Stranger Things
Created by: The Duffer Brothers
Stars: Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven / El), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna / Henry Creel / One), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vicky Dunne), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Robert Akers), Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay), Joe Chrest (Ted Wheeler), Sherman Augustus (Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan), Clayton Royal Johnson (Andy), Hunter Romanillos (Chance)
Season 5 – Episode 2
Episode title: Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler
Director: The Duffer Brothers
Original release date: November 26, 2025 (Netflix)
Episode plot: The Demogorgon attacks and severely injures Mike and Nancy’s parents Karen and Ted before disappearing with Holly to the Upside Down. Eleven follows the Demogorgon through a gate into the Upside Down and finds Hopper, and the two search for Holly until they encounter a giant wall surrounding the edge of Hawkins. Jonathan accuses Steve of competing for Nancy’s attention, and the two cross paths with Dustin, while Lucas continues tending to a comatose Max in hopes she’ll wake up. As Karen and Ted remain hospitalized, Nancy and Mike theorize that Mr. Whatsit, Holly’s “imaginary friend”, may have been real and involved in Holly’s disappearance. Will recalls a previous vision in the woods similar to his vision of the caravan attack, and Robin proposes using his telepathic link to Vecna and the hive mind to track Holly in the Upside Down, to Joyce’s objection. Mike and Nancy visit a recovering Karen to ask about Mr. Whatsit and realize that he is actually Henry, Vecna’s human form, who has taken Holly to his former home. Will discovers his earlier vision was actually Vecna’s point of view as he stalked Holly and realizes Vecna’s next target is Holly’s classmate and bully, Derek Turnbow.
* * *
Stranger Things – S05E02 – Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler | Full transcript
[roaring]
[singer over radio]
♪ Can you hear the drums, Fernando? ♪
[“Fernando” by ABBA playing]
♪ I remember long ago
Another starry night like this ♪
♪ In the fire… ♪
[Ted] Dadgum it!
[Holly] [screaming] No! Help! Help! Mom! Mom! Dad!
[Holly panting]
[roars]
[Holly] [yells] Mom! Mom! Mom!
[Karen] Holly?
Mom! Mom!
Mom, the monster!
Baby, what are you doing? What’s wrong?
Mom, there’s a monster in there.
Holly, slow down. I can’t understand you!
Mom, there’s a monster. The mon
Holly.
Whatever you saw, baby, it was just a nightmare.
No, Mom! Mom!
Baby, it’s just a nightmare!
I saw it. Please trust me, Mom.
Please, Mom, please.
You gotta believe me. Please.
[eerie music playing]
[loud bang in distance]
[heavy footsteps]
[Demogorgon clicks]
[“Fernando” slowing down]
[Ted] What the heck?
[footsteps approaching]
What’s your location? Over.
Pickett, five minutes away.
You’re way ahead of us.
Radio as soon as you’re there!
I will.
And Nancy, be careful.
Hold on.
♪ There was something
In the air that night ♪
[roars]
♪ The stars were bright, Fernando ♪
♪ They were shining there for you and me ♪
♪ For liberty, Fernando ♪
♪ Though we never thought
That we could lose ♪
♪ There’s no regret ♪
[growling]
♪ If I had to do the same again ♪
[ambient sound growing muffled]
♪ There was something
In the air that night ♪
♪ The stars were bright, Fernando ♪
[suspenseful music playing]
[Ted] Karen!
Heavens to Betsy.
Karen!
Everything all right?
Holly?
[both gasping]
[Ted] Holly! Holy smokes.
[Demogorgon growling]
[Ted] Oh God. Hey. Stay back. Stay back! Back!
[Ted grunts]
[roars]
[Holly yelps]
Go! Go!
[Holly] Mom!
Oh, God!
Holly, get back! Stay away from my daughter!
Mom, no!
[Eleven] It’s inside.
[Nancy] I see it. Get ready.
[Mike] Nancy, what’s going on? Talk to me! What’s happening? Nancy!
[Karen] Stay away from my daughter!
[dial tone droning]
[no audible dialogue]
[Nancy] Mom! Don’t try to talk, okay? Just stay calm, okay? You’re gonna be fine. It’s gonna be fine, okay? You’re gonna be fine.
[Karen] Holly.
