S02.E05: Chapter Five: Dig Dug

[Athena]

Quote

Nancy and Jonathan swap conspiracy theories with a new ally as Eleven searches for someone from her past. “Bob the Brain” tackles a difficult problem.

 

[Nostariel]

I kept shouting at Joyce to just TELL BOB, but I realize why she couldn't. Loved seeing El with her mom, I'm hoping her mom can be saved though I doubt it'll happen. Is the Upside Down spread throughout the whole town now? Creepier and creepier.

[kokapetl]

Mrs Wheeler is a Reaganite and a Thatcherite? I bet she also likes pork belly futures, bearer bonds etc. This is the eighties, lest the viewers forget that for one second. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Kokapetl

[SeanC]

This is the episode where a bunch of people get brought up to speed (or not) on the events of the first season.  Lucas seizes the advantage in the contest for Max by giving that most desirable of gifts: information.  Also, Lucas' little sister is a great bit character.

Hopper's voice mail intro is great.

I'm pretty sure Lucas wrote that creepy arcade manager a cheque he won't be able to cash.  That seems like a risky proposition given how much time they seem to spend there.

I like that the show made time to for Eleven to explore her family history, and in particular didn't just relegate Ms. Ives to a tragic footnote incubator who only appeared in Hopper and Joyce's investigation.

[ghoulina]

Lucas's sister is killing it! What a little sass monster. Overall, I'm enjoying seeing more of the other boys' families. 

All the election signs are great too. 

 

I kind of love that Bob doesn't seem remotely jealous of Hopper. It was great when grew figured out what all the drawings represented. I like that he's useful and not just a bumbling boyfriend. 

[Dev F]

7 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

Mrs Wheeler is a Reaganite and a Thatcherite? I bet she also likes pork belly futures, bearer bonds etc. This is the eighties, lest the viewers forget that for one second. 

That conversation was probably about her explaining to her friend why she wasn't planning on voting for Geraldine Ferraro, right? She might vote for a woman veep if she were like Margaret Thatcher.

11 minutes ago, lora said:

I suppose the lady taking care of El's mom, is El's aunt? If they are related, then great casting.

Weirdly, it's the one and only bit of casting the doesn't quite work for me, since she's generally like the third or fourth most important character in any scene she's in, but she's fuggin' Amy Seimetz, so she's always the most interesting one on screen.

[EarlGreyTea]

2 hours ago, lora said:

I suppose the lady taking care of El's mom, is El's aunt? If they are related, then great casting.

I don't know what to says about Mike's parents. Most ignorant, careless and indifferent parents ever.

Yeah, I didn't think the casting for El's aunt wasn't all that great, resemblance-wise, until a moment in this episode where both El and her aunt are in the same shot, and for a second they did look related. It was a great bit of casting after all.

I'm disappointed in Mike's mom. Cara Buono hasn't been given much to do this season. She had some great little scenes last season that showed more depth than the character probably deserved. Disappointed that those nuances aren't on display this season either. But in order for the storyline to work, Mike's parents have to be largely ignorant about what he's doing.

Edited October 28, 2017 by EarlGreyTea

[Captain Carrot]

6 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I'm disappointed in Mike's mom. Cara Buono hasn't been given much to do this season. She had some great little scenes last season that showed more depth than the character probably deserved. Disappointed that those nuances aren't on display this season either. But in order for the storyline to work, Mike's parents have to be largely ignorant about what he's doing.

In her defense her hands are full taking care of Ted and Holly.

[Blue Plastic]

Amusing that Mad Max said some parts of the story were "derivative!"

I'm really not liking all the new characters taking places in the original group, though.  I guess I'm like El that way!  But I really want someone to DO something about Max's home situation.  It's awful.  Why is she stuck with this horrible abusive matted-haired stepbrother or whatever he is?j

El has basically been abandoned again because Hopper didn't seem to know how to handle her and then he went and got himself stuck in the Upside Down.  I'm not sure how much progress she will make with Auntie and Mama but whatever.  I hope the Auntie will treat her well.  I was hoping she'd get to be back with the group of friends at some point.

They needed something to put all over the house this year for Winona Ryder to get obsessed about ala the Christmas lights last year, but how is anyone supposed to be able to tell which piece of "tunnel" fits with any other piece of tunnel?  They could just all be stuck together in any random order and it would look the same.

