Welcome to Fandom Shmandom, the fandom podcast
that covers everything you love and more. I'm
Sam Williams. And I'm Sierra Obermark. Today's
episode, we will be flippantly factualizing about
Stranger Things Season 2, Episode 9. And without
further ado, we will, as Roger Smith says, dive
on in. So get up to 88, because it's time to
travel back to our story recap. Of the finale
of season two, Elle is here. She's alive, and
call him Mike Tyson, because he's ready to rip
off Hopper's ears if he could reach. But never
fear, Billy is here. Dressed almost precisely
like one of her romance novel covers, Billy confronts
Mrs. Wheeler with charm, grace, and pure animal
magnetism. Considering what we know about her
husband, Ted, have your moment of admiration,
girl. But, considering his age and what we generally
know about Billy, leave it at this one moment
and run. And or someone should potentially call
the cops on her. Mike, once again, miraculously
has the perfect plan. He has literally no other
talents but Plan Man, but sure, he comes up with
a great strategy again. Kill the Mind Flayer
and Will is dead, so save Will, then close the
gate. Which is actually super right and super
what they all do. The team splits. Joyce, Jonathan,
and Nancy, who definitely belongs there, and
is just as invested in Will as the other two.
They need to burn the Mind Flayer out of Will.
El and Hop head off to close the gate, and on
the way, Hopper explains why he has been so protective
of El. Let me tell you, folks, a grown man coming
to terms with his faults, expressing his thoughts
and emotions, apologizing for his effect on others.
We at Fandom Shmandum love to see it. Steve and
the Babysitter's Club. new band name, I'm calling
it now, are called upon by one Mr. Billy, not
Gene, not Eilish, and not Boyd, Billy Hargrove,
and it's mullet versus quaff. And Steve the Hare
Harrington loses. Ring the bells, end of round,
Steve is 0 for 2 in fights. But Max stabs Billy
with drugs and threatens his manhood with Steve's
bat. And on top of that, steals his car. She
really is the best. Mind Flayer Will decides
to choke out Joyce, and Jonathan can't do squat
about it. But Nancy can. Pumping the room with
heat and fire, Nancy stabs Will with a fire poker,
and then the Mind Flayer shoots out of him. Safe
at last. Waking up to Mad Max driving, the most
obvious reference to that actual movie franchise,
how did I not see it coming and how did I not
notice until this watch through, the kids have
driven Steve to the hole that Hopper dug, book
title, and are en route to burn the tunnel. The
babies have a plan. Burn at Vine HQ and the Demodogs
will come. which works and lures the dog away
for Hopper and Elle to close the gate. Hopper
plays sniper against the demo dogs, which do
happen to be close enough to run back towards
them after Elle starts to close the gate, and
Elle realizes she can use two hands to make her
power double in strength. We're never going to
get through it without laughing. Dustin proves
that he and Dart have a connection, using three
musketeers to help them all escape. In a hugely
satisfying moment, it levitates and screams,
tapping into the horrors of her past. She shuts
the gate, managing not to burn up in the process.
One month later. The lab has been condemned.
Murray is high on his success from the explosive
reveal of the danger in Hawkins, and Barbara
is finally put to rest. Sam comes through for
Hopper and Elle in a real way, providing Jane
Hopper a birth certificate. Everyone is getting
ready for the snowball. Will dancing in the living
room with Joyce. Mike dealing with embarrassing
photos. Lucas trying to figure out how to ask
Max to dance. Max having her hair done while
threatening Billy with her glare, and Dustin
using Steve's secret hair tips. At the dance,
the dreaded slow song comes on. Let the coupling
begin! Max and Lucas, Will with some random girl
that rudely calls him zombie boy, and he's like,
okay, fine, I guess. Dustin, who tries to ask
multiple girls. Before Nancy sees him and gives
him the street cred he needs. Which leaves Mike,
to my very great pleasure, alone. Enter Elle,
looking adorable. And they have a great moment.
Want to dance? I don't know how. I don't either.
Want to figure it out together? Max and Lucas
share a small kiss. Elle and Mike share a small
kiss. Out in the parking lot, Joyce and Hopper
share, you guessed it, a cigarette and a hug.
Everything seems right in the world. This world,
but upside down. The mind flayer remains. Roll
credits! Find your donut holes? It is time for
our Knives Out category, where we sleuth out
which three storylines are the most vital to
pay attention to. Number one, burning of the
tunnels, Steve and the kids. Number two, closing
of the gate, Hopper and Elle. And number three,
smoking out the shadow, Nancy and the Byers.
Number one, burning of the tunnels, Steve and
the kids. So everyone separated up. We've got
Nancy with the Byers. We've got Hop and Elle
going to close the gate. And we've got Steve
babysitting all the little wee kiddos. Steve
is basically saying, we've been benched. And
they're like, no, we're not even in the game.
And he's like, right, well, we're on the side.
And they're like, they're not going to call us
in for a play. And he's like, right, you just
stick with the plan. We're not doing anything.
And the kids can't put up with that. They come
up with this plan, okay, that the demo dogs can
be distracted away from where Hopper and L are
to close the gate. And they can use the hive
mind. And before Steve can shut it down, Billy
shows up. One Mr. Billy Hargroves. Shut it down.
Shut it down. So Billy shows up and beats Steve
to a pulp, which had been coming all season.
You know, they'd been facing off in basketball
and in the showers and now at a random person's
house. And to be fair, Max and the kids are not
hiding well at all. So Steve's like, I don't
know. She's not here. And Billy's like, she's
literally in the window, bud. And so they fight.
