Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 2 Recap – Trick or Treat, Freak

In Hiding

In a flashback, after Eleven defeats the Demogorgon, she is taken inside the Upside Down version of Hawkins Middle. She looks around in search of Mike to no avail and finds the portal that the Demogorgon used to breach the real world. She makes the gap larger and returns to the real world. El wanders back to Mike’s home on foot to find the Hawkins personnel surrounding and searching it.

Inside, an agent interrogates Mike, who swears never to tell them, even if he knows where El is. El looks into the window and hears the agents tell Mike that she’s a dangerous person, and Mike notices her, which alerts the agents. They conduct a massive search through the woods, which forces El to hide.

At present, El startles Hopper with her ghost costume while he prepares breakfast. She asks him if she could trick or treat and reasons that she won’t be noticed if she wears the costume. Hopper reminds her of the rules and tells her they don’t take stupid risks. Seeing that she’s upset, Hopper teaches her the concept of a compromise and promises that they can watch TV this evening and eat candy instead. She agrees.

Joyce becomes anxious after not finding Will on his bed when he is on the toilet. Will wears his ghostbusters costume, and her mother finds his drawing of the spider-like creature. She asks if he’s had another episode, but he says it’s only a drawing.

The Ghostbusters

Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will go to school in matching ghostbusters costumes after their parents enthusiastically take their pictures. The four meet in school, but Mike notices that Lucas is playing Venkman just as he is. Lucas argues that he doesn’t want to be Winston just because he’s black, and the two go at it. Suddenly, Dustin notices that no one else is wearing costumes except them. They walk the halls with everyone else laughing and calling them “the nerds.” Lucas and Dustin watch Max pass by on her skateboard, but the two procrastinate, asking her to join them.

Joyce and Hopper inspect Will’s drawing and see that it matches the outside view of their house. She’s worried about his episodes and how Will regards them as genuine. Hopper dismisses them as mere flashbacks from the traumatic experience, but Joyce isn’t satisfied. He thinks the anniversary effect is causing all of them to go on edge, and they should wait it out.

Back in Hawkins lab, Dr. Owens guides a researcher who steps inside the Upside Down gate to fix a power outlet they’ve installed inside. Later, Owens reviews Will’s previous examination anxiously.

Nancy and Steve are studying in the library when she finds someone who looks like a barb. Steve knocks her out of it, but later, Nancy complains that everyone has forgotten about Barbara and is urging her to tell someone the truth. Steve reminds her that doing so could lead them to jail and destroy their families. He asks her to pretend to be expected and have fun at the Halloween party later.

Mysterious Events

Dustin and Lucas approach Max at the lockers and invite her to their trick-or-treating group, seeing as she may not have friends yet. She ignores them, but Dustin tells her the time and place anyway.

Eleven watches TV, flipping the channels with her mind. She hears a noise outside and sees a squirrel visit her feeder. She remembers when she was alone in the woods and used to kill squirrels and roast them in a fire. A hunter finds her once and asks what she’s doing alone in the cold. In response, she knocks the man out and steals his jacket and hat.

Hopper returns to the station to find Eugene reporting that his pumpkin patch has withered. He thinks Merrill is the culprit since he constantly accuses him of doing the same. Eugene says he has never seen something like this in his many years of farming and reports that other families have dead crops as well.

On the car ride home, Max’s stepbrother, Billy Hargrove, complains that Hawkins is an awful place. Max thinks it’s not too bad but complains that it’s her fault they’re stuck here. He forces her to say it was her fault, but she doesn’t budge, so Billy speeds up the car. Suddenly Max sees the three ghostbusters biking home, so he asks him to slow down, and Billy cuts them off, forcing the boys to swivel onto the dirt.

Trick or Treat

Hopper checks Eugene’s crops and sees that the rot has penetrated the woods. Callahan and Powell are in another field, reporting the same corruption. Hopper marks the area with flags. His search continued until nighttime when he forgot his arrangement with El.

Bob lends Jonathan his camcorder as he accompanies Will to trick-or-treating. Will complains that he has a chaperone and thinks it’s lame, so Jonathan cuts him a deal that he’ll leave him alone if he stays in the neighborhood. He goes to the high school Halloween party, where Billy downs a whole keg and becomes the night’s highlight. Steve asks Nancy to take it easy with the drinks, but she reminds him this was his idea. Nancy’s shirt gets stained as she copes with her guilt. Steve tries to comfort her, but she pushes him off, saying their love is bullshit.

Joyce feels anxious at home with Will not around, so Bob asks her about moving out so they can leave their old memories behind.

El learns via Morse code that Hopper is running late. She remembers when she found the stash of Eggos he left in the woods.

Max startles the three boys with her Mike Myers costume. Lucas and Dustin laugh giddily and follow her to the next house. Mike’s mood turns sour as they don’t ask his permission. Some kids startle Will and call him Zombie Boy, taking him to the Upside Down, where he finds the gigantic creature again. He runs and hides in the back when Mike snaps him out of it. Mike takes Will home, where Will explains that he feels stuck between the two places. He tells him about the massive shadow in the sky but asks not to tell anyone as they won’t understand.

Contact

Mike says Eleven would understand as she always did. Mike talks about seeing her in places, thinking that he’s crazy. Will says he’s crazy too, and Mike tells him they can go crazy together.

Jonathan finds Nancy drunk in her car, so he takes her back home to her bed. He takes off her shoes and tucks her in, and she dozes off while calling his name.

Hopper returns home carrying the stash of candy he bought from a trick-or-treating boy. She opens the door with her mind but doesn’t open her room when Hopper asks to come in. Hopper then threatens to eat all the candy on the couch. Eleven has taken the TV back to her room. She puts a blindfold on and searches for Mike, who she finds using the Supercom back in his blanket fort. Eleven moves in close to him, and Mike senses her for a second but storms off in disappointment.

Back home, Dustin finds the trashcan violently shaking; he opens it up and curses at what he sees.

Our thoughts

Connecting the two seasons’ storylines seems effortless in this show. Rating: 4.2/5