History Recap / StrangerThingsS2E1ChapterOneMADMAX

* SamusIsAGirl: The party is rather stunned to learn that the mysterious "Madmax" is none other than their new classmate, Maxine.

Things in Hawkins, Indiana appear to have gone back to normal after the previous year's problems. Dustin (by searching under the couch's cushions), Lucas (by doing yard work), and Mike (by "borrowing" from Nancy) get quarters to go to the Arcade Palace, where they meet with Will, who is taken there by his mother. Dustin plays ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'' while the others watch, but he gets killed before he can kill the dragon. Lucas boasts that unless Dustin learns to be more nimble, he will still be the only one who has beaten ''Dragon's Lair'' and until then Princess Daphne will remain his. Dustin says that at least he still holds the record on ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}'' and ''VideoGame/DigDug'', but Keith, the guy in charge, reveals someone else has taken that position, someone nicknamed Madmax.

While Dustin and the others argue with Keith, demanding to know who this "Madmax" person is, Will starts to hear something going on outside and follows, but when he turns around to call his friends, they have disappeared -- and suddenly Will is transported to the Upside Down. A strong gust of wind blows the door to the arcade up, and Will goes outside to see an approaching red storming raging in the distance and he is utterly terrified of what he is seeing. He then hears Mike calling out for him, and everything goes back to normal. Mike asks Will if he is okay, but Will answers that he just needed some air.

At high school, Will finds an article about his "resurrection" stuffed into his locker and written over with "Zombie Boy." Later, the boys are at science class, when a new pupil joins them: the red-haired girl Nancy saw earlier. The girl tries to quietly sneak in, but Mr. Clarke insists on introducing to the whole class as "Maxine" who just move to Hawking's from California. Maxine, however, insists that she just answers to "Max." This catches the attention of the boys, wondering if she may be the "Madmax" who just beat the high scores in the arcade.

Talking later, Dr. Owens tells Joyce and Hopper that this sudden uptick of visions may be caused because it will soon be the anniversary of Will's disappearance, and this may be affecting him. As they leave, Joyce privately tells Hopper that she has a hard time trusting Dr. Owens, despite his friendly and easygoing attitude, referring to what happened last year, but Hopper ensures her that Owens probably knows what he is talking about, but also asks her to call ''him'' first if things ever get bad with Will again. As Will and Joyce drive off, Hopper hangs back for a smoke and sees Dr. Owens watching him. Owens waves at Hopper, who doesn't return the gesture and turns to leave. Owens is approached by his assistant, who tells him to come to the lab overlooking the gate to the Upside Down. Owens and his assistant enter the lab, where they watch a soldier armed with a flamethrower being dressed up in a thermal suit. The soldier walks past the lab's barrier and up to the portal, where he uses the flamethrower to burn something that is coming out of it.

After school, Dustin and Lucas -- who is obviously enamored with the new girl -- lie in wait outside the arcade to confirm if Max is indeed Madmax. Dustin worries that he might have to go home soon, and Lucas tells him to just go ahead, ensuring him that he will radio him if something happens. Dustin says that Lucas is probably just trying to get him out of the way so he is free to make his move. Lucas sarcastically answers that Dustin is hardly a threat, to which Dustin boasts that Max won't be able to resist his pretty pearly whites, proudly showing off his new teeth. Just then Max arrives in the sports car, having a heated argument with the driver before she enters the arcade. Watching her in awe from a distance as she expertly plays ''Dig Dug'', Lucas and Dustin conclude that she really is Madmax.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Steve meet for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for an investigative journalist (the persistent Murray Bauman from the first scene) formerly a staff member at the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', who may be able to find Barbara. Mr. Holland almost loses his composure as he declares that he is confident that Bauman will be able to do what Hopper and the local police so far have failed to achieve, and Mrs. Holland asks Nancy not to worry about their financial situation, as it hardly matters at the moment; with Bauman on the case, she and her husband are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. Nancy and Steve exchange several awkward looks, before Nancy excuses herself and goes to the bathroom, where she breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents.

** Will suffers from PTSD after spending a week in the Upside Down without food, exposed to its toxic atmosphere, hiding from the Demogorgon and used as a [[FaceFullOfAlienWinWong host for an insectoid parasite]].

* EldritchAbomination: A massive tentacled creature appears in the sky during Will's second flash into the Upside Down.

** Will suffers from PTSD because of all the stuff he went through.

* DramaticIrony: Mr. and Mrs. Holland have hired Murray Bauman to investigate Barb's dissappearance, ignoring she had been killed by the Demogorgon

* CallBack: Mike's father gives him the old [[JumpOffABridgeRebuttal if your friends jumped off a cliff]] line. Mike really did jump off a cliff in the last season in an attempt to save Dustin.