And it doesn't go well for Steve. But Max is
there. She spots the sedating will drugs and
stabs Billy in the neck, takes Steve's bat, and
then threatens Billy's manhood. And he's like,
great, I'll leave you alone. Which, like, yeah,
to be fair, if I got stabbed in the neck by my
little sister and then my jewels had been threatened,
I'd be like, you got it. That's how that goes.
Here's the keys. Here's the keys. Here's the
keys. And speaking of, she definitely takes the
car with little blocks on her feet, and they
drive out to Hopper's Hole. They drop down in
the vines, they go to Grand Central Station,
and they burn it where all the vines meet, which
gets the demo dogs to come running up to them,
where Dustin is able to then distract Dart, who's
sort of guarding their way, with some nougat.
proving that they have a connection which is
awfully confusing uh what do we think is important
about this one sierra i think well first of all
from a story standpoint this is needed because
if the demo dogs were not distracted at all it
would make things a lot more difficult for ellen
hopper yeah hopper is already having a very difficult
time with the dogs when they do show up so thinking
about how overwhelmed they would be had the dogs
been there the whole time would be they probably
wouldn't have made it out so from a story standpoint
that's the importance i think from a general
standpoint i think the most important thing is
Steve's growth in his character. This is really
where he is fully, fully in babysitter mode and
really taking all these kids under his wing.
It further cements the connection between Steve
and Dustin. And then also, we do have a little
bit of the Dustin and Dart connection to explore,
but I feel like it's not explored further. After
this. So it's one of those things that could
have potentially spiraled into a much more interesting
storyline, plotline type of thing. So unless
that's going to come up again in season five,
it kind of has gone nowhere so far. But it could
be something very interesting if they wanted
to bring that back in. So Steve's character growth
here obviously is a huge deal, like you were
saying. But I, on this watch through, knowing
where Steve and Dustin's relationship is heading
for next season and how Steve and Nancy's relationship
will happen in season four, I was like, oh, good.
I like to see this. This is a nice moment for
him. His character growth continues to be great.
It seems like the writers really like his character,
et cetera, et cetera. The dart thing was brand
new, sort of thinking -wise for me, where I'm
like, wait, dart? Does have a connection with
Dustin. Yeah. He's not innately evil. And he's
connected to the hive mind. But is he connected
to the hive mind because that's how all creatures
are in the Upside Down? Or has it been infected
and these are actually creatures that could be
nurtured? Could be intelligent? Could be all
sorts of different things. And it just made me
be like, why haven't we gotten more of this?
This idea of, like, everybody's corruptible but
not everything is corrupted? And that's just
mind -boggling for me in this rewatch. Yeah,
I think it's a little bit of a missed opportunity.
Yeah. Because this could be a very fascinating
plotline to follow, especially with where we
end up with Hopper coming across these again.
And it's still not really explored. They're just,
you know, he's just using his... ability is to
get out of there and his knowledge of having
fought them in the past but it doesn't really
explore that they can form a connection or that
they have any sort of critical thinking or emotional
in intelligence so i really think that I mean,
maybe they'll bring it back in season five. Maybe.
That's my hope, that they wouldn't have introduced
something this interesting without having some
sort of a connection again. Yeah, totally. To
wrap it all up, but who knows? And given the
fact that they do have a connection, it makes
me feel even worse about the previous hockey
stick throw that Dustin does. Oh, so much. Which
I, like, ugh. I just, it's so heartbreaking.
And now that we know that like, hey, I felt bad
and like Dustin goes and apologizes to him about
it. Yeah. And so he starts, he stops growling.
It's just like, wait, there's so much intelligence
here. The lack of aggression, the backing off,
the letting them pass, the, all of it's just
so good. And it makes me wonder like. I know
that they probably don't want to do something
as cliche as, like, you can break the hive mind
connection through love. But I'm sort of like,
but is there anything there that they can do?
Like, are we going to, like, for how Star Wars
Rise of Skywalker was initially a duel of fates
and they had a whole storm trooper uprising and
revolt written in that script. I'm like, are
we going to, for season five, have a Demogorgon
slash Demodog revolt? That would be awesome.
But we'll see. Oh, that would be. Very interesting.
I like it. Well, the next plot line that we should
be really focusing on is the closing of the gate,
which is Hopper and Elle's storyline. So Elle
sees the note with Will saying to close the gate,
and then Hopper and Elle set off to do this.
On the way, they have this really, really sweet
heart -to -heart hop. explains his feelings and
his emotions and all of these things able to
set boundaries it's amazing why he cares about
her and why it's hard that he cares about her
and what he's gone through in the past and how
he hopes they can have this connection and it's
all very very sweet and definitely feels like
he thinks maybe one of them is not going to make
it out of this and which is all the more nice
that they do. Hopper then, when they get to the
lab, finds Sam, who is still alive and still
there hanging out, and gives him a gun. Says,
all right, you just continue to stay here. Don't
go anywhere. Don't go anywhere. We'll be back.
Yeah, bye. Which is really... A nice little lighthearted
moment right before they go to potentially certain
doom. And then when they get down, I just I love
the this is a kind of a side, but I love the
visuals of the gate itself and lowering down
as they're descending to get midway through the
gate so she can get. I don't know, central access
or something like that. I'm not exactly sure
why they have to descend, but they do. So after
they descend, she starts to close the gate. As
soon as she starts to close the gate, all the
demodogs that have been distracted are now called
back. So now they're all rushing. Hopper is just
trying to keep them away from Elle as long as
possible so that she can keep closing the gate.
