Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 6 Recap – The Spy

Will’s Illness

Will is rushed to Hawkins Lab after his convulsion and the doctors sedate him. They take Hopper to another room where his body is scrubbed by lab workers.

Dustin explains Dart to Steve, who is skeptical. Steve takes the bat from his trunk and they go to the storm cellar. Steve descends first but he doesn’t hear anything. What he finds is a slimy pile of dead skin. He calls Dustin and shows him the tunnel that the monster dug through the wall underground.

The men at Hawkins lab return to Byers’ home and take photos of Will’s drawings. Joyce explains the now-memories to Dr. Owens and insists that Will has been saying something is wrong for weeks and they kept denying it. Owens asks her to remain calm. She demands taking Will to a real hospital but the scientists insist that he’s already getting the best treatment. Joyce asks them what Will’s condition might be, but nobody can say.

Murray, Steve, and Nancy create copies of Dr. Owens’ statements and send it off to different media outlets. They celebrate with vodka right after, making a toast to: “Taking down the man”. They ask Murray to stop as he pours more vodka and he tells them to stay the night in the guest room. Jonathan asks if he can take the sofa, which prompts Murray to ask if there’s a lover’s quarrel here. They both say they’re friends, which Murray sees as a lie. He psychoanalyzes them, saying they have chemistry, history and a shared trauma. He reads that Jonathan has trust issues from his father and that Nancy is pretending to accept her true self and constantly retreats back to Steve. She stammers as Murray tells her she doesn’t really love Steve. Murray laughs and offers his pull out couch, but suggest for them to share the bed.

The Cancer

The two stare in shock and think about what Murray said about them. They meet each other in the living room and dismiss Murray’s words as just drunken ramblings. They r

eturn to their respective rooms but their feelings come out. Jonathan goes to Nancy’s door and they kiss before returning to her guest room.

Lucas learns from Erica that Dustin called code red earlier. Dustin tells him that Dart escaped and is actually a baby Demogorgon. He instructs him to get his gear and join him and Steve in the woods.

Dr. Owens visits Hopper in the bathroom, who’s still vomiting from the previous ordeal. They give him a hazmat suit and take him to the lower rungs of the lab where there’s a gigantic gate to the Upside Down. He explains that all living beings have a defense-mechanism, and this has been growing underground like a cancer.

Joyce tells Bob how she was made to sign a thousand documents preventing her from telling the truth. Bob assures her its fine and she did warn him beforehand. Will finally wakes up and they call a doctor, but he  looks strange and can’t recognize Bob.

Murray serves breakfast to Nancy and Jonathan and gives them sideways looks and comments. She calls home and they learn that Mike spent the night at Will’s. As they leave, Murray gives them vodka and water, saying they should watch the papers soon.

The Proof

Lucas goes to Max’ home and invites her to come with him, saying he has proof. Billy starts checking them out but Max stops him and says they were just Mormons. She jumps through the die window and hops on Lucas’ back seat.

Dr. Owens gives Will and examination and asks him some basic questions. Will recognizes Mike but not the others. He says that last night the soldiers hurt him and they shouldn’t have done that. The creature is now angry as a result. A technician then takes out a vine tendril and subjects it to fire, which Will also feels himself.

Later, Dr. Owens explains that Will is infected with a virus that is somehow connecting itself with the host. He promises that his men are investigating it and will try to cure him. Joyce asks him what could happen if all of Will’s memories disappear.

Steve questions Dustin’s decision to hide a potentially dangerous creature just to impress a girl. He advises him to not care too much about getting girls. The two lay down a trail of bait on the train tracks and pass by one of Hopper’s flags. Hopper sends El a message, not knowing that she isn’t there.

The Hawkins doctors learn that Will’s brain activity has skyrocketed in just one week. One of them suggests starting the burn immediately but this conflicts Owens. Joyce grows impatient and asks for an explanation immediately. Will gains new insight on how to fight the enemy and tells Mike.

Setting the Trap

Lucas and Max reunite with Steve and Dustin at the junkyard to prepare a trap for the Demogorgon. They place down a huge pile of bait at the center of the field and create a structure with scraps and platforms. Steve douses around some gasoline.

Jonathan and Nancy go back to his home and finds the drawings. He sees Will’s drawing and a polaroid cartridge left behind. Someone must have come here while Joyce and the others were away.

Will wades through the photos of his tunnel map inside the conference room while all the scientists are watching impatiently. He points to a place where a lot of the vines converge and tell them it’s an area that the creature is hiding from him. He feels its importance as a weak spot.

Owens deploys his armed men to the gate of the Upside Down. A technician guides them using Will’s map to navigate the tunnel system.

Night comes, and Lucas goes on top of the abandoned bus to scout around. Steve fiddles with his lighter and Max asks him if the thing they’re hunting isn’t just a bear. Dustin snaps at her for not believing and asks her to go home if she doesn’t care, prompting her to join Lucas upstairs. Steve tells Dustin that it was a good move to act like he doesn’t care, but he’s actually serious about it.

The Spy

Max says the fog looks like the ocean and Lucas asks her if she misses the waves in California. He says Hawkins might be lame in comparison but she doesn’t think so, as her dad is still there following their parents’ divorce.

Max’ mom and stepdad wanted a fresh start but she feels like things are worse. Billy has been angry all this time and takes it out on her. She apologizes for being a jerk to them sometimes, saying she doesn’t want to be like her brother. Lucas says she isn’t like Billy and that she’s cool and actually smart.

Suddenly there’s a scream, and Lucas sees a figure nearby. Steve wonders why the creature isn’t taking the bait, so he volunteers to go out and hands Dustin the lighter. The Demogorgon emerges from the fog but it turns out there’s more surrounding him. Dustin calls for him to abort and the Demogorgons swarm around the bus. They’re about to get invaded when suddenly the creatures leave and rush towards somewhere else.

The soldiers reach their target spot, which Hopper recognizes as the graveyard he once was. Suddenly a fog surrounds them. Will apologizes, saying it was the creature that made him do it. Mike tells everyone its a trap, but its too late. The Demogorgons kill all the soldiers, and the lab is next.

Our Thoughts

It’s refreshing to see a twist coming from the enemy this time. Rating: 4.4/5