History Recap / StrangerThingsS2E2ChapterTwoTrickOrTreatFreak

Frustrated with Hopper breaking his promise, Eleven tries to contact Mike but fails. When returning home, Dustin finds the cause of the noises from his trash can was caused by a strange creature hiding in it.

In the present, Eleven asks to go trick-or-treating, but Hopper says it's too risky, but promises her to be home early with candy so they can celebrate Halloween together. Hopper, however, learns the strange blight has spread to farms all over town, and spends all day investigating it, and eventually has to break his promise.

In the present, Eleven asks to go trick-or-treating, but Hopper says it's too risky. Hopper, meanwhile, learns the strange blight has spread to farms all over town.

Eleven tries to contact Mike but fails. Dustin finds a creature in his trash can.

In a flashback, Eleven awakens in the Upside Down middle school, having just destroyed the monster at the end of the first season. After escaping the Upside Down, she goes to Mike's house. To avoid government agents, she hides in the woods.

In the present, Eleven asks to go trick-or-treating, but Hopper says it's too risky. Hopper learns the blight has spread to pumpkin patches all over town.

Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max go trick-or-treating. Will has a vision of a shadowy monster from the Upside Down trying to catch him. Mike admits to Will that he is still trying to contact Eleven.

The episode opens on a flashback to Eleven waking up destroying the Demogorgon. She finds herself in the middle of the school's Upside Down equivalent. Scared by her surroundings and exhausted from the taxing battle, she staggers down the hallway, calling out for Mike with increasing desperation, until she hears faint echoes of human voices. Looking around, she finds source of the sounds; the hole the Demogorgon went through to come to the real world. She approaches it but hides when she sees soldiers with flashlights on the other side. Waiting until the soldiers have moved on, she widens the hole with her powers and passes through, getting back to the real world, observing that it is night time outside. She walks to Mike's house, but she finds it surrounded by policemen and government agents: they are there to warn Mike's parents that she may be a danger to the family and to contact them if she ever comes around. Two of the agents interrogate Mike, but he tells them he does not know where Eleven is, and even if he did know, he would ''never'' tell them. The agents insist that whatever Eleven has told him about them is not true, and tells him that she is a highly dangerous individual, and withholding information about her can bring himself and his family in jeopardy. Eleven, who listens on their conversation from a nearby window, runs away, but not before Mike notices she is there: Eleven hides in the forest from the agents, who noticed Mike's distraction and correctly guessed that he saw her.

In the present, Hopper makes breakfast in the cabin, when he sees Eleven dressed as a ghost. When Hopper asks why she has dressed up, she points out that tonight is Halloween and asks him to allow her outside to go trick-or-treating, arguing that no one would recognize her when she is wearing a disguise, but Hopper tells her it is a risk they cannot take, lest she get found and taken away again. Clearly unhappy about this Eleven sinks down in her chair and sulks, so Hopper tries to teach her about compromise, classifying it as "halfway happy", and promises to he will try to return from work earlier today and bring candy so they can watch scary movies. Eleven asks if he can be back by 5:15 this evening, which Hopper promises he will, and so she agrees to try to be "halfway happy".

At the Byers', Joyce has a small scare when she does not see Will in his bed, and further begins to panic when Jonathan says he doesn't know where Will is either: turns out he's just in the bathroom. Afterwards while Joyce helps Will put on his costume, she spots a disturbing drawing Will has made of the monster he saw the previous night. Will tries to wave it off as nothing special, but when a concerned Joyce asks him if he has had "another episode", he lies and says it's for a story he is writing. But problems are forgotten for a while: it is Halloween, and Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will are going to school dressed as the Ghostbusters. Mike and Lucas get in an argument because they are both going as Venkman; Mike insists that Lucas agreed to be Winston, but Lucas retorts that he specifically ''didn't'' want to be Winston; ''nobody'' wants to to be Winston. Mike answers back that Winston is cool enough, so Lucas, clearly irritated, asks why ''he'' can't be Winston then. Mike stutters when he answers that he can't just do that, and Lucas snarkly asks him if it because he thinks Winston needs to be be black. Dustin stops them when he points out no one else at the school is wearing costumes, making the group the target of others' mockery as they walk embarrassed down the hallway. Will points that it is rather weird, as everyone dressed up last Halloween, and Lucas insist it must be a conspiracy. Dustin and Lucas see Max passing by, and both tries to muster up the courage to speak to her, but unable to do this, they resolve to try and talk to her after class.

