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The third episode of Stranger Things ramped up the tension with Vecna's new target and saw the return of a familiar person.
Directed by Shawn Levy and written by Caitlin Schneiderhan, this episode of Stranger Things was titled Chapter Three: The Monster and the Superhero. It revolved around Eleven's return to Hawkins, Vecna's new victim, and saw some development in Hopper's great escape.
Note: This article reflects the writer's opinions.
Stranger Things Season 4 Vol. 1 Episode 3 review: An unprecedented turn
The third episode of Stranger Things Season 4 welcomed a beloved character who helped the story take a different and unprecedented turn. It opened with military officer Lt. Colonel Sullivan thinking that Eleven was going around killing all the teenagers in Hawkins as she was trained to be a remote assassin by Dr. Brenner.
To remedy the situation before more lives were lost, Sullivan crashed at Dr. Owen's home in Nevada, believing Owens would be aware of Eleven's whereabouts. Although the meeting wasn't a success for Sullivan, Dr. Owens did know something else.
Hopper's escape plan
Back in Lenora, Joyce and Murray started their trip to Alaska to pay for the pilot and bring Hopper back home. This entire thing was set up by the Russian guard, Dmitri, who was referring to himself as Enzo for the Americans. Together, Hopper and Dmitri acted out a confrontation while working on railroad spikes so he can give Hopper an update.
He told Hopper that Joyce had come to save him and after getting the money, it was Hopper's responsibility to escape and get on the plane. In order for the plan to be successful, Hopper gives up his meal to one of the prisoners to break his leg chains with the sledgehapper.
The return of Dr. Owens
On the other hand, El got arrested by the local cops for hitting Angela and it all transpired in Joyce's absence. The police then got her to admit to an attempted murder charge and when Mike, Will, and Jonathan headed to the station to bail her out, they learned that she was being sent to juvenile detention. However, this got interrupted by Dr. Owens and his team who took Eleven into their custody.
Meanwhile in Stranger Things, the rest of the crew - Steve, Robin, Dustin, Max, and Nancy - hypothesized that Chrissy and Fred must've shared their nightmares and visions with the school counsellor, so they set out to go to school. However, Nancy decided to break away from the group and wanted to investigate independently and Robin joined her.
The two then researched a bit about the history of serial killer Victor Creel at the library, beginning with his murder spree in 1959. They came to the conclusion that the evil figure, Vecna, possessed Creel.
Vecna's victim picking
Meanwhile in Stranger Things, Lucas went with three of his basketball teammates to learn about Eddie's hideout from the The Hellfire Club. Upon his arrival, he pretended that he did not know the people, hurting their feelings. The basketball teammates eventually learned about Eddie's hideout, during which Patrick felt a connection with Vecna.
This is where Vecna's pattern seemed clearer in Stranger Things. Before picking out the perfect victim, he searched through a maze of ruminating memories of suffering in Hawkins and then chose people who have had a rough past or were suffering in one way or another.
El's return to Hawkins
By the end of this episode of Stranger Things, viewers learned that Hopper was alive but injured, Dr. Owens was again in the good books and Max was in grave danger as she hallucinated. Hopper purposely got his ankles broken in order to break free from his shackles, and Owens convinced El to come back with him to Hawkins.
He made her believe that she can put an end to this as whenever they have killed the 'demon', it has come back stronger. He also told her that he had a plan for her to regain her powers.
Max's hallucinations
Meanwhile in Stranger Things, Lucas regained his senses and led the basketball players away from Eddie's hideout, which was at Will’s old house. While this was happening, Dustin, Steve, and Max went through the counselor’s files and learned that Fred and Chrissy had the same symptoms as Max - stress, nightmares, and bloody noses.
Max then finds herself in a Vecna hallucination after seeing the grandfather clock embedded in the wall in the dark school hallway. This was followed by Vecna's breathing, after which he addressed her. The series has now begun to deliver far more pressing content, lending it a tense and unsettling theme.
Stranger Things Season 4 Vol. 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
