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Stranger Things (3x08): “The Battle of Starcourt” Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews:

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

Season 1:

The Vanishing of Will Byers

The Weirdo on Maple Street

Holly Jolly

The Body

The Flea and the Acrobat

The Monster

The Bathtub

The Upside Down

Season 2:

MADMAX

Trick or Treat, Freak

The Pollywog

Will the Wise

Dig Dug

The Spy

The Lost Sister

The Mind Flayer

The Gate

Season 3:

Suzie, Do You Copy?

The Mall Rats

The Case of the Missing Lifeguard

The Sauna Test

The Flayed

E Pluribus Unum

The Bite

Stranger Things Play:

Stranger Things The First Shadow

NOTE: If you’d like to listen to the Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things 3 Podcast, this link here will take you to all three videos.

To my understanding, “The Battle of Starcourt” is held up by fans and critics as one of the best episodes in the series. It’s currently got a 9.2/10 on IMDb, which is the 6th highest ranking (The top 5 on IMDb are “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” “Dear Billy,” “The Upside Down,” “The Gate,” and “The Mind Flayer” for anyone who’s curious), and I recall at one point there was a poll on Tumblr regarding which season finale was the best, where this episode came out the winner.

For me, when it comes to “The Battle of Starcourt,” my feelings are complicated.

While I agree this is one of the better episodes of season 3 (though “The Bite” I consider to be superior), this is probably my least favorite season finale. If I were to rank them, I’d say “The Gate” (2x09) is the best, followed by “The Piggyback” (4x09) and “The Upside Down” (1x08), and then this episode. It also reflects the order for which seasons I like the best: Season 2 is still my favorite, while season 3 ranks at the bottom.

It's been interesting doing this specific rewatch prior to season 5 because it has helped me to realize a lot of my opinions have either evolved or changed with how I currently view season 3. Episodes like “The Mall Rats,” “The Sauna Test,” and “The Bite,” which I didn’t care much for at the time when I first saw them, I now have a higher opinion of, and see renewed value in. Meanwhile, episodes like “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard” and “E Pluribus Unum,” which I considered favorites at the time, I now look back on with a critical eye. Some episodes remain the same: “The Flayed” I mostly have a neutral opinion on, and I still don’t like the season premiere “Suzie, Do you Copy?” (though I find it more tolerable compared to season 4’s “Vecna’s Curse,” which I despised).

This even applies to the storylines and characters. While I still have my problems with the Russian arc, I will argue that the political and social commentary this season has aged well (especially given America's relationship with Russia right now, as well as who we currently have in the U.S. Government and the White House). Likewise, the Mind Flayer arc also has its issues (the “hive mind” mentality as a metaphor for how groups of people can behave in abhorrent ways, as well as how an idyllic surface acts as a thin disguise for the rot and corruption underneath, works better in season 4), but compared to just this season, where it initially looked like the Mind Flayer was throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick when it came to its plan to kill El and her friends, the revelation in season 4 about the Meat Flayer’s true purpose (i.e. assimilating El’s powers so Vecna could open his own Gate) makes the Mind Flayer look more calculating and intelligent compared to its original impression of being an Eldritch Abomination throwing a temper-tantrum because it didn’t get its way. Additionally, there’s how relationships were handled this season. I still don’t like the contrivances that led to Mike and El breaking up, but I’ll acknowledge there was some consistency with Mike’s inability to tell El that he loved her, which is going to become a major problem in the next season. The issues between Jonathan and Nancy were explored (this time without Steve present) and there was deliberately a lack of resolution which is going to carry over into season 4 now that Jonathan has moved to Lenora and struggles to maintain a long-distance relationship with Nancy.

On the opposite end of this, however, are the characters and arcs where the problems are still persistent. While I still see value in Nancy’s story about dealing with sexism and misogyny in the work place (and roll my eyes at the fans on Reddit and other social media platforms who whine about this being “preachy” or “woke” or “SJW-ish”), I will admit the arc ended abruptly by the time of “The Flayed.” They gave Nancy her moment of bashing Bruce’s face in with the fire extinguisher while she wears her purple dress (The Duffer Brothers specifically requested that costume designer Amy Parris have Nancy in that dress during her fight with Bruce, which I’m assuming was meant to be a symbolic representation of female empowerment taking down male misogyny), but other than that, this arc fizzled out without a satisfying resolution. Same goes for Will’s arc this season: The first three episodes dealt with him struggling to accept changes in his life, but once the Party becomes aware of the Mind Flayer’s return, that arc got put on hold and then was conveniently resolved off-screen during the three-month time jump when he’s come to accept that he’s moving out of Hawkins. We never really get to see what happened when Joyce initially told Will and Jonathan about her plans to move, how they reacted to the news when they first heard about it, and how they finally came to accept that decision. Karen’s almost-fling with Billy may have been a plot-contrivance so that Billy would have his car accident at Brimborn Steel Works and get possessed by the Mind Flayer (though this could have easily been written to be a date with Heather or any other random girl instead of Karen), but it ultimately doesn’t amount to anything regarding Karen’s situation with Ted, and whether she’ll eventually go through with divorcing him. As for Joyce and Hopper’s relationship: They spend the majority of this season bickering with one another (which the show unsuccessfully tried to play off as romantic banter), we get an unsatisfying resolution of them making at date at Enzo’s, and meanwhile the issues fans had with both characters (i.e. Hopper’s temper this season and Joyce’s unresolved grief over Bob’s death) are tossed aside to try and force the audience to accept this romance despite how unearned the whole affair is after the way they acted. I get there are certain character and arc elements that were being saved for season 4 (and presumably season 5), but there’s an argument to be had that the Duffer Brothers introduced a bunch of baggage with these characters that they quickly proceeded to drop in order to move on to the next story element (similar to what happened with the Lenora arc in season 4) without wrapping things up in a way that was satisfying for the audience.

All of this factors into how I view “The Battle of Starcourt,” especially as a season finale which is supposed to pay off the story and character threads set up at the beginning of season 3. Underneath the fireworks, bright lights, comedy, and action-packed moments, this is a flawed episode. I don’t dislike it, and there are parts I enjoy, but this is the accumulation of multiple problems I’ve had during season 3 with its structure, plot-threads, and certain characters resolutions (Billy and Hopper being chief among them), as well as how the direction season 4 goes makes a lot of what happens in this episode look harsher in hindsight, and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth as a result. This is not an episode I would rank in the Top 10.

As usual, this review will be split into multiple parts. Part 1 will cover the battle against the Meat Flayer. Part 2 will analyze Billy’s “redemption,” Part 3 discusses Hopper’s sacrifice. Part 4 will deal with the aftermath of the Meat Flayer’s defeat and Starcourt Mall burning down. And Part 5 will dive into the song choices for this episode, with a Funko Pop to wrap things up.

Let’s get started. Fair warning that this review will be SPOILER HEAVY for The First Shadow!

Part 1: The Party vs. The Meat Flayer

I’ll discuss Bald Eagle’s (i.e. Joyce, Hopper, and Murray’s) fight against the Russians when I get to Part 3. This first part of the review specifically deals with the Griswold Family and the Scoops Troop as they evade and combat the Meat Flayer.

The beginning of this episode when Jonathan uses a heated knife to cut the piece of the Meat Flayer out of El’s leg was equal parts disturbing and grotesque. Kudos to the effects department from making El’s injury look realistic and graphic. I had to look away when Jonathan was digging through El’s leg while she was wailing in pain. It reminds me of a few years ago at my work when I accidentally sliced my ring finger open with a shard of glass, and had to get stitches while waiting several weeks for it to heal. I was even worried at the time small pieces of glass were still lodged in my cut. Thankfully, they didn’t have to dig through my injury in that manner, but this moment with El and Jonathan on the show still brought back unpleasant memories. It’s also why I was glad when Steve told Robin she wasn’t helping by describing unrelated injuries: That kind of panic doesn’t make the situation any better.

In any case, it was satisfying seeing El rip the thing out of her leg. Too bad it’s the final act she’s able to do with her powers before Vecna completely assimilates them.

From a story perspective, the loss of El’s powers works to remind the characters (especially Max) that they can’t just rely on her alone to deal with massive threats from the Upside Down. Given the revelation in The First Shadow about how the abilities of El, Kali, Vecna, and the other special kids are connected to the Upside Down, it makes sense how a being like the Mind Flayer (who’s been in charge of that dimension for a very long time) would know how to mess up the connections in El’s system so she wouldn’t be able to use her abilities. It’s also why it was determined to possess El after taking her powers, and even directed Billy to kidnap El to that end: It didn’t want to take the chance of El recovering and posing a threat to it again. There’s also the very real possibility that El could lose her abilities again in season 5 if Vecna and/or The Mind Flayer find another means of handicapping El. This time though, the results could be permanent, especially now that Dr. Brenner is dead and the NINA project is disbanded following the events of season 4. If that were to happen to El in the middle of their fight (just like it happens in this episode with the Meat Flayer on the prowl), the Party’s going to be in serious trouble. Granted, the Party has enough skills, ingenuity, and ability to improvise to compensate for that (as we see in this episode), and it’s not like they’ve sat idly by in the past while El did all the work. The only reason El’s gotten as far as she’s been able to (which continues well into season 4 during her fight against Vecna) is because of the aid of her friends and family. She isn’t fighting this battle alone.

In fact, this leads me to a prediction for season 5: While I’m sure there will inevitably be another confrontation between El and Vecna, I doubt El is going to be the one who finishes him off. There have already been two different occasions where El defeated him (once in 1979 at Hawkins Lab, and the other in “The Piggyback”), and having her do it again would be unsatisfying. If anyone is going to deliver the killing blow to Vecna, I predict it’s going to be Will.

I don’t really have a lot to say about Dustin’s reunion with Mike, Lucas, and Will. It’s like the Duffer Brothers intentionally made the moment sappy (along with the saccharin musical score) so Erica could get her quip in against them. It’s similar to what they do later in the episode when Joyce and Hopper mimic what they usually would say in a crisis (“You’re supposed to say ‘Yes, I told you so. That’s why we needed to go back to the kids’” and “Oh, yeah, and then you say something like ‘Yeah, well it’s really hard to listen to you when you’re making everything sound like it’s the end of the goddamn world’”). I may be in the minority, but I dislike when shows engage in that kind of self-deprecating/self-aware humor when it comes to heartwarming moments. I don’t find it cute or funny. I find it annoying. It’s like the show (and by extension, the writers) consider themselves above those moments, which makes it hard to get invested when they try to unironically write those scenes later. This is one of the many reasons I soured on shows like Supernatural and The Umbrella Academy: They committed that sin one too many times, and it led to me becoming apathetic when those shows later tried to go for genuine pathos.

