Stranger Things season 2, episode 6: The Spy, recap: how could anyone survive that?
And so it is with a bloody flourish that Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers reveal one of the primary inspirations for the sci-fi horror’s second series. If year one’s beastie-in-the-dark storyline was heavily indebted to Alien, the follow-up, we learned in the latest episode (directed by Pixar's Andrew Stanton), is the Duffers’ valentine to Aliens.
With that film James Cameron had the genius idea of ratcheting up the drama by ratcheting up the number of Xenomorphs. It’s a premise the Duffers have plundered shamelessly. Why stop at a single Demogorgon when, with Netflix writing the cheques, you can now afford an entire pack of the creatures?
This is all made clear in an action-stuffed final 20 minutes, with Steve, Dustin and pals fending off the two of the icky apparitions at a scrapyard as, at the laboratory, Will sends Dr Owens’s men into a fatal ambush. He does so at the behest of the shadow monster, who has access to the boy’s thoughts and can control his actions (enough of Will remains for him to express regret over the deaths that inevitably follow).
There is a lot to enjoy here, even if The Spy is really all about setting up connective tissue for the final three episodes. Judging by the Demogorgons set to overrun Owens, Hopper, Joyce and co, things are about to get considerably bloodier as the season heads towards its denouement. That is presumably as some viewers will have wished.
1. Will and the shadow monster are on the same team now
Will (Noah Schnapp) is distressed as the soldiers burn the tentacles beneath Hawkins – "it doesn't like it," he yells. Doctor Owens’s theory is that a virus has connected boy and monster – but the bigger issue is that, with each convulsion, more of Will’s memories may potentially be erased. Not there is likely to be much of Will left judging by the control the beast is exerting over him.
Under orders from his possessor, he calmly sends the armed party from the lab underground to be mugged by Demogorgons (where did they all come from?). This was a fantastic scene, with machine guns rattling in the dark as the nightmare creatures swarmed and ravaged. “Game over man!” , as somebody should have yelled but sadly didn’t.
2. Are the Demogorgons – if that's what they are – different this time?
The big-bad last season was tall and humanoid in appearance – whereas this year the creatures that attacked Steve and the kids at the scrapyard are more doglike. Is this merely a stage in their life cycle– from “cute” tadpole, to feral canine-type beast to something larger and even scarier? Or are we meeting a tweaked version of the monster?
3. Nancy-and-Jonathan is turning into a screw-ball comedy
Having sent copies of the incriminating tapes to the media, Murray (Brett Gelman) tells Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) they are meant to be a couple – unless "trust issues" are getting in the way. They eventually put us out of our misery and lock lips, as synth pop chimes in the background for full Pretty In Pink effect. Is it weird that some of us are mostly feeling sorry for Steve at this point?
4. Bob should probably be more freaked out about what's happening
Nice guy Bob (Sean Astin) is curiously relaxed at finding himself at the centre of a supernatural government conspiracy (and yes, we've finally accepted he isn’t a spy). It's an adorable performance by Astin – a less generous actor might would have portrayed Bob as an idiot – but we'd feel better if he was a little more disturbed by it all.
5. Brace yourself – Steve's murkiest secret is revealed
Never mind mysterious horrors lurking beneath Hawkins – the dark secret everyone wants dragged into the light is Steve's haircare regime. In a moment of brotherly sharing, he admits the truth to Dustin – four puffs of Farah Fawcett spray on his wet (not damp!) quiff and he’s good to go. “Farah Fawcett – she’s hot,” points out Dustin, who is obviously a teenage boy.
6. Wait – Doctor Owens is the good guy?
As successor to loathsome Dr Brenner, it seemed reasonable to assume Owens was another cold-hearted functionary (the same actor played slithery Burke in Aliens). So it feels like a genuine twist that he’s the only medic at the Laboratory to hesitate over burning the monster, knowing that it will inevitably kill Will.
7: Was Max's origin story a letdown ?
Max (Sadie Sink) and bully Billy (Dacre Montgomery) are step-siblings, their recently married parents relocated to Hawkins from California – and leaving Max's heartbroken dad behind. It's a perfectly plausible back story – precisely the problem, as some viewers may have imagined something more fantastical (I was hoping they were vampires).
Stranger Things | Season 2 recaps
8. Should Steve had died fighting/running away from the Demogorgons? (The answer is “yes”)
Even a solitary Demogorgon puppy was going to be handful for Steve, Dustin, Max and Lucas. But – to be realistic about Demogorgons for a moment – a pair would surely have ripped Steve (Joe Keery) to shreds as he ventured out to confront what he believed was a single beast (though obviously not as grievously as Nancy had, sob, ripped his heart to shreds when revealing she didn’t love him).
Stranger Things doesn't kill off characters lightly – hence the obsession with Barb’s death last year. Just this once, however, the Duffers would have done well to display a little ruthlessness. Especially given the glee with which the soldiers from the laboratory are dismantled – Aliens-style – in the scene that followed shortly afterwards.
The scare factor is significantly reduced if we understand none of the major characters are going to perish. Nobody wanted Steve or any of the others to die – but it would have been to the betterment of the overall series.
