Stranger Things – “Chapter 4: Will the Wise” Review. Abundant Mistakes.

Season 2 streaming on Netflix as of 10/27/17

Rating: ★★★★★

“It got me, mom…I felt it everywhere – everywhere.” –Will

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Joyce is frantic (as usual) but this time for good reason.

At the end of “Chapter 3: The Pollywog,” we saw the terrifyingly humongous “shadow monster” implanting itself inside Will’s little body, vaporizing into his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. “Chapter 4: Will the Wise” picks up immediately after the heart pounding cliffhanger as Joyce (Winona Ryder) speeds to the school only to find her son Will (Noah Schnapp) standing in the field unresponsive, with his eyes closed. What she and his friends can’t see is what’s actually happening to Will. The “upside down” has converged with the real world and the events that happen in Will’s visions are directly affecting him in reality.

Joyce tries to get Will to open up and as she listens to his traumatic experience, she makes him a promise she might not be able to keep. “I will never ever let anything bad happen to you ever again. Whatever is going on in you, we’re gonna fix it; I will fix it. I promise. I’m here.” I hope it’s not too late. The shadow monster is similar to Dustin’s (Gaten Matarazzo) new pet Dart in that it doesn’t like heat or water. When Will’s temperature drops, and Joyce draws a hot bath, Will’s entire demeanor changes, “No. It likes it cold.”

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Will’s temperature is dropping and the shadow monster doesn’t like heat or water.

Throughout “Chapter 4: Will the Wise,” Joyce does what any concerned mother does to protect her child. Despite her best instincts, she opens all the doors and windows to keep Will cool. What would heat do to the shadow monster, or better yet, to Will?” I wonder if throwing water on Will would shock the shadow monster enough to draw him out. Or perhaps it would retaliate and hurt Will. Of course, Joyce does the one thing she can do — call her friend Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) to ask for his help.

But Hopper has another issue he’s dealing with, namely Eleven “El” (Millie Bobby Brown). Their knock-down, drag-out argument really set my teeth on edge. When Hopper confronts El about her little field trip to the school in “Chapter 3: The Pollywog,” things take a nasty turn. His anger level reaches a point that seems a bit outrageous. I understand he wants to help her but his shouting at her frightened me. Hopper’s temperament feels hostile. He feels betrayed when El breaks the rule of not leaving the cabin, “especially in daylight.”

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El isn’t used to someone caring for her and the way Hopper flies off the handle reminds her of her time at Hawkins Lab with her “Papa.”

“I don’t lie. I protect, and I feed, and I teach. And all I ask of you is that you follow three simple rules – three rules. You know one; you can’t even do that! You’re grounded!” No Eggos® and no television seems reasonable for a normal kid, although when Hopper tries to take the TV away, El loses it. That’s her way of communicating to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) via the white noise and right now, it’s like a lifeline. Things start flying around the cabin and words are said. Hopper forgets what it’s like to have a pre-teen under his charge. It seems he’s also forgetting that El is not a “normal” kid. She grew up essentially as a lab rat so he needs to focus more time on his so-called teaching skills rather than leaving her with toaster waffles and television all day. She’s been cooped up with very little human interaction and misses her friend. But when he has an opportunity to apologize to El, he pulls back. While El isn’t right for what she did, I think the situation could have been handled better, especially by the adult in charge. I hope they can mend whatever is broken between them.

Observations:

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Jonathan and Nancy are taken to Hawkins Lab where they meet Dr. Owens who tries to blame the “upside down” for Barb’s death.

Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) reached out to Barbara’s (Shannon Purser) mother Marsha (Cynthia Barrett) in “Chapter 3: The Pollywog” to ask for a private meeting to discuss Barb’s death. Nancy had a hunch the scientists, and possibly the Feds, were listening in. But their plans get derailed when they are taken to the lab. Or maybe, that’s what Nancy wanted.

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Poor kitty. Dustin is going to have to figure how to tell him mom about her beloved cat Muse.

Dustin continues to hide Dart from his friends. When he arrives at school, Dustin finds Mike, Max (Sadie Sink), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) dumpster diving to find the elusive creature. And while Dustin knows it’s wrong, he doesn’t say a word about his pet’s whereabouts. But he’s going to get a terrible surprise when he gets home after school. It seems Dart likes more than nougat…he likes cats too.

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What the hell, Billy? Scary AF.

What the hell is up with Billy (Dacre Montgomery)? He’s got a chip on his shoulder the size of Indiana. His conversation with Max concerns me more than I can say. “Because Max, you’re a piece of shit but we’re family now whether we like it or not, meaning I’m stuck looking out for you.” What the hell does that mean? He commented before that Max isn’t his sister, so who are they to each other and why did they move from California? What are they running from? This is a complex story arc for which I need more answers.

El makes a discovery in the cabin that leads her on a vision quest. In a heartbreaking scene, Brown does an excellent job conveying her character’s emotional despair with tearful cries, shouting, “Mama!” Perhaps El’s mother isn’t “gone” after all.

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Joyce and Hopper piece together the pages and realize that they make a specific pattern.

Joyce encourages Will to tell his story through pictures instead of words. As he frantically draws page after page of what appears to be scribble-scrabble, Joyce notices a pattern when Hopper holds a few sheets together. After piecing all the pages together, Hopper realizes what Will’s drawing is and heads over to the pumpkin patch. After a lot of digging, Hopper finds something he definitely didn’t want to find.

Overall

“Chapter 4: Will the Wise” captivates and entices you throughout every single second. From the beginning, when Joyce finds Will, to when Hopper jumps down into the “upside down” rabbit hole, the entire episode is filled with mystery and intrigue. Stranger Things is definitely getting stranger with each episode! I wonder how Dustin is going to explain his mother’s missing feline.

What did you think of “Chapter 4: Will the Wise?” Leave me a comment below and tweet me @judybopp.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.