History Recap / StrangerThingsS2E3ChapterThreeThePollywog

Mike enters the gym and hears something moving through the door to the boy's locker room; aiming himself with a mop, he searches the room only to be surprised by Max. Mike demands to know what she is doing here, and she answers that she also searching for Dart. Mike begins to leave the room as tells her to just go home, prompting Max to ask why he hates her. Mike answers that he doesn't hate her, as you can't hate someone you barely know. Max points that it is pretty clear that he doesn't want her in the party. Mike says that she is correct, saying they doesn't need another partymember, as he is the team's Paladin, Will is the Cleric, Dustin is the Bard, and Lucas is the Ranger, and El is the Mage. Puzzled, Max asks who "El" is, Mike that she is just someone who was in the party but she moved away. Undeterred by Mike's overt hostility towards her, Max points out that their party could always a "Zoomer", which Mike says is not a real thing, but Max starts driving her skateboard in circles around him, saying that she is clearly Zooming right now. She continues to drive in circles around Mike, who tells her to stop doing that as it is making him dizzy. Max cheekily answers that she will stop if she can be in the party. Her persistence starts to impress Mike, and in spite of himself he cannot but give her a genuinely warm smile as he chuckles at her antics. Unfortunately, Eleven just then walks up to the doors to the gym, and sees Mike and Max through the door windows. Noticing Mike smiling at Max, she thinks the two of them are flirting, and is utterly crushed by the sight, but that quickly gives way to anger, and she uses her powers to pull Max's skateboard away from under, causing Max to land on the ground with a thud. Mike quickly helps her up, while Eleven watches on the verge of tears. Mike asks what happened, and Max says that it was like a magnetic force grabbed her board from her. Max realizes that it sounds rather familiar, and runs out the gym to see if there is anyone there, but the hallway appears empty.

Mike enters the gym and hears something moving through the door to the boy's locker room; aiming himself with a mop, he searches the room only to be surprised by Max. Mike demands to know what she is doing here, and she answers that she also searching for Dart. Mike begins to leave the room as tells her to just go home, prompting Max to ask why he hates her. Mike answers that he doesn't hate her, as you can't hate someone you barely know. Max points that it is pretty clear that he doesn't want her in the party. Mike says that she is correct, saying they doesn't need another partymember, as he is the team's Paladin, Will is the Cleric, Dustin is the Bard, and Lucas is the Ranger, and El is the Mage. Puzzled, Max asks who "El" is, Mike that she is just someone who was in the party but she moved away. Undeterred by Mike's overtly hostility towards her, Max points out that their party could always a "Zoomer", which Mike says is not a real thing, but Max starts driving her skateboard in circles around him, saying that she is clearly Zooming right now. She continues to drive in circles around Mike, who tells her to stop doing that as it is making him dizzy. Max cheekily answers that she will stop if she can be in the party. Her persistence starts to impress Mike, and in spite of himself he cannot but give her a genuinely warm smile as he chuckles at her antics. Unfortunately, Eleven just then walks up to the doors to the gym, and sees Mike and Max through the door windows. Noticing Mike smiling at Max, she thinks the two of them are flirting, and is utterly crushed by the sight, but that quickly gives way to anger, and she uses her powers to pull Max's skateboard away from under, causing Max to land on the ground with a thud. Mike quickly helps her up, while Eleven watches on the verge of tears. Mike asks what happened, and Max says that it was like a magnetic force grabbed her board from her. Max realizes that it sounds rather familiar, and runs out the gym to see if there is anyone there, but the hallway appears empty.

She see Mike and Max together and thinks they are flirting.

Joyce watches a tape from Halloween night when Will had an episode about the Upside Down and see an image of Will's vision.

While searching for Dart, Will finds the creature in one of the school bathrooms. He has another episode where he is in the Upside Down facing the shadow creature. Taking Bob's advice to stand up to his fears, Will confronts the shadow monster, but it forces a tentacle down his throat.

* ShoutOut:
** When Dart escapes from the AV Club room, the ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'' theme song starts to play.
** Dustin names the Pollywog [[TheThreeMusketeers d'Artagnan]] after his favorite candy bar, 3 Musketeers. D'Artagnan is likely Dustin's favorite musketeer because he, like Dustin, is the "fourth musketeer" (Dustin is implied to have moved to Hawkins long after Mike, Lucas, and Will became friends).
** Dustin's turtle is named [[Creator/DrSeuss Yertle]].

