After just over a month of waiting (really, it felt like a million years), Stranger Things has returned with the final two episodes of season four. Netflix and Matt and Ross Duffer have teased that these two action-packed episodes are going to blow our minds. And blow them they have. In the eighth episode, “Chapter Eight: Papa,” Nancy (Natalia Dyer) uncovers the truth behind Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) plans, and El (Millie Bobby Brown) begins to question Papa’s (Matthew Modine) true intentions. Honestly, stop wasting time here – let’s dive in!
DISCLAIMER: This is a recap and, by definition, contains spoilers. More spoilers than times Will (Noah Schnapp) will ask to play D&D. So; we highly suggest checking out season four first and then coming back and catching up with our recaps!
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“Chapter Eight: Papa” opens as a young El (Martie Blair) watches the gate to the Upside Down close behind 001. Dr. Brenner rushes in, demanding to know what happened. When he demands to know what happened, the younger El looks like she is about to fight back but eventually passes out. We are then thrown into another memory where a younger Dr. Brenner tattoos Henry Creel (Raphael Luce) while Nancy watches.
This is Nancy’s nightmare, and she is rushing through Hawkins Lab while Steve (Joe Keery) and the others rush to try and find music to drag her out of Vecna’s curse. But Nancy is a fighter, and she tries breaking out all on her own. But Vecna isn’t done with her yet. He wants to show her exactly what he has planned. The nightmare continues as she rushes into a room and ends up in a chair, strapped down by Vecna’s tentacles.
But instead of killing Nancy, as Vecna has done with his other victims, he gives her a job. He wants Nancy to tell El exactly what he plans to do. And from the short flashes of Creel House we see, it looks like he is trying to break open a portal between the two and make his way into Hawkins. He eventually lets Nancy out of his curse, and she wakes up in the Upside Down next to Steve.
Cue the opening credits. Hey Duffer brothers – we are keeping a close eye on you. Remember that.
“Chapter Eight: Papa” returns as the Demogorgon wreaks havoc in the Russian prison. The guards are trying to find a way to subdue him while Murray (Brett Gelman) gets a guard to lie about them being locked up. “Enzo” (Tom Wlaschiha) and Yuri (Nikola Djuricko) try to find a way out, and Joyce (Winona Ryder) patches up Hopper (David Harbour) and makes a silly joke about always wanting to visit the Soviet Union. This leads to a really sweet (and tearful moment) about how they held a funeral for Hopper and how everyone is missing him. But that’s broken up when Murray points out that the adorable Demogorgon can climb.
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While the Russian soldiers deal with the big guy outside, Hopper and the others find a little Demogorgon in a lab. It seems like the Russian weren’t content with having only one monster. They were busy making an entire army of them. They continue their exploration when Hopper spots the black mist creature we saw in the trailer. But “Enzo” pulls them away before we get a really good look at it. He has found a tunnel that might just get them out alive.
Back in Nevada, the staff brings El back to life after her last trip into Project Nina. She doesn’t say anything, but she does manage to get off the table, and using her newly returned powers, she moves the chamber up and down. Somewhere else in Nevada, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) drives Argyle (Eduardo Franco), Will and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) are heading towards El. Will tries to give Mike some words of encouragement, but Mike is worried El won’t need him anymore. Mike is feeling down on himself, and thankfully Will is there to help him feel better.
Will breaks out the painting he drew back at the beginning of the season, and it’s a three-headed dragon and their Dungeons and Dragons characters. El commissioned the picture for him. Will shares that El has been lost without Mike by his side, and she is probably scared of losing him. We get the impression that Will isn’t just talking about El needing Mike in this case. We think he might be worried about losing him too. And we aren’t the only ones. It seems like Jonathan might be thinking the same thing.
“Chapter Eight: Papa” returns to Dr. Brenner in the Vecna memory. He is investigating the wall where the portal opened while El sleeps on the floor. Back in the present day, he explains to El what happened afterward. She has shown something spectacular, but it was lost when she woke back up. But he knew she just needed a push—something to get her back on track. Dr. Brenner also thought that 001 was hiding in the Upside Down but wasn’t sure. Not until now. Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser) shares that as soon as he saw the eyes of his three victims, he knew exactly who it was.