I'm really enjoying the crap out of this even if I don't like some of what's happening.  The '80s stuff is killing me in a good way.

[thuganomics85]

Seeing what happened to Eleven's mom was as scary and sad as expected.  And I see they even got Matthew Modine to pop in for a few seconds, looking sinister as always!

Go Bob!  I like that he played a part in them figuring out where Hopper was and even went down into the tunnels with Joyce, despite not knowing what the hell was going on.  But I have to imagine he will be in the know now, due to everything he's seen.

So, Nancy and Jonathan actually have gone to the conspiracy guy (who I just realized was Brian Gelman a.k.a. Hamish from Another Period), and they're plan is to "water down the evidence", by saying Barb was actually killed by toxins from the company, which would be more realistic to most, but still get the company in trouble.  Of course, they're still playing with fire by even taking them on.

Lucas finally tells Max what happened, and she understandably doesn't believe him at first, but might have been opening up to it before Billy showed up and ruined everything.

Dustin and Steve possibly teaming up to take care of baby gormogon is something I never knew I wanted.

Oh, shit!  Will is really getting messed up now!

[Danny Franks]

New star of the show? Lucas' dad's moustache. That was a thing of 80s beauty. Closely followed by Erica, Lucas' sister.

I also love Mr. Wheeler and his utter detachment and obliviousness. "Hey. Language."

I feel so bad for Dustin's mother, missing her cat. I love cats, and the idea of them missing or hurt is bad enough, but not knowing it's dead? Poor lady. And I'm losing a fuckload of sympathy for Dustin, with his relative lack of care that the cat is dead, and the fact he didn't immediately tell the other boys and Hopper about Dart. Running around trying to find them the next day wasn't exactly giving it the code red treatment.

Mike being a good friend to Will is nice to see. Supportive and understanding, someone Will can just be honest with. Pretty cool that Will was able to find Hopper, and pinpoint his location. And then Bob coming in handy to figure out where that was.

Hopper underground was very Cronenberg, and very much like what I wish The Expanse had done with its protomolecule effects. But sorry, Bob, if Joyce is this desperate to save Hopper, I think the writing is on the wall.

I like the show filling in gaps, like explaining that Nancy did wait for Jonathan after Will's return, but he didn't make a move. Partly because of Will, and partly because he clearly doesn't have a clue. I appreciate that Nancy is pretty direct and upfront about it all. She's a strong young woman. And not being in denial is always refreshing, when it comes to TV characters and romance.

The conspiracy theory 'investigator' was fun. And again, I like Nancy immediately dropping knowledge on him. And demanding he help them. I think Jonathan is out of his depth. It still feels more 70s than 80s, though. Not a criticism, just interesting that the older kids get The Ipcress File and not The Goonies.

Lucas being dramatic again, but I'm glad he told Max everything. It feels fitting that he's the one to trust Max, after not trusting El, and being the odd one out. But of course she wouldn't believe him. It's a ridiculous story.

Not much to say about El in this episode. It just feels like an unneccesary tangent. One that I doubt many wanted to see. Even with the reveal that her mother had powers too. Didn't we all already figure out how the lab got Eleven, and that they caused her vegetative state?

Again, with the disturbing visuals to end the episode. That seizure was awful to watch. And I guess we know why Will doesn't like heat, now. Whatever is inside him is part of the thing growing under Hawkins.

[Lady Calypso]

56 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I feel so bad for Dustin's mother, missing her cat. I love cats, and the idea of them missing or hurt is bad enough, but not knowing it's dead? Poor lady. And I'm losing a fuckload of sympathy for Dustin, with his relative lack of care that the cat is dead, and the fact he didn't immediately tell the other boys and Hopper about Dart. Running around trying to find them the next day wasn't exactly giving it the code red treatment.

Yeah, same here. I mean, Dustin seems to care more about Dart than his friends and family. I get he's a kid still so he'll make stupid mistakes like this, but it's just another TV trope that I've seen a million different times on every other show I've seen. So, in that sense, I'm not interested in seeing Dustin continue to lie and keep a huge secret like this. I mean, he only called Code Red after Dart attacked him. Does Dustin not understand that eventually, Dart will escalate from pet cats to humans once it gets big enough? Right now is still the time where he might be able to kill it. But, waiting any longer, and he runs the risk of Dart getting too big and dangerous to kill. Although, if he does kill Dart and the Demogorgon and the other creatures find out, they may not be too pleased.