Joyce shows Will's drawing to Hopper, noting it matches the sight from her home's frontyard. As they talk in the kitchen, Joyce asks Hopper why Will would lie to her like that, and Hopper answers that he is just a kid. She points out when Will describes what he sees, it feels to him as if they are real: Hopper points out that he knows people who have PTSD and says it may actually be Will having flashbacks to his time in the Upside Down. Joyce is still puzzled by the drawing which is like nothing else Will has described before, and Hopper says that he thinks Dr. Owens is right about having something to when the anniversary of the previous event. Pointing out that it is not just Will who has been on edge lately, pointing out that he can tell she is too and so is he himself. He insist that it is all a matter of getting through the next couple of weeks; things might be rough and can never really go back to the way they were before, but they will get better eventually. Seeing that Joyce is still a bit anxious, he offers her some of his cigarette. The two of them start to reminiscence about that time they shared a smoke back in high school and was caught by a teacher. They both laugh at the memory, before Joyce catches herself and gets apprehensive again.

At the Energy Lab, a technician goes through the gate to the Upside Down to repair the sensors that got fried the previous night. Dr. Owens, though, is not as optimistic as the others, rewatching the video of his interview with Will and playing with a stress ball.

Nancy and Steve are at the high school library, and Nancy has a flashback to her last talk with Barbara when she sees a redheaded woman that looks like her friend from the back. She is abruptly back to the present when a worried Steve asks if she is okay. The two of them talk in private, and Nancy tells him she is tired of pretending that everything is okay and having to hide the truth from Barb's parents, pointing out how their lack of knowing what happen to her is slowing eating them up and is threatening to destroy them, pointing out how they are now selling their house. Steve says that while he sympathizes with them, there is nothing the two of them can do. Nancy says that they could tell the Hollands the truth; they wouldn't even necessarily have to know the whole truth to get some closure. But he reminds her that the government could them sent to prison, or even worse things, if they reveal anything about what happened. He then tries to reassure her, suggesting they go to tonight's Halloween party at Tina's together to unwind and pretend for once that they are just normal teenagers.

After classes, Dustin and Lucas talk with Max. They are caught off-guard when she sarcastically addresses them as "the stalkers". They both try to insist that they weren't stalking her, but were actually concerned for her safety seeing how she is the new kid, and there is a lot of bullies in the neighborhood. She asks them if that is why they are carrying Ghostbusters equipment, appearing to be thoroughly unimpressed with their disguises. Trying to stay on track, Dustin and Lucas, with some difficulty, explain that they have decided by majority vote to invite her to join their group for trick-or-treating, but she does not give them an answer.

At her cabin, Eleven channel-surfs using her powers to change channels. Her interest is caught by a romance scene, and she begins enthusiastically intimating the couple declaring their love for each other, before she is interrupted when she hears something outside: a squirrel chattering. Eleven has a flashback to her killing a squirrel to eat, but while she was roasting it she was found by a hunter wearing heavy winter clothes: using a log from the fire, she knocked the man out and stole his jacket and cap, running away in the cold.

Hopper arrives to the police station to find a truck full of more rotting pumpkins: Eugene, the farmer who was accused in the previous episode of poisoning pumpkins, is now accusing the other man, Merril, of doing the same to ''his'' harvest. Eugene believes that Merill clearly is behind it, doing it as revenge for his own poisoned pumpkins, but Eugene insist that he had nothing to with that, he was in town with his family that evening and they will gladly vouch for him. Powell and Callahan is greatly amused by this whole "pumpkin conspiracy" business, but Hopper is clearly fed up with the whole thing, and asks Eugene if cold weather can't have been the true culprit. Eugene answers he has been a farmer for a long time, but he has never seeing cold weather doing something like what happened last evening, revealing that all the other farmer families in the area have suffered the same problem with ''all'' their crops. This catches Hopper's interest and concern.

Max meets with her stepbrother Billy to go home. Billy clearly hates Hawkins, calling it a shithole, while Max believes it isn't too bad. Billy asks her if she is seriously defending the place, but Max reminds him that they are stuck here for the time being so they might as well focus on the positives. The two start to argue aloud, blaming each other for their being in their current situation. Angrily, Billy decides to gun his car at Dustin, Lucas and Mike, who are riding their bikes back home, much to Max's horror, and she forces him to swerve just before the boys get hit. Max looks back with clear concern, as Billy drives on.

Hopper investigates Eugene's pumpkin farm and realizes the problem may be a lot bigger than he thought, because there are signs that the rotting may be a sign of something worse. He asks Eugene how far the rot has spread, and Eugene takes him to the woods on the outskirts of his field, where he shows him several trees with the same strange condition, being cover in some kind of corrosive goo. Powell and Callahan call in and report the same situation on the field they are investigating; in response Hopper coordinates with them to mark off where the dead line ends on each farm.