On a more positive note, the scene between Joyce and Will worked well. I’m sure it’s a relief for Joyce to know Will wasn’t possessed, and the Mind Flayer has no interest in him this time (at least for the moment). I am hoping we get more heartfelt interactions between Jonathan and Joyce though, because I’ve noticed there’s been a shortage of those since season 2. I get the feeling that’s more due to the focus they’ve put on Jonathan’s romance with Nancy and his sibling relationship with Will, but I’m still hoping season 5 expands on Joyce and Jonathan’s relationship as well.

Additionally, I took note of Dustin’s comments towards Hopper at the beginning of this episode when he offers to guide Hopper through the Russian Base while telling him that he [Hopper] can do all the heroics. We’ll see this again in “The Piggyback” when he tells Steve that Steve can be the hero who takes out Vecna. I don’t know if that’s due to apprehension over fighting himself, but we’ve seen Dustin’s heroic moments before, whether it was carrying El to safety in season 1 from Brenner’s men and the approaching Demogorgon, or electrocuting Dr. Zharkov with the cattle prod two episodes prior to rescue Steve and Robin. When push comes to shove, he’s a lot more heroic than he gives himself credit for. It’s also why he’s able to bounce off Steve easily in their dynamic: Both characters are reluctant to fight or engage in a confrontation, but will do so courageously when the circumstances call for it.

I still find enjoyment in how the Party continues to apply names of famous locations from Middle-Earth to areas around Hawkins. We’ve had Mirkwood in the past, and this season has Weathertop where Cerebro is. In The Lord of the Rings, Weathertop was a hill containing a watch-tower called Amon Sul built by the Men of the West during the days when Arnor was a kingdom fighting against the Witch-King of Angmar. It also originally contained one of the palantiri (i.e. seeing stones created by the Noldorin elf, Feanor, during the First Age) before it was removed (and eventually lost altogether) by the time Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Aragon visited Weathertop. The location of Weathertop (both in Middle-Earth and in Hawkins) serves as a strategic location to oversee the lands beneath them (Steve can see the flashing lights at Starcourt Mall in the distance because of the higher elevation on Weathertop) and as a means of gathering information. The Palantir at Amon Sul served that purpose initially before the kingdom of Arnor fell, and Cerebro also serves that purpose on the show. There’s even a parallel that can be drawn between the thematic importance of the Palantir in J.R.R. Tolkien’s work vs the purpose Cerebro serves in this season: In the former, the Palantir offers bits and pieces of information (sometimes without the full context), which could lead to those viewing through the Palantir to draw the wrong conclusions and impulsively act on that information. It’s why Denethor came to believe the war against Sauron was a lost cause (because Sauron showed him specific images through the Palantir designed to drive Denethor to despair), and it’s also why Sauron mistakenly believes Pippin has the One Ring when Pippin later glimpses into the Palantir, leading Sauron to hastily strike against Minas Tirith. Likewise, Cerebro picked up on the Russian message being transmitted, leading to Dustin’s investigation into it, and the discovery by the Scoops Troop of Russians in Hawkins and the underground base at Starcourt Mall. In the case of the Scoops Troop though (and unlike with certain characters viewing the Palantir in The Lord of the Rings), they took the time to piece together the information and find evidence to back up their conclusions. The decision to visit the Russian elevator after dark was impulsive and certainly ill-advised (though they thankfully got out alive), but it’s ultimately the Russians broadcasting that message in the first place, under the arrogant assumption that no one would be able to hear it (or understand it), that was their undoing.

Then there’s the actual battle itself:

This sequence was the best part of the episode. The Meat Flayer’s approach (similar to the ominous thumping of the T-Rex from Jurassic Park), and the revelation it was on the roof, was chilling. Same goes for Finn Wolfhard’s acting when Mike calls out for Nancy (both out of fear and as a warning to her) right before the thing came crashing down. The rapidly flashing lights also added to the eeriness of the scene.

There were plenty of homages and nods to the Meat Flayer’s attack on The Party. The first has already been mentioned: Jurassic Park. The above scene of the Meat Flayer arriving as the Starcourt sign is knocked down echoes the T-Rex entering the lobby of the visitor’s center at the end of the movie to fight the raptors while the protagonists flee to safety. There’s also the added effect of both monsters roaring at the destruction they cause.

There’s even the nod to the iconic scene from that movie when Tim and Lex Murphy hide out in the kitchen while the raptors stalk them around various corners, which we see echoes of when the Meat Flayer sets its sights on El, Mike, and Max in The Gap store while using its fleshy tentacles to try and grab them.

Speaking of which, while I can’t say for certain this was a direct inspiration, I was reminded again of the Kraken’s attack on the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (similar to what I pointed out in the last review). The violent way its tentacles grab the crew, combined with the terror of everyone on board as those tentacles approached, is what seals it for me.

We also get a nod to the video game Silent Hill 3 (with the Silent Hill series serving as inspiration for the Upside Down). The first part of Heather’s journey in that game takes place in a mall where the Otherworld begins to invade and turns the place into a perverted version of itself. Everyone else is gone, monsters remain, and Heather is forced into a reckoning with her past, just as El is forced to reckon with the Mind Flayer once again. The difference comes from Heather having to deal with multiple monsters as she tries to escape and get back home, with one of the boss fights taking place against a gigantic ravenous worm in the mall instead of a fleshy spider-monster.

Additionally, the battle at Starcourt Mall also holds parallels to the climax of Stephen King’s IT when The Losers Club (who are now adults) arrive in the caves to fight IT/Pennywise, who has taken the form of a gigantic spider they’re forced to confront. The climax of that book involved The Losers Club attempting to complete The Ritual of Chud to finally put an end to IT/Pennywise’s reign of terror over Derry, Maine, while also preventing them from creating more offspring (especially with the revelation that IT/Pennywise is female and pregnant with its own spawn). The battle is physical against IT/Pennywise’s spider form, but it’s also metaphysical (especially with the concept of the macroverse), psychological, and a contest of wills as IT/Pennywise can prey on the fears and insecurities of The Losers Club to gain the advantage. They eventually are successful in finally killing IT/Pennywise for good (while managing to destroy the eggs IT/Pennywise lays), and we get to see IT/Pennywise’s fear at realizing how a powerful entity like itself is forced to reckon with the reality that they’re not eternal, and that death is just as much a reality for them as other beings. The scene is immensely cathartic as much as it’s a satisfying payoff:

This is what I predict will be the Mind Flayer’s fate by season 5: Getting slapped in the face with the reality of its own mortality, all while realizing that its own cruelty, arrogance, and stubborn desire to control everything was its undoing.

In the case of the Battle of Starcourt though, the fight against the Meat Flayer is more physical and less psychological. The “ritual” here is closing the Gate (similar to what they did in season 2), and it won’t destroy the Mind Flayer so much as the part of the Mind Flayer attached to Billy and the other Flayed. Makes me question if a big reason Vecna waited 8 months before trying to open the Gate in season 4 (despite having absorbed El’s powers at this point) is because the Mind Flayer needed time to recover from losing that piece of itself in this battle, much like how IT/Pennywise was seriously injured by The Losers Club when they were kids and waited 27 years (as per its hibernation cycle) to exact revenge. We won’t really see the psychological fight and the contest of wills until season 4 when Vecna enters the picture. As for the metaphysical, I’m inclined to believe season 5 will cover that, especially since the last few seasons have shown that closing the Gate isn’t enough anymore. The threat of the Upside Down needs to be dealt with in a way that’s permanent, and prevents it from continuing to be a threat to Hawkins and the protagonists.

Additionally, there’s what I’ve mentioned in previous reviews about the parallels between Henry Bowers from the book and Billy Hargrove from the show: Both are vicious, sadistic bullies who come under the corrupting influence of malevolent, otherworldly entities like IT/Pennywise and The Mind Flayer, who use these bullies as a means of hindering the protagonists. In Henry Bowers case, he manages to injure Mike Hanlon (one of the members of the Losers Club), which prevents Mike from participating in the Ritual of Chud. In Stranger Things, the Mind Flayer’s possession of Billy enables it to build a fleshy physical body to rob El of her abilities, which also results in the deaths of multiple people. The key difference is while Billy gets some form of redemption towards the end in fighting off the Mind Flayer’s influence to protect El, Henry Bowers dies unredeemed. How much of Billy’s redemption worked from a narrative perspective though is something I’ll cover in the next part of this review.

Speaking of which, one of the aspects I liked regarding the fight against Billy in the parking lot is how it calls back to the dynamic Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy had as the Monster Hunting Trio back in season 1’s “The Upside Down.” Nancy stands her ground trying to protect Jonathan and the others against Billy while unloading bullets at his speeding car, similar to how she fired her gun at the Demogorgon to save Jonathan’s life when it was attacking him. Steve arrives at the last minute to save Nancy’s life, both from the Demogorgon in season 1 and from Billy rampage here. Likewise, Jonathan saves Steve’s life on both occasions by pulling him to safety from the arriving Demogorgon in season 1, and by rescuing Steve and Robin with the Griswold Family car (that’s what I call it at least) as the Meat Flayer approaches. Things are still awkward between these three (notice how stilted the interactions between Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan are when they’re talking with each other at the Mall, both in this episode and the previous one), but there’s a lot more trust this time around compared to season 1.

The chase down the road was fun to watch, though I question the plot-convenience of having no other cars passing by to witness the Meat Flayer pursuing the Party. Once again, there’s the nod to Jurassic Park when the T-Rex runs after the jeep with Ian Malcom, Ellie Sattler, and Robert Muldoon inside.

I also couldn’t help but think of some of the covers done from the Goosebumps books (specifically A Shocker on Shock Street and The Blob that Ate Everyone) while watching the Meat Flayer close behind them.

And then we get to the famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) song duet between Dustin and Suzie.

Where do I begin?

Originally, “The NeverEnding Story” wasn’t going to be the song featured, and they were actually planning to do “The Song of the Ent and Entwife” from The Lord of the Rings (which would be keeping consistent with the shout-outs to that series). As noted in the article, this song doesn’t have a score behind it (the Peter Jackson adaptations have Treebeard telling Merry and Pippin some of the lyrics without singing the full song), which implies that the Duffer Brothers were going to introduce their own rendition of the score and how they believed the lyrics were sung. Ultimately, they scrapped the idea since Amazon had recently bought the IP for The Lord of the Rings from the Tolkien Estate (which would eventually lead to The Rings of Power debuting in 2022) and didn’t want to get into a legal conflict with them. Hence, “The NeverEnding Story” was used. For those who want to know what “The Song of the Ent and Entwife” is, here’s a link to the lyrics.

