Stranger Things Review [1×02]: “The Weirdo on Maple Street”

‘Stranger Things’ pulls away from the high-octane horror a little to compensate for its jam-packed pilot. Now, it meanders and you can’t help but feel it’s the calm before a very big storm.

Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) only solution to keep Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) safe is to keep her hidden in the basement. It’s a testimony to Mike’s big-heart and his ability to understand Eleven’s fear. It’s not all-in-favour, though.

You really think she’s psycho? – Dustin

I wouldn’t want her in my house. – Lucas

The boys discover Eleven somehow knows what happened to Will—something “bad”. The second whammy is when Eleven, fearful of outside help, uses her powers to slam the door shut when Lucas yells he’s telling Karen (Cara Buono) about Eleven. A cool “no” renders the boys silent.

Meanwhile, Hopper (David Harbour) finds the ‘suicide’ of his friend Benny. But he interviews witnesses anyway, instantly mistaking the sight of ‘a kid’ for Will. He does discover, however, a possible lead straight up to the barbed-wire protected Hawkins Facility. Is that where Will (Noah Schnapp) might be?

Joyce’s (Winona Ryder) deterioration is blatant and erratic. She’s delivered another blow of The Phone Electrocution and a horror-show of lights within her own home. Livin’ la vida loca, for now, is Nancy (Natalia Dyer), who sleeps with her boyfriend Steve (Joe Keery), effectively ditching Barbara (Shannon Purser). Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), accidentally happens across the party itself, and being a keen photographer, is snapping away in the woods.

As Joyce’s meltdown worsens, the supernatural element comes roaring back in—through the Byers’ wall. It lures Joyce via Will’s favourite The Clash song. It is—there are no other words—a monster. Could it be the same entity that tragically causes Barbara’s sudden disappearance?

Eleven is such a mystery, and it’s of unbelievable, stunned joy to see young Millie Bobby Brown steal the show with her exquisitely expressive face. Gosh, her eyes.

This word will be used many times, but Millie Bobby Brown is sensational. As the practically-mute Eleven, the emotion she conveys with her soulful eyes and her turn in facial expression is ingenious. It’s mastery, and shoots her into the big-leaguers of adult co-stars such as Winona Ryder. In fact, her muteness contributes to the exquisite performance she puts in. It elevates the meaningfulness of every single word she speaks. You wouldn’t expect a child to lead the show, but that’s what Millie Bobby Brown does.

A standout scene was the first night Eleven spent in the basement. The way her face crumpled, her loneliness apparent, was like a stake to the heart. It’s hard when it’s children. Harder when it’s Millie Bobby Brown. The second was Karen’s early return home. Through flashbacks we’d learned that if misbehaved, she’d be punished by being locked in a dark room. Her shuddering tears at the association were spine-tingling.

Her relationship with Mike’s another highlight. Mike’s always been the sensitive, generous boy of the group. It’s natural that Mike’s drawn to Eleven, and cares for her. When Mike skips school, and the duo wander around the free house, it’s priceless. It’s so youthfully happy, and robbed from Eleven: youth. Her wonderment, especially with the Lazy-Boy armchair, was gracefully captured. And heartbreaking, to know that Eleven didn’t have the chance to simply be a child.

“The Weirdo on Maple Street” focused heavily on relationships—frayed, delicate, close, sweet—and it made this episode hugely important to delve into each characters’ minds.

In a story like this, it’s essential to tie us to the characters so we automatically root for them. Winona Ryder instantly captured our souls in the premiere episode. Truly, all were so charming that it was difficult to dislike any of them. Here, some relationships fray. This applies to Nancy, who’s experiencing the typical ‘popular or not’ debacle at high school. Her friendship with Barbara sinks, and so does hers with her mother when she lies to her about the party. It’s not malicious. It’s juvenile and naive, yes—but Nancy’s just a girl.

And the pay-off here was the extra-tragic demise of Barbara, and Nancy’s reaction—to continue forth—to it. What do you do, when in your heart you know you’re pushing your best friend away…and she vanishes?

Whilst Nancy’s relationships are awry, Will’s disappearance brings Jonathan and Joyce closer together. Ryder’s performance is so good that it’s almost exhausting to watch. But we must commend Charlie Heaton on matching her line-by-line. His Jonathan is broken, angry and lost. He’s a loner. He’s just a teenager too, and Heaton’s excellent in the way you can hear every crack in his devastated voice when he speaks to Joyce. His nervous, hunched shuffle, and flickering, downcast eyes…he embodies Jonathan exceptionally, and like many of the kids on this show, surely has a promising future ahead.

The mystery of Dr. Brenner and his twisted relationship with Eleven.

