S02.E03: Chapter Three: The Pollywog

[Athena]

Quote

Dustin adopts a strange new pet, and Eleven grows increasingly impatient. A well-meaning Bob urges Will to stand up to his fears.

 

[Bec]

For the record, I never thought yelling at that creature to go away was going to end well.

My speculation so far? The upside-down creatures lost one of their kids (Dart), so they're frantically looking all over for him (inadvertently destroying the pumpkin crop). Just like the humans looked everywhere for Will when he went missing (no doubt inadvertently making a mess in the upside-down world without even realizing it). This is going to end up being a heart-warming tale of "don't judge a creature by how friggin' terrifying it looks and sounds."

Or maybe it's just my sleep deprivation talking.

[SeanC]

The visual effects on D'Artagnan are pretty solid.  I thought the kids were a bit blase about the creature at first given their experiences in the previous season, but I guess I can buy that they at first didn't know it was a sci-fi creature.  Max is kind of half-in, half-out of the group, in terms of what she knows about their abilities.  I like that she seems to have pretty quickly come around to the idea of being friends with them, after her initial posturing.

Continuing the show's track of good non-stereotypical 80s soundtrack picks (beginning last week with "Islands in the Stream"), Hopper breaks out the Jim Croce.

Bob gave Will what would have been good advice if this wasn't a sci-fi/horror show.

Poor socially awkward Eleven.  She saw Mike in the same room with another girl!  That's totally their thing!

[SnoGirl]

Shit just just got real. El is out in public. The pollywog is obviously an Upside Down creature. And Will is being hunted down/chased by Upside Down.

I hope Will is still Will and not the Upside Down Creature in Will. Cant. Stop. Watching!

[Ms Lark]

I think D'Artagnan is a cute little baby Demogorgon. Awww, they're so adorable when they're babies. Little bitty teeth and all. Egad.

 

19 minutes ago, SnoGirl said:

I hope Will is still Will and not the Upside Down Creature in Will. Cant. Stop. Watching!

I know! Sooo scary. Poor Will. I don't think he'll ever be right.

[ghoulina]

Holy fuck, that ending was creepy as hell. I had a bad bad feeling when Sean Astin told him to face the monster in his nightmare. Not the same thing there, buddy. 

My heart broke for El when Hopper told her she doesn't have her mother any more. She needs one. This is the first time we've seen her use her powers to hurt an innocent person for selfish reasons, eh? That worried me a bit. 

I was on edge for her and Will to finally meet. Come on, damnit! 

I knew instantly that Dart was that thing Will spit up. Or similar. It seems to continue to "evolve", so it could have been the same thing. 

Excited to see what Nancy and Jonathan are up to. I think they made that call on purpose to lure the "bad men" to them. 

 And I loved Joyce realizing what she saw in the tape mirrored Will's drawing. Wynona's OTT reactions just work for me in this setting. 

Casting notes - took me THIS long to realize that was Paul Reiser. Some of you mentioned it earlier and I was like, "Huh?" Also, finally figured out why Max looks so familiar - same actress as Lori in the Glass Castle. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by ghoulina

[Clanstarling]

13 hours ago, Bec said:

For the record, I never thought yelling at that creature to go away was going to end well.

My speculation so far? The upside-down creatures lost one of their kids (Dart), so they're frantically looking all over for him (inadvertently destroying the pumpkin crop). Just like the humans looked everywhere for Will when he went missing (no doubt inadvertently making a mess in the upside-down world without even realizing it). This is going to end up being a heart-warming tale of "don't judge a creature by how friggin' terrifying it looks and sounds."

Or maybe it's just my sleep deprivation talking.

I thought it was probably well meaning, but unfortunate advice too. I think you might have something in regards to the "lost child" - though I'm not convinced anything will be warm and fuzzy. 

10 hours ago, SeanC said:

Continuing the show's track of good non-stereotypical 80s soundtrack picks (beginning last week with "Islands in the Stream"), Hopper breaks out the Jim Croce.

I had a minor quibble with the way the song was used. The way Hopper referred to it seemed like he was reliving his child/teenager hood, but the song was only 12 years old at the time of the episode. Younger than Jonathon. But it is a very minor quibble from someone who really loved Croce back in high school. 

