Mike confronts Hopper for hiding Eleven for 353 days
Eleven walks back into the Byers house; Mike's joy turns to fury when he learns Hopper kept her hidden all year, and he screams that Hopper is a liar.
S2E9 · Chapter Nine: The Gate
28 moments · 38 min of essential viewing in a 62-minute episode.
Moments, in order
Eleven meets Max, sees Will, and agrees to close the gate
Dustin shows off his new teeth, Max introduces herself, and Eleven sees how sick Will is before Hopper asks if she can shut the gate she opened.
Billy charms Mrs. Wheeler at the front door
Billy comes looking for Max and lays the charm on thick with Karen Wheeler, who is in no hurry to send him away.
Demo-dogs, and why closing the gate could kill Will
Dustin names the Demo-dogs, Eleven insists she can close the gate, Mike realises that would kill Will, and Joyce decides to burn the thing out of him.
Steve the babysitter sends Nancy off; Mike and Eleven promise
Steve tells Nancy to go with Jonathan and owns his new role as babysitter, then Mike makes Eleven promise he won't lose her again.
Hopper and Eleven in the truck: the black hole and Sarah
Driving to the lab, Hopper asks about the punk look, apologises for his lies, and finally tells Eleven about his daughter Sarah. They make up. Bitchin'.
Dustin and Steve stuff Dart's dead cousin into the fridge
Dustin insists a Demo-dog corpse is a scientific discovery that belongs in the Byers refrigerator; Steve makes him promise to explain it to Mrs. Byers.
On the bench: the kids plot the tunnels, Steve says no
Mike and Dustin work out how to lure the Demo-dogs away by burning the tunnel hub; Steve shuts it down and demands a yes from every one of them.
Steve stonewalls Billy at the Byers' door
Billy turns up hunting for his stepsister and Steve plays dumb at the door, trading insults until Billy spots the kids through the window.
Steve vs Billy brawl, and Max ends it with a syringe and a bat
Billy goes after Lucas, Steve lands the first punch, and the fight turns ugly until Max sedates her stepbrother and makes him swear to leave them alone.
Steve wakes up with Max at the wheel of Billy's car
A battered Steve comes round in the back seat to find a thirteen-year-old driving them to the tunnels, with the boys shouting directions.
Dustin's party-rules speech gets Steve into the hole
At the pumpkin-field hole, Dustin invokes the duty of a party member to help another, and Steve caves and takes the lead into the tunnels.
Hopper finds Owens and asks him to give Eleven a normal life
In the wrecked lab, Hopper patches up a wounded Doc Owens, introduces Eleven, and asks him to help her live without being treated like a lab rat.
Dustin gets a face full of spores, then the party finds the hub
A vine sprays Dustin in the mouth and he panics while the others laugh; moments later they reach the hub and start dousing it with gasoline.
Jonathan begs Joyce to stop as the heaters torture Will
With Will strapped to the bed and the room blazing, Jonathan screams that they're killing him while Joyce refuses to back off.
Joyce burns the shadow out of Will, and Jonathan radios: Close it
Joyce screams for the thing to get out of her son; Will finally wakes and says Mom, and Jonathan tells Hopper over the radio to close the gate.
Dustin says goodbye to Dart with a bar of nougat
Cornered in the tunnel, Dustin recognises Dart, apologises for the storm cellar, and feeds him his favourite candy so the party can pass.
The Demo-dogs come running and the party scrambles for the rope
Eleven channels her rage at the gate as the horde turns back; the boys sprint through the tunnels and Steve hauls them up the rope one by one.
Eleven closes the gate
Haunted by Papa's words about her wound, Eleven pushes with everything she has and seals the gate while Hopper holds the line; he tells her she did good.
The news: Hawkins Lab admits to Barb's death
A broadcast reports that Department of Energy officials have admitted the death and cover-up of Barbara Holland, as the national spotlight hits Hawkins.
Owens hands Hopper a birth certificate, and Hopper asks for one night out
Over diner food, Owens gives Hopper the paperwork that makes Eleven his, warns him to keep her hidden for a year, and Hopper bargains for one night.
Getting ready for the Snow Ball
Joyce films Will's dance moves, Karen photographs a mortified Mike, Lucas's sister ambushes him with a kiss, and Dustin hunts for his hairspray.
Steve's pep talk: pretend you don't care, slay 'em like a lion
Steve drops Dustin at the Snow Ball and coaches him one last time on hair, attitude and the lion, then gently bans the roar.
Snow Ball arrivals: pure fuel, Dustin's hair, and two first dances
Nancy spikes the punch, Mike and Lucas roast Dustin's new hairdo, Lucas awkwardly asks Max to dance, and a girl asks Zombie Boy Will.
Dustin gets turned down, and Nancy asks him to dance
Every girl refuses Dustin and he breaks down alone, until Nancy pulls him onto the floor, teaches him the rhythm, and tells him he's her favourite.
Hopper and Joyce share a cigarette outside the gym
Waiting on their kids, Hopper and Joyce catch up in the parking lot and he tells her the grief never goes away, but every day gets a little easier.