Joyce is taking Will to the Hawkins Energy Lab, where they find Hopper waiting for them. Inside, Will is subjected to a thorough medical check, and Dr. Sam Owens, the new chief scientist of the facility, asks Will several questions about what he is seeing, while several government agents nervously watch the interview on a camera elsewhere in the facility. Will tells Dr. Owens about the vision of the Upside Down he had in the arcade, how there was a storm there and he felt like there was something "evil" in the storm, looking at him. Dr. Owens asks Will if he knows what this "evil" wanted, and Will answers that it wanted to "kill". "To kill you?" asks Dr. Owens, but Will clarifies that it didn't want to kill Will but rather "everyone else."

The following morning, Chief Jim Hopper goes to the police station, where Murray Bauman, a persistent conspiracy buff, wants to talk with him, mentioning several independent sightings of a girl with psychic powers, believing that the whole is some sinister foreign plot, probably connected to the Russians. Hopper humors the man, but when he gets a call from Flo about a local farmer, Merrill, getting his pumpkins poisoned, blaming his neighbor, Eugene, he prepares to head out, telling Bauman to just "stop bleeding those people dry and go home." Bauman insists that he is "not bleeding anyone" as Hopper leaves.

At high school, Nancy is with Steve in his car. Steve wants to apply to university and asks Nancy to check his application letter. Nancy makes some suggestions, but Steve feels it will not be any good and throws the letter away: she reminds him they are due for a dinner with someone else. Just then, a sports car arrives, from which come down a red-haired middle-school girl with a skateboard and an older boy who attracts the attention of several girls.

On the outskirts of town, Hopper is visiting Merrill, who filed the complaint about the poisoned pumpkins. As Hopper inspects the dead and rotting pumpkins, Merrill complains that Eugene has had it in for him ever since he started encroaching on his pumpkin business, but Hopper sincerely doubts that "nice, old" Eugene would ever stoop as low as poisoning a competitor's pumpkin patch. Merrill insists that the timing is highly suspicious, seeing how it happened the day before Halloween, where sales are at its highest. Hopper spots something rustling in the nearby cornfield and goes to check it out. As he searches the field, [[CatScare it turns out to be just a crow]].

Meanwhile, someone is giving fliers for a Halloween party that will take place the following day, and Nancy tells Jonathan he ought to consider going, but Jonathan insists that all he is planning to do on Halloween is to go trick-or-treating with Will. Nancy tries to convince him to come to the party, saying that he could do with hanging out with more people their age, but she is distracted when Steve suddenly sneaks up on and starts making out with her. When Nancy turns around again, she sees that Jonathan has used the distraction to quietly sneak away.

On the school playground, the boys watch Max as she skates around, wondering if she possibly can be "Madmax," pointing out that girls normally don't play video games, and even if she does, she couldn't possibly be ''that'' good. When she leaves, she throws away a piece of paper that the boys take -- and find it admonishes them for looking at her. Just then, the principal shows up asking for Will: his mother's here to take him. The boys worry over Will and what may be happening to him.

Joyce is taking Will to the Hawkins Energy Lab, where they find Hopper waiting for them. Inside, Will is subject to a thorough medical check, and Dr. Sam Owens, the new chief scientist of the facility, asks Will several questions about what he is seeing, while several government agents nervously watch the interview on a camera elsewhere in the facility. Will tells Dr. Owens about the vision of the Upside Down he had in the arcade, how there was a storm there and he felt like there was something "evil" in the storm, looking at him. Dr. Owens asks Will if he knows what this "evil" wanted, and Will answers that it wanted to "kill". "To kill you?" asks Dr. Owens, but Will clarifies that it didn't want to kill Will but rather "everyone else."

Talking later, Dr. Owens tells Joyce and Hopper that this sudden uptick of visions may be caused because it will soon be the anniversary of Will's disappearance, and this may be affecting him. As they leave, Joyce privately tells Hopper that she has a hard time trusting Dr. Owens, despite his friendly and easygoing attitude, referring to what happened last year, but Hopper ensures her that Owens probably knows what he is talking about, then asks her to call him if things ever get bad with Will again. As Will and Joyce drive off, Hopper hangs back for a smoke and sees Dr. Owens watching him. Owens waves at Hopper, who doesn't return the gesture and turns to leave. Owens is approached by his assistant, who tells him to come to the lab overlooking the gate to the Upside Down. Owens and his assistant enter the lab, where they watch a soldier armed with a flamethrower being dressed up in a thermal suit. The soldier walks past the lab's barrier and up the portal, where he uses the flamethrower to burn something that is coming out of it.

