True Reviews, Updates and Common Sense Opinions
Carnival Row is an interesting piece. Three episodes into the show and I was cringing, cursing, and horrified at some of the situations and some of the characters in the show. I won’t spoil the entire season, but there are some interesting facts about this show to note.
Continue reading “Carnival Row is worth watching | Amazon Prime Video (review)”
I started watching The I-Land after stumbling across it on Netflix in the late night. I was very intrigued by the show. It’s a 7 episode series about certain death row inmates looking for redemption after committing crimes in their life.
Sounds straightforward enough until you realize that nothing makes sense at all. All of the criminals were dropped on an island with no memories of their life. The goal is to see if they could change their behavior with new circumstances. However, throwing them in an environment with different types of people hindered that because right away there were trust issues and confusion.
Continue reading “The I-Land will leave you confused (Netflix)”
[This review was contributed by (AF).]
I am ready to tackle the Koren Drama called Abyss starring the extremely popular Park Bo-Young playing Go Se-Yeon and handsome Ahn Hyo-Seop as Cha Min. Abyss is about two people brought back to life but in different bodies by a strange alien object. Together they embark on a journey to uncover an elusive killer wreaking havoc in Seoul and of course finding love on the way. Wish me luck as I do a drama deep-sea dive and give my recommendation.
In terms of originality and storyline, I would give this an A for effort. Korean dramas, though recycled, reinvent the premise around the typical love triangle with new elements of history, fantasy or politics. This drama does a good job of combining several genres.
Sometimes the drama gets awkward in terms of musical cues that don’t add to the moments. Also, there are forced product placements that take away from the story. It ended up being distracting and making me frustrated.
Plus, the mysterious alien object called Abyss towards the end was explained away horribly. It was like the writers were trying to be too mysterious or set up a season two and do a big reveal later.
The supporting actors do deserve an award for their performance. They helped move the story forward. Lee Si-eon, who previously was in the drama W, played the police detective and he was unforgettable. He had moments with fellow co-stars Song Sang-Eun, who played his ex-girlfriend. They had chemistry and served their purpose.
But a relative newcomer with less than 5 drama’s released named, Han So-Hee had the best performance. She played Cha Min’s missing in action fiancée and quickly outgrew her role, capturing the screen when she had to deliver. Alas towards episode 13, her storyline was cut off and she was tossed in the proverbial character trash bin. She needed more time.
Ahn Hyo-Seop plays the younger hot version of Cha Min after he is brought back to life early in episode one. Infatuated with his new looks and motivated to win his fiance back, he takes advantage of his new life by partnering with Go Se-Yeon on a murder mystery. He was the typical
hot guy persona. There were no distinct personality or character traits. But, he didn’t have a lot of chances to extend his range of performance and a lot of times I was distracted by the sometimes confusing storyline.
Park Bo-Young plays the younger average or “ugly” version of Go Se-Yeon when she is murdered, but she is revived by Cha Min. Having rejected Cha Min for over 30 years, she finally admits her love him and they team up to find her killer. Park Bo-Young was a game-changer in the industry and a great addition to the project.
After watching Abyss, I would recommend it. I admit to binging a few episodes in a row, but it showcases the originality of Korean Dramas as America continues to consume its entertainment. We all love to be sucked into a fantasy with good looking people in unrealistic
situations and Abyss accomplishes that. So K-drama lovers, this can scratch your drama fix for now.
I know this sounds silly, but watching 90 Day Fiance is the most ridiculous thing I’ve watched in recent history. The stories are so grand and unbelievable but in a bad way.
Watching this show is the ultimate guilty pleasure. On one hand, I can understand the grandiose idea behind finding true love on the other side of the world. On the other hand, it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.
What gets you hooked on the show is the producer’s and editor’s ability to keep you on edge. There is a perpetual cliff hanger that dwells in every episode that makes you want to wait until after the commercial to see what happens. And because multiple parties are being followed during a season, sometimes you won’t catch up with the couple that had most of your attention for several episodes!
The worse part of the series is how dumb they make the people look. If alien life came across 90 Day Fiance over the space digital airwaves, they would think we are the most idiotic civilization ever. Why? Because of the things these people do for love.
I guess we all risk humiliation for at some point. But watching it on TV is almost painful, it’s entertaining but cringe-worthy. Plus, when bad things happen. Like when it doesn’t work out because one of the parties is already in a relationship. Or, if its clear the couple is not going to work because one person is pushy, needy, or crazy.
90 Day Fiance forces me as a viewer to look at the stark differences between what Disney taught me growing up and what the fabricated worst-case scenario is that I’m being shown. I hate that this show forces me to be cynical. I want to believe in fairy tales forever. But after binging one season of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days and watching some episodes of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way, I just don’t think that’s possible. But I have to commend TLC for making such an addictive show.
I hesitated to watch The Boys because I thought it’d be corny (for a lack of a better word). I was mistaken. The Boys is the best episodic piece of original content that I’ve seen all year thus far.
Homelander is the most memorable character in the show. He creeped me out from the moment he showed up on the screen. I don’t know if its make-up or the actor (Anthony Starr) is just that good, but he 100 percent made me hate him and feel uncomfortable.
Butcher is another character that captivates you from beginning to the end of the season. His take no prisoners, trust no one attitude is a played on very well throughout the show. Plus, as the story of his wife Becca unfolds, you start to understand his motives and reasons for his behavior.
The Story
After a Hughie, a computer store tech, watches his girlfriend get plowed through by “the world’s fastest man” A-Train, he’s approached by Butcher to get revenge or the superheroes that have taken over the world.
We find out that Butcher believes Homelander, this universes Superman, had something to do with his wife’s disappearance. Hughie, along with Mother’s Milk and Frenchie, joins Butcher to take down the supers and the company that represents them, Vought.
Things go array when Hughie begins to fall for Starlight, another hero and Homelander catches on to Butcher’s plan.
Why should you watch The Boys?
This show is every superhero fan’s nightmare. What would you do if you found out your favorite superhero was actually a part of some maniacal plan to take over the world?
It would ruin everything. We’re in a world where Superhero movies are the biggest box office in the world because they represent hope. But these characters (loosely based on the DC Justice League) are manufactured by a corporation.
This show deals with everything from politics, to the military, to sexual assault, and total corruption of the people that are meant to be a symbol of peace.
It’s a great watch and with only eight episodes for season 1, it’s absolutely binge-worthy. Plus, there are plans for season 2 and the cliff-hanger for season 1 was unexpected, so nows the time to catch up.