Lucas' sister Erica was so cute. They really got excellent child actors here. Also, another thing I did love about the Dustin subplot was his unexpected team up with Steve. That's one way to use the actor even with Steve broken up with Nancy, and her running around with Jonathan. 

I was happy to see Lucas tell Max the truth. It was nice that he actually listened to his father and gave Max what she wanted. Even if she doesn't quite believe him now, she'll now be involved in all the supernatural stuff so she'll get to see it first hand. 

Seriously, though, what is up with her stepbrother? Is he really racist toward Lucas, or is it something else? He does seem to be really willing to drive Max everywhere. His actions and his words conflicted with one another. Sometimes, his actions or words conflict with themselves. 

I'm really rooting for Nancy and Jonathan to take down the company. 

So, we're getting more on what Will can actually do. The drawings are better used this time around. I kind of like them, though I still love the Christmas lights. Bob is seriously great, but I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It would be nice if he survived the season AND wasn't evil. It's also nice that he's getting into the action, much like Max. And I did love how he went from "I don't want to play along because it's not good for you or Will" to "Hey! I know the answers!"

I love that Mike is there for Will, and not thinking as much about Eleven. I mean, I know he still misses her and wants her back, but he's finally getting back to himself with helping his friend.

Poor Hopper. He got trapped in the Upside Down and if things went wrong, he wouldn't have been able to make up with El.

Speaking of El, I'm glad she got answers about her mother. It was still sad to see what those answers led to.

God, that end scene of Will's seizure and scream because they were burning the creatures of the Upside Down was terrifying.

[mmecorday]

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God, that end scene of Will's seizure and scream because they were burning the creatures of the Upside Down was terrifying.

Yeah, and I had barely recovered from the trauma of seeing Hopper in the tight embrace of those terrifying tentacles and then that scene. Holy crap. The electroshock scene was nightmare fuel too. This season is definitely amping up the horror aspect of the show.

[nodorothyparker]

As much as I'm getting anxious to see Eleven reunited with the main cast, her side trip to find her broken mother and aunt was really affecting.  She was smart enough to realize that her mom probably had some powers in there too, hence the flickering lights, and use of her own to get a closeup look at what really happened, that her mom was basically treated like an incubator and then deliberately short circuited so she'd stop causing problems about it.  

Bob's double take at the crazy he'd wandered into in the Byers house was great.  No, Bob, they really weren't just saying that when Joyce told you they weren't a normal family.  I have no idea how he was able to catch on so quickly that the giant road map o' scribbles meant what it did but it was nice to see him almost immediately recover and leap so enthusiastically into the action.  Bonus for the quick The Goonies shoutout about X marking the spot on the pirate map.  Hopper was also seriously channeling Indiana Jones in his entire adventure in the tunnels complete with the hat.

Max's reaction to Lucas's reveal was bumping right up along the edge of going too meta, talking about how it was a great story although a little derivative but managed to stay just on the right side of going over that edge.  Wasn't that pretty much what some of the early reviews of Season 1 basically said?

The Wheelers continue to be the most oblivious parents ever.  The conspiracy "investigator" is giving off serious discredited reporter vibes that left me wondering how much of it is his own particular flavor of crazy and how much of it would have been the lab spreading the story about "Russians."  Although he was pouring teenagers copious amounts of vodka, so I guess we can draw our own conclusions there.

I don't really find it that implausible that Dustin got carried away with his new toy, er, pet, er baby demogorgon and didn't fully appreciate the danger until it had doubled or tripled in size and eaten the cat.  None of the rest of them have seen it since it was much much smaller and they only had a working theory of what it might be at that point, whereas to him it was something he rescued and wanted to keep.  Kids this age aren't always great at thinking more than a couple of moves ahead.  Lucas's little sister was hysterically pitch perfect responding to his code red calls.

Poor Will.

