Stranger Things Season 1 Episode 2 Recap – The Weirdo on Maple Street

The Missing Kid

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas manage to take Eleven back to Mike’s house after finding her in the woods. Mike stops his friends from bombarding her with questions, clearly seeing that she’s scared and cold. He offers her a fresh change of clothes. She starts changing in front of them, which freaks the boys out. Mike takes her to the bathroom to change. She refuses to close the door all the way through and responds to Mike’s questions with a simple “yes” and “no”.

Dustin and Lucas wonder if she’s mentally sane, with the latter suggesting she could have escaped from an asylum. They suggest telling Mike’s mom about her but Mike reminds them they weren’t supposed to be out that night. If they get into trouble, they would never be able to find Will.

Mike decides to let her sleep for the night and plans to have her ring the doorbell at the front door so her mom could answer her. Karen Wheeler would likely know what to do by then and call Social Services. Once they’re in the clear, they can go out and look for Will once more.

Eleven

Mike creates a fort for the girl with chairs and blankets. He asks for her name, and she shows her the “011” tattoo, pointing to herself. Mike introduces his name as short for Michael, suggesting that they could do the same with her and call her “El”. Mike says goodnight, and she responds back.

Jonathan Byers tries to urge Joyce to have some breakfast, but she’s anxious over how many missing posters they should print out in the copy shop. Jim Hopper comes over and tells them they found nothing after searching that night. He came to investigate the phone call she received. Hopper sees the fried phone and thinks it must have been caused by the storm.

Joyce insists that she heard Will, and that he was scared. Hopper thinks it could’ve been a prank and Joyce lashes out that it’s not. Hooper decides to go to Lonnie to check. Jonathan offers to go instead of him but the officer tells him to stay and comfort his mom.

The Bad People

That morning, Mike puts an extra piece of Eggo waffles in his pockets to give to El. Mike tells her to go outside and ring the doorbell to meet with her mom but she refuses. From the grim look on her face, Mike realizes she’s in trouble and asks from whom. El mentions the bad people, and gestures a finger-gun.

Back in Hawkin’s Lab, Dr. Brenner hears Joyce insisting that she heard Will’s voice that night.

Steve invites Nancy for a party with his friends at his house since his parents would be out for the night. They see Jonathan putting out missing posters nearby and give some snide comments. Nancy approaches him and says she’s sorry about what happened.

Lucas and Dustin notice Mike’s seat is empty. Their friend is back at home, giving El a tour of the living room. She admires the family photos and the couch.

Meanwhile, Dr. Brenner and his team inspect the Byer’s household with their suits and instruments. Brenner finds the mysterious fluid in their back shed.

Missing Pieces

Eleven sees a picture of Mike and his friends winning the science fair. She points to Will’s picture with recognition. Suddenly, Mike’s mother comes home and hears them running. Mike hides El in the closet, promising to come back and not tell her secret. El goes inside and remembers her time being punished back at the lab.

Mike tells her mother that he doesn’t feel well. She doesn’t punish him, thinking that he’s still worried about Will’s disappearance. She urges him to tell her if she needs anything. Mike goes back to free El from the closet and finds her in tears.

Joys begs her employer at the store to give her an advance and asks for a new phone. She goes back home and installs it, waiting for another call.

The search for Will continues in the woods. Hopper warns Callahan not to stand near the cliff of Sattler Quarry, as that would mean certain death. Hopper gets a call from Benny’s Burgers and goes there to inspect. They find Benny dead, his death staged as a suicide.

Superpowers

Jonathan remembers he and Will listening to “Should I Stay or Should I Go” as they try to cope with their deadbeat father. He visits Lonnie’s house to look for Will but only finds disappointment.

Dustin and Lucas go back to Mike’s home, disappointed that El is still there. Mike tries to convince them that El recognized Will, and that it wasn’t a coincidence that they found her at the place where Will went missing. The bad people she mentioned could be the ones who’ve taken Will. Lucas insists on telling Karen about it, but the door shuts close as soon as he opens it and locks itself. The three look back at El with blood running down her nose. She says no.

Benny’s frequent customer, Earl, tells Hopper that there was a boy the previous day that tried to steal food. They show him Will’s photo but Earl says this one has a buzz cut.

Nancy tries to urge Barb to go with her to Steve’s place. Nancy convinces her mom to go, pretending that there’s an assembly for Will. Suddenly, El walks down the stairs into view. Dustin distracts them by slamming the table.

Mystery at the Lab

During the search, Mr. Clarke finds a piece of cloth down a drainpipe. They follow the path which leads to the fence at Hawkins lab. Later, Hopper wonders if he’s cursed, as events like these haven’t happened in Hawkins in years.

The three boys give El dinner and apologize for what happened earlier, saying they were just trying to find their friend. She asks what that word means, and they explain the concept to her, adding that they’ll do everything for each other.

El goes to Mike’s D&D table and takes Will’s figure. She flips the board and places the figure, saying he’s hiding there. When asked from whom, she takes the Demogorgon’s piece and places it beside Will’s.

Barb warns Nancy that Steve is only trying to get into her pants but she ignores her.

Barb

Jonathan goes to the woods to take pictures that might lead to Will. He hears a girl scream, which leads him to Steve’s house party. Barb cuts herself trying to open a beer can. Steve takes pictures as the couples jump into the pool.

That night, Joyce gets a call and hears Will’s voice, but the phone shocks her and fries once again. She screams in anguish, but then the lights flicker. The flashing lights lead her to Jonathan’s room, where the radio suddenly plays “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by itself. The lamp flickers one more time, and a humanoid figure emerges from the wall, causing her to panic and flee. After a brief scare, she decides to check it out once more.

Before Nancy could go to Steve’s room to change, Barb asks her what she was doing. Nancy insists that she’s fine and can find another way to go home, telling Barb to leave if she wants. Barb insists this isn’t like her.

Jonathan takes a picture of Nancy and Steve making out by the window. He also sees Barb alone and dejected by the pool. A drop of her blood falls into the water and it suddenly turns dark. A creature emerges and takes Barb.

Our Thoughts:

The show’s mystery and cinematography are top-notch. Rating: 4/5