Opening | When the monster walks in through the front door

What was once a threat now becomes a direct attack. The episode abandons any lingering sense of safety and makes one thing brutally clear: no one is protected anymore — not even inside their own home. Horror stops being abstract and materializes in the hallway, in the bathtub, in a child’s bedroom. Hawkins is no longer standing at the edge of the abyss. It has already fallen.

The attack on Holly

Holly is attacked by a demogorgon inside her house. Desperate, she cries out for her mother, Karen, who at first doesn’t believe what she is seeing. The two hide in the bathtub and manage to escape — barely. But when Nancy arrives home, she finds only her parents’ bodies on the floor. Holly has been taken by the monster. Without hesitation, Eleven goes after her.

Karen and Ted Wheeler hover between life and death. Nancy and Mike spend agonizing hours without news as their parents undergo surgery. Nancy is consumed by guilt: Vecna had warned her, and she ignored it.

Lucas voices what everyone is too afraid to fully admit — everything is repeating itself exactly like Will’s disappearance. But if Will survived, then there is still hope.

Eleven between worlds

The military continues to hunt Eleven and closely monitor the Upside Down. She tries to track Holly by following her screams — but instead of finding the girl, she runs into Hopper. Wounded and exhausted, he still refuses to stand down.

Later, Eleven helps him recover. In one of the episode’s most emotional moments, Hopper speaks about his daughter, Sara, and completely breaks down. The scene lands with force, though it is followed by an almost comical continuity slip: minutes later, Hopper stands up as if nothing ever happened.

Still, the two reach a massive, organic, pulsating wall — grotesque and alive. They know it without needing words: Holly is on the other side.

Will, Vecna, and the vision that changes everything

Joyce tries to understand Will’s visions, now more intense and disturbing than ever. He explains that his connection to Vecna was never truly severed. What has changed is its nature: during the vision, Will saw himself as the demogorgon. He feels Vecna’s proximity — but the experience is still too overwhelming to fully translate into certainty.

Steve, Jonathan, and Dustin’s silence

Unaware of what is truly happening in Hawkins, Jonathan and Steve remain at a distance. Lost but determined, they decide to move forward with the plan anyway. Tension over Nancy lingers, though Steve tries to shut it down, insisting he sees her only as a friend.

Before they leave, they find Dustin injured. Steve complains about his disappearance, unaware of the truth. Dustin lies and says he fell off his bike. His silence speaks louder than any explanation.

Hospital corridors, Max, and A Wrinkle in Time

At the hospital, to the sound of Kate Bush, Lucas talks to Max as she lies in a coma — a quiet, devastating scene built entirely on hope and memory. In the corridors, Mike finds a copy of the book Holly had been obsessed with: A Wrinkle in Time. The symbolism is impossible to ignore. It is not just a reference. It is a warning.

The parallel rescue

At the radio station, Robin lies to Joyce and secretly leaves with Will to try to rescue Holly. Hopper remains wounded, but Eleven refuses to stop. Time has run out.

The sequence of Robin and Will attempting to reach Holly carries one problem the episode cannot conceal: the trailer already spoiled where this journey leads. Even so, the emotional weight survives through their dialogue, especially after Will admits he saw Robin with her girlfriend. She asks him to keep it secret. He does.

Henry, Vecna, and the final revelation

Nancy and Mike finally manage to speak with Karen. She reveals the most unsettling truth of all: Holly’s “imaginary friend” has always been called Henry.

Everything shifts.

Will then grasps something even more terrifying: he does not merely sense Vecna — he sees what Vecna sees. Through this bond, he understands what truly happened. Holly was taken by Vecna in his mortal form. Vecna speaks to her, promising that he will help her friends first.

Of course, he is lying.