What I’m Watching: Stranger Things

Stranger Things: Season 3, Episode 6 “Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum” (B+)

This episode featured an intense start, one that saw Nancy hurled across the room and nearly killed by the mind flayer, ending in an even more terrifying way with Eleven made well aware that she didn’t come anywhere near destroying the beast. Eleven was formidable in dispelling it out the window and saving the day, and she pushed herself to go deeper and use as many tissues as possible to get to Billy’s past. There were a lot of visual effects at the end of the episode, representing a more serious and frightening threat in an episode that also saw the hapless Steve being tortured. Robin confessing that she was obsessed with Steve even when he was a jerk was interesting, and she did a better job of holding out than he did. It’s lucky that Dustin burst in when he did, and I like that Erica believed everything he told her except that her brother was involved. I enjoyed Mike and Max arguing about what’s best for Eleven and his accidental proclamation of love that everyone except for her heard. Hopper getting the wrong flavor for his captive led to a very entertaining dynamic, one that allowed him to be right for once and Joyce to assert herself when she didn’t feel heard. I’m not always too fond of Brett Gelman, from “Married,” “Fleabag,” and “Camping,” but I think he’s perfect as Murray, whose paranoia led to him knowing Russian and who adds just the right element to the conversation between Hopper, Joyce, and Dr. Alexei.