This show made me side-eye my favorite fictional superheroes. That’s how well the show creators paint these characters as corrupt. It’s definitely a show worth giving a try on Amazon Prime Video.
When I began to watch My First First Love on Netflix, I thought it was cringe-worthy. Honestly, I did cringe multiple times. The main male protagonist (Tae-o was self-centered and the main female protagonist (Song-i) was whinny. Both characters were annoying. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to get into this story. Once I reached the end of episode one, I began to see a story develop and it’s a story that we can learn a lot from.
Personal Growth
At its core, the first season of My First First Love is a story is about growing up and relying on your will versus depending on others to work through your issues with or for you.
There are sub-themes as well. The characters in this story deal with depression, selfishness (especially regarding their parents), the growing pains of friendship, and abandonment ( a lot of abandonment).
In this series, fathers take the forefront of parenting and are mostly stern. Most of the characters have a strained relationship or non-existent relationship with their mother. As a result of the difficult relationships with their parents, the main characters seem to struggle to find themselves healthily. They seem to go through a depression and only find happiness out on their own.
This series is very emotional at points. Especially during the transition from campy to serious. Characters deal with betrayal and misplaced anger.
For example, Song-i moved in with Tae-o (her best friend of 20 years) after she was evicted because her mother left in the middle of the night leaving her in a foreclosed home. However, she was reluctant to stand on her own feet willingly. She eventually began a romantic relationship with another man (a friend of Tae-o’s) and only moved out when he expressed his discomfort.
Song-i relied a lot on Tae-o at the beginning of the series. That fact is mentioned a lot. And before she was evicted and her mother ran away, she relied on her mother who ended up verbal asking not to be bothered.
Tae-o’s perspective is a little different. His main conflict arrives when he is faced with defining what his friendship means with Song-i versus a budding romantic relationship. He struggled with how to define the boundaries of his relationships. Plus, he had to come to terms with his blooming feeling about Song-i in the process.
Acceptance of Truth
Season two became a story about acknowledging one’s feelings no matter how painful they may be. At this point, both Song-i and Tae-o were in romantic relationships with other people. However, the relationship that they built of 20 years never allowed them to fully invest in their partners.
For example, Do-Hyeon (Song-i’s boyfriend) had to figure out what being with Song-i meant to him versus accepting that she would never be fully his. Was holding on to her worth being a nervous wreck all the time?
Ryu Se-Hyeon (Tae-o’s girlfriend) also suffered from this realization. However, because she was never truly invested in her relationship with Tae-o, she was able to let go.
There are several other examples of acceptance in this series. Both O Ga-rin and Choe Hun came to terms that being with their parents hindered their ability to thrive and be happy. And Tae-o had to accept this his parents made a decision that they thought was best for him and despite how hurtful it may have initially felt.
Power of Friendship
Lastly, friendship is a key theme. Through the entire story the friendship that Tae-o, Song-i, O Ga-rin, and Choe Hun have carried them through their tribulations.
In this series, the power of friendship encouraged each character to be better than they were before. Many great moments showcased the importance of friendship in this series.
The story of My First First Love may have centered around Tae-o and Song-i realizing their feelings for each other, but the overarching themes of relationships, self-worth, growth, and acceptance are what made this series worth watching.
The season finale of Swamp Thing was good. It left me curious. How could you cancel the series but leave the season with a cliff hanger?
I think there will be another season at some point. Whether it will be on the DC Universe streaming service or another network remains to be seen. But, if DC does not follow up on this show, they will be making a mistake.
But I digress.
In the previous episode, a lot of things happened. Daniel Cassidy transformed into the Blue Devil to save Abby and Liz, Maria was committed to a psychiatric hospital, and Caroline Woodrue overdosed on her medication because she couldn’t remember if she took it or not. Most importantly Swamp Thing and Abby found out that Alec Holland died during the explosion in episode 1.
This episode was supposed to sum everything up. However, I think this episode left more questions than answers.
Spoilers ahead
Jason Woodrue is unstable at this point due to his fixation on the mysterious healing properties of Swamp Thing due to the mutagen mixing with Alec Holland’s blood earlier in the season.
Caroline is in “locked-in” syndrome due to the overdoes and Jason is now using the specimens he took from Swamp Thing to try and heal her. But he decides to experiment on himself first. Recall, he extracted Swamp Things’ heart and lungs. So he decides to cook up the heart and eat it. Eating the heart causes him to seize up and pass out in front of a helpless Caroline.
“… a thing born from his death.” – Swamp Thing
Meanwhile, the Conclave is still determined to capture Swamp Thing and use him for the “good of humanity”. But, he is uninterested and vows to take the fight to them as they invade the swamp.
The Conclave’s representative Ellery sees Avery on the swamp site and kicks him out tell him that basically because of his wife’s shenanigans and his mistress trying to kill him, the Conclave sees him as a liability. Avery sets off on a mission to clear up his affairs so that he can rejoin to Conclave and finish he’s life work to use the swamp to his advantage.
This leads him to Delroy’s bar where he finds out Matt is in the hospital. He goes to the hospital and pleads with Lucile to get back with him and start fresh, but she is not interested and threatens to kill him if he comes near her or Matt again.
Matt is still unconscious, but when he wakes up he somehow knows Avery came by. Matt and Lucile make up (sort of) and he tells her to go home to rest. However, he unknowingly sent her to her assumed death. Avery broke into her car and waited for her. He then stabbed her in the stomach and drove her car to the swamp. He dumps the car in the swamp just in time for Lucile to regain consciousness and drown in the trunk of her car (so I think).
Always check the back seat folks!
After watching Lucile drown, Avery coughs up a swamp leaf. Perhaps he’s suffering effects from the treat Swamp Thing gave him when he was injured.
Daniel Cassidy is being haunted by the Blue Devil since activating its powers last week. Liz catches up with him just in time to see him off because he can finally leave Marais. He speeds down the highway and past the ‘Welcome to Marais’ sign. Where is he going?
“A peace from which you may never return.” – Ms. Xandou
Ms. Xanadu made an appearance in this episode. She visited Maria who was committed to the psych ward by Avery. While in the ward, she began to have episodes that made her condition worsen due to the dabbling she did with the dark swamp spirits to see her daughter, Shawna. Ms. X offers to ease her pain and puts her into a hypnotized state where her daughter is with her. I am assuming she’s going to stay that way forever.
