Season 4. Episode 2.
Well, well , well. It appears that the hard pivot into classic ’80s horror in episode one was a solid indicator of what to expect going forward. Vecna’s Curse is chock full of nods to classic horror films and grisly, spine-chilling violence. Much to unpack…
Following the violent demise of Chrissie Cunningham in episode one, the whole town is out looking for Eddie Munson. Nancy and Fred head to the trailer park to find a scoop – Fred seemed a little too much of a stock character in the opening chapter, but the whole car crash angle is interesting. Elsewhere, Steve Harrington, Dustin, Robyn and Max form the best tag team since the Legion of Doom to try and locate Eddie, and by God, do they achieve that task. These guys are capable of anything. Munson’s impending potential imprisonment brings to mind the fate of Rod Lane in A Nightmare on Elm Street, I fear for our mulleted hero in the long run.
Elsewhere, Eleven’s lies about her idyllic life post-Mike catch up with her in the form of a pair of confrontations with Angela – the latter conflict ending abruptly with an ice skate embedded in Angela’s stupid forehead. A satisfying moment for everyone. Now that beloved characters like Hopper, Steve and Robyn have come to the fore, the presence of Mike and Will Byers feels increasingly irrelevant. If we are going to lose a major character in this run of episodes, I kinda hope it’s one of those two.
Lastly, the Joyce/Murray co-operative gathers pace as they finally figure out what happened to Hopper – who is having a terrible time over in Russia – and it’ll be intriguing to see how they bust our hero out of this latest scrape.
All in all, a very strong episode in what promises to be Stranger Things best season yet. No pressure.
Stray Observations
- I’d love to work at Family Video with Robyn and Steve Harrington and Steve Harrington’s hair. What a goddamn combination.
- The Duffer Brothers are making the audience work harder for their pop culture references this time round. I couldn’t quite see the film poster that featured prominently in Family Video, and I also don’t know what was on TV that had Courteney Cox in it. Her mere presence may be a reference to her career as a scream queen though what with the general horror vibe of this season so far.
- I feel like that potential redemption arc I mentioned in relation to Angela after chapter one was a red herring. She really is awful.
- One of the best things about Stranger Things is the unlikely team ups. Last season, Steve Harrington (always full name) and Dustin ripped shit up, this season I have been thoroughly enjoying the Joyce/Murray co-operative. Long may it continue.
- I’ve got a good feeling about about Jason Carver (the blonde, jock guy). I feel there is more to come from him. One to watch.
- I did also have a feeling after The Hellfire Club that we hadn’t seen the last of Chrissy Cunningham. It turns out I may have been right (against all odds). Vecna seems to be building some kind of army of the undead, so perhaps we haven’t seen the last of Chrissy or Fred.