20th March, 2026.“The Bridge”.An Introduction.
Right then … it’s Friday, again … !
A day that sees me cooking the obligatory fish supper, revelling in the order I’ve put into Amazon — a box, remote controls, cables and some vitamins — and wondering at a phone call I had, this morning.
I reported a neighbour to the police, a while back: as they’d been behaving in a way that caused me some concern.
Let’s call them Kylie.
It was my attempt at a welfare check: as I was concerned Kylie was being cuckooed.
It was only this morning … that I had a separate call about the person: from someone calling from a Brentwood landline — 01277 381687 — claiming to be called ‘Richard’, and claiming to be from a small, hush-hush, police team, that specialised in ‘collecting information from knowledgable people’*: wanting to know if I could tell them more about Kylie.
Which I couldn’t.
They also told me I should put in another welfare check about this person, and another — let’s call them Fiona — who was a shared contact.
Very specifically on 101, the police non-emergency line.
Which I tried.
101 told me to phone 111: the NHS non-emergency line.
Who were happy to take Fiona’s details, and send someone along.
So … ?
I tried phoning the Brentwood number, the 01277 381687 number, again, to let them know what I’d been told.
Only to get a ‘Number Not Recognised’ message.
Fair enough: they didn’t want me speaking to them.
But … ?
Getting a ‘Number Not Recognised’ message, about a number that had been working a few hours before, seemed very strange … !
But enough of my day … you’re here because of TV shows.
Any least, I hope you are!
It’s Friday: so I’m going to be watching the penultimate episode of Stranger Things’ fifth series, tonight.
Then letting you know what I thought about it by Tuesday, 23rd March.
I’m looking forward to an hour’s worth of TV that makes more sense than my afternoon!
~≈🐙≈~
21st March, 2026.Part One.The Summary.
Chapter 7 — “The Bridge” — opens with a black screen: which fades into the opening eyes of Max (Sadie Sink) as she recovers from her years trapped in Vecna’s mental construct.
Her eyes open … to the concerned face of her boyfriend, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), who has been holding her hand for a very long time, and to the equally concerned faces of Robin and Vickie (Maya Hawke and Amybeth McNulty), and the almost numb of face of Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono).
Max has a confession or two.
One: Lucas is the person who got her out of Vecna’s world.
And two: she doesn’t know where Holly (Nell Fisher), Karen’s youngest daughter, is. But she suspects suspects Holly is still a prisoner of of the deeply angered Vecna.
Holly’s rescuers will have their work cut out for them.
~≈🐙≈~
Holly, herself, is still a prisoner of Vecna’s, one determined to escape her entrapment in the monster’s hidden base: even thought she is very aware Vecna will come after her, should she show the slightest sign of getting free.
Whilst she struggles to do so?
The scene shifts to show us Jonathan and Nancy (Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer) still trapped in the Upside Down version of the Hawkins Lab, and see an increasingly frustrated Jonathan trying to break down the door.
Only to stop when Nancy points out that getting hurt trying to escape would get them really screwed …
It’s only then the wall opposite the door is broken in: by Steve and Dustin (Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo).
Dustin has some news.
He doesn’t know where Holly is: but knows one thing.
She’s not in the Upside Down …
~≈🐙≈~
22nd March, 2026.Part Two.What I’ve Seen.
OK … so what did I see, watching “The Bridge”, watching this penultimate episode of Stranger Things?
What was on the screen in front of me?
I’ve already said that earlier episodes of this series were heist movies.
Or followed the same formula as a heist movie.
Introduce the crew, introduce the plan, then watch … as the job goes wrong.
I felt the last episode I saw, “Escape from Camazotz”, wasn’t: it was more of a bridging story, a middle eight, a change of pace, before the diving back into the main body of the story, the main tune, if you will.
I think … we’re back on course, with “The Bridge”: I think “The Bridge” is another heist job.
Or, at least, the start of a heist job.
A good amount of time, we watch as our reunited heroes, watch Dustin explain what the Upside Down is.
It’s the bridge of the episode’s title: a wormhole, a connection to the other world that Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), is hiding in, and that the monster plans to connect to ours, in a ritual that involves Holly … and the other children he’s kidnapped.
Something our heroes feel needs stopping.
So … ?
We see the team doing what any team of heisters do: making plans to carry out the job.
No: “The Bridge” is not a heist movie.
More like the first half of a heist movie.
It’s the stage of a heist movie where the team plan the heist: the next, final, episode will be the job itself …
~≈🐙≈~
Part Three.Emotional Highpoints.
There’s a few other things mixed in with the plots, schemes, plans and potential heists.
Yes, there are a couple of geeky points.
I’ll get to them, later.
But there’s a couple of emotional heights that caught my eye.
The first one … ?
Was the opening scene I described in the summary: the scene that shows us Max coming around from her coma.
