'Stranger Things 2' Recap - 'Chapter Three: The Pollywog'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​While I thoroughly enjoyed the opening pair of episodes for season two of Stranger Things, I must admit that this newfound focus upon character development and depth has taken me off guard. Simply because it’s just so rare to see in any kind of mainstream horror these days and with a bigger plot looming on the horizon I’ve been quite curious as to whether or not this wonderful new style of storytelling is going to get pushed to the side to refocus this saga on the tension and scares that were present throughout season one.
 
As it turns out, it would seem that the series is going to try its best to balance both elements as the season progresses. Because ‘Chapter Three: The Pollywog’ finally propelled the plot forward in impressive fashion, all while revisiting the elements it explored in the prior two stories…with a twist. Because this time around, a fair majority of the characters decided to do something about the issues eating at their souls, save for Joyce that is. Who instead reverted to doing what she does best in this episode by becoming a fierce and protective Mama Bear once she discovered her baby boy was being picked on and haunted by something…
 
But for Nancy and Eleven, they needed to take action and quick, which led Nancy to set up a special plan to potentially tell Barb’s mother exactly what happened to her daughter, something that clearly the nefarious powers that be behind the scenes don’t want and as for Eleven…well she finally had enough of being locked up and hidden away from the world and stepped back out in the world with mixed results and while neither of these plot lines saw any particular resolution, it’s good to see the characters dealing with their pain so that they can find closure and move forward in life.
 
When it comes to the scary stuff however, and the overall plot, well that all came about by learning exactly what Dustin found in his trash can, a tiny creature from the Upside Down that he wants to care for and the fact that this little being escaped that place, most likely through the lab, and that others clearly followed with him could spell trouble for Hawkins down the line. But the centerpiece of this episode was the fact that it confirmed without a doubt that the looming monster on the other side has a plan and a purpose for Will since an unfortunate attempt to stand up for himself, ended with this awful creature merging with young Will.
 
If anything, I appreciate the fact that this transitional episode for the show moved at such a breakneck pace. One would expect the exploration of finding internal peace would take more time in any particular story, but the pain exhibited by Nancy and Eleven was enough to motivate them and I love the fact that the Shadow Monster made its intentions known and really, at this point, I’m dying to know what happens to Will now that he and this creature are apparently in the process of becoming one. Until next time. 

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