Dustin makes a new friend. El makes a decision. Hop makes some art. Joyce makes a seriously frightening connection. Will takes a stand.

There is so much in this episode that works. Gaten Matarazzo is front and centre as Dustin finds something very odd in his garbage can and he is glorious. The kid has incredible natural comic timing and he gets pretty much every good joke this episode. His ‘yes my captain?’ when he’s late to class just killed me,

Better still, Dustin, the other kids, Hop and Joyce all notice things this episode. The series is flat out refusing to let the residents of Hawkins sleep walk into a second nightmare and all of them make really smart choices. Hop’s deduction about the pumpkins is a great ‘oh SHIT’ moment and it’s followed quickly by Dustin showing the others his new pet, Jonathan and Grace making some good decisions and Joyce being a badass. Seriously her closing scene here is an actual punch the air moment. Joyce is fiercely smart, endlessly protective and she trusts her kid. The moment where she spots the mind flayer outline in the static and instantly realises it’s what Will was drawing is amazing. Plus, along with the Dart plot and the pumpkins it proves, hands down that the series is sprinting this year.

That’s all great. When this episode isn’t great it’s awful.

El’s plot continues to impress, largely because Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour are so good you could watch an entire episode of them cleaning a shack and it would be fun. And honestly, the shack cleaning sequence here really is pretty great. Brown and Harbour are doing amazing work with their characters’ complimentary damage. El has been ripped away from her family, Hop has had his torn away and the only thing that terrifies the pair more than being alone is screwing up the second chance they suddenly find themselves with. It’s brilliantly subtle, nuanced stuff.

Which makes the colossal honker the episode drops later all the more infuriating. Firstly, there should be some sort of UN resolution against ‘will they/won’t they’ plots at this point in human culture. Stranger Things 2 has already pulled this twice and the attempt to give the second half some variety really, really doesn’t work.

Because make no mistake, the only thing keeping El and Mike from reuniting here isn’t El’s sudden jealousy of Max, it’s absolute, eyes wide shut stupidity of plotting. The only reason to have this reaction is so El and Mike can be kept apart a little longer and, as later episodes will show, there’s not even context for it in El’s experience. Her single close friend prior to escape was a girl, she’s seen Mike every day (albeit psychically) and knows Max barely registers in his life. But nope, full death glare and psychic pettiness.

Verdict: This is a low point for the season so far. It’s also very nearly the last time they can pull this nonsense. While, as we’ll see from 4 onwards, that’s clearly something the writers realize, it doesn’t excuse, let alone contextualise, this lazy, hackneyed writing. 5/10

Alasdair Stuart