History Recap / StrangerThingsS1E7ChapterSevenTheBathtub

Joyce and Hopper are called to the police station because of Jonathan's assault. Jonathan and Nancy reveal their knowledge of the monster to Joyce and Hopper. The group contacts Mike and his friends and they rendezvous.

They ask Eleven to search for Will and Barb, but her earlier feats have left her too weak to find them. To amplify Eleven's powers, they break into the middle school and build a sensory-deprivation tank. Eleven finds Barb's corpse with a slug-like creature crawling out of her mouth. With Joyce's help, she finds Will alive, hiding in the Upside Down "Castle Byers," his backyard fort.

Hopper and Joyce break into Hawkins Laboratory but are apprehended by security guards. Nancy and Jonathan resolve to kill the monster and steal their hunting gear back from the police station.

* AlmostKiss: Eleven and Mike at the beginning of the episode, before [[MomentKiller Dustin interrupts them.]]
* AngerBornOfWorry: After learning that Jonathan and Nancy were investigating the monster, Joyce chews Jonathan out for risking both their lives to save Will, reminding him of the chance that [[AdultFear the monster would get him too]].

* CrucifiedHeroShot: Eleven, as she floats in the home made sensory deprivation tank.

* ExactEavesDropping: Troy's mother just so happens to bring him into the police station in time for Hopper to overhear him deliver a vital piece of plot when he needs it most -- this is somewhat justified as the events in question are all happening at the same time. Hopper would have heard about it later anyway.

* MadnessMantra: After Eleven finds Barb's dead body in the Upside-Down she can only repeat the word ''"Gone!"'' until Joyce calms her down.
* MeaningfulEcho: In an attempt to make up with Eleven, Lucas deliberately mentions how "awesome" it was to see the van flying over their heads when they arrive at the junk yard. This recalls Dustin's line about how awesome it was when Eleven [[BlownAcrossTheRoom blew Lucas across the junk yard]] in previous episode.

* NotNowKiddo: Mike's mom brushes him off while talking on the phone. Right afterwards Mike brushes Dustin off who tries to tell him that the bad men have arrived at the house.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: We don't see anything except for the first man being incapacitated, but when all is said and done, a local sheriff neutralized three to four special agents in under twelve seconds.
* PlanningWithProps: At the scrap yard, Lucas explains where he found the lab by using branches and a tin can.
* RunForTheBorder: A throw away line by Mike to his mom.
-->'''Mike''': If anyone asks where I am, I've left the country.

--> '''Nancy''': Do you like Eleven?
--> '''Mike''': What?! Ew, no, gross!

* TookALevelInBadass: Michael implies this of his sister when he tries to shoulder barge a locked door at the school, and she casually breaks the padlock with a rock.
--> '''Mike''': Whoa
* TrunkShot: Of Hopper opening the trunk of Jonathan to find the bear trap and stuff.

* WaitHere: Hopper decides to follow Eleven's clue and go to Will's fort in the woods by himself but Joyce protests so he grudgingly let's her tag along.
* YouWouldntBelieveMeIfIToldYou: Jonathan retorts this at Hopper when police asked about why Jonathan has so many weapons loaded in the car trunk. Hopper insist on Jonathan to try explaining anyways.

Mike helps Eleven clean the dirt off her face after their adventures in the woods. Eleven looks at her reflection in the mirror and touches her shaved head, but Mike tells her she doesn't need the wig. Eleven asks, "Still pretty?", which Mike confirms that she is—really pretty, in fact. They agree that they're both glad Eleven is home and almost kiss, but are interrupted by Dustin, who says that Lucas is on the radio and is in trouble. Lucas tells them that the bad men are coming and know about Eleven.

Seeing the Power and Light vans pulling up outside the house, Dustin, Mike, and Eleven escape with Eleven riding on the back of Mike's bicycle. Lucas meets up with them, and the four kids are chased through the neighborhood by three of the vans. A fourth van drives at them head-on, attempting to block them in, but Eleven uses her mind to flip the van over their bikes, simultaneously clearing the road in front of them and blocking the vans behind them. The kids take refuge in the junkyard. Lucas, Eleven, and Mike all apologize to each other for their earlier fight.

