I'm curious to see the reaction to episode 7 on this board. That's the one that seems to be dividing critics. I thought it was kind of a Repo Man for kids--a bold move, though some are calling it a backdoor pilot.

premise for a spinoff series.

A number of critics really seem to dislike episode seven. For whatever reason, it might be my favorite. I know that they veered away from the plot right near the end; I thought it was kind of bold to do this, even if there's a cynical aspect which is just to set up a new show. While the characters are mostly just caricatures of '80s punks, it was kind of fun to see a left turn. Eleven/Jane is the heart of the show, the way I see it and we needed something to do with her.

Unless Steve is now the new heart of the show. I really enjoyed the material with him as the big brother figure and talking up hairsprays. I also liked Bob--he just might become the new Barb for the young memeing generation.

People are saying this season went further away from Spielberg (or at least I think I read this somewhere), but there were a number of moments that reminded me directly of Jurassic Park.

The '80s nostalgia was really heavy the first few episodes; it didn't really come back strong until the final 20 minutes of the season which were...sort of a drag for me. The overall arc of this season was basically the same as last season too, and yet I think I enjoyed this one more.

Of the new characters I liked the conspiracy guy, but really wasn't getting anything out of Billy and Maxine--with one exception--the return of the basketball montage.

There was also a heavy Gremlins feel with Dusty nurturing a pet that ends up being monstrous. I swear the soundtrack referenced the movie too at one point.