Stranger Things 2: Episodes 7 – 9 recap and review

Stranger Things 2 publicity photo. Image courtesy Netflix

It’s time for the final showdown in Hawkins, and the Duffer Brothers don’t take their foot off the gas for even a second in the final three episodes of Stranger Things 2.

To close out the season of Stranger Things 2, the Duffer Brothers diligently take their time preparing us for a final showdown in Hawkins. To do this, they keep Eleven at a distance and don’t bring her back until we need her most. They give a purpose to each and every new character that arrived this season. And more importantly, they don’t waste a single second expressing just what’s at stake for our heroes.

Stranger Things 2 uses its effects and blood shots masterfully as we journey into the finale (thank god for that extra hour) that delivers a satisfying ending to both seasons. In fact, the 17 episodes in total all lead to this final moment, which, according to the Stranger Things aftershow on Netflix, was the goal all along.

Before we dive into the biggest moments, let’s break down a few of the new characters and discuss their impact on the season first.

I’m going to start with the least effective, but the one I definitely want to see again.

Billy

Here’s my quick and easy theory for this guy: Billy’s probably gay. Both his aggression and that of his father seem to stem from something a little bit more bigoted than just some anger problems. A little bit more closeted, if you will. There’s something particularly coded that resonated with me, as if Billy had one of those “exploratory” childhoods that his father tried to squash. And that shower scene with Steve? I got the weirdest vibes. By the time we get to the finale, there’s something about the way Billy repeatedly refers to him as “King Steve.”
I also felt like he was meant to be a bit of a racist, but without seeing the character fully-fleshed out and getting the full taste of Dacre Montgomery’s (whom I love) fully unhinged toxic masculinity, I’m not sure what to think about it. So I’d like to see more development from the Anti-Steve.

Max

Billy’s step-sister Max was also super-underdeveloped. Her revelation to Lucas about the divorce happened so quickly, I almost wish they would’ve saved that for the next season and let Lucas pursue his romance with her in spite of knowing absolutely nothing about her. In fact, the divorce almost felt like a cop-out, even though I’m someone whose parents got divorced and dealt with a psychotic older brother because of it. It just didn’t ring genuine to me, and I don’t know if that’s because of Sadie Sink or because it was a really brief moment happening during one of the more intense moments of the season.

Bob

Bob deserved better, but Bob did exactly what he was meant to do. He was never brought in as Joyce’s long-term love interest, but as the facilitator for Joyce’s “Okay, that’s enough!” moment. Which was desperately needed because things with Will had taken a turn for the worst. Apart from Sean Astin’s nostalgia factor, I don’t think he did anything particularly interesting for the role, but I think it would’ve been cool to give him a better send-off as he reset the power. Stranger Things is so Spielberg-y, they could’ve done another Jurassic Park moment and had him clicking through the system like Lex did.
I both like and dislike that they didn’t shy away from gory moments. It was enough to be jarring, but not so much to flip my squeamish switch and force me to turn it off. If you want to hear my feelings about seeing a cat ripped open, I already talked about it.
Also, Mike honoring his memory and his speech about starting the AV Club? Ugh. So good.

Dr. Sam Owens

This is our “not all doctors are bad” character played by Paul Reiser that ultimately made a majority of the people in my viewing party feel really old. As one of the lead doctors, he tried to keep the staff from straight-up killing Will and also patiently explained to Hopper, Jonathon and Nancy that some things need to be poked “for science.” But as he comes to find out, sometimes, those things totally poke back and you end of watching everyone around you die horrible, gruesome deaths.
Luckily, his government penance delivered one of the sweetest moments of the season, but we’ll talk about that more in a minute.

008 / Kali

Were we interested in more experiments? Yes. Is it important to give them all varied backgrounds? Yes. But episode 7, “The Lost Sister,” was an hour of Orphan Black meets Sense8 that I didn’t particularly care for. I know why they did it and I’m glad they committed to it, but it just didn’t move me the way it should’ve. I didn’t care for Kali at all, even though, I think Terry did send Eleven there for a reason. And because they’re all victims, for the most part, I do really feel bad for them. But Kali’s blind vengeance didn’t do anything for me. Especially since those are the reasons that people like them get locked up.
Still, her powerset was absolutely incredible and something that could be used for a lot more productive and positive things. If we see her again, I’d be interested in seeing more of a redemption.

Murray Bauman

This big ol’ conspiracy nerd pushed Jonathon and Nancy to be together, and that’s nice, albeit creepy of him. But he also made Barb’s death more official and held the government accountable. So at the very least, he got the Holland’s a lot of money. I’d be okay if we don’t see him again.

Now, let’s dive into the two characters that really changed the game and saved the day by their fearless commitment to the people they love.