Chapter Eight: The Upside Down

"Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" is the eighth and final episode of the first season of the American science fiction horror web television series Stranger Things. It was released exclusively on Netflix worldwide on July 15, 2016, along with the rest of the first season. It was written by Paul Dichter, while the teleplay for the episode was written by series creators the Duffer Brothers, who also directed the episode.
Set in , it is highly influenced by its culture and features uncanny resemblances from 1980s film industry. The series is inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Stephen King, and George Lucas, among others.
Plot
After getting caught sneaking into the Hawkins Laboratory, Hopper and Joyce are being interrogated by Dr. Brenner and his men. Brenner reveals to Joyce that the scientists at the Laboratory don't understand the Monster's behavior, and Brenner needs Joyce's help to stop it. Joyce tells Brenner to go to hell. In another room, Hopper reveals everything about Eleven and the Laboratory's experiments. However, Brenner's men want to inject him with drugs so it looks like Hopper is a junkie who lost his mind and doesn't know what he's talking about. Hopper then makes a deal with the agents so that Joyce and Hopper can leave and find Will.
Nancy and Jonathan decide to bear trap The Monster inside the Byers home to kill it. Meanwhile, Joyce and Hopper set off to find Will inside of the Upside-Down, wearing special suits to protect themselves from the toxic atmosphere. Inside the dimensional gate, Hopper recalls a memory of his late daughter, Sarah, having trouble controlling her breathing after Joyce experiences some shortness of breath as they begin to search for Will. They reach the Upside-Down's version of "Castle Byers", Hopper sees a stuffed tiger laying on the ground which triggers another flashback of Sarah holding the same tiger as she dies from cancer.
Nancy and Jonathan are able to lure the monster into the house with their blood. Steve then shows up to make amends. Nancy tells Steve to go home, but Steve bursts into the house and sees what's going on. He freaks out, and Nancy pulls a gun on him and tells Steve to leave. Suddenly, the lights flicker, signaling the monster is coming back. The monster pins down Jonathan, almost killing him, but Steve returns to the house and hits the monster with a baseball bat with nails sticking out of it. The three lure the monster into the bear trap and light the monster on fire, but when the fire goes out, the monster is nowhere to be found.
Mike is talking with Eleven at the school where they are hiding out. Mike comforts Eleven and tells her she is going to live with him and kisses her. Brenner's men finds the boys and Eleven hiding in the school. The agents corner them in the hallway, but Eleven uses her powers to make the agents bleed from their eyes until they fall to their death. This drains Eleven so much that she won't wake up and the boys are helpless and Brenner approaches and the boys are captured. Suddenly, the monster starts crawling out from the brick walls. Brenner's men attempt to subdue the monster with gunfire, but it doesn't slow down the monster as it jumps on Brenner and seemingly kills him. Eleven and the boys are able to escape in time to a science classroom. Meanwhile, Joyce and Hopper find Will lifeless in the Upside-Down with a long slug-like creature down his esophagus.
Back at the school, the lights start flickering as Mike attempts to talk to Eleven. Mike promises to go to the school dance with Eleven, as the Monster storms in the classroom where Lucas takes out his slingshot to stop the monster. Before the monster gets too close, Eleven summons enough power to slow down the monster and pin it against a wall. Eleven looks back and says "Goodbye Mike" before using all her power to explode the Monster into ash. When the ash settles, both Eleven and the Monster are gone.
In the Upside-Down, Hopper and Joyce need to perform CPR on Will. Hopper recalls a memory where he watched Sarah die in the hospital as the doctors try to use CPR to revive her. Hopper is pounding on Will's chest to start his heart again until he gasps for breath. Joyce and Hopper breathe a sigh of relief. Back in their world, Will is now recovering in the hospital with everyone around him and tells him what happened while he was gone. As Hopper leaves the hospital, he is stopped by a car which signals him to get in.
After a month, the four boys are playing Dungeons and Dragons in Mike's basement. Mike still has Eleven's basement fort set up and misses her. Jonathan arrives and picks up Will from the Wheeler home. While Jonathan and Will are leaving, Nancy gives Jonathan a Christmas present and a kiss on the cheek. Will opens the present, a replacement for his camera, as he and Jonathan leave — Back inside, Steve, embracing Nancy, asks if she gave the gift to him. Later, Hopper ventures out into the woods and places some Eggo Waffles in a snow-covered box in the forest.
Joyce, Jonathan and Will are enjoying their family dinner as Will excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Will coughs up a large black slug into the sink, and the bathroom lights flicker as his surroundings go from his bathroom to the Upside-Down. The lights flicker again, and Will is back in the real world. He returns to dinner with his family, acting as if nothing happened.
Production
It was directed by The Duffer Brothers and written by Paul Dichter & The Duffer Brothers. It was co-produced by Duffer's along with Dan Cohen and Shawn Levy of 21 Laps Entertainment. This episode, along the entire Stranger Things season was released on July 15, 2016 on Netflix as a part of its original programming.
Reception
The episode received positive reception from media outlets, Scott Tobias of Vulture gave the episode 3 stars out of 5 and said, "Stranger Things ends the way it began: as the most comprehensive pastiche of ’80s sci-fi imaginable." and further said, "The Upside Down" aims for maximum intensity and achieves it by separating the parties, then staging tense conflicts across multiple planes of action. Writing for The A.V. Club, Emily L. Stephens wrote, "Stranger Things invites us in" and said "I've rarely seen a series as inviting, as warmly nostalgic, as accessible and engaging for fans of its genre predecessors."

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