‘Stranger Things 2’ recap: ‘The Mind Flayer’

In this episode of Stranger Things 2: The Mind Flayer, it is madness inside Hawkins Lab as the Demogorgons have invaded. They have started killing everyone inside. Joyce quickly sedates Will as her, Hopper, Mike, Bob and Dr. Owens retreat to hiding in an office. The security of the lab quickly crashes and they are locked in as the power goes out.

Steve, Dustin, Lucas and Max are looking for the Demogorgons and arguing at the same time. Steve hears noises and they walk through the woods and come up to Hawkins Lab. At the same time, Jonathan and Nancy are driving up to the lab. The gang all reunites and they all hear the sounds of the Demogorgons coming from inside the lab.

Dead bodies are all over the place as the Demogorgons are roaming freely. They are on full lockdown and Bob decides he has the ability to restore the power and allow them to escape. Bob goes down to the basement and gets all of the power turned on and the systems back online. Hopper takes Mike, Will and Joyce outside the front door. Dr. Owens is guiding Bob out while dodging Demogorgons.

They wait at the front door for Bob who is happy to see them. Then out of nowhere a Demogorgon attacks him right in front of Joyce. Hopper tries to shoot it but more Demogorgons come out and they are forced to leave Bob behind. RIP Bob.

Hopper is driving everyone out of the lab. The entire group retreats to the Byers house. Joyce is devastated over the loss of Bob. The rest of the crew waits in silence. Mike pays his respects to Bob and Dustin says it is only a matter of time before the “Demodogs” (Dustin’s new term for combining Demogorgon and Dogs) find them.

They finally put all of the pieces together. The Shadow Monster is the brain or the “mind flayer.” It controls everything. It wants to conquer everything so they only way they can stop it and everything it controls is by killing it. Since Will is a spy for the Shadow Monster they have to confuse him and interrogate him to see if they can reach the real Will.

They disguise the tool shed and tie Will up. They want to confuse Will and get him to reveal some information. They make Will (or the Shadow Monster) angry as the lights flicker. Joyce, Mike and Jonathan start talking to Will about past memories. Hopper notices that Will is trying to communicate with them through morse code. In one of the coolest scenes of the season, they are able to spell out what Will is trying to say to them. “CLOSE GATE.” That is the message Will is trying to send.

The phone rings and startles them all. They quickly throw it off the wall. Will starts reacting and now they know what Will and the Demodogs know where they are located. The gang is locked and loaded and waiting for the attack. One of the Demodogs seems to dive through the window. They investigate but then notice that the door starts clicking and opening on its own. The door opens and it is the moment we have been waiting for all season. ELEVEN makes her triumphant return. Everyone stares in shock as Mike and Eleven finally see each other…both with tears in their eyes.

Stranger Things 2 is now streaming on Netflix.