Welcome back for the ninth installment of the Summer TV Binge of Stranger Things, looking back at the first episode of the second season, released October 27, 2017:
“Chapter One: MADMAX”
Written and directed by the Duffer Bros.
It’s October 28, 1984, and love is in the air: the boys are preoccupied by new girl Maxine “Max” Mayfield, who they suspect is the new highest scorer at the arcade, while Joyce Byers has embarked on a relationship with local Radio Shack manager Bob Newby. However, Will’s visions of the Upside Down are becoming more frequent and intense, and ominous events are transpiring in the pumpkin fields of Hawkins, and Pittsburgh…
1. Bookends
If you needed more proof every season of Stranger Things is plotted like an eight-to-nine hour film, look no further than season two’s opening, which introduces Eleven’s fellow test subject Kali (Eight) and her gang fleeing the police in Pittsburgh. I recall one of the creators saying in an interview that they wanted the viewer to almost think they’d started the wrong show, and it’s certainly a surprising opening, perhaps a sign that the Duffers want to do an urban crime story after Stranger Things.
Afterwards though, there’s nothing from that thread, at least in this episode: it’s all set-up for later. However, we do get a thematic bookend before the credits roll, when Hopper returns to what’s revealed to be his cabin, where he’s been sheltering Eleven herself for the past year. The confirmation that Eleven survived is such a boost to your mood, that you don’t mind having to wait even longer for that intriguing opening to be followed up on.
2. The Mysterious MADMAX
Max is a withdrawn, skateboarding tomboy, whose unusual name is a big indication that she’s the “MADMAX” who bested all the boys’ scores at the arcade, and they’re naturally fascinated that a girl plays video games. (I’d say maybe a little envious too, but we all know in this case envy is just denial that they like her.) Is it a little weird they basically stalk her in and outside the school to determine her identity? Sure, definitely, but they’re kids who don’t have social media, and the scene where she drops a note saying “Stop Spying [sic] on me CREEPS!” is absolutely hilarious.
3. All the New Familiar Faces
With major exceptions like Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine, the first season’s cast were largely unfamiliar faces, which makes sense given how many of them were kids and young adults. Season two is a stark contrast in that regard: you have Samwise Gamgee Mikey of the Goonies himself, Sean Astin, as Joyce’s new boyfriend, and Paul Reiser, aka the despicable Carter Burke from Aliens, as Dr. Owens, the new director of Hawkins Laboratory, which are both great nods to the series’ influences.
Then you have the great Brett Gelman (Fleabag, The Other Guys) as Murray Bauman, the P.I. hired to solve Barbara Holland’s disappearance; the Power Rangers reboot’s Dacre Montgomery as Max’s glam metal brother Billy; and even Matthew Cardarople (A Series of Unfortunate Events‘ Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender) as the arcade worker Keith. It’s just striking how much more often I was thinking “oh, it’s him!” this season — was it because of the success of the first season? I don’t know: Ryder’s career had been quiet for a while, but you can’t say she wasn’t high-profile.
4. Shadows of Vietnam
Paul Reiser’s casting is particularly noticeable given Aliens is widely seen as an allegory for the Vietnam War: here, Dr. Owens tells Joyce that he believes Will’s trauma is being merely exacerbated by the anniversary of his abduction, and Hopper, who (in a rather lovely touch) is continuing to be there for the boy, attests to “that post-traumatic stuff he’s talking about, that stuff is real.” As we see later in the season, Hopper has a box labeled “Vietnam,” so it’s likely he’s a veteran who’s seen it in other soldiers, and perhaps even struggled with it himself. It’s shown in the next scene that the lab is using a flamethrower to keep the underground portal to the Upside Down from growing, which is incredibly evocative of the napalm used during the war: it implies this is another conflict the government is completely unprepared for.
Continued below5. Loss is Also in the Air
As well as Bob and Joyce, and Lucas and Dustin’s infatuation with Max, Steve is still very much in love with Nancy. However, there’s trouble on the horizon: when they visit the Hollands, Nancy learns they plan to sell their home to afford hiring Murray Bauman. She asks to be excused, and weeps in the bathroom over being unable to tell her best friend’s parents the truth about her death. Steve doesn’t check on her, instead awkwardly continuing the conversation by complimenting their choice of KFC, proving he’s ill-equipped to be a real pillar of support for her.
Likewise, it becomes clear Eleven’s disappearance has affected Mike’s behavior to the point he’s become a bit of a delinquent: at the start, he steals cash from his sister for arcade money, and we’re told by his parents in dialogue that he cursed out a teacher, plagiarized an essay, and graffitied a bathroom stall. I’m reminded of a saying, that love is a sickness and the cure, and clearly Mike’s grief (aka love persevering) for Eleven is not good for him, or anyone else.
Other Things:
– Joyce and Bob kissing passionately in the backroom not even a minute after his introduction definitely provided one of the episode’s biggest chuckles. In contrast, the scene where she struggles to ignore the phone while they watch Mr. Mom is a great reminder she’s been through a harrowing experience that he is completely oblivious about.
– Will’s scene where he admits to Jonathan that he feels like a freak since coming back is a great reinforcement of the themes in the first season that it’s OK to be an outcast: this time it made me wonder, how much would the Byers boys have loved Radiohead’s “Creep” if it had come out a decade earlier?
– Little bits I love: Ted telling Murray something he shouldn’t have (he’s a keeper alright); how the scene where Nancy persuades Jonathan to come to the Halloween party was shot in one take; and the way the photos of Barb as a child seemingly didn’t need much alteration to look like they came from the ’70s.
– Corny uncle alert: Eleven’s curly mop of hair this season is adorable. It’s like: she wants to grow out her hair? Yes, she can grow out all her hair.
– This episode marks the first use of red lighting in the Upside Down.
All right, see you all next week for “Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak.”
