Stranger Things season 2, episode 3, The Pollywog, recap: who's afraid of Mr Baldo?

Warning: this recap contains spoilers!

The plot thickens as we reach episode three of Netflix’s returning sci-fi/horror blockbuster. And by “thicken” we mean it has grown tentacles and started slithering around like a small screen cousin of HR Giger’s Alien. This was the instalment Stranger Things 2 truly distinguished itself from the previous season, with an emphasis on psychological horror as Will stood up to his demons – only for the demons to suffocate him with lashings of dust and ickiness. 

The big question for now is whether “d’Artagnan” the putrid slime-thing that Dustin has befriended is connected to the looming monster of the Upside Down visions. The other major imponderable is whether Will has come to a sticky end as – following Bob’s advice – he shouted at the vast, silhouetted apparition to go away. It did the precise opposite, swallowing him with its tentacles in a unnerving final scene.

Elsewhere, fans of Eleven will have been disappointed as her story continues to chug along in the slow lane. She’s jealous that Mike has befriended – or at least ceased hating – Max. Meanwhile, the world is probably going to end. We know which plot line we care about. Is Eleven at risk of becoming a bit part in a show that was supposed to be, to a significant degree, about her and her struggles?

1. Should Dustin be keeping a demon tadpole in his bedroom? 

Another call back – this time to the "don't feed the Mogwai after midnight" scene in Gremlins as Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) cooed over the putrescent slime-monster he had found in the bin. He christened the critter d'Artagnan – and then fell asleep. Obviously this is going to end terribly for everyone concerned, as chillingly foreshadowed by the pet’s blood-curdling shriek in the dark. Until now, the protagonists of Stranger Things have acted in a generally rational fashion. So a special prize to Dustin, the first character in this Eighties horror movie pastiche to behave as stupidly as people did in Eighties horror movies. 

2. They're still stringing out Eleven’s rebooted 'origin' story 

Does it matter how Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) reconnected? The Duffers seem to think so as we had another flashback, this time to their meeting in the snow. Brown and Harbour worked hard at selling us the significance of the moment – but how much weight could we attach in their get-together give that we have already seen them living as an unlikely father-daughter combo? More significant was their present tense exchange regarding Eleven's psychic visits to Mike. "When is soon?" demanded Eleven, desperate to leave her hide-out and make contact with the outside world. 

3. Joyce and Bob aren't dead!

You almost had us, Stranger Things, with your dramatic fade to black as Bob (Sean Astin) answered the door to trick or treaters in the previous episode. Nothing had in fact happened to him or his girlfriend (Winona Ryder) – disappointingly, in the case of the plywood Bob. 

4. Were you terrified by Bob's Mr Baldo Story? (Yes you were)

The combination of scary ambient music and Astin's creepy, Agent Cooper-esque performance conjured surprise bonus chills as Bob drove Will (Noah Schnapps) to school. Mr Baldo was a Pennywise-style horror who had haunted Joyce’s boyfriend as a child and, as the soundtrack bubbled and boiled, you half (actually three-quarters) expected the monster to manifest in the back seat. 

The anecdote, in fact, had a ruinous impact on Will – who, as per Bob’s recommendation, subsequently puffed his chest and faced the Upside Down demon. For his troubles, he was enmeshed in whirling tentacles. Unfortunate for Will – but what do you expect when you go up against supernatural forces armed only with your advice from your mother’s dorky boyfriend?

5. Expect the popularity of crooner Jim Croce to soar

Stranger Things's enthusiasm for pressing our nostalgia buttons is tempered by the Duffers Brothers’s determination to look beyond the usual cliches. A case in point: the record by Seventies folkie Jim Croce which Hopper played as, in flashback, he and Eleven spruced up the house in the woods. Another show would have slapped on Cat Stevens and gone on its merry way. A willingness to go further and sweat the details sets Stranger Things apart.

Stranger Things | Season 2 recaps

6. Wait... now we're feeling sorry for Steve? 

The swaggering jock with John Hughes movie hair and big fluffy heart, Steve (Joe Keery) was one of last year's most multi-layered characters. So it was – genuinely –  excruciating watching the sometime bully have his emotions shattered as he confronted post-drunken night out Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and dared her to say she loved him. She demurred – and a little of us all died inside. 

7. Please, Stranger Things kids, get rid of the 'pollywog' right now!

Everyone was fascinated with Dustin’s new pet – apart from Will, who had a flashback to the scene in the previous season in which he coughed up a slime creature. Is "d'Artagnan" that beastie grown bigger – and might the giant monster Will has seen looming over Hawkins be its ultimate “evolved” form? 

8. Jealous Eleven is terrifying (not as terrifying as Mr Baldo)

Having slipped free of Hopper's wood cabin, Eleven made her way to Mike's school – only to see her friend (Finn Wolfhard) apparently hanging with Max (Sadie Sink). She jerked her head and down Max tumbled off her skateboard. We don’t like Eleven when she's angry.