Stranger Things Season 3 Episode 2 Recap – The Mall Rats

A Success

Billy hears a screeching sound at the mill and scrambles to return to his car. He then goes to a payphone and calls 911. The lights flicker, and memories flash inside him as the operator asks about his emergency. Suddenly it all darkens, and Billy is transported to the Upside Down. He sees a group of people coming after him and asks them what he wants. To his surprise, the ringleader of the group is him.

It’s past 9:00 am. Eleven looks around, worried, and calls Mike. Mike nervously picks up and says he can’t come today since Nana is sick. It turns out that Karen was listening on another line. Mike yells at her to stay out of the line and promises El that he’s not lying. El bangs her door, upset. Hopper, however, couldn’t be happier.

The Chief visits Joyce at the store and tells her that his speech worked. This is the first day that Mike won’t be spending the day with El in months. He again asks Joyce to dinner to explain the details and promises that it wouldn’t be a date. Powell suddenly calls him as a massive group of protesters at Town Hall asking to halt the mall operations. Joyce discovers that the magnets in one of the aisles are falling off.

Nancy asks his boss to excuse herself over “girl problems” and takes Jonathan with her to her next story idea. Jonathan asks if it’s a good idea for her to do this secretly, but she would instead ask forgiveness for permission that won’t be granted.

The Message

Dustin introduces herself to Robin and gives an elaborate handshake to Steve. Steve learns about new Dustin’s girlfriend and hears about the radio transmission he received the previous night. Dustin proposes they could be True American heroes by sharing the Russian messages with the authorities. He’s there to ask Steve to help him translate.

Eleven visits Max while she’s skateboarding to ask for advice. She tells her the story, and Max figures that Mike is lying and possibly playing Atari with Lucas. El says friends don’t lie, but Max insists that boyfriends always lie. Max advises El to give Mike the silent treatment and dump his ass if he continues to withhold the truth. The two go out to have fun and forget the boys.

Meanwhile, Mike tells Lucas and Will about Hopper’s threats. Lucas agrees that Mike is in trouble while Will prepares the D&D board. He suggests that Mike can still recover, the same way that Max has dumped him five times already, and they keep going. The two of them go, leaving Will behind.

Mrs. Wheeler excuses herself from her friends to apologize to Billy for not showing up the other night. Billy’s whole body is drenched in sweat as he suffers from the heat, and he tells Karen to stay away from him. Billy returns to his post in a daze as the sun’s heat glares at him violently.

The Rabid Rats

Robin hears about Dustin and Steve’s plan to translate a Russian message and asks to listen since she’s bored.

Jonathan and Nancy visit Mrs. Driscoll, an elderly woman who shows them to her basement, where there are sacks of wrangled fertilizer bags that rats have eaten. She claims something’s wrong with these rats, and the other citizens must know.

Hopper visits Mayor Kline’s office and is asked to get rid of the protesters as they didn’t secure a permit beforehand. The Chief advises that this wouldn’t be good for his re-election, but the Mayor is confident that his Independence Day Party should be enough to get him there.

Max takes Eleven to the mall, who feels anxious that there are too many people around and it’s against their rules. Max tells her that she’s fine and she has superpowers. El looks around curiously, and Max takes her to shop at the gap. Meanwhile, Lucas, Max, and Will are nearby, looking for something to give El as an apology gift.

Max invites El to try on some clothes to define her style away from Hopper or Mike.

Joyce takes a stack of books with her to Mr. Clarke to ask him what’s happening to the magnets.

The Investigation

Nancy calls around other establishments to ask if they’re experiencing similar problems with rats. Jonathan takes a picture of the trapped one downstairs and notices it spasming, but Nancy calls him away to check another lead. The rat explodes, and its dead flesh starts crawling on the floor.

During his shift, Billy remembers his conversation at the Upside Down with his image calling him to build something. He stumbles back to the shower and notices dark veins in his arm. His coworker asks if she should call an ambulance.

While Max and El are shopping, Mike realizes that jewelry tends to be expensive. El buys a colorful outfit and goes with Max to take photos. A clique of girls looks at them angrily as they try on new shoes, so El pranks them later by making their soda explode. Max laughingly tells her that there’s more to life than stupid boys.

Robin and Dustin slowly piece together the first line of the Russian message, which reads: “the week is long.” Steve shrugs it off as if nothing interesting before serving Max and El some ice cream. He asks if El is allowed to be here, and they giggle. The two girls stumble upon Mike, Lucas, and Will while picking up their bikes, and a confrontation ensues. Mike asks El what she’s doing here, to which she responds: “shopping.” Mike scolds Max for taking her here, but she insists that El is not his pet. El asks him why she treats her like garbage and says his Nana is sick. Lucas backs Mike up, saying they’re here for Nana.

Disruption

El calls him a liar and dumps his ass before returning to the bus. Max gives her a high-five, and Will asks if they can play D&D now.

Hopper follows Kline’s request to arrest the protesters at the Town Hall. Later that night, he goes to the restaurant dressed in a colorful shirt and suit, waiting for Joyce. Meanwhile, Joyce is still at Mr. Clarke’s garage, explaining how fluctuations in electromagnetic fields can cause magnets to lose their charge and stop working.

Clarke says that the incidents she found at home and the store might be coincidental, but Joyce worries that it may not be the case. He says that could only be possible if a sizeable electromagnetic device is nearby disrupting the magnets.

The Code

Starcourt has closed for the night, but Robin, Steve, and Dustin are still in the kitchen reading their finished translation. It says: “The week is long; the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west.” Steve thinks it’s wrong, but the other two insist they’re right. Dustin suggests it might be a code, and Robin agrees. Steve asks for a quarter and puts it in the mechanical horse. The song “Daisy Bell” plays, which matches precisely with the one in the transmission. This likely means that the code came from the mall.

Joyce doesn’t show up to dinner, so Hopper takes his wine and heads home. Billy returns to the steel mill after abducting his coworker, and he offers her to the flesh creature hiding inside.

Our Thoughts

The show remains fun despite the many plotlines, and there’s something here for everyone. Rating: 4.4/5