4 hours ago, ghoulina said:

My heart broke for El when Hopper told her she doesn't have her mother any more. She needs one. This is the first time we've seen her use her powers to hurt an innocent person for selfish reasons, eh? That worried me a bit. 

 And I loved Joyce realizing what she saw in the tape mirrored Will's drawing. Wynona's OTT reactions just work for me in this setting. 

I thought it was a strange book for him to be reading to El, with all the death of parents and such. Was it Jane Eyre? I didn't quite recognize it. 

I know what you mean, she grabs the paper and crayon and I smiled and thought "there she goes, McGyvering a way to get a screen shot."

[AimingforYoko]

Millie Bobbie Brown just astounds me all the time. What a find.

[Cheshrkat]

5 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I thought it was a strange book for him to be reading to El, with all the death of parents and such. Was it Jane Eyre? I didn't quite recognize it. 

I am pretty sure it was Anne of Green Gables. 

[UGAmp]

Will just breaks my heart. I just hope the kid is happy and normal at the end of all of this. Kudos to the actor. 

[bettername2come]

I kind of loved El going full-Carrie in her jealous rage, but I really wanted her and Mike reunited. Dustin the responsible pet owner is absolutely adorable. I like Max. I hope she and El get to interact without El trying to hurt her. 

[thuganomics85]

Man, if Will gets legit hurt (or worse) because of Bob's advice, that is really going to suck for everyone involve.  I get what Bob was going for, but this might one of the times where standing your ground could end badly!  Poor Will!

Aw, poor Dart seems pretty harmless right now, even though I wonder if he'll stay that way for long.  Not surprised that Mike went into the "Kill him!" phase, but he's got a loyal bud with Dustin!

Eleven's rebelling now and is back out there!  I hope she doesn't stay jealous towards towards Max for too long, because a jealous Eleven is a dangerous Eleven!

Hopper figures out that all the dying pumpkins and crops are connected to the organization.  Dr. Paul Reiser is putting up a "Who, us?" front, but I don't believe him for as second.

Billy continues to be a dick and is now claiming that Max isn't actually his sister.  Really want to know what the deal is between them.

Nancy and Jonathan might be going to tell Barbs' mom what really happened.  Uh oh!

The Eleven/Hopper flashbacks are great.  Millie Bobbie Brown and David Harbour are spectacular together.

[blueray]

Will really shouldn't have taken his advice. I called that from when he was talking about it earlier. I really hope he isn't processed by the creature, or now evil. I don't want to see evil Will :(.

Of course Eleven happens to see Mike talking to another girl. I hope that gets cleared up soon, because Eleven will be very dangerous if she stay's jealous. I get why she got frustrated in left, of course she could have just kept walking instead of twisting there swing set. The mother wouldn't have thought much of just a girl walking.

[2727]

Oh, Hopper. Still grieving his daughter, trying to play both sides of the fence with Reiser's group vs protecting El, and his police station is staffed by Lou and Eddie from The Simpsons.

[VCRTracking]

When El was at the school and walked in the opposite direction Mike went I thought "Oh no they're going to keep missing arent' they?" And then when Eleven heard Mike and Max in the gym "Oh no it's worse she's going to walk in on them and it's going to be a misunderstanding!" I know people are annoyed that they made Eleven a jealous stereotype but she's that age and she's insecure and she sees this girl with long hair smiling at the boy she beyond just likes, so she's going to react like a little girl because she is.

Aw, Dustin keeping that thing is a bad move.

I don't know what Nancy's play is.

I used to be just as confused how those camcorders work as Joyce.

Edited October 28, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Lady Calypso]

That beginning breakfast scene with Eleven and Hopper may be one of my favourite scenes so far. It was filled with intensity and a lot of emotion. Eleven is absolutely right, and I love that she's standing up for herself with Hopper. I do understand Hopper's worry and I know he's trying to protect her as best as he can, but she's totally right. I love their relationship a lot. I'm so glad for their scenes. I loved the flashback musical montage of them cleaning up their new home.

I understand El finally taking off, because she really could have done it at any time. Hopper's not around to stop her during the day, and she also has powers to stop him. But it sucks that she is still very new to social interactions, so her seeing Mike with Max definitely gave her the wrong impression.

