Stranger Things Season 1 Episode 3 Recap

Netflix Original, Stranger Things, is the newest series to take the Internet by storm. Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the show follows the story of a group of boys: Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. A mysterious disappearance shakes the normally quiet town. It soon becomes clear that there may be more to this disappearance than meets the eye. This sci-fi drama is set in the early 80s and is sure to keep you on your toes!

The first season is divided into eight chapters (episodes), and we’re recapping each one!

Warning: Spoilers below!

Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly

Barb is alive- for now, anyway. After being taken by the monster, she ends up at the bottom of Steve’s empty pool. However, there is a catch: she seems to be in some sort of parallel universe. The pool is overgrown with what look like the same alien tentacles we saw earlier. As she attempts to climb out, we find out that she is not alone in the pool, getting our first glimpse of the monster.

Jonathan becomes more worried about Joyce when she shares her theory about Will speaking to her through the lights. She ignores his plea for her to get more sleep and instead heads to the store to buy Christmas lights. Will sends her a signal through the lights, letting her know that he is alive, but in danger. The monster makes another appearance as it crawls out of Joyce’s wall while “talking” to Will. You have to admire her persistence. Everyone (including Jonathan) is acting as if she’s lost her mind. That doesn’t deter Joyce! The task of finding her son far outweighs the opinions of anyone around her, and we absolutely love her for that.

Hopper decides that it’s time to pay Hawkins Lab a visit. Whilst there, he requests to view the security footage from the night of Will’s disappearance. Hopper figures out that the lab is hiding something when the weather in the footage doesn’t match up with the stormy weather that swept through town that night. After conducting some research at the library, Hopper comes across an article that links Dr. Brenner to Project MKUltra, which actually existed in the real world! Finally, our knowledge of government-related conspiracy theories can be put to good use! For those unaware, MKUltra was an actual project created by the CIA that focused on mind control. It’s equal parts fascinating and terrifying. You can read more about it here.

Speaking of mind control, we learn from a flashback scene that Dr. Brenner was monitoring Eleven’s ability to manipulate inanimate objects. She successfully crushes a soda can and also manages to incapacitate two men with only a sinister glare and a jerk of the head. Yikes. Flashing forward to present time, El and the boys take off on a search for Will. She eventually leads them to Will’s house, saying that he’s there hiding. At this point, two police cars and an ambulance speed by, and the group swiftly follows them. They arrive at a small lake where a body is being pulled out of the water. Though the clothes match what Will was wearing that night, we’re never shown a close-up of the child’s face. We’re holding fast to our lights, hoping he’s still alive. Mike and boys aren’t so hopeful. Mike turns on Eleven, angry with her for making them believe Will was still alive. 

If the past two episodes were too slow for you, this episode is a real treat. It definitely kept us on the edge of our seats, and we’re absolutely going to sleep with the lights on after seeing that monster crawl out of the wall.

Slowly but surely, this mystery is coming together like pieces of a puzzle. Each group has their own important bits of information. The boys have Eleven, Joyce has the lights, and Hopper figured out the MKUltra connection. Now if everyone could just meet up and put all their information together! We imagine we’ll see that happening soon.

Questions we want answered

• Are Eleven’s powers dangerous to herself?
• What exactly are Dr. B’s intentions with El?
• Is Barb coming back? We really love Barb

We’re hooked! Attention to detail is crucial when watching this show, so we’re definitely taking notes. We’re loving the nostalgia of the 80’s, seeing the pop culture references, and also noticing parallels to classic horror films. This is the kind of show that makes you take advantage of Netflix’s autoplay option!

Are you as obsessed with Stranger Things as we are? Let’s talk about it @CelebMix!

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