So Bob was leading Will to face the monster with this stupid Mr Baldo story. It's too much of a coincidence for anything else to be true. With that last cut of Bob's face, there's something sinister about that smile... The Pollywog is such a "Stranger Things" thing, it made me smile. And a bit like the Gremlins, it's not hard to work out there's something ugly hiding behind the surface, especially as Will's negative feelings, throwing him into the Upside- down, was triggered by it. Dustin is charming as usual. He's hilarious, there's no way the library scene wouldn't cause you to crack up.
There are some things that didn't work so well. Nancy, John and Steve have a love triangle emerging, a cliché which isn't welcome. Steve's "do you love me scene" is the kind of melodrama Stranger Things usually avoids. The "Pollywog gets loose in a school" is also a bit too cliché. And while the Eleven/Mike scene near the end is touching, this kind of holding back of their inevitable meeting to halfway through the season is unnecessary. We know they're going to meet each other at some point so this all feels a bit like padding.
These are minor quibbles though. The Pollywog is an entertaining, funny, touching and at times intense hour of television.
There are some things that didn't work so well. Nancy, John and Steve have a love triangle emerging, a cliché which isn't welcome. Steve's "do you love me scene" is the kind of melodrama Stranger Things usually avoids. The "Pollywog gets loose in a school" is also a bit too cliché. And while the Eleven/Mike scene near the end is touching, this kind of holding back of their inevitable meeting to halfway through the season is unnecessary. We know they're going to meet each other at some point so this all feels a bit like padding.
These are minor quibbles though. The Pollywog is an entertaining, funny, touching and at times intense hour of television.