I liked the scene between Will and Bob. I think Bob's a solid character, especially in terms of what Will needs. He needs someone neutral, who wasn't around during his disappearance, who won't treat him like a fragile person ready to break. And I've grown to really like Bob, which means doom is coming, whether he's part of the evil organization or he dies.

Will has really impressed me thus far. He may be my favourite of the kids. Mike hasn't actually gotten a whole lot to do this season, at least compared to last, but I'm ok with that. It allows other characters to be fleshed out. But he still has his own story, so I'm sure that's coming to the forefront.

That scene of Joyce watching the tapes and actually getting the Upside Down monster on it was a bit chilling.

Not surprising that Steve basically broke things off with Nancy. And also not surprising that Nancy/Jonathan are going to do something. Nancy's guilt has been overtaking her so if she does tell Barb's mom, I totally get it. It might give her parents a sense of peace, even if it's not right now. Too bad, from that shot of people listening in to Nancy's call, it won't actually happen. 

[Blue Plastic]

I don't like seeing Eleven react violently and don't care for the "keep missing each other" and "misunderstanding" tropes that were used.  I do understand where Eleven is coming from - she has had a hard life and no parental love.  She got super attached to Mike and now sees him talking to another girl so she's going to lash out.  I just hope they let that be a mistake and not that she's going to turn into some psycho Jean Grey (played by Famke Janssen) type like in the X-Men movies.

Dustin has a young Demogorgon doesn't he?!  He reminds me of Hagrid in that he loves all creatures, even the dangerous, unlikeable ones.

[Danny Franks]

The scenes with Hopper and Eleven are mostly really heartwarming. She needs a parental figure so badly, someone who is just going to look after her without expecting anything in return. Trouble is, she doesn't react well when she thinks she's being used, or lied to.

Millie Bobbie Brown is such a contained, yet magnetic actress. She does so much with facial expressions and physical movements. Her mix of delight and amused horror when Hopper started dancing was so good. And she always looks so, so attentive to everything that's going on. And my heart broke for her when El saw Mike and Max. I usually hate that sort of misunderstanding, but it works for adolescents who don't know how to deal with strong emotions. Guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for that reunion. Damn.

Bob is such a pleasant, affable dork. I really like him, and he seems like a presence the Byers really need. Supportive and chilled out. A little thing: I liked that he just told Joyce about the kids picking on Will, instead of trying to step in and be fatherly.

 I laughed at Dustin trying his 'I want to be educated' charm on the librarian, then having to resort to book theft. I guess in the pre-internet days, it would be much more believable for Dustin to think that creature was just a reptile or amphibian. But you'd think that he might connect a weird creature he's never seen before to the Demagorgon. 

Loved Lucas kicking the classroom door open. That boy has watched too many action movies.

But, oh shit! The outline of that monster in the video static. What a cool visual. And it ties in well with the idea of the Upside Down being an alternate dimension.

So Nancy and Steve are done already? That was quick. I feel bad for Steve, but it's better that he finds out the truth now. Had to laugh at a Wheeler parent finally noticing someone coming into their house, but it was cruel of Nancy to string Barb' s mother along, just to bait a hook for the shady govt types.

All the minor characters in this show are so great. He two cops who work for Hopper, Lucas' sister, Dustin' s mother, that little kid with the cap gun. All these fun little moments, and they really give the world depth.

What isn't fun? That ending. Yeah.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Danny Franks

[Addlepated]

I don't trust Bob.  Not even a little bit.  That scene where Nancy calls Barb's mom and there's a shot of someone listening in?  I think that's Bob.  He's also the one who gave Will the 100% wrong advice about how to deal with his visions.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Addlepated

[nodorothyparker]

Ah, the overhead projector. 

All of the kids are really selling the hell out of this story.  Loved Dustin continuing to open that curiosity door and trying to charm the librarian before just taking the books.  Pre-internet it really did suck how libraries tended to limit a kid to how many books you were allowed to have out at any one time so you had to ration your picks and whatever you were researching at any given time.  Love love love that he has a pet Yertle the Turtle and that he's carrying his newest discovery around in the Ghostbusters containment trap.  I wondered how long it would take the boys to consider that maybe they weren't dealing with a typical unknown reptile of some sort before turning to a possible escape from the Upside Down situation, but it's been almost a year of relative quiet for them since then so I can see why they didn't think of it until Will brought it up.  What I'm assuming is a baby demogorgon was nicely rendered.

