Stranger Things: S2, E8

The demogorgons break free from their polycarbonate confines and run berserk, killing scientists left and right. Hopper takes control of the situation, leaving Joyce to stay invariably frantic, Bob wide-eyed and fascinated, and Paul Reiser not all that surprised.

But Bob manages to shine in this episode one last time before his demise. He reprograms the doors in an effort to contain the rampant demogorgon activity, but we all know where this ultimately gets him.

Mourning the loss of Bob, Joyce puts her anger and grief on her possessed son. Finally. Whenever this kid hasn't been knocked out on sedatives, he's done nothing but writhe and reel, and being back at home has been doing him no favors. 

Towards the end we finally get the meaning behind the title of this episode. Per Dustin, the mind flayer is another formidable Dungeons and Dragons monster which can only be killed by an "undead army." We're made to believe Will has become a medium for this mind flayer, a buffer between the netherworld and 1984 Hawkins.

At this point I'll admit I get a little lost. I can accept the possibility of a government experiment gone sour, but all of these Dungeons references are just too much. Why can't these upside-down monsters just be what they are--adverse byproducts of science.

One of the more crucial moments of the episode takes place at the end as well, when Dustin apologizes to Lucas about Dart. This was a long time coming. Why after all this time did Dustin finally decide it was a shitty idea to make a pet out of Dart? You'd think the headless features and expanding reptilian body would've been sufficient enough red flags.