Stranger Things 2: Episodes 7 – 9 recap and review

Stranger Things 2 publicity photo. Image courtesy Netflix

Becoming Jane Hopper

It goes without saying that every single exchange between Hopper and Eleven was pure magic. Even when they argued, you could honestly feel something so special between them. And watching Hopper work on his parenting skills and apologize to Eleven through the radio — even though she wasn’t physically there to hear it — shows how committed he is to not only keeping her safe, but to raising her properly in a healthy and loving environment. I also love that there was a moment where you could almost tell that he was distinguishing Eleven from his lost daughter Sara and came to terms with the fact that they were going to start anew and do things differently.

And what I think matters most about their relationship is teaching each other not to act out of anger. We learned that one of their rules is not to be stupid. But I think anger kind of goes hand in hand with that. One of the reasons I couldn’t get on board with Kali was because she taught Eleven to hang onto her anger and use it as a tool. So I really hope she learns to overcome that in the future.

In the final episode when Eleven ventures below ground to close the gate, we see a few of her memories and what gives her the strength to close a gate that could’ve easily been a mile long. Unfortunately, I wish her “wound” was addressed in a much healthier way and she saw more of her time with Mike and Hopper. Like, part of healing is forgiveness, so that might be something they explore in the next season, too.

Otherwise, the moment Dr. Owens gave Hopper the new birth certificate with Jane Hopper’s name on it really got me. Just, ugh. First of all, Hopper was dressed as a regular civilian and that threw me off immediately. Then, he pulled the certificate out of the envelope and we saw the mother listed as Terry and Jane’s name right there like it was any other day. I’m still not completely convinced that Terry is her mother, for some reason. But I’m super into her wearing Hopper’s bracelet and only going by Jane now.