Stranger Things – ‘The Pollywog’

The hit Netflix Original Stranger Things started off relatively slow paced, however this third installment of the show entirely shifts into gear regarding plot progression ending with a dark and disturbing cliff-hanger.

Firstly, the rustling in Dustin’s bin is a small tadpole-esque creature, which of course Dustin promptly names D’artagnan (Dart for short) and starts feeding him sweets. Dart was pretty cute, and props should be given to the special effects department as the CGI was rather convincing despite his fast movement and extensive interaction with the characters. Of course, he will go on to grow and become something bigger, stronger and probably not good – but Dart’s current form does allow the show to shed some light on Dustin, whose attempts to look after his new pet are sweet if somewhat misguided.

Bob’s conversation with Will was intentionally played in a very creepy manner and had me questioning Bob for the first time, even if he was back to his usual goofy self later on. The intercutting of this conversation with Will’s confrontation in the Upside-down was very efficient, as you understood what Will was going to do and even worse his attempts fail, leading him to be violently engulfed by darkness. Its clear Will is going to have a crucial role this season, and so it’s fortunate that Noah Schnapp is proving to be a great young actor, with Will’s visions of the Upside-Down consistently one of the most exciting parts of each episode.

Nancy and Steve’s unexpected relationship problems, while not necessarily surprising, do seem to have come out of nowhere. Primarily it appears to be an excuse to have Jonathan and Nancy planning schemes together again, which was pleasing if a little shoehorned.

The flashbacks are heart-warming, with the cleaning montage a delight and the conversation about mothers touching and emotional

I’m sure there’s some misdirect regarding what their plan is, as surely they’d be aware the Hawkins National Laboratory would be listening. It seems we’ll find out in the next episode of Stranger Things, but let’s hope it doesn’t drag out the Barb storyline even further. Steve, on the other hand, looks set to develop a rivalry with Billy, a subplot which for now seems unrelated and uninteresting.

The origin of Eleven and Hopper’s relationship continues to be told, establishing how their unorthodox living arrangement was set up. The flashbacks are heart-warming, with the cleaning montage a delight and the conversation about mothers touching and emotional. Th flashbacks make it all the more painful however when Eleven does understandably decide to venture outside and threatens the home life that Hopper had given her, limited as it was. It will be interesting therefore whether there will be any repercussions at all to her excursion, perhaps as Dr Owens was so interested in Hopper’s sudden disappearance.

This episode reveals some clarification on Hopper’s deal with the Hawkins Laboratory. It’s good to see Hopper standing up to this seemingly all-powerful organisation in defence of the town, and the unusual relationship between the laboratory and the main cast continues to be roughly symbiotic, at least for now. To almost no one’s surprise, the pumpkin patch deterioration links to the Upside-Down, so some much-awaited clarification on that would not go amiss next episode.

This episode of Stranger Things has had the most developments by far and raises several burning questions for the rest of the season. If future installments continue at this pace – and indeed continues with a slightly darker tone – then we are in for a treat.