After school, Dustin and Lucas -- obviously enamored with the new girl -- lie in wait outside the arcade to confirm if Max is indeed Madmax. Dustin worries that he might have to go home soon, and Lucas tells him to just go ahead, ensuring him that he will radio him if something happens. Dustin says that Lucas is probably just trying to get him out of the way so he is free to make his move. Lucas sarcastically answers that Dustin is hardly a threat, to which Dustin boasts that Max won't be able to resist his pretty pearly whites, proudly showing off his new teeth. Just then Max arrives in the sports car, having a heated argument with the driver before she enters the arcade. Watching her in awe from a distance as she expertly plays ''Dig Dug'', Lucas and Dustin conclude that she must be Madmax.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Steve meet for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for an investigative journalist, named Murray Bauman, formerly a staff member at the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', who may be able to find Barbara. Mr. Holland almost loses his composure as he declares that he is confident that Bauman will be able to do what Hopper and the local police so far have failed to achieve, and Mrs. Holland asks Nancy not to worry about their financial situation, as it hardly matters at the moment; with Bauman on the case, she and her husband are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. Nancy and Steve exchange several awkward looks, before Nancy excuses herself and goes to the bathroom, where she breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents.

Hopper drives to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. He avoids a set of traps and knocks on the door following a pattern. When the door opens, he sees a plate with a [[TrademarkFavoriteFood half-eaten Eggo]] and admonishes the eater that they have talked about this: no dessert before dinner. Then [[WhamShot Eleven sits down in front of him]], telling him he was late. Hopper apologizes, and the two have dinner together.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The Pittsburgh car chase. There is no Poplar Street in downtown Pittsburgh, and even the one that is in the suburbs doesn't ever cross a Main Street. There is a 7th Avenue and 7th Street, but they don't have tunnels.

* DonutMessWithACop: While trying to shrug off Murray, Hopper helps himself to a donut, but Flo takes the donut away after one bite and gives him an apple.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Dr. Owens engages Will in friendly conversation about candy before his examination, establishing him as a better sort of person than his predecessor.

* PunchClockVillain: The workers at the facility seem on pretty friendly terms with each other, even if they're still poking around in things they shouldn't. Possibly justified, as none of the people on Brenner's team survived the first season, and they were presumably assigned there to clean up Brenner's mess.

** Joyce gets nervous when she receives a call.

* SeriousBusiness: Collecting coins for their arcade night is clearly a big deal for the boys.

** The introduction of 008, who is not only substantially older than Eleven, but also running with a crew of robbers.

* DamnedByAFoolsPraise: As Jonathan is comforting Will about feeling like a freak by saying that's it'd be more fun to hang out with Music/DavidBowie than Music/KennyRodgers, Bob walks by and chimes in "Someone say Kenny Rodgers? I love Kenny Rodgers!" He's also seems to love ''Film/MrMom'', one of the "lamer" videos Jonathan had rented for them.

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

At high school, Nancy is with Steve in his car. Steve wants to apply to university and asks Nancy to check his application letter. Nancy makes some suggestions, but Steve feels it will not be any good and throws the letter away: she reminds him they are due for a dinner with someone else. Just then, a sports car arrives, from which come down a red-haired teenager with a skateboard and a guy who attracts all the girls.

At the Buyers' house, Jonathan returns from the local video rental and shows off the new video camera he has bought to Joyce, telling her that home video is the future. Will, meanwhile, is in his room, drawing a picture of himself as a zombie, when Jonathan comes to speak with him. Will mentions that he is fed up with everyone treating him like he is going to break at the first turn and that he is a freak, and Jonathan tries to cheer him up by telling him that he might be a freak but so is he himself. Will asks him if that is why he doesn't seem to have any friends, but Jonathan assures him that he does have his friends, and when Will asks him why he always hangs out with him then, Jonathan answers that's because he is his best friend. Jonathan tells him that no one normal has accomplished anything significant and that freaks are cooler, asking him if he rather would be friends with Music/DavidBowie or Music/KennyRogers. Just then Bob passes by; not having heard the conversation, he cheerfully comments that he loves Kenny Rogers, much to Will and Jonathan's amusement. The two of them, along with Bob and Joyce, spend the night watching the movies Jonathan rented, but then the phone rings, and Joyce's mood is soured by her memories of last year. Bob tells her just to let it ring as he gently takes her hand, but Joyce cannot shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

The following morning, Chief Jim Hopper goes to the police station, where Murray Bauman, the local conspiracy buff, wants to talk with him, mentioning several independent sightings of a girl with psychic powers, believing that the whole is some sinister foreign plot, probably connected to the Russians. Hopper humors the man, but when he gets a call from Flo about a local farmer, Merrill, getting his pumpkins poisoned, blaming his neighbor, Eugene, he prepares to head out, telling Bauman to just "stop bleeding those people dry and go home." Bauman insists that he is "not bleeding anyone" as Hopper leaves.

