'Stranger Things 2' Recap - 'Chapter Four: Will the Wise'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

There’s a wonderful sense of satisfaction that comes with calling something right when it comes to your favorite television shows and for me, that particular moment arrived by settling in to watch the next episode of Strangers Things. Because I recently posed the theory that the show was going to work to balance drama and horror and ‘Chapter Four: Will the Wise’ did just that, by again following up with Nancy and Eleven’s quest for personal peace, all while building upon the more disturbing events of episode three.
 
Now, what made the drama so compelling, is just how far Nancy and El are willing to go to get what they want because apparently, Nancy was fully aware of the fact that the folks at Hawkins Labs would be monitoring her phone call since they surrounded her and Jonathan at the meeting site and brought them in so Dr. Owens could have a little chat with them and plead for their silence. But as it turns out, Nancy recorded everything the man had to say, including some incriminating evidence to bring down the Lab and really, kudos to Nancy for risking it all to find some sense of justice for her late friend Barb.
 
As for Eleven, well after a nasty fight with Chief Hopper where he took away anything and everything that made her happy in isolation for wandering about town to see Mike, she accidentally discovers a box of files from the lab and by opening up that box, she brought forth a season one call back as she poured over the information on Terry Ives and well, it’s strongly implied that Eleven is actually Jane Ives, Terry’s daughter, and after reaching out to the elder Ives in the psychic void, Terry seems to confirm this fact by recognizing El’s presence and whispering the name, Jane, and really, this was all utterly heartbreaking. Poor Eleven is completely lost in life right now and is desperate to find some kind of meaning and all she keeps finding is heartbreak and pain. But thankfully, that doesn’t seem to stop her from pressing forward to get precisely what she wants. 

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​But of course, there’s a real threat brewing in Hawkins and in between those two plot lines, the danger was the focus as a few key things happened. First and foremost, Will finally opened up to his mom regarding what’s going on with the Shadow Monster and it would seem the being did indeed merge with Will since the young man’s body temperature is dropping, he doesn’t feel right and acknowledges the fact there is a presence floating about his mind. But the worst part of this merger, is that that this creature has given Will a unique power of sight, wherein he sees beings from the Upside Down moving about in narrow and dark places and a massive drawing of what this looks like in young’s Will mind, inspires Hopper to take a closer look at those pumpkin farms.
 
What he finds is the stuff of nightmares, because beneath the city is a vast network of tunnels that have clearly been formed by creatures from the Upside Down and to make matters worse, we now officially know exactly what type of species from this place Dustin is caring for. Because little Dart escaped his crate and feasted upon the Mews the Cat because Dart, is a baby Demogorgon and he is growing bigger and bigger by the minute and one has to wonder as to whether or not the kindness that Dustin has shown this dangerous creature will keep him safe from its proclivity for violence…
 
So, when all is said and done…holy cow what an episode. The drama alone was amazing but the fact that the burns at the Hawkins Lab have done nothing in essence and likely somehow spread this terror beneath the ground is downright stunning and at this point, who knows what other nightmares are awaiting the town in this underground network of horrors and of course, I think we’re all wondering at this point exactly what on earth the Shadow Monster wants with Will. I’m sure of course, that time will tell, which means that once again, it’s time to tell Netflix to go ahead and start the next episode because I’m dying to know where the story is headed. Until next time. 

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