‘Stranger Things 3’ Recap – ‘Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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The old saying, ‘you can’t win them all’, still holds great power in this day and age because there is a lot of truth to be found in those words. For truly, try as you might, you simply cannot succeed at everything you do, and this is a saying that applies to television shows as well. Because regardless of how great the season might be, sometimes the story just doesn’t click and for proof, look no further than the next episode of Stranger Things. Because ‘Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum’ is a story that while good in its own right, doesn’t quite hold up to the other powerhouse stories present in season three, due in large part to the fact that this particular tale slows things down tremendously just as things were heating up in the last episode.
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Which, I fully understand the why behind that particular storytelling decision, so that the characters can properly understand exactly what’s happening in Hawkins right now. But that doesn’t wipe away the fact that this one really is a combo breaker, that is a tad heavy exposition wise, and really the best example of this is Hopper and Joyce’s journey, or rather, lack thereof in this tale. For they spend most of their time at Murray’s place, getting some answers from Aleksi about what the Russians are doing in Hawkins and while there were definitely some hilarious moments to be found in this part of the story, the fact that the audience already knows what’s up, takes you out of this just a little bit, as did the segment beneath the Starcourt Mall.

Because there really wasn’t much for the Mall Squad to do after they were spotted by the Russians, except run and hide or fight off the interrogation techniques of the Red Army. And while it was nice to see Steve and Robin bond and reflect upon their time in high school, and see Dustin educate Erica on the finer points of being a nerd, not much else happened. Which means that it was up to Eleven’s crew to save the day storytelling wise and their journey definitely delivered. Because this segment of the story featured a bold gambit on El’s part to find out exactly where the Mind Flayer is hiding so that they could put a stop to this nightmare before it escalates, and that meant Eleven had to dive deep into Billy’s mind and what she found there was equal parts terrifying and fascinating.

For in the recesses of Billy’s brain, we were privy to a lifetime of disappointment and heartbreak, since we learned that the only bright light in his youth was his mother, who left when his father became abusive and that abuse continued along for years on end, and the anger and shame that came from that transformed Billy into the bully he is today. But while that was heartbreaking to watch, the terror came from the fact that this method of searching is precisely what the Mind Flayer wanted to happen all along, so that he could speak with Eleven, his true nemesis, and explain to her that his plan is to make this world his own before the story revealed that he and his lackeys were on their way to deal with El and her friends, and that sequence of events allowed for this particular tale to end in chilling fashion.

For seeing the Mind Flayer gain strength by absorbing his minions was disturbing to say the least, as was the final shot of him transforming into a gooier version of his already disturbing self. But, while that was cool in its own right, this episode still doesn’t resonate with me as much as its predecessors do, and I guess my real issue with it, is that all this exposition should have happened sooner in the season, so that everything here builds up the tension for the forthcoming season finale. However, this was watchable, and it does get kudos for finding a way to pay tribute to George Romero again by featuring some queues from the Day of the Dead soundtrack. If anything, it’s just best I accept this one for the transitional tale that it is and move on. Because the finale does await, and this series always knows how to close out a story. Until next time.     

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