[muffled scream]
[footsteps thudding]
[distant, faint screaming]
[Nancy] Go. Go, go, go, go! Go! You’re gonna be okay, Mom. I’m right here. Just stay with me. Okay? Can you do that? Can you please stay with me? I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m gonna get you help. I just need you to hold on, okay? Just hold on.
[synth theme music playing]
[doctor] Vitals. Talk to me.
[nurse] Female, 46 years old. Heart rate 120. BP 103/67.
[doctor] Got a male, late forties. Multiple blunt impact. Weak abdominal…
[nurse] Pulse is thready and weak.
Lacerations to the right anterior chest and penetrating neck trauma.
[Nancy] We’re right here. You’re okay.
[nurse] I’m sorry. You have to wait outside.
[Nancy] Can’t we stay with them?
[nurse] We have to let the doctors do their job. We’ll update you as soon as we know something, okay? Okay?
[doctor] I can’t see a damn thing.
Crossmatch, get to the bag.
Where’s my X-ray cart?
[nurse] Maybe four broken ribs.
Stand by to intubate.
[tense music playing]
[music halts]
[faucet squeaks]
[Nancy] [sighs] [This is our fault. This is all our fault.
[Mike] We got there as fast as we could.
[Nancy] I’m not talking about tonight. We could have acted yesterday, last week, last fall. We could’ve tried to get them out of Hawkins, or… or at least told them the truth. We could have done something, anything.
[Mike] We couldn’t have known any of this would happen.
[Nancy]Do you really believe that?
[Mike] After all this time, it comes for Holly? Holly, who has nothing to do with any of this. It makes no goddamn sense.
[Nancy]It makes perfect goddamn sense. Vecna told me this would happen. He showed me. And not just the four gates. Holly, Mom, Dad dead. And we just… we just chose not to believe him. But now it’s all coming true. Like, don’t you get it, Mike? Vecna’s come back to realize his vision, to punish us. He did it with Fred and Chrissy and Max, and now it’s our turn. And he’s not gonna stop. He’s not gonna stop until we’re drained of every last ounce of suffering.
[Lucas] I’m not so sure this was about punishment. Vecna doesn’t leave things unfinished. He doesn’t hold back. Because if this was really about making you guys suffer, why leave your parents alive? Why take Holly into the Upside Down and not leave her body here for you to find? Why not come here himself? Why send one of his… his pets?
[Mike] What are you saying? It’s not Vecna?
[Lucas] What I’m saying is I don’t know, and neither do you. There are just too many questions right now. I… I just know I’m having serious déjà vu, because this is exactly what happened to Will at almost exactly the same time.
[eerie music playing]
[Lucas] You know what date it is, right? November 3rd. Will was taken on the 6th. We are less than three days away. Three days away from the day that changed everything. I don’t know about you guys, but… [inhales sharply] …I don’t believe in coincidences. Not anymore. But we got Will back. And we’re going to get Holly back, ’cause she’s not alone. Eleven’s in there with her. And if anybody can save your sister–
[Mike] It’s El.
[Lucas] It’s El.
[helicopter whirring]
[sirens squawking]
[soldier] Stay indoors! Stay inside!
[continuing indistinctly]
[mysterious music playing]
[soldier] The daughter found her mother here. We believe Mrs. Wheeler was trying to escape when she was attacked.
And no one saw this intruder?
[soldier] No. By the time she got home, the intruder was gone, along with her sister.
The daughter, she arrive alone?
[soldier] That’s what she told us, sir.
[soldier speaking indistinctly]
I want you to pull up all video surveillance within a two-mile radius of this house.
[soldier] You think it could be her, sir?
Now.
[suspenseful music building]
[Eleven] Holly! Holly! Holly!
[thunder crashing]
[screaming in distance]
[screaming continues]
[eerie music playing]
[branches snapping]
[figure grunts]
[Eleven] Hop. Hop! Hop? I’m sorry. Are you okay?
[Hopper] El. How are you here? [groans] Wait. Wait. Wait. You gotta… You gotta get out of here. It’s not safe. There’s…
[Eleven] A Demogorgon. I know. It’s bleeding. She must have hurt it.
[Hopper] What? Who?
[Eleven] Karen. With her wine.
[Hopper] What?
[Eleven] When I search for Holly, I can’t find her, but she must be close.
[Hopper] Holly?
[Eleven] We just need to find the blood.
[Hopper] Holly Wheeler? What are you… El, wait! Goddamn it!