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El is worried about her friends at Hawkins, but they have cut all contact. Dr. Owens thinks they are safe. He would be wrong. Dr. Brenner explains exactly what Vecna is up to. With each murder, he creates cracks in the walls holding the two worlds apart until it bursts. El rushes to her room and tries to use her powers to check in on her friends.
Back in Hawkins, Nancy shares everything she saw with the others. It’s ominous, with tons of monsters and visions of her family and ends with the fall of Hawkins, just like Dr. Brenner said. Steve tries to comfort her with the idea that all of this isn’t real. But Nancy knows that this is bound to happen. She then shares that she saw four gates that would spread and break open. Max (Sadie Sink) realizes that Vecna’s clock chimes four times, which means four kills for four gates. Both Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) realize that Vecna is just one kill away.
Max tries to call the Byers again, but the line is busy. While Steve accuses her of dialing the number wrong (we will forgive him, he must be really stressed out right now), El watches in on her friends. They know that everything happening isn’t a coincidence and that what is happening in Hawkins must be connected with what is happening in Lenora. Nancy plans to get geared up and head back into the Upside Down. Steve and Eddie (Joseph Quinn) are quick to jump on the no bandwagon, with Robin (Maya Hawke) pointing out that Vecna/Henry/One is terrifying and really strong.
But since he is just like El, they know his weaknesses. Like when El remote-travels and goes into her trance (like she is now) and leaves her unprotected. Obviously, Vecna must do something similar when he attacks his victims. But they have to worry about the bats and figure out when he will strike next. And this is when Max breaks all of our hearts. She is willing to put herself on the line in order to draw him out. Max just needs them to kill him before he can kill her. We aren’t okay. Very My Chemical Romance not okay. And El isn’t, either.
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“Chapter Eight: Papa” jumps back to Russia as Hopper and the others crawl out of a manhole in the snow. It looks like they have made it out of prison. But are they safe yet? Things seem pretty quiet at the guard gate before Murray, and the others come barreling through in the van. It’s all excitement until “Enzo” points out that they need to get out of Russia altogether. Which would be easy if Yuri didn’t crash the plane they came in on. Now he needs to decide if he will help them out and keep his life in the process.
Back in Hawkins, Eddie and the others set up their plan. They are going to head to a store outside of town, get weapons and supplies and then head back into the Upside Down. But first, they need to get some wheels. And I am pretty sure I woke up my entire house when I snorted over Eddie jumping out from behind the trailer in Max’s Michael Myers mask. Thankfully this episode isn’t all tears. The whole group breaks into a camper, and Eddie hotwires it. Someone hug him – he really needs it. But he doesn’t have to worry about driving this bad boy; Steve’s got it.
Back in Nevada, El confronts Dr. Owens about her friends in Hawkins. She explains everything they saw, and Dr. Owens tells her they will send some people over. She doesn’t want him to send some agents; she wants to go. But Dr. Brenner doesn’t think any of them are ready to face off against Vecna. Dr. Owens believes they need to get to Hawkins as soon as possible and that it is El’s choice what she wants to do. And El’s choice is that she wants to go to Hawkins and protect her friends.
We shift back to Hawkins as Steve and Nancy chat about what they thought their futures would look like. These kinds of chats never go well. Duffer Brothers – we are watching you. However, it is cute that Steve mentions that he has all the practice he needs to raise six kids after being the world’s best babysitter to Dustin and his friends. In the back of the camper, Lucas sits down and tries to convince Max to find another one of Vecna’s possible victims. Maybe someone who spoke to the counselor like she did. But there is no time for that; besides, Max has a plan. She is going to try to hide in a happy memory that may or may not include Lucas until Vecna can be killed.