[Paloma]

15 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I had barely recovered from the trauma of seeing Hopper in the tight embrace of those terrifying tentacles

That was the most terrifying scene to me, because it looked like snakes crawling all over him, and I have a terrible fear of snakes. The demigorgon does not scare me as much, though its effects on Will are very upsetting.

[tennisgurl]

This season is just filled to the brim with nightmare fuel! Between the vine monsters attacking Hopper and Will having seizures, with the addition of the creepy flashbacks from Els mother getting her brain fried, I am officially cheeped the hell out. 

Dang Dustin, you could at least try to care about the poor dead cat! I mean, its understandable that he has a lot going on with his new pet run amok, but still. On the other hand, I am pretty interested to see where his monster hunt with Steve goes. I bet Steve, for as much as he is trying to be normal, totally still has his bat with nails on it in his car, and I can totally get behind Steve getting more involved in the monster plot. What can I say, he and his amazing hair have grown on me. 

Bob is a seriously ride or die boyfriend! He seemed nice enough in an average joe way before, but I really love him now. He is clearly smarter than I expected, and I can really appreciate a man who will run into a random field at night with his girlfriend, her 13 year old son and one of his friends, dig a hole, and search through some kind of creepy underground hellscape looking for some other guy. I hope he doesn't end up being a part of the conspiracy! 

I did enjoy getting more Joyce and Hop though. Even if its not romantic, they have a really nice bond. 

[VCRTracking]

Holy crap. I need a breather after that one!

Poor Dustin's mom.

Lucas' sister rocks. She's like Dee from What's Happening?

Dustin and Steve working together!

Got a good chuckle out of Sean Astin saying "What's at the X? Pirate treasure?" I like "Bob the Brain".

El's mom's memories broke my heart. It also makes me want to rewatch Matthew Modine's character's death from last season's finale.

[Portia]

4 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Lucas' sister rocks. She's like Dee from What's Happening?

Get out of my fucking head! Those were my words exactly! I love how this show makes me find nostalgia everywhere I look.

[Clanstarling]

Okay, maybe I'm crazy...but I took the scene with El and "Momma" very differently. To me it seemed she was telling El that she wasn't Jane, her daughter. When she opened the door to the rainbow room, there were two girls - an older one who was clearly 08 from the season opening, and the strawberry blond she ran to. That girl looked more like her than El, with her dark hair, does. But we do know a strawberry blond girl of roughly the same age - Max. 

I'm trying not to binge, but I really want to see what's happening with Will. My hope is that as horrible as it looks, it will help him in the long run, at least. 

Edited October 30, 2017 by Clanstarling

[secnarf]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Okay, maybe I'm crazy...but I took the scene with El and "Momma" very differently. To me it seemed she was telling El that she wasn't Jane, her daughter. When she opened the door to the rainbow room, there were two girls - an older one who was clearly 08 from the season opening, and the strawberry blond she ran to. That girl looked more like her than El, with her dark hair, does. But we do know a strawberry blond girl of roughly the same age - Max.

I don't think Max is strawberry blond at all. She's pretty redhead and that's not typically something kids "grow into", is it? I know kids can often start off blond and their hair can darken as they age, but Max is very much a redhead.

[EarlGreyTea]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Okay, maybe I'm crazy...but I took the scene with El and "Momma" very differently. To me it seemed she was telling El that she wasn't Jane, her daughter. When she opened the door to the rainbow room, there were two girls - an older one who was clearly 08 from the season opening, and the strawberry blond she ran to. That girl looked more like her than El, with her dark hair, does. But we do know a strawberry blond girl of roughly the same age - Max. 

I'm trying not to binge, but I really want to see what's happening with Will. My hope is that as horrible as it looks, it will help him in the long run, at least. 

Holy shit! But she surely Max would have had a number tattooed on her, no? I actually was really confused by that whole scene, because there seem to be at least 5-8 years between Eleven and the actress playing Kali, and the two kids in the rainbow room looked to be the same age. Maybe that's a clue.

[secnarf]

2 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

Holy shit! But she surely Max would have had a number tattooed on her, no? I actually was really confused by that whole scene, because there seem to be at least 5-8 years between Eleven and the actress playing Kali, and the two kids in the rainbow room looked to be the same age. Maybe that's a clue.

I thought this too, and it really confused me until

a scene in episode 7 shows them standing side-by-side as kids and Kali is way taller than Eleven. I think sitting vs standing made a difference?

