Stranger Things – Chapter Three: The Case of the Missing Lifeguard

By: Nicole Rodenbaugh

Max (Sadie Sink) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) are singing and looking through magazines in El’s room. Max tells El that Mike (Finn Wolfhard) will come back to El and not to worry. Max says she would love to see their faces right now. El puts a bandanna around her eyes and sits in front of a staticky radio.

El sees Mike and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) talking about his relationship. Until Mike burps and Lucas farts and they all laugh. El then laughs and stops watching them. Hopper (David Harbour) busts into the door screaming about the 3-inch rule. To his surprise it’s Max not Mike. He apologizes and happily sits in his recliner now assured time away from Mike.

El and Max play spin the bottle. Whoever she lands on she will try to channel and spy on. It lands on Mr. Wheeler (Joe Chrest) who they say is too boring. El spins again and lands on Billy (Dacre Montgomery). She covers her eyes again and she sees Billy’s car. She can hear him reassuring Heather it will all be okay. Billy stands up and turns around. He can sense her. He then fades from her vision by his force. El squeals exasperated and uncovers her eyes. Max asks what happened.

Strong winds are blowing outside. Inside Will (Noah Schnapp) blasts Celtic music. He is dressed like a magician and starts to convince Lucas and Mike to play DnD for a day without the girls.

Joyce (Winona Ryder) bangs on Hopper’s door. He answers in his towel yelling at her about standing him up. She runs over to the fridge where she demonstrates that none of the magnets with stay. She explains she was with Scott Clarke (Randy Havens). Hopper gets angry about her lack of showing up or calling him about dinner. He is reluctant to listen to her. She then says what if it’s the lab? Hopper says it can’t be. Then, Joyce asks Hopper to take her to the lab. He agrees but then says she will stand him up anyway. Hopper tells her that she is making up reasons to push him away. Joyce grabs his clippers and a flashlight. Cursing Hopper follows Joyce.

Max and El are walking on the road. Max thinks Billy is making happy screams with a girl. El is confused by this statement and Max offers to read her Cosmopolitan sometime. They enter his room to investigate. They find empty ice bags in the water filled bathtub. Max assumes they are for post-workout baths. Then, El opens a drawer and pulls out a lifeguard whistle covered in blood.

Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) gather the pictures in the darkroom. Nancy takes them to the conference room to present them to the Editor. She explains pesticides, cleaning chemicals and fertilizer are missing from many businesses. They laugh and make fun of her suggestion to cover the rats. They send her away.

At Scoops Ahoy Robin (Maya Hawke) is translating Russian while customers line up. Steve (Joe Keery) is spying on the customers in the Food Court. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) tells him to look for evil Russians with duffel bags. Dustin tells Steve that Robin is the perfect girl. Steve rejects the idea since she is not his type. Dustin suggests he dates someone he likes being around, not just a popular girl.

Back at Mike’s home the boys are playing DnD with Will’s excited encouragement. The phone rings and Mike runs over answering it by asking, “El is that you?” Sad that it is a telemarketer, he slams down the phone. Lucas suggests Mike call her. Will gets furious taking off his wizard costume. Will runs out of the house. Mike stops him and says he is sorry. Will blames Mike for having a girlfriend, which is ruining their fun. He points out that Dustin is not with them. Mike tells Will that it’s not his fault as Will is not interested in girls. Mike apologizes and tells Will things are changing and they are moving on from playing games all day. Will rides away in the torrential rains.

At the pool the rain is pounding on El and Max. They run up to the lifeguards to present a fanny pack they found in Billy’s room. The lifeguards confirm it’s Heather’s (Francesca Reale) and she did not show up to work. They find a picture of her on the wall and take it. Max asks El if she can find her. They turn on all the showers in the locker room. She sees a white mailbox and a red door appears. She opens the door to see a white tub. Heather pops up out of the ice filled tub and asks for help before being ripped down out of El’s sight.

