Stranger Things 4 Episode 3: The Monster and the Superhero: Thoughts & Analysis

Episode 3 is honestly my least favorite of the season, but it’s by no means bad and has many high points. Let’s pick up in California.

Eleven is reeling from the roller skate incident, while Mike and Will are in shock. Not a happy ride back. In the house, they encounter Joyce and Murray who conduct a poorly acted skit to hide the fact they’re going to Alaska. El storms off after Mike makes a remark about the incident. Will is just frustrated. We see El laying in bed crying, the flashbacks of the massacre clearly haunting her. There is a direct parallel of Brenner and Mike saying “What have you done?!” which establishes an interesting duality that will hopefully play out in volume two. The next morning Mike tries to talk to El, but they get into an argument. El feels that Mike doesn’t understand how she will never fit in, as well as he can’t say he loves her. 

This argument is very real. It addresses the reality that even without her powers, El can’t be a normal teenager with a normal life. Her past trauma and experiences have made her appear as a freak to those around her, and she can’t be accepted. Nor can she escape. Her powers, which have truly defined her up to this point, are gone. So who is she really? That’s the question. It was her powers which partly drew Mike to her, so without them, and the way he reacted to the incident, could explain why she feels so isolated and outcasted. We also see this capacity for evil which is caused by the bullying and trauma and powered by her own rage. That’s why she ultimately chooses to try to reclaim her powers, because without them she feels she is turning into a monster. When in fact, as Mike says, it’s the bullies. They’re the nobodies. I especially like those lines. 

Lastly, of course El has to get her powers back, but I don’t want that to be the way she resolves her inner conflict. By separating her so early, there’s missed opportunity for development with both Mike and Will, as all their relationships are strained. But it’s not my show, and they should hopefully reunite in volume 2. Lastly, I didn’t like the “El being arrested” plot device because it took away some emotional impact, as well as the opportunity to really explore El's inner state.

Brief intermission to Hopper. He is alive, and in this episode he does something cool by blasting the Russian camp and escaping (except not really). But you go man, we’re rooting for you.

Onto Hawkins. Nancy joins the gang, and there’s this funny/awkward exchange with Steve before she ultimately partners with Robin to investigate Victor Creel. Before that, someone mentions how both Fred and Chrissy died here, and Steve has this hilarious line: “Uhh… should we maybe not be here…” It was the tone that was perfection. 

Nancy and Robin was what made this episode for me. How Nancy keeps smiling forcibly and saying “yep” while Robin keeps talking and talking was priceless. The scene of them on the microfilm readers (yes I had to Google that) was so funny. Especially when Nancy slowly peaks her head out to say “nope”—she is so done. I didn’t expect Steve of all the reasons to be the root of their tension. I guess it’s a "relationship history thing," I don’t know. Seeing them slowly become partners was great. They’re also foils to each other, which is why they're so great together. Both are intelligent, savvy, and detail-oriented; it’s just that Robin is a nonstop audiobook while Nancy is a closed book. 

Closing off here, MVP babysitter Steve and his children break into Max’s therapist’s house and office (I did not catch the grandfather clock chain on her…) and discover that oh, Max is gonna be Vecna’d next. The ending scene was quite impactful. The synth music really drives it, and the ending shot of Max seeing Vecna was perfection. Of course Vecna was coming for Max, but the fact that he’s 2 for 0 raised the stakes for the next episode.  

Final Rating: 8.5/10