Stranger Things – Chapter Four: The Sauna Test

By starrymag | July 8, 2019

By: Nicole Rodenbaugh

 

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is brushing her teeth and sees flashes of Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and Heather from her visions. El tells Max (Sadie Sink) it doesn’t make sense that Heather is ok. El points out that Billy seemed wrong. Max believes wrong is Billy’s default. Max then proceeds to explain Wonder Woman to El.

At Mrs. Driscoll’s (Peggy Miley) house, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) are now joined by a police officer. They try to restrain Mrs. Driscoll as she screams that she has to go back. The paramedics arrive speeding away with Mrs. Driscoll and the officer is looking for an explanation from Nancy and Jonathon.

At the Metal Works, Heather’s Mom (Holly Morris) and Dad (Michael Park) are bound and gagged. Heather (Francesca Reale) tells her Dad there is no stopping what will happen next. Billy and Heather leave as the Monster appears. It snarls and roars before attaching its limbs to the couple’s faces.

Hopper (David Harbour) wakes up in a groggy state on the couch. Joyce (Winona Ryder) tells Hopper she slowly brought him home. He stands up fully naked and in shock at his state. He grabs his clothes that Joyce attempted to dry outside for him. Joyce asks if he recognized the man and provides a very iffy license plate. Hopper is interested when she tells him it wasn’t a car and that it was a motorcycle.

Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) transmits a code red over the radio. With no response to the radio transmission, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) calls Max’s house. Lucas tries again to get ahold of Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo). Dustin tells Robin (Maya Hawke) and Steve (Joe Keery) that the keycard is the only way in and the man holding it also has a large gun. Steve offers to take care of the large man. While Dustin and Steve squabble over if Steve is capable, Robin gets up grabs the tip money and says she will find a safe way in.

Nancy and Jonathan are in the conference room getting reamed out by their editor. The editor is furious they claimed to have reports and entered Mrs. Driscoll’s house. Nancy points out Mrs. Driscoll needed help. The editor then informs them both that Mrs. Driscoll has been previously diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Will (Noah Schnapp) confides in the gang that he has been feeling the darkness. He tells them it is the same feeling he had when the Mind Flayer was close. Will asks if they closed the Mind Flayer outside of the gate with them. He assumes the part of the Mind Flayer that was trapped in him escaped. They decide the Mind Flayer will need a new host.

Hopper storms into the Mayor Larry’s (Cary Elwes) office. He saw the man who assaulted him at the Mayor’s office and now wants Larry to tell him who it was. Hopper says he saw the man leave his office specifically.  Hopper threatens to reveal Larry’s bad behavior. Larry turns around and threatens to expose Hopper’s indiscretions like drinking on the job. Hopper starts beating up Larry and tossing him around the office. Joyce rips out the phone cord so the secretary can’t call the police. Larry, finally worn out, tells Hopper it is a man from the mall who wants to buy land. Hopper and Joyce drag Larry out of the office.

Jonathan drives while blaming Nancy for making the rats into a story. Jonathon lays a guilt trip on Nancy about how he is poor and needed that job. He starts to demean Nancy. In tears, Nancy realizes there is a rift between them and they both state they do not understand each other.

Robin brings blueprints she bought from the Country Register to Dustin and Steve. They plot to use the air ducts to get into the secret door. The air duct is tiny and Dustin offers to squeeze. Robin turns to see Erica (Priah Ferguson), Lucas’s sister, asking for more samples. Robin looks like she is thinking about using Erica to access the secret room.

Lucas, El, Mike, Will and Max are spying on Billy at the pool. Mike has an idea to wait in the Boys Locker room till everyone leaves and brings Will and Lucas. No girls allowed. They plan to get him from the locker room to the sauna to test Billy.

Erica is looking into the vent. She tells Dustin, Steve and Robin that she wants to know what she gets out of this deal. At a table we see Erica now with a buffet of ice cream selections. Erica reasons that she deserves free ice cream for life if she goes along with their half-baked plan.

