Stranger Things 4 Episode 6: The Dive: Thoughts & Analysis

Onto the penultimate episode of Stranger Things 4 volume 1. Things are intense.

Let’s pick in Hawkins. Eddie has escaped, and Jason is convinced Eddie is possessed by a demon. The police arrange a town hall meeting to address the deaths. However, Jason declares Eddie and his satanic cult, the Hellfire Club, to be responsible. Him and the other jocks hand wanted posters of the Hellfire Club. There's a unique moment when Karen (Mike/Nancy’s mother), Lucas’ mother, and Dustin’s mother all make fearful eye contact. Mom goals, I guess.  This particular plotline was inspired by the actual Satanic Panic of the 80s, and I thought it was adapted well. It felt like two dots naturally being connected.

Eddie tells the gang he is hiding at Skull Rock. Steve and Dustin lead but argue over directions. Dustin is following his compass, but Steve, who made Skull Rock into a popular make out spot, claims otherwise. Turns out Steve was right. 

Nancy and Robin have a one-on-one moment, where Robin asks why she “flinched, or winced, or something like that” upon mentioning Jonathan. Nancy reveals her disappointment that he didn't come over break. Robin says she just wants all her friends to be happy. Nancy then asks, “So, does that make us friends, as in official?” “Yeah. I mean, right?” “Yeah.” I liked this dialogue; it was real with a little awkwardness sprinkled in.

Together with Eddie, the Hawkins gang realize that Vecna’s attack occurred the exact moment their flashlights surged. Max says they need to find Vecna in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart. Steve, not understanding the metaphor, asks if Vecna is a vampire… oh, Steve. Meanwhile, Dustin paces back and forth. Eddie asks if he’s cursed, but Steve says “Cursed? No, no, he’s fine. Mental? Absolutely.” Dustin finally shouts “BOOM! I was right. Skull Rock was north.”

Steve is so done, but Dustin goes on to explain that the compass was wrong. Just as in season 1, the compass was skewed by the presence of a powerful electromagnetic field, which was the gate to the Upside Down. Dustin then concludes there is a gate nearby. He asks “Eddie the Banished,” who says he’s asking him “to follow him into Mordor, which I think is a really bad idea. But the Shire… the Shire is burning. So Mordor it is.” To cap it all off, Steve says: “What is Mordor?” Best, funniest dialogue of the season. Eddie’s tone was perfection, and he just accepts this is all a hot mess. Then Steve puts the cherry on top by not understanding what the heck Eddie was even referencing.

The compass led them back to Lover’s Lake. It’s nightfall, and Nancy, Steve, Robin and Eddie take a boat out to the middle of the lake, while Dustin, Max, and Lucas wait by shore. Steve dives into the lake to find the gate. He succeeds, but just as he comes back up to the surface, YANK! He gets dragged down all the way through the portal. Now in the Upside Down, Steve is attacked and bitten by demobats. Nancy goes down instinctively. Not long after, Robin follows, and last but not least, Eddie, although begrudgingly. 

Steve definitely took the hit this episode. Also, not a fan of the Nancy-Steve rekindling. It’s good that they finally put Steve in danger this season, because he’s been mostly coasting, so it’s nice to turn and put him in a life-threatening position. 

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The Cali Group is all comedy this episode. After calling the number, they realize it’s not a person but a computer, so they need a hacker. Well what do you know? There’s one person they know who lives on the West Coast: Suzie. 

That household... oh my. I mean… that was pure gold. Cornelius served a great introduction and housewarming, followed by Agatha and the boy filming pirate who gave me jitters, the chefs with their freaky knife skills and salt catastrophe, Eden the goth girl and the garden, and Suzie, the relatively normal one. They tell Suzie they need to hack the location of a new gaming console, the “Americantendo,” for Dustin. Sadly, her computer was taken by her Dad after she confessed changing Dustin’s Latin grade. The music in that scene was perfect: dramatic even though the mood is funny. 

They execute their grand theft, using all the siblings to distract Father, who was in for a treat. Suzie manages to hack in and get the coordinates. When Mike asks if she can print them, she replies: “No, my skills end at IPG location.” She then hits the printer button. Brilliant, just brilliant.

When her Dad comes back after being scarred by his own creations, he doesn’t even notice there are three random boys (Argyle was doing weed with Eden) in his house.

I appreciate the Cali Group for this. It was a fun although weird watch. 

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We also get further into Eleven’s memories. One mysterious guy notices Eleven struggling with a mind game. He approaches and tries to give advice. He then goes on to reveal that Brenner does not tell them the truth. For example, with 001. The Brenner said One doesn’t exist, but the man said he was here and struggling like Eleven. He then found the key: a past memory that made him sad but also angry. Eleven asks what happened to him, but he says that story is for another time. 

This character immediately intrigued me. There was more than met the eye, and you could sense something sinister underneath. 

Then, Brenner made all the subjects play a game. Two people would face each other blindfolded while standing inside a drawn circle. The objective was to use their powers to push their opponent off their circle. Number Two was defeating everyone, until it was Eleven’s turn. Eleven, using the memory of her mother being taken away, was able to push Two off his circle and slam him into the wall. 

Afterwards in the Rainbow Room, Eleven gets attacked by Two and other subjects. They push her into the walls and make her slide around on the floor. A direct parallel to the bullying she just encountered. Even though this time, she did not strike back, will she eventually repeat what happened with Angela? Is this how the massacre will come to pass? Will Eleven give in to her dark side? It will all come down in the final episode of volume 1.