Somehow we’ve already made it to episode 4 which means this is officially the halfway mark for season 3. How do these episodes go by so quickly?
Episode 4 is called The Sauna Test and begins with El having a flashback to the recent traumatic events with Billy. Max is unfazed by the night’s events. She tells El that Billy and Heather seem perfectly fine so why worry about them. El can’t shake the feeling that something more sinister is at play between the two. I’d listen to El on this. She’s witnessed a lot of strange events.
Heather’s parents are tied up in the garage, begging for Heather to let them go. She’s clearly not herself anymore. There’s no use even trying to talk to her. As they beg to be set free, a massive monster comes out of the shadows towards them, attaching it’s arms? Tentacles? I don’t know the correct scientific phrasing here? So I’m just gonna say arms...to their faces. The title credits begin.
Search for the Motorcycle Man
Hopper wakes up on his couch after being beat up by the mysterious restaurant patron. Joyce was there to help get him home. She’s ready to get back to the case as soon as he gets up. Hopper puts on his Hawaiian shirt as he gets ready for the day (his new uniform, I guess) and the two prepare to track down the motorcycle that drove away. Their first stop is the Mayor’s office where Hopper asks about the man on the motorcycle. He remembers that he saw him leaving the office just two days prior. When the mayor doesn’t cooperate, Hopper begins to blackmail Mayor Kline with personal information about his affair. This is getting dark, especially for a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt! Mayor Kline hits right back with details about Hopper’s past drug and alcohol problems. After the mayor brings up his daughter who passed away, Hopper slams him into the door and breaks his nose. The mayor tells Hopper the strange man works for people who own Starcourt Mall. They wanted to expand, so he sold him the property. The Mayor takes hopper and Joyce to his house to show them land deeds from the buyers of Starcourt Mall. He doesn’t know why this agency is buying up the property, but he says they’re bad news. Joyce believes the machine affecting the magnets exists at one of the properties bought by the Starcourt corporation.
Code Red
Mike and Lucas call the gang together for a “Code Red” meeting. Max and El put their grievances behind to meet back up with the boys where Will tells them the Mindflayer is back. Even though El closed the gate, Will wonders if it’s possible that it never left and they locked it out in Hawkins with them. The group goes to spy on Billy at the pool and hatches a plan to find out if he’s become a “host” for the Mindflayer. They’ll wait until the pool closes and lock Billy in the sauna to see if he can handle the heat. If there’s anything the Mindflayer hates, it’s being hot! I have to admit, the moments that the core group are together in the show are some of my favorites. It makes me a little sad that Dustin isn’t involved in these scenes, but I do love his dynamic with Steve and Robin this season.
The group prepares to try out the sauna test on Billy. Before facing the possibility of death by Ammonia man, Mike tells El that he lied to her because Hopper wanted them to stop spending so much time together. He says she’s the most important thing to him in the world. Alright, El this is your chance for you two to get back together! Instead of talking through the situation, El just replies, “What if he’s right?”. Seriously? She doesn’t think it’s a little wrong that her 40+ year-old guardian lied to and threatened her 14-year-old boyfriend? Eleven, there’s so much to learn! She hits back by bringing up his comment about boys being a “different species” than girls. That was a messed up comment, but it shouldn’t even be admissible in this argument because she got that info from spying on him! Poor Mike, he just can’t win.
Scoops Sleuths
After finding out that Russians are meeting in the mall, Steve, Dustin, and Robin want to find out what they’re hiding. Steve figures he can just “take out” the Russian guard, but Robin is skeptical of that possibility. Robin, you’re clearly new here! Steve is used to being beaten up, then rising from the ashes of defeat to become an unlikely underdog of victory! Dustin asks Steve if he’s ever actually “won a fight.” It’s a bold question. Steve has lost several fights. But he beat the demodogs when it mattered most, so technically he has won a fight. Robin gets a map of the mall and finds that the best way to get to the secret Russian passageway is through air ducts. Dustin tries to fit through the tiny air vents, without success. They enlist the help of Lucas’ sister, Erica, to crawl through the vents since she is just small enough. Before agreeing, Erica wants to know what’s in it for her. If she’s not getting free ice cream out of it, she’s not interested. She gets her way and crawls through the vents, successfully making it to the secret location opening the door for Dustin, Steve, and Robin.
They inspect the strange area that looks to be a shipping room filled with boxes. Steve opens the first box to find a strange tube filled with a glowing green liquid. How very Troll 2! As soon as Steve picks up the tube, the room begins moving and suddenly drops. Looks like the Scoops Ahoy team is stuck in an elevator that’s quickly moving underground.
Nancy and Jonathan No More?
Mrs. Driscoll gets transported to the hospital after eating fertilizer in front of Nancy and Jonathan.
The next day at the Hawkins Post, Heather’s dad, Tom, is noticeably different. He is angry with Nancy and Jonathan for trespassing on Mrs. Driscoll’s property without permission. Apparently she is a paranoid schizophrenic, which has not been revealed until this point. Clearly the rats were not a delusion! She was right about that. Tom will not listen to reason and he fires the two. This leads to a big fight between Nancy and Jonathan. Life was so much easier in high school. After their fight, Nancy comes home to to talk to her mom. Mrs. Wheeler actually gives Nancy great advice telling her that she’s proud of her daughter. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen these two have a deep conversation like this.
The Sauna Test
When the pool closes, the group locks Billy into the shower area. With the help of a mannequin and El’s powers, they lock him in the sauna. Billy tries to gain Max’s sympathy, to no avail. She wants to know what’s going on with her stepbrother! They turn the temperature up to 220 degrees. How is Billy not supposed to go crazy in there? I think I’d just cry until I passed out in that kind of heat. That’s a brutal temp to be exposed to for anyone. Billy sits on the ground crying and repeating, “it’s not my fault.” He says he’s done bad things that he didn’t mean to do. “He made me do it”. When they ask who he’s referring to, Billy replies, “it’s like a giant shadow.” Max is shaken up by Billy’s emotional plea. Just as she tries to reason with Billy, he picks up a sharp piece of metal to break through the window of the door. The lights begin flickering like crazy and Billy’s skin starts to turn purple. At the same time, Nancy visits Mrs. Driscoll in the hospital where she mimics Billy because he is “the host.”
El and Billy fight with Billy almost chocking her to death. Mike saves the day by hitting him over the head at just the right moment. This is why Mike needs to be around! El uses her powers to throw Billy out of the building and he runs away as quickly as possible.
Final Moments
Billy tells Heather that El could have killed him, but Heather says “not us”. The frame pans out to reveal a huge group of people that the two have assembled in the abandoned garage. This looks to be the army for the Mindflayer. End of Episode 4.
Lingering Questions: What are the Russians up to?
Episode MVP: Eleven
Best Scene: The Sauna Test
Is Steve Alive After Episode Four: Yes! He’s alive, but stuck in a Russian elevator