The Good: The opening sequence was highly entertaining and exciting to watch Hopper take on the Russian. We got introduced to a new character (Alexei) who brought some excellent comic relief this episode and was impressively well-defined. It was good to see Murray again, and his appearance this season was logical and entertaining.
Nancy and Jonathan's fight with the Mind Flayer was very suspenseful and there was genuine tension of who was going to die....
The Bad: ... that being said, that both of them managed to make it through unscathed shows a worrisome pattern from this show of main characters having plot armor. The show needs real stakes and consequences, particularly as Jonathan should not have survived (the amount of abuse he got from the monster was ridiculous).
The Steve and friends plotline is starting to get too over-the-top even for this show. In particular, Steve and Robin are starting to act like caricatures, and whenever the show went to them this episode it felt like I was watching a cartoon.
Episode Highlight: Alexei, Joyce, and Hopper at the 7/11.
Conclusion: This episode still had some very strong elements, but some cracks are starting to show. Hopefully the show can bounce back and pull through for the next three episodes.
Nancy and Jonathan's fight with the Mind Flayer was very suspenseful and there was genuine tension of who was going to die....
The Bad: ... that being said, that both of them managed to make it through unscathed shows a worrisome pattern from this show of main characters having plot armor. The show needs real stakes and consequences, particularly as Jonathan should not have survived (the amount of abuse he got from the monster was ridiculous).
The Steve and friends plotline is starting to get too over-the-top even for this show. In particular, Steve and Robin are starting to act like caricatures, and whenever the show went to them this episode it felt like I was watching a cartoon.
Episode Highlight: Alexei, Joyce, and Hopper at the 7/11.
Conclusion: This episode still had some very strong elements, but some cracks are starting to show. Hopefully the show can bounce back and pull through for the next three episodes.