Stranger Things 5 Episode 6 Review – “Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz”

Though “Escape from Camazotz”, the incredibly busy antepenultimate episode of Stranger Things, is ultimately defined by its many twists, turns, and big reveals, much of the episode’s focus is really on bringing so many different pieces of story to resolution. Max and Holly’s escape from Vecna’s mind prison, the end of Jonathan and Nancy’s relationship, the reveal of the Upside Down as a wormhole holding two worlds together… though these stories vary wildly in the meaning and emotion they provide to the show’s final stretch of episodes, there’s a definite “it’s about time” feeling when it comes to the bigger swings of “Escape from Camazotz”, sandwiched between another Demogorgon attack on the Hawkins hospital (seriously – how is this place still standing?) and Eleven and company’s attempt to save Will one more time – which, surprisingly, provides a solid foundation for one of the best entries of season five.

“Escape from Camazotz” begins by learning an important lesson from “Chapter Five: Shock Jock” is that any longwinded elucidations go better when it is A) delivered by Dustin Henderson, and B) is accompanied by an incredibly anxious escape from the Upside Down by Hopper, Eleven, and Eight – a sequence that not only bids a tearful farewell to Steve’s iconic BMW, but reveals the Upside Down as a wormhole connecting two worlds together (the other of which presumably contains the wet, fleshy beating hearts Vecna is revealed to be connected to). It’s a great way to kick off the episode, shaking off some of the inertia “Shock Jock” and its endless cascade of exposition struggled to balance, with an opening scene that not only fills in important worldbuilding details (though again, it’s not like the supernatural elements are all that interesting) but also provides an avenue for the season’s plot to get moving, which it desperately needed to do, with only three hours left until the closing credits roll.

Following a strong cold open, “Escape from Camazotz” pulls back and immediately proves the case for why it needs to keep things moving, as Max and Holly try to reverse engineer Vecna’s path from inside his secret trauma cave, and everyone at the radio station tries to figure out what to do next. All narrative and emotional thrust is immediately lost as “Escape from Camazotz” doubles down on character theorizing, as Holly and Robin detail their thoughts and theories about what’s going on, in what amounts to a relative snooze fest of a scene. Thankfully, this is really the only low point of “Escape from Camazotz”, which chooses not to embody Will’s comatose state and inability to express his emotions, by forcing just about every character to do the opposite – beginning with Vecna promising to use Will as a vessel “one last time”, right through the final scene where Holly and Max make their escape from Vecna’s Mind Prison.

Instead, “Escape from Camazotz” avoids turning every scene into a complete lore dump by keeping things active, even if some of the episode’s scenes aren’t particularly meaningful in the context of this hour. There are a few counterpoints to this, of course, like Erica and Murray picking up Mr. Clarke in the first two minutes and disappearing for the rest of the episode, but “Escape from Camazotz” keeps itself, and its audience, on its toes by refusing (perhaps out of necessity) to sit on its heels at any point, using a series of attempted rescues as avenues to explore the heightened emotions of its characters – and more importantly, begin to resolve some of these lingering emotional journeys in meaningful ways to clear the deck before the show heads into the final stretch.

The one time the episode doe slow down considerably, it offers up one of the best scenes it has in years, when Nancy and Jonathan accept their fates in the Cum Dimension, and offer up one of the best breakup scenes of recent memory when they realize it might be the only chance they have left to be honest with each other. As they rattle off the reasons why they just don’t work as a couple, and haven’t for awhile, “Escape from Camazotz” slowly builds a powerfully emotional resolution out of a romance that’s felt like a complete afterthought since it was introduced in season two, a rare instance of Stranger Things turning a weakness into a strength – and of course, begging the question of why they didn’t do anything with this relationship for three-plus seasons, if only to push it back to the forefront for what is one of the most rewarding scenes of the entire season.

The rest of “Escape from Camazotz” moves along at a breakneck pace, interspersing Max and Holly’s attempts to find an escape from Henry’s memory and escape, as Vecna’s promise to use Will as a vessel “one last time” begins to come to fruition. And for the most part, the big plot points hold together because it feels like a script being more faithful to its characters underneath that; Eleven’s brazen, sometimes reckless attempts to be a hero, Will not completely cowering when imprisoned and approached by Vecna in his mind, and Dustin’s pleas to Steve (“please don’t make me do it again”, he tells him when he thinks Steve is about to make a stupid, life-ending decision) are all moments grounded in the characters we’ve come to know over nearly a decade, a clear attempt to reground itself and clear the stage quickly for the show’s final narrative push (which is kind of already in process, given the big “November 6th” title card that’s dropped in the first third of the episode).

