When last we left our heroes, all hell had broken loose. One of them had quite literally broken out of hell and another was so very close to escaping a figurative one. Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle barely escaped a government kill squad with a wounded fed bodyguard. We even got to feel sorry for Freddy Kruger for crying out loud.
El’s reunion with Owens bears strange fruit. In sequences that give off very heavy 2000s X-Men movies vibes, El relives her repressed memories in an attempt to reawaken her powers. Viewers may get a little unnerved by the callous experimentation on children and the almost alien-like performance by Jamie Campbell Bower (Harry Potter and Twilight franchises) as the mysterious orderly, Peter. The character of El is far more bothered by the reappearance of a figure from her past and the inconsistent nature of her power.
The recaptured Hopper monologues to his former captor, Enzo, about his past tragedies and realized fatalism in what has to be on David Harbour’s Emmy consideration reel. His would-be liberators, though, find newfound hope mid-flight to Mother Russia as Joyce (Winona Ryder, Heathers) and Murray (Brett Gelman, Fleabag) resist their betrayer in a fight that is as hilarious as it is harrowing.
In scenes ripped straight from the trailers, the Hawkins kids break into the abandoned Creel house after Nancy’s detective skills lead them there. When they split up, Scooby Doo-style, there are strange little hints and clues towards the big mystery that we’re not sure what to make of yet. More obvious are the interactions among the kids. It’s almost funny when the reconnection of Lucas and Max seems more organic and mature than the awfully awkward but still somewhat sweet interactions between Steve and Nancy.
When the search at Creel house finds more evidence of Vecna’s presence, they turn to a season one device to pin down his movements until the trail disappears. Where he goes is a secret to them but not to us. Vecna’s gone to Eddie Munson’s hideout to give him more trouble… and give basketball captain/lynch mob leader Jason (Teen Wolf’s Madison Dye) and his crew more than they ever could have imagined.
Stranger Things Season 4 Chapter 5, ‘The Nina Project’ is now streaming on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQEondeGvKo&t=2s