Nancy and Jonathan meets in the lunch break to discuss what happened at the party. Jonathan assure her with a half-truth that Steve looked rather upset that night and asked him to drive her home. When he notices that Nancy still looks guilty, he tells that she shouldn't blame herself for what she said and that it is normal to blurt out stupid things when you're drunk. Nancy, though, can't help but wonder if she did it means, as she definitely feels that she can no longer just pretend that the situation with Barbra's parents is fine. Jonathan says he understands, telling her that he has also felt weighed down by the events last year. Nancy points that Will at least came back, but Jonathan says that Will hasn't really been the same since then, and he is unsure how to deal with it, having a strange feeling that things can never go quite back to the way they used to be. Nancy asks him if that doesn't make him angry, pointing out that the people who ruined their lives as well the lives of their friends and family got off pretty much scot-free. Jonathan assures that the people behind what happened are dead, but when Nancy asks if he really believes that, he doesn't answer. Nancy is then distracted by a walkman playing loudly and gets an idea. She asks Jonathan about Bob, remembering that he works at the local [=RadioShack=]. Jonathan asks her if she is planning something, but Nancy just asks if he is willing to skip the rest of the school with her.

Walking through the forest, Eleven passes by a mother playing with her child on a swing set. Moved by the sight, Eleven flashes back to Hopper reading aloud for her from ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables''. When Hopper gets to a passage about Anne describing being an orphan and losing her mother, Eleven asks her about her own mother. Hopper gives her sad look and explains in an apologetic tone that she is "gone". In response Eleven softly cries as Hopper resumes the story. Eleven is then brought back to the present, as the mother tries talking to her, asking her if her parents are around. Eleven doesn't answer her, instead asking her for instructions for how to get to the school. The mother gives her some directions before, worried, asking her again about her parents' whereabouts. Eleven distracts her by using her powers to make the swing move and pulls off a StealthHiBye when she isn't looking.

Nancy and Jonathan resolve to tell Barb's parents the truth about her disappearance.

Eleven leaves the cabin to look for Mike, ending up at the school. She see Mike and Max together and thinks they are flirting.

As the group gather in the AV room, Dustin careful takes out Dart of the Ghostbusters trap and shows it off to his friends. While Dustin describes the creature as "cute", all the others reacts with a combination of fascination and disgust towards it, with Lucas describing the sensation of having it his as hands holding "a living booger". Mike asks what exactly Dart is supposed to be, and Dustin points that it is really good question, as he thought to begin with that it was a non-aquatic [[TitleDrop pollywog]], but that doesn't fit with the biology books he has read with states that such animals are only found in India and South America, and the fact that Dart hates light suggests that he isn't a reptile. Dustin proudly says that by finding Dart, he might have discovered an entirely new species. Lucas suggests that Dustin shows Dart off to Mr. Clarke, but Dustin is sceptical about this, not wanting others to take credit for his discovery. In their excitement, the group falls to notice that Will stares with a disturbed look on his face at Dart, as he remembers coughing up the slug last Christmas as well as hearing the same sounds Dart emits the last time he was in the Upside Down...

Bob shows up at Joyce's work for her lunch break to share some sandwiches with her. Bob tells Joyce he loves her, and likes being with her family. He says that has noticed that Jonathan is a little hesitant about him, but he feels he is connecting quite well with Will, which Joyce also thinks is the case. Bob then mentions that he noticed that his video camera was a little damaged after Will came home from trick-and-treating, so he decided to watch the recorded footage to see how that happened, and saw that some older boys picking on Will that the evening. Joyce gets irate, asking if it where the Zimmerman brothers again. Bob smiles softly at this, telling Joyce that this is what he likes about her; the fact that she always punches back. Bob confesses as a kid and even as an adult, he has never really been the kind to fight back against bullies, so his adolescence was a bit of a struggle. But he points out that an adult, he gets to date a wonderful woman like Joyce, so everything worked out in the end. Joyce smiles at that and the two kiss.

Dustin decides to take Dart to school to show it to his friends. Will describes his experiences and concludes that Dart is from the Upside Down. While they are arguing, Dart escapes into the school. The boys and Max go looking for it.

In the present, Eleven is still angry with Hopper for breaking his promise from the night before, and sulks in her room, but Hopper manages to lure her out with promises of Eggos for breakfast. Over breakfast, Hopper, seeing the TV inside Eleven's room, asks her if she paid a mental visit to Mike last night, which she confirms, telling him that Mike said that he needs her. Apologetic, Hopper says that he is aware that she misses him, and promises her that she will able to be with him again soon, referring to making progress with Owens and his team. Frustrated, Eleven tells that "friends don't lie" and reminds him that she has heard the word "soon" many times before. Hopper said it would "soon" on Day 21, and on Day 205, and now he is saying it again today, which is Day 326. Hopper, disturbed that she is counting the days like that, ask her if she feels like a prisoner. Eleven doesn't answer and demands that he tells her when "soon" is. When Hopper can only with vague promises of "when its not dangerous anymore", she grows increasingly angry and finally uses her powers to push the contents of the breakfast all over his lap and uniform. Hopper is upset by this, but Eleven just repeats that "friends don't lie" and storms into her room in a huff, slamming and lock the door after her.