She uses two hands and starts levitating in the
air and screaming and bleeding and all of these
things. But she does close the gate and Hopper
is able to carry her out of there, which is excellent.
Yeah. So there's a couple of different really
important things in here. But one of the sort
of oddities of this moment is the fact that...
sam has been attacked dr sam the psychiatrist
has been attacked and not eaten unlike bob uh
and so i i imagine the like they might have even
shot an explanation for this or at least written
one but i imagine that it was sort of like hey
uh the demo dogs ran away for this other time
right when i was leaving because the hive mind
happened to call them away and that's why he's
alive there Because otherwise, anyone who's been
attacked, fully attacked by a Demo Dog or a Demogorgon,
that's not one of the main people, has been killed.
So... Yeah. That's certainly... Especially somebody
who's been, like, hurt enough to just stay still.
So unless he, like, choked out the Demo Dog,
I'm not exactly sure how he's alive. But in terms
of the actual important things, to your point,
doubling down on, like, L's need for... physical
proximity to be close. And we'll see this in
like season three when she like explodes Soda
at a mall, right? Like the closer she is, it
seems like the more she can focus her power and
the stronger it gets. So sort of lowering down.
I know it's also there for the visual. Like the
visual is great. You've got this, you know, this
little girl against this huge gate. And they're
trying to sort of recreate that moment of when
Millie Bobby Brown is really tiny in the first
season going up against the Demogorgon. But it
works really well here. But it also establishes
a bit more of like, okay, she really needs to
be out in front of the thing in order. To maximize
her power there. That. And also like a little
bit of Sarah stuff. That we get with Hopper's.
You know past daughter. And that sort of. Comparison
with Elle's situation. And him being really concerned
for her. And wanting to do everything he possibly
can. To keep her safe is really nice. But also
this is one of my favorite moments. In Stranger
Things. Is the moment of Hopper playing Sniper.
The first time watching it. Just being. on the
edge of your seat being like, is he going to
get it? What's happening here? And then he has
to switch guns to a shotgun. And it's just like
the constant movement and stress that occurs
and just how awesome Jim Hopper's actor, David
Harbour, just how great David Harbour's physical
acting and movement is as she shifts over to
a side and over to another side, over to this
side. It's like the most intense, violent version
of whack -a -mole. And it's just so great. that's
a great comparison and i do really enjoy the
this sounds weird but i really enjoy the stressful
situations in stranger things because i feel
like there is often a little bit of a lag in
terms of stakes because you're not anticipating
any of the main characters to die really and
so You kind of have this expectation that on
some level, they're all going to make it through.
However, there are those moments, I feel, you
know, maybe once or twice a season or so, when
you really do start to feel for at least one
main character's life. And this is one of those
moments. And I do very much enjoy the edge of
your seat quality that it brings. Obviously,
the... importance of closing the gate to the
overall story speaks for itself yeah so i think
apart from that just the connection between hopper
and l is so key yeah because it really sets up
from here on with him being her father yes on
paper i mean and and in practice as well so you
know at the end of this episode he becomes her
father and so It's a nice change from Hoppa being
the dad that she knows. Yeah. And now it's Hop
and he might not know much. Exactly. He might
not know much about parenting a teenager, but
he'll learn. He will. He will absolutely learn.
Well, and to your point about main characters
dying, you know, we went through. all of season
one and the entire main group doesn't die. We've
get side characters who die, but the entire group
doesn't die. And so it's a really good effective
use of killing off Bob earlier in this season
to make you think, oh man, like Bob is a main
character. Maybe somebody in here is actually
going to die. And eventually, you know, they
play with this idea throughout season three.
And then of course with Max in season four. Right.
So, you know, it's a really requisite idea to
have to kill off somebody major in season two,
and it happens to be the character that you've
introduced, Bob. Yeah. Yeah, it's a good effective
use of that. So the third one, smoking out the
shadow, Nancy and the Byers. Okay, so this is
where Mike realizes closing the gate will kill
Will. Joyce realizes they need to stop appeasing
it, and instead of... It likes it cold. Okay,
well, then I'm gonna make it hot. The whole idea
is that Will is the host to a virus of the Mind
Flayer. So Jonathan's like, we gotta make the
host uninhabitable. So they go to this little
shack. They heat up the house as much as possible.
fireplace uh actual space heaters 1980s space
heaters so that awful sound when you turn it
on so good uh it's awesome it really makes everything
so eerie and then really brings it back brings
me back brings me back oh gosh and then uh mind
flayer sort of fully takes over will starts Killing
Joyce. Jonathan can't do a single thing about
it. And Nancy, of all people, weirdly in this
buyer's only story, is like, I'll be the one
to save it. And she grabs this hot poker. Now,
when she's doing this hot poker is also when
Steve has just lit Grand Central Station on fire.
So there's probably a bit of two forces coming
here. Where the Mind Flayer's been hurt majorly
at its central location. And also will... is
uninhabitable and then hit with a fire poker
um and that releases the shadow monster so sierra
what is important why are we going over this
particular storyline i think that the key here
is the host to virus or shadow monster whatever
that key whatever that is that relationship so
the relationship between shadow monster and host
Obviously such a very, very, very key factor
of season three. So this is really bringing it
along of, okay, the monster has been ejected
from Will. We are burning the vines. Elle is
closing the gate. Where's the shadow monster
going? It's out of Will, but we don't see it
go through the gate. So, this moment is really
what sets up season three. And, you know, yes,
Elle closing the gate closes season two, but
this is what sets up season three. Yeah. So,
the fact that it does not leave, it is out of
will, it has been rejected by the host, it still
needs to go somewhere. Yeah. So... That's the
key part, is just this is how the story continues.
