Welcome to this week’s installment of the TV Binge of Stranger Things, looking back at season three, episode seven, released July 4, 2019:
“Chapter Seven: The Bite”
Written and directed by the Duffer Bros.
On this episode, the Mind Flayer’s fully grown Spider Monster form attacks El at her home, forcing her to flee with her friends, and a bite wound; Dustin and Erica bring the drugged Robin and Steve back up to the mall, and help them evade Soviet security; and Joyce and Hopper search for their kids at the Fourth of July Fun Fair, unaware Mayor Kline has spotted them and tipped the Russians to their presence.
1. Stan Winston’s Legacy
I’ve spoken a lot about how Stranger Things is a homage to seminal storytellers from the Duffer brothers’ youth, like Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, and John Carpenter, but The Lost World-esque scene, where the Spider Monster moves through the trees, brought to mind another visionary who greatly influenced the show, and is sadly no longer with us — Stan Winston (who died in 2008, aged only 62), the special effects supervisor who oversaw the frighteningly realistic puppets and animatronics in movies like The Thing, The Terminator, Aliens, Predator, Pumpkinhead, and Jurassic Park.
It’s clear the Spider Monster is the T. rex/Alien Queen-style giant the Duffers always wanted to include, and despite being a CG creation, its attack on El’s home captures the same sense of overwhelming force and sheer panic those beasts generated. It is truly the most electrifying action scene in the series yet, with El finally meeting her match in the creature, who can take her by surprise despite its huge size, and survive having its head torn apart — truly, sometimes the biggest monsters are the scariest.
2. The Laughs Before the Storm
Despite how grim events have become, this is also one of the funniest episodes in the series: a delirious Robin sets the bar high (no pun intended) early on, when she tells Dustin in the elevator, “We all die my strange little child friend, it’s just a matter of how and when,” as if she’s a 19th century ghost. (It feels odd to praise Maya Hawke, given how famous her parents are, but she is so good in the role.) The role reversal in the Scoops Troop, with Dustin and Erica having to babysit the older, but now childlike members of the group, is just terrific, and I especially love how Dustin behaves like a disappointed dad when he finds Steve and Robin sitting on the restroom floor.
Then there’s Steve and Robin trying to comprehend watching Back to the Future while still under the influence; Lucas and Mike’s argument over the (non-existent) merits of New Coke (which even El finds distracting); and Joyce and Hopper being in the most awkward rom com ever made (more on that in a minute) — great stuff all round.
3. Robin’s Rug Pull
Robin coming out to Steve is a wonderfully unexpected twist, given how she was built up throughout the season as his new love interest (something Hawke confirmed was the intention until well into filming.) I love how she visibly winces when she realizes he’s fallen in love with her, knowing she’s going to have to break his heart, and the way he momentarily (and hilariously) gets confused when she tells him she was speaking about a girl who was obsessed with him. After shaking off the final effects of the Russians’ serum, he totally gets it, and starts bantering with her about her taste in girls, a beautiful moment of bonding that I would not trade for anything in the world, even if I do feel bad for Steve for not getting the girl this season (I realize Robin doesn’t either, so there you go I guess.)
4. Bauman is So Observant it’s Scary
While on the way to the Fun Fair, Bauman finally loses it at Joyce and Hopper’s constant bickering, and basically tells them to get a room: he points out she’s afraid Jim will turn out to be another Lonnie, while Hop’s scared of being hurt again after she stood him up at the restaurant. Just as he provoked Jonathan and Nancy into facing their feelings for each other, he gets the would-be couple to accept the truth by pointing out the basic reality of their relationship. Bauman’s observation about Hopper’s fear is so accurate, you’d swear he’s read the scripts for the previous episodes — there’s no way he knows about what happened when Jim asked her to dinner, but that’s apparently how amazing of a detective he is.
Continued below5. The Duffers Love Killing the Lovable
While Jim and Joyce go looking for the kids, Bauman decides to take Alexei along to get some food, and to enjoy the sights. Unfortunately, Mayor Kline has alerted the Russians to their presence, and Grigori spots Alexei, and casually (and callously) shoots him with a silenced pistol while walking past, calling him a “traitor.” Bauman realizes what happened while greeting Alexei from the food stall, and becomes ashamed that he left him alone, though really, what could he have done? He would’ve probably been killed too.
Still, his agony reflects how gutted we feel: Alexei was such a sweetheart, who should’ve gone on to live a new life in America, drinking all the slurpees, and watching all the cartoons he wanted. Between him, Bob Newby, Barb, and Benny (the cook from way back in the first episode), the Duffers really do love creating endearing supporting characters, and then killing them off to emphasize the stakes — in this case, Alexei’s death means we’re going to relish Grigori’s comeuppance.
Other Things:
– This chapter takes place entirely on the night of July 4, 1985, and consequently relies almost entirely on artificial lighting, transforming the show’s cinematography into a gorgeous mix of saturated blue, red, yellow, pink, and purple tones. In doing so, it perfectly reflects the transition of the ’80s aesthetic from the musty aftertaste of the ’70s felt in the decade’s earlier films, to the distinct neon glow we all associate it with.
– Given how the show usually skips over characters explaining what we’ve seen to others, the ending, where El’s group and the Scoops Troop quickly inform each other about everything that’s been going on (freaking Russians and so on), is pretty refreshing and witty.
– Steve refers to Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton, the character he played on the sitcom Family Ties.
See you all next time for the season finale, and the last episode at the time of writing, “Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt.”
