Stranger Things (TV Series) Chapter Four: Will the Wise (2017) User Reviews

Will and the Shadow Creature

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 5 January 2018]

The shadow creature enters into Will´s boy and Joyce finds him motionless on the fields. Dustin, Mike, Lucas and Max join them. Will does not want to be warmed up on the bed. Will draws to communicate with his mother. El returns to Hopper´s cabin and they have an argument. She breaks glasses and windows and while cleaning the mess, she finds files hidden by Hopper including her mother´s. She tries to contact her and finds her name is Jane. Nancy and Jonathan go to the park to meet Barb´s parents and they are abducted by agents and are taken to the laboratory. At Hawkins Labs, Dr. Owens explains why she shall not tell what happened to Barb to anyone. However Nancy records his words in a tape-recorder. Will draws many drawings and Joyce discovers they are a puzzle. She joins them and finds a network of tunnels. Hopper decides to go to the place with rotten pumpkins to seek the tunnels. Meanwhile Dustin finds how big Dart is.

In "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" many things happen with many characters. The size Dart is impressive and it is funny Dustin´s mother seeking out her cat while Dart eats it in the bedroom. The plan of Nancy and Jonathan may certainly bring trouble for them. Hopper dangerous exploration of the tunnels is a great ending. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Chapter Four: Will the Wise"

An Incredible Build-Up

[lbrosprod · 8/10 · 1 November 2017]

What an ending to this episode! I love how some episodes circle around. For example, in the beginning of the episode, Will is told to face his fears, essentially. In the end, he does, but it doesn't bode well for him. I also think Noah Schnapp is an incredible actor! I was worried before Season 2 premiered because the actor was barely in season 1, and I didn't know if he could hold up season 2. But boy! He can! I can also tell that he's very much taking advantage of the spotlight. Love his character!! I also like that Elle's character development is coming to a head.

Dark shadows

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 28 September 2021]

Season 2 of 'Stranger Things', one of Netflix's better shows in its prime with a fine first season, got off to a promising if slow start with its first two episodes. Before kicking into gear with the excellent previous episode and the season went from strength from there, with one exception. "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" had a really intriguing idea and was very excited to see how it would build upon what was seen before and how it would deepen the mysteries.

"Chapter Four: Will the Wise" does this building incredibly well, deepens the story just as well in a way that is remarkably dark and leaves one truly excited for further developments to the plotting and character writing. It is every bit as good as "Chapter Three: The Pollywog" and perhaps even better, due to less of the cliches and the occasional thing that slowed things down. Luckily, it continues the story progression seen in the previous episode instead of being a case of too much set up or filler.

Really not much wrong here, though the Jim moments didn't seem as necessary to the plotting as everything else, while developing him as a character more.

Have nothing to fault everything else for. All the cast are uniformly great, children and adults. Millie Bobbie Brown is always fantastic on the show, as are her fellow young cast members, and Winona Ryder has come on a long way from the first season (not as melodramatic). All the character interactions are terrific in all the subplots, Jonathan and Nancy's subplot could have been time wasting but was very nicely done and wasn't dominant. It's the mystery development that takes centre stage and that is a triumph as is Eleven's development.

Furthermore, "Chapter Four: Will the Wise's" production values are superb. Very stylish and atmospheric, with some truly beautiful images that one can't believe such high quality comes from a Netflix show. Not to mention the highly impressive special effects that put a good deal of big budget films in recent years to shame. The music has a wonderful 80s nostalgic vibe while also being quite haunting, enhancing the atmosphere beautifully.

Writing is thought-probing and has a lot of brains and heart. The humour is gentle but amusing, while there is a poignancy (without being too sentimental) and tension. Throughout "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" has creepiness (being one of the creepier and darkest episodes of Season 2 and of 'Stranger Things' even), intriguing mystery, inventive sci-fi, affectionate nostalgia in a 'Stand By Me' like way and emotional impact. The mystery again is even deeper and more complex than before but is always intriguing and never confusing. The ending is incredibly suspenseful and makes one excited for what happens next in subsequent episodes.

In conclusion, excellent. 9/10.