(very minor spoiler for episode 7 - no plot details but if you are super allergic then you've been warned!)

[Kel Varnsen]

I guess Hopper has never taken any kind of confined space training.

I liked El's trip to her mom, but I really wonder how she is going to get back to Hawkins.

I also wonder how much time passed since the last episode. Mike slept at Will's so the next day I guess. But does that mean that Dustin went to sleep with cat-eating demigorgon junior in his room?

Also noticed that this episode was directed by Andrew Stanton, a member of the Pixar Brain Trust who also directer Finding Nemo and Wall-E. Kind of impressive.

[Cheezwiz]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Also noticed that this episode was directed by Andrew Stanton, a member of the Pixar Brain Trust who also directer Finding Nemo and Wall-E. Kind of impressive.

Wow, I didn't pick up on that, but it explains how entertaining (in a scary intense way) this episode was.

I was honestly kind of "meh" on the first season and frankly was puzzled by the hype, but the show has improved immensely in Season 2. The storytelling is much more compelling and it now feels like it's its own thing rather than an over-stuffed grab-bag of 80's references, which is how the first season felt to me. The period details & little homages feel integrated with the story rather than being shoe-horned in, and there is a bit more depth to some of the characters now. It's also much more scary and gripping (no vine pun intended). Winona is not annoying me as much as she did in Season 1 either - I guess because she's playing off of Sean Astin in many scenes. I hope he's a genuinely good guy and that nothing bad happens to him.

I still love Dustin despite his dumb mis-step with his new pet. When he was all dressed up in his oven-mitt, hockey pad battle gear and managed to swat the demogorgon into the cellar and slam the door shut, I laughed out loud  when he deadpanned "sorry, but you killed my cat". The casting is PERFECT for his Mom too. Can't wait to see him team up with Steve to finish the critter off.

Also still dying to know what the backstory is for Max and godawful mullet-of-doom (step?)brother.

The flashback sequences of Eleven's Mom were horrifying and sad.

And Will, poor Will. Kid can't catch a break.

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, secnarf said:

I don't think Max is strawberry blond at all. She's pretty redhead and that's not typically something kids "grow into", is it? I know kids can often start off blond and their hair can darken as they age, but Max is very much a redhead.

I knew I should have added a sentence or two about Max's red hair and that someone would ding me. :) But I was in a hurry. To answer the question - I have seen reddish hair darken over time, but I don't know how common that is.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, loved Bob and Hopper casually saying hi to each other after Joyce rescued him.

When Will asked Mike about the monster being able to spy on them, I was waiting for Severus Snape to yell, "CONCENTRATE, POTTER!"

Mike's parents suck, but I had to laugh at the conversation Dustin had with Mike's dad - first when he knocked on the door and informed him that their phone line had been tied up for two hours and Mike's dad said, "Oh, I realize," and then when Mike's dad told Dustin, "Our children don't live her anymore."

Loved how excited Bob got when he figured out that Will's drawings were a map of the town.

The entire scene where Dustin set the trap and then caught Dart was perfect. I may have been in similar high stress situations where I had to fling open a door and then shrieked, "Omigawd omigawd omigawd!" as I ran away.

[Kel Varnsen]

I also found it kind of funny that Joyce barely lets Will go to the bathroom by himself, but Jonathan leaves town overnight and she hardly even notices.

[Clanstarling]

To be fair, he left a note - which may have the same kind of "overnight" excuse Nancy gave her parents.

[Kel Varnsen]

11 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

To be fair, he left a note - which may have the same kind of "overnight" excuse Nancy gave her parents.

I must have missed the note. Although i would be curious as to what kind of excuse he left since even Will knows he has no friends (well other than Nancy).

[Clanstarling]

It was a quick throw away line, as I recall. But good point about his lack of friends.

[Kel Varnsen]

Oh and the use of electro shock on El's mom was super creepy. The CIA did a bunch of mind control experiments in the 50s and 60s, many in Canada, and used a lot of electro shock therapy on people (not a conspiracy theory either this actually happened). Makes sense that creepy Hawthorne lab would be doing similar stuff.