And the other... I don't know that there is too
much in terms of the relationships between these
particular characters that develops the way that
the other two storylines have. So this storyline,
to me, feels very much plot -focused and plot
-heavy. Yes, oh, I totally agree. It's really,
really... Amping that up. And just how it weaves
in with the other two. Because they have to have
the timing right. In order for this all to work
out. And those scenes are so short. Like they're
so. Like you're saying. Those scenes set up the
tempo of the show. They set up the plot points.
Of let's save Will. And how do we move to season
three. But also they include. They really set
the tone in sort of horror elements. Before you
get to Hopper and his sniper moments. Because
you've got Will. In his bedroom. just you know
and then like choking and it's all of these like
very classic horror moments yeah it really sets
the tone and the stage and it's i mean the acting
is really phenomenal i will say yeah i will say
i hate you leave you love me i do i do yeah no
i think um You're right on the money there. It
doesn't really do anything for the characters
that much, right? It wraps up the Joyce Will
story. Jonathan and Nancy have already wrapped
up sort of as soon as they reach everybody. But
also at the beginning of this, Steve is the one
that tells Nancy to go with Jonathan. Right.
And he's accepting of his sort of role of no
longer being her boyfriend. He's like, you know,
I may have been a shitty boyfriend, but I'm one
hell of a babysitter. That's his quote. It's
an awesome line that he has. And that really
sort of wraps up that Steve and Nancy moment.
But that's it. And then the rest of the episode
is just sort of like, all right, well, let's
have this occur and figure out how we save Will.
So that everybody who cares about that kid knows
what happens. But it really is sort of devoid
of any sort of character moment, unlike Hop and
Elle. Or Steve and the kids sort of solidifying
more of how this relationship is going to work
in the future. Right. Yeah, exactly. Well, keep
your finger on the pause button. And rewind that
tape, Sierra. It's time for the prestige category.
What did we notice on this watch through? Mike?
and Nancy are highly intelligent and good at
thinking on their feet for having the parents
that they do. Yes, this is a diss on their parents.
I don't know what Ted does for a job. We only
ever see him sleeping on the couch or the chair
and watching TV and not answering the door or
the phone. And Mrs. Wheeler, seems to be very
much a kind of valium mom yeah absolutely she's
not quite really there she doesn't really know
where her kids are at all times she's there she's
doing stuff she's tolerating everybody she's
trying to keep the family in one piece as much
as she can but neither of them seem all that
put together mentally and so the fact that Two
of their three children, which we don't know
much about the youngest girl other than somehow
she's connected to the Upside Down because she
can have these kind of moments with it that are
not explained. But other than that, we don't
really know anything about her. But Mike and
Nancy are very smart people who come up with
these brilliant plans who are able to rally people
to whatever their plot is going to be. Where
do they get it from? Yeah, absolutely. Where
do they get it from? To your point, both parents
have no idea what's going on. I don't understand
it, but good on them. Like, I guess good on them.
This speaks to being absentee parents. You let
your kids flourish. I guess the moral of the
lesson is just don't pay attention and then they'll
be okay. Or if you're being a little bit more
optimistic, let go and let God. sure yeah yeah
we'll go with that totally so it seems a little
malcolm in the middle oh man so speaking of nancy
i think i might have answered this question in
my head but i still kind of like on the first
watch it's like yeah nancy's with jonathan of
course she's been with jonathan the whole time
and then i'm also kind of like why the heck is
nancy with the buyers And then, you know, you
go back and you watch Steve being like, hey,
you should go with him. And it's clear that she
and Jonathan are an item now. And it's clear
that she wants to go and support her man. And
so I think that's fine enough. But it is still
kind of weird to just have Nancy there. Yeah,
I was thinking about that because of your question
here. And I guess it just doesn't make sense
for her to be anywhere else. She wouldn't be
with Alan Hopper. That doesn't make any sense
at all. That makes less sense than this. Going
with Steve and the kids only makes sense if you
think that she and Mike are kind of a collective
that would be paired up in this instance. Yeah.
But then that means that she's with Steve and
not with Jonathan. Right. Which would be weird
as well. They're very much trying to transition
her away from Steve to Jonathan. Exactly. I think
this is really just the only place that Nancy
somewhat fits in this particular set of plots.
So sorry, you were just kind of thrown into it.
Well, I'm like, they write the scene of Steve
telling her to go, which I think was them being
like, how do we get Nancy to go with the buyers
and have buy -in from the audience? And it's
a little contrived, but because we get that awesome
babysitter line, I'm okay with it. Yeah. Yeah.
I would agree. I would agree. And then. What
we also have that I was realizing more of just
the depth of it. So Steve and Dustin. Steve becomes
the sibling that Dustin doesn't have. Everyone
else has at least one sibling. And except for
Lucas, nobody's the oldest as well. So Will's
the younger brother. Mike's the younger brother.
Then... Dustin is an only child, and then Lucas
is the older brother. Without a dad. And he's
without a dad. Without a dad. Yeah. Yeah, so
Dustin doesn't have a dad. You know, Will doesn't
really either. Yeah. Not a present one. He's
got Jonathan as dad brother. Brother. Right.
If you would. Yeah, so Jonathan is filling kind
of both of those roles for him. But Dustin doesn't
have a male figure in his life. Or a sibling
in his life at all, which is partially why I
think he's so attached to his friends and why
season three hits him so hard because he's not
with them anymore. And he doesn't have anybody
really to fall back on. And Steve really steps
into that role of being that brother, that dad
figure, all of the above that he just doesn't
have. And I'm like, my... My baby boy. My boy.
