Stranger Things Season 2: "The Pollywog" Review

Well that’s what I needed. The Pollywog is the best episode of Stranger Things season 2 thus far. Not only did we finally get some much needed stakes and story (other than the destruction/poisoning/whatever-the-hell-it-is of the pumpkins) but it was also an unabashed Gremlins clone that had me grinning from ear to ear. This is the episode I have been waiting for Stranger Things Season 2 to produce.

The last couple of reviews have started off with the negatives so let’s start this episode off with the positives. First, and for me foremost, I adored that this episode was basically Gremlins redux. From the opening moments with Dustin noticing the light on Dart hurting it, the episode through out little nods to the wonderful 1984 movie. There’s the 3 rules that Hopper lays out for Eleven. There’s Dart growing appendages after he eats. There’s the classroom science lab escape. There’s even an almost exact replica of the Gremlins theme music in one of the scenes. I absolutely adored all the nods and it made this episode a ton of fun for me.

This episode is very Dustin-centric and it works wonders because of it. Hands down Dustin was my favorite character from season 1 and thus far he continues to be the highlight of the series for me. Everything about him and the kids’ storyline worked for me. Dustin’s interaction with the librarian is wonderful as is the classroom interruption. I loved every scene with him in it. The only exception is when he finds Dart and hides him from the other boys at which point I said out loud, “Dammit Dustin!”

I continue to like the stuff with Hopper. Despite the fact that his investigation of the pumpkins seemed like a very strange way to be using his character, it became clear in this episode why it was happening. We finally got to see what his relationship with the “government” was. I’m actually really interested to learn more about the deal that they brokered but for now the mystery is fine. I continue to love the pairing of Hopper and El and it continues to highlight the character of Hopper in really really fantastic ways.

Speaking of Eleven, let’s get to the stuff I didn’t like about this episode. Eleven continues to be a blight on this season. I don’t understand what The Duffer Brothers were thinking with her storyline this season but instead of making her intriguing they seem to have just made her a walking cliché. Her storyline remains half baked to me and the leaving the house and breaking the rules just seemed so trite and leaving because of her love of Mike (as a side note, he is super annoying this season and it makes me so mad that the writers are wasting Finn Wolfhard’s immense talents) remains to be a very uncomfortable thing for me. I was reminded during the episode that the children are in 8^th grade so it makes sense for their hormones to be budding but it still feels quite strange to see children “falling in love”.

Nancy continues to drive me insane this season. Her fight with Steve and her budding (perhaps it isn’t really budding considering the pairing from last season) romance with Jonathan are incredibly frustrating. Looking at Steve, who has grown on me considerably this season, it’s clear to me that he has grown as a person and is exactly the kind of morally good character this show needs. Nancy, on the other hand, has turned, almost, into a caricature of the troubled girl. Her entire demeanor seems to have changed this season and it goes completely against the character she was in season 1 or at least the character she was by the end of that season. Her plan seems incredibly dumb too. I think I know what she’s up to, but it seems to me like it’s only got one potential ending and it isn’t very good.

Finally, before I bullet point some random thoughts I had, let’s shine a light on one of the things that hurt me the most in this episode, Bob. His character until this episode was just so lovably goofy and affable that I couldn’t help but love him. There was a sneaking suspicion, though, that he had something to do with either the scientists or the big bad because of how likable he was. This episode all but confirmed that suspicion for me. His story (Awesome little It reference and impression by Astin) gave us a hint of his darkness and then when that scene was intercut at the end with Will’s interaction with the big baddie (which is something that still remains an annoyance to me. Is it just the smoke monster from Lost? And what the shit did it do to Will? Is that how it controls things? Did it do that to Bob? So many questions.) it took on even more sinister overtones. I hope I’m wrong but right now it seems like I was right and Bob is a bad guy and that really sucks.

Okay random thoughts to finish up:

• ·      Lucas has played D&D with the boys for seemingly a long time so why is it that he doesn’t know what True Sight is? That questioning seemed much more suited for Max to ask who was for some reason locked outside which served absolutely no purpose.

• ·      Is Joyce really so unhinged that she goes to great lengths to figure out who bullies are? I recognize the plot point but her motivations seemed irrational.

• ·      There was some light shed on Max and Billy’s relationship which was fine but I still hate Billy.

The Pollywog, despite some missteps, is decidedly the best episode of Stranger Things Season 2 thus far. We finally got some real stakes other than some poisoned pumpkins and the storylines for all of the groups began to finally take form. The episode ended with a bang and I’m excited for Season 2 to finally be getting out of first gear.

Rating: 8.6/10