Aaron Ploof
Episode 2 kicks things off with a violent showdown between the Wheelers and one of Vecna’s Demogorgons. Holly manages to evade it long enough to sprint to her mother’s side. Although Karen doesn’t at first believe Holly’s warning. But all it takes is a bit of electricity outage and door pounding for Karen to get serious. She hides Holly and herself underneath the bubbles of her recently drawn bath. Ted and his golfclub distract the Demogorgon just long enough for Karen and Holly to rush downstairs. Poor Ted, though.
Karen’s Bad-Ass Moment
What happens next is honestly the most bad-ass part of the season, even with me having seen parts 3 and 4 as well. Karen pushes Holly back behind her, grabs her bottle of wine, smashes it against the countertop and wields it like a boss. Screaming, “Stay away from my daughter!” she thrusts the broken bottle right into the Demogorgon’s face multiple times before finally going down with a claw swipe to the chest. It’s awesome to see Karen’s mother, however oblivious she is to the whole Vecna situation, go as Buono puts it, into full “mama-bear” mode.
Karen Wheeler has been advertised as being more of a major player this season, what with her actor, Cara Buono, appearing in more promotional material and having her name in the opening credits. She even appeared with the rest of the main cast in a red dress on the red carpet. It appears that main player status also comes in handy near the end of the episode.
Mike and Nancy Investigate
After Mike and Nancy ask the doctor for permission to see their bedridden mother and are refused, Nancy hatches a plan. Fueled by her disgust at being called “sweetheart,” she and Mike adorn hospital attire and sneak into Karen’s room. Karen is bedridden, with a full neck brace. Although she can’t speak, Mike and Nancy are able to give her a pen and a notepad. They’re able to ask her about Mr. Whatsit and discover his first name, Henry.
Well, so much for Holly’s imaginary friend being a helpful ally. He’s none other than Vecna himself. He’s been targeting Holly ever since Nancy’s vision in season 4. Now that the secret is out, I can only imagine the guilt that Nancy feels at not protecting their family to have doubled.
Vecna’s Plan
It’s revealed that Vecna has taken Holly to the Creel house, situated in the middle of a forest in a clearing. The episode closes with Holly entering the house.
What does Henry want with Holly? As Mike said earlier, it seems completely out of left field that Vecna would take someone so unrelated to all of these events. I’m in the same headspace of all the kids; this has left me stumped. And where is the Creel house located, anyway? It can’t be in the real world. As Eleven said, it might be beyond the wall, closed off from being sensed, but I have my doubts about that.
Daddy/Daughter Time
Speaking of Eleven, she gets to spend some valuable bonding time with Hopper when she bumps into him The Upside Down. She also receives a lecture for her rash decision making, relying on instinct and intuition instead of using her head. Being an overall “stubborn punk-ass.”
Hopper is struggling with the possibility that he might lose Eleven like he lost Sara. We are treated to flashbacks of his last few moments with his previous daughter as he recounts them to Eleven. He also tells of his time in Vietnam, recounting how he used to behave like Eleven.
Hopper ultimately tells Eleven that from here on out, she’ll have to listen to him and do what he says. But I don’t see Eleven completely stopping her efforts to strike out on her own and establish some more independence.
Great Scott!
That seems to be a major theme running this episode, as Will also breaks away from his mother’s influence and specific directions not to leave her side. Robin telling Joyce that the flux capacitor is down is an excellent allusion to Back to the Future and had me in stitches. I laughed even harder when Joyce mentioned it to Dustin, Jonathan, and Steve.
Robin and Will’s getaway following Will’s antennae leads them to the woods. On their way there they have a brief conversation about what Will “might” have seen between Robin and Vickie in the hospital. Of course, Will glimpsed the two of them sharing a kiss. This makes for excellent character dynamics, taking the two gay characters in the show and starting them down a path of mutual understanding.
Noah Schnapp, Will’s actor, has said that Will’s sexuality is a major plot point of Season 5. I’ll keep my lips closed about what I know from seeing episode 4, but he is absolutely correct. Robin and Will’s bonding time in this episode heavily contributes to Will’s understanding of his own sexuality.
What’s even cooler about Will being gay is that Noah is as well. There’s no doubt that Schnapp has had his own struggles relating to his sexuality, so seeing him express these through the character of Will must be cathartic for him. It also allows those of us who aren’t on the rainbow spectrum to see through his eyes.
What Are We Gonna Do About Dustin?
Our boy Dustin has some serious explaining to do. As Steve tells him during their argument, he’s “poked the bear” one too many times and has now had to deal with a serious reckoning. Of course, Dustin is too proud to admit that he actually got pummeled or to apoogize.
I could tell that Dustin was not dealing with Eddie’s death in a healthy manner during the last episode, and he’s still up on his high horse throughout this one as well. Part of me is sad to see best buds like Dustin and Steve arguing, so I hope this matter gets put to rest sooner rather than later.
The Steve/Jonathan/Nancy Triangle
Steve and Jonathan have a go at each other too. Jonathan accuses Steve of posturing and showing off for Nance in a bid for her attention, while Steve bites back. He states that Jonathan is too focused on Steve and is leaving Nancy miserable. Both of them are right, of course.
This is going to be interesting, seeing which one Nancy will pick, if she does choose either one. Further developments in the season, will surely ratchet up the tensions on both sides.
Character Drama
And that’s what ultimately makes Stranger Things an excellently written show. The character dynamics and drama at the center of it push it forward. Characters grow closer even as they push each other further apart. But if the party wants a chance at taking out Vecna, they’ll have to manage their drama, as the big bad is looming large, no doubt concocting a sinister plan in the background. Holly may be just the first one to go…