Sorry for everybody who just had to listen through
that. My apologies. Anyway, I just, it really
hit me on this watch through. Just how much he
is. How much they are forming that relationship
and that bond. Which is great. And what a great
moment for Dustin to be like, hey man, you don't
understand how the party's going to work. You
have to be a good party member and we need protection.
Which is essentially Steve's initiation into
this party. Again, without Mike's permission.
But nobody needs to have Mike's permission because
Mike sucks! And also, this is a democracy. Yeah.
Another thing that I really... thought of on
this watch through because I had thought this
a little bit in the past, but when Elle is closing
the gate, she's focusing with all of her might
and she's doing the hand outstretched and everything.
And then she does the two hands. I just kept
waiting for Elle to tap into love instead of
hate here. I feel like I said this in the last
episode too, but it really hit me. in this moment
because I feel like it may be a conditioned cliche
response to other media, whatever, but it did
really feel like a good moment to go from upsetting
memories of whatever is going on in her life
to then seeing, you know, Hop, Mike's face, smiling.
You wanted your expected patronum. You wanted
your patronus. I did. I really did. And we don't
get that here. And I'm not sure if I'm happy
that we don't get it because it's not the same
as other things. Or if I'm upset because it feels
as though it would have been right in the moment.
So I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to me... I have
a hard time with Elle's two hands thing. Because
it... What is she finding more horrible memories
from her time? What is she tapping into to get
more power? We need more. More power. Unlimited
power. Unlimited power. Yeah. Okay. Where is
she getting it from? It felt like that transition
was missing for me. And if we go from hate to
love. Yeah, yeah. You've got it. You have tapped
into a wonderful, weird little thing. We've been
talking about Elle's powers so much in every
episode, being like, how does this really work?
And this is a huge moment, because we have only
ever seen Elle use powers with hate, with fury,
with anger. And I think this is why people are
talking about, like, is Elle going to be turned
dark and need to be killed in season five? And,
you know, is Vector going to get, you know, killed
halfway through is the mid -season finale. And
then Elle becomes the real enemy because she's
the one using hatred. Or are we going to have
a switch over to love? So that's one thing. But
the other thing, too, is, like, to your point,
is she, like, hating more when the second hand
comes out? Or is she just realizing then that,
like, the second hand helps with the psychic
movement? That there's a link between, like,
amount of physical effort exerted? To the psychic?
It's really unclear. Go for it. I'm just thinking
now, potentially, it could be a psychosomatic
thing. Yeah. Where she's not actually drawing
any more power. She's just so exhausted by that
point. that she has to do something to continue
to push that power through. Like trying to hit
your second wind. Exactly. When she hits that
second handout, it's not like the gate starts
closing faster or anything like that. It just
continues to close. So I almost feel like it
is that physical representation of the pushing
through of the exhaustion and everything. Yeah,
I just think it's an odd thing because then it
also does prompt the whole levitation situation,
which could again be she's just focusing so hard
and really pushing through her limits, which
also causes a physical reaction. that is also
now moving through her. I will say also, this
whole secondhand thing, I just can't help but
laugh of it because it's just such a silly gimmick
to be like, there's always more power behind
what's going on. So there's this awesome Family
Guy bit where they're making fun of Star Trek
and they're trying to outrun something in Family
Guy style. They switch over to the characters.
Kirk is like, Scotty, we need more power. And
Scotty's like, I'm literally giving it all she's
got, Captain. Except in a Scottish accent. And
then Scotty rings back in. He's like, actually,
Captain, I just realized that the lever, I've
only been pushing it halfway. Like, it can go
all the way up. And it's like, oh, okay, great,
Scotty. That's awesome. And then Scotty calls
back in. What is it, Scotty? I'm so sorry, Captain.
I just realized there's a whole nother lever
that you can push that's right next to it to
make it go double the speed that we're going
now. That's great. Captain, I just, I really
want to apologize. It's okay, Scotty. You don't
know. Derek died because of this. I literally
told his wife at the funeral, I was giving it
all she's got, but I wasn't. I wasn't giving
it all she's got. And that's kind of what this
feels like to me, where it's like, oh, L, you
didn't realize that your second arm was double
the power. What the heck? Okay, Sierra, I have
a contravency. Contravency, you say? A contravency.
Wow. You will remember that beginning of the
season was a great Halloween episode. Yes. And
that not very many days have transpired by the
time we get to the closing of the gate. You will
agree? Yes. And then we have one month later.
It comes up on the screen. Am I wrong? No, you
are not wrong. Which means it's December in Indiana,
and they're about to have the snowball, or whatever
it's called. Everyone needs to go back and watch
this. When Hawkins Lab closes, there are way
too many green leaves everywhere. What were they
thinking? Why did they shoot it like this? It's
winter! It's Christmas! It's the winter dance!
It's, like, full blaring spring! Like, those
are happy, gorgeous trees whose leaves have just
stretched out. I do not understand why they did
this. I just remember you texting me that, and
I just lost it. It's too green! Why? Why is it
green? Any of my like, this is really stupid
or wait, this is in this. This was the mixture
of those two. Oh my gosh. So funny. It was so
stupid. But it's also awkward school dance time.
Yes. Which just, I love it. The school dances
in media, in real life. Always have been and
always will be a universal bizarre mix of emotions
and weird teenage craziness and hormones or lack
thereof or awkwardness that abounds. I don't
think there will ever be a middle school dance.
That goes off without a hitch for everybody.
