Baby Jane
Full spoilers for Stranger Things episode “Will The Wise” continue below. Make sure to read all of our Season 2 reviews here.
It’s becoming clear that there is an overwhelming sense of fear and perpetual isolation hovering over the town of Hawkins. With the Upside Down threat gaining more of a foothold, the characters that inhabit this reality are beginning to succumb to the supernatural forces circling nearby, or more specifically, underground.
There’s a lot of moving parts in “Will The Wise,” but the essential cog in the wheel is Will. The episode deftly shows the turmoil Will and his family are going through, as he begins to lose a bit of himself to the shadow demon. Those pleasant thoughts of candy and high scores at the arcade are slowly making way for something more sinister.
One of the aspects that makes this episode so good, comes from not having to wait long periods of time for answers to our most pertinent questions. To be clear, this has nothing to do with the Netflix philosophy of dropping all 9 episodes at one time but instead is a direct result of the cinematic nature of the series. In this case, we know immediately what happened to Will. Maybe not the whole truth, but we at least know that he’s alive...For now (No hiding under dumpsters for him).
What we're treated to instead, is an excellent example of how to successfully move a story along by bringing new and exciting questions to the forefront while simultaneously shining a light on old inquiries. Such as, what the heck is happening to Will? The first theory is that the shadow demon is taking over his mind. The ramifications of his previous encounter are both thrilling and terrifying.
Looking at what’s become of Will from a positive viewpoint, shows us a kid who now has a better understanding of what’s going on in the Upside Down. If you’re ever in need of an author for a "Dummies Guide to Other Dimensions," Will’s your man. The counter to that statement leads him down a darker path. If he is indeed a vessel that the monster inhabits, then Will would have to face off against his friends towards the end of the season.
A standout performance from this episode has to go to Noah Schnapp’s portrayal of Will. Like so many of the young stars on this show, you can quickly forget that they’re only kids. Winona Ryder’s performance as Joyce is also worthy of praise, with both mother and son desperately fighting to save each other.
As cool as Eleven can be at times, her character was in need of a new direction. Watching her and Sheriff Hopper yell and telekinetically threw things at each other was getting stale. With this discovery, Eleven has a purpose other than reuniting with the boys. Her quest to find out more about her mother and herself should make for a fascinating storyline in future episodes.
With all of its strengths (and there are many), Stranger Things Season 2 isn’t without its flaws. Billy (Dacre Montgomery) has yet to show he’s worthing caring about on any level. Even when he’s trying to be protective of his sister Max, he still comes off as a total jerk. What worrisome is that down the road, there’s going to be the episode where we see his backstory and realize he has a heart of gold and is simply misunderstood. That’s a big been there, done that moment that we've all seen before.
So far, he has yet to contribute to the story. If Max had come to Hawkins without Billy, it wouldn’t make her any less compelling. The two youngsters brilliantly acted the scene between Max (Sadie Sink) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). The fact that Billy was watching over them and giving Lucas a death stare didn’t add to the tension. Max feeling hurt over the boys leaving her out of the group was drama enough. Anything on top of that feels like overkill.
Getting back to what made this episode great, the adventures of Jonathan and Nancy is worth recognition too. While the love-triangle-dilemma will probably never die, it was nice to see them doing some real detective work. A lot of times in horror-filled scenarios, you have those characters who sit around and complain and usually end up dead by the end of the film. Nancy has decided to take a more active approach in avenging her friend’s murder by actually going out there and burning down the Hawkins Laboratory. Whether or not this will be a literal fire remains to be seen, but Natalia Dyer proves once again that she can hang with the best of actors, even one as skilled as Paul Reiser.
Mysteries abound with each passing episode, but the Duffer Brothers give us new and exciting bits of information that keep up glued to our screens. We’ll have to venture further on if we want to know how Dustin will handle his cat-eating pet.
The Verdict
Season 2 keeps up its action-packed pace with another solid entry to the series. The mysteries surrounding Eleven’s parentage, as well as Jonathan and Nancy’s discoveries at Hawkins Lab add more compelling layers onto an already engaging story.
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