This brings me to the issues I (and other fans) have with this moment: The placement of this song (whether “The NeverEnding Story” or “The Song of the Ent and Entwife,” or any of the other ones they considered choosing from) is random, and breaks the tension the episode had done a good job maintaining up till this point. It also has to rely on the contrivances of Murray forgetting Planck’s Constant and not writing it down (which makes Murray chewing out Hopper two episodes ago over Hopper writing down his identification code and keeping it in his wallet look glaringly hypocritical), and Dustin not coming up with a convincing excuse for why he needed the numbers now.

I understand the moment was meant to be cringe-inducing (the reactions of disbelief and bewilderment from the other characters are admittedly hilarious), but it’s a moment that doesn’t move the plot forward and grinds everything to a standstill for nearly 4 minutes. If the Duffer Brothers were insistent on having a musical moment, they needed to have done a better job incorporating it into the story where it served a plot-related purpose and wasn’t forced. Eddie’s guitar solo from “The Piggyback” is a great example of this. It wasn’t just about Eddie rocking out in the Upside Down because it looked cool. It was part of Nancy’s plan to be a diversion so the demobats would be drawn away from the Creel house, and the rest of the Party would have the opportunity to kill Vecna. Additionally, the song chosen (“Master of Puppets” by Metallica) worked better thematically when it came to the battle between Vecna and the protagonists, whereas “The NeverEnding Story” (or even “The Song of The Ent and Entwife”) is out-of-place in this episode. Thematically, I could see “The NeverEnding Story” applying to the show as a whole (even if that was an accidental coincidence on the Duffer Brothers part), but I’ll analyze that when I cover all the songs at the end of this review.

It doesn’t help that this moment was meant to pay off the build-up to Suzie’s character after the whole season left it up-in-the-air whether she was real. If this was meant to make a good first impression for the character…………it backfired.

Dustin in-universe never lives this moment down (as we see from Lucas and Max’s teasing at the end of this episode, or Will’s sarcastic rendition of “The NeverEnding Story” from season 4), but I know that applies heavily to the way the fandom reacted to Suzie following this episode. The backlash was pretty harsh, and I remember there were more than a few people blaming Suzie for Billy’s death and what happened to Hopper because of how the duet wasted precious time for the protagonists. There were even accusations of Suzie being a controlling, jealous girlfriend towards Dustin (which wasn’t helped by Suzie’s “Who was that?” reaction to hearing Erica on the other end). It was to the point that I suspect a big reason tie-ins like Science Camp (which was about Dustin’s time at Camp Know Where, the circumstances behind him meeting Suzie, and how the duet of “The NeverEnding Story” came from them doing a performance at camp for Talent Night) and The Dustin Experiment (which takes place between seasons 3 and 4) placed a MAJOR EMPHASIS on Suzie being a loving, supportive girlfriend to Dustin was to combat this criticism. Same goes for Suzie’s appearance in season 4: Notice how she’s given a plot-related purpose in helping Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle locate El in the desert, and the show highlights her intelligence through her computer skills? I suspect the Duffer Brothers realized from the way fans reacted towards Suzie that they needed to show Suzie being smart instead of just having Dustin tell everyone she is. Her knowing Planck’s Constant wasn’t enough.

While I agree that Suzie didn’t leave the best first impression, I feel bad for Suzie over the bile that was directed towards her. Granted, this fandom has always had an issue with how it judges female characters (there’s a reason my review of “The Lost Sister” was scathing towards Stranger Things fans for the hostile way they reacted towards Kali’s character at the time, and how that likely impacted her from coming back to the show), especially in comparison to male ones. People might roll their eyes at me, but I’ve been in enough fandoms for years now to know that fandom misogyny (and by extension, internalized misogyny) are common enough problems that rarely get checked. In Suzie’s case, even without the tie-in materials, I never saw any evidence to suggest she was a controlling girlfriend, and her calling-out Dustin for not being in contact with her for a while (even if that wasn’t entirely Dustin’s fault) was understandable. I can even see an argument that her concern over hearing Erica’s voice on the other end was warranted, especially if they were already committed to this relationship once they left camp, she knows Dustin is an only child in his family, and there shouldn’t be any reason he’s bringing in other girls on their private calls (or at least she’s under the impression this was a private call).

As for the accusation that she was indirectly responsible for Billy’s death, I roll my eyes hard at this. Putting aside how she wasn’t cued in to what was really going on (at least not in a way where she believed Dustin was being serious about taking on Russians and saving the world), Billy was a dead man walking at that point, and Suzie not engaging in her musical duet with Dustin would’ve done little to change that. Even if the Party miraculously managed to get the piece of the Mind Flayer to leave Billy prior to the Gate closing (which they tried to do unsuccessfully in “The Sauna Test”), he’d already ingested chemicals (as we saw briefly in “The Mall Rats”) same as the other Flayed. The only reason Billy was still alive is because the Mind Flayer allowed him to be. Once the Mind Flayer left his system, those chemicals would’ve destroyed Billy’s insides. Even without the Meat Flayer stabbing him, Billy was going to die. There was no way around that.

As for Hopper, even if he destroyed the Key without getting put in the hazard zone and presumed dead, he and Joyce still would’ve had to contend with Grigori and the rest of the Russians on the way out, and Lord knows how that fight would’ve gone down. I’m not interested in indulging various “what if” scenarios because it’s a moot point. Suzie didn’t know the full context of what was going on, and Dustin wasn’t able to explain it to her in a way that would’ve been believable. If anything, I’m more inclined to blame Dr. Owens and the military since they arrived at the eleventh hour when it was way too late to do anything about the damage caused.

Getting back to the Party, I appreciated how amicable Mike and Max were in this episode, which was a breath of fresh air after they’d been butting heads for most of this season. The way both helped El while she was limping, while also expressing concern over the loss of El’s abilities, was nice to see. It’s a welcome relief after the constant back-and-forth over what was and wasn’t good for El.

I also liked seeing Mike’s use of physics for turning the car over so Jonathan could get the distributor, as well as Max’s attempts to hold off Flayed Billy later by shutting the security gate on him, and then trying to reach through to Billy in the hallway. Both attempts didn’t work, but she was putting her life on the line to protect El, and that’s what counts.

Finally, there’s Lucas, who’s arguably one of the MVP’s for the night. Loved seeing the slingshot make a comeback as a means of distracting the Meat Flayer to take the heat off Max, El, and Mike. It was also gratifying to see his idea for bringing the fireworks pay off, which saved El’s life.

Happy 4th of July, indeed!

I’ve highlighted this before, and I’ll continue to do so: It’s the little moments of every character in the group working off each other, and contributing something unique in each situation, that’s the Duffer Brothers strongest point in their writing. Everyone has an important role, and it never comes off like one character is overshadowing the others, which makes their interactions entertaining and keeps me invested in the action. The Duffer Brothers don’t just pay homage to The Lord of the Rings, but also work in the intricate dynamic J.R.R. Tolkien set up so well with the Fellowship of the Ring and how each member played a vital role in the defeat of Sauron and Saruman during The War of the Ring while they also undergo their own personal character development. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.

Part 2: Billy’s “Redemption”

A few years ago, following the release of Vol. 1 of Season 4, I posted an observation noting how it was telling that both Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender (ATLA) and Steve Harrington appeared on most lists regarding the Best TV Character Redemption Arcs. For whatever reason, this post got a lot of traction, to the point my Tumblr account was blowing up with notifications for several days. Most Tumblr users seem to like what I said. There were a few who seemed to think I was insinuating that Zuko and Steve being on those lists was somehow bad (I wasn’t). And there are a few who decided to add their unwanted (and unasked for) commentary. At the time, that post was simply just meant as an observation, and nothing more. Whatever people seem to think I was insinuating in that post was simply projection on their part.

As the years have gone by, and I’ve had time to think about this, I realize there may have been a point (even subconsciously) that I was trying to make with this observation: Namely, how these redemption arcs worked because it involved a character who started out badly, owned up to their poor choices, and made the effort to change and be a better person, which was presented as an ongoing process in both Stranger Things and ATLA. In other words, their redemption was earned through hard work rather than it being given to them, or having said character act like an asshole for over 95% of the story before having their redemption at the last minute. I’ve seen plenty of examples where the writers badly fumbled a character’s redemption towards the end (Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones), the redemption itself was undermined by how the characters acted in later seasons (Sam Winchester from Supernatural), or the show in question tried to take a character who no longer had the good graces of the audience and shove the redemption arc down their throats, even if it meant retconning backstories, whitewashing/downplaying the severity of past crimes, and tailoring the redemption arc so said character would appear in the most sympathetic light no matter how unsympathetic their behavior was (I’m not mincing words when I say Bill Compton from True Blood had one of the most poorly written redemption arcs I’ve ever seen on a TV show).

Redemption arcs are always contested because people in general have varying ideas of what constitutes “redemption” and whether the actions taken by a character are satisfying enough to the audience for that character to be “redeemed.” Even then, there will always be detractors. I’ve talked before about fans who were never going to accept Steve’s redemption or his efforts post-season 1 to improve as a person over the course of the show, and I’m sure that if I looked deep enough, I’d find detractors for Zuko who are posting hot takes about why and how his redemption didn’t work. We can argue all day about how genuine these people are, but the point is not everyone is going to agree about whether a character’s redemption was successful the same way a fictional character is not going to be universally beloved by all fans.

That being said…………. when it comes to Billy, I’m not surprised he doesn’t appear on those lists. Regardless of how he may have ended during this episode, his story did NOT constitute a redemption arc. At least, not in the traditional sense.

Unlike with Steve, this wasn’t a case of a character starting out as an asshole (while having some hidden depths to convey there was a decent person underneath the douchebaggery) before crossing a line with their behavior that leaves them guilt-stricken and remorseful (as anyone with a conscious would be), forces them to do some serious self-reflection about the kind of person they’ve become, do what they can to make amends to the people they’ve hurt while accepting the consequences (like other characters not forgiving them, or a relationship coming to an end, or even cutting hateful people out of their lives permanently, to name a few examples), and strive to be a better person while unlearning the toxic behaviors that led to their awful actions in the first place.

Billy’s arc, on the other hand, started with him being an asshole, a bully, and an abuser, and went full steam ahead with those qualities for most of his time on the show. There was also the misogyny and racism on his part (something certain fans tried really hard to downplay/whitewash because they were attracted to Billy and thought he was hot) which he never had to unlearn, and was ingrained into his character right up to the point of his death. The people Billy hurt outside of Max (namely Lucas and Steve, though there were undoubtedly others) he never apologizes to, or makes any acknowledgment that the way he treated them was inexcusable. In fact, prior to his possession by the Mind Flayer, we never get the sense he’s sorry about any of his vile behavior beforehand. As I’ve pointed out before, his last acts before he ends up in the Mind Flayer’s clutches are fat-shaming a kid and later attempting to hook up with a married woman without a care over whether he became a homewrecker in the process. The dude was a sleazebag way before the Mind Flayer got its grip on him, same as how Henry Bowers was a sadistic bully before coming under the influence of IT/Pennywise. They may have been taken in by a far more dangerous monster who makes their prior behavior look like child’s play in comparison, but that doesn’t mean either of them were decent people, and it still doesn’t make their previous horrible actions any better.