And isn't just so awkward. I want to say. Don't
get me wrong. I had great times at middle school
dances. Terrible time for me. They're all awkward.
They're terrible. They're all awkward. They're
super terrible. I will say, Dustin, what an immaculately
courageous human being. So good. He just, like,
I could have never. asked three girls in a row
with that level of rejection it was one and done
like turn me to dust i'm and sweep me out the
door i'm dead yeah with those when those two
girls just like look at him give them that like
look and then back now the heck out of there
i was like nope what cruelty call cps they're
not even the the parents this is cruelty to a
minor yeah kids are mean In case you needed a
reminder, teenagers are mean and they suck. Yeah.
Oh my gosh. Okay, but speaking of somebody who's
not that mean, Nancy, is she not the best here?
She's pretty great. Like, seeing Dustin just
look absolutely like a puddle in his wonderful
hair, in his great suit, and she just goes over
and she's like, let's dance. And then all of
these girls that are around Dustin's age are
like, Nancy Wheeler. gorgeous goodness extraordinaire
of hawkins is dancing with dusty buns craziness
and then he gets the street credit and it's all
good and also what a sweet line when she's like
you know of all my brother's friends you're my
favorite so cute and also like i fast forward
to when they're like 32 and 30 and they get married
because nancy has black widowed both steve and
jonathan uh watch out dustin she's after you
You don't always have to face down a horde of
angry soldiers by yourself. Buckle up, Schmisseners.
It is time for our Sansa is smarter than Jon
category for what is the most important character
moment this episode. We've talked about the important
character moments. We have. It's time to determine
the most important. Yeah. My argument, Hopper.
Fessing up with Eleven, explaining his feelings,
detailing his emotions, his whole thought process,
and subconscious thought processes. What an amazing
whole situation that he has put himself in. I
love it. It's great. It also doesn't last very
long. And this is the reason why I think my choice
is the right one. Because Hopper starts off the
next season. Not knowing how to do any of the
things that he just did in this car. He is flabbergasted
at the ability to create boundaries and talk
about emotions and do all of these things that
he literally just did. He's in the midst in this
episode of having a heart to heart. And then
Joyce is like, you should have a heart to heart
in episode one of season three. And he goes,
what's a heart to heart? What are you talking
about? You just had one a couple months ago.
Like six months ago. uh and so that's why i believe
that my pick of steve saying no i'm leading give
me the torch we're going through this tunnels
with me in front and i'm making sure all of you
stay safe and then when they do get to the exit
the fact that he is the one boosting everybody
out of there and doesn't try and save himself
solidifying steve's complete character growth
development and giving us the steve that does
actually remain consistent for the next two seasons
is uh is the winner here it you you cannot sway
me fiend until he's drugged up in a movie theater
shush that's not his fault that's really not
those darn ruskies I'll give it to Steve. I will.
I shall capitulate. Hopper gets a lot of great
stuff and Steve's is so good in this one. That's
true. I know you just lost that argument and
that hand, Sierra. But listen up. For it's the
I am your father category for most iconic character
moment. So, we haven't talked that much about
it in this episode. For most iconic character
moment, Sierra. How is it not Billy and Mrs.
Wheeler? For who? For Billy or for Mrs. Wheeler?
For either. I would argue Mrs. Wheeler more than
anybody because all we've seen her is be like
in this sort of loveless marriage with not knowing
where the kids are and just mad or sad or. And
then here she is in this bathtub reading who's
basically Billy Hargrove on the cover of her
romance book. And then, you know, is it Ted?
Ted won't get the door. He's asleep. And so she
has to put on a robe and come down. She's all
dolled out. And then there's Billy ready to seduce
her, which we do not advocate for. They are minors
and majors in this case, apparently. Minors and
adults. But it's just such an iconic scene in
this entire thing. It's like one of the things
that I remember most from this season. Really?
Yeah, absolutely. Anytime I think of Billy and
Mrs. Wheeler, I think of next season. Yes, I
totally get that. But I went into season three
being like, I'm so excited for this weird little
side story of Billy and Mrs. Wheeler. And then,
of course, it doesn't go anywhere. But I do like
it. Okay, so it's probably not Billy and Mrs.
Weaver. It's probably actually because of what
we've talked about earlier, Dustin and Dart's
Three Musketeers moment, because the implication
of a demo What's It Not Being Evil is just so
huge. Yeah, I also, I get behind this for sure,
because it's also a really nice courageous moment
for Dustin, which carries forward into the next
season especially. Of him kind of leading the
charge and doing investigating all on his own
and all of those things. And so I feel like this
is a really nice moment of courage for him to
approach Dart, not knowing what's going to happen.
Is the bond strong enough? We don't know. You
know, an interdimensional creature or an alternate
dimension creature. accepting the chocolate you're
giving yeah it is a pretty far stretch so and
it works it works but nobody would have bet on
it nope so i think it's a really nice just dustin
moment in general 100 agreed everybody sit down
it's time for our i am iron man Most iconic and
most important scene category. It's Eleven rising
into the air while closing the gate. There's
nothing else. It's that. It's, again, that iconic
moment of her rising with the huge red gate while
she's cast in shadows. It's awesome. It's cinematic.
It's what it is. It's the winner. Certainly.
Which means that we can just crack open our encyclopedia
because it's time for, as Elijah Wood once said,
no, how could we have known category where we
discuss the most important information disseminated
to the fandom in this episode, which I think
is just like hammering down on Eleven's powers
are emotions based. And it's not just like turned
up by emotions. They are emotions based. It's
sort of like there's not really a system of like
you. You have to have a circle drawn in the sand
and stars, or you need to constantly eat, like,
this magical thing or draw on the power of these
beasts over here. Like, the magical system for
her powers is that they are emotions -based,
and we know she gets physically drained by that.