Edited October 31, 2017 by Kel Varnsen

[VCRTracking]

I thought the actress playing Eleven/Jane's mom looked familiar so I checked IMDB but never saw any of her previous work(she's from the UK) I think it's because she looks like an older Brie Larson.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

14 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

It was a quick throw away line, as I recall. But good point about his lack of friends.

Yes, in the previous episode, Nancy asks Jonathan if he saw his mom when he went home. He says he didn't because she was asleep but he left her a note. This was immediately after we saw Nancy at home telling her mom that she was planning to have a girls' night at her friend Stacey's house with romantic comedies, doing each other's nails, etc.

[absnow54]

I can't really remember the scenes with Jane's mother last season, but she obviously has telekinetic powers similar to El's. Does she have a tattoo too? Is she one of the earlier test subjects? I really need to re-watch the earlier episodes...

I also found it kind of funny that Joyce barely lets Will go to the bathroom by himself, but Jonathan leaves town overnight and she hardly even notices.

And technically he's been gone two nights now, since Hopper disappeared into the Upside Down on the first night, and they didn't find him until the second. Sure, we know that Jonathan isn't in any danger, but you'd think Joyce might try to check in with him between Will's possession and Hopper falling into hell.

[rubinia]

On 10/30/2017 at 9:58 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

I liked El's trip to her mom, but I really wonder how she is going to get back to Hawkins.

Maybe I misheard, but I thought she asked the truck driver to come back for her at 5:15?

[truthaboutluv]

Quote

Okay, maybe I'm crazy...but I took the scene with El and "Momma" very differently. To me it seemed she was telling El that she wasn't Jane, her daughter. When she opened the door to the rainbow room, there were two girls - an older one who was clearly 08 from the season opening, and the strawberry blond she ran to. That girl looked more like her than El, with her dark hair, does. But we do know a strawberry blond girl of roughly the same age - Max.

Admittedly, I never thought of Max being the daughter but I will admit that when the Mother disappeared and yelled no when Eleven first reached the realm to talk to her, I thought the point of the memory would be to show that she's not the baby. As others have noted, the first episode confirmed what many already suspected, that there are more people like Eleven running around. So while she likely was snatched from someone, it's possible it wasn't this particular woman. However by the end of the memory, I wasn't sure and thought it was what it seemed and that she is the stolen daughter. 

But speaking of Max, while I didn't think she was the baby Eleven was seeing in the memory, I did have this nagging suspicion that she and tool boy may be experimental kids and she was exaggerating her dismissal and disbelief of what Lucas told her to throw him off to the fact that she is like Eleven. Her and toolish guy's powers may be completely different than Eleven's. It would explain his saying that she's not his sister, i.e. they're not biological siblings but they probably grew up in the same lab or something. And it would explain all the secretive innuendos he's made to her. 

I know many have mentioned his being racist as his reasoning for not wanting her to talk to Lucas and trust me, it would not surprise me in the least. But I'm trying and I can't remember his making any overt comment about Lucas' race, just wanting Max to not talk to that kid. Maybe for whatever reason he is convinced Lucas is a threat to their secret or something. 

 

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I laughed out loud  when he deadpanned "sorry, but you killed my cat". 

I cracked up when he basically called Mike's dad useless, then grabbed Steve's flowers and dismissively went, "Nancy's not home, let's go..."

 

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And Will, poor Will. Kid can't catch a break.

Seriously. Still making my way through the season but I am assuming he survives. If he does, can they find a way to make another kid or hell none of the kids a victim of the damn underworld next season? Because I can't watch Will's little tiny body go through all this stuff again.

 

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I also found it kind of funny that Joyce barely lets Will go to the bathroom by himself, but Jonathan leaves town overnight and she hardly even notices.

 

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To be fair, he left a note - which may have the same kind of "overnight" excuse Nancy gave her parents.

And to be fair, Jonathan's not the one who was snatched into some supernatural underworld and is still experiencing episodes and possibly a possession. Yes, yes, she should love her kids equally but yeah, bigger things happening at the moment.

I cracked up at Steve walking up to Nancy and Mike's home, practicing his apology speech and rightly pointing out that he doesn't know why he's even apologizing. Because seriously - Nancy's the one who treated him like crap and essentially said she doesn't love him and has since run off with Jonathan.