At the Buyers' house, Jonathan returns from the local video rental and shows off the new video camera he has bought for Joyce, telling her that home video is the future. Will, meanwhile, is in his room, drawing a picture of himself as a zombie, when Jonathan comes to speak with him. Will mentions that he is fed up with everyone treating him like he is going to break at the first turn and that he is a freak, and Jonathan tries to cheer him up by telling him that he might be a freak but so is he himself. Will asks him if that is why he doesn't seem to have any friends, but Jonathan assures him that he does have his friends, and when Will asks him why he always hangs out with him then, Jonathan answers that's because he is his best friend. Jonathan tells him that no one normal has accomplished anything significant and that freaks are cooler, asking him if he rather would be friends with Music/DavidBowie or Music/KennyRogers. Just then Bob passes by; not having heard the conversation, he cheerfully comments that he loves Kenny Rogers, much to Will and Jonathan's amusement. The two of them, along with Bob and Joyce, spend the night watching the movies Jonathan rented, but then the phone rings, and Joyce's mood is soured by her memories of last year. Bob tells her just to let it ring as he gently takes her hand, but Joyce cannot shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Steve meet for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for an investigative journalist, named Murray Bauman, formerly a staff member at the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', who may be able to find Barbara. Mr. Holland almost loses his composure as he declares that Bauman will be able to do what Hopper and the local police so far have failed to achieve, and Mrs. Holland asks Nancy not to worry about their financial situation, as it hardly matters at the moment; with Bauman on the case, she and her husband are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. Nancy and Steve exchange several awkward looks, before Nancy excuses herself and goes to the bathroom, where she breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents.

October 28th 1984. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A van is waiting in front of a building, and an alarm rings while several masked people run out and get in, driving off just as police cars arrive to their position. The woman riding shotgun guides the driver through a route, and when they enter a tunnel, she raises her right hand as though gripping something; the roof of the tunnel collapses and the lead police car swerves to a stop, getting hit by the two following it. The passenger of the first patrol car admonishes the driver for stopping, and when the stunned man exits the car, he sees the opening of the tunnel is completely normal: the collapse was an illusion. As the van gets away, the woman's nose starts bleeding, and when she wipes it with her sleeve, a tattoo is seen on her left wrist: 008.

Things in Hawkins, Indiana appear to have gone back to normal after the previous year's problems. Dustin (by searching under the couch's cushions), Lucas (by doing yard work) and Mike (by "borrowing" from Nancy) get quarters to go to the Arcade Palace, where they meet with Will, who is taken there by his mother. Dustin plays ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'' while the others watch, but he gets killed before he can kill the dragon. Lucas boasts that unless Dustin learns to be more nimble, he will still be the only one who has beaten ''Dragon's Lair'' and until then, Princess Daphne will remain his. Dustin says that, at least, he still holds the record on ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}'' and ''VideoGame/DigDug'', but, Keith, the guy in charge reveals someone else has taken that position, someone nicknamed Madmax.

While Dustin and the others argues with Keith, demanding to know who this "Madmax" person is, Will starts to hear something going on outside and follows, but when he turns around to call his friends, they have disappeared - and suddenly Will is transported to the Upside Down. A strong gust of wind blows the door to the arcade up, and Will goes outside to see an approaching red storming raging in the distance and he is utterly terrified of what he is seeing. He then hears Mike calling out for him, and everything goes back to normal. Mike asks Will if he is okay, but Will answers that he just needed some air.

The following morning, Chief Jim Hopper goes to the police station, where Murray Bauman, the local conspiracy buff, wants to talk with him, mentioning several independent sighting of a girl with psychic powers, believing that the whole is some sinister foreign plot, probably connected to the Russians. Hopper humors the man, but when he gets a call from Flo about a local farmer, Merrill, getting his pumpkins poisoned, blaming his neighbor, Eugene, he prepares to head out, telling Bauman to just "stop bleeding those people dry and go home". Bauman insists that he is "not bleeding anyone" as Hopper leaves.