While we get a few fleeting hints that Billy is horrified by what the Mind Flayer is making him do (such as the tear he sheds in “E Pluribus Unum” when the Mind Flayer is using him as a mouthpiece to communicate with El in the Void), we don’t really get much of a perspective about what’s going on in his head during all of this. I’m not referring to the visions he has in “The Mall Rats” or the memories El sees from “E Pluribus Unum” either. I’m talking about whether his time under possession inspired any kind of introspection or remorse for the way he treated people prior to becoming one of the Flayed. If that was what the show was trying to convey before Billy's moment with El, it did NOT do a good job with that. The only redeemable moment we get is that memory of Billy’s mother, and El appealing to Billy with it, which allows him to do the one decent thing he’s ever done on this show: Protect El from the Meat Flayer so that she wouldn’t be possessed, leading to the Meat Flayer stabbing him in rage over losing control before the Gate closes and kills both of them.

A last-minute redemption? Sure. A full redemption arc, though? Not even close. When I referred earlier to fictional characters who spend over 95% of the story being an asshole before doing something heroic at the last minute that’s supposed to redeem them, I was specifically referring to Billy’s arc on this show. Though there are other examples out there of writers doing this with characters to varying results.

This brings me to two different movies (one of which was based on Stephen King’s book) that likely factored into how Billy’s last-minute redemption was written: Return of the Jedi and The Shining.

Both of these movies (and the Stephen King book) are well-known enough in popular culture that I think recapping the plots for each one would be redundant. What I want to focus on are the redemptions (however brief) of the main antagonists in both works. Specifically, Darth Vader in ROTJ and the book version of Jack Torrance from The Shining (we’ll discuss the film version of Jack Torrance in a minute).

Both Vader and Torrance are examples of men who had a multitude of personal demons (i.e. pride, anger, impulsiveness, abusive upbringings, being groomed by malevolent beings with their own nefarious agendas, etc) that made them ripe for a fall to the dark side.

In Vader’s case, even before George Lucas wrote and filmed the Prequel Trilogy (and way before the release of The Clone Wars TV show), there were enough hints dropped in the Original Trilogy to indicate that something had seriously gone wrong in Vader’s past life, which resulted in his decrepit state necessitating the need of his suit, as well as how he acted as the Emperor’s personal enforcer despite clearly not taking any pleasure in the job. His speech to Luke in ROTJ prior to taking him to see the Emperor is evidence of that.

Likewise, Jack Torrance from Stephen King’s book (NOT the Stanley Kubrick movie) is a man who alternates between trying to be his best self (which is a major contrast to Billy Hargrove, who’s no longer making an effort to be a good person, and doesn’t give a shit about how his behavior hurts others) and letting his demons get the better of him. There’s an internal conflict present in Jack’s character from the novel that’s absent from the Stanley Kubrick version, and his fall to darkness doesn’t occur until near the end of the novel, long after the Overlook Hotel has worked tirelessly to gaslight Jack and play on his worst flaws and insecurities.

Both Vader and Jack have a son (Luke Skywalker and Danny Torrance) who act as a lynchpin to whatever remaining humanity these men have, where their love for their sons is one of the few redeeming qualities they possess. As early as The Empire Strikes Back, there’s a major difference between the way Vader treats everyone else vs his son when he finally meets him. With the former, there’s a brutal, mechanical coldness directed at the underlings who piss him off (“You have failed me for the last time, Admiral”) and the enemies of the Empire (i.e. the Rebel Alliance, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, etc). With his confrontation of Luke on Bespin, his presentation is almost affable, even giving Luke genuine compliments when he gets something right. He challenges Luke to a duel, but there’s the sense he’s holding back in a way he never would’ve with anyone else. The fighting skills he uses on Luke are designed to test Luke’s knowledge of the Force and his skills as a Jedi, with him secretly taking pride in his son’s abilities and what he has accomplished so far. When he finally does cut loose briefly, it results in Luke losing his arm. Even then, he’s still trying to get Luke to join him before dropping the bombshell revelation of being his father. It’s a revelation that changes the context of Vader’s actions throughout the film: Instead of just being a ruthless pursuer who’s determined to fulfill the Emperor’s agenda no matter what, his actions become that of a father determined to find his son at any cost, partly as a means of throwing off the Emperor’s control over him, partly out of a form of twisted love for Luke, and partly because of what Luke represents to him: The life he left behind. The part of himself that he buried underneath the self-loathing and cruelty. The part of himself that was capable of loving someone else. There’s an internal conflict within Vader over feeling obligated to follow the Emperor’s orders vs knowing that doing so would result in the death of his son if he refuses to join the dark side (something Luke makes very clear to Vader that he will not do). The crux of the story in Return of the Jedi centers around whether Luke is right and there’s still some inherent goodness in Vader, or if Vader’s fallen so far that he’ll sacrifice his own son to appease the Emperor. As we all know, the love for his son wins out in the end, even at the cost of his own life.

In Stephen King’s The Shining, it’s a little more complicated. Unlike the Stanley Kubrick version of Jack Torrance, who claimed to love his son even though his demeanor, tone, and actions screamed the opposite (as if he saw Danny as a burden to him), the Jack Torrance of the novel genuinely loved his son. Unlike the movie version, Danny was closer to Jack than his mother, Wendy, and had an intrinsic understanding of what was going on with Jack due to Danny’s gift of the shining (which allowed him to understand the thoughts and feelings of people around him).

On top of that, while Jack’s relationship with Wendy was fraught at different points, they had a better understanding of one another due to both growing up in abusive households (Wendy under her mother, and Jack under his father). He was able to see through the emotionally manipulative crap Wendy’s mother would pull with her (while helping Wendy to break free of that), and she in turn held Jack accountable and influenced him to change his behavior for the sake of their marriage and Danny. It was a strained family dynamic, but also a loving one where they were trying to encourage each other to be their best selves. They even had moments of family activities together (something the Stanley Kubrick version deliberately avoided by having Wendy and Danny bond while Jack stayed inside and kept his distance):

This is what makes Jack’s descent into madness in the book both terrifying and tragic: Regardless of how sympathetic the reader is towards his flaws, there was the sense that he was trying to improve as a person. The problem though is the Overlook Hotel, which was a haunted place of vices, debauchery, temptations, selfishness, and genuine evil, knew exactly what kind of buttons to press with Jack and slowly corrupt him. I would even go as far as to compare it to what happened between the Mind Flayer and Henry/One/Vecna from The First Shadow, where Henry Creel started out with his own personal insecurities, doubts, and anxieties, and the Mind Flayer took advantage of that to mess with his mind, all while Dr. Brenner took advantage of the situation to mold Henry into the weapon that he wanted without caring about dehumanizing Henry in the process. Both Jack and Henry ultimately had choices (same as Vader) and it doesn’t excuse the damage they caused, but there is the ability to pity the circumstances behind what drove them to villainy.

In Jack’s case though (unlike the Stanley Kubrick version), he gets a brief redemption when his son is able to break through Jack’s madness to help him reclaim his humanity one last time (a scene I believe was intentionally invoked in this episode between El and Billy), and Jack is given a chance to warn Danny to flee the Hotel.

Ultimately, Jack stays behind as the boiler underneath the Overlook Hotel explodes while Danny, Wendy, and the Overlook’s cook, Dick Halloran, make it to safety.

Bringing this back to Billy’s last-minute redemption, there’s the sense the Duffer Brothers were taking inspiration from Vader’s redemption in ROTJ and Jack’s love for Danny in The Shining breaking through the malevolent influence of the Overlook Hotel. Unfortunately, this is where the problems in the writing for Billy’s character begin to show.

I've mentioned this before, but it should be noted that Dacre Montgomery and the Duffer Brothers have cited Jack Nicholson’s performance of Jack Torrance from Stanely Kubrick’s The Shining as inspiration for how Billy was designed. This is a big deal because, as I’ve pointed out, there’s a major difference between the Jack Torrance of the novel vs the film, and that has to do with how sympathetic both versions are.

Jack Torrance from the book was a deeply flawed individual, but King at least made an attempt to infuse the character with sympathy, both in his love for Danny and his attempts to improve himself for his family. Kubrick’s version of Jack Torrance was introduced as someone with a very unpleasant, self-absorbed quality underneath his fake cheery demeanor. This is someone who presented themselves like they were looking for a reason to cut loose. Whereas the Jack from the books genuinely tried to bond with his family, the Kubrick version seemed to regard them as pests, actively went out of his way to avoid them, and didn’t hide his anger and irritation whenever he was interrupted. Then there’s the matter of the past incident when a drunk Jack broke Danny’s arm when Danny made a mess: This occurs in both versions, but whereas the Jack of the novel was sickened and remorseful over what he did, the movie version acts more like a petulant child who’s pissed over being held accountable for that (as we see in his conversation with the ghost Lloyd). Same goes for Danny’s encounter in Room 217: In the book, Jack encounters something in the room as well (where he’s unsure if it’s actually real or his mind playing tricks on him) and the attempts to offer explanations about what happened to Danny (who was almost strangled by the ghost of the woman from Room 217) are less about dismissing Danny’s traumatic experience and more about trying to find a rational explanation for what happened. In the movie (where the Room is 237), Jack not only encounters the woman, but proceeds to embrace and kiss her (the implication being he has lustful feelings for other women and would cheat on his wife if given the opportunity) before she reveals herself to be an ugly, decaying crone, causing him to flee. When Jack later comes back to where Wendy and Danny are, and tells Wendy he didn’t see anything, the way Nicholson plays the scene gives the impression that Jack is knowingly lying. There’s also the lack of love between Danny and Jack in the movie. One of the creepiest moments in the movie involves Jack attempting to embrace Danny, claiming he loves him and would never hurt him. Meanwhile, the music, the way the scene is framed, and how uncomfortable Danny looks, indicates that this isn’t true (and Danny knows it intrinsically):

There are plenty of other examples I could give about the differences between the book and film version of Jack Torrance, but my point is the film version is NOT SYMPATHETIC. This is a character who’s filled with resentment and pettiness, and his descent into madness is less tragic and more like the Overlook Hotel gave him carte blanche to indulge in his worst impulses. And unlike the book version, there is no attempt at redemption. He dies freezing to death in the cold while trying to murder his son with an axe.

So when the Duffer Brothers and Dacre Montgomery are claiming the movie version of Jack’s character is supposed to serve as inspiration for Billy, that colors the way I see his character, and not in a way that makes him look good.