At the Byers' home, Bob (who is dressed as Dracula) shows Jonathan how to use his video camera so he can film Will's trick-or-treating. Afterwards as Jonathan are about to head out with Will, Joyce instructs to keep an eye on his brother and take him straight home if something happens. As Jonathan drives with Will, he talks about Bob, saying he is not sure what Joyce sees in him. A moody Will comments that at least Bob treats him normally, pointing out that it is lame that Joyce won't allow him to go trick-or treat without supervision. Jonathan considers this, and then tells Will he can go with his friends without his oversight, as long as he promises to stay in the local neighborhood and returns to Mike's house on time. As he watches Will enthusiastically join up his friends, Jonathan finds the invite to the Halloween party at Tina's and decides he might as well go there.

At said party, Billy has turned up and impresses the party by showing off his beer drinking skills, being declared the new "Keg King". Elsewhere in the house, Nancy decides to get shit-faced with a bowl of spiked punch, under Steve's worried gaze.

At her home, Bob puts on some music and draws Joyce in for a dance. Joyce tells her boyfriend she still worries every time Will goes out of her sight, and Bob puts in that maybe they could take Jonathan and Will and leave for Maine, even implying they could be a normal family but Joyce is reluctant in spite of all the bad memories. The doorbell rings: it's trick-or-treaters.

The boys are trick-or-treating as well, though they are a bit disappointed by the quality of their haul so far, noticing that everyone in the neighborhood seems to hand out the same kind of candy. They get quite a shock when they are suddenly jumped by Max, disguised as [[Film/Halloween1978 Michael Meyers]]. Revelling in how she managed to scare them, noticing that Lucas {{screams like a little girl}}, she casually suggests the group should join her and go to Loch Nora, the rich people's neighborhood. Dustin and Lucas are obviously enthusiastic about joining the new girl, but Mike's mood heavily sours.

Night falls, and Hopper is still marking the rotting plants when he realizes he is late going home to Eleven; he bribes Eugene's son into giving some of his candy so he can at least fulfill that part of his promise. Eleven is waiting for Hopper, watching ''Frankenstein'', when she receives a Morse signal from Hopper, telling her he is going to be late: she flashes back to last winter, walking through the forest and finding the dead drop Hopper made for her back then. Angry, she turns off the radio.

At Loch Nora, the group is getting a lot luckier with their candy, but while Dustin and Lucas are enthusiastically bonding with Max, and Will hangs back to document the evening with the handheld camera, Mike is clearly none too happy with the situation. He expresses his frustration to Will, asking him why they didn't okay Max being there with him first, saying he feels like she ruining the whole thing. Will stops for a second while the others get ahead, but when he follows them three elder boys scare him and he falls to the ground and drops the camera, instantly starting to see the Upside Down. Will calls out for Mike but gets no response. Looking down the street, he is frightened out of his wits as he sees a huge tentacled shadow creature going after him, and he hides behind a wall, with a deeply worried Mike shaking him from his vision. Seeing how utterly terrified Will is, Mike decides to cut the night short and tell the others that he is going to take Will home, while Max asks what is going on with Will.

Jonathan arrives to the party, a bit apprehensive about getting too close at first. Inside, he gets into a talk with a girl dressed as Souxsie Souix (Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees), asking if she's someone from Music/{{KISS}}, who comments on his lack of costume, but she is won over when Jonathan cracks a quick joke about being dressed up as "a guy who hates parties". She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the minute and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend that they aren't responsible for Barbara's death and of keeping up the facade of being a happy couple in love, repeatedly saying that it is all "bullshit". Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

Mike and Will make it back to Mike's house, and Will explains what is happening to him, and the thing he keeps seeing. Mike asks if it was like the Demogorgon, but Will says what he sees is more like a huge shadow that is somehow alive and it is out for him. Mike asks if Will thinks it is happening for real or if it is all just in his head like Dr. Owens claims. Will answers that he honestly don't know, before asks Mike to not to tell any of this to the others, thinking they would not understand. Mike mentions that Eleven would understand, and that he sometimes feels like she is around. The two share an uneasy smile and decide that they if they are going crazy, they can at least go crazy together. Outside Mike's house, Jonathan arrives with a drunk Nancy in his car, half-carrying her into the house, before he carefully places her on her bed. Nancy drunkenly grabs his arm and is about to ask him something, but she falls asleep before she can say it. With a last look of worry back at her, Jonathan quietly leaves and heads home with Will.

At Hopper and Eleven's cabin, Hopper arrives and apologizes for being late, but Eleven has closed herself in her room with the television, obviously angry because Hopper did not keep his promise. She turns to a channel filled with static and puts a bandanna over her eyes, inducing herself to go into the void. In here, she sees and hears Mike talking to her through his walkie-talkie [[IWillWaitForYou for the three hundred and fifty-third day in a row]], and she tries to touch him, but while Mike appears to notice she is "close", Eleven fails to make proper contact with him, leading him to shut off his radio in frustration and making her break down in anguish.

