This article contains spoilers.
Steve is no longer an arsehole but Will is.
Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) is the best thing in Stranger Things, better then Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) or the rest of the gang. His storyline with his hell pet Dart has provided some welcome relief from Will (Noah Schnapp) and his battles with the Shadow Monster. Well, he was the best thing, until this episode. Warning, this review is basically a lot letter to certain coiffured character and makes no apologies for it. After failing to find any of his usual cohorts, he runs into Steve (Joe Keery) and ropes him into his hunt for the ever growing Dart.
They bond over Steve’s magnificent hair and relationship advice before being joined by Max (Sadie Sink) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and face down Dart and his appeared from nowhere buddies. The Demidogs. God bless Dustin. Steve needs a god damn medal, at one point selflessly wandering out into the dark to face down Dart (or Dart 2, who knows?) figuring out that they now want human meat. Armed with hair so big it reaches the sky and his 80’s version of Lucille, he is the hero Hawkins deserves. Move over Hopper.
Meanwhile, in the Hawkins Lab, Will, all pale and dark eyed, announces he knows how to stop the Shadow Monster and a team of grunts are dispatched into the Upside Down to follow his instructions. What follows is a beautiful homage to Aliens, the demidogs are called back from their attack in the junkyard and one by one we see the blips on the screen indicating the solderers go out. It’s a trap. Will tearfully admits to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) that he knowingly sent those men to their death on unheard instructions from the Shadow Monster. He’s a spy alright, but not for Hawkins. Game over man.
Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) get it on, and who cares? #JusticeForBarb has ran out of steam and seals Steve’s fate as former arsehole, total hero. Good work Nancy. ‘The Spy’ is full of tension and action and the pace is ramping up full force as Stranger Things thunders towards its season two conclusion. The ending is gripping. Mike runs to alert Hopper (David Harbour) that its all a trap as Hawkins Sheriff looks on in horror as the claw of a demidog appears over the lip of the entrance to the Upside Down. Shit is about to get real. *Very* real.
There was a heavy horror movie feel to episode six, and the show really benefits from it, with three episodes left there is a lot to wrap up, and no one has bit the dust yet (please be Billy). This has been the strongest episode of the season so far. The lab is now under siege, Will cannot be trusted and Eleven hasn’t returned. Steve’s transformation from fully fledged ‘Worst Person in Hawkins’ to ‘The Hero Hawkins Deserves (and Nancy doesn’t)’ is nothing short of miraculous and we should all be grateful for the gift that is Steve Harrington.
Stranger Things 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Let us know what you think of the season.