'Stranger Things' - "Chapter Five: Dig Dug" Recap

It may have taken awhile, but there’s a lot going on now in Stranger Things 2. “Chapter Five: Dig Dug” manages to balance the multiple storylines with ease and create another thrilling episode.

Lucas decides it’s finally time to fill Max in on everything the Party went through the previous year. She understandably doesn’t believe the story, finding it too outlandish and “derivative”. Nice meta joke there from the writers, who clearly lean way into their nostalgic inspirations.

While Lucas is busy with Max, and Mike is off with Will, Dustin is left to deal with Dart the demogorgan on his own. After managing to trap it in his basement, Dustin has the great fortune of bumping into Steve Harrington and acquiring his help. Dustin and Steve is not a combination I ever considered, but now that it’s happening it’s truly all I could have ever wanted.

Eleven has disobeyed Hopper and left the cabin, searching for her birth mother, Terry Ives. She finds Mama comatose in her home, repeating the same random phrases on a loop. Eleven tries to communicate with Mama to discover the meanings behind her ramblings, but is left with more questions than answers. Eleven would need to search elsewhere if she wanted to unlock the secrets of her past.

Nancy and Jonathan, armed with a taped confession by Dr. Owens about the death of Barb, pay a visit to Murray Bauman to seek advice on their best course of action. He turns out to not be the giant, manipulative crackpot Hopper assumed him to be, offering very legitimate advice. No one would believe the story of the Upside Down and demogorgans, no matter how real it may have been. But if Nancy and Jonathan can spin the story as Hawkins Labs running experiments that led to gas killing Barb, prompting a coverup? Well, that just might work.

The main crux of the episode is the rescue mission for Hopper. After entering the Upside Down tunnel, he’s been captured by the vines. Luckily, puzzle-master Bob recognizes Will’s crayon drawings to be a map of Hawkins and he’s able to pinpoint Hopper’s exact location. So Bob, Joyce, Mike, and Will speed over to the pumpkin patch to save the town sheriff. They manage to free Hopper from the vines’ grip just as a team from Hawkins Labs show up to burn the tunnel. As the tunnel begins to burn, Will collapses and screams in agonizing pain. He feels like he’s burning from the inside. It’s on that ominous image that the episode cuts to black.

It would appear that when the Shadow Monster engulfed Will it formed some sort of connection with him. If Will can feel the monster’s pain, what would happen if they killed it? It’s an interesting and potentially devastating new wrinkle to the season that I’m very excited to follow.

Another great chapter in Stranger Things 2, and it looks like things will only continue to escalate from here. What did you think? Leave your thoughts on "Chapter Five: Dig Dug" in the comments below!