The Good: This episode felt very much like a filler episode for me, but there were some excellent details. I loved seeing how Will grows into, but is also scared of, his role as a spy. Perhaps my favorite bit of this was the idea that Nancy and Jonathan actually discover a halfway sane conspiracy hunter. Yes, he’s obsessed, but he’s not stupid, and he has a scheme to release just enough truth to do the good that needs to be done. Brilliant. Also, I really like that Steve Harrington has not decided to retreat into being any kind of a dipshit, but is growing into a man enough to do what needs to be done, even when there is no real reward for it.
And we finally get our answers for what happened to El’s mother, and it’s heartbreaking. Bob begins to play a very useful role in the series, despite Winona Ryder screaming at him.

The Bad: You know, I have all the sympathy in the world for Will’s Mom, I really do, but I would really love it if she could do something beyond be hysterically shrill most of the time. I still want to kick Dustin’s ass. And the long-unresolved sexual tension between Nancy and Jonathan finally comes to a conclusion, but it’s taken so long that it was almost anticlimactic.

Further Questions: Will Dart’s escape have long-term consequences. Well, duh. Is Will going to die? Be back next episode? He seems to be losing a lot of ground, here.