‘Stranger Things 3’ Recap – ‘Chapter Seven: The Bite’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Admittedly, I was a little harsh when it comes to my assessment of the last episode of Stranger Things, but there’s good reason for that. Because season three of this series has featured some incredible storytelling, some of the best that the series has ever offered, in fact. So, to see an episode that quite frankly isn’t up to snuff is surprising and jarring to say the least. But thankfully this particular mistake was easily forgiven, thanks to the next episode in this saga. Because ‘Chapter Seven: The Bite’, quickly got this season back on track with a storyline that quite frankly, put the audience, and this reviewer, on quite the emotional rollercoaster.

Because there was heartbreak to be found in this particular tale, courtesy of Hopper and Joyce’s storyline. For they made their way back to Hawkins at last and quickly headed to the fair to ensure the safety of their children. But there was a slight complication that accompanied such a decision in that, Mayor Kline found out Hopper was back in town and called his Russian buddies, meaning that bad dudes were quickly swarming the fair, forcing Hopper to fight hard in order to see another day. And while he and Joyce and Murray escaped relatively unharmed, Alexsi wasn’t so lucky. For the Russian Terminator found the scientist and made him pay for being seen with Americans and well, that was just rough to watch since Alexsi was genuinely a good man after all. 

But while it was tough to watch Alexsi’s journey come to an end on this series, there were more tense moments waiting for us in this tale. After all, the Mall Squad made their escape to the surface after Dustin’s daring distraction and unfortunately for them, they were stuck in the mall for the time being. For Steve’s keys were still miles below the surface since the Russians emptied his pockets, and of course, there were more soldiers searching for them in the mall, which prompted Dustin to use the movie theater to hide, a plan that worked and allowed for everyone to catch their breath. And this part of the story featured some beautiful moments since Robin came out to Steve when he admitted his feelings for her, and that was handled in brilliantly progressive fashion since Steve wasn’t a jerk about it. If anything, while this storyline featured some serious action on its own, it was perhaps the break the audience needed since the rest of group, found themselves in some serious trouble in this tale.

For early on in this story, the Mind Flayer made a house call to Hopper and Eleven’s cabin and that resulted in one epic showdown between her and the beast, one that quite frankly, she struggled with. Because the Flayer has been thinking about this particular fight for a long time, and offered up some tactics that El has never seen before and that prompted everyone to pitch in on this fight to help their powerful friend out and well, this battle royale ended in a stalemate since Eleven and the Flayer left this battle injured. And despite getting some treatment for her wounds, no one was quite prepared with how to deal with the fact that the Flayer left a piece of itself embedded in El’s leg and well, that little problem will likely be an immediate issue for everyone to solve in the forthcoming season finale.

Speaking of that finale, this episode gets some serious credit for doing a phenomenal job of setting the stage for that. Because clearly, the Starcourt Mall is going to serve as the nexus for wrapping up this story since everyone is within its neon-covered walls or on their way there by the end of this tale and well, when all is said and done, this was a wonderful ‘redemption’ episode. Because the action and adventure and emotions present here, made the hour fly by and more importantly, this episode made the stakes higher than ever. For danger is now everywhere and an injured El may struggle in the final battle that awaits on the horizon, meaning that everyone will need to pitch in to defeat this powerful evil and well, I need to know how this wild season ends. So, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to sign off and head back to the Starcourt Mall, one last time. 

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