[Robin] Whoa. It’s like everything went kablooey all at once. Has this kind of thing happened with his visions before? Where the lights go kooky and electronics short-circuit?
[Joyce] No.
[Robin] So this is just, like, a fun, new development.
[Joyce] Aren’t there any backup fuses or something?
[Robin] Yeah, in storage, I think so. I mean, I hope so, right? Oh! Uh… You’d like me to go get them?
[Joyce] Yeah.
[Robin] Right. Uh, of course. I am totally on it. I… I’ll be right back.
[mysterious music building]
[Joyce] I know it’s hard to talk about, but these… these visions, were they like before? Like when you had your now memories?
[Will] Only more intense. It’s like I was there. I was right there. It’s… It’s like I was the Demogorgon. I was seeing what it was seeing and thinking what it was thinking.
[Joyce] Do you have any idea why it would go after the Wheelers, take Holly?
[Will] I don’t… I’m not sure. It’s… It’s so hard to remember everything. It’s… It’s almost like a dream.
[Joyce] This doesn’t make any sense. I…
[Will] I… I must have somehow tapped back into the hive mind.
[Joyce] But we severed the connection.
[Will] I don’t think it was ever… truly severed.
[ominous music playing]
[Will] Ever since he took me, it’s like I… I was… permanently changed. These feelings of connection, they come and go. But that summer, after the gate opened, I felt him again. And it went away when I was in California. But the day after I got back, the feeling returned. And now he’s closer. He’s closer than ever before.
[Robin] Maybe you’re like a receiver. You know, like a radio receiver, just a magical human version.
[Will] I… I don’t follow.
[Robin] Okay. Imagine that you have an antenna coming up from the top of your head. And Vecna, he uses Mind Flayer particles like radio waves. When the antenna is close to the waves, the signal comes through clear as day. But if you’re too far away…
[Will] Static. So maybe that’s how we do it. That’s how we find Holly.
[Joyce] What, with your antenna?
[Will] Earlier, I had a vision in the woods near the school. I didn’t understand it at the time, but maybe I was seeing through the Demogorgon’s eyes then too. And maybe if I go back there, I can connect back to the hive mind, to the signal.
[Joyce] Will.
[Will] I’ve spied on Vecna before.
[Joyce] And he took control of you.
[Will] I know, but…
[Joyce] You almost died.
[Will] And Holly will too if we don’t do something.
[Joyce] We are doing something.
[Will] Replacing fuses?
[Joyce] We’ve got to get the Squawk back up so we can find Hopper.
[Will] Hopper, right. This is about your boyfriend.
[Joyce] He’s our only connection to the Upside Down, to El.
[Will] How does that get us closer to Holly? She’s in there, Mom, all alone. I know what that’s like. I won’t just leave her there.
[Joyce] We’re gonna get her back, but we’re not gonna risk your life while doing it.
[Will inhales deeply]
[Joyce] Are you just gonna stand there?
[Robin] Right. Uh, intimate family moment. Sorry. Fuses, power. On it.
[Steve sighs]
How long is this gonna take?
[Steve] Not too long. We just gotta let this sucker charge for a few minutes, then hopefully… vroom, vroom.
[scoffs]
[Steve] Bopper, while we wait?
[scoffs]
[Steve] Well, this better be quick. Our good Samaritan’s turning sour. I think she might have placed me.
[Jonathan] Placed you?
[Steve] Stood up her sister. Multiple occasions.
[Jonathan] Great.
[Steve] Did you get a hold of Nance?
[Jonathan] Dad’s in an induced coma, and Mom’s in surgery. They’re not gonna know anything for a couple hours.
[Steve] Jesus Christ, man.
[Jonathan] Yeah.
[Steve] You think we should go see her at the hospital? I mean, if we can get this hunk of junk moving.
[Jonathan] Mmm… No. No, we stick to the plan. Search Zone G1. Find Hopper, find Eleven and find Holly.
[Steve] Right. Just… That seems complicated. Like, it might take a lot of time.
[Jonathan] Okay.
[Steve] You know, the hospital is on the way. We could just swing by, bring Nance, like, flowers or something.
[Jonathan] Jesus Christ.
[Steve] What?
[Jonathan] I just thought that, tonight of all nights, you might just give it a rest.
[Steve] Give what a rest?
[Jonathan] This bullshit macho competition for Nancy’s attention.
