Stranger Things – Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum

By starrymag | July 11, 2019

By: Nicole Rodenbaugh

 

 

Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke), Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) are standing in front of the Upside Down gate. They run down the steps. Erica asks where the Russian Communications operator went. They rush around running into military at every corner. They are forced back up to enter the room with the gate. They stare for a moment facing the gate then run out a side door. Steve and Robin hold the door shut and tell Dustin and Erica to go. Dustin opens a hatch and runs down. They ask him to find help. Steve and Robin finally cannot hold the door and the Russian military run in and surround them.

 

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sadie Sink) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) sense the Flayed are in the hospital. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are standing on either side of the hall staring at the monster. Jonathan tells Nancy to run and the monster follows her down steps and into the hall. She locks herself in a room. The monster turns into flay goo to get under the door. As it’s squeezing under, Jonathan is yelling to her. The lights flicker as the monster regains form and slams Nancy to the wall. Jonathan is trying to get to her. The monster growls in Nancy’s face with a loud roar.

 

El busts open the door and uses her power to slam the monster wall to wall then to the ceiling and back down. The monster stands up and approaches El. She throws it out the window. The kids run out of the hospital. They stare as the monster goos its way down the sewer grate. It travels through the sewer to Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and Heather (Francesca Reale) standing at attention. Billy says, “It’s time.”

 

A fair is being set up. A sign states it’s being held by Mayor Larry Kline. Larry (Cary Elwes) is telling a vendor to move his cart with the other food stalls. He see the Man in Black Grigori (Andrey Ivchenko). Larry and the man walk into the Graviton. Grigori tells the man that Hopper is a moron. The mayor replies that he has everyone looking for Hooper. Larry says it’s his fault Hopper is loose end. The Man grabs Larry and throws him to the wall starting the Graviton. He tells Larry he’s lucky to be alive because Hopper is his responsibility. Larry emphatically apologizes.

 

Hopper (David Harbour) is seen carrying a Burger King bag from the car. He enters Murray’s to place the bag down in front of Joyce (Winona Ryder), Murray (Brett Gelman) and Alexei (Alec Utgoff). Joyce and Hopper tell Murray to ask Alexei what the generator is powering. Alexei takes a sip of a Slurpee. He spits it out saying it is strawberry. He tells Murray he wanted cherry. Hopper is told it’s the wrong flavor and Alexei won’t help until he gets a cherry Slurpee. Hopper throws Alexei out the door with keys and tells Alexei to get his own damn cherry Slurpee and slams the door shut. Murray and Joyce panic asking why Hopper would set him free. Hopper confidently explains Alexei stayed with them yesterday instead of escaping for a reason. He states Alexei is scared and he will come back in 30 seconds willing to help.

 

Meanwhile, Alexei has already used the keys to undo the handcuffs and start the car. Hopper says he is calling his bluff and that there is nothing to worry about. Murray tells him he is driving away. Joyce forces her way out the door in a tizzy. Alexei is sitting in the car stopped. He backs up to Hopper’s delight.

 

Back in the underground hallway Dustin and Erica are in a vent. Dustin explains all of the supernatural Hawkins events to Erica while he tries to stop a fan that is blocking their path. Erica tells Dustin she believes all of it except that Lucas, her brother, was there. She says to Dustin that he needs to speed it up or she estimates it will take 12 1/2 days to get back to the elevator at the current speed. Dustin tells her she is a nerd. She knows math, loves politics and My Little Pony. He explains that My Little Pony is just filled with Nerd Tropes.

 

In a room the Russian Commander is beating up Steve, punching him and questioning him. They believe he is a spy. Steve tells them over and over he works for Scoops Ahoy. He tells them the USS Butterscotch is out of the world and they can have all of it. They ask again who he works for and punch him so hard he is knocked out. They drag him and Robin into the same room. Robin tries to wake up Steve. They tie the two together to back to back chairs. They tell Robin it looks like Steve needs a doctor and they have the very best. Robin spits in his face.

 

In darkness we see El appear. She is walking and looking around. We see her sitting in front of the staticy TV set. She has memorials and pictures of all the people they think are flayed. Nancy is calling all the garden supply stores asking if anything has gone missing. Nancy says there’s a pattern, but it appears the Mind Flayer stopped the flayed from spreading since no more chemicals are missing. Max and Mike argue if Eleven should decide when she hit her limit using her power or if El can decide for herself.  They decide that El are doing it for a good reason and she knows her limits the best. Mike admits he loves her and can’t lose her again. El comes out the door and says she found him.