A dark turn...

[TheDonaldofDoom · 8 November 2017]

Looks like Stranger Things is getting darker faster this season. After three episodes each with a good amount of light- heartedness, jokes in this episodes were less common and there's a tense, oppressive atmosphere.

One of the great things about Stranger Things is how it uses traditional genre tropes but puts a spin on them. Will slowly being possessed could easily have been cheesy in the wrong hands, but the way it unfolds, with the thermometer showing that he's cold and his fear of hot water, makes it very creepy. One nitpick though- how come he didn't think of drawing the vines until it was suggested, but once it was he was suddenly drawing like a maniac?

Eleven's scenes are also standout moments. The amount of destruction she causes is a reminder that she is just a child who isn't a master of her emotions, although who could blame her? Not being able to go outside is pretty harsh. I hope she rejoins the group in the next episode.

Nancy and Jonathan's discoveries are also sinister, although it would have been nice to get a clearer understanding of what exactly is going on there. In the end we don't learn much, apart from some confirmations of things we already know.

The Pollywog growing into a Demogorgon... wow, couldn't have predicted that. So Will gave birth to a Demogorgon? This means his possession is even worse than thought.

Overall excellent episode, and the darkest one so far this season.

Lots of Villainy

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 30 October 2017]

Dustin is responsible for unleashing a monster. He gets caught up in his connection to Dart, that he fails to see how dangerous his complicity is. He doesn't tell his friends, trying to protect the beast, but in doing so he sends them on a wild goose chaser. Jonathan and Nancy go off to tell the truth about their friend's death. The sad thing is that the bad guys listen in on everything, so when they go to meet the girl's mother, she doesn't show up, but men from the lab do. They basically kidnap them and give the a story, telling them to keep their mouths shut. Max is snubbed by the boys and seems to have had enough (rightfully so). But Will continues the mystery. We remember the scene leading to his ingesting the monster that he had run from. When he is brought home, he begins to need it cold because the creature inhabits him. Hopper goes to a place and begins a subterranean investigation.

Let's burn that lab to the ground.

[deepakdst · 10/10 · 18 June 2019]

Oh, come on how a series could be so great that you just enter the upside down through this series. The moment when Hopper entered the tunnel, I freezed out. All this is awesome except Max's step-brothers rude behavior.

I can feel Dustin..

[ououzaza · 9/10 · 28 September 2019]

It is really awkward if you are Dustin. I felt sad for him. This episode is again fun to watch and starts to expand the story further.

Getting very interesting

[Joshumms · 10/10 · 29 March 2022]

Absolutely loving the direction this season is taking, the kids, Nancy and Johnathan, hopper and eleven, and will and joyce are all interesting characters with their own separate stories surrounding the things that lurk in the Upside Dow.

Chapter Four: Will the Wise (#2.4)

[ComedyFan2010 · 8/10 · 20 May 2019]

Poor Hopper still has to deal with Eleven being a brat. Yet one can understand her. Being not able to get out already seems like being grounded. And as a child she doesn't get that it is the best for her now. Their confrontation scene was very good. Must be hard to control a kid with so many superpowers. And Dustin lets the monster grow. It is sad that it ends up killing the cat. Wonder how he will explain this to his mother. But now one needs to go and catch that monster that is unleashed and will cause many more troubles in the next episodes.

9

[Edvis-1997 · 9/10 · 12 May 2019]

One of the best episode of this season. It seems that other episodes going to be better and better. Well didn't expect that little creature can grow so huge . Very nice.

Stranger Things turned into a horror movie

[funnycommentor · 9/10 · 7 July 2022]

As it seems, stranger things turned to a horror movie. Will's nightmares, are so scary and creepy. Especially, the opening scene was so intense and the editing of that scene was AMAZING. Also, the argue scene between Jim and Eleven was super intense and the acting was astonishing! Mike, isn't the same person he was, on season 1. He's, so unlikable and his behavior towards Max, isn't nice. By the way, the ending scene was totally unexpected. Moreover, Max deserves to join the friend group, because she's so likeable and she needs friends!