[Taryn74]

11 minutes ago, rubinia said:

Maybe I misheard, but I thought she asked the truck driver to come back for her at 5:15?

No, 5-1-5 was part of the address.  You can see it on the mailbox when she gets out of the truck.

[rubinia]

3 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

No, 5-1-5 was part of the address.  You can see it on the mailbox when she gets out of the truck.

Ohhh, ok. Never mind then!

[RainbowBrite]

I love Bob so much that I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop; I thought maybe he's there to get information on Will to report back to doctor or something, but he just seemed so sincere and willing to help (and put himself in danger) that I'm over my paranoia.

[SnoGirl]

On 11/1/2017 at 3:18 PM, rubinia said:

Maybe I misheard, but I thought she asked the truck driver to come back for her at 5:15?

Like others said, it was the address. But what was cute about that scene is El tells time in an earlier episode and she just says the numbers but Hopper says its seven-fifteen. So here, instead of saying the numbers of the address, El says five fifteen like Hopper taught her. I thought it was cute.

[ChromaKelly]

Did anyone else get Indiana Jones vibes from Hopper? Like when he ripped off his sleeves, so his shirt looked more like a vest? That combined with the hat. Then later he had the torch. I was just waiting for a "why did it have to be snakes?" type of line. 

[LilWharveyGal]

3 minutes ago, ChromaKelly said:

Did anyone else get Indiana Jones vibes from Hopper? Like when he ripped off his sleeves, so his shirt looked more like a vest? That combined with the hat. Then later he had the torch. I was just waiting for a "why did it have to be snakes?" type of line. 

Yep!  Creating a torch out of a bone and recovering his hat after a near-death experience were very Last Crusade to me.

[Mommycpa]

More Raiders of the Lost Ark than Last Crusade. Indy did that in all the movies. 

[DearEvette]

So far this is my favorite ep of the season.

I liked Lucas telling Max stuff.

I like Bob being brought into the fold and helping them figure out stuff.  Bob the Brain indeed.

I liked the Steve and Dustin match-up and of course, Steve brings out the Negan hammer again.

Loved the : "Hi Jim" ,  "Hi Bob"  exchange while they stood amonsgt underground monster weed vessels.

Lucas' sister being sassy while holding He-Man action figure.

But Will's seizure at the end was terrifying!  So well acted.

Edited November 7, 2017 by DearEvette

[LeGrandElephant]

Am I a bad person because I couldn’t care that much about Hopper after he jumped in the tunnel without telling anyone or waiting for backup, with no urgent reason to do so, knowing how dangerous it was? (Plus I knew they’d save him in the nick of time.)

If this were a different kind of show, Max following that creepy dude alone into the back room could have gone very badly. Listen to your instincts, Max. 

Is Dustin’s mom a single parent? The dynamic between them seems that way. I don’t think Dustin is trying to protect Dart anymore.

I think there has to be more to Billy than just being racist. I suspect his dislike of Lucas will turn out to be something else. Not sure what though. The theory someone else floated that their dad is the new head guy at Hawkins lab sounded promising. Maybe he knows Lucas was involved in last season. 

[Kel Varnsen]

23 hours ago, LeGrandElephant said:

Am I a bad person because I couldn’t care that much about Hopper after he jumped in the tunnel without telling anyone or waiting for backup, with no urgent reason to do so, knowing how dangerous it was? (Plus I knew they’d save him in the nick of time.

Is Dustin’s mom a single parent? The dynamic between them seems that way. I don’t think Dustin is trying to protect Dart anymore.

 

That was pretty stupid of Hopper. He didn't even know if there was any breathable air down there or if it was possible to get back out.

I wondered about Dustin too. It just seems like the two of them but at the same time, their house seems way nicer than Joyce's so what's his back story.

[EarlGreyTea]

On 11/7/2017 at 7:24 PM, LeGrandElephant said:

Am I a bad person because I couldn’t care that much about Hopper after he jumped in the tunnel without telling anyone or waiting for backup, with no urgent reason to do so, knowing how dangerous it was? (Plus I knew they’d save him in the nick of time.)

If this were a different kind of show, Max following that creepy dude alone into the back room could have gone very badly. Listen to your instincts, Max. 