Dustin arrives home, and notices the trash can is shaking again: when he opens it and peeks in, he sees something he obviously was not expecting.

At the Byers', Joyce has a small scare when she does not see Will in his bed, and further begins to panic when Jonathan says he doesn't know where Will is either: turns out he's just in the bathroom. Afterwards while Joyce helps Will put on his costume, she spots a disturbing drawing Will has made of the monster he saw the previous night. Will tries to wave it off as nothing special, but when a concerned Joyce asks him if he has had "another episode", he lies and says it's for a story he is writing. But problems are forgotten for a while: it is Halloween, and Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will are going to school dressed as the Ghostbusters. Mike and Lucas get in an argument because they are both going as Venkman; Mike insists that Lucas agreed to be Winston, but Lucas retorts that he specifically ''didn't'' want to be Winston; ''nobody'' wants to to be Winston. Mike answers back that Winston is cool enough, so Lucas, clearly irritated, asks why ''he'' can't be Winston then. Mike stutters when he answers that he can't just do that, and Lucas snarkly asks him if it because he thinks Winston needs to be be black. Dustin stops them when he points out no one else at the school is wearing costumes, making the group the target of others' mockery as they want embarrassed down the hallway. Will points that it is rather weird, as everyone dressed up last Halloween, and Lucas insist it must be a conspiracy. Dustin and Lucas see Max passing by, and both tries to muster up the courage to speak to her, but unable to do this, they resolve to try and talk to her after class.

Jonathan arrives to the party, a bit apprehensive about getting too close at first. He then enters the house, he gets into a talk with a girl dressed as Souxsie Souix (Music/{{SiouxsieAndTheBanshees}}), asking if she's someone from Music/{{KISS}}, who comments on his lack of costume, but she is won over when Jonathan cracks a quick joke about being dressed up as "a guy who hates parties". She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the minute and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend that they aren't responsible for Barbara's death and of keeping up the facade of being a happy couple in love, repeatedly saying that it is all "bullshit". Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

At Hopper and Eleven's cabin, Hopper arrives and apologizes for being late, but Eleven has closed herself in her room with the television, obviously angry because Hopper did not keep his promise. She turns to a channel filled with static and puts a bandanna over her eyes, inducing herself to go into the void. In here, she sees and hears Mike talking to her through his walkie-talkie, and she tries to touch him, but while Mike appears to notice she is "close", Eleven fails to make proper contact with him, leading him to shut off his radio in frustration and making her break down in anguish.

Jonathan arrives to the party, a bit apprehensive about getting too close at first. He then enters the house, he gets into a talk with a girl dressed as someone from Music/{{KISS}}, who comments on his lack of costume, but she is won over when Jonathan cracks a quick joke about being dressed up as "a guy who hates parties". She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the minute and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend that they aren't responsible for Barbara's death and of keeping up the facade of being a happy couple in love, repeatedly saying that it is all "bullshit". Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

At the Byers', Joyce has a small scare when she does not see Will in his bed, and further begins to panic when Jonathan says he doesn't know where Will is either: turns out he's just in the bathroom. Afterwards Joyce helps will putting on his costume, as she spots a disturbing drawing Will has made of the monster he saw the previous night. Will tries to wave it off as nothing special, but when a concerned Joyce asks him if he has had "another episode", he lies and says it's for a story he is writing. But problems are forgotten for a while: it is Halloween, and Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will are going to school dressed as the Ghostbusters. Mike and Lucas get in an argument because they are both going as Venkman; Mike insists that Lucas agreed to be Winston, but Lucas retorts that he specifically ''didn't'' want to be Winston; ''nobody'' wants to to be Winston. Mike answers back that Winston is cool enough, so Lucas, clearly irritated, asks why ''he'' can't be Winston then. Mike stutters when he answers that he can't just do that, and Lucas snarkly asks him if it because he thinks Winston needs to be be black. Dustin stops them when he points out no one else at the school is wearing costumes, making the group the target of others' mockery as they want embarrassed down the hallway. Will points that it is rather weird, as everyone dressed up last Halloween, and Lucas insist it must be a conspiracy. Dustin and Lucas see Max passing by, and both tries to muster up the courage to speak to her, but unable to do this, they resolve to try and talk to her after class.