And so to tap into her emotions in order to do
sensory deprivation, like, all of that, it all
comes into a neat little package here where it's
like, okay, the strength is fueled by emotions,
specifically strong. And so I think back to the
flashback of 8 basically saying, hate, let it
flow through you, which is actually confirming
Eleven's telekinesis isn't a different part of
her, but directly intertwined to her brainwaves
and emotions. No notes. No notes. Excellent.
No notes. It really is the most important thing
going into going. kind of prepping us for season
five I think it's definitely the most important
information that we get because we don't actually
get a lot of stuff happens in this episode but
there's not a lot of new or developing information
besides the fact that potentially the shadow
monster is not within the gate because it came
out of will and we didn't see it again and also
the L's powers are emotions so I think those
are really the only two topics to discuss. Big
moments. And also, it's interesting, too, because
at the end of season three, we'll see Elle lose
powers in what seems to be a physical injury
problem. And then they kind of write themselves
into a corner into season four, trying to explain
how actually it is an emotions problem. So, that's
an interesting component of what's coming up.
And then in terms of season five, like you're
saying, with the monster not being... In the
gate, which is why season three does its whole
thing. Very interesting here to note how similar
it is to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Where you, and this is a spoiler, so skip the
next ten seconds if you don't want to hear it.
Where, like, the Obscurus in the first one just,
like, survives somehow and is floating in the
background and nobody notices. And then he's
just in the second movie. So, that's fun. Keep
your horses safe. It's the I'm going to make
him an offer he can't refuse category of best
lines. One day I will say it exactly like it's
said in The Godfather and everyone will be shocked.
But until then, you will enjoy my many voices
because I will say it differently every single
time. It's just who I am. Here it is. I may be
a shitty boyfriend, but turns out I'm actually
a damn good babysitter. Yep, it's great. No notes.
Once again. Steve the Hare Harrington for the
win. 100%. Best line of the episode. One of the
best lines of the series. Incredible. Yep. Dust
off that card deck and get ready to shuffle.
It's our Joker category. For who is the MVP of
this episode? It's Steve. It's Steve the Hare
Harrington. And he keeps all the babies safe.
He leads the mission. He's the one that throws
the stupid lighter on the flames and gets Hopper
and Elle safe to close the gate. Like, without
Steve, they do nothing. And also kind of with
Steve, they almost don't do nothing. But when
he gets on board... He does his job and he does
his job well. He's got the best line. He's got
the best sort of motivation. He, it's just, it's
great. I love everything to do with Steve in
this episode. Yes. I seconded, I don't even have
an honorable mention for this one. I think it's
out and out Steve. It's really interesting how
that happened in this episode because there are
great moments for Joyce and Will and Nancy and
Jonathan. Like they have a great, they have awesome
acting moments and great scenes. Elle and Hopper
have awesome like heart to heart. And then these
really cool moments. But, like, the charisma
that Steve has, especially with Dustin, but in
this role, his acting is just so phenomenal in
a way that elevates his character for this episode.
And even though they're not the main story, he's
by far the best part of this episode. Oh, yeah.
Definitely. Really comes out as the star. Yeah.
He does. We dying over there? Pound for pound.
Is it Sam? Okay. Okay. He's in this episode for
approximately 30 seconds. Oh, Sierra, I love
this. I love you bringing in a pound for pound
argument. Okay. First of all, his name's Sam,
so I will give him already a leg up. Because
there are not that many Sams in the fictional
universe that I'm, like, super behind. So, okay.
And he also kind of fits into like the stereotypical
Sam where it's like Samwise Gamgee and the Sam
and like other ones that it's like, yeah, we're
all portly short people. But. Not Sam Winchester.
That's so true. That's so true. And not Sam Obasanya
either from Ted Lasso. But listen, pound for
pound, you're right. He's in the episodes for
like maybe three minutes total. He's injured,
but he lives. He lives a demo dog when so many
other people haven't. He's handed a gun. He laughs
about it. And then he gets Hopper and Elle the
birth certificate. You're so right. This is a
pound for pound for the amount of minutes that
he's in this episode. He works. He works. I'm
just saying. He also portion controls in this
episode. He. He. Is a great man for the three
minutes that he is on screen. He makes the most
of every second. There is no wasted time with
this man. In all honesty, that actor really does
pull, and not in a bad way, he really does draw
attention and really kills in every scene that
he's in in this season. He really does. Just
saying. You don't have me quite so convinced,
but man, it's close. Yeah. He doesn't have to
be the MVP. He's the pound -for -pound MVP. There's
no argument when it comes to that kind of going.
Pound -for -pound, no. Oh, my gosh. Pound -for
-pound MVP. But he's, like, I'm almost tempted
to call him the actual MVP. Yes. I'm so happy
right now. Well done. Thank you. Usually that's
my corner. Thank you, thank you. Well done. I
know. Okay, moving on. Occasionally a brainwave.
Clean your... evil air and get ready for our
i was the turkey all along category four what
is the biggest takeaway viewers should leave
with in preparation for season five my biggest
takeaway fire is your friend when it comes to
the upside down it sounds like a joke however
it's really not It helps in season three, too.
It does. Man, why don't they take... When Max
is getting hunted by Vecna, why doesn't she bring
fire with her? They know it works. We will...
