S1E8: Chapter Eight: The Upside Down

In the final episode of "Stranger Things" Season 1, things kick off with a bang as the gang manages to communicate with Eleven through a makeshift sensory deprivation tank. She locates Will and reveals he’s trapped in the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Joyce and Hopper make a deal with Dr. Brenner to enter the Upside Down to rescue Will, risking their necks in a creepy parallel dimension. Hopper and Joyce venture into the Upside Down, navigating through its eerie landscape until they find Will unconscious and connected to some gross alien tendril. They manage to revive him just in time and escape back to the real world, barely dodging death by Demogorgon. It’s a touching reunion for Joyce and Will, but Hopper seems haunted by memories of his own daughter's death. While all this is going down, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven are at Hawkins Middle School setting up a trap for the Demogorgon. The creature crashes the party in classic monster fashion, leading to a showdown where Eleven uses her powers to disintegrate it, but she vanishes in the process. The boys are left shocked and heartbroken as their supernatural friend disappears. The season wraps up with a few loose ends: Will coughs up a disgusting slug-like creature, hinting at lingering Upside Down effects, while Hopper mysteriously leaves Eggo waffles in a box in the woods—suggesting Eleven might still be out there somewhere. It leaves you hanging just enough to know things in Hawkins are far from over.