"There are no happy endings, Jane. Not for us."
We begin (incidentally, Frank Darabont of Walking Dead fame directs), despite the awesome revelations about Will last episode, with the gang in a downbeat mood, positive and lovely that Joyce may be; Vecna has all the kids. This is bad on the surface as Vecna's plans are not at all good, but there's a definite subtext to Henry and it's a creepy one, one of grooming, noncery and such vile things which, sadly exist. So, yeah, let's actually release the Epstein files, hmm? Wouldn't it be lovely if they were leaked by someone beyond Dementia Donnie's reach.
We get reminded of Lucas' theoretical 6 November "deadline", which is at once diegetic and non-diegetic. So things are high stakes. Plus we now have, after last episode's events, Kali, whose own story is pretty damn bleak... Sarah Connor needed her blood to give to captive pregnant women in order to make more "numbers". And, this time around, the season is airing at a time when we can truly believe that the US government is evil, what with CECOT, the state terrorists of ICE, and all that. If Vecna is a metaphor for vile abuse, Sarah Connor is a metaphor for MAGA fascism.
Still, we have plans by the gangs. Joyce has faith in her awesome son, and wants him to go on the attack against Vecna, and this ends up happening by means of... well, the reason for the episode title. Meanwhile, Dustin plans to break through the wall in the Upside Down by means of a Death Star analogy. What could possibly go wrong?
The end is bleak. Max and Holly plot their escape, with some surprising help from Derek, but the first attempt never succeeds in such cases, and they end up in Vecna's clutches. Yes, Will attacks Vecna and helps them escape, but he's ultimately defeated, and rendered as comatose as Max is. Even worse, Dustin has a terrifying realisation...
This season is simply on fire, this episode as much as any, and I'm really liking the subtext.
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