I think the adults or parental figures all mean well, like with Bob's advice to Will.  Unfortunately, Bob doesn't know yet what kind of story we're in and that just telling a monster from another dimension to go away isn't really effective.  It makes me question what if anything Joyce has actually told him about what happened to Will or why she's giving off serious helicopter mom vibes toward him a couple of decades before that will become a thing.  The school secretary rolling her eyes when Joyce called there tells you quite a bit about how hovery she's become.  Also love how none of the teachers or school staff seemed the slightest bit concerned about the kids roaming around the school doing whatever after school hours during the Dart hunt.  You'd never find them that hands off now.

Eleven and Hopper's conversation was fantastic and needed to happen.  I believe he's doing the best he knows how at the moment to keep her safe, but she has a right to wonder what the longterm plan is.  He can't keep her hidden in the cabin forever.  No matter what he does, she's going to grow up and want some kind of life and leaving her alone all day to watch TV isn't preparing her for that.  Sure, Eleven and Mike missing each other and her not understanding the scene she was seeing with Max is tropey, but she's dealing with regular human emotion and situations for the first time and like when you take the training wheels off for the first time, it's going to be a little messy.  

[MisterGlass]

I liked seeing the glimpses at how El came to be in her current position.  Being unable to go to Mike for help and ending up alone in the woods for close to two months was harsh.  I will give some appreciation to her ability as a psychic squirrel hunter.  The encounter with the hunter, when she stole his coat, explains how Hopper had an idea that she was out there somewhere.  I'm glad that she went for it and trusted him after she saw him dropping off the food.  Hopper isn't always the best at this, but he is trying very hard.  It's hard on El to have only one person in the world for interactions.

Edited October 29, 2017 by MisterGlass
Spelling

[Weak Sauce]

It's so funny. I originally was a little worried that Will, who wasn't really in the show much last season, would be a weak link now that he's one of the main boys again. But the actor is killing it. 

 

I don't like the image of a jealous El just because she's heard Mike trying to contact her for a year. She knows how much he still cares and that he hasn't replaced her. Although I do understand how emotions are hard to control - especially for a teenage girl. 

[nodorothyparker]

She may really not know that she hasn't been replaced though.  She has so little experience at regular human interactions and she's being left alone all day to get a lot of her ideas about how people are from TV, and as we saw last episode from daytime soap operas at that.  They weren't exactly known for always showing nuanced or realistic behavior.

[methodwriter85]

How is Dustin being this stupid? Although maybe the baby Demogorgan also has some mind powers, which would make sense.

[tennisgurl]

Dart is actually pretty adorable for a tiny little abomination from a dark universe. Dustin the pet owner is quite adorable, even if this probably isn't going to end well. Although, the thought of Dustin taking a full grown  Demogorgon out on walks with a big collar and a leash is a pretty great mental imagine. 

Hop and El are just killing me, because I totally get each of them. Hop is trying to protect her from the shady conspiracy that is still clearly around and still looking for her, but El wants to be around people and see her friends. She finally has the chance to have real emotions and connections, but she has no real way to deal with them. Thats why El being jealous and lashing out at Max made sense to me. Being a teenage girl is already emotionally stressful, but a teenage girl who has previously never had normal human interaction and has no idea what correct responses are? Who is still traumatized, and happens to have amazing psychic powers that she can sometimes not control? I can get that. 

[Paloma]

14 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

The encounter with the hunter, when she stole his coat, explains how Hopper had an idea that she was out there somewhere.

Now I feel dumb that I didn't think of this. I kept wondering why Hopper put Eggos in a box in the woods for someone he knew or assumed had been killed or sucked into the Upside Down. At the end of last season I thought it was a kind of tribute or memorial. But now I realize that the hunter must have reported the encounter to the sheriff's office, which would have made Hopper start trying to find her. I guess Hopper gave the hunter a plausible story to keep him from telling the whole town about seeing this mysterious and powerful girl.

