“You hurt the bad men?”
I’m told this episode is controversial. Well, not only did I enjoy it as a change of pace but I found it a hugely encouraging step. I’ve said earlier in the season that this second series appears to have a less linear plot that the first, and to spend more time developing the characters, freed to do so by not being structured like a thriller. This episode is a splendid exemplar of this difference; the first season was a one off story with no particular expectation of a second season. An episode like this, taking time to develop one character, is a sign of a series with an eye on its long term future. This episode announces that Stranger Things is planning to stay around, at least for a while.
It is, of course, pivotal to the season. It’s not just about Eleven/Jane realising she’s not alone and meeting her “sister” Kali, pitting some context to her life and learning a few lessons along the way. No; it’s about her realising, after spending most of the season apart from the plot, that her place is to return to her friends and save them. In fact, the existence of this episode makes it pretty much certain that she’s going to save the day but also, by making sure that moment is earned, saves it from being a deus ex machina.
It’s nice to see a gritty, urban episode set in Chicago, with us following a group of outcasts for an episode who, in spite of only Kali and Jane having powers, feel very much like the X-Men of the Eighties somehow, reminding me of the feel of the last few years of Chris Claremont’s run. Jane also gets a cool goth look, given to her by her new outcast friends, which very well may be a reference to the music video to “Strange Little Girl” by the Stranglers; have a look at one of those pronouny and tubular places online.
Jane ultimately learns a lesson about the futility of revenge, one as old as Aeschylus and the Oresteia; if she and Kali kill their tormentor, would that not make his daughters one day feel justified in coming after them? Better to have justice, however flawed. As with many things, it’s best kept in the public sector.
I suspect a lot of people don’t like this because they think it’s a detour from the main plot and makes us wAit to resolve the cliffhanger. Well, it isn’t. This episode absolutely moves the season onwards and does an important structural job for both the season and the show. And this is Netflix; it’s not as though we need to wait a week to see the resolution.
No; this splendid episode is a sign that Stranger Things can be something much bigger than the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Bring on the worldbuilding.
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