Sadie Sink | Stranger Things | Season 3

 

"Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?"

In June 1984, scientists in the Soviet Union attempt to open a new gate to the Upside Down but fail. One year later, around late June 1985, in Hawkins, the popularity of the new Starcourt Mall has forced many local businesses to close, angering townspeople. Eleven and Mike Wheeler have begun a romantic relationship, much to Jim Hopper's chagrin; he later threatens Mike into agreeing not to see her. Dustin Henderson returns from summer camp and, with Lucas Sinclair's, Max Mayfield's, and Will Byers's help, sets up a radio tower to contact his new girlfriend from camp, Suzie. Dustin's friends leave, and he intercepts a Russian radio transmission. Will senses that the Mind Flayer may still be alive. Rats flock to a mill and explode into an organic mass. Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers work as interns for the Hawkins Post. Nancy experiences sexism from her older male staff. On his way to a rendezvous with Karen Wheeler, Billy Hargrove is run off the road by an unseen creature and dragged inside the mill.

"Chapter Two: The Mall Rats"

Billy is released from the mill after the creature induces a vision of the Upside Down, which includes a doppelgänger. Following Hopper's threat, Mike lies to Eleven, leading her to seek Max's advice. Dustin reunites with Steve Harrington, who works at the mall's ice cream parlor with Robin Buckley, a former classmate. Nancy and Jonathan investigate the home of Mrs. Driscoll, an elderly woman concerned about rabid rats eating her fertilizer. Eleven and Max bond, going shopping at Starcourt Mall to distract themselves from Mike and Lucas. Tormented by visions and voices, Billy is guided by the creature into kidnapping his fellow lifeguard, Heather Holloway, and bringing her to the creature. Eleven breaks up with Mike after she sees him at the mall and realizes that he has been lying. Joyce tries to figure out why magnets at her home and workplace have stopped working. She goes to the home of Scott Clarke, the kids' science teacher, to ask him why the magnets have stopped functioning, accidentally standing Hopper up for a date. Dustin, Steve, and Robin translate Dustin's intercepted Russian radio message, surmising that it must be a code.

"Chapter Three: The Case of the Missing Lifeguard"

While having a sleepover with Max, Eleven jokingly uses her powers to spy on Mike, Lucas, and Will. She later spies on a suspicious and strange Billy, who senses her presence. She and Max discover that Heather has gone missing. Nancy and Jonathan find reports of missing fertilizer and strange behavior among rats across town, and they discover Mrs. Driscoll herself eating fertilizer in her home. After his attempts to play Dungeons and Dragons like old times, Will fights with Mike and Lucas as they are upset over Eleven and Max. He retreats to Castle Byers, and upon recalling his childhood memories with his friends, he destroys it. Robin decodes the Russian communication, which leads to a shipment arriving at Starcourt that night precisely at 21:45; she, Steve, and Dustin spot armed Russian soldiers handling the delivery. Joyce forced Hopper to go to the abandoned Hawkins Lab to answer queries they have about the falling magnets; when they investigate, Hopper is attacked by Grigori, a Russian soldier. Eleven and Max track down Billy and Heather at the home of Heather's parents. After they leave, Billy and Heather subdue her parents, which Will senses while Mike and Lucas find him, and he reveals to them that the Mind Flayer has returned.

"Chapter Four: The Sauna Test"

Billy and Heather bring her parents to the mill, where they are possessed by the Mind Flayer, now a physical creature composed of flesh from the rats. Hopper recalls Grigori meeting with town mayor Larry Kline; he and Joyce force Kline to reveal that Starcourt Mall is a Russian front for buying abandoned properties across Hawkins. At Starcourt, Dustin, Steve, and Robin, alongside Lucas' sister Erica, discover that the mall's loading dock is an elevator, which traps them beneath the mall. Nancy and Jonathan are fired by their boss Tom, Heather's father, for harassing Mrs. Driscoll; Nancy visits Mrs. Driscoll at the hospital out of suspicion and watches her become possessed by the Mind Flayer. Will reveals his connection with the Mind Flayer to Eleven, Mike, Lucas, and Max, speculating that it has possessed Billy. They devise a plan to trap Billy in the pool's sauna to confirm he is possessed, but Billy escapes and nearly kills them until Eleven subdues him. Billy returns to the mill, where dozens of townspeople have since been possessed by the Mind Flayer.