Abby arrives just after the hypnosis and Ms. X directs her to see Avery. I guess she hoped to find Avery and Jason Woodrue together because she goes to visit the Woodrue home. However, she found him in a heightened sense of awareness with the nature around him and planning to shove the Swamp Things heart in his wife’s mouth (she’s still unable to move, but her face says she’s terrified).
Luckily, Abby called 911 and they arrive in time to save Caroline and arrest Woodrue (who has crazy strength now after eating the heart).
“Alec holland is gone, the question is who do u wanna be” – Alec Holland’s ghost
Back at the swamp, Swamp Thing has massacred the entire Conclave unit expect for Ellery. He leaves him alive to go tell the story of what happened and hopefully convince anyone hunting him to back off.
After he finishes his attack, Holland’s ghost appears and asks him to decide who he wants to be now that the truth is out. Swamp Thing wants to go deep in the swamp, but can’t bear to leave Abby behind. As a result of his feelings for Abby, he stays.
Abby meets up with Swamp Thing at Holland’s old cabin and tells him that she’s not going anyway and they can face the future together. So I guess they are in love and now they are together, but I’m not sure.
End Credits and Season 2
During the end credit scene, Matt arrives at the police station to find it covered in plants and vines. He also notices Tyler (a fellow officer) down on the scene. Moments after a tree man rises from the ground and introduces itself as Jason Woodrue.
Jason transformed into this Tree Thing because he ate Swamp Thing’s heart. However, he is not friendly like Swamp Thing and attacks Matt Cable to end the scene.
This is why I am expecting a season 2 at some point. The episode is called Loose Ends but it didn’t wrap anything up.
Jason Woodrue is now a threat in Marais, Avery is still around after killing Lucile, and Daniel Cassidy’s fate is unknown. And let’s not forget that the Conclave probably won’t stay away from the swamp.
Episode 10 of Swamp Thing did not close all of the storylines. If anything it opened new ones. The rumor is that Swamp Thing was canceled due to financial costs. I say DC needs to invest in this story. It’s unlike anything that is available right now and this could be a great way to set themselves apart from Marvel.
Swamp Thing is different in a good way and needs to be invested in.
Have you binge-watched the Veronica Mars fourth season yet? I did. It’s only eight episodes, but I remember her from my teenage years and thought it may be cool to catch up with an old friend.
Veronica is the friend I’m referring to.
I have to admit, it was nice to see Veronica Mars back in action. However, I also have to admit I was completely perplexed by the number of people that got away with their crimes by the end of the season.
Tread lightly, if you haven’t watched it yet. As you continue to read, I will refer to information that could be considered spoilers below.
One thing I loved about season four of Veronica Mar is that it was very messy. It had a great spiderweb to follow. You had the initial bombing that put everything in motion. Decoy story lines that kept the main story buried so that you couldn’t see the ending coming. And, it dealt with a lot of mature themes that kept the show interesting.
The creators of the show did a great job with maturing the context of Veronica’s life to match where viewers of the show (when it was on in the early 2000s) are currently. It’s like we grew up together only she’s slightly older than me.
But I digress. I noticed a few things about Veronica’s personal life this season. She is not that great with relationships. She’s oblivious to her dad’s health, doesn’t want to get married to Logan at one point, and ruins a cool friendship with a character named Nicole.
I also noticed that the show creators used the way Veronica had sex as a representation of where her emotional state was at the time. When she’s not in the best place emotionally, it’s dark and raunchy. But, if she’s in a good place those scenes don’t exist even though they are implied.
She is still rough. But her mess never really factors into “the mess” of the show.
Spoilers Plot Details Ahead
Okay, quick overview. I’ll stick to important facts. All names are not important to follow the story.
A real estate agent is pushing for a form of gentrification in Neptune. So he, along with his friend from jail, plans to devalue the area so that they can kill spring break and buy up real estate for a low price.
A bomb goes off during spring break in Neptune. It kills a hotel owner, a rude frat guy, a congressman’s brother’s fiance (the brother lost 3 fingers), and a relative of the fictional cartel leader El Despiadado.
A pizza guy is also injured in the process.
There’s a chain reaction to try and solve the mysterious bombings before someone else gets hurt.
Queue Veronica and Keith Mars.
They are commissioned by the congressman to find out who is behind the bombings as he suspects his blackmailer is responsible. But he doesn’t trust the police, because they are short-staffed.
Muggings and sexual assaults are overtaking the area during spring break and when the bomb blows, they are overwhelmed and the chief of police is very prideful which doesn’t help.
Anyway, the cartel sends two henchmen to track down the person responsible for the hotel bomb that killed their family. So the entire show, they are on a chase and never get a lead. But they do run into the congressman who is being stalked and attacked by 2 rednecks (relatives of his brother’s deceased fiance’) about a wedding ring they have no claim to.
They save the congressman’s life for a price and try to kill Veronica Mars at some point because she was snooping around their hotel room. Eventually, they get their guy and head back to Mexico.
The congressman ends up in the hospital, but he survives. He gets his hands dirty during the season, but he also goes on to live his life without consequence for his actions.
The hotel owner’s daughter becomes the protege of Veronica and ends up helping Veronica and Keith figure out who the bomber is and save the sort of.
There’s a big plot twist at the end and it is confusing and bogus. I won’t spoil, but I did not understand why that needed to happen.
It’s like the “good” guys didn’t win at all.
In fact, most of the bad guys, or people who did something shady during the season, never experienced any consequences for their actions. Even when they catch the culprit only one person suffers serious consequences.
Why should you watch Veronica Mars?
Besides the drama that’s played up through the entire story. Some of the happenings in this season show a lot of what happens in neighborhoods that have a great location but undesired occupants.
Think about it, a real estate tycoon moving to build up luxury condos on the beach against the will of the surrounding community. It happens in neighbors every day. The other issues in the season were just distractions.
The truth from this story is consequences bypass the powerful.
I wouldn’t say the season is amazing, but it is entertaining at points. There are a lot of annoying characters, Veronica being one of them at times. However, I need to stress this. Please do not make a spin-off called Mars Investigations.
At the end, it felt like they were trying to spin-off to Veronica’s protege a little bit. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Don’t do it. This is Veronica’s story. Keep it that way.
Previously on Swamp Thing, the bad guys came out on top. The Conclave, Jason Woodrue, and Avery Sunderland abducted Holland from the swamp and moved him to a mobile lab in Marai.