[Steve] What are you talking about?
[Jonathan] What am I talking about?
[Steve] Yeah.
[Jonathan] Really? Dude, ever since I got back from Lenora, you are constantly showing off for her. How you’re better than me!
[Steve] [scoffs]
[Jonathan] Which is shitty enough on a normal day, but now her parents are fighting for their lives, her sister is missing, and all you can think about is giving her flowers. You selfish, chauvinistic meathead!
[car horn honking]
[continues honking]
[engine sputtering]
[Steve] You know what, Byers? You’re totally right. Me worrying about my good friend, my friend, that makes me the selfish one here. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re the problem, dude. Ever since you got back, you’ve been acting like a paranoid pothead weirdo. And maybe if you stopped focusing on me and started focusing on her, maybe then the two of you would finally be happy. Because right now, the only one who’s more miserable in that relationship than you… is Nance.
[engine starts, revs]
[mysterious music playing]
[Steve] You’ve got to be shitting me.
[Hopper] And you got there how, exactly?
[Eleven] Get where?
[Hopper] The Wheeler house. Did you take the Henderson shelter?
[Eleven] No. Nancy drove me.
[Hopper] Nancy drove you?
[Eleven] Yes.
[Hopper] We don’t drive ever, do we? Do we?
[Eleven] No.
[Hopper] No, we take the tunnels, and we don’t surface until it’s clear, until it’s safe.
[Eleven] I wore my hoodie.
[Hopper] Oh, well, geez, that’s great. I don’t know why we’ve been crawling around in the mud all this time. We should’ve just drove you around in your hoodie.
[Eleven] The tunnels are too slow. Holly was in danger.
[Hopper] Yeah, and now so are you. If those military guys haven’t already caught you on camera, they will. And when they do, they’ll be coming for you with everything they got.
[Eleven] Then we have to end this before they find us.
[Hopper] Is that what this is about, ending this?
[Eleven] The Demogorgon can lead us to Vecna.
[Hopper] How?
[Eleven] When I searched for Holly, I could not find her, just like Vecna. So maybe wherever she is, he is, where my powers cannot reach.
[Hopper] I’m sorry. So your… your theory is what, exactly? It’s that the Demogorgon has taken little Holly Wheeler to Vecna as some kind of early Christmas present? What does Vecna want with Holly Wheeler? What… How does any of this make sense?
[Eleven] I don’t know!
[Hopper] Exactly, you don’t know. Because you haven’t put any thought into anything you’ve been doing tonight. You’ve been acting on impulse, on emotion, everything I taught you not to do! [groans] Goddamn it…
[Eleven] More blood than before. It’s slowing down. We can still catch it. And not emotion. Instinct.
[foreboding music playing]
[Lucas] We don’t know where Hop or El are, or if they found each other or Holly, or… or anything. We’re totally in the dark up here.
[“Running Up That Hill” playing faintly]
♪ You don’t wanna hurt me ♪
[Lucas] I wish I… I had better news.
[machine beeps]
[Lucas] Hopefully my next update will be something like El and Hop saved Holly, and killed Vecna, and everyone’s back home celebrating and everything. But if I’ve learned anything over the years… it’s never gonna be that easy.
[somber music playing]
[Lucas] El’s amazing. But she can’t do this alone. She’s gonna need all the help she can get. She’s going to need the party, the full party. Which is why I’m here. The final battle… I feel like it started tonight. And Max, we can’t win this without you. If my theory is right, we’re running out of time. So if you’re planning on resurrecting anytime soon, now… now is the time. Even a sign would be enough to show me you’re still in there. Please, Max. Please. Wake up. Just… something. I miss you.
♪ Oh, come on, angel ♪
♪ Come on, come on, darlin’ ♪
♪ Let’s exchange the experience ♪
[song halts]
[mysterious music playing]
[Nancy] Okay, so, you’re not gonna believe this, but she still won’t give us a timeline on seeing Mom. And… And I wasn’t even asking to see Mom. I was just asking to talk to the doctor, and she just kept saying… Mike. Mike, are you listening?
[Mike] Yeah. Yeah, no. Uh… I was thinking about something Lucas said earlier, about how he doesn’t believe in coincidences anymore, and… Did Holly ever talk to you about Mr. Whatsit?
[Nancy] Her… imaginary friend from the book?
