Stranger Things season 3, episode 2 recap: The Mall Rats

“The Mall Rats” stomps on most of the relationships we saw in the premiere of Stranger Things 3. Billy turns into an unwilling henchman. And, the Mind Flayer wants to upgrade. Let’s recap!

The Duffer Brothers wrote and directed “The Mall Rats.” Most of the fan service from “Suzie, Do You Copy?” is yanked away from us. Relationships go down hard and fast. But, there a couple of new friendships that give life to the episode. One is a nice make-over for a season two plot. The other is a not-so-nice season 3 situation involving the Mind Flayer. And, the small business owners of Hawkins really hate Star Court Mall. They may have a legitimate reason that’s way bigger than diminishing profits. Stranger Things 3 is off to the races.

Nana Stays Busy

Nana Wheeler gets sick and gets better quite often in “The Mall Rats.” It’s like something out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe where she’s snapped in and out of health. I mean, we never see her during the episode. We have no idea how she’s doing. Mike (Finn Wolfhard) uses his Nana as an excuse for not seeing Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) for the first time in six months.

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At the end of “Suzie, Do You Copy,” Hopper (David Harbour) drove Mike home. In Hardcore Hopper fashion, he told Mike that if he didn’t give Eleven space, he wouldn’t allow them to see each other at all. This freaks Mike out. Instead of being honest about it, he tries to ghost Eleven. When she calls asking where he is, Mike comes up with the Nana business, which freaks Eleven, and an eavesdropping Karen (Cara Buono), out.

Meanwhile, Hopper is excited. He’s finally free of Mileven. How does he celebrate? By going to visit the woman he, himself, pines over like a kid: Joyce (Winona Ryder). He sets up a dinner for the two at Enzo’s and insists it’s not a date. That, of course, means it’s 100% a date. Hopper gets his comeuppance when Joyce blows him off to go learn about electromagnetism with fan favorite Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens) and his curiosity door.

Stranger Things — Credit: Netflix

What made me smile was the relationship that developed between material girls Max (Sadie Sink) and Eleven. In Stranger Things 2, Eleven auto-hated Max because she thought that she was making a play for Mike. Eleven held on to that even when it was clear that Mike spent every minute thinking about her. Now, Eleven reaches out to Max for friendship. Max is happy about it. I told you before she’s mature.

The two hit every attraction in Star Court Mall. It includes visits to Steve’s (Joe Kerry) ice cream shop, a full fashion show montage at a Gap, and poses-for-days at a glamour shots spot. When Max and Eleven happen upon Mike, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Will (Noah Schnapp) at the mall, Eleven dumps Mike. Max dumps Lucas in solidarity and in silence. Will just wants to play D&D.

Have You Tried Muscle Milk?

One couple that’s surviving is Nancy (Natalia Dryer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton). At the paper, Nancy decides to skip being the food gopher and follow up on a diseased rat lead. She walks in Jonathan’s dark room again and the two are off. They discover that rats have been eating fertilizer and then running away.

They have a live, caged rat as evidence. But, they leave before it explodes into goop and forms a blood-pus thang (not thing) that crawls away all D’artagnan like. We find out that they are running towards that familiar steelworks. We saw the rats explode at the steelworks in “Suzie, Do You Copy,” but we didn’t see what happens to them after that. It turns out that the Mind Flayer doesn’t want to posses anybody this season. They want to make themselves corporeal with fertilized flesh.

Stranger Things — Credit: Netflix

But, like I mentioned, rats only go so far in reconstituting a corporeal form. Just like Hellraiser, the Mind Flayer needs something more nourishing. And that’s where Billy (Dacre Montgomery) comes into play. As the lifeguard at the Hawkins pool, he has access to a lot of young, fresh food. I mean people. When Karen goes to explain why she didn’t show up for their rendevous at the Motel 6, Billy sees images of killing her. He tells her to stay away from him. But he then kidnaps a woman and presents her to the Mind Flayer.

My Little Pony

Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) shows up at the ice cream parlor and introduces himself to Robin (Maya Hawke). She asks how many kids Steve is friends with when he excitedly comes out to greet his buddy-in-hair. Dustin excitedly tells him about the Russian transmission he overheard on Cerebro. Of course, he taped it. Steve recognizes the song playing in the background. But, it takes the help of multilingual Robin to translate the recording. It’s in code, which is both exciting and worrying. Steve finally recognizes the song in the background. It’s the song played on the mechanized pony. The recording was made in Hawkins!

Meanwhile, to Hopper’s relieved and drunken delight, Mileven is still dead. Max is sleeping over at Eleven’s. The two decide to use Eleven’s astral projection powers to eavesdrop on Mike and Lucas. This is conveniently the only time that Mike isn’t talking about how the break-up was all Hopper’s fault. Max and Eleven laugh when Mike and Lucas have a gas passing competition.

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Max and Eleven make up a spin-the-bottle game in order to decide who to eavesdrop on next. Billy wins. Eleven sees him telling the girl he kidnapped to be quiet and not to worry. He’s hunched over her, so Eleven can only hear the struggle the girl is having. Then, Billy can tell that Eleven is there. He turns around and can see her. He fades away. The shocked and scared look on Eleven’s eyes says it all: the Mind Flayer is loose.

Did you enjoy “The Mall Rats?” Do you like where Hopper’s character is in the early part of Stranger Things 3? Let’s discuss in the comments!

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