Cold Open:
Evil Modine’s Government Facility: Hop is being a total badass and sneaks into the facility. He sneaks around the facility and hides in rooms as evil scientists go by in the halls. He goes through biohazard plastic and is about to head to the entrance to find Will. Hop runs into the shittiest security chief ever and kicks his ass and the ass of a Military Policeman. Hop – you win the badass award of 1983.
Joyce’s house: Lonnie is getting Joyce liquored up and generally trying to take over her life. Lonnie – who might be one of the earliest Mansplainers – tries to convince Joyce that all of this in her head. This show is really good at showing people’s reaction to grief and potential mental illness. The people are marginalized, ignored, and bossed around. It’s especially poignant because the show is postmodern gothic horror and the way “normal characters” deal with the people they can’t understand is truly medieval.
Evil Modine’s Government Facility: Hop continues to search for Will. He finds a room with a kid-sized bed and a drawing of two stick figures and a cat- a call back to where Evil Modine tried to harness El’s powers to diminish the local feline population. Hop’s face is cool rage. He’s certain that they have Will.
The director intercuts the boys’ discussion and Hop’s search for Will. The intercut between the boys’ discussion and Hop’s search is truly gooseflesh inducing. El is completely drained. The boys are going over what was said on the AV equipment. Lucas emotes that he is really tired of this shit. Hop has his pistol drawn and is being pursued by Evil Modine’s goons. The boy’s describe the World of the veil of shadows. Hop finds the elevator that leads down to the gate to the shadow world. Hop enters a hallway that the boys describe as – out of phase. There is evil snow coming down around Hop. Hop enters the room with the main portal to the shadow world and is grabbed and drugged. This story really grabs at the ancient themes of storytelling- Hop is the sullied knight on Crusade looking for redemption and he plays it perfectly! Fade to Black.
Roll Credits:
Joyce’s House: Creeper arrives home to see his Mom drinking and generally hanging out with Lonnie. Poor Creeper.
Funeral: Lonnie holds Court and shakes a lot of hands as if he is the man of the family and not a human-turd.
Hop’s Home: Hop wakes with sweat stains and surrounded by pills and booze. Hop tears his place apart like he’s looking for Rebel Plans of the Death Star. After much destruction, Hop finds what he’s been looking for- a listening device in his light fixture.
Evil Modine’s Government Facility: Evil Modine has decided that the monster is hanging around Will’s home.
Post Funeral: Nancy and Creeper are making plans to hunt down and kill the Monster. He gets a pistol out of his father’s glove box.
High school: A fake AV Club Repairman investigates the equipment that was fried by El.
The Wake: The boys go up to Mr. Clark and they have him lay some science down on them. Are there alternative universes? You bet! Does Mr. Clark know about Dungeons and Dragons? Right again! Does he explain that someone would have to create immense power to create a tear into another dimension much like the plot of Bioshock Infinite? OH YEAH!!! BTW, this tear could destroy us all and wonks up compasses as well.
Hop’s House: The deputies arrive and talk to Hop. They think he’s a bit nutty and we find out that Barb’s car was found at a bus station.
Joyce’s House: Lonnie talks about the Statler Corporation and how they need to be held accountable as he does some pretty shitty home repair. This gives Joyce a moment of clarity that perhaps Lonnie is infact a dirtbag.
Mike’s House: Dustin is experimenting with the compasses. He explains to his friends that the compass is not facing True North; instead, they must be pointing to the Evil Gate.
Joyce’s House: While Lonnie is showering, Joyce snoops in Lonnie’s stuff and discovers a personal injury attorney’s flyer.
Mike’s House: Nancy talks to Steve. It’s boring.
Joyce’s House: Joyce fights with Lonnie and tosses his ass out of her house.
Hop’s House: Hop is exhausted and calls his estranged wife. We learn that after their child’s death, she left, and now has a new family. Poor Hop.
The boys are trying to get to the portal via the local railroad tracks. El flashes to Evil Modine. He has her focus on a Commie. To accomplish this task, she must get into a scary bathtub with a helmet on her. Huh? The boys notice that El is acting stranger.
Nancy and Creeper are walking through the woods hunting for the Monster. They argue about her and Steve. Blah. Blah. Blah.
Joyce’s House: Joyce hears banging at her door and thinks it’s Lonnie. In fact, it’s Hop holding up a sign for her to be quiet. He looks at all of the lights that are up in her home that he must now check for listening devices and says, “Oh Jesus”. I have had to inspect Christmas Lights a time or two and it is a pain in the ass!
Junkyard: Dustin realizes the compasses are not leading them to the gate. Lucas discerns that it was El misleading them using her powers, discovering fresh nose-blood on her sleeve. She explains that [the gate] is not safe.
Joyce’s House: Hop’s finished checking the lights. He explains to Joyce that they bugged his place, they took Will, Will’s body was a fake, and she was right all along.
Lucas emotes that El likely opened the gate and that she might be the monster! Lucas and Mike fight and El launches Lucas into the air. El flashes to the evil bathtub. She goes to a totally black room with water in it that looks identical to the kill room in “Under the Skin”. Under the Skin is a must watch! She hears the commie talking and goes up to him. He can’t see her. While she is broadcasting the commie’s speech, she hears something horrible. A monster using sonar. She flees. We return to the Junkyard and Lucas comes to and storms off. El has also disappeared.
The Woods: Nancy and Creeper come upon a dying deer. They decide to put it down. In an act of knight-like chivalry (AHEM), Creeper attempts to shoot the deer. It is pulled into the darkness. Creeper and Nancy split up to look for the deer. Nancy sees a hole in a tree that is covered with evil slime and decides to go inside it alone and without any weapons because she’s really really smart. Nancy enters the shadow world and sees the Monster crouched and feeding on the deer. She attempts to back away and crushes a branch. The Monster turns and it’s face opens in four quadrants to reveal nothing but teeth and rage!
Roll Credits!