Papa! – Eleven

That is what Eleven calls Dr. Brenner. “Papa”. It is a disturbing, twisted relationship that’s possibly one of the most convincing—of many—relationships of the show. Brenner’s gentility towards Eleven and determination to get her back could be seen as a loving, fatherly act. But at the same time, Brenner’s a scientist. We can just look at the tests he puts Eleven through, and it’s not kind. It’s not paternal. It’s sheer cruelty.

Yet Brenner uses this gentility and Eleven’s faith in him to make her use her powers, perhaps for his own scientific gain. When she ‘misbehaves’, she’s dragged away into isolation, in a dark room.

Does Brenner think he’s doing science some good, by doing this to Eleven? By pushing her to her very limits? Just how much of her humanity has she considered, or is he purely driven by hard science? Does he feel any sympathy at all? Does he care? Does he love her? Or does he love her science? Is that why he’s so gentle with her? It’s a mixed bag, and Matthew Modine toes the line between sinister and tender so expertly. There couldn’t have been another Dr. Brenner—and truly, there couldn’t be anyone else for any character.

Chief Hopper won’t stop until he finds Will Byers. Any missing case of a child is awful, but you get the sense that Hopper’s taken this one to heart.

When David Harbour’s Chief Jim Hopper initially appeared, we immediately wrote him off as the typical doughnut-eating, lazy sheriff. What was completely unexpected was how hard Will Byers’ missing case hit him, and how utterly devoted he is to finding these answers. At first, Hopper was cynical about Joyce’s rants—and still is—but it doesn’t take away his dedication. It makes you wonder: is there a personal connection here? Or, quite simply, did we misjudge him completely?

[About Joyce] She’s one step from falling off the edge. – Hopper

She’s been a few steps for a while now, hasn’t she? – Cop

Kid’s missing. Show a little class. – Hopper

The case has rendered him incapable of sleeping. He cannot comprehend what’s happening in his small town. Even the quiet despair Harbour reluctantly displays as he recognises Benny’s body in the set-up suicide. “He was my friend,” Hopper says. And you believe every word of it. Harbour plays him with such subtle, low-key intensity that it can be easy to mistake the brilliance of his nuanced performance. There’s something strong and truly just stirring within Hopper—and you can’t help but think he’ll do anything to solve the case of Will Byers.

Final Verdict: This second episode was a much-deserved cool-off from that thrilling premiere, and whilst it did feel slightly lacking in pace, the character development was much needed.

The seeds of a wider conspiracy were cleverly planted in this episode—subtly, with Hopper’s discovery of Benny’s ‘suicide’. We all know it wasn’t. For a second episode, quickly landing that inkling of something (if you’ll excuse me) stranger worked. In a short eight-episode season, we had to ask questions from the very beginning.

Wonderfully written and directed by the Duffer brothers as ever, ‘The Weirdo on Maple Street’ exhibited a more intimate side to the story. Far from the explosive premiere, this was a much-needed ‘catch your breath back’ moment that still offered jumpy moments yet delved into some rich character development. Most impressive was perhaps Nancy, whose teenage troubles may seem trivial, but not at that time. Her despair regarding Barbara will yet to be seen. Natalia Dyer, who has been likeable and complex in her portrayal of a potentially two-dimensional girl handled this with mastery.

Kimberly Adams and Jess Royal must be praised endlessly for their work on costume and set respectively. It’s so incredibly authentic, and what the Duffer brothers have crafted here is something so irrefutably bingeable. So it’s a good job it’s on Netflix…

Questions and Comments:

• There was a gorgeous little scene between Karen and Mike, superbly played by both Buono and Wolfhard. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the desperate need from Karen’s end for her kids to just talk to her—is quietly stirring within her, and played subtly to perfection by Buono.
  • Cara Buono’s delicately portrayed Karen is rapidly climbing up my list of favourite female characters. There’s something undeniably magnetic about her, and insatiably likeable.
• Has it hit Hopper hard, coming from a big town department to a small town one? As he states Benny’s his friend—it’s so sad. He knows these people. Does that make it more personal? As per what he says, he “mostly dealt with strangers back then”.
• Any theories on what The Monster actually is? How did it originate? Are there other monsters like it across the world?
• The music on this show is insane. It’s both nostalgic and also terrific plot-points. The usage of Will’s favourite Clash song, ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ is magnificent.
• The boys explaining the word “friend” to Eleven was a gorgeous scene. The weight of the word shall not go forgotten.
• I’ve already raved about the children and adults…but the teens Dyer, Keery and Heaton are absolutely brilliant. If you plucked any member of the cast and plopped them onto another show, they’d be a standout.
• There are too many things I love about this tweet.

Catch episodes of STRANGER THINGS on Netflix.