Billy is someone who has intentionally gone out of his way to be cruel. This is someone who’s made no effort to control their temper (and was looking for an excuse to blow up at others, as we saw with his treatment of Steve in season 2), who felt no remorse for the abuse they inflict on others, was stewing in resentment for years (to the point he adopted the mentality of “If I’m miserable, then everyone else gets to be miserable with me”), and even got sadistic delight in messing around with other people (like threatening to run the Party off the road with his car in season 2). Even with the story of being abused by his dad, he’s still a deeply vile individual, and the show doesn’t do much to infuse him with redeeming qualities. He is written the same way Stanley Kubrick wrote Jack Torrance when he adapted The Shining into a screenplay.

And it would be one thing if that was all that was being done with Billy’s character, but the problem comes from the Duffer Brothers wanting to have it both ways: They wanted to use the movie version of Jack Torrance as inspiration for Billy, but then they wanted to incorporate the scene from the book of Jack reclaiming his humanity one last time, as well as Vader’s redemption from ROTJ. The issue, however, is 1.) They didn’t give Billy any redeeming qualities beforehand, and 2.) Billy’s behavior has alienated everyone around him, to the point the rest of the characters either want nothing to do with him, or are keeping their distance.

So how do they solve this conundrum? They introduce Billy’s mother 2 episodes before Billy’s inevitable death (in a very cliché manner as well) and have her be the special person in Billy’s life who will serve as the nexus point for Billy’s last-minute redemption. Much like how Luke did for Darth Vader. Or Danny did for Jack Torrance in the book.

This is where things start to fall apart in regards to Billy’s redemption. It may not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it’s something that shapes the way people look at Billy and why his “redemption” fell flat for so many fans.

With Vader and Jack, what worked about their attempts to find their humanity again out of love for their sons was that both Luke and Danny were prominent characters in their respective stories. Luke is the protagonist of the original Star Wars Trilogy, and we got to follow his journey, see what kind of person he was, were with him through his triumphs and failures, came to understand his bravery and insecurities, and could even understand where his desire to bring Vader back to the light was coming from. Same thing goes for Danny Torrance in Stephen King’s novel: The book followed his perspective (same as it did for Jack, Wendy, and Dick Halloran) where we got to see his own fears and insecurities, along with his joys and love for his parents, and how he was grappling with the special gift he had. We could also see why he was able to empathize with his father, understand how the Overlook Hotel was twisting Jack’s mind, and empathize with Danny’s desire to break through to Jack. The audience cared about the conflict in both of these stories because Luke and Danny were fleshed-out characters who weren’t just there as a plot-device so that Vader and Jack would immediately get redeemed. Same goes for Patty Newby and her relationship with Henry/One/Vecna in The First Shadow: The relationship between the two was given prominence, but Patty was also allowed to have her own arc where we saw her hopes and insecurities as she navigated high school. She wasn’t just there to serve as a set-piece for Henry/One/Vecna, and even if her relationship to him was one of the few redeeming qualities Henry/One/Vecna had, it still didn’t stop him from descending into full-blown villainy.

Billy’s mother, on the other hand, is a character who only appears briefly in flashbacks, doesn’t even have a name given to her, and is only there for the plot-related purpose of giving Billy some kind of redeeming qualities (which the show failed to do up till that point) so that we can buy the scene of him reclaiming his humanity and holding off the Meat Flayer against El. Once that was done, the show cast her character aside, and we are likely never going to see her again (especially now that Billy is dead). There is no emotional investment in Billy’s mom, like there is with Luke and Danny, because the show didn’t bother to flesh-out her character. And compared to other characters on this show who’ve come and gone, she isn’t even memorable because of the lack of development given to her. And no, El describing to Billy what she looked like on the beach doesn’t alleviate that problem.

The sad thing is I wouldn’t have had an issue with this redemption arc if a.) They had given Billy redeeming aspects (like they did with Steve) prior to being possessed by the Mind Flayer, and b.) If the inspiration for Billy reclaiming his humanity and doing the right thing at the end of his life was on behalf of a character the audience was invested in. Max is who I’m thinking about, especially since she’s been a main character on this show for several seasons now, and we’ve gotten to know Max as a person and care for her. I’ve said this before in previous reviews, but even with how awful their sibling interactions were in season 2, I would’ve welcomed Billy and Max improving their relationship, with Billy making efforts to be better as a person and them working to have some kind of sibling bond that wasn’t rooted in abuse and manipulation. That way, when the Mind Flayer possessed Billy, I’d have a reason to care about what happened to him, and have a stronger interest in Max’s desire to rescue Billy and hope that things turn out alright.

That’s not what happened here though. Billy and Max don’t interact at all prior to Billy’s possession, and the two instances when Max tried to appeal to Flayed Billy, it resulted in her nearly getting stabbed by him with a piece of tile, and this moment:

This is a big reason I shake my head whenever I see fans try to tell me that Billy secretly loved Max. No, he didn’t. The show was very clear on that. At best, he resented having her in his life, and at worst, he was abusive to her and made her life a living hell. If there was any humanity or empathy left in Billy, it was reserved for his mother, and not for Max. I’m willing to bet that if El had tried appealing to Billy by bringing up his relationship with Max, not only would that have failed, it might have also resulted in El being strangled to death.

All of this factors into why the “I’m sorry” Billy gives Max right before he dies doesn’t have the emotional impact it should. I can buy that’s he’s sorry about what he did under the Mind Flayer’s influence, but when it comes to his behavior prior to possession, from his abusive treatment of Max, to his racism towards Lucas, to beating the shit out of Steve, to all the other nasty and mean-spirited things he did (i.e. the things most fans who don’t like Billy were upset with him over), I don’t buy it. The show didn’t bother to go deep enough into Billy’s perspective to give any indication that he felt remorse over his previous actions. El was even in his head two episodes ago, and aside from the flashbacks focusing on his Mom and Dad, as well as how Neil’s influence molded Billy into an abuser, we don’t see anything to suggest that Billy is sorry for the abhorrent way he’s treated people. As far as he was concerned, he felt justified in his behavior.

That’s not a redemption arc. That’s not even a case of an internal conflict (combined with self-loathing) like it was with Darth Vader and Stephen King’s version of Jack Torrance. That’s someone who feels entitled to act cruel, who has decided that the way he’s been treated means it’s okay for him to treat others that way (despite knowing damn well how wrong that is), and who doesn’t take responsibility for his behavior unless he is forced to. That’s not sympathetic, and it makes me have zero interest in Billy’s arc, let alone the last-minute redemption they gave him. There were multiple ways this could have been handled where I would’ve been invested in Billy’s story, but as it stands, I’m left cold.

On a final note before we move on to the next part, while I didn’t care for Billy’s redemption, the one thing that catches my attention has to do with how Billy resisting the Mind Flayer’s influence parallels what Henry/One/Vecna did all those years ago on Patty Newby’s behalf in The First Shadow. At the time, Henry and Patty were in the attic of the Creel House where Henry had entered the Void and encountered the Mind Flayer. Principal Newby also was at the scene, where he gets attacked by the Mind Flayer who is using Henry as a vessel for its power. Similar to how Billy’s love for his biological mother allowed him to shake off the Mind Flayer’s influence to protect El, Henry’s love for Patty at the time enabled him to take control from the Mind Flayer (however briefly) and drive it away to save Principal Newby’s life (though Principal Newby was blinded in the aftermath). I have questioned ever since the play whether the show will bring Patty back, or if there’s the possibility that Henry/One/Vecna’s arc might end with him having a semi-redemption like Billy does. His love for Patty (assuming it’s still there) could enable Henry/One/Vecna one last time to overcome the Mind Flayer. It wouldn’t redeem him in the traditional sense (same way as it doesn’t with Billy), but it would connect with the theme of love being the driving force that repels the Mind Flayer, as well as the idea of Henry/One/Vecna reclaiming whatever shred of humanity he has left and dying as himself (same as Billy). Whether the show goes that direction though (or brings back Patty Newby at all) remains to be seen.

Part 3: Hopper’s Sacrifice (and The Bald Eagle Arc)

One of the aspects discussed on the Season 3 Podcast was about the direction they took Hopper’s character. Namely, that Hopper was a man dealing with past demons (notably the grief over his daughter’s death) and how he’s struggling to accept changes in his life (which include El growing older, and the passage of time). The central question for his character this season was over whether he’d be able to survive those changes and grow as a person.

This is one of those instances where the writers likely intended for the audience to see Hopper’s arc in a certain light, but the way it was executed on the show not only left a lot to be desired, but also unintentionally soured most people towards Hopper. As a result, what should have been a powerful moment at the end instead is undercut both by the way Hopper spent most of this season acting, as well as the lack of effort from the Duffer Brothers in trying to convince the audience he was truly dead. I think most fans figured out quickly he was “the American” the Russians were referring to in the stinger.

I can understand the Duffer Brothers wanting to have one of their characters make some sort of self-sacrifice (which we will inevitably see in season 5), but I’m baffled at why they would write Hopper in such an unsympathetic matter for most of the season, and then decide this was the moment for that. I already wasn’t happy they did that with Billy (and unlike Hopper, Billy started out at his absolute worst and didn’t improve from there), so why they thought that could work for Hopper is beyond me. And I’m someone who’s invested in Hopper and couldn’t care less about Billy.

I’ve been clear in previous reviews that, for all the accusations thrown at Hopper (some of which I’ve even called out as holding no water), what’s bothered me about how his character has been written this season has a lot to do with the toxic way he’s treated others (namely Mike and Joyce) as well as his explosive temper, entitlement, and how pervasive he’s been in getting into fights with anyone who sets him off. The worst part is the show has played a lot of this for comedy without any introspection on Hopper’s part (or from the other characters for that matter) over how destructive this behavior is. The closest we get to anything resembling that is Murray’s comments in the last episode (with Murray once again acting as the mouthpiece for the writers) about Hopper being “a big manbaby who’d rather act tough than show his true feelings.” However, the way Murray delivers that is not only infantilizing, but comes off like it’s designed by the writers to try and absolve Hopper for his inappropriate behavior without really holding him accountable for it. I’ve been sympathetic in the past towards Hopper’s grief over Sara’s death, but there’s only so many times the narration can milk that backstory before it starts to look like the writers are using this as an excuse for Hopper to not grow as a character. It’s the same way I felt about Billy’s “abusive backstory” and why that never worked for me: There’s only so many times a show can play that card with a character before it starts to look like the writers are refusing to let said character take any responsibility for their behavior. That’s not sympathetic, and it kills any interest I may have in that character’s story.

Then there’s the issue with how the show tries to resolve Hopper’s arc this season prior to his “self-sacrifice.”

