Mark hit the nail on the head Tuesday, with an all to common idea that we often forget: we want to be known. What a gift to be around people who we can know and be known by. What a gift to share in adventures and special moments with these people who would seek to be a friend to us. As we delve deeper into Stranger Things, who is knowing, and loving, who is slowly shifting and churning, especially when we don’t exactly know who to trust anymore. Episode 6 : The Spy, lives up to it’s name.
When my wife and I sat down to enjoy Season 2, and she first met Bob ‘The Brain’, she spoke with certainty, “Oh, he’s bad!” “Honey, you can always trust Sean Astin.” I wasn’t wrong. Bob continues to be as good as he seems, solving the problems of the Byers family. It takes him but a few minutes to realize that Will’s drawings are a map of some sort. Takes just a bit more to realize where the ‘X’ is. But it’s not him, but Mike, who realizes that Will is not to be trusted. The heartbreak washes across his face as he begins to understand what has happened. Will has sent the the ‘bad guys’ on a death mission by the end of this episode, and the spy is revealed.
That heartbreak washing across Mike’s face is something many, if not all, have experienced: The one you know and love betrays you. I’m aware that it’s really just the bad guy inside of Will that did it, but it’s usually the ‘bad guy’ inside of everyone that bears out that sort of darkness and betrayal into the world. Whether intentional or not the Duffer Brothers introduced sin into this world of Hawkins, in the form of the upside down’s super-villain, and that villain is bearing death in so many forms to this town. I’ve seen enough shows, and have enough hope, to know that Mike and Will’s relationship will hopefully make it out the other side of this awful event, but not all do. This episode has left me wondering if this season will have real and final consequences for someone. (Let’s just hope it isn’t someone we like, like Billy. *wink* “Nah, let the demigorgon take em!”)
As Bob solves the problems back in Hawkins, Murray solves the problems of Nancy and Jonathan. Whether the satirical look into how relationships are borne in these types of shows was intentional or not, it hit me like a ton of bricks. This season has had a lot of funny moments, and his moment with Nancy & Jonathan early in this episode has to be up there. All of the their tropes are summed up in Murray’s dressing-down of the lovers, and the tension that built all through Season One, and most of Season Two is released. Now we all just feel bad for Steve. #SteveDeservedBetter
“You’ve told me a lot of shockers today, but that, that is the first lie. No? You’re young, attractive, you’ve got chemistry, history. Plus, the real sh*t: shared trauma.”
Last episode, Mark complained a bit about the listlessness of some of this season. Well, don’t you worry Mark, I think we’re getting up to speed. There’s much I didn’t cover here, like the really great scene in the junkyard, but thankfully this season is starting to pick up in a massive way for the characters. The real consequences, referenced earlier, will likely come soon, if they come at all. See you guys next week for episodes Seven & Eight, and of course, Turkey Day. Stay safe out there!
