Welcome back for the fourth installment of the Summer TV Binge of Stranger Things, looking back at season one, episode four (released July 15, 2016):
“Chapter Four: The Body”
Written by Justin Doble
Directed by Shawn Levy
In this episode, Joyce refuses to believe the body recovered from the lake is Will’s, and Eleven proves he is still alive to the other boys. Meanwhile, Hopper goes incognito to get to the bottom of it all; Nancy is interviewed by the other cops over Barb’s disappearance; and Brenner’s scientists begin entering the Upside Down.
1. Joyce is Not Crazy
Between the news about her son, and the disappearance of the hole that the Demogorgon emerged from, Joyce is struggling to make it clear she hasn’t cracked from the stress, and hallucinated her supernatural encounters. Hopper clearly thinks she’s become hysterical, but is tact about it, revealing he had delusional episodes after his daughter died, which is a big thing to admit, especially back in the ’80s: however, Jonathan, who is still a teenager, is unable to express similar sympathy, and his frustration with his mom’s denial about Will’s “body” soon causes a scene in public.
It’s great that Stranger Things‘ younger target audience grows to empathize with an older woman like Joyce, and perhaps it encourages them to wonder, however subconsciously, that if she’s right about an event as extraordinary as a monster from a parallel world abducting her son, what more mundane events, might women in the real world be gaslighted over? Like many women, especially those after a certain age, Joyce might be considered shrill, and a little embarrassing, but what she most certainly is not, is an idiot. This isn’t a show about the politics of sexism, but it’s still excellent.
2. A Swedish Makeover
After proving Will is alive, the boys realize Eleven can use the school’s radio ham shack to strengthen their connection, and give her a makeover with Nancy’s old clothes, and a long, blonde wig to sneak her in. Somehow, she looks even more like a boy dressed up like that (no joke: my mom walked in during this scene and thought the show was about a cross-dressing boy), but it’s the thought that counts: Dr. Brenner would never treat her to something so “pretty.” (The shot of her staring at smalltown America in wonder, when the boys take her to school, is also absolutely adorable.)
When Mr. Clarke asks who Eleven is, the boys take a cue from the blonde wig, and her limited speech, to make up that she’s a Swedish relative of Mike who’s in town to attend Will’s funeral. I strongly doubt Clarke believed that, since Jonathan is still arranging those affairs in this episode, but he’s a kindly man who probably didn’t want to press the boys after the loss of their friend — he’s a teacher, not a cop.
3. Homophobes are Psychopaths
Troy and James, the school bullies, are dreadful kids, but goodness, how vile must they be if they can’t lay off the homophobic slurs for even a moment after Will’s “death?” Suffice to say, Troy thoroughly deserved being frozen in place, and to lose control of his bladder after attempting to attack Mike. OK, so maybe making him pee himself would be less reasonable if Eleven weren’t so feral, but the embarrassment he experiences is only a small portion of the pain and uncertainty Will’s friends are going through, and many people in the real world deserve far worse, so it’s a pretty cathartic moment.
4. A Shared Feeling of Loss
Nancy is having it rough between Barb’s abduction and her spooky sighting of the Demogorgon in the last episode, and it get worse when a) the police indirectly reveal to her mother that she slept with Steve, and b) Steve proves he’s more concerned that the invesigation will expose the booze-fueled party he threw to his parents, than the loss of her best friend. (Christ.) No one is comforting her in this painful time, and it’s only natural that she looks at the photos Jonathan took of Barb that night, photos that reveal the malevolent silhouette she saw was there.
Continued belowIf you’ve never seen Mad Men, there’s a great scene where Don Draper explains how the word “nostalgia” partly derives from the Greek word for pain (“álgos”). How appropriate is it that Stranger Things, a show all about nostalgia for childhood innocence and excitement, advances its plot through Nancy trying to soothe the pain of losing her friend, by looking at photos? Jonathan is also dealing with the pain of losing his brother, and perhaps it was only logical they would team up to solve the disappearances.
5. A Corpse Full of Wool
Hopper becomes suspicious about the regular coroner not examining Will’s body, and after confronting David O’Bannon (the man who reported finding the body), he forces his way into the morgue, and discovers the corpse is a very realistic fake. Something that never occurred to me until now is: how did Hawkins Lab create such a convincing dummy, when they’d never even heard of Will before he disappeared? They could’ve seen a photo of him while sneaking around the Byers house, but even then it’s an awfully fast turnaround. I suppose it’s a testament to how emotionally engaging the show is, that I always overlooked how silly this twist is — makes you wonder what else our suspension of disbelief let Spielberg et al.’s movies get away with.
Other Things:
– It’s great how visibly afraid Dr. Brenner is when his underling is killed after venturing into the Upside Down: he’s an evil man, but it reminds us he’s still all too human. Similarly, I like that Karen is more worried about Nancy lying to the police than sleeping with Steve: it’s truly the little things that help make this show a pleasant surprise.
– Hey, remember when Eleven’s wig, pink dress, blue jacket and shoes became the most popular Halloween costume of 2016? Ah, those were fun times.
– Hawkins is surprisingly diverse at times: in this episode, Nancy’s English teacher is played by Lebanese American actor Danny Boushebel.
– You have to love that Hopper’s idea of a disguise is just wearing a flannel shirt instead of his uniform: clearly O’Bannon wasn’t from Hawkins.
– David O’Bannon’s name is a reference to Alien screenwriter Dan O’Bannon.
See you all next week for “Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat.”
