'Stranger Things' Recap - 'Chapter Six: The Monster'

Written by Scott Edwards

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR RISK...

Things in Hawkins may never be the same again as Nancy has returned from the Upside Down realm. Seeing the monster feeding, Nancy is pursued by the beast and is lucky enough to find another gate to run back through to see Jonathan once again. But now whenever Nancy closes her eyes, she sees the monster in her head and cannot stand the fear of being alone. As Steve wants to check up on his girl, he sees Jonathan in Nancy’s bedroom and knows that she is cheating on him. When Nancy and Jonathan formulate a plan to bring the monster out in the open, they pick up supplies to kill it, but when Steve drives past them making fun of their new relationship, he does not know what he is in for. Insulting Nancy for shacking up with someone else, Steve then starts to push Jonathan over the edge by making fun of his family. Beating the bully to a pulp, Jonathan will be off of the monster hunt for the time being as he accidentally hit a cop when wailing on Steve.

Chief Hopper gets a chance to tell Joyce what he saw in Hawkins Lab and when he mentioned seeing a child’s room, Joyce starts to get her hopes up. Telling her about the picture that he saw, Joyce knows the room was not for Will and wants to move on. Thinking back to the reports he has been getting, Hopper realizes that he has been looking for the wrong kid all along. Remembering the name Terry Ives in connection with Dr. Brenner, Hopper takes the investigation out of town and this time takes Joyce with him. Seeing that Terry is not all there, the two talk to her sister Becky who goes through Terry’s past for them. Believing that Terry lost her child in the third trimester, Becky does not think that Terry’s daughter could still be alive, but with a telekinetic link to her, Eleven has been able to keep in touch with her mother for the past twelve years.

Mike is upset with himself over the fight he had with Lucas and the loss of Eleven since she has not returned to the basement. As Dustin comes over, he makes sure that Mike knows that he was in the wrong with this situation as well and needs his friends to make up. When Mike tries to make amends with his friend, Lucas will not accept his apology since he does not want Eleven to be part of the group and that is a deal breaker for Mike. Heading out on his own, Lucas is able to locate the gate at Hawkins Lab, but also sees the power trucks that the government have been rolling around town in. During the hunt for Eleven, Mike and Dustin run into their bullies and now they are not prepared. Holding a knife to Dustin’s throat, Mike is forced to job off of the edge of the quarry, but little does he know that his new friend has his back. Stopping Mike from being killed by the fall, Eleven uses her power to bring him back up, along with taking care of the bully problem that has been plaguing the boys for years.

This episode however is all about Eleven and what she is able to accomplish. When needing to get something to eat, she flashes back to a day in the lab when she is forced to face the beast head on. With Dr. Brenner watching, Eleven touches the monster and when it starts to attack her, the gateway is opened in the lab and it turns out she is the cause of all of the current troubles in the town. Being able to control her powers now, she has shown that nobody can stand in her way, but she still has a fear of the Upside Down realm. As she continues to harness all of her power, she may have a way to close the gate, but will she be able to get close enough to the lab again to do so?

This show keeps getting better and better as you learn more about the characters and the backstory for Eleven is just off of the charts. Watching as she harnessed her powers, and now she wants to be held responsible for bringing the beast to this world, well, she is going to be a mess when all is said and done. I really liked how Hopper’s investigation has put a thought in our heads that Eleven is Terry Ives' daughter, and I am pretty sure that she is at this point. Then Steve getting the beating of his life was just great and a long time coming if Barbara was alive and had anything to say about it. I love how Jonathan took a stand for his might be new friend, but mainly to defend his family’s name as Steve continued to trash it. Well now, the government has found Eleven and is gearing up to make their move against Mike and his family, I wonder how Karen is going to take it when they come in since she has lost the handle on her children and has no idea that Eleven is living in the basement. I wanted a bit more of the Upside Down world in this episode, but I am sure that it will be shown in its entirety before the season ends.

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