At high school, Nancy is with Steve in his car. Steve wants to apply to university, and asks Nancy to check his application letter. Nancy makes some suggestions, but Steve feels it will not be any good and throws the letter away: she reminds him they are due for a dinner with someone else. Just then, a sports car arrives, from which come down a red-haired teenager with a skateboard and a guy who attracts all the girls.

At high school, Will finds an article about his "resurrection" stuffed into his locker and written over with "Zombie Boy". Later, the boys are at science class, when a new pupil joins them: the red-haired girl Nancy saw earlier. The girl tries to quietly sneak in, but Mr. Clarke insist on introducing to the whole class as "Maxine" who just move to Hawking's from California. Maxine, however, insists that she just answers to "Max". This catches the attention of the boys, wondering if she may be the "Madmax" who just beat the high scores in the arcade.

At Joyce's workplace, she is checking some numbers when a man comes in, asking whether they have something available: Joyce says she will check on the back. Moments later, Joyce and the man -- Bob, her boyfriend -- are passionately kissing in the back. Joyce reminds him they are meeting that night for a movie.

On the outskirts of town, Hopper is visiting Merrill who filed the complaint about the poisoned pumpkins. As Hopper inspects the dead and rotting pumpkins, Merrill complains that Eugene has had it in for him ever since he started encroaching on his pumpkin business, but Hopper sincerely doubts that "nice, old" Eugene would ever stoop as low as poisoning a competitor's pumpkin patch. Merrill insists that the timing is highly suspicious, seeing how it happened the day before Halloween, where sales are at its highest. Hopper spots something rustling in the nearby cornfield, and goes to check it out. As he searches the field, [[CatScare it turns out to be just a crow]].

Meanwhile, someone is giving fliers for a Halloween party that will take place the following day, and Nancy tells Jonathan he ought to consider going, but Jonathan insist that all he is planning to do on Halloween is to go trick and treating with Will. Nancy tries to convince him to come to the party, saying that he could do with hanging out with more people their age, but she is distracted when Steve suddenly sneaks up on and starts making out with her. When Nacy turns around again, she sees that Jonathan has used the distraction to quietly sneak away.

On the school playground, the boys watches Max as she skates around, wondering if she possibly can be "Madmax", pointing out that girls normally doesn't play video games, and even if she does, she couldn't possibly be ''that'' good. When she leaves, she throws away a piece of paper that the boys take -- and find it admonishes them for looking at her. Just then, the principal shows up asking for Will: his mother's here to take him. The boys worry over Will and what may be happening to him.

Joyce is taking Will to the Hawkins Energy Lab, where they find Hopper waiting for them. Inside, Will is subject to a thorough medical check and Doctor Sam Owens, the new chief scientist of the facility asks Will several questions about what he is seeing, while several government agents nervously watch the interview on a camera elsewhere in the facility. Will tells Dr. Owens about the vision of the Upside Down he had in the arcade, how there was a storm there and he felt like there was something "evil" in the storm, looking at him. Dr. Owens asks Will if he knows what this "evil" wanted, and Will answers that it wanted to "kill". "To kill you?" says Dr. Owens, but Will clarifies that it didn't want to kill Will but rather "everyone else".

Talking later, Dr. Owens tells Joyce and Hopper that this sudden uptick of visions may be caused because it will soon be the anniversary of Will's disappearance, and this may be affecting him. As they leave, Joyce privately tells Hopper that she has a hard time trusting Dr. Owens, despite his friendly and easygoing attitude, referring to what happened last year, but Hopper ensures her that Owens probably knows what he is talking about, he then asks her to call him if things ever get bad with Will again. As Will and Joyce drive off, Hopper hangs back for a smoke, and sees Dr. Owens watching him. Owens waves at Hopper, who doesn't return the gesture and turns to leave. Owens is approached by his assistant who tells him to come to the lab overlooking the gate to the Upside Down. Owens and his assistant enter the lab, where they watch a soldier armed a flamethrower being dressed up in a thermal suit. The soldier walks past the lab's barrier and up the portal, where he uses the flamethrower to burn something that is coming out of it.

After school, Dustin and Lucas -- obviously enamored with the new girl -- lies in wait outside the arcade to confirm if Max is, indeed, Madmax. Dustin worries that he might have to go home soon, and Lucas telling to just go ahead, ensuring him that he will radio him if something happens. Dustin says that Lucas is probably just trying to get him out of the way so he is free to make his move. Lucas sarcastically answers that Dustin is hardly a threat, to which Dustin boasts that Max won't be able to resist his pretty pearly whites, proudly showing off his new teeth. Just then Max arrives in the sportscar, having a heated argument with the driver before she enters the arcade. Watching her in awe from a distance as she expertly plays ''Dig Dug'', Lucas and Dustin concludes that she must be Mad Max.

