Stranger Things S02E08 Review: The Nameless Monstrosity He Had Sought to Depict in His Dream-Sculpture

Stranger Things, Season 2, Episode 8: The Mind Flayer

Ah, so apparently the shadow monster that I have been calling 'Thessalhydra' all throughout my review for this season has been given a proper D&D themed name -- the Mind Flayer, the Illithid, the Cthulhu-esque humanoids from another plane with squid-faces that will devour your mind. While Mind Flayers aren't exactly a one-to-one comparison with the gigantic eldritch shadow-creature in the Upside-Down, they're still pretty damn appropriate for a Cthulhu-mythos inspired creature.

So after the bizarre detour that is the seventh episode of this season, we're back to our soup of horror and mystery. The fact that we know Eleven is coming with all her telekinetic powers and the likelihood of possibly just ending this whole thing by focusing her anger and power is a bit of a downer since it kind of telegraphs what's going to happen in the final episode, but it's a minor enough complaint that I don't particularly mind.

We pick up straight where we left off in the sixth episode, with Hopper and a bunch of others watching as Dart's army of Demo-dogs, having murdered the entire strike team sent down into the Mind Flayer's vine-tentacles, have arrived at Hawkins Lab. "They can't get through!" one of the stupid scientists say, but of course they do, and we're treated to a pretty cool sequence of monsters going wild in a laboratory and ravaging everything in their path. Again, not particularly original, but definitely fun to watch. I particularly liked the grisly sequence at the elevator as a group of scientists are just huddled, pressing the 'close' button as an army of Demodogs charge towards them and, naturally, the next scene is of the elevator doors opening to show them all dead. 

Will, Mike, Joyce, Bob and Hopper all get the hell out of dodge, but not before sedating Will in order to stop the Mind Flayer from seeing through his eyes. Which... part of me is screaming at how illogical that a randomly-dosed injection by an untrained woman doesn't actually kill the little kid, but since Will's like possessed by the Mind Flayer he probably is tougher than most. 

Speaking of which... so the Demogorgon from the first season was working as a minion of the Mind Flayer, then, in turning Will into a host that vomits out slug-creatures that grow up into Dart? Or is that just a bit of a coincidence that Will's encounter with the Demogorgon causes him to simply be more receptive with being shunted into the Upside-Down realm?

We get some absolutely amazing moment from Bob as he offers to go down and reboot the system, video-game style, to unlock the doors so that they can escape. Dr. Owens leaves himself behind in the control room to tell Bob when to duck and what to do. The rest of the supporting cast -- Steve and the Kids, as well as the Nancy/Jonathan pair, kind of congregate outside the laboratory after dealing with their own personal sub-plots, some of which are more interesting than others.

Bob's spotlight, of course, earns him a heroic sacrifice, and he's easily one of the most likable characters in the show. Between his cool tech-savviness of using water sprinklers to distract the Demodogs from killing him, to his 'cool boyfriend' mode to Joyce, to that tense moment where he hides in the closet... of course the broom falls, and Bob gets hounded by the Demodogs and gets ripped to shreds in front of Joyce and Hopper, despite their best efforts. I just kind of feel that while Bob's death was certainly hard-hitting, he felt like Barb from the previous season in that it's one of the not-central cast that ended up dying. Still, Joyce's hysteric reactions and the moments we spend with Bob throughout the season certainly does help t make the death impactful.

Everyone pile in to a series of vehicles, there's a bit of a catch-up in a shack about what's going on (Nancy and Jonathan probably have jack shit to contribute to the group). There's some disagreements about what's going to go on, and after some D&D comparisons to the Mind Flayer, the kids suggest that they can kill the central core, the Mind Flayer itself, to stop the army. But the only weapon they have (because there's the subtle implication that Hopper's not volunteering Eleven) is the connection that Will has with the Mind Flayer. I loved how Hopper began that conversation going "this is stupid, it's a children's book!" before getting into it and going "how do we beat it? How does the book say we beat it?" and for the kids to sheepishly admit that it's, well, a children's book.

Will is tied up in the garage where he was abducted last season, and in a neat callback to the sensory deprivation kiddy pool from the first season, they cover everything with tinfoil and newspaper, tie Will up, and they basically try to get Will back from the Mind Flayer's clutches. The kid, who spent most of the first season offscreen and most of the second season scared, really can act, huh? Between the confusion of being 'Will trapped with a mind-devouring parasite within his body' and said parasite trying to impersonate Will, it's some pretty amazing and harrowing stuff. It is cheesy as all get-out for Jonathan, Joyce and Mike to weaponize the power of good memories to try and get Will back, but it doesn't actually work. Will does manage to get a message through, which is the remarkably unhelpful "close gate", since there's really no way to close the gate without fighting through a facility filled with angry Demogorgon dogs. 

Then time runs out when the phone rings (how many phones have the Myers family gone through now?) and informs the Mind Flayer of Will's location, who sics an army of Demodogs to attack the shack. Everyone gets ready to fight. Nancy with a shotgun, Steve with his awesome spiked bat, Hopper with his gun... Lucas with his fucking wrist cannon in the background... but then sounds of screaming yipping dogs, and Eleven enters the house. Yeah, she's back, and she's going to be the one to close the gate. It's honestly telegraphed from so long away, and her little soul-search feels more like an attempt to justify her absence throughout most of season two than anything else. Still, doesn't make it any less badass. 

I feel like I have to acknowledge Billy being pushed around by his abusive drill sergeant father about what a shit brother he has been. Like, his own abuse led him to being abusive in his own right, but the only thought I can spare for him in that scene was "punch him, abusive father! Punch him good!"