"Chapter Five: The Flayed"

Hopper and Joyce search one of the abandoned properties, discovering a hidden laboratory. Grigori arrives to kill them, and they narrowly escape with a hostage–a Russian scientist named Alexei–in tow. Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica arrive in a Russian lab underneath Starcourt and hide from Russian soldiers unloading crates from the elevator. Attempting to find a communications room, the group discover a large testing area where scientists try to force open a portal to the Upside Down. As Alexei does not speak English, Hopper and Joyce take him to Murray–the only Russian speaker they know–to translate. Grigori tries to follow them but loses the trail. Nancy and Jonathan regroup with Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Max, and Will and then theorize that Billy and Driscoll are both possessed by the Mind Flayer, who uses them to "flay" (possess) people to create an army. The group decides to visit Mrs. Driscoll at the hospital to learn more but discovers she is missing. They are attacked by Tom and Bruce, who are now part of the Flayed and dissolve into a single organic mass resembling the Mind Flayer after Nancy and Jonathan kill them.

"Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum"

Eleven, who had just then reconciled with Mike, uses her powers to incapacitate the bio-massed Mind Flayer, forcing it to flee to the mill. In the Russian lab beneath Starcourt, Steve and Robin are captured, drugged, and interrogated, but Dustin and Erica manage to rescue them. With Murray translating, Hopper and Joyce hold Alexei hostage, forcing him to reveal that the Russians are attempting to access the Upside Down and that they are opening a portal beneath Starcourt. Hopper calls Owens to warn the U.S. Government of the threat, but Joyce insists they return to Hawkins immediately, fearing that their kids may be involved. Grigori corners Kline at Hawkins' Independence Day fair, demanding he step up efforts to find Hopper. Mike argues with Max about relying on Eleven's powers and inadvertently admits his ongoing love for Eleven. To find the Mind Flayer, Eleven uses her powers in an attempt to psychically communicate with Billy, learning of his traumatic childhood and finding the Mind Flayer at the mill. Billy senses Eleven's presence, giving the Mind Flayer access to her location, and reveals that the Mind Flayer plans to kill her to avenge her closing the gate. The Flayed converge on the mill, dissolving into an enormous organic mass and merging with the Mind Flayer.

"Chapter Seven: The Bite"

Eleven and the others determine that the Mind Flayer is coming for her, since she was the one who previously closed the gate and thus its only threat. Will senses the Mind Flayer approaching. The Mind Flayer attacks the group, and though Eleven defends the others, the Mind Flayer manages to injure her before they flee. Dustin and Erica hide a drugged Steve and Robin in the Starcourt movie theater. Eleven's group breaks into a supermarket to help treat her wounds and gather more supplies. Dustin contacts them over a walkie-talkie to try to explain the situation before he loses battery power. Eleven uses her powers to find Dustin, and the group take off for the mall. Steve admits that he has feelings for Robin, but she comes out to him as a lesbian. Hopper's group make their way to the fairgrounds in Hawkins to find the children, where they are spotted by Kline, who alerts the Russians. Grigori fatally shoots Alexei in front of Murray. Murray, Hopper, and Joyce evade several Soviet agents and learn the agents are looking for the children at the mall. Eleven's group arrive at the mall in time to stop the Russians from shooting Dustin's group. Exhausted and in pain, Eleven collapses, her wound pulsing.

"Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt"

Eleven rids herself of the piece of the Mind Flayer embedded in her wound, rendering her powerless. Hopper's group arrives, and plans are made to take Eleven's group to safety. At the same time, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray destroy the machine, with Dustin and Erica navigating them from his radio tower. Billy and the Mind Flayer trap Eleven's group at the mall. The others attack the Mind Flayer with fireworks as Eleven frees Billy from its control. Billy sacrifices himself to protect Eleven, Mike, and Max. Hopper fights and kills Grigori, getting trapped with the machine in the process. Out of time, Joyce is forced to trigger an explosion, closing the gate, with Hopper seemingly being disintegrated in the process. The Mind Flayer's physical body dies as Dr. Owens arrives with military forces. Three months later, the deaths are covered up, Starcourt is dismantled, and a disgraced Kline is arrested. The Byers family and a still-powerless Eleven prepare to move out of Hawkins. Eleven confesses her love for Mike and they make plans to meet at Thanksgiving. In Kamchatka, Russian guards are instructed to feed a prisoner, but "not the American", to a captured Demogorgon.