What I’m Watching: Stranger Things

Stranger Things: Season 2, Episode 7 “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister” (B)

I realized a few minutes into this episode that I had read about this seventh episode and how everyone seemed to hate it, which seemed strange to me because I can’t imagine most binge-watchers can identify one episode from another. I do understand that this featured a mostly throwaway plotline that didn’t feel anything like this show usually does, and in all likelihood, we’ll never see any of these characters again except for the one who’s a star of the show. What I found valuable about this episode was that Eleven found her sister and they were able to bond over their shared experiences, and that Eight had some pretty cool powers. Eleven’s abilities have always been one of my favorite elements of this show, and watching her make someone see spiders, turn the group invisible, and create an “Inception”-style barrier to hide their getaway was definitely cool. Whether or not it needed to take up an entire episode, it was still valuable to see Eight try to push Eleven towards violence, something that she resisted since she didn’t think it was necessary unless they were really stopping bad men. Most importantly, she saw Hopper and Mike and realized that they needed her help, prompting her to get on a bus and tell the old lady she was sitting next to that she was going home to see her friends. Bring on chapter eight – I can’t wait until she and Max finally meet, and it will be cool if she and Will get to team up too!