Jonathan arrives to the party, a bit apprehensive about getting too close at first. He then enters the house, he gets into a talk with a girl dressed as someone from Music/{{KISS}}, who sarcastically on his lack of costume, but she is won over when Jonathan cracks a quick joke about being dressed up as "a guy who hates parties". She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the minute and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend that they aren't responsible for Barbara's death and of keeping up the facade of being a happy couple in love, repeatedly saying that it is all "bullshit". Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

Jonathan arrives to the party, a bit apprehensive about getting too close at first. He then enters the house, he gets into a talk with a girl dressed as someone from Music/{{KISS}}, who sarcastically on his lack of costume, but she is won over when Jonathan cracks a quick joke about being dressed up as "a guy who hates parties". She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the minute and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend that they aren't responsible for Barbara's death and of keeping up the facade of being a happy couple in love. Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

Jonathan arrives to the party, a bit apprehensive about getting too close at first. He then enters the house, he gets into a talk with a girl dressed as someone from Music/{{KISS}}, who sarcastically on his lack of costume, but she is won over when Jonathan cracks a quick joke about being dressed up as "a guy who hates parties". She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the moment and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend that they aren't responsible for Barbara's death and of keeping up the facade of being a happy couple in love. Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

Night falls, and Hopper is still marking the rotting plants when he realizes he is late going home to Eleven; he bribe Eugene's son into giving some of his candy so he can at least fulfill that part of his promise. Eleven is waiting for Hopper, watching ''Frankenstein'', when she receives a Morse signal from Hopper, telling her he is going to be late: she flashes back to last winter, walking through the forest and finding the dead drop Hopper made for her back then. Angry, she turns off the radio.

* MistakenFromBehind: Nancy mistakes a girl for Barb when she sees her behind at the school library.

Mike and Will make it back to Mike's house, and Will explains what is happening to him, and the thing he keeps seeing. Mike asks if it was like the Demogorgon, but Will says what he sees is more like a huge shadow that is somehow alive and it is out for him. Mike asks if Will really thinks it is happening or if it is just in his head like Dr. Owens claims. Mike not to tell the others, thinking they would not understand. Mike mentions that Eleven would understand, and that he sometimes feels like she is around. The two share an uneasy smile and decide that they can at least go crazy together. Upstairs, Jonathan has brought a drunk Nancy back home, putting her in her bed before leaving.

-->'''Dustin:''' Holy sh--
-->(cue ''Ghostbusters'' theme and end credits)

Hopper investigates Eugene's pumpkin farm and realizes the problem may be a lot bigger than he thought, because there are signs that the rotting may be a sign of something worse. He asks Eugene how far the rot has spread, and Eugene takes him to the woods on the outskirts of his field, where he shows him a tree with the same strange condition. Powell and Callahan call in and report the same situation on the field they are investigating; in response Hopper coordinates with them to mark off where the dead line ends on each farm.

The boys are trick-or-treating as well, when they are jumped in by Max, disguised as a killer, who suggests the group to join her and go to Loch Nora, the rich people's neighborhood. Dustin and Lucas are obviously enthusiastic about joining the new girl, but Mike's mood heavily sours.

Night falls, and Hopper is still marking the rotting plants when he realizes he is late going home to Eleven; he buys a kid's candy so he can at least fulfill that part of his promise. Eleven is waiting for Hopper, watching ''Frankenstein'', when she receives a Morse signal from Hopper, telling her he is going to be late: she flashes back to last winter, walking through the forest and finding the dead drop Hopper made for her back then. Angry, she turns off the radio.

At Loch Nora, the group is getting a lot luckier with their candy, but Mike is not exactly as enthusiastic about Max as Dustin and Lucas are. Will stops for a second while the others get ahead, but when he follows them three elder boys scare him and he falls to the ground, instantly starting to see the Upside Down. Will gets frightened as he sees a huge tentacled shadow creature going after him, and he hides behind a wall, with Mike shaking him from his vision. Mike decides to cut his night short and takes Will home, while Max asks what is going on with Will.

Jonathan arrives to the party, where he talks with a girl dressed as someone from Music/{{KISS}}. She flirts with him briefly, but he's not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the moment and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally spills a cup of punch on Nancy's shirt. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend everything is alright and being in love. Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

Mike and Will make it back to Mike's house, and Will explains what is happening to him, asking Mike not to tell the others, thinking they would not understand. Mike mentions that Eleven would understand, and that he sometimes feels like she is around. The two share an uneasy smile and decide that they can at least go crazy together. Upstairs, Jonathan has brought a drunk Nancy back home, putting her in her bed before leaving.

At the Byers' home, Bob (who is dressed as Dracula) shows Jonathan how to use his video camera so he can film Will's trick-or-treating. Will says he thinks having Jonathan go with him is lame, and Jonathan tells him he can go with his friends, as long as he returns to Mike's on time: he decides he might as well go to the Halloween party. At said party, Nancy decides to get shit-faced with a bowl of spiked punch, under Steve's worried gaze.