[linared]

Hooper was reading Anne of the Island, the scene that Anne is able to visit the house she was born in and find out more about her parents who died when she was a baby.  Pretty poignant scene for Elle.  I love that Anne is going screen time in this show and maybe some parallels?  Anne was also an outside doubted by community and made everyone love her.  Probably a stretch.  

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, linared said:

Hooper was reading Anne of the Island, the scene that Anne is able to visit the house she was born in and find out more about her parents who died when she was a baby.  Pretty poignant scene for Elle.  I love that Anne is going screen time in this show and maybe some parallels?  Anne was also an outside doubted by community and made everyone love her.  Probably a stretch.  

I don't think it's that much of a stretch - that book seems a very specific choice, the parallels are already there, I think.

[linared]

Hmmm interesting.  Well I hope Elle does more than marry a doctor and have a bunch of kids. 

[Kel Varnsen]

On 10/27/2017 at 0:00 PM, SnoGirl said:

Shit just just got real. El is out in public. The pollywog is obviously an Upside Down creature. And Will is being hunted down/chased by Upside Down.

On top of that Joyce figured out it's not PTSD and Nancy is ready to get some retribution for Barb. I'm impressed at how fast they seen to have gotten everything going.

 

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Being a teenage girl is already emotionally stressful, but a teenage girl who has previously never had normal human interaction and has no idea what correct responses are? Who is still traumatized, and happens to have amazing psychic powers that she can sometimes not control? I can get that. 

On top of that, her main source of education, especially with respect to social interaction, for the last 10 months or so has been soaps and other daytime tv. The fact that she is able to deal with people at all is amazing.

[auntiemel]

Every time Bob says "Easy Peasy," I read the intonation as low-key sinister. I'm not sure if that's what they're going for.

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, auntiemel said:

Every time Bob says "Easy Peasy," I read the intonation as low-key sinister. I'm not sure if that's what they're going for.

I don't take it that way myself, though I can see where people do. In my opinion, there have been so many shows where the cheerful good guy is actually a bad guy, that it's hard not to view someone like Bob with a little suspicion. Stranger Things seems to circumvent convention, so I'm hoping that's the case here, mostly because I have such affection to Sean Astin (to me, Samwise was the star of Lord of the Rings, LOL)

[starri]

I can’t even count the number of times I added a “Mr Frodo” to the end of his lines. 

[MaryWebGirl]

I just keep referring to him as Rudy, especially since we're in Indiana.

[amercakes]

Ugh, With everything they went through 10 months ago, I can't believe how stupid Dustin was being keeping that Dart thing. 

[starri]

1 hour ago, amercakes said:

Ugh, With everything they went through 10 months ago, I can't believe how stupid Dustin was being keeping that Dart thing. 

And Gremlins came out that summer as well.

[amass]

8 hours ago, MaryWebGirl said:

I just keep referring to him as Rudy, especially since we're in Indiana.

11 hours ago, starri said:

I can’t even count the number of times I added a “Mr Frodo” to the end of his lines. 

We call him Mikey lol

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It warms my library loving heart that Dustin was so interested in finding out what he'd caught that he biked to the library before school to get more books. Obviously I don't approve of people stealing books from the library, but a five book limit? Even when the library near my house was just a trailer in a parking lot, we still had a twenty book limit (which I fully took advantage of all summer).

I love that Dustin named his little creature D'Artagnan because of their shared love of Three Musketeers bars. I named a teddy bear Demetrius because we were reading A Midsummer Night's Dream in my English class when I got him, so I totally get the random reasons that kids choose names for things.

I was cracking up at how incredulous Max was when Lucas told her that they'd had a funeral for Will even though he'd only been missing for a week.

I really feel for both Hopper and Eleven. They're both doing the best they can but being cooped up for a whole year without being able to talk to Mike has worn on her. I know she understands that he's trying to keep her safe and that's why she has been following the rules until now, but damn, a whole year inside the house when she knows that Mike and her new friends are out there? It was only a matter of time before she left the house. I'm surprised that she lasted this long.

I wish that Hopper had taught her how to disguise herself and taken her out of the house so that she would know how to deal with being out (as opposed to just walking around without trying to change her appearance at all). With all the tv she's been watching (especially the soap operas), you'd think she would have learned to at least wear a hat to cover her face a little bit.

I love how enthusiastic and supportive Mr. Clarke is with the boys.