Joyce and Hopper arrive at the police station and tell Callahan to uncuff Jonathan. Powell shows them the alarming weapons Jonathan and Nancy bought at the hunting store. Jonathan says they'll never believe the explanation, but Hopper says to try him.

Karen goes down to the basement and finds a strand of Eleven's wig on one of the pillows. Upstairs, Connie and other employees of the lab, including Dr. Brenner, arrive at the door, search the house for signs of Eleven's whereabouts and question Ted and Karen about her. Karen is upset that Connie will not tell her anything about why they're looking for the girl or what kind of danger Mike might be in. Dr. Brenner soothes her and asks if she has any idea where Mike could be.

Lucas tells Mike, Dustin, and Eleven about what he saw at the lab. Mike says that his dad told him the lab is owned by the military and that they develop weapons there; the kids all realize that Eleven must be one of those weapons. Seeing a helicopter, they hide their bikes and take refuge in an abandoned bus.

In Hopper's office, Jonathan and Nancy show him and Joyce the photo of the monster and tell them about their theory that it's attracted by blood. Joyce tells Jonathan he shouldn't have tried to investigate this without telling her and that he doesn't have to do things alone. In the main room of the station, Troy's mother shouts at Callahan and Powell for dismissing her report about Troy's broken arm as trivial. Hopper tells them to be quiet, but upon hearing Troy say that the girl had a shaved head, he questions Troy closer. Troy tells him that the girl could make people fly and that she always hangs out with "those losers".

Steve, Tommy, and Carol go to a convenience store to lick their wounds. Tommy and Carol continue to make rude, tasteless comments about Jonathan and Nancy, and Steve snaps, telling them that they're both assholes and shouldn't have graffitied the marquee and the alley. They argue, and Steve storms off in his car.

Hopper, Nancy, Joyce, and Jonathan drive to the Wheelers' house, but see that Brenner and his goons have already gotten there. Jonathan suggests that they use Will's supercom radio to try to talk to Mike and find him. Nancy radios Mike, but the kids don't answer, fearing that she may be working for the men from the lab. Hopper gets on the radio and tells the kids that they know about Eleven and that they know they're in trouble; after a moment, Mike radios them back.

Steve goes to the theater and offers to help clean up the graffiti.

In the bus, Dustin paces, worrying that they've been set up. Several "bad men" arrive, and the kids hide out of view of the windows. One man notices their bikes and opens the door to the bus, but is taken out by Hopper, who takes the kids back to the Byers' house.

The group unites and pools their knowledge about Hawkins Lab, the monster, the Upside-Down, and the gate. Eleven tries to use the supercom to find Will and Barb, but fails. The boys explain that using her powers is draining, and she is currently weakened from flipping the van earlier. Eleven says that she can find Will and Barb in "the bath". Dustin calls Mr. Clarke and asks how to build a sensory deprivation tank. Mr. Clarke is both a bit puzzled by the strange question and anxious to rejoin his girlfriend who is over for a movie date, but Dustin eventually manages to convince him to give the instructions. He learns that they need Joyce's kiddie pool and 1500 pounds of salt.

They set up the tank in the gym of the middle school, using the school's de-icing salt. While bringing hoses to the gym from an equipment shed, Nancy and Mike talk about the events of the past week and agree to be honest with each other from now on. Mike asks Nancy if she likes Jonathan, which she denies; she asks him if he likes Eleven, which he also denies. Joyce duct-tapes over a set of chemistry splash goggles to keep Eleven's vision dark in the tank, and thanks her for her bravery in helping find Will.

Setting up the supercom outside the tank so Eleven can channel Will's voice, Eleven steps into the tank and returns to the void where she found the Demogorgon. She sees Barbara, who is dead and has a large slug-like creature coming out of her mouth. She begins to panic and screams that Barb is gone, but Joyce comforts her, and she presses onward. She sees Will's fort, Castle Byers, and finds him inside, barely conscious. She tells him his mom is coming, and Will asks her to hurry. The fort disappears and Eleven, terrified, comes out of the vision and is comforted by Joyce.