Will's Got the Sight

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 6 February 2018]

In "Will the Wise", Will becomes more intertwined with the creature, knowing its memories and wants. Nancy & Jonathan's sting operation comes to fruition as they catch the Dr. Owens admitting to the lab's mistakes on a recording. Dustin continues to hide Dart from the rest of the gang. Mike continues to be a jerk to Max. Eleven continues to have issues with Wheeler. Dustin comes home to find his cat being eaten by Dart.

As my description reads, there are a lot of things that 'continue' to happen. They're not exactly escalating but their not being resolved either. We seem to stuck in limbo with a few of the subplots not moving forward at all. Hopefully this will change moving forward.

That being said, this is the best episode of Season 2 thus far. I love the way Jonathan & Nancy interact with each other; Billy makes a great high school jerk. The last scene involving Dustin's discovery was a highlight for me; so was Eleven's interaction with her mother. The episodes continue to progress in a positive direction.

None the wiser.

[BA_Harrison · 28 October 2017]

Episode three left things on a cliffhanger, Will's body invaded by the supernatural shape that he has been seeing during his visits to the upside-down. Episode four picks things up as his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) races to her son's rescue, only to find him standing on the school playing field in a trance. Will eventually comes round, but cannot remember what has happened.

Meanwhile, Eleven is still angry at her protector Jim Hopper for coming home late on Halloween, Dustin has pollywog Dartagnan hidden in his room, and Nancy and Jonathan are given a guided tour of the Hawkins laboratory by shady scientist Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser).

After the excellent third episode, Will the Wise is a bit of a disappointment, the confusing events rather tepid, at least until the final moments in which Dartagnan is shown to have grown into something a lot bigger and much scarier (no surprises there), and Hopper digs his way into a network of tunnels that suggest that the upside-down has somehow spread underground. So while the episode as a whole isn't anything special, the ending still leaves the viewer wanting more.

Cold Shadow

[amongpixels · 8/10 · 29 July 2022]

This is a particularly grim episode between the many tears shed and the growing sense of darkness overshadowing many of the characters. Billy is awful, Eleven's psychic connection to her mother is heartbreaking, and the government pervasiveness over the town is unsettlingly tense. The acting is as strong as always, and the cinematography is a particular highlight for the episode, especially the final twisting shot in the Upside Down tunnels. Things like putting Will's drawings together come across as rather obvious, Nancy's determination to burn down the Hawkins lab does feel a little abrupt and overzealous (like, maybe burning down the entire facility with the demon-world gate inside it, which you have little understanding of, isn't the best idea?), and the overall plot is continually building and still yet to kick off into somewhere as enthralling as the first season.

S2.E4 - Dart The Monster [9/10]

[panagiotis1993 · 9/10 · 4 May 2024]

(S2. E4) My Live Reaction / Review for Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 4 ''Chapter Four: Will the Wise''. The previous episode was good and I gave it a rating of 9/10. Let's see if this one is better or worse. I don't like seeing Will being so sad and confused. Oh boy Eleven got really upset and the chief is upset too because Eleven doesn't follow his 3 rules. I cant blame her, she is so isolated and lonely. Something is wrong with Will. I really need an explanation about whats going on with Will and his visions. Dart keeps evolving and now he is big and he is eating Dustin's cat, that's disturbing. Overall this episode was good and I enjoyed it. My rating is 9/10.

Chapter Four

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 31 October 2017]

We got our first bit of Joyce over the top craziness in this episode. While this became a bit of a joke last season, I think they'll be smarter and not have Winona Ryder freaking out every episode, just at select times to move the story forward.

Unfortunately, the repetitive Eleven and Jim scenes aren't accomplishing much. Hopefully the end with him possibly inside the Upside Down shakes things up.

keep secret

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 18 February 2022]

Hopper have a fight with Eleven. Nancy and Jonathan are captured by Dr owens and he try to intimidate them. Will start to draw. Eleven find news about her mother. Dustin have some problems with his beast. We can have some interesting characters relationship and some interesting mysteries aroound Eleven, Nancy and Jonhatan. Nice episode.