Abby was left out in the cold with no idea about her status with the CDC or the whereabouts of her friend Dr. Edwards, and it looked like all hope was lost.
Now, all hope is definitely lost because everything we’ve known up to this point is a lie!
Spoilers ahead
It’s important to remember that Jason Woodrue has a wife named Caroline and she is suffering from an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s. In this episode we see Caroline get progressively worse even while taking her medicine. Because she’s getting worse, Jason is motivated to experiment on Holland to develop a miracle cure for her.
As a result of Woodrue’s desperation, Holland is abducted from the swamp, placed on a table with power damping technology, and in a medically induced coma for exploratory surgery.
“You’re not a man at all. You’re a plant that thinks its a man.” – Jason Woodrue
At some point during this surgery, he wakes up. Despite expressing that he can feel everything Woodrue proceeds taking out organs, yanking them at points to observe them.
Woodrue concludes that Holland is not the man on the table. The man on the table is a memory shell made up of the plants from the swamp. He suspects that during the explosion at Skeeter Cove, Alec Holland died. However, due to the mutagens in the water affecting the plants, his DNA mixed with the mutagens and the plants formed this body and tried to replicate the human condition, specifically Holland’s memories.
WHAT!
So Woodrue’s theory is that the Swamp Thing is not Holland after all!
“I don’t care. I’m not giving up on Alec.” – Abby Arcane
While all of this is happening, Abby asks Liz to help her find where they are keeping Holland. At the same time, Daniel Cassidy wakes up at the hospital and finds the swamp stranger (the one from the movie set) at his bedside.
The swamp stranger shows him a vision of a possible future of Liz and Abby getting shot up via the Conclave while looking for Holland.
What is the swamp stranger exactly? He just comes out of nowhere when he feels like it.
Anyway, Cassidy fights the urge to be Blue Devil and save Liz and Abby but eventually, he succumbs to either temptation or guilt and goes to help.
In real-time, Abby and Liz find out about Caroline’s condition and conveniently about the mobile lab. So they go to the lab and almost get shot up, but this time the lights go out, the Blue Devil tears all of the Conclave soldiers to shreds, and then runs away after he’s spotted by Liz and Abby.
He must have passed out because he wakes up later in the episode in human form and sees all of the carnage he has caused.
Abby and Liz make it to Holland in the lab and watch him regenerate after being cut to bits. Then he stands up and says that he has to go back to Skeeter Cove to see if Woodrue is right. Abby follows him and Liz goes to investigate the group we know as the Conclave.
Meanwhile, Avery has Maria locked up in a psych ward because she tried to have him killed. Matt Cable gets drunk in a bar and then crashes into a pole while driving.
Don’t drink and drive folks.
“This ‘thing’ is what I am, Alec Holland is …” – The Swamp Thing
Abby and Holland make it to Skeeter Cove and Holland dives into the water. He slowly rises with a rotting skeleton in his arms. The actual corpse of Alec Holland. He died in episode one and was replicated due to the mutagen in the swamp.
How bazaar!
I think this is the biggest surprise of the season. Especially when you think back to Holland and Abby having the moment in the swamp where the Swamp Thing looked like Holland due to the pheromones he released.
How will they wrap up this season?
Will Avery get away with everything or is he in trouble now that Swamp Thing has escaped? Or will he have to answer to the Conclave?
What will Abby do now that the truth about Alec’s death is out?
Can Daniel Cassidy leave Marai now since he saved Abby and Liz?
Is Maria stuck in the hospital forever?
Is Matt Cable dead from the car accident?
Will Jason give up now that Caroline’s condition is worse?
And most importantly, what will the Swamp Thing do now since he’s not a real person?
I can’t wait until the season finale!
Previous episode – Swamp Thing S01 E08: The Long Walk Home (review)
I sat down to try something I hadn’t watched before. As much as I’m enjoying Swamp Thing over on DC Universe, I decided to try some other DC shows that are available right now.
I’ve never watched Krypton before and I haven’t heard much about it. Going into the show, I only knew that it is a prequel to Superman, sort of.
Krypton follows the grandfather of Superman. So technically he has to father a baby and then that baby needs to grow up and have Superman.
Okay.
I started at season 2 episode 1. Being a television series on Syfy I was lucky enough to catch a recap at the beginning of the first episode.
However, after three episodes I found that I was lacking interest. Don’t get me wrong, the set design is great. The fight sequences are high paced and hard-hitting. Plus Brainiac looks completely creepy and Doomsday had a great design too! They have the best design on the show.
Not to mention General Zod is played by Colin Salmon, one of my favorite special ops soliders “one” from the first Resident Evil (2002).
But I think it’s because I didn’t start from the beginning of the series that it missed the mark. I started the second season so I was low-key lost. And then I also didn’t connect with any characters.
Seg-El seemed a little oblivious to me. I mean he had his moments where he looked cool and completely showed out, but other than the powers he developed on Brainiac’s planet, I didn’t connect.
Then I got confused because he was dating Lyta-Zod but then actual Zod came from the future and took over Krypton. And even after Adam Strange warned everybody (including Lyta, Seg-EL and everyone else important) that Zod was up to no good, Zod’s plan still succeeded.
Episode 3, the last one I watched as of this writing, had Strange and Seg-EL stuck on Brainiac’s planet captured by one of the only habitants left and Seg-El’s powers are overwhelming him. While a bunch of other people are planning a resistance.
I can’t say whether Krypton is a good show or not. Maybe I did the show a disservice by joining in on the second season. But then again, I’ve started shows late in the lifecycle before, enjoyed some and even went back to the start for some.
I should be excited to start from episode 1 in season 1. I don’t want to force it. I’m sure Krypton is a great show. But after 3 episodes, I stopped. Maybe I’ll get it another try later.
I keep asking the same question every week regarding Avery Sunderland.
Why do people trust this man?
His face doesn’t even come across as caring or trustworthy. Not to mention that he has betrayed or threatened almost every person that we’ve met during this season of Swamp Thing.
This week it became apparent that most of the people involved in the conspiracy in Marai are either greedy or naive and that is how they keep getting taken advantage of.
Spoilers ahead
Even though Lucille shot Avery twice with a shotgun before he fell in the swamp water, he only had a knee injury. He wandered the Swamp grounds and experienced hallucinations of Lucille and his father until Holland found him.
Now here’s the thing. At this point, Holland knows that Avery gave the order to kill him. He says as much when he’s talking to Avery. Yet, as soon as Avery promises to make him human again, he drops all angry and believes him.
