Strangest Yet
Jul. 9th, 2022 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
evening_tsarDidn't wait so long for the third episode. This time I will try to be briefer:
- For all my gushing about Eddie Munson, this is the second episode in a row where they've given him nothing to do. One might have thought finding himself in the middle of one of his own D&D campaigns might have prompted more than purely monosyllabic reactions. We'll see what the future holds. Would seem an awful waste to hide him away in the - what was it? A fish tackle box? - the entire time.
- Lucas is finding temptation overwhelming. Things will come to a head soon - he's going to have to either give up popularity and acceptance for good, or see his friends beat-up and worse. Equivocating will not help him; that would necessitate a betrayal I doubt the old gang would forgive.
- Looks like Angela will not be appearing again. Good riddance! Possibly an interesting sub-plot, but doubtless would distract from the real business of confronting the Great Lovecraftian Horror lurking . . . somewhere.
- So why did El lie about everything going well in all her letters to Mike? Give her a break. She's new to the whole business of social interaction. Doubtless she didn't want her boyfriend to worry. More importantly, she herself probably wanted to believe what she wrote. That everything was fine, that she was widely accepted, and she was enjoying herself. Denial is a common response to disappointment and trauma. A defense against humiliation and disappointment. I find it utterly plausible that she would try to construct a counter narrative for herself, and on some level come to believe it. She would not be the first one to do so, and won't be the last. Cut her some slack.
- No surprise that Nancy and Robin don't quite get along. Very different people. I wonder if their later scenes will pass the Bechdel test. . .
Having jotted down these musings, I can now take in the next one!
- For all my gushing about Eddie Munson, this is the second episode in a row where they've given him nothing to do. One might have thought finding himself in the middle of one of his own D&D campaigns might have prompted more than purely monosyllabic reactions. We'll see what the future holds. Would seem an awful waste to hide him away in the - what was it? A fish tackle box? - the entire time.
- Lucas is finding temptation overwhelming. Things will come to a head soon - he's going to have to either give up popularity and acceptance for good, or see his friends beat-up and worse. Equivocating will not help him; that would necessitate a betrayal I doubt the old gang would forgive.
- Looks like Angela will not be appearing again. Good riddance! Possibly an interesting sub-plot, but doubtless would distract from the real business of confronting the Great Lovecraftian Horror lurking . . . somewhere.
- So why did El lie about everything going well in all her letters to Mike? Give her a break. She's new to the whole business of social interaction. Doubtless she didn't want her boyfriend to worry. More importantly, she herself probably wanted to believe what she wrote. That everything was fine, that she was widely accepted, and she was enjoying herself. Denial is a common response to disappointment and trauma. A defense against humiliation and disappointment. I find it utterly plausible that she would try to construct a counter narrative for herself, and on some level come to believe it. She would not be the first one to do so, and won't be the last. Cut her some slack.
- No surprise that Nancy and Robin don't quite get along. Very different people. I wonder if their later scenes will pass the Bechdel test. . .
Having jotted down these musings, I can now take in the next one!
