Stranger Things Season 3 Episode 7 Recap – The Bite

The Flayer Moves

The Hawkins crowd gathers at Mayor Kline’s fourth of July Fun Fair, where there are various carnival rides and festivities. Mayor Larry gives a speech to welcome his happy constituents.

Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler and their youngest, Holly, ride the Ferris wheel to the top just before the fireworks start. Everyone cheers for the celebration, but then Holly notices something moving along the tree line. Shrouded by the darkness of the woods, the Mind Flayer starts to move.

Although the fireworks can be seen from the shed, Eleven and her friends are all huddled inside and worried. She tells them about the Mind Flayer’s threats of building something to stop them. Mike thinks it’s amassing an army specifically to fight El, as she was the one who was able to close the gate before. If she’s out of the way, it’ll be game over. El also mentions the creature’s threat to kill all of them. Nancy looks out the window and asks if the others can hear it. She then asks if Billy talked to El in this room, which she confirms.

Will gets cold and warns that the creature knows they’re here. They go outside and see the Mind Flayer stumbling along the woods toward them.

Dustin and Erica drive the drugged-up Robin and Steve back to the elevators. Dustin uses a keycard, and they make their way back to the surface. Erica thinks both Robin and Steve are drunk as they continue to goof around inside the elevator. Dustin checks Steve’s burning forehead and realizes they’ve been drugged. He asks for their car, but the Russians also took their keys. Outside, two Starcourt guards chase the kids down, prompting Dustin to hide them back inside once again.

The Defense

Mike and the gang barricade the shed while Nancy takes out a shotgun. They form around in a circle waiting for the monster to come as it stalks around them. Suddenly, a tendril barges in from the window. Jonathan tries to chop it down with an axe, but he gets flung away. Nancy shoots it, but it doesn’t work.

Only El’s powers are effective against its tendrils. She manages to sever two of them, but another drags her to the ceiling. The gang scrambles to retrieve El while Nancy shoots and Lucas chops down its rotten appendage.

The Mind Flayer screeches at them from the roof until El manages to sever its face with her powers. The creature squeals in agony as it tries to reconstitute itself, giving the kids enough time to escape in Nancy’s car.

Dustin, Erica, Steve, and Robin escape to the theatre to lay low from their pursuers.

Alexei shows Murray the map and tells him there are two keys they need to retrieve to stop the machine. Joyce and Hopper bicker about putting their kids in danger, prompting Murray to snap. He tells them they should get over their sexual tension and express themselves honestly. Alexei asks him what he said, and the two snicker in the back seat. Hopper and Joyce are left speechless.

A Retreat

Nancy breaks into a convenience store to nurse El’s wounds. Her leg has been wounded, and Max takes over first aid. Nancy and Jonathan figure that everyone who’s been flayed is with the creature now.

Lucas and Will find some fireworks and take some for backup in case El needs it.

Mike tries to comfort El and tells her it’s been hard since they broke up, but he realizes she must also hang out with other friends. Suddenly, Dustin calls out a code red. Mike responds, but Dustin’s Supercom goes out of power, and his message doesn’t go through. Dustin returns to the theatre for plan B, but Robin and Steve are gone. The two of them are outside at the water fountain to freshen themselves. Steve looks to the roof and sees some trippy lights, dragging Robin along to the experience. The two of them feel faint as they start to stare and proceed to puke at the toilets.

Hopper goes to the Fun Fair and apologizes to Joyce. Larry spots Hopper and runs back to his car to call the commie soldier.

El proceeds to search for Dustin and sees him in the movies.

Steve and Robin notice that they aren’t feeling sick anymore. The two of them ask each other questions to check their sanity. Steven admits his feelings to Robin, saying she’s smart and funny, which makes her cringe. Robin tells him he isn’t thinking straight. She admits that she likes him, but she was only jealous and obsessed with him before because Tammy always looked at him and not at her. Steve realizes the implications and goes silent. The two argue about Tammy’s singing prowess and laugh it off. Dustin and Erica find them laughing.

The Traitor

Billy goes to the department store where El was nursed and touched the bloodstains. His pupils dilate.

Murray takes Alexei to see the attractions, saying he doesn’t need to be American to enjoy them. Murray pays for the tickets and goes to find food. Alexei asks if the games are rigged, and Murray explains they are, even when they don’t look like it. Joyce finds Karen and asks her where the kids are, but she doesn’t know. The carousel starts, and Joyce and Hopper hold hands.

Dustin and his gang blend into the mall crowd. Steve reveals they can’t go home as he gave the Russians Dustin’s name. They see two agents waiting for them outside and escape to the escalator.

Alexei winds a stuffed toy and goes to Murray, but the Russian soldier intercepts and shoots him, calling him a “traitor.” Murray realizes this and brings him to an alleyway. He calls Hopper and warns him of what happened, and Hopper realizes they’re surrounded. Hopper drags Joyce away to escape and gives her the keys. He escapes to the horror booth and subdues a commie agent.

Murray takes Joyce to Alexei, who now lies dead in an alley.

The terminator Russian follows to the booth and finds his other comrade down.

Meeting at Starcourt

Before leaving the fair, Joyce sees Larry and proceeds to punch him in the face and kick him in the groin.

The solder looks for Hopper in a hall of mirrors, and a shootout ensues between the two men. Hopper manages to rain down bullets on the soldier, but he survives in his Kevlar vest. Hopper then exits the back and joins Joyce and Murray on the convertible. He asks them what happened to Alexei, but the two can only shake their heads silently.

Hopper takes the Russian radio he stole and asks Murray to translate. The report says that kids are still on the first floor of Starcourt mall.

Four armed Russian soldiers survey the food courts and notice Steve and his gang huddled nearby. They start approaching, but suddenly a car on display starts blaring its alarm and honking its horns.

Eleven, on the top floor, flings the car against the four Russians. Now their whole gang reunites, and they congratulate each other briefly. Robin asks about El, and Steve explains that they managed to catch a Russian code. They struggle to catch up to each other’s situations. Meanwhile, El starts to feel overwhelmed as her leg starts to fester. It turns out that part of the Mind Flayer has invaded her wound.

Our Thoughts

I love the Mind Flayer storyline, but I can’t help but think that the other two Russian plots seem silly in comparison. Rating: 4/5.