Or sees her soul returning to her body: that, in the context of Stranger Things, seems the more accurate way of putting it.
That was a tear-jerker of a scene!
It’s not normally something I’d heap praise on … but … ?
It’s both a beautiful thing to watch, and a tearjerker of a scene.
The other emotional highpoint?
Is nearer the far end of the episode.
During “The Bridge”, Will (Noah Schnapp) has realised Vecna will prey on a person’s weaknesses and fears to get them to do his bidding.
Something that Will realises over the course of the episode.
Will realises that hiding his real self, his sexuality, and hiding his fear of rejection, will give Vecna the emotional leverage the monster needs to have a hold on Will.
And that Will’s only option … ?
Is to help himself to beat Vecna: by outing himself to his friends, and devil take the hinder-most … !
If anything?
Will’s announcement is even more emotional that Max’s recovery.
And just as beautiful to watch.
I have to give all of the cast involved in these scenes five out of five: and possibly more in the cases of Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp.
Across the two scenes, they, in particular, have put in one hell of a set of performances!
~≈🐙≈~
Part Four.Geek Spotting.
That’s the emotional part out of the way.
Let’s get slightly geeky, shall we?
At one stage of “The Bridge”, the team are invading the military base, and … ?
In order to get past the main gates, Mr Clarke (Randy Havens), uses his improvised remote control: to activate the electronic lock on the things.
And says ‘Mellon’†: something lifted from The Lord of the Rings.
At a famous point in The Fellowship of the Ring, the Nine Walkers need to go through the Mines of Moria, to avoid danger, and have to get through Moria’s main doors, the Doors of Durin, in order to do so.
The Doors have a phrase in Elven, carved on them: that Gandalf initially translates as ‘Speak, friend, and enter’.
In other words, if you’re a friend, use the password you’ve been given and the Doors open.
It takes Gandalf a frustrating amount of yelling to realise he’s got the translation, wrong.
It’s not ‘Speak, friend, and enter’, it’s ‘Say friend, and enter’!
All he has to do, is say the Elven word for ‘friend’, and the group can enter mines.
That word?
‘Mellon’!
It’s a nice nod to the story that inspired a lot of modern fantasy.
~≈🐙≈~
Just as a side point, here?
How do you pronounce ‘mellon’?
I’m not sure: I’ve heard it as ‘MEY lon’, ‘MAIL on’, an lord knows what what else.
But, given I know Professor Tolkien was a fan of the Welsh language, where the ‘LL’ got pronounced as a sort of ‘THL’ sound?
Am convinced it should be ‘METH-lon’: but I don’t know.
~≈🐙≈~
The other bit of geekery?
Is a little more serious.
At one point in the episode, Kali/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen) tells Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) that, if it comes to the worst?
They will need to sacrifice themselves, in order to avoid capture by the military.
Which, combined with Hop’s comments, that he doesn’t want Eleven to die, means we possibly have a situation, in the next episode.
That’s not necessarily the thing that caught me.
The thing that did … ?
Was simply this: that ‘Kali’ is a major deity in Hinduism, is a goddess of death and destruction.
Sacrificing oneself, in however good a cause?
Could be called destructive: and has come from a character with the right name to suggest such a thing.
~≈🐙≈~
Part Five.And finally.
So what — finally — did I make of “The Bridge”?
Of this penultimate episode of Stranger Things?
I have to admit, I get accused of being too enthusiastic about episodes of a TV show I’m watching.
But … ?
I also have to admit this: “The Bridge” is a fantastic episode of Stranger Things.
It moves along at a brisk pace, is well written, and has opening and closing scenes that are just heartbreaking.
Granted: I think Millie Bobby Brown, as Eleven, could have had more to do.
But?
“The Bridge” is a superb episode!
“The Bridge”★★★★⁺
~≈🐙≈~
Part Six.Until Next Time.
That?
Is where I’m going to leave things.
But I will thank you for reading this post: or watching the video version, if that’s what you’ve done.
There’s a few last things, though.
Feel free to have a look at the rest of my content, to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and follow Nik Nak’s Old Peculiar.
If you like what I’m doing, free free to tip.
And finally?
I’m going to be watching the last episode of Stranger Things Five, “The Rightside Up” on Friday, 27th March.
I’ll have my written and video reviews up by next Tuesday, at the very latest.
I’ll see you next time.
* I think ‘Richard’ meant ‘informants’: make of that what you will.
† Mr Clarke pronounces it ‘MELL-on’. I think he got it wrong, and believe the word’s pronounced ‘METH-lon’, or ‘METH-on’. After all, Tolkien was fond of the Welsh language, where, as far as I know, the ‘ll’ represents a ‘thl’ sound. I don’t know for sure, though: if Peter Jackson or Sir Ian McKellen could let me know …