[Mike] Well, yeah, it’s Mrs. Whatsit in the book. So… So, this is her own creation. At least that’s what I thought. When I went to pick her up from school today, she said that Mr. Whatsit told her that there were monsters in Hawkins. And he warned her that these monsters, they were coming for her. And on the same day, she’s actually taken by a monster? I mean, as far as coincidences go, that’s a hell of a one.
[Nancy] And your theory is… what exactly?
[Mike] What if Mr. Whatsit isn’t a figment of Holly’s imagination? What if he’s real?
[Nancy] Real?
[Mike] Yeah, what if?
[Nancy] It… It doesn’t make sense. How have we never seen him?
[Mike] Maybe we have, and we just didn’t know.
[Nancy] So who the hell is he?
[Mike] I don’t know.
[Nancy] How does he know that Holly’s in danger?
[Mike] I don’t know.
[Nancy] If he was so worried, then why wouldn’t he warn us or Mom or do something about it?
[Mike] I don’t know, Nance. My theory, it has holes. You were right about what you said earlier. We could have done more to protect Mom and Dad and Holly, and… I don’t want to have any more regrets. And maybe my theory is wrong. But if it isn’t, if Mr. Whatsit is real, then he would know things. Like why Holly was taken, or… or maybe even–
[Nancy] Where she was taken. And how do you propose we go about finding out who this guy is?
[Mike] I was kind of hoping you’d tell me. You’re the genius investigative reporter after all.
[Nancy] That’s not fair. Appealing to my ego. … Okay. I’m gonna need you to talk to that receptionist and do your best sad, lost boy, puppy dog thing.
[Mike] My what? Why?
[Nancy] Because she hates me, and you’re cute, and we’re gonna need her help if we want to get close to the one person who knows about Mr. Whatsit, Mom.
[Steve] And by sheer luck, Jessica was coming back from a party, and I charmed my way into getting us a jump. Which brings us to you, arriving looking like Rocky Balboa. So basically, of all the crawls, this was, like, the one to miss. So, well done, Henderson. Really, really, like, well done. … Speechless. That’s new.
[Dustin] I’m still processing, Steve. It’s a lot. Holly? Why Holly?
[Steve] Well, maybe Eleven could tell us, but it’s a bit difficult to contact her now that we’ve lost our connection to the Upside Down.
[Dustin] Okay. For the future, when the lights go from really bright to really dim, it means the generator is surging so you have to turn everything off.
[Steve] Wow. Great.
[Dustin] Immediately.
[Steve] Thank you. I’ll remember that the next time that happens. Or, maybe, and this is just a suggestion, you could be where you’re supposed to be.
[Dustin] I was en route to the Squawk.
[Steve] When you fell off your bike. That’s right. Remind me. What did you fall into again? A knuckle sandwich?
[Jonathan] Hey, can you keep it down up there? I’m listening for a signal back here, in case you forgot.
[Steve] Who was it? It was Andy and his goons, wasn’t it? You poked the bear one too many times.
[Dustin] Your concern for me is overwhelming, Steve.
[Steve] My concern? [laughs] I have shown nothing but concern for you since forever, and I have been repeatedly ignored, and now look what’s happened. We are totally screwed.
[Dustin] Correction, we are screwed because you don’t know how to do the most basic thing like prevent a power surge.
[Steve] See, this right here is your problem.
[Dustin] It’s the easiest thing in the world.
[Steve] You can’t admit you were wrong.
[Dustin] My mother could prevent a surge.
[Steve] You can’t admit it.
[Dustin] Shockingly, I think your mother–
[Steve] Jesus Christ! Just do it for once! Just admit it, Henderson. You’re wrong! You screwed up!
[Jonathan] Hey! Can you guys shut the hell up? Jesus Christ.
[Dustin] You two seem to be getting along.
[Steve] Yeah, well, in this case, I actually like his suggestion. I don’t wanna talk to you.
[Dustin] I don’t wanna talk to you either.
[Steve] Good.
[Dustin] Good.
[Steve] Good.
[synth music playing]
[Joyce] This is Dungeon Master to Scout Battalion. Do you copy? Over. This is Dungeon Master to Scout Battalion. Do you copy? Over.
[static crackling]
[Joyce] This is Dungeon Master to Scout Battalion. Do you copy? Over.
[Robin] Great Scott! How long has that light been red?
[Joyce] Oh. I don’t know.
