STRANGER THINGS : WILL THE WISE (2017)

STRANGER THINGS : WILL THE WISE (2017)

If you have not done so, watch Season 1 before reading this to avoid spoilers. This season takes place in Hawkins, Indiana in 1984. Will has been rescued after his vanishing a year earlier but is starting to see visions of the Upside Down. Meanwhile the rest of the town is facing a curious rot happening to farms in the area. Just what exactly in the name of “he likes it cold” is going on now?

STRANGER THINGS has always had a bit of a creepy factor to it, but this episode really plays on that pretty well. Including the Hawkins Lab’s response to Nancy and Jonathon starting to investigate them to Will being possessed by the freakin  Upside Down creature from beyond the grave. It’s like he knows stuff and he would prefer to hang out in your grandma’s freezer if he could. This episode goes a long way to allowing Noah Schnapp to demonstrate his acting skills as Will. In this “get Will like 500 crayons and stacks of paper” episode we also get a bit of a rift between Max and the rest of the kids.

Joyce and Hopper spend time piecing together a bunch of drawings Will does. There are also some interesting interactions between Max and Lucas that help build the story. Billy starts becoming more part of the story in this episode. He’s played by Dacre Montgomery, and man I hope this dude gets some nice guy roles in the future, because by the end of the series you can’t stand him. Also in this, one a day at home ends up sending Eleven on at journey to try and find her mom. The mom she thinks is dead. Dustin also might be finally taking up the trash pet store, on their refund your “trash creature” policy.

Overall this episode is like the engine shifting into the next gear.