Take the brief scene with Mike and El at the beginning of this episode. While his heartfelt goodbye to El works (and is a lot harsher in hindsight given what El and Hopper are both about to go through in season 4), I was less impressed at this attempt of mutual respect between Mike and Hopper:

It’s not that I’m against having a moment like this, or for Hopper to tell Mike to “Be careful.” It’s that the moment doesn’t feel earned after everything that’s happened between them. Mike and Hopper started the season antagonistic towards one another, with Hopper being the catalyst for Mike and El breaking up (something that the show never holds him accountable for and shifts all the blame onto Mike), and both of them never got a satisfying resolution to that conflict. Whatever issues the two had with one another are left unaddressed. The only reason to buy this scene at all is because they’re in a life-threatening situation and Hopper has no choice except to trust Mike with El. Other than that, nothing about what I’ve seen this season (or the lack of what I’ve seen, given Hopper and Mike had zero scenes together following the season 3 premiere) indicates there’s been any change in their relationship. That wouldn’t be an issue for me if it weren’t for the end of season 4 when Hopper comes back, and both him and Mike embrace each other like they’ve missed one another. Why? Mike doesn’t express any grief over Hopper’s supposed death (nor do the tie-in materials between seasons 3 and 4 give the impression Mike was devastated by what happened to Hopper the same way El and Joyce were) and Mike doesn’t even register on Hopper’s radar during the time he’s held prisoner at Kamchatka. If the Duffer Brothers wanted me to believe that something changed between these two, whether it was Mike regretting his bratty behavior, or Hopper realizing he took things too far in the season 3 premiere, then it needed to be shown and not just implied.

Then there’s the bickering in the elevator, Hopper’s resentment over having both Joyce and Murray come with him because it’s a three-man operation to destroy the Key, and his later argument with Joyce over how they handle stressful situations before it evolves into them arranging for another date at Enzo’s. There is Joyce’s line about how they make a good team despite the arguing, but I’m left wondering why (from a writing perspective) the arguing was needed in the first place? I pointed this out in my reviews of “The Flayed” and “The Bite,” but the attempts to invoke the kind of romantic, belligerent bickering seen in movies like Romancing the Stone (or even in male-buddy comedies like Midnight Run) doesn’t work for the dynamic Hopper and Joyce have. Fans liked their relationship in the first two seasons, and while they may have had their disagreements, there was sensitivity and genuine respect between the two of them. Both of which are absent in this season as they’re getting into another petty argument for the umpteenth time.

I get the sense this is one of those instances where the way Hopper’s arc for season 3, as well as the Joyce/Hopper relationship, was outlined in the writer’s room didn’t gel with how it was filmed and framed. They wanted to do call-backs to those 80s movies and TV shows where two characters (whether romantic love interests, or two male characters being forced to work together) start out hostile towards and unsure of one another, and exchange barbs with each other as they’re forced to go through situations (whether life-threatening, or based on mundane relationship problems) where they will bond. Those movies usually end one of two ways: If it’s a male and female pairing, a romance blossoms. If it’s two guys, there will be a friendship based on mutual respect between the two when it’s all over.

To be fair, this is something The First Shadow did with Joyce and Hopper, but I was a lot more tolerant of that because the characters were teenagers at the time, and this was around when they were getting to know one another, which made whatever arguments they had more bearable.

In this season, however? When it’s been over 2 decades since then, and the first two seasons established a concrete dynamic between Joyce and Hopper that fans liked and was NOT reliant on those tropes, it’s a lot less tolerable, and just annoying.

Then there’s the letter El finds at the end of the episode before her move to Lenora. I’m assuming the part Hopper wrote for the letter without Joyce’s direction occurred before Hopper tried to have his conversation with Mike and El in the season 3 premiere, which ended with Hopper losing patience with Mike’s attitude and threatening Mike in his truck. I know fans have talked about that letter as one of the best moments of this season………I didn’t like it. Part of it is for reasons I’ll cover in the next bit of this review, but the way Hopper had this whole letter written out regarding change, how El is growing older, and him coming to accept that despite being scared of it………all of that gets undermined by Hopper’s behavior for the rest of the season where his personal problems get projected onto Mike, Joyce, and Murray, and there isn’t a lot of self-reflection on his part about whether he’s living up to the ideals he’s preaching to El.

I know fan reaction towards Hopper surviving the destruction of the Key was mixed. Some fans were okay with it, whereas others felt like it not only undermined the emotional impact of the scene, but it was the prime example of the Duffer Brothers being reluctant to kill off main characters, which makes it hard to get invested when they're supposed to be in danger. I’ll be talking more about this accusation, and the idea of “plot armor” in season 4 because this is a lot more complicated than fans have made it out to be in the past. When it comes to Hopper though, I’m glad the show did NOT kill him off in season 3. This would have been a poor way for his character to go out on, and would have left a bitter taste after how controversial he was this season. Hopper deserves better than that, and thankfully season 4 course corrected with the character.

On the opposite side, this rarely gets discussed, but I appreciated the subtle character development they gave Murray this season, which we will continue to see in season 4. A lot of that has to do with his interactions with Alexei from the previous episodes, including the brief friendship the two of them developed, and how horrified he was by Alexei’s death. “May his soul rest in peace” as Murray respectfully puts it. The bluntness and irritation with everyone is still there, but it’s more tempered compared to how he’s acted previously. Case in point: At the beginning of this episode, while he gets irritated at Hopper asking if the Russians said the kids were at the food court, he does try to assuage Hopper’s fears about the situation. Joyce is right that the kids are there, but there’s at least an attempt to try and empathize with Hopper’s situation. Same goes for trusting Jonathan and Nancy with the keys to his house to get everyone to safety, the calm way he defuses another argument between Joyce and Hopper in the elevator by assuring them their plan will work, and the way he later checks up on Joyce by asking if she’s alright after they’ve destroyed the Key and had to make a break for it. It’s a nice change from him snapping at everyone and being rude in general. He even gets his moment in the sun by pulling the cables to cause mayhem with the Key and give Hopper and Joyce their opportunity to destroy it for good.

As for Joyce, I don’t envy her position when she was forced to shut the Gate on her own, even at the risk of killing Hopper. That had to have been a gut-wrenching experience. It’s especially harsher in hindsight knowing Hopper was on a lower platform, and had Joyce gone over just a little closer, she might have been able to see him below. I get why she believed Hopper was dissolved by the electricity (same as the other Russians who were in the area once the Key was destroyed), and they didn’t have the time to look below since the Russians on the other side of the door were barging through, but damn that sucks.

I don’t have a lot to say about Grigori, except once again the writing has this character engage in plot-related stupidity (though the other Russians don’t come out looking any better with how Joyce, Hopper, and Murray run circles around them, as well as how easily Hopper guns down the ones at the elevator entrance). There is no reason Grigori couldn’t have shot Hopper and Joyce from behind when he came into the room as they were about to turn their keys. There's also how he throws around Hopper and Joyce instead of just snapping their necks like a professional killer, only to act surprised when Hopper ambushes him from behind moments later as he contacts his comrades on his walkie-talkie.

For those who are going to argue Grigori wanted them alive for information, he’s already tried to have them killed on several different occasions prior to this. Even with the fight by the Key, he was aiming to kill Hopper at that point (and almost did), which makes this look like inconsistent writing. This has been an issue with Grigori’s character as far back as “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard,” and it’s to the point that his skills as a trained KGB hitman look more like an Informed Attribute. It’s almost embarrassing how Hopper got the jump on him.

Speaking of which, there are multiple homages and nods to the fight within the Russian Underground Base. The first is mentioned in the Season 3 Podcast: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Specifically, the fight between Hopper and Grigori near the Key was meant to pay homage to Indy’s fight against the Nazis near a plane. Both feature the protagonists going up against a muscled-macho figure where Hopper and Indy are made to look like the underdog in the fight………….only for said muscled-macho figure to literally get torn to pieces (Grigori by the Key, and the Nazi by the airplane).

Additionally, the battle in the Russian Underground Base reflects the climax of The Hunt for Red October where Captain Marko Ramius and Jack Ryan (the CIA analyst who’s been attempting to contact Ramius after realizing he planned to defect from the Soviet Union) attempt to track down the saboteur who’s been hindering Ramius’s plans while both the U.S. Navy and the Russian command on Red October deal with an approaching Soviet submarine (V. K. Konovalov) who’s been given orders to sink the Red October and kill Ramius and his crew. The interiors and lighting for both the Red October, as well as the other submarines featured in the movie, can be see with the way the Russian Underground Base is designed, with its eerie red lights, technical components, and the sense of claustrophobia at being underground. Even the climax for the movie features multiple things going wrong while the characters are forced to improvise to stay on top of the situation, much like what the characters from Stranger Things are forced to do in this episode.

Next, we have the nod to Die Hard: McClane’s attempts to derail Hans’s plans and prevent the hostages from being killed paralleling Hopper, Joyce, and Murray’s attempts to close the Gate before the Meat Flayer kills the teens upstairs. Hopper shooting at the roof to force the Russian scientists to leave so they can destroy the Key vs McClane shooting in the air on the top of the building to force the hostages downstairs so they’re not in the blast radius of the bombs. There’s even McClane vs Karl Vreski mirroring Hopper vs Grigori in the climax, with both opponents doing hand-to-hand combat against each other. Difference is McClane manages to incapacitate Karl by strangling him with chains (though Karl doesn’t die until later on), and the fight between the two of them is more personal since McClane killed Karl’s brother earlier in the movie, whereas there really isn’t much of a personal factor in Hopper and Grigori’s fight other than being in each other’s ways. Also, for as much trouble as McClane causes, Hans is able to improvise pretty well up till the end, whereas most of the Russians in the Underground Base turn into a bunch of headless chickens the moment things start to go wrong.

There's also a subtle nod to The Lord of the Rings, specifically regarding Gandalf's fight with the Balrog and his presumed death in The Fellowship of the Ring. "You cannot pass!" Grigori doesn't even close to the level of the Balrog, but once the Key is damaged during their fight, Hopper literally cannot pass to where Joyce is without being disintegrated. The scene also calls back to what happened to El when she fought the Demogorgon in season 1's "The Upside Down," which also evoked the stand-off between the Balrog and Gandalf at the bridge of Khazad-dûm. In both Hopper, El, and Gandalf's cases, they were all believed by their friends to have perished, and were forced to struggle on their own for a while before making their way back for a reunion.

Finally, we get the Rambo shout-out Alexei made two episodes ago:

(Side Note: Since Alexei was familiar with Rambo, does that mean he rented Rambo: First Blood to watch during his time in Hawkins? Or went to see the second movie secretly at Starcourt Mall (which debuted on May 22, 1985, around the time the Russians were operating in Hawkins)? I know it’s an unimportant question, but it’s one I’m curious about).