[Robin] Shit, shit, shit! The flux capacitor is down again.
[Joyce] Is that bad?
[Robin] I mean, it could be. It’s fixable, but it’s a two-man job. Come on. We’ll be right back.
[Will] Flux capacitor?
[Robin] Shh! I was lying, obviously. That light is always red. Everything’s totally fine, except…
[Will] Whoa.
[Robin] Except for your mom’s plan. I mean, no offense to your mom, but come on. The boys have already circled Zone G1, like, five times. Even if they miraculously find Hopper, where does that get us exactly? I mean, Holly is still missing. Whereas your plan is genius.
[Will] You think so?
[Robin] Totally. You got an antenna in your head, use it. The Enigma machine won the war. Knowledge is power. So…
[Will] So… So, you want to…
[Robin] Skip school, play hooky, connect your brain into an interdimensional monster’s signal, and save little Wheeler? Yeah, kind of. I mean, your mom is gonna be raging mad, and she’s probably right. It is super dangerous, but…
[Will] Isn’t everything we do super dangerous?
[Robin] Precisely. So what do you say?
[Joyce] This is Dungeon Master to Scout Battalion.
[Will] Screw it.
[suspenseful music playing]
[thunder booming]
[Dr. Kay] When were these taken?
Three hours ago, give or take.
[Dr. Kay] We’ve had sightings before.
Yes, but this time is different.
[Dr. Kay] Different. Don’t interrupt me again until you have her in custody.
She’s here, Dr. Kay.
[Dr. Kay] What do you mean, “here”?
[thunder booming]
[Hopper] Hey, come on. Slow down. Hang on.
[Eleven] I found more blood. It must be close.
[Hopper] Oh, you goddamn stubborn punk-ass… [groans]
[Eleven] What are you doing? We’re gonna lose her.
[Hopper] It’s just a cramp. It’s just old age. Just give me a second. Hey. No, hey. Hey! Ahh!
[Hopper] [wincing] Looks worse than it is.
[Hopper] Where did you learn to do this?
[Eleven] Max. First clean, then disinfect, then bandage.
[Hopper grunting, groaning]
[Eleven] Stop moving.
[Hopper] Yeah, well, it stings. It stings!
[Eleven] That means it’s working.
[Hopper] You’re more like me than I’d like to admit.
[Eleven] What, a stubborn punk-ass?
[Hopper] You heard that?
[Eleven] You talk loud.
[Hopper] Yeah, I guess I am a stubborn punk-ass. Or at least I was. I never listened to my pops either. Always thought I knew best. Pissed him right off. I remember one day it got so heated, he took me to the recruitment office. He made me enlist right there. He thought the Army would do me some good. Give me some structure, discipline. The thing was, I thought I was smarter than the officers.
[Eleven] Were you?
[Hopper] Sometimes. But mostly, no, I was just dumb. Naive. I used to trust my gut and my instinct. Never… Like you. Did a lot of crazy things in that war. Reckless things. You might call them brave, but there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Saw a lot of brave men die in that war. Friends of mine. My daughter… Sara. She was brave.
[medical monitor beeping]
[Hopper] Bravest person I ever knew. She stared death in the face. She never got scared. She never wavered. Fought her heart out. The doctors said they never saw anything like it. They thought she was gonna make it too.
[monitor beeping rapidly]
[somber music playing]
[Eleven] So, that’s why you don’t want me in here? Because you think Vecna will win, and I will die?
[Hopper] I don’t think… I don’t think anything. I’ve just… Just been around long enough to know that… you can’t count on anything in this life. I don’t want to lose you. I won’t. Which is why whatever happens from here on out, wherever this blood leads, I need you to do what I say.
[Eleven] So don’t be a stubborn punk-ass like you?
[Hopper] Yeah, don’t be a stubborn punk-ass.
[roaring in distance]
[Hopper] Hey, hey, hey! I lead.
[door opening]
[nurse] So sorry to disturb you, Doctor, but it’s the Wheeler children.
[Doctor] What about them?
[nurse] They say they need to speak to you. They say it’s–
[Nancy] An emergency!
[Doctor] What kind of emergency?
[Nancy] Our… Our sister, she’s missing, as you know.
[Doctor] I understand. And I’m very sorry.
[Mike] Well, we think our mom has something.
[Nancy] Or knows something.
[Mike] About our sister, about finding our sister.
