What an intense—and terrifyingly terrific—episode of Goosebumps.
When it comes to reboots and remakes, it’s always a little concerning, but Disney+ nailed the tone of the series, reminding people why the horror franchise has always been so beloved and why it’s withstood the test of time. These stories that were once entertaining kids in the ’90s have so much potential with a new twist on them.
Goosebumps Season 1 Episode 7 kept viewers on the edge of their seats, quite literally, as the friend group realized they were now trapped in the scrapbook.
As James puts it, “This day just keeps getting better and better,” and when referring to bad luck, he’s probably been dealt to worst hand, though no one is letting Margot forget that she’s the reason why they’re all in this mess in the first place. Though, quite frankly, I’d blame it on her mom Sarah for not filling them in on what was going on when she asked.
But now, they’re all trapped in the alternate reality that Biddle has created together… and with no clear way of getting out. You’d think the makeshift prison would force them to confront some of those personal dynamics, especially between Margot, Lucas, and Isaiah, but there wasn’t any time for that—though Isaiah did seem to flirt with Isabella ever so briefly, which was interesting.
While searching the house, they stumbled upon the real Mr. Bratt, who explained that he was possessed by a ghost and had been trapped there for seemingly weeks, which isn’t comforting at all.
However, they concluded that if there’s a way in, there has to be a way out. Unfortunately, the front door leads to a giant drop into a black abyss. Isabella notices a bright light at the bottom and comes up with a plan to drop herself down there via an exceptionally long curtain. Props to her for the bravery because I could never.
Once she reaches the bottom, she finds herself in the high school hallway and explains that she felt as if she was both in the past and the present when she encountered a room full of people that Biddle likely turned/plans to turn into puppets.
She narrowly escapes as the high school begins caving in on her—as Biddle in the real world rips a page out of the scrapbook to toss his gum.
Their existence is very shaky at this moment, a fact that’s also made clear when Mr. Bratt realizes that by inflicting pain on himself, he can snap back into his own body. Isabella throws a few good (and painful) punches his way, but once he’s in his own car, he has to wrestle with Biddle’s possession of himself… and it turns out the ghost is a lot stronger.
When a tussle over the scrapbook ensues—and the group figures that the only way out for them is to get written out of the book— it falls into the water, as the walls of the alternate reality house begin to disintegrate and flood.
Again, it’s not looking great for them!
And while having a tether to reality via Bratt is helpful, it’s going to come down to the parents to help their children out of a mess that they created all these years ago.
Biddle already revealed why he’s targeting the teens as he wants to make the parents pay for murdering him, but he’s also after his Slappy doll, the one that they stole from him and destroyed after they escaped the fire at the Biddle house.
Based on Isabella’s auditorium run-in, Biddle’s ultimate goal is to turn everyone who hurt him into puppets, just like he did to his parents.
Ironically, Nora, who was institutionalized for speaking candidly about what was going on, is the sanest of the parents as she’s not in denial about Biddle’s return. She knows what she saw—and right now, she feels like the only one that can do something about it, even if destroys her relationship with Colin, who is quite concerned about his girlfriend.
He’s so concerned, in fact, that he seeks out Ben’s advice, who also ditches him mid-sentence the moment he finds out that Nora has a “suitcase with doll parts.” Poor Colin just wants some clarity… and no, he’s definitely not the problem!
Ben and Eliza head over to the mines to double check, since that’s where they buried Slappy, and come face-to-face with James… only he’s not James, he’s one of the clones. Eliza is forced to bash a lookalike of her son in the head to save Ben, and when he explodes into green goo, they have no choice but to admit that Nora’s been right this whole time.
As for Nora, she’s on her way to the family’s cabin—with Biddle following right behind her—though it’s unclear what she has planned or how she thinks she’ll be able to stop him and save her children.
Hopefully, someone realizes that the kids are missing at some point.
Maybe once Biddle sees Sarah again, he’ll stop his vendetta and realize that he’s had it wrong all these years as they never intended for him to die, they were simply trying to get rid of the evil puppet who was changing their friend and making him the worst version of himself.
What did you think of the episode? Has the series hooked you?