That evening, Mike is told over dinner by his parents that they have to punish him for stealing Nancy's money, and asks him to put up some of his toys for a yard sale. Mike protests that it is unfair, but Karen and Ted tells him that the incident has hardly been the only instance of him misbehaving in the last year, reminding him how he swore at a teacher and graffitied the school bathroom amongst quite a few other transgressions, saying that they have been very patient with him, but that there needs to be consequences for bad behavior.

Meanwhile, Nancy and Steve meet for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for a investigative journalist, named Murray Bauman, formerly a staff member at the Chicago Sun-Times, who may be able to find Barbara. Mr. Holland almost loses his composure as he declares that Bauman will be able to do what Hopper and the local police so far has failed to achieve, and Mrs. Holland asks Nancy not to worry about their financial situation, as it hardly matters at the moment; with Bauman on the case, her and her husband are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. Nancy and Steve exchange several awkward looks, before Nancy excuses herself and goes to the bathroom, where she breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents.

Back at the Wheeler house, a downcast Mike sorts through his toys. Looking at Eleven's abandoned blanket fort he picks up the walkie-talkie and speaks through it as if talking to Eleven, telling her he misses her greatly and asking her to give him a sign she is still out there. When someone answers back, Mike momentarily perks up as he thinks it is her, but it turns out that it is Dustin and Lucas, wanting to ask him if Max can join their group. Annoyed and disappointed, Mike tells them that he is busy and shuts off the walkie-talkie.

As Dustin and Lucas head home, Dustin insists that they stick to the plan of talking to Max tomorrow. Lucas warns that Mike might not like it, but Dustin says that their group isn't a dictatorship, and they will go ahead with it with or without his approval. The two of them split up and go their homes. When Dustin parks his bike in front of his house, he hears something rocking the garbage can, but figures it must be his mother's cat.

At the Buyers' house, Jonathan returns from the local video rental and shows off the new video camera he has bought to Joyce, telling her that homevideo is the future. Will, meanwhile is in his room, drawing a picture of himself as a zombie, when Jonathan comes to speak with him. Will mentions that he is fed-up with everyone treating him like he is going to break at the first turn and that he is a freak, and Jonathan tries to cheer him up by telling him that he might be a freak but so is he himself. Will ask him if that is why he doesn't seem to have any friends, but Jonathan assures him that he do has his friends, and when Will asks him why he always hangs out with him then, Jonathan answers that because he is his best friend. Jonathan tells him that no one normal has accomplished anything significant and that freaks are cooler, asking him if he rather would be friends with Music/DavidBowie or Music/KennyRogers. Just then Bob passes by; not having heard the conversation he cheerfully comments that he loves Kenny Rogers, much to Will and Jonathan's amusement. The two of them, along with Bob and Joyce, spend the night watching the movies Jonathan rented, but then the phone rings, and Joyce's mood is soured by her memories of last year. Bob tells her just to let it ring as he gently takes her hand, but Joyce cannot shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The Pittsburgh car chase. There is no Poplar street in downtown Pittsburgh, and even the one that is in the suburbs doesn't ever cross a Main Street. There is a 7th Avenue and 7th Street, but they don't have tunnels.
* BathroomStallGraffiti: Discussed around the dinner table at Mike's house when his mother berates him for having graffitied one of the school's bathroom stalls, to which Mike replies that everyone was doing it. Then the father comes in with [[JumpOffABridgeRebuttal "So if your friend jumps off a cliff, you're gonna jump, too?"]] upon which Mike rolls his eyes and gives up.
* CardboardBoxes: During the opening chase scene the van hits a stack of cardboard boxes for effect.

* DoNotCallMePaul: When Maxine is introduced in Mr. Clarke's class, she corrects him when he introduces her this way and says she prefers to be called "Max".
* DonutMessWithACop: While trying to shrug off Murray, Hopper helps himself to a donut but Flo takes the donut away after one bite and gives him an apple.

* FeetFirstIntroduction: Billy's arrival. The camera focuses on his boots as he exits his car then pans up to show the rest of him.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Defied in the case of Barb. Her parents are still looking for her, and Nancy breaks down in tears when reminded of her.

* SamusIsAGirl: The party is rather stunned to learn that the mysterious "Madmax" is none other than their new classmate Maxine.
* SeriousBusiness: Collecting coins for their arcade night is clearly a big deal for the boys.