[Doctor] And I wish I could get you in to see her. Surely. But your mother’s recovering from surgery. Her system is still in shock. And beyond that, her larynx is extremely damaged. She wouldn’t be able to talk, even if she were awake.
[Nancy] Right, but even so…
[Doctor] [shushing] Listen to me. Finding your mother when you did saved her life. Let’s not risk it now. All right, sweetheart.
[Mike] What now?
[elevator dings]
[nurse] So we need to change sheets in 307. Rooms 202 and 203 are vacant. And they need mopping. Denise needs help later…
[Mike] What?
[Nancy] Come on.
[Mike] What are we doing?
[Nancy] Ignoring doctor’s orders. He said it’s too risky. When has that stopped us before? Besides, did you smell his breath? I don’t trust doctors who smoke… or call me “sweetheart.”
[tense music playing]
[Steve] Hey, man, I’m gonna turn on Irwin. One more loop around the zone?
[Jonathan] Yeah. Go ahead.
[signal crackling]
[Jonathan] No, wait. Scratch that. I think I got something.
[Steve] Seriously?
[Dustin] Is it Hop?
[Jonathan] Yeah, I… I don’t know. I’m not getting a hit on the decoder, but I can hear something. Yeah, I definitely hear something.
[eerie audio distortions over radio]
[Joyce] Is that him?
[Jonathan] Yo, dude!
[Jonathan] Yeah, uh, we’re not sure.
[Dustin] No, it’s not Hop.
[Jonathan] What? Then what the hell is it?
[Dustin] I don’t know. It could be a million things. Military broadcast, TV channel, any EMI within our frequency zone. I do know it’s not Hop’s telemetry tag, because if it was, it would show up on the decoder. So… search continues.
[Jonathan] Hey, Mom, um, disregard. It’s a false alarm.
[Joyce] Jonathan, is your receiver in any way connected to the flux capacitor?
[upbeat music playing]
[Jonathan] Uh, sorry, Mom. Can, uh… Can you repeat that?
[Joyce] The flux capacitor. Robin said it was down, but she and Will are working on it. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t messing with your connection. … Hello? Hello?
[eerie music playing]
[Robin] You know, we can still turn back if you want.
[Will] I’m more scared of my mom at this point, to be honest.
[Robin] Fair.
[Robin] Is this where it happened? Where you had your vision?
[Will] Yeah. Right here.
[Robin] Are you… feeling anything?
[Will] No.
[Robin] What… So, what are we doing now, exactly?
[Will] If your theory’s right, and my receiver is proximity-based, I need to get close to the Demo to tap into the hive mind. And maybe, earlier, when the Demo was passing by, it was headed for its monster lair.
[Robin] Right. Monster lair. We’re already here. Might as well push our luck. … I’ve been meaning to ask you, were you at the hospital yesterday?
[Will] The hospital? No. No, no, no.
[Robin] Weird. I could have sworn I saw you there, but… Vickie, she’s a candy striper…
[Will] Oh yeah.
[Robin] She’s my friend. We’re friends. Good friends. But, uh… The thing is, some people might not understand our friendship. Basically, what I’m trying to say is if you were there and did see something, it might just be better if, uh, nobody knew, if it stayed between us.
[Will] I didn’t see anything.
[Robin] Sorry. It’s just I tend to be off-topic when I’m nervous, and you said that thing about monster lair, and I thought, “What if your mom was right, and you get kidnapped by Vecna, and…” Holy shit.
[Will] What… Where are you going?
[Robin] It’s a mandala. Did you do this, Mrs. Harris’s class, fifth grade? So cool. Though, come to think of it, it’s not even really a mandala. I mean, it’s just a spiral. Mandalas are usually concentric circles but it’s the thought that counts. Speaking of the thought that counts, is it a mandala, or a mandahla, or a mandala?
[children laughing]
[Will] I heard laughter.
[Robin] What?
[Will] In my vision. Kids laughing, playing.
[Robin] What does that have to do with a monster lair? Will!
[eerie sounds in distance]
[Hopper] That’s not a Demogorgon. Stay close to me.
[Eleven] Hop?
[Hopper] Jesus Christ.
[Eleven] What is it?
[sinister music playing]
[Eleven] Holly was here. Right here. Maybe that’s why I can’t find her in my mind. It took her… through the wall.
[elevator dings]
[Mike] Incoming, incoming.