There are examples where Stranger Things is still losing characters amidst its own mysteries and spectacles; Kali and Hopper, though both embodying different, important parts of El’s story, still drag down whatever scenes they’re in, either with nonsensical fighting with each other – or in the case of Kali, a lot of vague dialogue suggesting this series is still trying to justify her presence in the show’s worst (and most debated) season two story, one of the only 11th hour swings that feels like a complete whiff by Duffer Brothers and company.

Putting aside some of the logical consistencies (the condition and cleanliness of Kali’s suit, and her suddenly docile personality), Kali’s presence adds nothing to Eleven and Hopper’s arc in this final season, her character only tethered to the rest of the story by her significance as El’s only original “sister” – which at this point, is incredibly unimportant plot fodder as everyone gears up to fight off the literal end of the world. Her suggestion of having important knowledge about Henry and what’s going on is emblematic of her character; she’s a concept of a more interesting character who can provide a deeper avenue of understanding into Eleven’s background, but one that’s executed laughably so poorly there’s almost no amount of convincing one could do to suggest she couldn’t be extricated from the narrative without this season, or series, missing it at all.

The less time we spend with Kali teasing her “purpose” (which I’m just going to guess is getting her and Eleven killed to ‘end the cycle’ somehow) and more time with stuff like Karen Wheeler creatively blowing up demodogs (proving Max’s point about the inherent strength of the Wheeler family line… no word on Ted’s status, though), the better off “Escape from Camazotz” is, which does a pretty solid job of balancing the many, many spinning plates this series still has in the air (with only two episodes and three-plus hours to resolve it all) while also trying to find brief moments to reground itself in character, letting its personalities and mythos drive the story. Given the lumbering hulk of plot it has become since the Stranger Things 3 and Stranger Things 4, it’s a pretty impressive task, and just about everything anyone with realistic expectations for what season five could hope for, especially as an episode both resolving long-standing storylines and mysteries, and teeing up the bigger concepts and plot points for the last chapter of volume two – and, of course, the impending two hour-plus long finale coming on New Year’s Eve.

Grade: B+

Other thoughts/observations:

• Mr. Clarke is banging the librarian? I can’t remember who he was dating in season two, but this tracks.
  
• Yes, it’s a bit of a stretch to think Max’s speech will just open a portal for Holly to escape Vecna’s mind prison. You know what, though – I’m ok with it! Holly’s condensed arc fits neatly within Max’s own journey of discovery, and it also gives us an excuse to move on from the constant Alice in Wonderland references. Allowing it!
  
• Max remains an instigator in Vecna’s mind prison, which I appreciate. Perhaps the show’s most consistent character across its five seasons.
  
• Turns out Will built the tunnels under Hawkins, while asleep under the influence of Vecna (doesn’t really explain how they were built physically, but it’s good enough for me!)
  
• “You are going to be my spy one last time.” I’m thinking Will might have something to say about that this time around. Third time’s not the charm?
  
• I get we need to cut some corners, but Eleven/Hopper/Eight just showing up in a car at the cabin (after the last, dramatic shot of them walking towards the Upside Down exit) is underwhelming.
  
• Nancy, shooting down the Steve rumors: “He knows what he wants, and that’s great. I don’t.”
  
• Still can’t get over the choice to have Nancy and Jonathan breakup in the Cum Dimension.
  
• Also – “shared trauma” was not a thing people knew of or talked about in the 80s.
  
• … I guess Robin is just back to being smart again? Sure!
  
• While in Henry’s memory, we see him get shot in the hand as a child by someone holding a suitcase in a Nevada desert. Of course, this ties back to the Stranger Things play, and an unknown piece of technology that was stolen from Brenner’s lab, while he was trying to recreate what happened to his father two decades earlier. Hopefully, this will be the last time we have to talk about the play, but I doubt that will be the case.
  
• Holly: “I don’t even know who Kate Bush is!”
  
• Speaking of – do we think this is the last time we hear The Song? I’m thinking it might be! Finally!
  
• Ending on the sound of a heart monitor is an incredibly silly choice.