Loved seeing all the Pee Chee folders!

I appreciate that Bob was trying to give Will advice about how to deal with nightmares, but there is a difference between a bad dream and an actual monster coming to get you. I'm going to give Bob the benefit of the doubt and take him at face value as a nice guy who is trying to be helpul to his girlfriend's kid.

[ghoulina]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I appreciate that Bob was trying to give Will advice about how to deal with nightmares, but there is a difference between a bad dream and an actual monster coming to get you. I'm going to give Bob the benefit of the doubt and take him at face value as a nice guy who is trying to be helpul to his girlfriend's kid.

I don't think Bob gets that it's any more than a bad dream, though. I think, like the rest of the town, he's been told the "lost in the woods for a week" story. I think he just sees Will as a kid who's going through some BAD PTSD because of that, and thought he was being really helpful. If only he knew the truth......

[rove4]

Oh, Eleven.  How quickly we forget what it feels like to be running for our lives from evil corporation/government people.   And hurting innocent people?  Not cool.

Mr. Rove and I are not fans of the pining, puppy dog love thing going on with Eleven and Mike. 

Steve and Billy on the basketball court = battle of the bad hairdos.

I love that Joyce is so quick at sussing out clues and following through on them.  If it affects her kids then come hell or high water she will see it through.  Reminds me of something I saw posted on social media somewhere: "I might be tired. I might be lost. I might be weak. I might be afraid.  But I've learned that the space between me and my child contains fire and whoever dares step there will burn."

If Dart feels like a booger then I'm not a fan.  lol

[The Companion]

On 10/27/2017 at 7:43 AM, Bec said:

For the record, I never thought yelling at that creature to go away was going to end well.

For a minute, I thought it might trigger some sort of control over his trips between the worlds. So far, he has no control as to when a trip to the Upside Down is triggered, but he is able to be pulled back. It isn't clear whether or not he would be able to move back and forth intentionally if he wanted to. 

On 10/27/2017 at 10:21 AM, SeanC said:

The visual effects on D'Artagnan are pretty solid.  I thought the kids were a bit blase about the creature at first given their experiences in the previous season, but I guess I can buy that they at first didn't know it was a sci-fi creature.  Max is kind of half-in, half-out of the group, in terms of what she knows about their abilities.  I like that she seems to have pretty quickly come around to the idea of being friends with them, after her initial posturing.

I love D'Artagnan. He was adorable. I feel like we were all sort of conditioned in the 80s to think we could take care of sci fi creatures. Blame ET and even Gremlins (I wanted a Gizmo SO BADLY). Even The Neverending Story. I wanted to ride Falkor so badly. 

On 10/27/2017 at 4:07 PM, lora said:

Nancy is stupid for talking to Barb's mom about her daughter's disappearance on the phone.

I thought for sure they were setting a trap. 

On 10/28/2017 at 0:54 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Man, if Will gets legit hurt (or worse) because of Bob's advice, that is really going to suck for everyone involve.  I get what Bob was going for, but this might one of the times where standing your ground could end badly!  Poor Will!

 

The Eleven/Hopper flashbacks are great.  Millie Bobbie Brown and David Harbour are spectacular together.

Poor Bob was making such an effort to connect and help a traumatized kid. Little did he know that the monster in the closet was real this time.

I love the Eleven/Hopper flashbacks too. Watching their relationship grow is fun, and they are so so good together. Millie Bobby Brown is incredible. Her face is so expressive. 

On 10/28/2017 at 0:52 PM, VCRTracking said:

When El was at the school and walked in the opposite direction Mike went I thought "Oh no they're going to keep missing arent' they?" And then when Eleven heard Mike and Max in the gym "Oh no it's worse she's going to walk in on them and it's going to be a misunderstanding!" I know people are annoyed that they made Eleven a jealous stereotype but she's that age and she's insecure and she sees this girl with long hair smiling at the boy she beyond just likes, so she's going to react like a little girl because she is.

I agree. She has zero context for normal human interaction and zero coping skills. Additionally, it is easy to forget how young she is. I hate it because I was really looking forward to a reunion, but I don't think it was inconsistent with her characterization, and it was a good reminder (along with the longing looks at the child and her mother) that she really has missed out on so much. 