Dustin, meanwhile, is rushing to the school library to pick up books on reptile and amphibian biology. The librarian reminds him that he can only check out five books at the time, and he has currently already five checked out. Dustin tries to impress her with a speech about how the books are very important for his academic endeavors, but she reminds him that rules are rules. Dustin instead opts to distract her, and runs with the books when she is not looking.

As Bob drives Will to school, he asks if it was him who was walking about the house late last night, and Will answers it probably was. Bob asks him if he had another nightmare, but Will tries to deny this. Bob then relates to him the story of "Mr. Baldo", a clown that scared the living daylights out of him back when he was a child during a visit to an amusement park. Bob tells how he had terrible nightmares about being hunted by Mr. Baldo for several months after the incident. But eventually he mustered up his courage and instead of running from Mr. Baldo in his dreams, he instead stood his ground against him and then the nightmares stopped. Bob advises Will to do the same if he wants to conquer his own nightmares, and Will, greatly encouraged, takes his advice to heart.

As Bob drives Will to school, he asks if it was him who was walking about the house late last night, and Will answers it probably was. Bob asks him if he had another nightmare, but Will tries to deny this. Bob then relates to him the story of "Mr. Baldo", a clown that scared the living daylights out of him back when he was a child during a visit to an amusement park. Bob tells how he had terrible nightmares about being hunted by Mr. Baldo for several months after the incident. But eventually he mustered up his courage and instead of running from Mr. Baldo in his dreams and stood his ground against him and then the nightmares stopped. Bob advises Will to do the same if he wants to conquer his own nightmares, and Will, greatly encouraged, takes his advice to heart.

As Bob drives Will to school, he asks if it was him who was walking about the house late last night, and Will answers it probably was. Bob asks him if he had another nightmare, but Will tries to deny this. Bob then relates to him the story of "Mr. Baldo", a clown that scared the living daylights out of him back when he was a child during a visit to an amusement park. Bob tells how he was haunted by terrible nightmares about being hunted by Mr. Baldo for several months afterwards. But eventually he mustered up his courage and instead of running from Mr. Baldo in his dreams, he stood his ground against him and then the nightmares stopped. Bob advises Will to do the same if he wants to conquer his own nightmares, and Will, greatly encouraged, takes his advice to heart.

At the police station, Hopper compares his findings of dead tree with the ones of Callahan and Powell, making no secret of his irritation when Callahan admits that they stopped making the trees early because it was getting dark. Regardless, Hopper finds that he has enough data to circle the center of where this strange zone of death and decay is spreading from, namely the Hawkins National Laboratory.

Will arrives up to school and gets several cautious and suspicious looks from the other kids, while some keep their distance as he walks up to the entrance. In class, Mr. Clarke tells about the case of Phineas Gage, a man who survived getting a railway spike through his skull.

Bob drives Will to school, advising him to face up to his fears. He recounts how he managed to beat a series of reoccurring nightmares by facing the frightening aspect of his dream and telling it to go away.

In flashbacks, Eleven finds out that Hopper has been leaving food for her, and reveals her presence to him. He takes her to his grandfather's old cabin to live in secret.

In the present, Eleven, still angry with Hopper for failing to live up to his promises, decides that she will leave the cabin, where she has been stuck for 326 days.

Eleven, still angry with Hopper, failing to live up to his promises decides that she will leave the cabin, where she has been stuck for 326 days.

Upon finding the creature inside his garbage, Dustin decides to look after it and names it d'Artagnan, or Dart for short. He decides to show it to his friends, but they're not totally receptive to this new creature.

-->'''Bob''': You gotta find the [=RF-P1U=] with coaxial cable so you can connect the video ins and outs.
-->'''Joyce''': Bob, English.

-->'''Dustin''': We have a bond.
-->'''Mike''': A bond? Just because he likes nougat?

* LookBehindYou: Dustin successfully pulls this trick on the librarian when she refuses to let him check out more books.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Bob's advice to Will about facing his fears would have been great if the latter's BadDreams were of the mundane variety. Unfortunately, The Shadow Monster Will's been seeing is a [[NotSoImaginaryFriend very real threat]] that isn't phased at all by Will confronting it.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stranger_things_2_the_pollywog.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pollywog.jpg]]

Upon finding the creature inside his garbage, Dustin decides to look after it and names it D'Artagnan, or Dart for short. He decides to show it to his friends, but they're not totally receptive to this new creature.

* LookBehindYou: Dustin succesfully pulls this trick on the librarian when she refuses to let him check out more books.

* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic[=/=]StealthPun: "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" plays while Sheriff (Jim) Hopper and Eleven fix up their new home. Then she promptly messes around with him by breaking the "Don't Be Stupid" rules that he set down.