"Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" is the eighth episode of Stranger Things and the final episode of the first season. It was written by Paul Dichter and the Duffer Brothers, and was directed by the Duffer Brothers. It premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016 along with the rest of the season. Show SynopsisDr. Brenner holds Hopper and Joyce for questioning while the boys wait with Eleven in the gym. Back at Will's, Nancy and Jonathan prepare for battle. PlotIn Hawkins National Laboratory, Martin Brenner sits down with an enraged Joyce Byers, who wants retribution for the faking of her son's death. Jim Hopper is repeatedly tasered and interrogated by Connie Frazier, who threatens to kill him and make it look like a drug overdose. Hopper tries to deal for their freedom to venture into the Upside Down and find Will in exchange for forgetting the lab's illegal activities. Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler set up several traps for the Demogorgon in the Byers house, and Jonathan creates a weapon by hammering several nails through a baseball bat. Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper heading to the gate Brenner agrees to Hopper's deal on the condition that he gives up Eleven, and Hopper agrees so long as Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair are not harmed. As the soldiers and scientists leave for Hawkins Middle, Frazier wonders what will happen if they find Will, which Brenner assures will not happen. Hopper and Joyce suit up and go through the lab's gate. As Joyce begins to panic once in the Upside Down, Hopper tries to calm her and remembers doing the same thing for his daughter Sara when she had trouble breathing, the first sign of her cancer. Nancy and Jonathan slit their palms and end up holding hands. Before they can say anything, Steve Harrington knocks on Jonathan's door, wanting to apologize for fighting him. Noticing Nancy's slit palm and the house's state, Steve becomes confused and Nancy points her gun at him to get him to leave just as the lights flicker. The Demogorgon bursts out of the ceiling and they run to Will's room, where they have set up a signal to alert them to it getting caught in a set bear trap. The lights go back to normal and they realize it has vanished. Hopper and Joyce find a broken egg and the ruins of Castle Byers. As Hopper looks at a stuffed animal among the planks of wood, he remembers Sara having the same toy in the hospital. Jonathan Byers pinned down by the Demogorgon Steve flees the house, but notices the lights flickering from outside and decides to go back in to help. The Demogorgon leaps on Jonathan, but is attacked by Steve with the nail bat. He beats it into the bear trap and Jonathan lights it on fire, causing it to flee, badly wounded, to the Upside Down. Inside the Upside Down version of her house, Joyce hears Jonathan's voice and Jonathan hears hers, her presence signified by the lights. Mike Wheeler and Eleven kiss Mike invites Eleven to live with his family when Will is found. When she asks if he will be like her brother, Mike disagrees. He invites her to a school dance known as the "Snow Ball" and tries to explain the concept of a crush to her, failing and instead kissing her, leaving her stunned as he goes to investigate a car pulling up outside. He sees the lab's agents emerge and runs back inside. Frazier and several agents corner the kids, but Eleven kills them by telekinetically collapsing their brains. The effort makes her pass out. Eleven awakens to Brenner standing over her and her friends being restrained, and asks to go with them instead of him. Drawn by the blood from the dead agents, the Demogorgon bursts out of the wall and kills the agents, attacking Brenner as the kids flee. A tendril inside Will Byers' throat Hopper and Joyce follow a trail of blood to the library where the bodies of several people and Will with a tentacle down his throat are. They pull it out and Hopper shoots the moving tentacle dead. Will is not breathing, so Hopper instructs Joyce on CPR, having her breathe into his mouth while he performs chest compressions. As he does, he remembers doctors unsuccessfully trying to resuscitate Sara, pushing him to try harder until Will breathes again. Eleven says goodbye to Mike Wheeler Mike promises a weakened Eleven that they will go to the Snow Ball together as the Demogorgon kills the rest of the soldiers. The Demogorgon enters the classroom and attacks the boys, but Eleven pins it to a wall with her powers and tears it apart, tearfully saying goodbye to Mike before the force of her power vaporizes them both. As Karen Wheeler arrives on the scene just as the police do, a distraught Mike hugs her. Will awakens in the hospital to his mother and brother at his side, the latter having brought him a new mixtape. Hopper, Karen, Steve and Nancy all wait outside, along with an asleep Ted Wheeler, Lucas, and Dustin, the boys sleeping on each other. Mike sits awake, deep in thought, until the boys are approved to see Will. They excitedly tell him of the events of the past several days while Nancy leaves the room, quietly distraught over Barb Holland. Outside the hospital, a car pulls up and Hopper gets inside. Will Byers sees the Upside Down in his bathroom On Christmas Eve, the boys have another Dungeons & Dragons campaign in which they fight a thessalhydra and win thanks to Will's fireball spell. As Jonathan picks Will up, Mike looks over at Eleven's untouched blanket fort sadly. On the way out, Nancy gives Jonathan a Christmas present: a new camera, actually from Steve, who she is back together with. Hopper drives out to Mirkwood and places an Eggo in a lockbox. At dinner with his family, Will goes to the bathroom and vomits up a slug that slides down the drain before seeing a brief flash of the Upside Down. He goes back out and continues the dinner, seemingly unfazed. Cast
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ProductionBeing the final episode of the season, the Duffers experienced an added pressure when writing and panicked because they knew it would push the limits of the crew on the show, with production consisting of long days and nights with little sleep and a large amount of stress. The Duffer brothers credited the enthusiasm of everyone on the show for making “the impossible possible,” and later stated “This was by far the most challenging episode to pull off. No other episode even comes close.”[1] GalleryNotes
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Does Will Byers get rescued?With no way out, Will took shelter in the Upside Down's version of Castle Byers. As his strength grew weaker, the Demogorgon abducted Will while unconscious. His body was taken over by vines which could have been keeping him alive for the Demogorgon to feed on later, but he was soon rescued by Joyce and Hopper.
What episode does Will get saved?"When It's Cold I'd Like to Die" by Moby - Will is brought back to life in the Upside Down.
What happens in ep 8 of Stranger Things?Will gives Mike the painting he made for him — it's of them in their D&D party defeating a monster with Mike leading the fight — and gives him a heartfelt speech about how Mike is the heart of their group. Mike is worried Eleven doesn't need him anymore, but Will tells him that Eleven will always need him; he knows it.
How long did Will Byers go missing for?From the looks of it, Will is trapped in the Upside Down for just a week, even if it felt much longer. Additionally, season one sees a time jump after Will is rescued with the series closing a week or so before Christmas, which again seemed to suggest it was a matter of days he had been gone for.
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