Hopper and Joyce go to the lab to find Will, leaving Nancy and Jonathan to look after the kids. Nancy, however, is grief-stricken and furious over Barb's death, and tells Jonathan that they need to kill the Demogorgon or else it will kill Joyce and Hopper. They take their supplies back from the police station. At the lab, Hopper and Joyce are surrounded and apprehended.

In the Upside-Down, Will hears the Demogorgon prowling outside his fort, and the walls explode inward as it pounces.

!!Tropes:

* FreakOut: Eleven has a proper one when she sees Barb's body.

* ObligatoryEarpieceTouch: Dustin touches his ear while talking ti Lucas via CB as they ride away from Mike's house.

* ObligatoryEarpieceTouch: Dustin touches his ear while receiving a call from Lucas via CB as they ride away from Mike's house.

* WhiteVoidRoom: Eleven enters a dimension which resembles a Black Void Room.

* JumpScare: The episode ends with the monster breaking into Will's fort in the Upside Down.

* NeverGiveTheCaptainAStraightAnswer: The debuty at Hopper's office tells him that there is something he needs to see. Cut to the TrunkShot of Jonathan's car.

* MadnessMantra: After Eleven finds [[spoiler:Barb's dead body]] in the Upside-Down she can only repeat the word ''"Gone!"'' until Joyce calms her down.

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Although "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" aren't used, in "The Bathtub", when the three groups join up, Mike and Nancy ask each other if they ''like'' their new opposite-sex friends. [[spoiler:In keeping with this trope, Nancy calmly says that it's not like that, foreshadowing the fact that she and Jonathan remain friends in the end; Mike denies it a bit more vehemently, and ends up kissing Eleven in the next episode.]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_bathtub_8.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_bathtub.jpg]]

* AlmostKiss: Eleven and Mike at the beginning of the episode.

* HypocriticalHumor: Nancy and Mike agree to be honest and tell each other everything from now on. They then ''immediately'' lie to each other by claiming to be JustFriends with Jonathan and Eleven, respectively.

* InstantOracleJustAddWater: Played with- the sensory deprivation tank magnifies Eleven's powers and allow her to explore the Upside-Down more freely. Eleven floating in "the bath" and using her powers to find Will and Barb certainly calls to mind the image of a submerged oracle.

* InstandOracleJustAddWater: Played with- the sensory deprivation tank magnifies Eleven's powers and allow her to explore the Upside-Down more freely. Eleven floating in "the bath" and using her powers to find Will and Barb certainly calls to mind the image of a submerged oracle.

The group unites and pools their knowledge about Hawkins Lab, the monster, the Upside-Down, and the gate. Eleven tries to use the supercom to find Will and Barb, but fails. The boys explain that using her powers is draining, and she is currently weakened from flipping the van earlier. Eleven says that she can find Will and Barb in "the bath". Dustin calls Mr. Clarke and asks how to build a sensory deprivation tank. He learns that they need Joyce's kiddie pool and 1500 pounds of salt.

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Mike and Nancy tell each other this about Eleven and Jonathan, respectively.

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* CrucifiedHeroShot : Eleven, as she floats in the home made sensory deprivation tank.
* DeusExMachina : A mild example, when Hopper rescues the gang instead of the agent. The whereabouts of the others aren't revealed.
* TheReveal : Will is alive and hiding in the woods which we knew but it's the first time we've seen him in seven episodes.

* CrucifiedHeroShot : Eleven, as she floats in the [[spoiler: home made sensory deprivation tank]].

* TheReveal : [[spoiler: Will is alive and hiding in the woods which we knew but it's the first time we've seen him in seven episodes]].

* CrucifiedHeroShot : Eleven, as she floats in the [[spoiler: home made sensory deprivation tank[[.