Nancy and Steve are at the high school library, and Nancy has a flashback to her last talk with Barbara when she sees someone that looks like her friend from the back. She and Steve, and Nancy tells him she is tired of having to hide the truth from Barb's parents, but Steve reminds her that they could be sent to prison if they reveal what happened, and suggests they go to that night's party to unwind.

After classes, Dustin and Lucas talk with Max, who appears to be thoroughly unimpressed with their disguises, and they invite her to join them for trick-or-treating, but she does not give them an answer.

At her cabin, Eleven channel-surfs using her powers to change channels, when she hears something outside: a squirrel chattering. Eleven has a flashback to her killing a squirrel to eat, but while she was roasting it she was found by a man wearing heavy winter clothes: using a log from the fire, she knocked the man out and stole his jacket and cap, running away in the cold.

Hopper arrives to the police station to find a truck full of more rotting pumpkins: Eugene, the farmer who was accused in the previous episode of poisoning pumpkins, is now accusing the other man of doing the same with ''his'' harvest. Hopper is clearly fed up with the whole thing, but becomes interested when the farmer reveals that other families in the area have suffered the same problem with ''all'' their crops.

Max meets with her stepbrother Billy to go home. Billy clearly hates Hawkins, calling it a shithole. The two argue aloud, blaming each other for their being stuck at Hawkins. Angrily, Billy decides to gun his car at Dustin, Lucas and Mike, who are riding their bikes back home, much to Max's horror, and she forces him to swerve just before the boys get hit.

Hopper investigates one of the pumpkin farms and realizes the problem may be a lot bigger than he thought, because there are signs that the rotting may be a sign of something worse. He and his deputies coordinate to mark off where the dead line ends on each farm.

Joyce shows Will's drawing to Hopper, noting it matches the sight from her home's frontyard. As they talk in the kitchen, Joyce asks Hopper why Will would lie to her like that, and Hopper answers that he is just a kid. She points out when Will describes what he sees, it feels to him as if they are real: Hopper points out that he knows people who have PTSD and says it may actually be Will having flashbacks to his time in the Upside Down. Joyce is still puzzled by the drawing which is like nothing else Will has described before, and Hopper says that he thinks Dr. Owens is right about having something to when the anniversary of the previous event. Pointing out that it is not just Will who has been on edge lately, pointing out that he can tell she is too and so is he himself. He insist that it is all a matter of getting through the next couple of weeks; things might be rough and can never really go back to the way they were before, but they will get better eventually. Seeing that Joyce is still a bit anxious, he offers her some of his cigarette. The two of them start to reminiscence about that time they shared a smoke back in high school and was caught by a teacher. They both laugh at the memory, before Joyce catches herself and gets apprehensive again. "I wish this was over..." she says. "I know," answers Hopper.

In the present, Eleven gets dressed as a ghost and asks Hopper to allow her to go trick-or-treating, arguing that no one would recognize her with that disguise, but Hopper tells her it is a risk they cannot take, lest she get found and taken away again. Hopper tries to teach her about compromise, classifying it as "halfway happy", and promises to return earlier with candy so they can watch scary movies.

At the Byers', Joyce has a small scare when she does not see Will in his bed, and further begins to panic when Jonathan says he doesn't know where Will is either: turns out he's just in the bathroom. She sees a disturbing drawing Will has made of the monster he saw the previous night, but Will lies to her, saying it's for a story he is writing. But problems are forgotten for a while: it is Halloween, and Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will are going to school dressed as the Ghostbusters. Mike and Lucas get in an argument because they are both going as Venkman, but Dustin stops them when he points out no one else is dressed up, making them the target of others' mockery. Dustin and Lucas see Max passing by, and resolve to speak with her later.

Joyce shows Will's drawing to Hopper, noting it matches the sight from her home's frontyard and pointing out that, when Will describes what he sees, it feels to him as if they are real: Hopper points out that he knows people who have PTSD and says it may actually be Will having flashbacks to his time in the Upside Down. The two reminisce on old times before Hopper leaves.

The episode opens on a flashback to Eleven waking up destroying the Demogorgon. She finds herself in the middle of the school's Upside Down equivalent. Scared by her surroundings and exhausted from the taxing battle, she staggers down the hallway, calling for Mike with increasing desperation, until she hears faint echoes of human voices. Looking around, she finds source of the sounds; the hole the Demogorgon went through to come to the real world. She approaches it but hides when she sees soldiers with flashlights on the other side. Waiting until the soldiers have moved on, she widens the hole with her powers and passes through, getting back to the real world, observing that it is night time outside. She walks to Mike's house, but she finds it surrounded by policemen and government agents: they are there to warn Mike's parents that she may be a danger to the family and to contact them if she ever comes around. Two of the agents interrogate Mike, but he tells them he does not know where Eleven is, and even if he did know, he would ''never'' tell them. The agents insist that whatever Eleven has told him about them is not true, and tells him that she is a highly dangerous individual, and withholding information about her can bring himself and his family in jeopardy. Eleven, who listens on their conversation from a nearby window, runs away, but not before Mike notices she is there: Eleven hides in the forest from the agents, who noticed Mike's distraction and correctly guessed that he saw her.