How naive could you be?
This man tried to kill you! I can understand Holland is the good guy in this situation so he doesn’t retaliate, but you know Avery is not a good person. How could you believe him?
“The swamp would of let you die. I couldn’t. ” – Alec Holland
Now, I’m not sure if Avery had a change of heart after Holland saved him. But, he offers to bring Dr. Woodrue to the swamp to go over the options and see if his miracle serum (the one that nearly turned Daniel Cassidy into Blue Devil permanently) could help.
The Conclave already got to Dr. Woodrue and offered him a new lab, funding for research, and unlimited resources. So he’s pretty much been bought. So when Avery asks Woodrue to help, Woodrue talks him into capturing Holland instead.
Holland doesn’t know much about Woodrue, but he agrees to meet them and it ends up getting him shot three times with a shotgun (at the hands of Avery) and frozen in cryo-stasis!
Father vs. Sperm Donor
Matt and Lucille Cable are trying to keep up appearances around town because they know people will start asking questions about Avery soon. However, Matt is more focused on finding out Avery was his father. In his anger, he blames his mother for pushing away the man he knew to be his dad due to her obsession with Avery.
However, they don’t know that Avery is still alive and knows some information about Maria’s involvement in the plot to kill him.
“…your patient Alec Holland.” – Nathan Ellery
Meanwhile, the Conclave is running wild. They’ve followed Abby to Atlanta to have her talk Holland into coming to their lab. Of course, she refuses. But not before she tells her best friend, Dr. Edwards (the one that got the green flu a few episodes back) about Holland and his condition.
The Conclave representative, Nathan Ellery, tells Abby that Dr. Edwards went to Bangladesh, but I’m sure they just abducted him and he’s probably in danger. Hopefully, for convenience, he’s being held at the same facility they take Holland to. That way everyone can link back up easily.
After finding out that the Conclave knows where Holland is, Abby goes back to Marai only to find evidence of foul play.
With two episodes left for the season, how will they wrap this story up? It seems like things are getting more convoluted.
Questions:
Where is the Conclave lab that Holland is being transported to?
Is Dr. Edward dead or just in captivity?
How will Abby figure out where Holland went?
What will happen when Maria, Matt, and Lucille find out Avery is still alive?
When will Daniel Cassidy make another appearance?
In the final episode of Stranger Things season 3, Max, Lucas, Erica, Will, Jonathan, Nancy, Dustin, Steve, Robin, Mike, and a completely exhausted EL meet up at Starcourt Mall. They all start shouting the information they know. When El’s leg starts to pulsate.
Remember, the Mind Flayer injured her leg during their fight at Hoppers cabin in the woods and now she’s infected!
Jonathan runs to grab a hot knife to remove the little flayer out of her leg. El, exhausted and in immense pain, decides she is going to use her powers to remove it.
She’s been overdoing it all season, to be honest.
Anyway, she throws the little flayer across the floor and who steps on it but Hopper!
Yay!
Joyce, Hopper, and Murray made it to Starcourt. Everyone is accounted for and they commence plan “get the keys, turn off the Russian power beam, and close the portal to the Upside Down”.
Dustin and Erica convince Hopper and Murray that Alexei’s plan is too dangerous. They should know because they’ve been in the secret facility. Hopper agrees that they can navigate but they can’t go down into the hive.
So Dustin, Robin, Erica and Steve drive off to the hill where Dustin set up his satellite earlier in the season to make sure they have a dependable signal and connection with Hopper’s group.
Hopper can tell that El is out of energy and tells her to rest rather than come down into the base with his group. His group leaves the mall and El’s group of Mike, Max, Lucas, Nancy, Will, and Jonathan prepare to take a separate car (Nancy’s mom’s car), but the car doesn’t start.
Unfortunately, Billy is still connected to the Mind Flayers conscious from when she looked at Billy’s memories. Billy sits in his car and scares them back into the mall and the group tries to flip over a car into order to scavenge a part for their car. El once again tries to use her powers but they don’t work.
Just as El is realizing her powers have taken a nap, the Mind Flayer comes crashing through the roof of the mall.
Mike, Max, and EL get separated from Lucas, Will, Jonathan, and Nancy. They try to escape through the gap, but the Mind Flayer so close to catching them that Lucas has to use his slingshot to distract it.
Off the back of the distraction, Lucas, Will, Jonathan, and Nancy escape out of the door to fix the car.
In record time, might I add.
Billy, still in his car, drives full speed ahead and tries to crash into their car. He fails because Steve manages to make back to the mall in time to save the day!
Let me back up.
Steve left with Robin, Erica, and Dustin but while they were sitting on the hill, but Mike sent a distress call to the Scoop Troop due to Billy’s arrival, so Steve sped back to the mall, in the same yellow convertible that Hopper stole, to help. Good thing he did because the Mind Flayer was about to ruin everyone’s life.
His actions allowed Lucas, Jonathan, Will, Nancy, and himself to get away in Nancy’s mom’s car. The Mind Flayer chases after Nancy’s car. But Billy, who is clearly superhuman right now, spots El, Mike, and Max trying to get out of the mall and chases them into the back area.
Meanwhile, Dustin and Erica are navigating Murray, Joyce, and Hopper without a hitch.
6.62607004
Joyce and Hopper go to get the keys from a safe and Murray climb the vents to reach the generator for the beam. When it’s time to open the safe, there is a discrepancy with Plancks Constant, which puts the entire operation in danger.
However, Dustin is finally able to get in contact with his girlfriend Suzie using his satellite. After a sweet and precious moment of them singing ‘Never Ending Story’, Hopper and Joyce are able to open the vault. Which allows Murray to fry the servers powering the beam.
Back at the mall, Bill catches up with Mike, Max, and El. He punches his sister (Max) and knocks out Mike too! He picks up El and takes her to the middle of the mall just as the Mind Flayer arrives to FLAY HER!
All seems well with Hopper’s group though, until the terminator shows up. He knocks out Hopper and Joyce just as they are about to turn the keys to shut down the beam.
He and Hopper get into a huge brawl that takes them down into the area of the beam. Joyce has to turn the beam off on her own, but she tries to wait for Hopper to get back to safety. He’s too engaged in his fight with the terminator. He slams the terminators face into the beam effectively sawing him into pieces, but this forms an electric fence of sorts.
