Welcome back for the second installment of the Summer TV Binge of Stranger Things, looking back at season one, episode two (released July 15, 2016):
“Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street”
Written and directed by the Duffer Bros.
In the second part, Mike, Lucas and Dustin are now hiding Eleven in the basement of the Wheeler home; Jonathan goes to check if Will is with their father in Indianapolis; Hopper investigates Benny’s murder; and Nancy and Barb go to a pool party at Steve Harrington’s house.
1. Eleven the Extra-Terrestrial
I quipped last time that Stranger Things‘ premise is essentially “what if E.T. was a monster?,'” but really, what the Duffer Bros. did was separate Spielberg’s character into an otherworldly intruder, and a little lost girl. Like Elliott in the film, Mike bunks off school so Eleven isn’t left alone in the house, and shows her his collection of Star Wars figurines; likewise, just as E.T. used telekinesis to explain he was from outer space, Eleven wordlessly conveys her situation to the boys by using her mind to stop Lucas from snitching on her.
One iconic image from E.T. the episode spins a much darker take on is the alien hiding in the cupboard: here Mike orders El to hide in a closet when his mother comes home, forgetting that she finds closed doors uncomfortable. Instead of the playful image of an alien posing as a doll, we receive the first flashback to Eleven’s abusive upbringing at the federal lab, when she was locked into solitary confinement as her cold father figure, Dr. Brenner, looks on — a cruel and unusual punishment from a cruel and unusual man.
2. “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
The Clash’s classic 1982 song is first heard here during the flashback to Will and Jonathan during the summer, when the older Byers boy tried to distract his brother from overhearing another argument between their parents on the phone. While fans may remember the song being played later when Joyce picks up the phone, the way the scene highlights the themes of being an outsider, and the boys not sharing their father’s masculine interests, means it not only foreshadows Will’s ghostly presence, but Jonathan’s visit to his father.
Jonathan’s meeting with his father is an unusual sequence for the show as it was filmed with handheld cameras, resembling a rainswept documentary than an ’80s genre movie. It’s filled with as much hesitancy as Jonathan must have been feeling — literally, should he stay or go, now? Should he dwell more on this broken relationship after Will’s disappearance? Ultimately, he chooses to return to Hawkins to continue searching for his brother within an hour.
3. Hopper’s Random Hook-Up
Hopper admits that Will’s disappearance and Benny’s murder are affecting him personally, because unlike the cases he investigated in New York, he knows the people involved. (Joyce bringing up the loss of his daughter Sara can’t have helped either.) We eventually cut back to him in bed with Sandra, a woman who doesn’t appear elsewhere in the series: it’s quite funny that Hawkins is supposed to be a small town (or it still was at this point), yet Hopper can have a one night stand with someone who never reappears.
4. Jonathan the Creeper
Jonathan overhears a scream and, without hesitating, sprints over to help, only to see the noise was just a shriek at Steve’s party. He decides to stay and watch from the bushes, taking photographs, because he’s infatuated with Nancy. I have heard some viewers argue that Jonathan was simply shocked and suspicious that these kids could be so carefree after the disappearance of his brother, but in that case he could’ve taken one photo and left — they’re not even good pictures, it’s the ’80s, they’re pretty crappy, grainy black-and-white images.
5. Final Girl
The episode ends with Barb being abducted by the Demogorgon, while Nancy is upstairs, losing her virginity to Steve. Now if this was made in the ’80s, it would likely have been the other way around, given the final girls in slasher movies were typically virgins, and Stranger Things is as much a homage to those as Spielberg films. While it made sense that the killers from those movies would prey on teenagers when they’re that vulnerable, it always came across as being very puritan, and it’s clearly a cliche the Duffer Bros. wanted to avoid.
Continued belowThat’s not to say Nancy is perfect, as it’s clear she’s neglected her nerdy best friend at the party to be with Steve, but the point is, she’s not “a slut,” or a “flawless” heroine, she’s a normal person free to follow her wants and desires, and make mistakes or have regrets — and ultimately, none of it would be an issue if a federal laboratory hadn’t let loose an interdimensional monster!
Other Things:
– I could go on and on about how wonderful and naturalistic the kids’ dialogue is: as rude as it sounds, I love how the boys convey an understanding of Eleven’s broken mental state in insensitive ways only little boys can, or the way they explain a friend is someone with whom you share things you don’t tell your parents.
– Joyce having to fight for furlough pay: truly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
– On that note, what do you think would’ve happened if she was still at home when Brenner and his men came snooping around?
– Mike’s mom Karen realizing he may have skipped school because he’s upset about Will is a lovely, thoughtful piece of writing: other shows might’ve just run with her as a frustrated mom.
See you all next week for “Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly.”