Eleven, after destroying the Demogorgon, appears in the middle of the school's Upside Down equivalent. Naturally scared, she runs around the place, calling for Mike, until she finds the hole the Demogorgon went through to come to the real world. She approaches it but sees flashlights from the other side and hides until everyone leaves; she widens the hole with her powers and passes through, getting back to the real world. She walks to Mike's house, but she finds it surrounded by policemen and government agents: they are there to warn Mike's parents that she may be a danger to the family and to contact them if she ever comes around. Two of the agents interrogate Mike, but he tells them he does not know where Eleven is, and even if he did know, he would not be telling them. The agents tell Mike of the danger Eleven represents, and Eleven, who is listening in, runs away, but not before Mike notices she is there: Eleven hides in the forest from the agents, who noticed Mike's distraction and correctly guessed that he saw her.

* CurseCutShort: Dustin investigates the thing inside his trashcan and once he peeks in he starts to say "holy shit" before the credits cut him off.

-->(cue ''Ghostbusters'' theme)

* InternalReveal: How did Eleven escape the Upside Down? She walked over to a previous tear in reality made by the Demogorgan and passed through it herself, just minutes after killing the monster.
* InVinoVeritas: Nancy does this at the party, being a "stupid teenager" and in the bathroom tells Steve that she thinks them pretending nothing is wrong and being in love is "bullshit."

Eleven, after destroying the Demogorgon, appears in the middle of the school's Upside Down equivalent. Naturally scared, she runs around the place, calling for Mike, until she finds the hole the Demogorgon went through to come to the real world. She approaches it but sees flashlights from the other side and hides until everyone leaves; she widens the hole with her powers and passes through, getting back to the real world. She walks to Mike's house, but she finds it surrounded by policemen: they are there to warn the family she may be a danger to the family and to warn them if she ever comes around. Two of the agents interrogate Mike, but he tells them he does not know where Eleven is, and even if he did know, he would not be telling them. The agents tell Mike of the danger Eleven represents, and Eleven, who is listening in, runs away, but not before Mike notices she is there: Eleven hides in the forest from the agents, who correctly guessed that Mike had seen her and search the surrounding area for her.

In the present, Eleven gets dressed as a ghost and asks Hopper to allow her to go trick-or-treating, arguing that no one is going to recognize her with that disguise, but Hopper tells her it is a risk they cannot take, lest she get found and taken away again. Hopper tries to teach her about compromise, classifying it as "halfway happy", and promises to return earlier with candy so they can watch scary movies.

At the Byers', Joyce has a small scare when she does not see Will in his bed, and further begins to panic when Jonathan says he doesn't know where Will is either: turns out he's just in the bathroom. She sees a disturbing drawing Will has made of the monster he saw the previous night, but Will lies to her, saying it's for a story he is writing. But problems are forgotten for a while: it is Halloween, and Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will are going to school dressed as the Ghostbusters. Mike and Lucas get in a bit of discussion because they are both going as Venkman, but Dustin stops them when he points out no one else is dressed up, making them the target of others' mockery. Dustin and Lucas see Max passing by, and resolve to speak with her later.

At the Energy Lab, a technician goes through the gate to the Upside Down to repair the sensors that got fried the previous night. Dr. Owens, though, is not as optimistic as the others, going through his interview with Will while playing with a stress ball.

Nancy and Steve are at the high school library, and Nancy has a flashback to her last talk with Barbara when she sees someone that looks like her friend from the back. Steve and her talk, and Nancy tells him she is tired of having to hide the truth from Barb's parents, but Steve reminds her that they could be sent to prison if they reveal what happened, and suggests they go to that night's party.

Hopper arrives to the police station to find a truck full of more rotting pumpkins: the same farmer that was accused in the previous episode of poisoning pumpkins is now accusing the other man of doing the same with his harvest. Hopper is clearly fed up with the whole thing, but becomes interested when the farmer reveals that all the families in the area have suffered the same problem with ''all'' their crops.

At the Byers' home, Bob (who is getting dressed as Dracula) shows Jonathan how to use his video camera so he can film Will's trick-or-treating. Will says he thinks having Jonathan go with him is lame, and Jonathan tells him he can go with his friends, as long as he returns to Mike's on time: he decides he might as well go to the Halloween party. At said party, Nancy decides to get shit-faced with a bowl of punch, under Steve's worried gaze.