Hopper’s inability to get passed the electric fence causes him to self-sacrifice staying put in the room him the beam explosion while Joyce turns the keys.
“…the wave was 7 feet.” – Eleven
Once again, Lucas causes a much-needed distraction by using the fireworks he and Will took from the supermarket to bomb the Mind Flayer. Billy is trying to pen El down but she uses the pleasant memories of his mother to break the mind control that the Mind Flayer had on him.
Billy is freed from the Mind Flayer and stands up to fight it. Unfortunately, he gets killed in the process.
As the night ends, the government finally arrives HOURS after Hopper and Joyce called and everything gets locked down. Three months later, Joyce follows through with moving out of Hawkins.
I’m not surprised. She loved two men and they both died due to conspiracy.
Wrapping things up, El still can’t use her powers. Mike and El are back together. Will is okay with growing up now (per his temper tantrum about Dungeons and Dragons). Larry Klein got arrested! Joyce moves with Will, Jonathan, and El, while Lucas, Dustin, Nancy, Max, and Mike stay behind in Hawkins.
El also reads a heartfelt letter from her father, Hopper, who is presumed dead. And everyone breaks off into their new directions.
However, in an end-credit scene, we are shown another underground facility in Kamchatka, Russia. Prisoners are being held and used for testing and food.
You see two guards trying to choose who to pick for this round. One guard says, “Not the American”. They do choose another prisoner and of course, he’s thrown in a cage where a hybrid Demo-dog/Mind Flayer thing most likely consumes him.
Thoughts and Questions
Was Jim Hopper sucked into a vortex when the beam exploded? Is he the American that the Russians are holding prisoner at the end of Stranger Things?
Also, will Eleven every be as strong as she was at the end of season 2? She literally exhausted herself throughout the entire season. Honestly, Max made Mike feel like he was wrong for managing her power use, but in the end, he was right. El ended up overdoing it.
How will season 4 bring El, Joyce, Will, and Jonathan back to Hawkins?
Season 3 of Stranger Things was amazing. I was on the edge of my seat from episode one. Even though you don’t have to have seen seasons 1 and 2 to understand what’s happening. I appreciate callbacks to those seasons that reward you for following the series.
Each character served a purpose. Of course my favorites Dustin and Steve stole the show. But, the addition of Erica and Robin was great their plot. Plus, I really enjoyed the quarreling between Hopper, Joyce, Murray, and Alexei as well.
Previous: Let’s catch up with Stranger Things episodes 5-7 (season 3)
Previous: Let’s catch up on Stranger Things episodes 1-4 (season 3 recap)
Previous: Let’s catch up on Stranger Things (season 2 recap)
Previous: Let’s catch up on Stranger Things (season 1 recap)
Watching this show is so confusing at times. Especially in regards to Lucille’s relationship with Avery Sunderland. Avery doesn’t even like his wife, Maria. So how does Lucille think that he has feelings for her even though they hook up now and then?
Last week, Lucille found out about Avery blackmailing Matt (her son) over dirty dealings that she has been doing over the years. Apparently, she thought that she and Avery had a connection the transcended him being married because she was quite surprised when Matt told her what was going on.
Fast forward to the end of the episode and Matt found out that his efforts to kill Alec Holland failed. My major concern was that Matt would tell Avery even though the only reason he attempted to kill Alec in the first place was due to Avery blackmailing him.
Spoilers ahead
Surprise! Matt definitely told his mom. At first, I didn’t think he did, but he freely gave Liz a bunch of information about Alec in the swamp and Abby’s involvement.
What if Liz didn’t know anything? Matt just put her in danger all because he wanted to sulk in the bar and contemplate his transfer out of Marai.
Anyway, Matt expresses that he’s worried all of the supernatural happenings are just coincidence, which they aren’t. He’s probably more worried about the consequences of his part in Alec’s demise more than anything.
Back in the swamp, Abby and Alec are having a date with Alec looking like his human self courtesy of The Green. In the previous episode, Alec spawned a flower out of his hand that released a hallucinogen. Now Abby can see Alec in his true form versus the plant monster he’s become.
The Green vs. The Darkness
Alec has become one with The Green at this point and shows Abby some of his abilities. She’s still set on curing him so they go to an area described as The Rot. It’s where the darkness has thrived the most.
Abby believes getting a sample of The Rot could lead to a breakthrough in the cure development, so they take a field trip to the area.
I was honestly hoping for more Tree Zombies. They didn’t show up, but The Darkness tried to amputate Abby’s arm while she’s taking a sample, so I was satisfied. The Darkness left her arm mangled and Alec had to save her.
Meanwhile, Lucille went to Avery’s house while he was preparing for a dinner meeting with his Conclave Group investor Nathan Ellery.
I knew! I knew that the Conclave had to be holding Avery’s debt over his head. He was way too frazzled and eager to use Dr. Woodrue’s scientific discovery without proper testing.
Lucille confronts Avery about blackmailing Matt but also tells him that Alec is still alive. Matt did tell his mom about seeing Alec in the swamp because he was freaked out and didn’t want to get in trouble for attempted murder.
Moving on, Avery goes with Lucille to the swamp under the pretenses that they are going to get rid of Alec once and for all, but really Lucille is just trying to kill him. Things are going according to plan until Avery gets suspicious and almost blows Lucille away.
She tries to play the “I thought we loved each other” card and honestly I think he was still going to shoot. Luckily, Matt showed up in time to knock him over the head.
Here’s my thing, why didn’t they just finish the job right then? Why would you put him back on the boat and then dump him overboard?
Anyway, Avery ends up waking up and everything turns to crap. There’s a shouting match between Avery and Lucille. Avery distracts Matt “I am your father” style.
I KNEW IT!
Matt ends up being stabbed by Avery and then Lucille puts three shotgun shells in Avery’s body before he jumps into the swamp.
I’m pretty sure The Darkness is going to absorb him just like The Green absorbed Alec. It’s inevitable.
“All we have is right here, right now” – Abby Arcane
Abby is very injured and sick due to The Darkness poison, but Alec saves her and then they share a kiss because – love. Alec ends up telling Abby to leave Marai because it’s dangerous and there is nothing else she can do for him.
Now, it’s obvious that somehow Alec and Abby are in love. I don’t really know when that happened because they only knew each other for a day or two before he got blown up. But who am I to say that Abby couldn’t be completely interested in a plant/animal hybrid man, I guess.
Abby tells Liz that she’s driving back to Atlanta because that’s where she’ll have the most resources to form a cure.
