By Owen Quinn author Photo copyright Netflix
Here we go for the penultimate episode ever.
Somehow, I am still waiting for someone to kick the bucket and here I thought Max, Caleb or Robin were going to die at the hands or claws of the demodogs.
This episode will leave you crying with joy and pain as our heroes prepare for the final battle with Vecna. You’ll be furious as vecna manipulates the kids to bring out the worst in them. They’re like something from children of the corn as Holly is abused and assaulkted before being forced back into the twelve.
But first things first. Max’s return is awesone and cleverly, because she hasn’t used her body in a year, she is in a wheelchair until her body adjusts. But her info is vital in going up against Vecna. Holly ends up on the other world Vecna has been keeping secret and almost makes it back to the Upside Down before being dragged back by Vecna. You can see where the Wheeler kids get their bravery from as Karen Wheeler, having killed the demodogs with an unusual laundry, is ready to go after Holly and Nancy. It strikes me that Karen has never needed to be front and centre in the show. She is the parent that watches out for her kids and steps up in an extraordinary situation. She’s not just fighting for her kids but for all the kids of Hawkins and the world if Vecna wins.
This is where our split heroes finally come together again as a complete team with a few new additions. I honestly expected someone to have died at this point. It has been teased so much with the emotional speeches and reveals like Nancy, Jonathan, Dustin and Steve for example. You actually care for these people that we are all rooting for them.
So when they all come together to plan the final assault, it’ss a joy to watch. They must collapse the bridge and kill Vecna before he can merge both worlds, rescue the kids, stop the experiments and be home in time for tea but the minute you hear timer mentioned for the bomb, you just know it won’t go to plan. Will that be the death we have been teased? Kali certainly thinks so as she reminds £lle that she can never have a normal life after this. She will be hunted. There will be another Dr Kay, another Papa and she will see Mike murdered. There is only one end for her. So will Elle sacrifice herself to save the day? Has she a choice?
But the stand out moment of these three episodes is Will coming out to everyone as gay. My heart broke as it is so beautifully written not only for the charqcter development but at the same time, speaking to every other kid out there who is afraid of revealing who they are. I’m welling up just thinking about it but that is the mark of good writing. Vecna is using Will’s sexuality as a weakness over him because Vecna knows everything about Will, even his secrets. It is this secret that allowed Vecna to find Max’s location through him. The real world opinion is that being gay is soem sort of weakness, a shame that must not be spoken of but that is not the case at all. Being gay is as much part of w-8ho we are as a race than being hetrosexual. People use it to taunt and hurt people and threaten to expose their “terrible” secret just as Vecna did. Remember this is set in the 80s where tolerance was not as it is today. This is the stand out moment for me because everyone has opened up about what they feel inside and that group hug speaks volumes. Rejection is a genuine fear for people who are gay. But there are no more secrets. The Sorcerer has completed his armour. With no more to hide, Vecna has no power over Will. I think Vecna is going to regret what he did as Will will be at full power. He is no longer the puppet, the spy; he is a young man that opened himself to the world and was embraced by pure love and family.
Second to this is Steve opening up to Dustin about Eddie’s death and how it affected them both. I die, you die. You die, I die is too much of tempting fate for me. Are we going to get a double death?
I have to mention the role Robin plays in this as Will comes out. She is just a joy to watch.
So here we are, on the eve of the end. Dustin doing his Doc Brown speech explaining what the Upside Down is a bridge between two worlds. The twelve kids will amplify his powers merging both worlds. But why is he doing this? What hae we still to find out? What is the twist? What is the black thing is out to destroy using the kids?
The plan is set. The odds are against them and the situation is grim. It better because Henry has gathered the kids round the table. Suddenly , all their heads snap back and their eyes turn white.
It has begun. Strap in because this is going to be awesome.
Unmissable episode.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 