[Nancy] Limp or something.
[Mike]What?
[Nancy] Limp!
…to New England?
Oh, it is amazing.
[Nancy] Don’t look back. What kind of limp is that?
[Mike] It’s a limp, a regular limp.
[Nancy] Whoa.
[heart monitor beeps]
[Nancy] [softly] Hi, Mom. Mom, can you hear us, Mom? Mom? Can you hear me? Mom. Hi. Hi there. Hi, Mom.
[Mike] Hey, Mom. Don’t try to talk. It’s your throat. It’s gonna be okay. It needs time to heal.
[Nancy] Yeah. But could you… could you maybe write? Yeah? Okay. Okay.
[Nancy] “Holly?” Yeah, that’s, um… That is why we’re here, Mom. Holly’s… She’s missing.
[Karen] [gasping]
[Mike] Hey, we’re gonna get her back. We just need your help. We think there’s someone that knows where Holly is, who knows why she was taken and where she is. We just don’t know where he is. And so, we’re hoping that you might.
[Nancy] “Who?” Um… We don’t know his name, but Holly, she… she calls him Mr. Whatsit.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Will] Come on.
[Robin] I don’t understand. What exactly are we doing here?
[Will] We’re looking for this.
[Mike] “Teacher saw talking to W.” “W” as in “Whatsit”? “Nobody…” “…there.”
[Will] In my vision earlier, the sky was spinning.
[children laughing]
[Will] So, I think I was here, right here on this merry-go-round during Ms. Harris’s recess. Blast off!
Derek, stop!
[Holly] Stop, Derek! Get off! Go away!
[Robin] I don’t understand. I thought you were seeing through the Demogorgon.
[Will] I know. So did I. But you said yourself Vecna controls the hive mind, which means he’s a part of it too. So, when he searches for his victims…
[Robin] He invades their minds.
[Will] He sees what they see.
[Nancy] Did Holly ever describe Mr. Whatsit to you? Like, maybe what he’s wearing or anything like that?
[man] Holly, time for breakfast.
[Mike] “Pocket watch.”
[Nancy] “Tall. Vest.” Okay, he wears a vest. Uh, he’s gentle and kind.
[Will] So, what if I was seeing through the eyes of Vecna’s next victim, this victim he’s stalking, which means I was seeing through–
[Robin] Holly’s eyes. But if that’s true, it would mean…
[Will] I was him. I was Vecna.
[vehicle approaching]
[Nancy] Did Holly ever say if he has a first name?
[Holly] Are the others here yet?
[man] No, not yet.
[Holly] You will save them, too, won’t you? Save them from the monsters?
[man] Yes, Holly. Don’t you worry. I’m going to save your friends. Every last one of them.
[bell ringing]
[Holly] And my family? Are they coming too?
[Henry] Your friends first. Then after, I’ll save your family too, of course. I have room for everyone here.
[“Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes playing]
[singers vocalizing]
♪ Mr. Sandman ♪
♪ Bring me a dream ♪
♪ Make him the cutest
That I’ve ever seen ♪
♪ Give him two lips
Like roses and clover ♪
♪ Then tell him that
His lonesome nights are over ♪
♪ Sandman ♪
♪ I’m so alone ♪
♪ Don’t have nobody to call my own ♪
♪ Please turn on your magic beam ♪
♪ Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream ♪
[singers vocalizing]
♪ Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream ♪
♪ Make him the cutest
That I’ve ever seen ♪
♪ Give him the word that I’m not a rover ♪
♪ Then tell him that
His lonesome nights are over ♪
♪ Sandman, I’m so alone ♪
♪ Don’t have nobody to call my own ♪
♪ Please turn on your magic beam ♪
♪ Ah, Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream ♪
[singers vocalizing]
♪ Mr. Sandman ♪
♪ Yes? ♪
♪ Bring us a dream ♪
♪ Give him a pair of eyes
With a comehither gleam ♪
♪ Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci ♪
♪ And lots of wavy hair like Liberace ♪
♪ Mr. Sandman, someone to hold ♪
♪ Someone to hold ♪
♪ Would be so peachy
Before we’re too old ♪
♪ So please turn on your magic beam ♪
♪ Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream ♪
[singers vocalizing]
♪ Mr. Sandman, bring us ♪
♪ Please, please, please ♪
♪ Mr. Sandman ♪
♪ Bring us a dream ♪