Full Funding
Matt and Lucille stumble up the docks next to the Sunderland home. Remember he’s been stabbed. A doctor meets them and Maria lets them in the kitchen to stitch him up.
Turns out she was completely aware that Matt and Lucille wanted to kill Avery. In fact, she was in on it because she wanted to take over his company. Which she successfully showed that she could by winning over the Conclave investor at dinner regarding Woodrue’s breakthrough. Even though technically Daniel Cassidy is still in the hospital sedated because he’ll turn into a blue devil monster if he’s not.
Details, details.
As I assumed, Avery is still alive and makes his way to land in the swamp.
A serious question though for Lucille. How do you plot to kill the man you’ve been hooking up with on the side for years and have a son by with his wife? But then again he was going to kill Lucille first he was just too slow.
Either way, Avery is still alive and I’m betting that he’ll absorb some mystical powers too.
In the recap for season 3 episode 1 through 4, we left Dustin, Robin, Steve, and Erica locked in a secret elevator disguised as a storage room. It took them down into a secret hive facility full of Russian soldiers and scientists. There’s a lot of screaming and dangerous circumstances. The door doesn’t open until morning when guards come to pick up a load of the vials filled with green liquid.
Let’s catch up on Stranger Things episodes 5 through 7 in season 3.
Somehow, Steve, Dustin, Erica, and Robin manage to hide on top of the elevator until the guards leave. As the elevator door starts to close. Steve manages to lodge one of the vials until the door giving them enough time to escape into a corridor clearly not meant for walking.
Back with Hopper and Joyce, they’ve arrived at the final address that they acquired from Larry Klein (the mayor). They hear a pulsing underground which helps them find a secret tunnel under a bed. Two scientists are underground trying to fix their machine.
Bonus, they only speak Russian.
In the midst of Hopper failing to threaten the scientist he’s interrupted by a man I am referring to as the Terminator (the man from the motorcycle attack). He is so similar to the T-100 from the 1984 version.
They definitely didn’t do this by accident.
This Russian assassin character barely has any personality, he seems to have superhuman strength, and he’s very good at tracking. Not to mention, he wears all dark colors and a black t-shirt. All he’s missing is the sunglasses and the Exo-skeleton!
Hopper manages to steal one of the scientists, Alexi. He, Hopper and Joyce escape while dodging a “kill spray” from the terminator. They end up stealing a yellow convertible at a 7/11 gas station and head to Illinois, where the closest Russian translator lives (an acquaintance of Hopper).
After Nancy and Jonathan link up with Eleven (EL), Mike, Will, Lucas, and Max to tell them about the return of the Mind Flayer and the information they know, the group determines that Billy, Heather, Doris Driscoll, and Tom are “Flayed”.
El uses her powers to find out where Hopper is and see’s him heading to Illinois. Because Hopper and Joyce are busy, they decide to go look for Tom (Nancy’s former boss at the Hawkins Post and Heather’s father) at his home.
Somehow, Nancy is able to deduce the exact events of Tom and his wife’s “Flaying” as they walk through the house. And El determines they must have a home base for Flay because – reasons. They go to check on Doris Driscoll in the hospital to release her and let her lead them back to the home base.
While Dustin, Erica, Steven, and Robin are walking down the long corridors of the Russian base, Dustin and Steve figure out that the Russians know about the Mind Flayer and are trying to open a portal to the Upside Down again. They get spotted, but Robin and Steve are the only ones that get caught and get tortured by the General from the very first episode.
They break into the Russian command center, Steve legitimately knocks out a Russian agent and discovers a huge beam trying to rip a hole into the Upside Down.
“You know the rule, 2 at a time!” – Nurse
When Nancy, El, Mike, Max, Lucas, Will, and Jonathan arrive at the hospital only Nancy and Jonathan make their way to Doris’s room. However, she’s not there.
She’s gone!
They get attacked by Tom and Bruce from the Hawkins Post. They’ve killed everyone on the floor, including nurses and other patients. Jonathan gets completely destroyed, but Nancy manages to bus Bruce in the head which also injures Tom and allows Jonathon to kill him.
I have a question about proximity here. Did the injury to Bruce hurt Tom because they were near each other? Or are all of the Flayed affected no matter the distance?
After the hosts die, the Mind Flayer’s goop slugs toward itself and forms into one huge Flayer that tries to kill Nancy. Jonathon tries to save her, but they both almost die. El comes to the rescue and manages to save them for the moment.
“You remind him of a fat Rambo” – Murray
Finally, Hopper, Joyce, and Alexei meet up with Murray to translate. We find out that the Russians are using the transformers in Hawkins to power the underground facility that Dustin’s group stumbled into. They tried to do it in Russia but were unsuccessful therefore they came to the place of origin to complete the process.
Joyce, Murray, Hopper, and Alexi plan to break into the underground facility to blow up the laser machine opening the portal. They call for backup from the government and head back to Hawkins.
“You let us in and now you’re gonna have to let us stay.”
– Flayed Billy
Meanwhile, Billy traps El in his mind while she’s using her powers to search his mind and find the “Flayed” hideout. She sees a bunch of childhood memories before arriving at the Hess Farm location. But now every flayed can see El because she opened Billy’s mind.
Bummer.
El makes it out of Billy’s mind and tells her friends what’s going on and Will starts to feel the Mind Flayer getting closer. They barricade the cabin in the woods, but the Mind Flayer doesn’t care. It breaks open the roof and tries to kill everyone, most specifically EL because she’s the only one that can destroy them. During the attack, the Mind Flayer plants his cells in El’s leg and slowly begins to eat away at her power source.
El, Mike, Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan, Max, and Will run to the supermarket to get supplies to patch El up. Lucas and Will find some overpowered fireworks and then they leave and don’t notice that her blood is coagulating.
Dun Dunn Dunnnn!
Still underground, Steve and Robin are drugged with a truth serum so that the Russian General can find out who they work for because he doesn’t believe they work for Scoops Ahoy! Dustin and Erica make the save and they get out of the secret base alive.
They get back up to Starcourt and Dustin uses his walkie-talkie to get in touch with Mike. The signal is low but Mike figures out they are at Starcourt and both groups meet up.
Joyce thinks that the kids are at the Country 4th of July Carnival so that’s the first place she, Alexei, Murray, and Hopper go. Turns out the kids aren’t there and they have the worst timing because Larry sees them and tells the Terminator.