I’ve only seen the first one (Rambo: First Blood), so I can’t speak for the sequels, but I was intrigued by the story taking place in the state of Washington, and dealing with Rambo’s harassment at the hands of law enforcement there (For those who complain about Hopper engaging in police brutality this season, go watch the first Rambo movie, then come back and rewatch this show, and tell me you don’t see a difference between the way Hopper acts as a cop vs how Sheriff Will Teasle and his deputies abuse their positions in the movie). This eventually escalates when they make the stupid decision to poke and prod at Rambo’s PTSD until he eventually blows up on them and attempts to escape. Given Rambo’s training as a former Vietnam Veteran (and his time in the Green Berets), the cops are helplessly outmatched. Not that I feel bad for the cops in this movie since they wouldn’t stop bullying Rambo and leave the poor guy alone.

I mentioned in my review of “Suzie, Do You Copy?” how Hopper came off as someone who was bored with his current lifestyle, and looked like he was itching for some action, as well as an excuse to let loose. However, I don’t think that’s a great parallel to Rambo from the first movie, who is just sick of being treated badly by everyone, despite having put his life on the line for his country and coming back with a bunch of unresolved issues and PTSD. If the show wanted to explore that angle with Hopper (i.e. his time in Vietnam, and the trauma he came away with), I’d be interested in that. His conversation with Dmitri/Enzo in season 4 gave us some information, but if season 5 wanted to delve into what happened to him over there (complete with PTSD flashbacks), I’m all for that. I am disappointed that, for as much as season 3 modeled Hopper’s look and costume design after Thomas Magnum from Magnum P.I., they don’t really go into Hopper’s backstory in Vietnam the same way they did with Magnum. That could have added so much more depth to Hopper this season beyond just copying the look of an iconic 80s TV show character.

Part 4: Aftermath

Leave it to the U.S. Government in this series to be a day late and a dollar short. For those complaining about this season having a Pro-America sentiment, I submit to you evidence of the U.S. Military arriving at the eleventh hour, long after the main characters have taken care of business, and the remaining Russians have cleared out with Hopper and whatever monsters they could collect from the Upside Down. Granted, the gross incompetence of the U.S. Government has been consistent since season 1, and I have a feeling season 5 is going to continue that trend now that Lt. Colonel Sullivan is in charge and has made El the designated scapegoat for every horrible thing happening in Hawkins.

I know they establish in the next season that Dr. Owens was the fall guy for allowing the Russians to invade Hawkins, which resulted in him being fired. While I’m sure there were other higher-ups trying to cover their asses who were responsible for allowing this situation to happen under their noses, I do question why Dr. Owens, and by extension the Government, didn’t continue to keep an eye on Hawkins, or put any safeguards around the place. I know they had to close down Hawkins Lab after Murray, Jonathan, and Nancy exposed them, but they could have found other resources and means to keep an eye on the place, especially since it had been the site for interdimensional and otherworldly activity. You don’t just ignore that, or pack your bags and decide there’s nothing to see here if there’s the possibility that threat could come back.

I’m also still waiting for an answer on how the Russians knew about the Gate in the first place. I’ve suggested the idea in the past of a mole at Hawkins Lab, but now I’m wondering if they have spies on the higher levels of the U.S. Government. It certainly could be a plot-point for season 5 if they decide to bring the Russians back.

It’s interesting how the piece of the Mind Flayer in its black particle form didn’t die at the end of season 2 once the Gate closed, but simply went dormant at Brimborn Steel Works until the Russians opened their Gate. Now that it has possessed multiple people and turned into the Meat Flayer, it’s officially dead now that the Russian Gate is closed. It reminds me a little of Animorphs and the parasitic Yeerks who could insert themselves into a host’s brain and take over their mind and body. However, if the host was critically injured, or got shot in a vital part of their body, then the Yeerk inside their brain would die the same as the host. It makes me wonder if the defeat of the Mind Flayer’s full black particle form (that we’ve seen in season 2) may be as simple as having it attach all of itself to one host before killing said host with the Mind Flayer inside. However, there’s also what The First Shadow revealed about the Mind Flayer existing BEFORE Henry/One/Vecna manipulated the environment of the Upside Down to give it its black particle form, so I’m skeptical on that count. I’m sure tricking the particles into attaching itself to another host and killing them would injure it (just like closing the Russian Gate and severing the Mind Flayer’s connection to the Meat Flayer presumably wounded it badly enough that it needed months to recover), but I can’t say for sure if it would permanently kill the Mind Flayer.

I remember when I saw the news report following the “Three Months Later” title card that I wasn’t impressed with the cover story the Government provided in-universe for what happened on July 4th. While I recognize this was intentional, and becomes a major plot-point in season 4 (especially when it delves into the Satanic Panic associated with D&D, which this episode foreshadows in the news report), it’s kind of embarrassing how sloppy the concealment was of what really happened. That’s also including all the holes in their cover story.

(Side Note: Caitlin Schneiderhan, one of the writers in-universe for the Indianapolis Gazette, is also one of the Stranger Things writers for season 4. Nice shout-out!)

Take for instance the claim that 30 people died in the Fire at the Mall: That fire (as you can see in the news report) looks relatively small, which makes it hard to swallow when Robin later tells Keith the Mall burned down. Maybe it’s a visual discrepancy, but that pitiful amount of smoke combined with the onlookers behind the yellow caution tape looked laughable.

Then there’s the 30 people themselves, whom I’m assuming were all those possessed by the Mind Flayer and used to form the Meat Flayer: Back in “E Pluribus Unum,” when the Mind Flayer called all of them to Brimborn Steel Works, there were several people who reacted when their friends and loved ones got up randomly during the 4th of July festivities and left. Did those people ever chase after them to see what was going on? Were there ever any questions about how they went from enjoying a BBQ or lighting fireworks one minute to just conveniently showing up at the Mall among the dead? And what about the fact that the Mall was supposed to be closed (something the Russians made sure to do so they could try to kill the Scoops Troop without witnesses) and yet 30 arbitrary residents with little to no connection to each other, and who were enjoying other activities before the Mind Flayer called them, just ended up in a closed location that coincidentally had a fire? What about the fact that the deaths included prominent members of The Hawkins Post (i.e. Tom and Bruce)? Or the people at the Hospital that Flayed Tom and Flayed Bruce murdered before they attacked Nancy and Jonathan? How is the Government explaining that?

I didn’t realize Palace Arcade was right next to the Video Rental Store until I rewatched this specific episode for the review. I guess Keith’s able to work double jobs as a manager for both properties. Go figure.

It's funny to me how the interview with Keith highlights the difference between how people perceive high art and low art in films. Granted, Keith was never set on giving Steve the job until Robin convinced him otherwise, but the choices Steve went with (National Lampoon’s Animal House, Return of the Jedi, and a tie between Back to the Future and Fast Times at Ridgemont High) are classics in their own right. Maybe they’re not the prestigious critical-darlings Robin likes (both The Apartment and Children of Paradise have appeared on Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies List”), but they’re hardly what I’d call “pedestrian.” Back to the Future is still one of the best science-fiction movies ever made, and Return of the Jedi is a lot better than people give it credit for.

(Side Note: Given Steve’s answer of “the one with the teddy bears” when pressed by Keith for which Star Wars movie was his favorite, I’m either assuming Steve’s only seen Return of the Jedi and doesn't remember its name, or he hasn't seen any Star Wars movies given he couldn’t name A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back. It changes the context of his mock lightsaber duel with Dustin in “The Mall Rats,” with the implication that he’s doing it less out of familiarity with Star Wars itself and more because it’s an enjoyable activity that makes Dustin happy.)

Regardless, I did like seeing Robin stick up for Steve. It’s a nice reminder of how far their relationship has come since the beginning of season 3 (or Rebel Robin for that matter), and how there’s a strong bond of loyalty between the two of them. It’s reminiscent of the end of The Apartment where both Fran and Baxter have untangled themselves from letting everyone else step all over them and have (as Dr. Dreyfuss puts it) become menschen (Yiddish for “people”). Steve and Robin are not bound anymore by what others think, and they can rely on each other for support (even if it doesn’t become a romantic relationship like with Fran and Baxter).

Additionally, on top of the references to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and how the costume Brad Hamilton’s wears at his workplace was the inspiration for Steve’s Scoops Ahoy outfit, one parallel that stands out to me is how both Brad and Steve help someone they care about, and display an enlightened attitude in the process. In Brad’s case, he finds out that Stacy (who’s his sister) got an abortion, but agrees to keep it private for her sake, and his primary concern is making sure Stacy is okay. He chooses to be supportive of her, and doesn't pass judgment like many other people would. In Steve’s case, it’s knowing about Robin being a Lesbian, but keeping that information to himself and being willing to support Robin in her choices. By today’s standards (especially with what Trump and the rest of the GOP are currently doing), both Steve and Brad come off as genuinely progressive (and not in a Leftist “I’m doing this for clout and so everyone can see what a wonderful person I am” kind of way either).

I know that El and the Byers packing to leave Hawkins was meant to be bittersweet, but given the events of season 4, it’s a lot harder to watch now.

Part of me wishes Jonathan had taken up Nancy on her half-joking offer to hide him in Mike’s basement. At the very least, Jonathan staying behind in Hawkins might have given both Nancy and him more time to work through the issues that were brought up this season. I know they still love each other, and I’m rooting for them to continue as a couple, but there’s no denying the move and trying to maintain a long-distance relationship puts a strain on both of them. Still, their embrace was heartwarming at least.

Same goes for El, who has actually stayed in Mike’s basement, and probably would’ve preferred that compared to the utter hell she’s going to deal with in Lenora. Mike talks about how he’s going to be there for Thanksgiving, and how El and Will could come to Hawkins for Christmas, but I never got the impression from season 4 that either of these things happened (something both Lucas on the Line and The Dustin Experiment confirm). In this case, I don’t think it’s the Duffer Brothers forgetting about that. I believe that was likely intentional given what El was dealing with at the time, as well as how she and the Byers were struggling to adapt to Lenora.

(Side Note: I am NOT looking forward to reviewing the next few episodes with Angela, and you’d better believe I’m going to be as VICIOUS towards her as she was towards El.)

Also, this episode features Mike being unable to tell El that he loves her, with El compensating by kissing him. This may have worked for now, but it’s going to become an issue by the time of “The Monster and the Superhero.” Even in this episode, you can see a little of that disappointment on El’s face as he’s unable to spit it out.

Max and Lucas enjoying themselves at Dustin’s expense was also sad given what’s going to happen to their relationship come season 4. Lucas on the Line reveals that Max was already in a depressive funk after Billy’s death. She only came out of that briefly for this moment when she bids farewell to El and the Byers, but otherwise was continuing to deal with grief, anger, guilt, and trauma over everything that happened. We even see hints of that towards the end of this episode when she’s back at her house with the curtains half-drawn in her room.

