This is a majorly popular piece of music. The odds that a highly secretive Russian recording would trace back to this tiny mall carnival ride in Hawkins, Indiana…
Hopper and Joyce’s Magnetism
Hopper meets with Mayor Kline (Cary Elwes) as several town members protest right outside his office about the Starcourt Mall taking away all of the small town business. The mayor talks about how perfect the mall is and it isn’t hurting anyone! He wants Hopper to arrest the town protestors because they don’t have a permit to protest. Also, he’s trying to throw a 4th of July party in just 4 days and he simply can’t plan it with protestors bothering him. With the promise of a 4th of July party, Hopper shuts down the protests. Okay, he’s hesitant about it, considering he cares about the townspeople, but he does get a delivery straight to the sight of the protest. It’s a Hawaiian shirt?! This is not like him at all, but I love the style choice! He puts it on right away to get to his (not a date) date with Joyce.
Joyce, on the other hand goes to meet with Will’s old science teacher, Mr. Clarke, to ask him about the magnets that keep falling all around town. If there’s a problem, she’s gonna find out what it is. Better make it fast, Joyce because Hopper is waiting for you at dinner! Can I just say probably my least favorite trope in movies and tv shows is people skipping out on dinner plans? Just call! Tell them you can’t make it. Mr. Clarke and Joyce make an electromagnetic field and come up with a theory that there’s some kind of massive machine under the town affecting all of the magnets.
Of course, Joyce missed the dinner. Hopper is upset and leaves the restaurant with a bottle of booze and the crushing blow of defeat in his heart.
Final Moments
Time for the final scene! What will happen this time? Billy is driving back to the same auto garage as episode 1. He opens the trunk of his car and he’s kidnapped the other life guard. Billy, stop being like this, get your head in the game. Don’t take her to the den of rabid rats. He tells her not to be afraid and it’ll all be over soon. Well, she’s got every reason to be afraid. I’m afraid for her. Some kind of monster comes out of the shadows as she screams. End of episode 2.
Lingering Questions: What is the goal of the Russians? How did Robin crack that code without knowing the language?
Episode MVP: Steve
Best Scene: Material Girl Mall montage
Is Steve Alive After Episode 2: He’s alive and thriving!