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“Chapter Eight: Papa” returns to the snowy little Russian town where Yuri hides his stash. But there isn’t just peanut butter in there. He has a helicopter. Joyce isn’t happy about it not being a plane, but Yuri is certain he can get them home in it. With every question they have for Yuri, things get worse. Joyce saves the day with the idea of calling Dr. Owens in the states. The only problem is that calling the States isn’t that easy. One wrong move, and the KGB is going to be all over them.
At the War Zone, the group gets shopping when Robin sees Vickie (Amybeth McNulty). Steve tries to get her to go over and chat, but then Robin spots Vickie’s boyfriend. Vickie spots her, but Robin rushes off before they can say hello. At the counter, Nancy spots Jason (Mason Dye) buying a gun, and he spots her. Thankfully, before Erica (Priah Ferguson) rushes up, she spots him and heads off to warn the others. But it looks like the entire basketball team is here. Jason tries to get answers out of Nancy and even goes as far as threatening her. Thankfully they make it out of the store without being spotted, but Jason seems to think something is up.
In Nevada, the Cali crew are trying to find Nina, who is not a small woman. Jonathan pulls the van over to try and figure out if the coordinates are even correct when Argyle goes for a walk and finds the treads for a military vehicle. But is it El’s ride to or from Nina? And is it El at all? It looks like Lt. Colonel Sullivan (Sherman Augustus) is also out searching for El in the desert. In the lab, Dr. Owens is trying to get all his ducks in a row when the military shows up. El ends up locked in the chamber with Dr. Brenner, who has turned on Dr. Owens and is holding her hostage until his work is done.
But El is past Dr. Brenner’s lies and manipulation. She thought she was the monster and came with Dr. Owens to Nevada to try to figure out if she was right. But she realized that all this time, the real monster was Papa. And she is done being his pawn. Being the one he used to search the darkness for Henry. The one who he used for his own selfish reasons. El is going to leave the lab with Dr. Owens, and if Papa tries to stop her – she will kill him. And as she rips off the door, he stabs her in the neck with a syringe before she can make good on her promise.
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“Chapter Eight: Papa” returns to Hawkins as everyone prepares for the battle in their own way. While everyone preps their weapons of choice, Lucas and Erica have a wholesome brother-sister moment while Steve tries to make Robin feel better about Vickie, but she is more worried about them not making it out of this fight alive. And even though they are all fools, they might be the only fools who can save Hawkins and the rest of the world.
Back in Nevada, El wakes up with a collar around her neck. Dr. Brenner is serious about forcing her to stay so they can finish his work. While he is trying to comfort her, the alarms start going off. It looks like Sullivan has found their little hideaway. A battle between the two groups breaks out, and Dr. Brenner uses the commotion to sneak El out. Sullivan’s men don’t find El, but they do find Dr. Owens.
Outside, Dr. Brenner is shot while trying to carry El away. Dr. Owens tries to get Sullivan to let El go, but it doesn’t work. Thankfully, the Cali crew shows up just in time to save the day. In their own weird way. They buy El enough time to use her powers to pull the helicopter out of the sky. With things relatively safe, the Cali crew reunites with El. Jonathan knows it’s time to go, and Papa releases the collar from her neck. They share a tearful goodbye, and Dr. Brenner tries to get her to understand that everything he ever did was for her. But it seems like El has finally seen past it all. In the van, El tells them they need to get to Hawkins before everyone dies.
“Chapter Eight: Papa” comes to a close as the Hawkins crew gets ready to face off against Vecna. Everyone is quiet as Erica, Max and Lucas get dropped off in front of Creel House. Let the final battle begin.
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Everyone is still alive! Well, except for Dr. Brenner. But honestly, we aren’t really sad about his death. It seems his story has come full circle at this point, and El has outgrown her need to please him. She has suffered enough at the hands of his work and is ready to save her friends. It’s a good thing Mike and the Cali crew showed up when they did. Now we just need them to find a way back to Hawkins fast. Plus, Hopper and the Russian crew need to get stateside for the final battle because the Hawkins crew is going to need all the help they can get.
We’ve got one more extra-long episode to dive into so let’s go!
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Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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