Night falls, and Hopper is still marking the rotting plants when he realizes he is late going home to Eleven; he buys a kid's candy so he can at least fulfill that part of his promise. Eleven is waiting for Hopper, watching Frankenstein, when she receives a Morse signal from Hopper, telling her he is going to be late: she flashes back to last winter, walking through the forest and finding the dead drop Hopper made for her back then. Angry, she turns off the radio.

Jonathan arrives to the party, where he talks with a girl dressed as someone from Music/{{KISS}}. She flirts with him briefly, but he not too good at reciprocating. Meanwhile, Nancy is getting drunker by the moment and Steve tries to stop her, but in their struggle he accidentally pours a punch glass over Nancy's clothes. The two go to the bathroom, and Nancy tells Steve she is fed up with having to pretend everything is alright and being in love. Steve is clearly hurt by this revelation, leaving in a huff, and Jonathan is left worried about Nancy's drunkenness.

Mike and Will make it back to the former's home, and Will explains what is happening to him, asking his friend not to tell the others, thinking they would not understand. Mike mentions that Eleven would understand, and that he sometimes feels like she is around. The two share an uneasy smile and decide that they can at least go crazy together. Meanwhile, Jonathan brings a drunk Nancy back home, putting her in her bed before leaving.

At Hopper and Eleven's cabin, Hopper arrives and apologizes for being late, but Eleven has closed herself in her room with the television, obviously angry because Hopper did not keep his promise. Channel-surfing again, she decides to turn on a point full of static and puts on a bandanna over her eyes, inducing herself to go into the void. In here, she sees and hears Mike talking to her through his walkie-talkie, and she tries to touch him, but, while Mike appears to notice she is "close", Eleven fails to make proper contact with him, leading him to shut off his radio in frustration and making her break down in anguish.

Dustin arrives home, and notices the trash can is shaking again: when he opens it, and peeks in, he sees something he obviously was not expecting.

* AlienKudzu: Averted, then played straight. The rot killing the pumpkins has spread to other crops, making it seem like a plant blight. However, Hopper then discovers the surrounding trees covered by a fungus/slime combination, which he's only seen in the Upside Down.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Billy nearly runs the boys down simply to screw with Max, who he for some reason blames for them being in Hawkins.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Eleven's backstory of how she survived in the woods is shown in flashbacks. Her hair now being long and shaggy clues us in about the time skips between events.

** Will shares what he is seeing with Mike, who tells him about his feelings that he sometimes sees Eleven is around. The two agree that, if they are going crazy, at least they are going crazy together.

* InternalReveal: How did Eleven escape the Upside Down? She walked over to a previous tear in reality made by the Demogorgan and passed through it herself minutes after killing the monster.
* InVinoVeritas: Nancy does this at the party, being a "stupid teenager" and in the bathroom tells Steve that she thinks them pretending nothing is wrong and being in love was "bullshit."

* MundaneUtility: We see Eleven using her telekinesis to turn the knob on the TV.

* ThePromise: Hopper makes a big promise to Eleven to be back at 5:15 pm but he forgets about it and turn up late. He seems genuinely regretful, but Eleven is obviously angry and won't talk to him.

* SeriousBusiness: The boys treat the fact that they were the only ones to arrive at school in costume for Halloween with the same kind of seriousness they would for the Upside Down.

* SeriousBuisness: The boys treat the fact that they were the only ones to arrive at school in costume for Halloween with the same kind of seriousness they would for the Upside Down.

* BrickJoke: In the previous episode, Bob mentions that he loves Music/KennyRogers, unaware that Jonathan was [[DamnedByAFoolsPraise using him as an example of extremely boring people]]. In this episode, he dances with Joyce to a record of "Island In The Sun," widely considered Rogers' worst hit single.

* SoUnfunnyItsFunny: Bob's brand of humor comes off this way, with his vampire puns.

* BrickJoke: In the previous episode, Bob mentions that he loves Music/KennyRogers, unaware that Jonathan was using him as an example of extremely boring people. In this episode, he dances with Joyce to a record of "Island In The Sun," widely considered Rogers' worst hit single.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Eleven's backstory of how she survived in the woods is shown in flashbacks. The change in her hair length clues us in about the time skips between events.

* InVinoVeritas: Nancy does this at the party, being a "stupid teenager" and in the bathroom tells Steve that she thinks them pretending nothing is wrong and being in love was bullshit.

* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Jonathan apparently thinks this about Bob and Joyce. However, at this point he is treated as an unreliable narrator, as Bob has been nothing but loving and kind to Joyce and her children, and is apparently the only person in Hawkins to treat Will normally, which Will points out. To be fair, it seems to be less that he thinks Bob is a bad person, and more that he thinks Bob is an absolute dork. Which he is.