Next thing you know Alexei is dead and Hopper is being chased by a bunch of Terminators with less conviction. Hopper manages to meet up with Joyce and Murray and they speed away only to overhear a message across a walkie-talkie about kids being at Starcourt!
HEY! The gangs all here.
Previous: Let’s catch up on Stranger Things episodes 1-4 (season 3 recap)
So much happened in this season of Stranger Things! It is a truly exciting episodic adventure and I am glad I watched it. However, there was so much happening that I decided to break up the review into two parts. It’ll be easier to follow that way I’m sure.
Let’s catch up on Stranger Things episodes 1 through 4 in season 3.
Everything is going somewhat well in Hawkins, Louisiana when we meet back up with Eleven (El) and the gang. Hopper is miserable because El and Mike are getting more action than him every night. Local businesses, including Joyce’s, are closing or suffering because a new mall has opened called Starcourt. The entire community is spending time there at the new mall and people are losing work too. But, overall things seem normal.
That is until a blackout in Hawkins knocked out the power for a moment and rats start gravitating toward a warehouse in town. Joyce notices and tries to get Hopper to help her investigate with her, but he’s too preoccupied with trying to date her. Eventually, he comes around and they follow a lead to find out if Hawkins Lab, which was destroyed last season, is the root of this issue.
Not too much is happening until we catch up with Billy, Max’s older brother. He’s a lifeguard this summer and has the hots for an older woman. They plan a date and Billy takes his car to pick her up, but he never makes it because he drives past the warehouse that is giving off weird vibes and attracting crazy amounts of rats at this point.
Somewhat of a shock wave knocks Billy off course and causes an accident. A shadowy figure drags Billy into the warehouse and I assure its all bad from there.
As a result of Billy’s abduction, the older lady is stood up, sort of. It’s okay though because she has a husband and children. One of those children is Nancy.
Nancy is dating Jonathon Byers. They are interning at the Hawkins post this summer, but the editors treat her like she’s incompetent. Nancy comes across a story regarding rabid rats eating chemicals around the town. The editors don’t take her seriously, so she decides to investigate on her own with Jonathan.
Let’s jump back to 1 year before these events. In a place that looks a lot like Siberia, Russian scientists tried to reopen a portal to the Upside Down. They were given a year time frame to open it and keep it open by an unnamed General who was awfully sweaty.
At first, I thought they were trying to weaponize the portal and its beings, but then I realized the General was sweaty!
Let me explain.
Next time we see Billy, he is a sweaty, nasty, violated mess. That’s when it hit me. Billy is infected by the Mind Flayer and so was the General who gave the order in the previous year!
We find out that the Mind Flayer wants to spread himself across Hawkins and the rest of the world by infecting more people. He tells Billy this much. It sends Billy on a rampage to abduct people and take them back to the Mind Flayer for infection.
We meet back up with El, Mike, Max, Lucas, Will, and Dustin. Dustin recently returned from a camp where he made a high powered satellite to talk to his girlfriend, Suzie.
When he uses it, Suzie doesn’t answer, but he overhears a secret Russian transmission.
Transmission: The week is long, silver cats feed, when blue meets yellow in the west (playing over Indiana Flyer Much)
Mike, Lucas, and Will are caught up in the boyfriend, girlfriend drama with El and Max. So Dustin takes his findings to Steve and his co-worker, Robin, at the ice cream parlor in Starcourt. They begin to decode the message and they discover it’s a message telling the people involved when and where to meet underneath Starcourt.
At the same time, Billy has abducted his lifeguard co-worker, Heather.
El ends up having a weird feeling about Heather and Billy so sure uses her powers to spy on them and sees Heather in trouble. Max and El run over to Heather’s house to find Billy is over for dinner.
Billy almost convinces El and Max to back off, but then Mike, Will, and Lucus call for a code red the next day.
Let me back up.
During that same rainstorm, Mike and Lucus are trying to figure out how to get back with their girlfriends. Mike is broken up with El because he lied to her after Hopper threatened him. And Max and Lucas are on the outs because of El and Mike.
Will just wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons but Mike and Lucas wanted to win their girls back. Will threw a tantrum and ran out in the rain. During Will’s tantrum, Billy and Heather abduct her parents and give them to the Mind Flayer. Will recognizes an all too familiar feeling and alerts his friends that that Mind Flayer is back.
Turns out, Heather’s dad, Tom, the boss of Nancy and Jonathan. The next day he turns up to work looking all sweaty, nasty, and like a violated mess. He fires Nancy and Jonathan for continuing their investigation after they were told not to mess with the rats anymore.
He’s been infected!
Nancy still feels compelled to do this story despite pretty much breaking up with Jonathan due to class issues and losing her internship. With the encouragement of her mother, she sets up to continue investigating the rats.
Remember, the rabid rats are feeding on chemicals around town. Jonathon and Nancy previously met with a little old lady, Doris Driscoll. She caught one in her basement. When they came back to check on her during the rainstorm, they found her eating the rat. That’s what ultimately got them fired.
Code red!
Back with Dustin, Steve, and Robin, they hatch a plan to get into the secret room that the Russians are using under Starcourt by using the vent system. Dustin can’t fit so they bribe a little girl named Erica to help.
Erica shimmies her way into the room and opens the door from the inside. They find cases of vials filled with green liquid. They try to leave with a sample but the room begins to move. The room is actually an elevator to an underground facility.
My guess is that it is the same facility that they are trying to open the portal to the Upside Down from.
Joyce and Hopper were attacked while visiting the Hawkins Lab by a man on a motorcycle. Hopper followed his intuition and managed to get some addresses from Larry, a real estate agent working with the Russians to acquire land and buildings in Hawkins.
Larry tells Hopper that the people he’s working with are not to be messed with. Hopper beats him up after they exchange jabs about Hopper’s past substance abuse issues and go to follow the address trail with Joyce. Larry makes a phone, most likely to the same people he just told Hopper not to mess with.
Meanwhile, Max El Mike, Will, Lucas, and Max plan to lock Billy in a sauna to confirm that he is infected.
Of course, he is and he ends up getting into a fight with El. She almost wins, but she throws him out of a window allowing him to escape.
Billy runs back to his warehouse hideaway to find Heather waiting for him. He tells her how Eleven almost killed him. Heather says it’s okay because “She can’t beat us.”
The final shot of episode four is an entire group of people that they’ve abducted and fed to the Mind Flayer. They are all sitting in wait!
