Stranger Things “The Bite”

OK, so, the Mind Flayer has a new body now.  It looks suitably disgusting.  Is it time to nuke the thing from orbit?

No?  You mean Hopper doesn’t have a tactical nuke?  What good is it being a small town cop if you lack those things?

It’s not as if Hopper doesn’t have, you know, anything.  Eleven pretty much figures out the Mind Flayer is coming for her at Hopper’s cabin.  That was easy to figure out because the Mind Flayer told her that through Billy.  And since Hopper’s place is a cabin out in the middle of nowhere, they can try to barricade the place with whatever weapons he has and hope for the best.  Nancy gets a shotgun.  Jonathan gets an ax.  And…that’s about it.

Man, I would not want to be Hopper when he gets home.  Since Mind Flayers don’t knock, it mostly makes a mess.  Eleven holds it off with her powers,  Jonathan and Lucas take turns hitting it with an ax.  Will confirms it’s coming just before it gets there.  Nancy shoots the thing a few times.  And it still chomps down on Eleven’s leg and almost swallows her before axing and shooting eventually stuns it long enough for everyone to pile into a car and drive like crazy to the nearest convenience store.

Fortunately, Max knows first aid.  Eleven’s leg looks really bad.  Lucas knows other things.  Like what the HUGE SUPPLY OF FIREWORKS can do if they need to blow something up.

See, someone knew to get that small town equivalent of a tactical nuclear strike.

Other people can use some help too.  Sure, Dustin and Erica got Steve and Robin free, but they’re both still drugged and silly.  And you can only hide out in the mall movie theater, hiding from Russian goons, for so long.  Dustin does manage to get a call through to Mike, but his walkie talkie lacks enough batteries.  By then, Steve and Robin have vomited most of the drugs off, and even after Steve strikes out with Robin (she prefers women), the two are still tight.

And those dang Russians won’t give up.  They want Hopper’s group too.  And that lousy Mayor sells them out when Hopper, Joyce, Murray, and Friendly Russian Scientist show up at the fair.  Don’t vote for Kline.  Knee him in the groin like Joyce does.  As Hopper dodges goons through fairground stuff I enjoyed in those years gone by, the group does manage to get free.  Sadly, Friendly Russian Scientist doesn’t make it.  He did tell Murray how the machine works, so that might help.

Also helpful:  Eleven throwing a car at Russian goons to save Dustin’s group at the mall.  Now we get the random check ins where everyone talks about where they were, and we can head into the finale with the knowledge that there may be only two big problems left.

One is Billy is tracking Eleven.

And the other is Eleven’s wound looks like it has something squirming inside of it.

Oh, and then she passes out.

They might need more fireworks.