Stranger Things Season 3 Episode 6 Recap – E Pluribus Unum

Getting Caught

Steve and Dustin realize that the Russians are trying to open the gate. Robin asks them how they know about this but then the alarm starts blaring as the guy in the comms room managed to get some help. Steve and the gang run towards the drill while it’s still operational and they find an exit through the back. Steve and Robin hold the doors down sacrificially to make way for Dustin and Erica to escape. The Russians arrest them both.

At the hospital, Will senses the Mind Flayer’s presence as the light starts to flicker. The flesh monster pursues Nancy through the hallways and she escapes to an empty room. The monster, however, turns back into a blob and enters via the small openings on the door. It shoves Nancy to the wall while Jonathan tries to smash his way in. El breaks through with her powers and flings the creature out of the window. Everyone goes outside to reach for the monster but it escapes through the gutters into the sewage line. There, it reunites with the other flayed mass. Billy and Heather stare at it and say that it’s time.

Mayor Larry oversees the county fair for the fourth of July fair and meets with the Russian soldier. He assures him that he’ll call them when he hears about Hopper. Larry suggests for him to have backup next time but this enrages the Russian, who pins the mayor to a spinning carnival ride. The Russian gives him an ultimatum of one day to find Hopper.

Joyce and Hopper bribe Alexei with two Whoppers and a Slurpee in hopes of learning about what the Russian generator is trying to do with their power generator. Murray translates but Alexei spits out and complains about his strawberry-flavored Slurpee. Joyce reminds Hopper that he asked for cherry but he insists that it tastes the same and there was no cherry flavor in the store. Hopper refuses so Alexei also refuses the deal. Hopper then drags Alexei outside and gives him his keys. Murray argues that he should keep calm but Hop’s patience has been running low.

The Search

Alexei uncuffs himself with the keys and rides on the convertible. Murray warns Hopper about it but he thinks it’s merely a bluff. Joyce and the others watch as Alexei hesitates to drive away. He returns back to the house and changes his mind, saying he likes strawberry too.

Erica and Dustin manage to hide in the air vents, where the he tells her about what happened to Eleven and the gate. Erica believes the other details but doesn’t buy that Lucas was there. The two find a way to disable the fans so that they can move forward.

The Russians torture Steve for information and ask him who he works for. Steve makes an excuse that they just stumbled unto the store room and fell through the elevator. He promises never to say anything to the authorities and offers them free ice cream. They torture him once more and tie him up behind Robin while he’s unconscious. Robin spits on the Russian captain and they leave them alone in the room.

Eleven goes to the void in search of all the people who have been flayed so far. It takes her some time, so Mike starts to worry. Nancy calls the Hawkins Post and asks if anyone else is missing but doesn’t get any info. Max tells Mike that he should stop trying to control El’s limits and an argument ensues. The others vouch for El, saying she’s saved them twice before. Mike argues that they should not be so callous in treating Eleven’s powers as she’s not a machine. He blurts out that he loves her and can’t afford to lose her again. El goes out of her room and tells the others that she found him.

The Key

Alexei explains that the Russians came to Hawkins in search of a key. Such keys existed back in their homeland but this one is specific for their needs. The Russians are trying to open a barrier between worlds, which alarms both Joyce and Hopper. In Hawkins, the door had already been opened once, and now it’s still on the mend. This prompted the Russians to come by and conduct their research.

Murray and Hopper take shots of vodka before asking Alexei if there’s a way to open the key. He says there’s a way, but now he’s compromised. Hopper promises him to get his key back but Alexei laughs him off, as breaking into the facility is deemed impossible.

Dustin and Erica managed to enter a room full of canisters and finds a buggy. She spots a cage that’s could house a Demogorgon and takes out a shock prodder while Dustin finds the keys.

Steve asks Robin to stop yelling for help. She’s relieved that he’s awake and asks him to knock over a nearby table that has scissors on it. They fall on the third try and Robin starts laughing as they’re about to die on a Russian base. Robin asks him if he remembers her, but he was an asshole who didn’t even notice. The two bond over their misadventures as they lie on the floor. The Russians return and administer a drug to them to help him talk.

Eleven finds Billy staying by his room, which the others don’t find normal in the fourth of July. The others figure its a trap and deliberate on whether they should go. El thinks there’s another way for her to see the Mind Flayer’s source.

The Source

El finds Billy again and touches his hand, asking to see what happened. Billy tightens his grip and she slips in the void, where she sees flashes of his memories. She finds the source and heads to it.

Hopper calls his contact from Dr. Owens and asks for backup from the Russians. They wake Alexei back and take him to Hawkins.

The Russians bring torture devices to Steve’s interrogations, which prompts Robin to reveal that they managed to intercept their code. She insults the captain for how easy was for them to crack their encryption. They ask who else knows, and Steve reveals that Dustin is going out to call Hopper, who’ll call the US cavalry to them.

Suddenly, the alarms start blaring and the soldiers mobilize. There’s a huge hole in the floor from all the spilled canisters. Dustin barges into the interrogation room and subdues the surgeon with the prodder, before freeing Steve and Robin from their bonds.

The Mind Flayer

El sees Billy’s childhood and all the memories that led him to this dark path. She passes through a red storm inside his mind and reaches a calm where the steel mill is located. It’s where the eye of the storm is.

Jonathan checks the yellow pages and Mike tells her to get out of the void. Eleven wakes up but she’s suddenly alone in her shed. Billy tells her that it was mistake, and now all of them can see her. Billy blames her for letting them in, and now they’ll have to let him stay. Around Hawkins, all of the flayed start moving towards the mill. Billy says they’ve been building something all this time, and now it’s time to end it. El shoves him away and screams, then wakes up in the real world.

The other flayed people spasm and fall into blobs of flesh, feeding themselves into the Mind Flayer, who starts moving out of the mill.

Our Thoughts

It seems unlikely that the Russians could slip into Hawkins but I guess that’s 80’s movie logic. Rating: 3.8/5