Netflix’s Stranger Things
“Chapter Three: The Monster and The Superhero”
Directed by Shawn Levy
Written by Caitlin Schneiderhan

* For a recap & review of 4×02, click here.
* For a recap & review of 4×04, click here.
In Ruth, Nevada, the ground is shaking. Lights appear in the sky above the home of Sam Owens. He’s receiving a visit from Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan with photos of Chrissy’s murder scene. Sullivan needs insight, especially after Russians invaded foreign soil and chaos erupted. He says everything goes back to Eleven; she was trained specifically for “remote assassinations” so it’s only natural she might be the culprit. He thinks Owens is helping Eleven and that if they keep their eye on Owens they’ll find her, too.
Back in Cali, Angela’s getting medical attention. Quite the scene as everybody watches on and Eleven’s further ostracised because of the violence. On the way home, Argyle and Jonathan try to make Eleven feel better with their stoner logic, but she’s pretty upset at herself. At the house, Murray’s making risotto, because why wouldn’t he be? He and Joyce pretend he just showed up for no reason, instead of coming on purpose to figure out the Russian stuff. Joyce then tells everybody she’s going to a conference in Alaska. Soon the roller skate attack is brought up and things get awkward, particularly after Mike pipes in, which sends Eleven off to her room to escape. Poor El feels there’s no escaping the violence of her past.

In Hawkins, Vecna’s power continues to grow.
At the same time, Jason and the jocks are “preparing for the hunt.” They plan to hunt Eddie down and have a “friendly neighbourhood chat” about his supposed crimes. It’s all troublesome to Lucas, who agrees to go along with them. Eddie’s still hiding out in Reefer Rick’s shed, where he gets supplies from Dustin and the gang, who also bring along news that the cops are pretty convinced he’s the one who killed Chrissy. He finds it hard to believe all the things they’re telling him about all they know concerning Hawkins. But they know all too well.
Soon they hear sirens after Fred’s mangled corpse is found in the road.
In California, Eleven’s not coming down for breakfast so Mike takes her Eggos up to her room. She’s making a new diorama of Hopper’s cabin. And she doesn’t want to talk much, about anything. Mike tells her he understands being unpopular, but Eleven feels “like a monster,” completely apart from society. She worries he was scared of her after she attacked Angela, probably reminding her of what she saw in Dr. Brenner’s eyes years before. Eleven thinks Mike has fallen out of love with her, however, he sees her as the most wonderful person, a real “superhero.” Unfortunately, she doesn’t see herself that way anymore. Everything gets worse when cops turn up looking to arrest ‘Jane’ for assaulting Angela. They slap on the cuffs, then take Eleven away in their cruiser.

As Joyce and Murray fly to Alaska seeking more information about Hopper, we see Hopper in that Russian prison camp getting word from ‘Enzo’ a.k.a Dmitri about his friends. In Hawkins, Nancy’s also getting filled in about this new “Vecna creep” from the Upside Down. They start to think there’s something about that area, around the trailer park, that’s not right because of Chrissy and Fred being killed around the same place. They further decide to see if they can get any info from the guidance counsellor at school, since Chrissy talked to her after encountering Vecna. Speaking of Vecna, he’s tracking down new people to join him by looking through all their secrets; potentially one of Jason’s jock buddies is next. The jocks are off tracking, too. They attack Eddie’s friends to get more info about his whereabouts, and their next target is Dustin.

At the cop shop, Eleven’s being questioned by two officers about what happened between her and Angela at the roller rink. The cops, in true fashion, act like ‘Jane’ tried to murder Angela. They grill her like she’s some hardened criminal before they book her in the system and send her off to juvenile hall. Neither Mike, nor Jonathan, nor Will can get in to see Eleven, leaving them helpless until Joyce is back.
Max goes to see the guidance counsellor, Kelley, at home while Nancy and Robin are off at the library searching for anything relevant on Creel. She and Kelley talk about her trauma, taking Max briefly back to the night her brother was killed. She deflects into talking about Chrissy’s death, poking around about anything Chrissy might’ve said before dying. Though she doesn’t get anything out of Kelley, so she manages to sneak the counsellor’s office keys out of there.
Elsewhere, Lucas sneaks away from his jock pals to call Dustin over the radio, telling his friend what’s going on. And he’s nearly caught by the jocks. So he says he knows where to find Eddie.

Eleven’s stuck in that transport van being brought to a juvenile facility when several black cars stop the van in the middle of a highway. Seems the government has designs on Eleven. Oh, my. Eleven attempts to run but she stops when Sam Owens gets out of one of the cars. The two of them go to a diner where they chat about life since they last saw one another. Owens explains that, once again, “Hawkins is in danger.” This new evil is “like a virus” that returns stronger and smarter and worse each time. This time, it’s a war. And Owens knows a way to bring El’s powers back for it, even stronger. He sees her as “the cure” for this problem in Hawkins. He also says she may never see her friends again, especially if things don’t go right.

At the prison camp, Hopper bribes a fellow inmate to smash his ankle up, which, later that night, allows him to slip off the shackles, albeit incredibly painfully. Back in Hawkins, the jocks are out in the forest looking to find Eddie so they can do their own smashing.
At the library, Nancy and Robin find info about Creel. Apparently Creel blamed his crimes on an “ancient demon.” Perhaps he was telling the truth, and that demon was Vecna, now returning to terrorise Hawkins. At the school, Max, Steve, and Dustin go through the counsellor’s files, finding that not only was Chrissy visiting Kelley, but Fred was, too. Worse, Max is one of the targets Vecna wants next. She hears the clock, and soon sees it, as well as hears the voice of Vecna calling to her.