Hopper pulls up to a mansion with Larry and Joyce. It is Larry’s house and Hopper questions why he is holding land deeds in a safe in his home. Southeast Hawkins is where all of the land is being bought. Joyce explains the power plant is located there. Joyce reasons the plant could provide the energy necessary for the machine that is demagnetizing the town.

Nancy explains to her Mom (Cara Buono) that she wasn’t concerned about anyone else while investigating her hunch. She says she just wanted to be right. Her mom tells her that people will always tell her she can’t or shouldn’t and she isn’t good enough. She tells Nancy most people just stop trying and Nancy is a fighter. She isn’t like most people. Her mom believes her and tells her finish the story and sell it to a different newspaper.

Billy sits on his lifeguard tower while Lucas and Will open the shed to grab supplies. El grabs a CPR dummy. Mike walks in and takes the dummy trying to joke with El. Mike admits he lied about his grandma and that Hopper was the reason he lied. El says maybe she should spend more time with her species and Mike calls her out for spying on him.

Erica is now ready wearing a helmet with flashlights attached, headset and a backpack. She looks up at the vent and asks, “Are you nerds ready or what?” She calls it Operation Child Endangerment. She starts to crawl through the vent.

Larry’s wife comes home to respond to his cries. He is tied up and yells for a phone. Hopper and Joyce are now investigating each location from the deeds one by one.

Erica arrives at the room confirming she sees the boxes. Erica kicks open the vent and opens the outside door for Robin, Steve and Dustin.

Billy is taking a shower in the locker room. He starts to dress when he hears something. He runs to the noise to find a locked door. Mike calls out to Billy taunting him and laughing. Billy angrily pursues the sound. The boys hung the dummy in the sauna to make it look like the person calling out. Billy storms into the sauna grabbing the dummy. He turns around and El is standing there. She uses her power to force Billy against the wall and shut the door. The rest of the gang appears and locks him in with chains. Billy calls to Max before they turn up the sauna heat.

Nancy arrives at the hospital to speak to Mrs. Driscoll. She poses as her granddaughter. In room 403 we see Mrs. Driscoll sleeping in bed. She begins to awaken and the monitors start to beep faster.

In the secret room at the mall Steve opens a box containing large vials full of clear green goo. Immediately the gang feels the room moving. Erica tells them it was a booby trap. The door open button will not work and the room shakes and shoots downwards like an elevator.

Mrs. Driscoll’s blood pressure is rising fast.

Billy is sweaty and angry yelling and banging on the sauna door. He starts to beg Max saying a shadow made him do bad things and it’s not his fault. Max is at the window reassuring Billy. He grabs a broken tile while Will confirms he can feel the Mind Flayer again. Mike tells Max to move from the door. Billy breaks down the door with Max moving just in time to avoid being stabbed. Billy is yelling and reaching out the door window. Lucas knocks him down with his slingshot. Billy stands up screaming with black veins popping out all over his body.

Mrs. Driscoll is now covered in black veins. Her eyes are blacked out and she is roaring.

Billy is now running and slamming his body against the sauna door to break out while the gang stands behind El.

He busts out of the sauna rolling on to the floor. He stands up and runs toward Eleven. She uses her power to throw a weight bar with 100 pound weights at Billy pinning him. She is pushing the bar so hard it is indenting into the bricks. Billy pushes the weight off and grabs El.

Mrs. Driscoll is still screaming in a deep voice while Nancy watches the escalation of her condition bedside.

Billy grabs El by her throat and lifts her. Mike slams him with a pipe and he drops El. Billy starts to levitate. El fights his levitation and wins and throwing him through the brick wall. The gang consoles El and Billy is seen running away.

Heather and Billy appear at the Metal Works and discuss El knowing about him. Billy says Eleven could kill him. Heather says yes, but not us all of us. We see a crowd of townspeople standing still and facing the monster.