On 10/28/2017 at 0:58 PM, Lady Calypso said:

That beginning breakfast scene with Eleven and Hopper may be one of my favourite scenes so far. It was filled with intensity and a lot of emotion. Eleven is absolutely right, and I love that she's standing up for herself with Hopper. I do understand Hopper's worry and I know he's trying to protect her as best as he can, but she's totally right. I love their relationship a lot. I'm so glad for their scenes. I loved the flashback musical montage of them cleaning up their new home.

I liked the scene between Will and Bob. I think Bob's a solid character, especially in terms of what Will needs. He needs someone neutral, who wasn't around during his disappearance, who won't treat him like a fragile person ready to break. And I've grown to really like Bob, which means doom is coming, whether he's part of the evil organization or he dies.

 

I agree. Eleven must be going stir crazy and she deserves to have some semblance of normal life. I think Hopper's no risk position is understandable. He lost his daughter and there are actually people coming for Eleven. That being said, it is hard to imagine anyone being comfortable locked away in a cabin indefinitely. I think they need to find a compromise (half-happy), but I totally get both of their perspectives which is what makes the interactions so emotional to watch.

I really like Bob. I suspect Joyce is just looking for someone who is "safe" and "steady" after all of the upheaval, but Bob really seems like a great guy. He is so likable. He is clearly doomed.

On 10/28/2017 at 3:34 PM, Danny Franks said:

Millie Bobbie Brown is such a contained, yet magnetic actress. She does so much with facial expressions and physical movements. Her mix of delight and amused horror when Hopper started dancing was so good. And she always looks so, so attentive to everything that's going on. And my heart broke for her when El saw Mike and Max. I usually hate that sort of misunderstanding, but it works for adolescents who don't know how to deal with strong emotions. Guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for that reunion. Damn.

Bob is such a pleasant, affable dork. I really like him, and he seems like a presence the Byers really need. Supportive and chilled out. A little thing: I liked that he just told Joyce about the kids picking on Will, instead of trying to step in and be fatherly.

 

Millie Bobbie Brown is an incredible actress. Just her face when she saw the bike was award worthy. This show has a great cast, in general, but I think Eleven is critical. She doesn't have the benefit of a ton of lines to make us care about her, but Millie Bobbie Brown knocks it out of the park over and over. I just want to hug Eleven and protect her from the bad men. 

I think Bob's respect for Joyce and her family is one of the best things about his character. He does step in to help with the kids (driving, advice, etc.) but he respects that Joyce is their mother and he defers to her. I loved how he let the damage to the camera go completely, too, bringing it up only to let her know about the problem he saw on the tape. He is a good guy, so clearly DOOMED.

On 10/29/2017 at 11:06 AM, tennisgurl said:

Dart is actually pretty adorable for a tiny little abomination from a dark universe. Dustin the pet owner is quite adorable, even if this probably isn't going to end well. Although, the thought of Dustin taking a full grown  Demogorgon out on walks with a big collar and a leash is a pretty great mental imagine. 

 

I did not realize how badly I needed this in my life until you said it. Dustin is already full on adorable. The image of him walking a Demogorgon is amazing. 

 

Most of what I have to say about this episode has been covered. I love all of the things about Dustin and Dart (best friends forever). I also loved Mike admitting that he doesn't like Max because he is worried she is taking the place of Eleven. Honestly, the only thing I don't totally love is Nancy. I just find her to be a bit boring, but she seems to be moving in an interesting direction so we will see what happens next. 

[mledawn]

Wrong thread - ignore!

Edited November 2, 2017 by mledawn

[aliferous85]

Loved the breakfast scene too. I guess Eleven isn't exempted from having teenage strops. Even if she doesn't understand what that means.

That dress must have reeked after she wore it for at least two months straight.

Baldo is a terrible name for a clown. Like, who even comes up with that terrible.

Quote

 

It warms my library loving heart that Dustin was so interested in finding out what he'd caught that he biked to the library before school to get more books. Obviously I don't approve of people stealing books from the library, but a five book limit?

 

My hometown library had a five book limit. My hometown library sucked donkey balls.

Billy continues to be an ass that I don't care about.

I quite liked the skateboard in the gym stuff. I may have snorted.