 

Back at Murray’s he tells Hopper and Joyce the machine is called The Key and it requires much power. On the tables drawings of the Key (laser) are strewn about. The house they found Alexei in was one of many houses they use as transformers to steal the power from the towns grid. They ask Alexei if the point is to destroy the US. He laughs and replies that they tried many Keys (lasers) before but they had to come to where the… and Murray cannot translate what he says next. Alexei starts to explain with a straw and empty fry container. He says the straw (the key) is being used to break through a barrier between worlds. Hopper sees the Upside Down. Alexei confirms since the door was open once it was still healing. Joyce asks if it’s open now and Alexei responds that it’s opening now. Joyce runs to call the kids while Hopper asks for liquor. Murray and Hopper take two shots and contemplate how to stop the key. They ask Alexei if they can turn it off. Alexei says yes he can but he is compromised. Hopper tells Alexei he will get him to the gate. Alexei laughs and says Hopper has courage like a fat Rambo. He says that even skinny Rambo couldn’t get though the Russians protection around the gate. He says breaking in is impossible.

 

Dustin and Erica pop out of a vent on the floor of a room where all the green goo is stored. They jump into a golf cart where the keys are missing. Erica asks how big the Demogorgon was. She grabs an electrical shocking device. Dustin finds the keys. Robin screams for help. Steve wakes and asks her to stop. Robin and Steve try to hop the chairs over to a table with scissors. They fall to the ground tipping over. Robin and Steve start to reminisce about High School. Robin tells Steve she remembers him from class. She says that he doesn’t remember her because he was a jerk. She tells him even so she still was obsessed with him. Steve tells her it wasn’t that great to be popular. A door opens and the Commander appears with a Doctor (Arthur Darbinyan). The Doctor shakes a blue container. He comes over with a needle and tells Steve it will help him talk before injecting him.

 

El is sitting in front of the TV again. Nancy asks if Billy sitting in his room on July 4th is normal. Nancy says they need to find the source. El flashes back to her childhood after looking at a box of Lucky Charms. She tells them there is another way. Eleven is going to try to channel Billy in the way she channeled her mom. Mike begs her to be careful. El sees Billy sitting on his bed. She walks up slowly next to him. He looks angry. She grabs his hand and whispers to him says, “Billy, can you hear me? I want to see what happened.” He grabs her arm and she pulls away. She falls slowly flashing back to previous visions. She lands on a beach with no one around. Mike asks if she is okay. El says yes she is okay, but she is on a beach. She sees a woman and the woman is looking at a little Billy surfing. It is Billy’s mom. Max confirms it is California and one of Billy’s memories. El sees the source as she walks down the beach.

 

Hopper calls a number and says a password Antique Chariot. He tells the man that the Rooskies are opening the gate at the Starland Mall. Joyce calls back and tells the man that the situation is urgent and Owen needs to get to Hawkins now. She wakes Alexei and Hopper walks out with them to car.

 

Steve and Robin say they feel good. The Commander walks back in with the Doctor. The Commander asks who they work for and how they found them. Steve and Robin continue to tell them the truth. Robin says they overheard their code. The Commander wonders who else knows. Steve tells them that Dustin knows and he is getting Hopper who will get the US military to come and turn them into toast. An alarm goes off and the Commander runs out. The men rush over to a hole burned through many floors by the green goo. Dustin shocks the Doctor and frees Steve and Robin.

 

Back on the beach El walks towards a red lightning storm in the distance. Another memory of Billy’s appears in front of her. Billy runs off and El follows him. She runs into the storm where she sees a memory of his dad hitting is mom. Billy is watching them argue. She sees Billy turn into a bully and his dad bring Maxine home. El powers through to see the Steelworks. Billy’s car is broken and sitting there. The red storm is now circling her. She tells the gang the source is the Steelworks.  El is thrown back through the way she came. When she takes off her blindfold no one is in the living room. Billy turns the corner and tells Eleven she should not have looked for him because now everyone can see her. The Flayed start walking mindlessly away from friends, family and parties towards the Steelworks. Billy says they have been building it all for her. Billy says they are going to end her, then her friends and then everyone.

 

The flayed are walking toward the Mind Flayer. They turn to puddles of Flay goo one by one and melt into the Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer busts up and out of the basement.