Eleven arrives at the Snow Ball and Mike asks her to dance
Eleven walks into the gym and Mike tells her she looks beautiful; neither knows how to dance, so they decide to figure it out together.
Every Breath You Take: the Snow Ball slow dance
The couples sway to The Police as Mike shows Eleven the steps and the season closes on the Snow Ball dance floor.
Playlists touching this episode
Mike Wheeler's Best Moments
Stranger Things
The leader of the group of friends, the first to shelter Eleven. Played by Finn Wolfhard.
124 moments · 2h 44mby Favseen
Dustin Henderson's Best Moments
Stranger Things
The group's curious, sharp-tongued scientist, never without a theory. Played by Gaten Matarazzo.
101 moments · 2h 15mby Favseen
Eleven's Best Moments
Stranger Things
A girl with a shaved head and telekinetic powers who escapes a government lab and finds the boys. Played by Millie Bobby Brown.
98 moments · 2h 16mby Favseen
Jim Hopper's Best Moments
Stranger Things
Hawkins' police chief, a man with a lost past who takes the Byers case seriously when nobody else does. Played by David Harbour.
94 moments · 2h 11mby Favseen
Lucas Sinclair's Best Moments
Stranger Things
The group's skeptic, quickest to question Eleven and to act. Played by Caleb McLaughlin.
89 moments · 1h 59mby Favseen
Joyce Byers's Best Moments
Stranger Things
Will's mother, who refuses to believe her son is gone and will tear her house apart to reach him. Played by Winona Ryder.
87 moments · 2h 00mby Favseen
Nancy Wheeler's Best Moments
Stranger Things
Mike's older sister, pulled from her own high-school life into the search. Played by Natalia Dyer.
71 moments · 1h 43mby Favseen
Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson & Lucas Sinclair
Stranger Things
The party: the three boys, their walkie-talkies and every argument. 70 scenes together, in story order.
70 moments · 1h 36mby Favseen
Jonathan Byers's Best Moments
Stranger Things
Will's older brother, a loner with a camera who looks for his brother his own way. Played by Charlie Heaton.
63 moments · 1h 33mby Favseen
Will Byers's Best Moments
Stranger Things
The quiet boy whose disappearance on his way home sets everything in motion. Played by Noah Schnapp.
63 moments · 1h 29mby Favseen
Mike Wheeler & Eleven
Stranger Things
The boy who found her in the rain and the girl with the powers: their story, scene by scene. 54 scenes together, in story order.
54 moments · 1h 10mby Favseen
Jim Hopper & Joyce Byers
Stranger Things
The chief and the mother who refuses to be told she is crazy. 46 scenes together, in story order.
46 moments · 1h 06mby Favseen
Nancy Wheeler & Jonathan Byers
Stranger Things
The girl next door and the loner with the camera, monster-hunting together. 46 scenes together, in story order.
46 moments · 1h 08mby Favseen
Steve Harrington's Best Moments
Stranger Things
The popular senior dating Nancy, more than the hair suggests. Played by Joe Keery.
46 moments · 1h 06mby Favseen
Max Mayfield's Best Moments
Stranger Things
The new girl in Hawkins, a skateboarder with the arcade high score and a stepbrother she fears. Played by Sadie Sink.
36 moments · 51 minby Favseen
Joyce Byers & Will Byers
Stranger Things
A mother talking to her lost boy through fairy lights, then nursing him back. 34 scenes together, in story order.
34 moments · 48 minby Favseen
Lucas Sinclair & Max Mayfield
Stranger Things
The skateboarder from California and the boy who kept turning up at her arcade. 29 scenes together, in story order.
29 moments · 43 minby Favseen
Jim Hopper & Eleven
Stranger Things
A grieving chief and the kid he hides: the makeshift family at the heart of the show. 26 scenes together, in story order.
26 moments · 40 minby Favseen
Nancy Wheeler & Steve Harrington
Stranger Things
The high-school couple whose romance the Upside Down pulls apart. 25 scenes together, in story order.
25 moments · 38 minby Favseen
Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Stranger Things
The babysitter and the kid with the pet demodog: the show's best friendship. 20 scenes together, in story order.
20 moments · 29 minby Favseen
Karen Wheeler's Best Moments
Stranger Things
Mike and Nancy's mother, holding the Wheeler household together. Played by Cara Buono.
18 moments · 25 minby Favseen
Dr. Sam Owens's Best Moments
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The lab's new director, gentler than Brenner, keeping watch on Will. Played by Paul Reiser.
17 moments · 26 minby Favseen
Dr. Martin Brenner's Best Moments
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The scientist who ran the lab and calls Eleven his own. Played by Matthew Modine.
14 moments · 21 minby Favseen
Billy Hargrove's Best Moments
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Max's stepbrother, the new king of Hawkins High, all menace and mullet. Played by Dacre Montgomery.
10 moments · 16 minby Favseen
Eleven & Dr. Martin Brenner
Stranger Things
The girl and the man she was taught to call Papa. 9 scenes together, in story order.
9 moments · 13 minby Favseen
Steve Harrington & Billy Hargrove
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The old king of Hawkins High against the new one. 4 scenes together, in story order.
4 moments · 7 minby Favseen