[Arutha2321]

Okay, since nobody has mentioned this so far, I've got to. Was Bob's story about a white-gloved guy offering him a balloon pretty straightforward reference to It? You know, the movie which shares one of the main child stars with ST?

[callmebetty]

38 minutes ago, Arutha2321 said:

Okay, since nobody has mentioned this so far, I've got to. Was Bob's story about a white-gloved guy offering him a balloon pretty straightforward reference to It? You know, the movie which shares one of the main child stars with ST?

I thought the same thing

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Arutha2321 said:

Okay, since nobody has mentioned this so far, I've got to. Was Bob's story about a white-gloved guy offering him a balloon pretty straightforward reference to It? You know, the movie which shares one of the main child stars with ST?

Well now that you mention it... (smacks head). The Duffer Brothers put so much into the show for us to pick out. It's pretty amazing.

[Last Time Lord]

2 hours ago, Arutha2321 said:

Okay, since nobody has mentioned this so far, I've got to. Was Bob's story about a white-gloved guy offering him a balloon pretty straightforward reference to It? You know, the movie which shares one of the main child stars with ST?

I saw that mentioned in a Watch Mojo video yesterday, and I was instantly ashamed of myself for not making the connection, myself. 

[Arutha2321]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Well now that you mention it... (smacks head). The Duffer Brothers put so much into the show for us to pick out. It's pretty amazing.

I picked it out right away, but that might have something to do with the fact I'm a serious sucker for the latest It adaptation. :)

It's exactly for the reason the atmosphere of the film has so much in common with Stranger Things (Finn Wolfhard being only the start of it).

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Arutha2321 said:

I picked it out right away, but that might have something to do with the fact I'm a serious sucker for the latest It adaptation. :)

It's exactly for the reason the atmosphere of the film has so much in common with Stranger Things (Finn Wolfhard being only the start of it).

Well, that's why I smacked my head. I, too, am a serious sucker for IT - and I've seen this version twice - once with my daughter who also has a shared love of IT.  I saw the mini-series at least twice, and have read the book at least 3 times (if not more). And I still missed it. Sheesh!

Edited November 4, 2017 by Clanstarling

[SparklesBitch]

On 10/27/2017 at 5:52 PM, ghoulina said:

Excited to see what Nancy and Jonathan are up to. I think they made that call on purpose to lure the "bad men" to them. 

 And I loved Joyce realizing what she saw in the tape mirrored Will's drawing. Wynona's OTT reactions just work for me in this setting. 

I really hope that call was on purpose and they’re setting a trap. Otherwise Nancy made a monumentally stupid move. 

I loved Joyce realizing that too! And yes, her reactions and expressions are perfect for this show. 

On 10/27/2017 at 10:08 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Millie Bobbie Brown just astounds me all the time. What a find.

She’s flat out amazing. She’s so expressive and does so much with hardly any dialogue. Perfection! I felt so awful for her seeing Mike with Max. Her jealousy is such a trope, but I think it makes sense for her considering her complete lack of human socialization and also dealing with being a preteen girl. 

I loved the breakfast scene with her and Hop. He’s trying so hard to protect her and she’s had enough of being cooped up and I can’t blame her. No wonder she finally escaped. I also really like the flashbacks of how she ended up with him.....and Hop playing the Jim Croce record and dancing (and El’s amused/horrified expression) was great. My parents played that song A LOT so it felt like a tribute to my childhood. lol! 

The scene of him reading to her was so sweet and sad, and I just want to hug El and keep her safe. 

Dart was cute for an otherworldly slug thing, and I loved Dustin heading straight to the library to figure out what he was. My favorite line of the episode came from Mike when they were discussing Dart at the school and Dustin said they had a bond: “A bond!? Just because he likes nougat??!” 

Bob’s trying so hard to help Will, but his advice was SO not appropriate for this situation. That last scene was horrifying and I hope Will is okay. Also, Bob is a dad joke goldmine. Take a ride in the Bob Mobile...ugh. 

Max’s not-brother (step brother?) is the biggest jerk ever and I hope he gets eaten by a Demagorgen. Even though it was 80s style, his hairdo is ridiculous and makes me hate him more. 

I’m really enjoying the two cops that Hop is working with, they’re an amusing addition.