The world will never know. The world will never
know. Okay. Because she brings her Walkman with
her. Anyways, we'll get there when we get to
season four. The one that I have in here is that
it's 100 % that Vecna took Will in season one.
There's an... Awesome little moment where when
Eleven uses two hands and starts to levitate,
the entire electromagnetic field in Hawkins changes.
And it's when the same exact sound of light flickering
in the buyer's house happens. That happens in
the buyer's shed when Will is hiding in there
at the beginning of season one. That's not Demogorgon
stuff. That's not what Demogorgons can do. Now,
there is some electricity outages and stuff when
weird stuff is happening. And, like, clearly
you can interact with lights to attract monsters
and attract people. But that sound, I think,
is, to me, one of the biggest proofs that Vecna
took Will in Season 1. So there we go. I like
it. Thank you. Let's keep building that folder.
Yeah, absolutely. You are such a person that
works for a financial company. Let's keep building
that folder. What other business jargon you got
for me? No, my next one was going to be, I see
you have a cork board in the background there.
Get out your red string. Absolutely. I am 100
% Charlie Day when it comes to this. Okay, for
today's public service announcement, please note
all eligible middle schoolers and high schoolers,
always have a backup option for a date. No one
wants to see you alone at a dance and throw an
older sister pity party for your little twerp's
brother's friend. Get yourself a backup option
and make sure you come with a date to the dance.
End of PSA. And on that lovely note, thank you
listener schmissners for listening to this episode
of Fandom Schmandom. If you'd like to discuss
this episode or any other episode we've done,
please hit us up on our social media channels.
You can find us on TikTok and Instagram at fandomshmandumpod
and on X at fandom underscore shmandum. Please
don't forget to rate and review us if you liked
the episode. It really helps with the algorithm
placing us in front of other like -minded schmissners
out there. And with that, we're out, y 'all.
Don't forget to tip your middle school chaperones.
And fare thee well! Whatever our outro is, it
goes right here. This sounds like a Christian
science hymn. Onward, klishners, mishners, marching
to nerd out. With the hand of Vecna going on
before. Fandom Schmandum was created by Sam Williams
and Ciara Obermark. The show is produced by Aurelia
Lieb. The editor is Brittany Fisher. The music
is by Jeremiah Alves. Fandom, fandom, fandom,
fandom. That's me recording. Britt. Britt. Britt.
Britt. Britt. Oh, I'm so sorry, Britt. That's
going to look like Sierra and I sunk up like
85 ,000 different times. Okay, here we go. Oh,
well. Fandom. Fandom. Fandom. Yo. Yo. Yo. Fandom.
You've never had so many fandoms. Fandom. Fandom.
Fandom. Great. Clap for me, Sierra. Send me into
the void with your spanky hands. Send me into
the shadow realm. Yes? No? Okay. Yes, I loved
it. I was laughing. Thank you. Thank you. The
shadow realm. Alright. Spanky hands. Did you
just realize what I said? No, I just, I tried
to move on from it, and then I thought about
it again. And then you got pulled back in by
me saying spanky hands? Yes. Yeah. Ring the bells.
End of round. Steve is 0 for 2 in fights. No,
no, Sierra. Stop. Wait. It's 0 for 2. It's 0
for 2 and you can't say 0 for 2. My God. Did
I say 0? I read it in my head as 0. You said
0 for 2 and I'm like, no one in the history of
sports in the English language has ever said
0 for 2. 0 for 2. Yeah, I know. Okay. And then
Elle realizes she can use two hands to make her
power double in strength. I know we're in the
middle of a story recap, but I've got to tell
you, when I was writing that bit, Sierra, God,
that really got me. It's so funny. So there's
this great... Put this at the end, Britt, because
I really shouldn't interrupt here right now,
but... Sorry, I'm really... He's crying. I just,
I really got myself with my own writing on my
own. Can use two hands. Okay. God, can use two
hands. Two slappy hands. Two spanky hands. Two
spanky hands. Okay. Hopper plays sniper against
the Demi -Dogs, who, Demi -Dogs, it's Demo. I
keep writing Demi. I didn't know until I was
reading subtitles it was Demo, to be fair. One
month later. I gotta do it again. Hold on. Like
the SpongeBob. Yeah, yeah. One month later. Yes.
Find your donut holes. It is time for our Knives
Out category, where we... We didn't fix it. Sleuth.
It's sleuth. Sleuth. Sleuth. The pause of both
of us being like, wait, what's the word? The
like, the like glaze in our eyes. I know it's
not either of the ones that we wrote. Sleuth?
Sus? Sleuth? Sleuth. We've been sleuth saying
this all day. We've been sleuth, sleuth saying,
sleuth saying. Uh, we've been sleuth -slaying.
Sleuth -slaying? She wants to go on support.
Support. Support. Support a moon. Uh, and it's
- Support him. The, like, movement helps with
the psychotic movements in some way, shape, or
form. The psychotic movements. What the f***
am I talking about? But how is - Oh my gosh.
Wow. Way too long of a pause. Oh. Is it? Melon.
Yeah, for real. It's what brings us. It's what
brings us. It's what brings your hands together
today. Keep your horses safe because it is time.
Going back. Sorry. Wow. We're flubbing a lot
today. Please note, all edgeable. Oh, gosh. All
edgeable. Nope. Definitely not what I'm trying
to say. No. And on that lovely note, thank you
for... Oh, my God. I, like, lost it. I've been
right there. Thank you for... And I'm done. I
have hit eject on this sentence. There's an escape
pod going through there where the Empire's like,
nah, there's no life forms on board. Definitely
no brainwaves, I'll tell you that much. Yep.