** Joyce, Will, and Hopper meet after Will's latest episode. At first it looks like Hopper is going to provide Will's some amateur counseling, but then the camera pans up to show them outside the "Department of Energy" building.
** Hopper drives to a small cabin in the woods. He enters, dodging tripwires as he does. He gets a drink from the fridge, and starts talking to someone in another room. The camera pans down to a dinner table, where a half-eaten [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Eggo]] is lying on a plate. Eleven comes in shortly afterwards.

* FeetFirstIntroduction: Billy's arrival. The camera shows his boots as he exits his car then pans up to show the rest of him.

* GetawayDriver: Seen in the prologue, where we're introduced to Kali, a.k.a. 008.

* HumanWeapon: Discussed when the ConspiracyTheorist early on suspects Eleven to be a [[RedScare Russian]] weapon.

While Dustin and the others argues with the Keith, demanding to know who this "Madmax" person is, Will starts to hear something going on outside and follows, but when he turns around to call his friends, they have disappeared - and suddenly Will is transported to the Upside Down. A strong gust of wind blows the door to the arcade up, and Will goes outside to see an approaching red storming raging in the distance and he is utterly terrified of what he is seeing. He then hears Mike calling out for him, and everything goes back to normal. Mike asks Will if he is okay, but Will answers that he just needed some air.

Back at the Wheeler house, a downcast Mike sorts through his toys. Looking at Eleven's abandoned blanket fort he picks up the walkie-talkie and speaks through it as if talking to Eleven, telling her he misses her greatly and asking her to give him a sign she is still out there. When someone answers back, Mike momentarily perks up as he thinks it is her, but it turns out that it is Dustin and Lucas, wanting to ask him if Max can join their group. Annoyed and disappointed, Mike tells him that he is busy and shuts off the walkie-talkie.

At the Buyers' house, Jonathan returns from the local video rental and shows off the new video camera he has bought to Joyce, telling her that homevideo is the future. Will, meanwhile is in his room, drawing a picture of himself as a zombie, when Jonathan comes to speak with him. Will mentions that he is fed-up with everyone treating him like he is going to break at the first turn and that he is a freak, and Jonathan tries to cheer him up by telling him that he might be a freak but so is he himself. Will ask him if that is why he doesn't seem to have any friends, but Jonathan assures him that he do has his friends, and when Will asks him why he always hangs out with him then, Jonathan answers that because he is his best friend. Jonathan tells that no one normal has accomplished anything significant and that freaks are cooler, asking Will if he rather would be friends with Music/DavidBowie or Music/KennyRogers. Just then Bob passes by; not having heard the conversation he cheerfully comments that he loves Kenny Rogers, much to Will and Jonathan's amusement. The two of them, along with Bob and Joyce, spend the night watching the movies Jonathan rented, but then the phone rings, and Joyce's mood is soured by her memories of last year. Bob tells her just to let it ring as he gently takes her hand, but Joyce cannot shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

At the Hollands' house, Nancy and Steve meet for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for a investigative journalist, named Murray Bauman, formerly a staff member at the Chicago Sun-Times, who may be able to find Barbara. Mr. Holland almost loses his composure as he declares that Bauman will be able to do what Hopper and the local police so far has failed to achieve, and Mrs. Holland asks Nancy not to worry about their financial situation, as it hardly matters at the moment; with Bauman on the case, her and her husband are feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. Nancy and Steve exchange several awkward looks, before Nancy excuses herself and goes to the bathroom, where she breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents.

As a downcast Mike sorts through his toys, he picks up the walkie-talkie and speaks through it as if talking to Eleven, telling her he misses her greatly and asking her to give him a sign she is still out there. Dustin and Lucas talk about the possibility of asking Max to join their group while they return to their homes: when Dustin parks his bike in front of his house, he hears something rocking the garbage can, but figures it must be his mother's cat.

Will is at home in his room, drawing a picture of himself as a zombie, when Jonathan comes to speak with him. Will mentions that he is fed-up with everyone treating him like he is going to break at the first turn and that he is a freak, and Jonathan tries to cheer him up by telling him "freaks" are cooler. The two of them, along with Bob and Joyce, spend the night watching movies, but then the phone rings, and Joyce's mood is soured by her memories of last year.

At the Energy Lab, the instruments that keep an eye on the Upside Down gate start to go haywire. Will wakes up to go to the bathroom, but when he leaves, he begins to have another vision of the Upside Down. The red storm is still raging in the distance, but is even more violent, and to Will's horror, the lightning from the storm reveals that there is some kind of gigantic tentacled monster right in the middle of it. The creature notices Will and turns to look at him.