Is Dustin’s mom a single parent? The dynamic between them seems that way. I don’t think Dustin is trying to protect Dart anymore.

I think there has to be more to Billy than just being racist. I suspect his dislike of Lucas will turn out to be something else. Not sure what though. The theory someone else floated that their dad is the new head guy at Hawkins lab sounded promising. Maybe he knows Lucas was involved in last season. 

I'm a terrible person. I don't care much for Hopper, so when he jumped into that damn tunnel with no knowing where he was, I was kind of hoping he would get eaten, just for being so goddamn stupid. Having said that, it seemed a clear case of him holding the Idiot Ball just to advance the storyline, not because the actual character is that  stupid.

Dustin and his mom seem to be the only people in that family, single mom and her only child. Coming from a similar dynamic, I thought they got the relationship exactly right - very close and affectionate.

[SparklesBitch]

Well, I’m sufficiently traumatized by this episode. 

Poor Will. Kid can just not catch a break. That seizure scream was terrifying. I really like that Mike has been there for him to talk to and help process what’s been going on. Spying on the monster, indeed. 

Bob is growing on me....I was convinced he was part of the Hawkins lab conspiracy, but now I think he’s just genuinely a good guy. I like that he expressed concern over Joyce and Will’s well-being, because really, what normal person wouldn’t under those circumstances? I found his excitement over getting to help with the puzzle of finding x incredibly endearing. And his and Hopper’s “Hey, Jim” and “Hey, Bob” exchange cracked me up. 

Along with Indiana Jones as others said, I was getting major Fox Mulder vibes from Hopper during this episode. Good lord, could we not rush head first and full steam ahead into this paranormal situation that could possibly get you killled without calling for backup or letting anyone at all know where you are?? As much as I love Hop (and Mulder) I was half thinking he totally deserved to get eaten. 

Of course Max didn’t believe Lucas right away, but I like that he tried. His sister is the cutest, sassiest little thing in the world. Love her!

I am sick to death of Billy, though. His “You know what happens when you lie to me” or whatever he said made me sick to my stomach because I can only imagine what he means.....I also got a little freaked out over Max following the dude from the arcade into the back room and El hitching a ride from a trucker. 

I wish Dustin would care a bit more about poor Mews and hate how he’s stringing his mom along with false hope. Maybe I’m just really attached to my own cats, but it made me so sad that Mews is dead and Dustin’s Mom will never know what happened for sure and....ugh. 

I’m interested to see where Nancy and Jonathan’s storyline will go while they try to take down the lab with the other guy.....and I admit I’m looking forward to seeing Dustin and Steve team up to kill Dart. 

Oh, and the Wheelers are the most disinterested parents ever. Dustin calling Mr. Wheeler useless and Mr. Wheeler saying the children don’t live there anymore was funny, but they really, really seem to have no interest in their kids’ lives. 

El and her mom was so sad, and those scenes of what happened to her were pretty horrifying. I’m holding out hope that her mom will be able to get better somehow, though I’m guessing that’s not very realistic. El’s aunt asking her to tell her sister that she’s sorry she didn’t believe her broke my heart. 

[VCRTracking]

5 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I'm a terrible person. I don't care much for Hopper, so when he jumped into that damn tunnel with no knowing where he was, I was kind of hoping he would get eaten, just for being so goddamn stupid. Having said that, it seemed a clear case of him holding the Idiot Ball just to advance the storyline, not because the actual character is that  stupid.

Just like Nancy in the woods last season. One of the things I love about this show is that all the main characters were smarter than they usually are in other genre. It does unfortunately make the moments when they do stupid things stand out like Hopper in the tunnel and Dusting keeping the baby demidog.

I liked the moments with Bob coming to the house and seeing Winona be (intentially) funny.

[Taryn74]

9 hours ago, SparklesBitch said:

Along with Indiana Jones as others said, I was getting major Fox Mulder vibes from Hopper during this episode. Good lord, could we not rush head first and full steam ahead into this paranormal situation that could possibly get you killled without calling for backup or letting anyone at all know where you are?? As much as I love Hop (and Mulder) I was half thinking he totally deserved to get eaten. 

Bahahaha Mulder was my first thought, too.  Specifically the Tooms episode where Mulder sticks his hand in some goop and Scully realizes it's bile.  LMAO.