Hopper cuts the chains on the fence. They walk in where Joyce has a flashback to Bob (Sean Astin) being attacked in the lobby. Hopper asks if she would like to stay in the car. A surveillance camera flashes red as they walk down the hall.

Dustin and Steve spot a tall man with blond hair and a duffel bag. They follow him evading his sense that he is not alone. He walks into the gym and reveals a boom box in bag. The man starts instructing a fitness class. Dustin and Steve gawk at the women in tight gym clothes.

Back at Scoops Ahoy Robin receives a delivery from Lynx. She remembers the previously translated Russian “Silver Cat.” She rushes by the boys looking for the next clue “a trip to China sounds nice.” She spins around to see the Chinese Restaurant. Still spinning she looks for the clue “If you tread lightly” and spots Kauffman Shoes. Now confident she looks for the clue “When blue and yellow meet in the west.” She sees the clock with Blue and Yellow hands. Dustin and Steve run up and she confides that she cracked the code.

At the newspaper Nancy opens a cabinet and is startled by a plastic rat falling out. The other employees laugh. Nancy asks Jonathan to gather actual proof with her like blood tests. Jonathan tells her not to since no one is interested in the story and it’s not worth being fired. She tells him she will go alone. Jonathan agrees to join.

Joyce and Hopper have hit a wall…literally. Hopper tells Joyce he was there when they used concrete to seal everything. Joyce is frustrated. She confides in Hopper that she feels crazy. Hopper tells Joyce that he almost shot a dog the other day because he thought it was a monster. Hopper assures Joyce that he is doing everything possible to make her feel it’s safe to stay in town. He also reveals he was informed that Joyce is fixing up her house to sell. Hopper tells Nancy not to leave the people that care and understand what she has been through. They hear a noise in the distance. Hopper goes to investigate the darkness. A door squeaks shuts in front of him.

Lucas knocks at Will’s window begging him to come in telling him they are sorry. Will is out in his hideout. He flashes back to the good times the boys had playing games. Infuriated, he rips his pictures down and slams his hideout with a baseball bat. He falls to the ground overwhelmed by sadness.

Nancy and Jonathon knock at Mrs. Driscoll’s (Peggy Miley) house. No answer. Nancy opens the door to enter worried about her safety. Jonathan follows her and they walk down the dark steps. A squeal and monstrous roars come from the shadows. They turn the corner to reveal Mrs. Driscoll is shoveling fertilizer into her mouth.

Steve, Robin and Dustin are now spying on an entrance at the mall. There is a bald intimidating man holding a large gun guarding the door. A delivery man is let through the door with boxes. Dustin and Steve argue over the binoculars slamming them against the metal and alarming the guards. The guards pursue the sound, but the kids have already fled to safety.

Hopper is following the noises they heard through the hallways of the lab. He is led to a room where he kicks in the door. All he finds is an empty room with a large open window. A man appears in the darkness behind them. They fight, exchanging blows until Hopper is knocked out. Joyce runs to where the ruckus is and finds Hopper laying on the floor. Out the window Joyce spots a motorcycle driving away in the rain.

El and Max arrive at Heather’s house. They walk in and hear laughing. Billy is sitting at the dinner table with Heather’s parents laughing. Billy asks if something is wrong. Heather walks into the room cheerfully. Billy tells the girls that Heather was sick today but he nursed her back to health. The girls leave in the rain as Billy watches intently. He flashes to El fighting the Mind Flayer. The veins in his eyes turn black.

Dustin and Lucas run up to Will asking if he is okay. Will ominously tells them, He is back.

Heathers Mom, Janet (Holly Morris), says she is not feeling well and gets up from the table. She falls to the ground a few steps away. Her dad (Michael Park) runs over to help Janet and is knocked down by Heather. Heather grabs her dad and tells him not to worry this will all be over soon. She then puts a rag over his screaming face.