The following morning, Chief Jim Hopper goes to the police station, where Murray Bauman, the local conspiracy buff, wants to talk with him, mentioning several independent sighting of a girl with psychic powers, believing that the whole is some sinister foreign plot, probably connected to the Russians. Hopper humors the man, but when he gets a call from Flo about a local farmer, Merrill, getting his pumpkins poisoned, blaming his neighbor, Eugene, he prepares to head out, telling Murray to just "stop bleeding those people dry and go home". Murray insists that he is "not bleeding anyone" as Hopper leaves.

Nancy and Steve meets for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for a investigative journalist who may be able to find Barbara. Nancy goes to the bathroom and breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents. Mike, meanwhile, gets punished for stealing Nancy's money, showing that he has been misbehaving much in the last year, ever since Eleven disappeared. While alone, he picks up the walkie-talkie and speaks through it as if talking to Eleven, telling her he misses her greatly and asking her to give him a sign she is still out there. Dustin and Lucas talk about the possibility of asking Max to join their group while they return to their homes: when Dustin parks his bike in front of his house, he hears something rocking the garbage can, but figures it must be his mother's cat.

Things in Hawkins, Indiana appear to have gone back to normal after the previous year's problems. Dustin (by searching under the couch's cushions), Lucas (by doing yard work) and Mike (by "borrowing" from Nancy) get quarters to go to the Arcade Palace, where they meet with Will, who is taken there by his mother. Dustin plays ''Dragon's Lair'' while the others watch, but he gets killed before he can kill the dragon. Lucas boasts that unless Dustin learns to be more nimble, he will still be the only one who has beaten ''Dragon's Lair'' and until then, Princess Daphne will remain his. Dustin says that, at least, he still holds the record on ''Centipede'' and ''Dig Dug'', but, Keith, the guy in charge reveals someone else has taken that position, someone nicknamed Madmax.

While Dustin and Lucas -- obviously enamored with the new girl -- confirm that Max is, indeed, Madmax, and Steve meets for dinner with Barbara's parents. Having noticed the "On Sale" sign outside the house, Nancy asks about it, and Barb's parents say they are selling the house in order to pay for a investigative journalist who may be able to find Barbara. Nancy goes to the bathroom and breaks down in tears, knowing that her friend is dead but that she cannot tell Barbara's parents. Mike, meanwhile, gets punished for stealing Nancy's money, showing that he has been misbehaving much in the last year, ever since Eleven disappeared. While alone, he picks up the walkie-talkie and speaks through it as if talking to Eleven, telling her he misses her greatly and asking her to give him a sign she is still out there. Dustin and Lucas talk about the possibility of asking Max to join their group while they return to their homes: when Dustin parks his bike in front of his house, he hears something rocking the garbage can, but figures it must be his mother's cat.

On the outskirts of town, Hopper is visiting Merrill who filed the complaint about the poisoned pumpkins. Merrill complains that Eugene has had it in for him ever since he started encroaching on his pumpkin business, but Hopper sincerely doubts that "nice, old" Eugene would ever stoop as low as poisoning a competitor's pumpkin patch. Merrill insists that the timing is highly suspicious, seeing how it happened the day before Halloween, where sales are at its highest. Hopper spots something rustling in the nearby cornfield, and goes to check it out. As he searches the field, [[CatScare it turns out to be just a crow]].

Meanwhile, someone is giving fliers for a Halloween party that will take place the following day, and Nancy tells Jonathan he ought to consider going, but Jonathan insist that all he is planning to do on Halloween is to go trick and treating with Will. Nacy tries to convince him, saying that he could do with hanging out with more, but she is distracted when Steve suddenly sneaks up on and starts making out with her. When Nacy turns around again, she sees that Jonathan has used the distraction to quietly sneak away.

Joyce is taking Will to the Hawkins Energy Lab, where they find Hopper waiting for them. Inside, Will is checked over and Doctor Sam Owens, the new chief scientist of the facility, asks Will several questions about what he is seeing, with Will describing how one of the things is something that threatens to go, not after him, but after everyone else. Talking later, Dr. Owens tells Joyce and Hopper that this sudden uptick of visions may be caused because it will soon be the anniversary of Will's disappearance, and this may be affecting him. As they leave, Hopper tells Joyce to call him if things ever get bad. At the lab, a worker uses a flamethrower to burn something that is coming out of the gate to the Upside Down.