In fact, that’s the thing that bothers me the most about Hopper’s letter to El: While there are some good truths about accepting change and learning to embrace mistakes, the problem is it’s undercut by how nothing really changes for the Byers when they move to Lenora. Joyce is still viewed as the crazy woman (and unlike in Hawkins, where she at least had some friends like Karen, she has none in Lenora from what we see), the problems in Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship haven’t gone away and are about to be exacerbated by the long distance between them, and Will still hasn’t dealt with his trauma from the Upside Down or his feelings for Mike. I guess there’s the change of El going to school for the first time, but is anyone going to argue that was a positive for her given the bullying and cruelty everyone in Lenora directed at her? It’s one thing for Hopper’s letter to talk about life hurting and learning to adapt to that, but that doesn’t gel with how much of a torturous experience it was for El in Lenora (where she was pretty much the town's scapegoat), and how she could never catch a break because of Angela’s campaign of targeted harassment against her. I know Hopper couldn’t have foreseen that when he wrote the letter, but given what’s about to happen in season 4, it ends up diminishing the emotional impact of this moment and sours it in hindsight.

On a final note, I thought it was nice that Will donated his D&D books for Erica to use (which Dustin and Lucas happily presented to her). Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons reveals that everyone in the Party (Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max, El) had one last D&D game before they wrapped up their campaign for good. It was as emotional of a farewell as the tearful goodbyes they have outside the Byers former house. The show presents this moment as the end of an era, even though we know they’ll reunite by the end of season 4. Season 5 is where the true end of the era will happen, and I’m both sad, apprehensive, and eager to know how each of these characters will finish their stories. Which ones will live, which ones will die, and what it will be like for all of them to be reunited one last time before they move on with their lives.

Part 5: Song Choices and Conclusion

The first song we hear in this episode is “Goldrush Two” by Yello. This plays when the Scoops Troop takes the Toddfather out of the parking lot of Starcourt Mall while Steve admires the car.

Yello is the same band who composed the single “Oh Yeah,” which is notably present in the 1986 John Hughes movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The lyric “Gold” is repeated multiple times in this song. Given how Steve is smitten with the car (which is a 1984 Cadillac Eldorado), he initially seems to regard it with the same value and awe as he would actual gold. (“You got a nugget in your pocket. Got a nugget for a grand. So forget your hesitation. Take a dozen invitations. Like it's for a great confusion. Like it's for a grand illusion. Clouds, love, stars, colors.”). Steve only has the Toddfather temporarily before he’ll use it to ram Billy’s car to save Nancy and the rest of the Party. That act emphasizes the true value Steve places on his friends and their well-being at the expense of the Toddfather getting trashed. Still, he enjoyed the car while it lasted.

Next song is “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” by Jackie Wilson. This plays as the Scoops Troop drives out to Weathertop where Cerebro is, Dustin is telling everyone in the car about Suzie, and the others are questioning if Dustin is being truthful about whether Suzie is real.

The song is R&B and centers around a man whose love for another woman has elevated his life and given him renewed purpose. (“You know your love (your love keeps lifting me). Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me). Higher (lifting me). Higher and higher (higher)”) In the context of the show, the song applies to Dustin’s love for Suzie, and how meeting someone who shares the same hobbies and scientific interests as him has been uplifting. It’s a contrast to the disappointment and heartbreak he felt in season 2 (“Now once I was downhearted. Disappointment was my closest friend. But then you came and it soon departed. And you know he never showed his face again”). Suzie is that “one in a million girl” for Dustin, and he’s content with her, regardless of what his friends think.

The next song is “The Russian Nightingales” by The Red Army Choir. It’s heard when Hopper and Joyce plan for another date at Enzo’s on Friday at 7:00, all while failing to realize that isn’t going to happen.

This is the English translation for the lyrics I was able to Google. The fact this song plays during Hopper and Joyce’s conversation already serves as ominous foreshadowing for what’s going to happen to Hopper by the end of this season: Being captured by the Russians and later becoming a prisoner at Kamchatka. The song reminisces about the soldiers who are off at war while missing home (“The soldier lies awake, remembering a house, and a green garden with a pond, where nightingales sing all night, and in that house, people awaiting him.”). The lyrics may be meant for the Russian soldiers, but I see how they could apply to Hopper’s journey in season 4 as he attempts to escape and get back to America where his home is.

Following that, we have our duet of “The NeverEnding Story” by Suzie and Dustin. This is the original version from singer Limahl:

Regardless of my feelings about the scene in question, I will give credit that it created renewed interest in this song (which is still one of my favorites), and Limahl was extremely appreciative towards the Duffer Brothers for including it.

I rewatched The NeverEnding Story for this review, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it more as an adult. When I was a kid, I remembered alternating between being bored, and finding parts of the film dark and depressing. Seeing it again after all these years (we’re talking decades), I have a better appreciation for its themes about existentialism (as Argyle crassly put it), the power of imagination, and what it’s like to immerse oneself in a book when you can share with the hero or heroine in their struggles, triumphs, joys, fears, and so on. (“Reach the stars. Fly a fantasy. Dream a dream. And what you see will be.”) The lyrics to the song convey a sense of childlike wonderment and the idea that there’s a power in what you give to something (“Show no fear, for she may fade away. In your hand, the birth of a new day”) In the movie, the main character, Bastian, is a book worm who finds it easier to be a hero in the stories he reads about rather than deal with the unpleasantness of real life. One day, he finds a book called “The NeverEnding Story,” centered around a fantasy world called Fantasia where an entity known as The Nothing threatens to destroy that world, and the Childlike Empress has fallen deathly ill, with her life tied to the fate of Fantasia. A young warrior named Atreyu sets out on a quest to find a cure for the Childlike Empress, all while encountering various creatures (both good, bad, and neutral) and attempting to stay one step ahead of The Nothing. The more Bastian reads, the more the book seems to pull him in, like he’s become a part of the story as well without realizing it.

While I still maintain the song was randomly chosen because the Duffer Brothers wanted Dustin and Suzie to have a musical duet, I wonder if the movie and its themes might factor into the conflict between the protagonists and the Upside Down for season 5. There’s still the question of what caused the Upside Down to become like it is, as well as whether it’s always been a hellhole, or if it was a thriving world before the Mind Flayer’s arrival turned it into what it is now (similar to how The Nothing begins to tear apart Fantasia slowly while erasing other creatures from existence). Furthermore, The Nothing is described as despair, emptiness, human apathy, cynicism, and human lack of imagination. It is humanity’s loss of dreams. The Upside Down, on the other hand, functions more as a physical threat than an existential one, but it is a destructive dimension of rot and decay that threatens to consume Hawkins and the rest of the world unless Vecna and the Mind Flayer are destroyed. In the movie, it’s revealed Bastian (who has been part of “The NeverEnding Story” without realizing it till the end) is the one who can save the Childlike Empress by giving her a new name, which he does. While The Nothing manages to destroy the rest of Fantasia, save for a grain of sand, the Childlike Empress tells Bastian he can rebuild Fantasia with his hopes, dreams, and wishes while beginning anew again. Given how the last episode of season 5 is called “The Rightside Up,” that makes me wonder if a similar process may happen with the Upside Down, where the current threat of the Mind Flayer is destroyed, but that dimension can still heal from its previous corruption and evolve into something better.

Also, I may be reaching a little, but given how similar Bastian from the first movie (let’s not talk about the sequels) is to Will, both in looks and personality of being quiet, shy, and imaginative, it makes me wonder if he might play a role in reshaping the Upside Down during season 5.

Next is a musical piece by S U R V I V E called “Dirge.” This plays during Billy’s attempts to protect El from the Meat Flayer, as well as when Joyce is forced to turn the keys at the risk of disintegrating Hopper to close the Gate.

This has a very haunting and eerie melody to it that’s a juxtaposition between comforting and unsettling. When the Duffer Brothers initially pitched their Montauk idea (before it evolved into Stranger Things), they used this specific music piece for the trailer they put together. This band jumped into the popular light because the Duffer Brothers were major fans of their dark experimental synth music.

On top of that, two of S U R V I V E’s band members (Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein) are the score composers for the show. In case I haven’t said it before, their music is AMAZING! They do a fantastic job with their work on Stranger Things.

Following the three month time-jump, the next song is “When You See Me” by Hurricane Express. This plays when Robin and Steve apply for jobs at the Video Rental Store.

The lyrics have a mix between nostalgia and accepting the reality of the present. (“I can still remember how it all used to be, though it's changed in quite a while. All of my friends now are hiding away, hide away and there are sounds.”) There’s a determination to push through the disappointments life has thrown (“I used to dream of coming home a big rockstar, with news of a plan all worthwhile. Now I'm dropping in at 3am, just me and my guitar, and I'm happy just to be alive”) It’s a fitting song for both Robin and Steve as they continue into their next phase of their lives. For Robin, she’s long moved past her crush on Tammy Thompson, and accepted that relationship was never going to happen. Season 4 thankfully will introduce Vickie, and allow Robin another opportunity to be in a relationship with someone who feels the same way about her. As for Steve, he’s still trying to figure out what to do with his life, but now he has a friend close to his age who understands him a little better, and is willing to help him get back on his feet as thanks for the support he’s shown her.

The next musical piece contains no lyrics, but is heard when El reads Hopper’s letter, and the Byers are saying goodbye to the rest of the Party. “Deep” by Peter Sandberg.

There’s a very melancholy, but also a reminiscent and nostalgic feeling to this piece. It sets the tone well for the end of this episode.

Finally, there’s the Peter Gabriel rendition of David Bowie’s “Heroes.” We heard this song back in season 1’s “Holly Jolly” when the characters believed Will had perished at the Quarry, and now it returns here at the end of this episode as the Byers and El leave Hawkins.

I already did an analysis of this song back in my review of “Holly Jolly,” which you can check out there if you’re interested. In regards to this episode, we’re seeing the separation of the core group. Hopper (unbeknownst to everyone else) is trapped in a prison at Kamchatka, Russia. The Byers and El are moving to Lenora. Even among those in Hawkins, the beginning of season 4 (as well as tie-ins like Lucas on the Line and The Dustin Experiment) explores the growing rift between those who remain. For one moment in time, they got to be heroes, but life goes on. They will eventually reunite again, but there is the reckoning that will happen during season 5 regarding who lives, who dies, and the fact all these characters will eventually part ways as they take different paths in life. But they will get the chance “to be heroes” again, even if it’s “just for one day.” This time though, I hope this group gets the public recognition they deserve, and not just from each other, when they take on the Upside Down one last time to save Hawkins and the world.

To conclude this review, here is my final Funko Pop for season 3 (and one of my favorites):

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